Hey all, long time, no post. For those that have followed me on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, you know that I was injured at the end of June this year. It took some time to heal (and I purposely took off more time that I needed) and, in the meantime, I didn't just sit around and do nothing (Well, not everyday at least).
I moved to biking in July and started using my old road bike and my old mountain bike. I used to ride my road bike thousands of miles years back when I was in school. The injury was both a blessing and a curse. No running but lots of biking. And by the way, biking costs so much more!!!!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyiFEqoakItKOBTWe1oc1m34rWNI0ApcfBeeC9HlNY4y4Xfmlc9NVNnO4WRrHLJPDl9rjMDn4lmRvA8uWyFvvz1obyZO_Xbm_6fPDK3v9_1fUnoBMDxwxebCXaTr8eNJzKaK1u5ApL-SRU/s640/IMG_8280.jpg) |
My 25+ year old mountain bike |
I wanted to run again however this time I couldn't. Fortunately I fell back in love with biking and bought myself a cross bike. I figured I'd ride my old bike until I was sure I was going to get into biking again.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTEr-X4vGZTPIMMtuh0sROzQuX4Xh1IaEcEcZxj3U0ZGpMn5_2BFaBhaAZL2QBsXvhB5Sf-uPkf1djBq_U37EHM1g_dRQxwXxCS2qtrOgeft2EZpy7XhnXyqegTSknQUfTwpAMTbNP5mBk/s640/IMG_8495.jpg) |
Specialized Crosstrail - an awesome all around bike! |
I was able to get my endurance on the bike up to 50 miles and was pretty happy with that. I even rode to work in the Summer several times. Given the distance you need to cover on a bike to make it equivalent to a run, I got to explore some new places and some great trails and parks that I never would have seen from running. I even did a bike race as well as a tour this year for the first time and it was so fun!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7MvjMue-mIJRC5dcLceu3Y_T9opkn-GnaAjWZFjJ2zA0cRxdsTDwzevmjXlq1cpv4YrcA4Iz0402PIYL2XqArkGZ8kwn8gSoh9wq3OMAVx3tNPnzf77MYwfJL13oQIYf7Sj6U_W0SRJWf/s640/IMG_1576.jpg) |
Beat the Trail group ride - a 34 mile course through Detroit (and it's awesome) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSzrZNIUPRhVHiWnBC5dUnhgMQ4F96KKE47BQeFYQFV6V76EHnLL95PQ4ug8H6x8k81q1wdo8FOaRI9tj0Bi3g8MluVuNYMEqr_Equg5Tc3aNQE2pyhOrSt8CRFhbmH5wfe-w1nXkDSkZA/s640/IMG_8794.jpg) |
Tour De Troit - did this with a couple friends and was super fun |
Then I liked it so much, I decided to buy a Fat Bike. This was not only so that I could get back onto the trails that I loved running but also so I could bike all year long. I had a little mishap at the end of October and fell on the bike and bruised some ribs. Wow! It took me out for 4 weeks - no running or biking of any kind for the majority of November.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjymmML5GMm3nNPL-go6NnJ_EHkpHNZu8eDHdhnnSp-PCPE04OgsVwJ2OiAPdQigB62nJBt8wDEa5vjyiA5j5re_FSkZxMgAzbk5jBjbOeRsHpgJpLx0r0cs2iwyJBAQCertN9dSzUPFAxz/s640/IMG_9022.jpg) |
Addison Oaks mountain bike trails |
It's been quite an adventure but I love having the option of biking in the Winter. For those of you that have not tried it, it's really a fun sport riding on the snowy trails.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptmuzBJhmsdmQMCc0r-qjB5iqW9c4icX6RgVvC3gWETC_yvv3bwuQnCO06bMxYd-JEtwtwouBSDv3tqZSpflIZ5AIG9DUYSDBp-GCS2YC-g_fF13U-39rBk5zSNEaafOuJh5wq4XcJBL7/s640/IMG_0198.jpg) |
The Specialized Fatboy Fat Bike |
I also added snowshoeing into the mix to help do some cross-training. I really plan to focus more on cross-training this year to help keep me from injury. Not only is snowshoeing really fun, it's a great workout as well.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWft4vjV4cQAuo6Tf8ahskgwaVVqUSNHMVfc7Hc4Kcid5vb4ukVFm2sZktZWgZyZ2248VVo9uOaN6IYUfO3HQ-n4N6cmJ2nxs42h5McD76dzeExhyHUyss2G70tU7G2H0kQHVWzh_Txv8k/s640/IMG_0133.jpg) |
The snow has been plentiful for snowshoeing this season. |
Finally, I also got back to running but only December has been a little more regular. I've built back to about 3.5 miles per run and continue to get stronger everyday. I hope to be back to 100% by late Spring/Summer.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhLuPDgwEtxDthnri3We2krrXntHOoWHjje-FHfryvz6xMOt9roXNQN8Mt60JPQXWLeXPXIqkFr15NPOMK7WTGYcx4TmUjypE_nrN9rq_Tb5yVwLl2L6N98asRft0JC99Hc7Q7DVMFacIF/s640/IMG_0182.jpg) |
Finally some running too |
I ended my year with 1,442 miles on the bikes and 786 miles running. I'll take it for a year when injury was the theme. The best thing that came out of this was that I now have two primary sports to focus on for next year. Maybe I should start to swim?
My goal for 2018 is to get back to more regular running and get my distance back to the half marathon. I'll likely not run a marathon or longer distance again but I do love the challenge of the half marathon and I can do the training for this while still being able to ride the bikes regularly too. I've missed out on a lot of running races this year so hopefully I'll be back with a few reviews for some new races next season but we will have to see about that next year.
Hope you all had a great year. With my injuries, I'm very happy 2017 is over and am looking forward to a much better year in 2018.
Have a great day and.....Keep Running!!!! (and Biking!)