So-called bricks

64 miles bike, 2 miles run, 2.5 miles bike

This is what I did today. I have read a post by Running, Tri-ing and Living and got inspired.
It sounds so challenging, hard, dreadful, sweaty...I needed to try that!!!! I wanted to know how running feels after more than 60 miles on a bike.

No judging please. I know that Running, Tri-ing and Living is hard-core training for a Half Ironman race at the end of August and I am not and one should never do anything what more advanced people do. But I do not have any responsibilities, so I can do silly things.

So 64 miles on bike followed by a 2 mile run it was. I did 34 miles out and back on a trail and headed directly to the track to do a run.
1-4 miles: on streets to get to Clinton river trail
5-10: Clinton river trail- fine gravel
10-22: Macomb Orchard trail- paved part. Amazing.
23-32: Macomb Orchard trail- unpaved part. This was horrible. It was pretty large gravel and so hard to bike on it. Like running in sand. I biked like crazy but did not move forward. And I could not do any sudden movements because then bike would just go where it wanted to go not where I wanted it to go.
33-34: Macomb Orchard trail- paved part. There was the end of the trail. I refilled my water bottle and turned around feeling pretty good, starting to get hungry.
Unpaved part again, followed by the paved one where I felt like FLYING! After hard and useless effort on gravel, it felt awesome to be on a pavement again.
I left the trail after 61 miles to go the track. And there was a hill. It is no biggie usually, but after 61 miles...I kept telling myself: "Com'n, only 2 more miles and you can get off this torture machine (aka bike) and run for a bit". Man, that's comforting...

I was really thirsty by the time I got to the track. But I can do it! I started very slowly, you know jello legs... But it got much better after two laps. First mile was at around 8:30ish place, 2nd at 8 min pace. I felt pretty good (except for being thirsty and hungry) but I am not sure for how long I would be able to continue like that (definitely not for another 11 miles).

Too bad I had to bike another 2,5 miles to my place but it was ok. My legs kinda loosened up during the run.

I got home, ate (more peanut butter that anyone would consider healthy), showered and went to the pool. I did not swim, I just splashed around to loosen up quads and neck muscles (they are killing me on this stupid bike)

Things I have learnt today:
1, I need more water here that I needed in Europe. Back there I was able to run 20 miles without drinking anything. Here I cannot even bike 20 miles without drinking. Humidity...

2, Something does not sit right in that bottom bracket. Last weekend when I was biking there were couple pretty bad noises and I though that it is breaking down completely. But then I realized next day that those noises disappeared. Until today. I had to stop and then start biking again and the bike was on a high gear and as I started peddaling and there was one loud noise and then popping noises started again. So annoying. So now, I need to try to do something so it falls into place again.

3, Next time I decide to do something this silly I will take at least a banana with me. I am sure that my poor body fed on my poor muscles to get energy. But since I do not have any eating self-control I know I would have eaten that banana after 4 miles and end up starving anyway. All I could think about last 20 miles was what I was going to eat when I get home. I constructed a meal in my head: tuna sandwich, banana milk shake and nectarine with peanut butter. I ate those tuna sandwiches and nectarine with peanut butter but after I drank 3 glasses of mixed mineral water, tap water and orange juice I had no desire to drink anything else.

All in all, it was fun and I might try that again. Maybe I will even start training for a triathlon in a near feature:)