0 Ditch The Car.......Hit the Road

The traffic in Melbourne sucks. Anyone who drives to work in this city knows the pain of being stuck on one of our "freeways" or, god forbid, Punt or St Kilda Roads.  I've always been a fan of public transport.  It's ecologically responsible, cheap and usually pretty quick.  Unless you're in Melbourne!

I live about 8kms from my office, the route taking me along Brunswick St, past Edinburgh Gardens and down Collins St.  I used to sit on the tram for 45 mind numbingly boring minutes each way (plus the 8 minute walk to the tram stop), paying $8 for the privilege of having some disgustingly smelly stranger grinding me in an inappropriate way. This is assuming that the service isn't delayed or cancelled.

As an avid cyclist, I regularly ride to work, braving the aggressive drivers, non-existent bike lanes and terrible road surfaces.  However, I was finding that the 8km stop-start ride really wasn't giving me the workout that I needed so I kept finding more and more circuitous routes to work so that I could justify the effort of putting on Lycra.  As someone who enjoys triathlon, and endurance events, I need to get the most out of the limited time that I have to train.  Fitting in a proper training session before work can be challenging.  Which is why you should be combining your commute and your workout.

Twice a week I run the 8kms to work in the morning, and depending on my schedule for the week, I run home at least once.  The 8km distance is perfect for me to get in a decent tempo run, pushing myself a little harder every week as my fitness improves.  I am covering the distance in around 33 minutes and I have to say that it was with great delight that I realised my own legs are much quicker than taking the tram or getting in my car.  I get a guilty jolt of pleasure as I cruise past the cars and trams jammed bumper to bumper.

Two of the ladies in my office have recently started running home instead of taking the tram.  In the month since they started, both Jade and Rachel have raved about how "much fitter" they feel, the weight they've lost, and the clothes that they now fit into again.  The extra energy, physically and mentally, is evident to everyone in the office also.

Other than taking pleasure in other people's discomfort, let's take a look at the benefits of run commuting for me:

Time saved:

• Daily - 20 mins (run time vs tram or car)
• Weekly - 60 mins (3 runs a week)
• Annually - 52 hours!

Calories:

• Approx 600 per run
• Weekly - 1800 (3 runs a week)
• Annually -  93,600!

When you add the time saved by not having to workout at the gym or after work on the days that you run to work, you are looking at some fairly substantial time benefits to the busy athlete. On the other hand, if you are struggling to find time to fit in extra training sessions for an upcoming long course race, run commuting be the perfect way to increase your volume without risking your relationship or sacrificing sleep.

You could also be saving around a $1000 a year worth of petrol or train/tram/bus tickets!

Take a look around next time you're sitting in your car wondering if the cars in front of you will ever move again.  You may just notice a growing number of people taking advantage of the very real fitness and time benefits of run commuting.

0 Climbing Mountains...slowly

It's funny how things just come together sometimes.  I had to go to Nagambie today for work,  and at first I was not exactly ecstatic about the idea of three hours in the car, but then I started to think more creatively.  "Aren't there some great climbs up north of Melbourne?"  Damn right there are!!  So when I packed my car this morning, my bike and some super sexy lycra came with me.  After all, we're all time-poor and fitting a great workout into a work-day is the perfect way to save time, and enjoy work a whole lot more.

The township of Kinglake is about 60kms north of Melbourne.  A couple of years ago, devastating bushfires ripped through this area, and you can still clearly see the damage done.

Thanks to The Climbing Cyclist I knew exactly where to head to find the start of the famous Kinglake Climb.  With a length of 7.2kms, and with an average gradient of 4.8% this is not exactly the Alpe D'Huez but let's face it, for the average Joe this is a bit of a mission, achievable, but not exactly a walk in the park.

As you can see from the picture above, I couldn't have asked for better weather.  Bright, clear skies with only a hint of a breeze.  Mild temperatures, and with school holidays, barely a car on the road.

I was pretty excited to get cracking, and to be honest I probably went a bit hard in the first couple of kilometres.  I tried to stay above 20kmh but after 3.5kms, I was puffing like an old steam train and my legs were starting to complain.  Thankfully I was able to channel the great Jens Voigt disregard for physical discomfort and keep my cadence high.  The road surface is pretty good, although the roadway is very narrow, with no shoulder (be careful of cars).  As the road snaked upwards through a serious of tight turns, the pitch of the road tilts up further before a couple of false flats.

About 5kms into the climb I was starting to question why I do things like this, but the sight of another rider a couple of corners ahead of me was the boost I needed to push a bit harder over the last stretch, and before I knew it, the road was flattening out and I was at the top.

The great thing about climbing a mountain is getting to descend it afterwards.  I made the most of the clear roads and pushed hard on my way back down the hill.  Gravity is a wonderful thing, and I have to say that the descent was a LOT more fun than the ascent.

If you get the chance to make the trip to Kinglake, I'd highly recommend it.  The town is pretty, the view is amazing, and there are plenty of places to record your best time online! (Let's just say that I won't be challenging the record holders anytime soon).