So, my friend Dan Leach lost all this weight and got on television. Click here to see the spot on Charlotte Today. What's cool is that Dan is my twin... well, not by blood or genetics, but look at the guy. He loses all this weight and then shaves his head and has that goatee. I'm beginning to think this is a requirement for loosing a lot of weight. You haven't truly completed your transformation until you're hairless with facial hair. Now the guy is a runner and encourages others to live a healthy lifestyle.
Well, geez, Dan, way to one-up me and get on TV!
In any case, I saw his status update on Facebook "GOOD MORNING! Let's go run 5K!!!! Oh, and then ride 19K!!!! And, um, then run another 3K? Wait, what was I thinking????" and decided that if we were really twins I needed to do something similar otherwise I'd be left out. And it worked out that my wife and I decided on some early Mother's Day and Father's Day gifts for each other... new bikes!
Neither of us has had a new bike for at least 20 + years, and my old bike is just barely hanging on- hers is really just scrap metal at this point. Since biking is great cross training for runners and a great way to get around without having to drive everywhere, we finally decided to invest a little in our future.
Another reason I wanted a new bike was that while I've been getting more into trail running, I don't like the idea that I am wasting a lot of my running time just getting to the trail head- and I hate that I need to drive to others. So, I've had it in my head for a long time that if I had a good bike, I could always ride to the trail head, run, then ride home. So, that's what I did today, and it was an awesome training experience.
One of the neat things about doing this is the mixed training aspect. I just combined cross training with running and the cool down was more cross training. What I did was to ride my bike 4 miles to the top of a very steep mountain. When I say very steep, the sloop gets as high as 22% grade and only goes as low as 7% grade and it doesn't let up at all until the top.
Once I got to the top, I locked my bike to a vehicle barrier and ran for 8 miles, then took my bike back home. After the incredible workout I got going up to the top of the mountain and started running, my first impression was that this was really a weird feeling. To go from bike muscles to running muscles is a challenging transition, but after a few miles, I got back into my running groove and everything felt fine. It is evident to me that this type of training is good all around. If I could just find a place to swim, then I could really be training for a triathlon... which is something I want to do someday.
Working out different muscle groups in the middle of a run is nothing new and is very much advisable. By working different muscles you better hone your support muscles and core muscles which help to prevent injury to joints, etc. It also keeps your body guessing what you'll do next, which burns more calories. It's just good training.
Now, back to my need to match my twin Dan. He started with a 5k which is 3.1 miles. I started with a 4 mile bike ride. He then did a 19k on his bike, which is approximately 12 miles. I ran 8 miles. Then he ran a 3k which is approximately 2 miles. I rode another 4 miles home. Grand total of miles... Dan, 17 miles; Me, 16 miles. Dan, you are the better twin and I am the inferior one... You one-upped me again... I'll get you next time!
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