Doubled up the run

My cardio plan for the day started off as a 5k run followed by 20k on the bike. It's always nice to have a plan and even nicer to know nothing is set in stone. At the 2.75k mark, where I usually turn to make my usual 5k out and back circuit, I was feeling so good that I wanted to go to 4k before turning around and heading back. At 4k, I decided to go to 5k before turning back.

My run ended up being 10k total in 60 minutes and change. That's got to be enough for one day...

I decided adding the bike ride on top of the run would probably be a bit too much on my legs at this time. Since I've only been riding since mid-February and have only recently been able to get back to running, I'm a bit cautious/concerned of causing any more injuries to myself. It seems that the past times that I've set long run goals, I end up with some injury that prevents me from running for a few months and then I never get back into again. The last injury was in December when I was running home from work, about 8k, a few times a week. It wasn't until February that I tried another run and I could still feel the injury in a big way. That's when I decided to give the bike a try.

Now I am riding the bike to and from work each day and try to add in a few lunch hour rides, just for fun. I am really glad that I added the bike to my day. Now, my runs are much stronger and faster than they have ever been in the past and I know that if I have a hard running or biking session one day, I can still ride the bike the next day and just take it easy. So now I am both running and biking, within the same day, and loving the fitness level I never thought I'd achieve when I was only running. I know these activities work different muscle sets and that this cross-training is a great combo to increase performance for each, but I guess I just have to prove things to myself before the knowledge really sinks in.

Since I was feeling oh so good after doing 10k, I started pondering finding a half-marathon later in the year that I could do and not interfere with my wife's (Debra) schedule. Wouldn't you know it, not an hour after my pondering commenced, she asked me if I wanted to do the 23k trail run that our son's (Ashton) school sponsors to raise funds for for the Stellenbosch Community Development Programme in South Africa (officially called the "Jabulani Challenge"). The suggestion couldn't have come at a better time and I am now signed up for my first half-marathon + 2k!