So with my blackout period of no outdoor cycling, I still wanted to get some exercise outdoors. So I did something I haven’t done in a long long time — I went for a run. I strapped on my old Garmin Forerunner 101, my iPod (iPhone actually) and headed out.
The first thing I noticed was a strange paradox — at the obvious [much] slower pace over cycling, the world is a lot bigger when you’re jogging along, yet my planned routes, circling my neighborhood were a lot shorter than I anticipated. I looped through areas around my neighborhood and netted 3.5 miles in a half hour. It wasn’t lightning-fast by any stretch, but satisfying after not doing a lick of running in quite some time.
Regardless, I can’t ever see the day when given the choice, I’d pick running over cycling, though it’s definitely a good way to switch things up and keep from getting into too much of a rut. It was a definite change of pace, but I was pleasantly impressed with my 6.5 mile per hour pace and plan on improving on that over the next days and weeks. I’m going to try to start doing some intervals and see how much those kick my butt.