Today was Memorial Day (or Decoration Day if you want to be old school). That means that Jennie and I got the day off of work. After a completely relaxing day yesterday, we got a out a bit today to enjoy the weather.
I started the morning off with a bike ride through Cascade and Ada. Just like my ride to Grand Haven, there was a pretty stiff wind – this time out of the East though. Thankfully, this time I was going in a loop so I got to take advantage of the wind for half of the ride. Despite the wind and hills, this turned out to be one of my best rides of the season. I averaged 18.2mph over 27 miles (a 3:18 pace).
I started off by heading up to Reeds Lake and then swinging out to Cascade. Then I headed up along the Thornapple River towards Ada. I think this is actually the first time I have circled Cascade this way. Usually, I head though Ada first and then end up in Cascade. After going through Ada, I cruised up and down the hills on Fulton. These are some of the toughest hills in Grand Rapids and also part of the Reeds Lake Triathlon, so they are good practice.
The Fulton hills start about 17 miles into the ride.
Shortly after the hills, I looked back and there was another rider behind me. I am still unsure on what the proper etiquette is for passing and what not. However, it really bugs me when some gets behind me and then doesn’t pass. I didn’t want to change up my pace because I was feeling pretty good and figured that if was able to catch up to me, he should be able to pass. I did slow down a bit to take a glug of water and he still didn’t pass. He eventually passed by me about 4 miles later and said “hi” as he went by. I was expecting him to thank me for providing a draft for him…. grrrrr. I finished the ride by circling Reeds Lake with another climb at the end.
After the bike ride and some lunch, Jennie and I loaded up the kayaks and took them up to Reeds Lake. It was almost too windy to kayak and we got pretty wet because of all the waves. The sailboats seemed to be enjoying the wind though. It was a fairly short trip over to the turtle cove and then back, but fun nonetheless.
Finally, to cap off the day of exercise, I headed out for a 4 mile run with Jennie on the bike. Despite the other activities of the day, I still managed 7:36 miles through East Grand Rapids. Sunburst is less than 2 weeks away so my training schedule is pretty light for the next week. I am hopefully going to supplement the lightened load with some extra swimming and biking. That way, I give my legs a rest from the impact of running, but also keep up my cardio workout.
