July 24, 2020

Bike Riding vs. Walking

I had a successful Day 4 of 75 Hard. I can't believe I've made it this far, to be honest!

To give my shin splints a rest, I decided to go for a bike ride in the morning instead of walking. I immediately felt like turning around and doing the walking instead. My "butt bones" hurt so bad from sitting on the bike seat! I kept going, though, hoping it would subside (it didn't--I just hope that I'll get used to it eventually and it'll stop hurting).


If I'd noticed the 6.99 miles before I arrived home, I would've gone a touch farther to hit 7.00--I'm sure that number will bug some of you, haha ;)

Anyway, I found it interesting during each of my (two) bike rides in the past four days that my heart rate is higher when riding my bike than it gets when I walk. In fact, riding my bike puts me right in my MAF heart rate training zone (132-142 bpm).

I never would have thought that to be the case. Biking feels easier to me than walking as fast as my legs will go. When I walk really fast, I can dip into my MAF zone, but it's super uncomfortable and makes the walk not very enjoyable. I have to be very conscious of it. When I ride my bike at a comfortable pace (I keep it on a low speed while in the neighborhoods because I have to pedal more rotations to gain momentum--but it still keeps me slow enough for "neighborhood riding".)

I wanted to find the details on Garmin Connect for my heart rate from yesterday as comparison, but Garmin's app has been "down for maintenance" for 24 hours now. I haven't been able to upload my workouts.

If my butt would quit hurting, I'd like to bike ride more often... maybe one walk a day and one bike ride a day for my 75 Hard challenge. I feel like being in my MAF heart rate zone while intermittent fasting is going to be the most efficient way to burn fat.

Speaking of, the intermittent fasting is getting easier, too. I found that, since I eat a large meal to break the fast and follow it with decaf coffee (with cream) and a snack or dessert of some sort, I'm full enough that I don't even want to eat again for the rest of the evening. Since I eat at 4:00 pm, it's really interesting to me that I don't even have the desire to eat in the evenings--whereas, before, I would snack up until it was time to go to bed. I never felt satisfied. Now I do.

(And yesterday, the kids made cheesecake brownies--I didn't even have a tiny bit of longing to eat one. It didn't even sound good. Very odd for me!)

For my second workout yesterday, I went for a walk in an unfamiliar area (to walk in, at least--I know it well by car). Noah had an appointment and I had an hour to kill, so I killed two birds with one stone--I walked to Lowe's, bought the wood filler I needed, and then walked back to my car. I still had about 15 minutes to go (I'd stopped my watch for the 10 minutes I was in Lowe's), so I just did an out and back from the car.

The timing worked out perfectly--ordinarily, I would have just sat in the car (the waiting room was closed because of COVID). So, it felt good to get the walk done without it even disrupting my day at all.

The walk was totally different from what I'm used to. I live in a very rural area, and I'm not used to busy roads. Walking along this road was a little scary! There was a sidewalk, but the cars were going fast and felt so close. It felt cool to experience a change of scenery, though. I noticed my pace was faster without trying to go faster--it just naturally happened because I was out of my element. My first mile was about 16:00-ish, if I remember correctly.




This 75 Hard challenge has really helped get me into a routine. As I've said many times, I thrive on routine--especially considering I have bipolar disorder. Who knows what will happen when the kids go back to school and my routine changes again, but for now, I feel like I'm back in control. Something I haven't felt in a long time!

I'm really glad that Adam asked me to do this challenge with him. I'm ready to start Day 5--I'm going to take Eli to a fishing area and go for a walk while he fishes.

7 comments:

  1. I find biking (in my case spin) to be the hardest workout that I do. It gets my heart rate so high. I have trouble with my knee, and biking is the only cardio that is easy on the joints (besides swimming). If your butt is hurting invest in some good biking shorts or capris and a nice gel cover for your bike seat. I bruised my tailbone so bad last year from the bike seat, I had to sit on a special pillow to work at my desk. I normally (not during pandemic) take 3 spin classes a week.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have a Peloton so I ride a lot, but inside. I bought bike shorts on Amazon that really helped with the soreness. If you enjoy biking, look into the Peloton. It’s changed my fitness!

    ReplyDelete
  3. The rumor is that Garmin fell victim to ransomware. They’re likely down for a bit - ugh!

    ReplyDelete
  4. When I first got my bike, I think it took 1.5 weeks for my sit bones to stop hurting!!! That pain is REAL!!!! Once you adjust, you'll be fine! Just let them heal, like you are. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. For better bike riding two words: chamois butter. Seriously it's a game changer.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have a few suggestions for your sore seat muscles. First, as Jamie said, bike shorts really do help! You feel like you are wearing a diaper when you are walking around, but they are so helpful. Second, you might consider taking your bike into a bike shop and having it professionally fitted to you. Doing small things like changing the angle of the seat can have a big impact on your comfort. Third, they sell women specific bike seats that are cushioned in different areas to help support our different anatomy. Again, a bike store should have those or be able to order some. I hope that you are able to figure out a way to make this more enjoyable for yourself! Good job on sticking to your challenge. I think it is impressive.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Agree on the bike shorts it makes a big difference!

    ReplyDelete

I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

Featured Posts

Blog Archive