Back to training

Its been a long time since I ran or cycled. Yesterday I went for a 2-lap cycling ride(3.5 kms/lap) but couldn't do more then a lap. Frustrated, I went to the stadium and did 3-4 400m sprints. Was satisfied that I could atleast stride well, though was exhausted thoroughly after the sprints.
Keeping a long-postponed cycling trip in mind, I went for another training ride in the insti today. The ride was 6 laps(3.5 km/lap) of gc-gate-gc, totalling 21kms. The splits for the ride are as follows:

LAP NO.......CUMULATIVE TIME.........TIME/LAP(mins)
1....................7:35........................................7:35
2....................15:42......................................8:07
3....................22:42......................................7:00
4....................30:13......................................7:31
5....................38:42......................................7:29
6....................44:44......................................7:00

Average speed/lap: 28.125 kmph, Maximum speed/lap: 30kmph


Going for a training ride after yesterdays sprints in the stadium was a bad idea, but since this is cycling, it is less punishing than running if you train arbitrarily. In running you simply cannot do three consecutive hard days(sprints/tempo runs/long runs) without the body collapsing into knee or shin injuries.
Anyway, going into the first lap of cycling, I was testing the waters, looking to see how tight my thigh muscles were and adjusting my speed accordingly. The second lap was a little awful as I wasn't still warmed up. The third lap was one of the better laps as I was cycling in rhythm and feeling good. Fourth and fifth laps were a little slog ones and the sixth lap was fast because I wanted to get it done with.
I have never cycled more than 2 laps at a stretch inside the insti and hence didn't realise that the badly patched up roads at some places affected my rhythm and the speed breakers, they just slow you down big time. Over 6 laps, the quality of the road plays a big role in the riding experience and no wonder expressways and highways that provide the rider with exclusive space(shoulders) and smooth stretches of roads are too good to resist.