Bike Baby

I finally took the plunge and bought a new bike, a Trek hybrid. I took my first ride yesterday morning and discovered that my front brake has a squeak problem, so after I get that tuned up I plan on breaking her in well. This bike is a lot lighter than the one I have been riding, and the shifting and quick, I can't wait to get out on the trails.

Speaking of trails, I spent quite a bit of time on them this weekend sans two wheels. Pittsburgh's weather has formed a sort of summer / fall hybrid which is ideal for running. Friday I was full of energy and decided to hit North Park for a quick five mile loop and managed around an 8 minute mile the whole way. Speed work of a sort.

Sunday I planned for a long run, originally setting my sights on the Montour Trail. One of the main highlights of said trail is it's proximity to Ikea, and a post-run cinnamon roll from the Ikea cafe (one of my favorite treats). Unfortunately, construction season in Pittsburgh made it likely that I would spend a good bit of time sitting in traffic and I decided to scale back and run local. I settled on a Lawrenceville loop, running along the North Shore trail out to the 62nd Street bridge then back into town on the city streets. I ran at a leisurely pace, stopping once to fuel up on chocolate gu left over from last year (note to self: buy more gu). The loop took me a little under two hours, and I capped it off with the remnants of a pint of Chunky Monkey and an episode of the Wire. Good times. This week I plan on some more speed work to prepare for the Run Around the Square and some shorter runs around town.