Running, Biking and Warmer Temps

It was above 30* again this morning when I woke up for my run. Living in New England is definitely an exercise in relativity. Two months ago I wouldn't have even considered getting out of bed when I rolled over to see my window thermometer pointing to the blue zone. These days as long as it is somewhere above zero I can't wait to get out on the road because it's 'so warm out!' There as also been very little wind the past week or so which also helps keep temps up. After spending the recent winters in the Caribbean my stock of cold weather/warm running clothes has been seriously depleted. Thankfully Jules and I took a winter hiking trip to the Grand Canyon over New Years so I had two very good excuses to go shopping for some technical cold weather kit. Marshalls came through, as usual, and I found an awesome Saucony running hat, some Nike gloves with booger thumbs and some fleece lined tights and tops, all on clearance! Buying new gear is very close to the top of my ways to get motivated list.  Right under keeping a training journal blog!

With my new clothes and the spiking temperatures I have been celebrating the weather (or the fact that I've finally acclimatized to it) by running in the mornings and biking to and from work. The morning runs are ~3 miles with some hill work thrown in and the bike to work is 8.5 miles on pretty flat roads. Luckily my job doesn't require me to wear a business suit or to look (or smell) presentable at all so I can get away with arriving a little sweaty.
Doubling up with running and biking landed me in a conversation about running vs biking muscle groups, PRE (perceived rate of exertion) and AT (anaerobic threshold).  I have always maintained that biking is harder and therefore must use different muscles groups than the ones I have from running. I can run a marathon but I struggle on a bike for even a couple miles. I don't think anyone could say I have weak legs. My calves don't fit into boots or skinny jeans and my quads and butt dictate my jeans size more than my waist does! Don't get me wrong, I have always been proud of my runner's legs but what is the deal with biking? I was convinced that there must be some other muscle group that bikers develop. Apparently, I was wrong. A friend of mine tried to convince me that there was no secret biking muscle group, that you use your legs, just like running, to push a bike forward. So we both went home and did what anyone else would do to prove we were each right, GTS. According to this article on livestrong.com the same muscles are used, just in slightly different ways. Push vs pull and four stages in running to only two in cycling. This abstract points out that the PRE is higher and the VO2 max and AT happen earlier in biking, however, and that's why I feel so out of shape on a bike. Any cyclists feel the opposite is true when they hit the road running?

Either way, it's been a pretty great start to the week. Hopefully the weather holds through the week. Here's to lots of miles, get out there!