Don’t forget to read my RACE RECAP! After burning 2,400 calories on my bike race this morning, I knew I needed to buckle down about my eating this afternoon. I am STUFFED!
Granola and yogurt:
Bowl of cereal (times two) and a bowl of cherries:
Leftover ziti:
I am so full but I’m still about 800 calories under my net! There is just no way for me to eat all that back.
How I Got Into Biking
Adi from Oatonomy asked me to describe how I got into cycling. It’s an interesting little story that goes WAY back:
My Dad has always been an avid cyclist. When I was a kid, he would strap me to the back of his bike and take me for lonnnng rides. I would just suck on my bottle the entire time. 🙂
As I got into my teenage years, I lost interest in biking (and physical activity in general). My Dad took me on a few biking trips (like one to Yellowstone National Park), but I never latched onto the sport.
In Spring 2007, I was one year into my running hobby and wanted to try a triathlon in the Summer. For my 23rd birthday, I bought myself a used Giant bike (my Dad pitched in a little, too). It was on sale on Craigs List for about $350, but it originally retailed for $1,300!
I signed up for a sprint triathlon and trained for 8 weeks. I felt confident on the run and bike portions of the tri, but I was under prepared for the open water swim and ended up being disqualified. You can read the story of my DQ here.
After my tri was over, I put my bike on the porch and hardly ever rode it — mostly because I was too busy training for three 5Ks, two 10Ks, two 15Ks, two Half Marathons, and a 15.4-mile trail race! I was running so often that I just didn’t have time to bike.
In September, my knee issues really started to act up. I was first diagnosed with chondromalacia (read about my diagnosis in this post), but my diagnosis was recently changed to patellofemoral pain syndrome (read about my diagnosis in this post).
I would say I started to get serious about my riding again about two months ago when I went on a running hiatus. Biking doesn’t bother my knees as much as running and it’s generally easier on the body. I started off at 10.0 miles and slowly worked up my long Sunday rides 5.0 miles at a time. Running provided me with a solid cardio base so training was more about getting my muscles used to being in the saddle so long. I was doing 20.0 miles, then 25.0, then 30.0…. and I kept going!
To learn more about cycling, I read Bicycling.com and talked to salespeople at bike shops. There are several bike shops in the area that offer free Bike Maintenance 101 classes, although I could never go with my schedule. So, to learn how to change a tire, I watched a YouTube video. There’s more to "learn" about biking than there is about running, but I found it fun to be challenged and study a new hobby!
I know picking up bicycling can be intimidating, but it’s a really fun hobby and I encourage you to check it out if you’re interested!
If you haven’t already checked out my race recap, be sure to! It was a craaaaaazy 60 mile ride!
I found my bike on Craigslist too! Mine was only two years old and my boyfriend bought it for me for $400 🙂 I guess he wanted to spread his cycling happiness onto another person, haha.
Even though I LOVE running, I have to say there is nothing like being out in the middle of nowhere on my bike alongside my sweetie 🙂
Is your hubby thinking of signing up for any races??