Back Outside
After spending three weeks stuck inside on my spin bike, I was tickled to get back outside on my road bike! The weather was perfect and the company was even better (my husband) and we had a fantastic ride.
Overview of the Week
Before getting into each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll beyond the infographic for daily details…
Sunday
Cycling: 45 miles
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Average speed: 15.8 MPH
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 7:31 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 66° in the basement, 62° and sunny outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and sports bra
Walking: 3.05 miles
• Average pace: 17:20 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 117 feet
• Start time: 11:11 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 78° and sunny, climbing to 81°
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor
With plans to go to the farm for much of the week, I pounded out some miles on my spin bike, banking them in case I couldn’t find time to ride while out of town. This ride earned me the September Time to Ride Garmin badge with 20 hours of cycling to date in September.
Monday
Strength training: 45 minutes of core, lower body, and minimal upper body
Cycling: 16 miles
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Average speed: 16.2 MPH
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 6:51 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 66° in the basement, 60° and mostly sunny outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and sports bra
Walking: 3.13 miles
• Average pace: 15:29 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 153 feet
• Start time: 9:42 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 71° and mostly sunny, climbing to 75°
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor
I squeezed in a little work (spinning while training one client) around my own workouts. Once I finished my walk, we took off to visit my Mom and spend the rest of the week in SWVA.
Tuesday
Rest day
Even though I took the day off from a dedicated cardio workout I was still plenty busy and got in over 15,000 steps!
Wednesday
Strength training: 45 minutes of core, lower body, and minimal upper body
No cardio, but I was super busy all day long.
Thursday
Hiking: 2.35 miles
• Average pace: 21:25 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 429 feet
• Start time: 3:05 PM
• Location: Natural Bridges State Park
• Weather: 84° and sunny
• What I wore: shorts and s/s shirt
We drove home from the farm, stopping for a hike at Natural Bridge State Park. Even though we’ve driven by the exit for the park many times during our drive to and from the farm, we’d never stopped. It was quite beautiful and we were surprised to see such large and very cute otters in the creek that runs through the park.
Friday
Strength training: 45 minutes of core, lower body, and minimal upper body
Balance and stretching: 45 minutes
Saturday
Cycling: 42.1 miles
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Average speed: 14.4 MPH
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 1,332
• Start time: 7:50 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Ashburn/Vienna loop
• Weather: 64° and sunny, climbing to 75° and partly cloudy
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves
It felt great to get back outside for a ride with my husband and my arm didn’t bother me at all. The trail was unbelievably crowded with runners and cyclists enjoying the beautiful weather. This ride earned me the September Weekend 40 Garmin badge for recording a 40K ride over the weekend
Questions:
- • Virginia residents: did you realize we have river otters in the commonwealth; or if you don’t live in Virginia, are otters native to where you live? ~ I had no idea. With a little research I found that they were once considered endangered in Virginia, but no longer are.
- • How’s the weather in your neck of the woods? ~ We’ve had another beautiful week. The weather in SWVA was outstanding!
- • Which workout did you enjoy most this past week? ~ Yesterday’s ride was just what I needed!
And that’s my rundown… Have a great week!
You had a pretty good week! We also had some wonderful weather. It was warm again and in the 70s and ’80s, my favorite. I didn’t really have any noteworthy workouts because I’m still injured and only getting in a few minutes of running here or there. I’m keeping busy with walking, cycling and weightlifting.
Sounds like your workouts are going well even without running!
So glad you’re back outside, Debbie! Nothing beats that first road ride after weeks on the spin bike. You and your husband picked the perfect day for it.
I smiled at your otter sighting. In Switzerland we have beavers along the rivers, and in Cape Town there are otters in the harbour where we live. They sometimes come out for a dip in the pool!
You’re spot on, Catrina, we picked the perfect day for my first ride back outside after being stuck inside.
And now I’m smiling thinking of lounging by the pool next to an otter!
Yay for returning to the “outdoor” bike 😉 I think otters are so cute! It’s nice that you got to see them in the wild. Congrats on the 40K badge…hoping to claim that myself this afternoon!
You know how great it felt to get back outside! Hope you earning your 40K badge yesterday!
OMG, otters??? Soooo cute! Do you see those in other places near you? Rumor has it that we have some river otters around here but I’ve never seen them. I bet you said “Freedom!!!!” When you finally got to ride outside. Yay!
Those otters were adorable! I don’t recall previously seeing any in Virginia.
I’m glad you were able to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather! And that hike looks beautiful. Otters are SO cute! We have otters here- every once in a while i’ll see one in the nearby canal. I hope your beautiful weather is here to stay for a while!
Thanks, Jenny! And yes, those otters were adorable!
I am not sure I have seen an otter around here but we do have lots of fox in our backyard. So nice you finally got to get back outside on your bike. Yay for fall weather coming our way
Thanks, Deborah! I’m not loving the humidity that’s sneaking back in today just in time for fall.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen an otter.
Yes we had beautiful weather. Just love your outside biking photos.
My favorite workout was my hike last Monday.
Thanks, Darlene
I don’t know if otters are native to Florida, but we do have them in some of our canals and waterways. Be careful! They are mean! (I would still try to pet them and bring them home, but otters can and will mess you up!)
I had a great run on Monday – it was so cool and beautiful and I ate it up!
so glad your arm is feeling better and that you were able to get out there!
Thanks, Jenn! Otters have such cute faces it’s hard to believe that they can be so mean. They were pretty aggressive with each other over the fish they were trying to catch, though.