Workout Recovery and Thoughts on Fun

Amidst a 20 mile Friday morning bike ride, five miles from my destination I crossed paths with a little elementary school boy. He was walking on the neighboring sidewalk. The air was cool and crisp, the wind was bracing, and I was pedaling too furiously too appreciate the full bloom of spring. I’ve crossed paths with the boy before; he usually waves hello.

“Cool bike!” he yelled out to me that morning. “Yeah,” I said. The line was my homage to the movie Dredd. The film’s protagonist and ultimate badass has a moment when his panicked assistant warns him: “Sir, I think he’s going for your gun,” referring to a villain plotting to overtake Dredd. Dredd calmly replies, “Yeah.”

I’ve found my mileage from both cycling and running increasing. The mileage has been enough to tax the body more than usual. I rode most of Friday’s 40 total cycling miles with a high intensity and elevated heartrate. My legs felt like mush Friday night.

I’m nearing age 37. I can assume that I recover pretty fast for my age. I recover fast enough that I can comfortably bike around 200 miles in a week, run more than 30 miles each a week, and still feel pretty fresh (I had two of the best runs of my life on Saturday and Sunday). Then again, when approaching mileage this high, one has to take measures to maximize recovery. Sleep and diet play a more integral role in how I feel the next day.

I’ve stopped my “intermittent fasting.” After that 20-mile Friday morning ride, for example, I needed protein. Intermittent fasting is great for weight loss. While engaged in high endurance activities, however, I find it difficult to manage a time-restricted feeding window.

A final unrelated note: I find myself sitting here on a Monday afternoon and thinking about “fun.” I have fun riding a bicycle regardless of my speed or my effort. I enjoy it enough to find every daily excuse I can for a bike ride. That said, there is an element of danger to it that’s both disconcerting and adrenaline-inducing. I was hit by a car last year. That hit stripped away my naive sense of invincibility. I carry a sense of dread, however small, each time I bike commute on a road. I am a finite being and brutally exposed as mortal on the road. Cyclists die on the road every year. A lot of managing the hobby is therefore also a matter of mitigating risk. This is a tough balance. Going outside at all requires risk, and life’s too short to spend indoors.

I have fun running because it’s a physical activity that, despite my age, I’m constantly improving. Improvement makes anything fun. I’m also 37 and I’d be delusional to think that I’ll constantly improve my running speed forever. Following the inevitable peak, what will I do to remove the monotony of running long distances? I’d need new routes, new trails, and new challenges. I’d need to run in new places, under new elements, and in new terrain. And therefore a sense of fun is aided by, again, an increased sense danger. Running along a mountain is more fun than running on a treadmill (I don’t run on treadmills anyways).

There is a razor’s edge one walks when balancing fun and longevity. I don’t know if we ever walk it perfectly balanced.

Fall Cycling : Vest Test Run

On Sunday morning I cycled along a section of the Riverfront Trail, which runs alongside the Mississippi River. I started at the south entrance, which I entered by maneuvering through downtown and crossing Broadway Street (a slightly dangerous lane due to its traffic… currently searching for alternative routes).

I started the ride wearing some thermal base layers, a fleece, a cycling vest, and some liner gloves (approximately 48 degrees F/ 8.9 degrees C). Due to the high intensity and the lack of stops my body heated quickly. The fleece’s hood had to be pulled off and the vest unzipped. It was a fun and sweaty ride.

I took the ride to test a new cycling vest from Mission Workshop. Lightweight but insulated, it was excellent for maintaining warmth without overheating. It also looks nice.

It was also a relatively brief ride; I went about 12 miles (19 km) north before circling back around (24 miles total). My primary thought was that it’s amazing how beautiful something organic can be shortly before its death (note the assemblage of fall leaf colors that dot the landscape, cling to the trees, and dance in the wind.

Some photos from the apex of the ride, at North Riverfront Park:

A rare warm front hit Sunday afternoon. It was likely the last day “tee shirt day” of the year. I spent the afternoon outside at several Augusta wineries (Montelle and Blumenhoff). The mood was festive, yet serene:

I slept better (in spite of a day spent guzzling wine and coffee) than I had in weeks. To me it underscored the importance of sunlight, of movement, and of joy.

Regarding minimalism, it was also a reminder that “possessions” are not my enemy: mindless consumerism is. My bicycle allowed me to race for miles along the Mississippi River. My vest and fleece kept me warm for the journey. It’s therefore my “stuff” that allows me to enjoy my hobby outside in conditions that I’d otherwise freeze in.

Patches of the Riverfront Trail involved a gravel road (my road bike was barely equipped for it). This has me on the hunt for a solid gravel bike. Not because I “want to buy more stuff”, but because I want a solid bicycle that can handle gravel.

Cycling is a hobby, and hobbies often involve ownership of material things (but they don’t have to be expensive material things). I don’t believe in “purchasing nothing” so much as I believe in “purchasing wisely”.