Amazing What Biking Can Do, II

[Nanci]

I started road biking seriously in July of this year. Since then I have lost 35 pounds. A "fun ride" for me is 70 miles, and I can finish a hilly Century.

I used to be a long distance runner. I was never very fast, but I could go forever- ten hours and beyond. At short distances, 5k, 4 mile, I could occasionally place in my age group in a not-well-attended race, and I once won Women's Masters at the four mile distance.

But as a few years went by, even though my mileage was increasing, so was my weight. (I wasn't changing my diet at all.) My per mile speed dropped drastically. I was also diagnosed with a condition called exertional compartment syndrome, in which the calf muscles swell bigger than their sheaths allow, and get strangled, and hurt like CRAZY. I was going to have surgery to fix it, but the doc had a heart attack, and even though he survived, I chickened out, and then fortunately discovered road biking. (I had mountain biked for about five years.)

For the last year or longer, I haven't really trained for running, just slogged my way through races up to marathon (26.2 miles) distances just because I liked the event and wanted to participate. I also did a couple short triathlons. My running had sunk to an all-time slow, 15 minute mile if I was lucky.

Now, I haven't run since my second triathlon, Labor Day weekend, a three mile run. "Run."

This Thanksgiving, I went to a 6k race, and ran almost as hard as I could. I knocked 20 minutes off my last year's time, and increased my pace from 13:38 minutes per mile to 10:38 minutes per mile! I am _so_ excited about this! Not counting my fastest mile ever, 8 minutes, downhill, my fastest speed was a 9:37 minute mile in a 5k race for an age group second, in 2000!! I'm only a minute/mile away from that now!!

I am hoping that, even though it's all different, road biking is indirectly letting me run faster, probably by a combination of weight loss (though I probably weigh what I weighed in 2000, now) and CV conditioning and increased endurance and stronger leg muscles.

What I am really hoping is that I will be able to participate in any running event I choose now, without having to worry about time cutoffs.

The next couple months are marathon season in Florida, so I will probably be going along with BF as he does them, and running half marathons, just to keep my foot in the door.

But what I am really, really excited about is a 200k Brevet coming in January. I _know_ I can do the distance as long as I can maintain my current level of fitness through the next cold and dark month and a half. I foresee weeknight rides getting fewer and shorter, but hope to be able to maintain with two long weekend rides. That's the plan, anyway.

I am so thankful I discovered a love for road biking.

Nanci

[Selkie]

YOU GO Nanci!! That's terrific. I think you've got some good motivation to keep you out there training through the dark, cold months. Do you have lights for your bike? Believe it or not, I enjoy riding after dark now that I have the "mother of all headlights." The trails are pretty much deserted and it's really peaceful

[sydney_b]

Believe it or not, I enjoy riding after dark now that I have the "mother of all headlights." The trails are pretty much deserted and it's really peaceful

What headlight to do you have?

[trickytiger]

Nanci -
that's great! There are several studies that point out the beneficial effects of biking on running ability, and vice versa, so I'm not suprised at your success. I admit, I'm primarily a runner- competed in college- and found biking through the efforts of my bf (yes, the one that tangled with the SUV) and through triathlons. I doubt it will ever supplant running for me, barring injury like yours, but the appeal to the "long distance runner/biker" is exactly the same, imho. Your CV system doesn't know the difference, and the only real change is the lack of impact- which can be both good and bad. Congrats on your progress, and maybe, just maybe, I'll have to follow your lead and switch out some of my long runs for long rides!

[RoadRaven]

I seem to be hearing lots of stories of once-runners who, with wear and tear and age have come to cycling and been given a new "lease of life" on sports...

Very interesting to read your story and look forward to hearing about the 200kBrevet... what date in January? Then we can be thinking about you..

[jobob]

But what I am really, really excited about is a 200k Brevet coming in January. I _know_ I can do the distance as long as I can maintain my current level of fitness through the next cold and dark month and a half. I foresee weeknight rides getting fewer and shorter, but hope to be able to maintain with two long weekend rides. That's the plan, anyway.

Yoo-hoo, SadieKate, we have another Brevet wanna-do !
Excellent

[Lise]

Nanci, What a great story! How very frustrating the compartment syndrome and weight gain must have been. What's a Brevet? I am pretty ignorant about sports in general--I feel like it's a whole new world, and usually pretty fun. I love the biking, but in the winter, in the city, biking after dark feels really hazardous. I am fearful about patches of ice and wiping out into traffic. I will do some riding on days off, but it's going to be running and weights most of the winter. Got to get back in the pool, too, to get through that first part of the triathlon. Connecting with you all here is going to help keep me training during the short, cold, dark days. I did my weights routine for the first time in a long time two days ago, then ran a frigid 8K Turkey Trot yesterday. Believe me, I was sore today! But I'm going to the Y to do some climbing type stuff--work on the hamstrings and glutes. I feel like I'm always on the verge of stopping all together. While I now believe that I can be an athlete (am an athlete), I still don't believe that I'm not going to quit. If I don't do it today, will I do it tomorrow? The biking helps it all hang together. I'm so glad for you, too. Take care, Lise

[Nanci]

Lise, As far as I can tell, a Brevet is a longer ride, starting at 200k, that goes up in monthly steps, 200k, 300k, 400k, 600k, which can be used to qualify for some sort of other race. There is a time limit- for 200k, in FL, that seems to be 13.5 hours. It sounds like plenty of time... The ride is unsupported, but there are check points that you go through and get your card stamped to prove that you were there, as well as secret check points, so you can't cut the course.

In FL, there are several 200k Brevets, as well as two or three series of increasing distances. I can't imagine, at this time, 300k, so I will do 200k and see what happens...

Nanci

[Lise]

Lise, As far as I can tell, a Brevet is a longer ride, starting at 200k, that goes up in monthly steps, 200k, 300k, 400k, 600k, which can be used to qualify for some sort of other race. There is a time limit- for 200k, in FL, that seems to be 13.5 hours. It sounds like plenty of time... The ride is unsupported, but there are check points that you go through and get your card stamped to prove that you were there, as well as secret check points, so you can't cut the course.

In FL, there are several 200k Brevets, as well as two or three series of increasing distances. I can't imagine, at this time, 300k, so I will do 200k and see what happens...

Nanci

Huh. Thanks for explaining it. Another world I know nothing about. 200k is a long ways, but you're an endurance gal. What slays me is that's essentially the bike portion of an Ironman tri. Hey, wanna run a marathon right after? I did my first 100K this summer. At about mile 50, I decided I had to get a lighter bike! I did it with a friend who was in great shape last summer, not so great this summer. We were both wiped by mile 50. Of course we finished, and as we dragged the bikes to the car, I said, "we could go run 13.1 miles now!" He would've hit me, but he was too tired. My goal is to do a 1/2 Ironman tri, so I need to get that tri bike and put in the miles next spring. Good luck with the Brevet. I look forward to learning more about it. Lise

[jobob]

Hi Lise & Nanci -

The Santa Cruz Randonneurs website has a good section explaining what randonneuring is all about.

http://pages.prodigy.net/scrandonneurs/whatis.html

here's an excerpt:

[...]
Randonneuring (rahn doe ner ing) is a type of long-distance cycling, not too different from a century or double-century ride. There are time limits for each distance, so it is best described as fast touring. Checkpoints along the way ensure the rider has followed the route in the prescribed time limits. If one finishes the route successfully, a numbered certificate (or brevet in French) is awarded, so these rides are often called "brevets". Riders of all abilities participate in brevets, just as happens on centuries and double-centuries. Randonneuring brevets are non-competitive events; one rides for the personal pride of having completed the distance within the time allowance, not from beating other riders to the finish line. Friendly camaraderie is a hallmark of randonneuring.
[...]

More details in the link.

Hope this helps, and perhaps piques your curiousity !
- Jo.