Bike Ballet

Remember how I'm loving fall? Well, Saturday turned out to be the PERFECT fall day, with a touch of summer thrown in. I cranked out my 10 mile long run through my favorite spot (Doris Ranch) and came home to take another epsom salt bath.

Soon enough, it was time to head out to the manfriend's cyclocross race. So I layered up and headed out on my road bike. Hooray for nice road bike weather!

Within a mile I was roasty toasty and had to unzip the sleeves of my jacket.And then I saw the views of the most beautiful fall trees in town. Seriously, it doesn't get any better than this.


After my tree gawking, I made it just in time to see the manfriend springing over the barriers doing his bike ballet thing. But really, doesn't this look like bike ballet (but manlier of course) if there were such a thing?



Everyone in attendance was enjoying this sun bathing worthy weather.

Now fast forward to today when it was 28 degrees when I headed out the door for an early morning run. Gloves, headband (for the ears), long pants and my Victoria Marathon half zip were needed. Eeps! You could say we had an abrupt shift in weather, but we're surviving.

Continuing on the bike front, I've been trying to ride the good ole mountain bike to work last week and this week despite some colder temps. Gloves, layers and my ipod are the key to a happy, brisk morning commute. 

However, after work, I'm a little more relaxed, the temps are a few degrees higher and I find myself taking silly photos (and more pics of fall leaves), gloves not always necessary.


As I've said before, bike commuting gives me a totally different perspective on my community and my day. It simply takes about 40 min more for me to get ready in the mornings to pack everything up, gather bike gear, 15 min extra spent commuting, change at work). But I know it's worth it when I do.

On the running front: My body is enjoying lower mileage these past few weeks. It's amazing how different 20-25 miles feels on my hip, knees, etc compared to 35-40. Last night I focused on lots of hip opening with a Dave Farmar podcast.

What's your perfect weekly running mileage? Is anyone else experiencing interesting weather?

Running posts of interest:
Morning Runner's realization on pace and her preferred training tools
Heart Rate Monitor Training from Basically Barefoot

Comments

Leigh said…
Gorgeous, gorgeous pictures Lauren! Our fall is so short and I wish the trees stayed colours like that longer.

Haha bike ballet...that made me laugh, so thank you :)
Amber said…
The colours there are amazing. So vibrant!

I haven't bike commuted in far too long. The truth is I don't want to tackle the hill on the way home and deal with FRIGID temperatures whipping DOWN the hills on the way too work. I know, I know, I'm such a whiner ;)

I should try to fit in one more day or so of bike commuting before winter hits though...
The perfect amount of mileage for me is probably in the mid-20s. I have not ran in a week because of this darn bug I am fighting. It settled into my chest so running is a no go until it gets better, otherwise I fear I might cough up a lung or something. ;)

Love the fall pics! We have had unseasonably warm weather here, too, and I am loving it! Althought I heard the weather man say something about snow flurries tomorrow????? NOOOOOO!
Lindsey said…
Bike ballet... I love it!

That's awesome you have been bike commuting a bunch. I really need to make an attempt to do it more often, but I can't seem to motivate myself to ride to work in the dark!

Thanks for the link love :)
J said…
I am trying to increase my weekly mileage this winter so i will have a good solid base for spring training. Last year my weekend mileage was about 22 mpw, now I think this year I closer to 30 mpw. Its been cold here! I am not ready for winter!
Thanks for the shout out! Im glad you liked the post!
robinbb said…
I love all those pictures. I am going to check out that podcast. I can use any help I can get to open up my hips.

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