Not Cross (Yet), Just Training

My training schedule says that Thursday is cross-training day, which can be anything from lifting weights (which I translate to mean Pilates) to biking to swimming--something exercisey without a lot of impact. The last time I rode my bike, the front tire popped, which was exactly as dramatic as it sounds. My dad is a big cyclist ("big" here modifies "cyclist," not "dad," because my dad is not big), and so he managed to patch the tube inside the tire (I didn't even know there was a tube inside the tire), which enabled me to make it back to where we started. But considering that I got that bike, a blue Schwinn Mirada of which I couldn't find a picture online (although it is mentioned in the Vintage Bicycle Discussion Area), around the time of my Bat Mitzvah and am now pushing 30 and have never replaced the tires...the time has probably come. I rode it (nice patch job, Dad!) to Dixon's Bicycle Shop, six blocks away on Union St. If you followed that link, you'll notice that Dixon's did not get terrific reviews--no bike shop around here seems to--but it's so dang close to home. They were perfectly nice to me, said they'd give Schwinny a couple of new tires and tubes and a tune-up, and told me to come back for her in a few days. So I'll have the old girl back in working order soon, but it doesn't count as 45-60 minutes of cross-training until I actually ride her for that long.

I ended up borrowing Nick's bike, and was somehow able to ride it without lowering the seat (couldn't figure out--nay, find--the quick-release mechanism). I did, however, end up having to French-cuff the right side of my jeans à la middle school (see picture at right) because the flare of the circa-2006 pair I was wearing kept getting wrapped around the gear. I tooled around Prospect Park and through the neighborhood, probably the slowest biker on the road, for juuust about 45 minutes. Too bad I can't listen to my iPod while I bike; Ms. Nikepants would have been more than happy to keep me on track timewise.

Today, like all Mondays and Fridays, is a rest day. Nice. Four days of walking, one of cross-training, and two of rest per week. Seems totally reasonable...at least for now. Eventually (say, Saturday of Week 14, when I'm slated to walk 18 miles), I'm guessing that reason will seem to have slipped by the wayside. But I'm thinking--hoping, really--that it will feel like a manageable step by then. My book says that the workouts during the week are for frequency and intensity, and the ones over the weekend (Saturday in particular) are for distance and endurance. Speaking of books, I just ordered this one on the left from Amazon. I'm looking forward to having some guidance specifically for marathon walking, rather than only resources intended for runners that acknowledge that "oh, yeah, some people walk" or refer to walking as what runners do when they can't keep their pace up. I'll report back on the book once it gets here on Tuesday.