Long ride moved to Wednesday

BIKE: 3:35, about 62 miles

Here's a good example of how obsessive I am. (There is a joke that "obsessive" is the word that lazy people use to describe dedication in people like me, but let's leave that aside for now. This was obsessive). I knew that going to IM Louisville this coming weekend would screw with my schedule, and that my long ride would have to be moved to the middle of the week. Regardless of the best intentions, bringing the bike to KY with the plan to get a long ride in was a bad idea. It just wouldn't happen.

So the plan was to put the long ride (only 4.5 hrs) in with the Weds group ride. Leave work early to get the hours in. Well leaving work early didn't really happen (it never really does) and by the time I was ready to ride 4.5 hours would have put me in the dark. Leaving immediately meant riding in town, with stoplights and cars, and the goal of the ride was a long steady effort. Driving to the open road would have reduced my ride time, so even though the effort might be steady it would be short. What to do, what to do?

At first I was disgusted with my decision--ride indoors doing long 30+ min intervals. Say what?!?!? It's f'ing GORGEOUS outside!! But the sun was already on its way down and the clock was ticking. So up to the trainer I went. Besides, a trainer ride is more efficient than an outdoor ride because the ride doesn't stop for lights, rests, etc, and so I wouldn't have to ride the full 4.5 hrs to get the full benefit.

In the end it was a good idea. It hurt. It was boring. I hated it. But 2.75 hours in I realized that IM could hurt the same way, and I wasn't going to quit that. This became a test. My feet were getting pinched. My butt was sore. My shoulders were aching. How much could I hurt and how bored could I get without stopping? Turns out quite a bit. I quit only after 3.5 hours, and only after I went past 3.5 hours for good measure.

I'm still feeling good energy-wise, but getting that burned out feeling. I need to get some high intensity speedwork in to clear the carbon residue off the spark plugs, so to speak.