BIKE: 38 miles in 2:40
The rain overnight was wonderful--the temps cooled off to 74F! But the roads were wet, so there was some uncertainty with that. We had a route picked out called The 5 Ugly Sisters. It didn't take a lot to realize that the Sisters = Hills. Really, what else could they be referring to?
We packed up and got started around 8am. Turns out that even though there was no shoulder the roads were freshly paved (like in Brand New paved) and incredibly lightly traveled. There were so few cars...I've never seen so few cars and so few stop signs! Combined with the foggy conditions, clouds, light rain....sort of like a dream. So quiet... :)
The first 15 miles or so were pretty flat. We kept wondering where the sisters were, in the meantime we formed a fast paceline varying between 18-28mph. Couldn't have picked a better group to share this ride with--everyone was strong, confident, loving the challenge, and just buzzing along.
Then we hit the hills. And OMG the hills. Beautiful! And amazing! And OMG Steep!! And I think there were more than 5! I grabbed this pict at the top of one that shows the valleys under a long winding road through the trees.
As much as I love climbing, I'm a descending chicken. If I can see the road out in front of me then I'm OK. But a winding, turny, unfamiliar road scares me enough to keep on the brakes a bit. So I was dropped on the downhills, continuously scrubbing off speed until I got a clear shot of the roadway. And for the next 12 or so miles, that's all it was. These weren't like yesterday's climbs of the long slow variety. These were Babler x 10. Long, steep, Standing-In-The-Granny climbs. Wonderful for SavageMan! Over and over and over :)
My legs were taking this all OK, they had lost a bit of snap after yesterday but still managed to rock up these hills without failing. But I was getting tired. I could tell too that I wasn't eating enough--at one point I just didn't care. Gel! With Caffeine!
We ended strong and just in time before it just got painful. EK and MK went for a 2hr run, while LC AG and I went for Fro-Yo. I knew I should run, but I didn't want to or need to.
What a whirlwind of a weekend! (and I get to do it again next weekend in Louisville!). Things I learned:
1. Recovery is a lot different for me than it is for the others. They eat, shower, nap. I tend to eat, shower, work. Really, I don't rest after a big ride. I work, either at lab or on the house or on club duties. Resting is nice, but I felt like I was being lazy. This was good for me to experience!
2. I need more food variety. Even over this weekend I tended to stick to my same 20 or so favorite foods. I think I'd like food more if I had variety.
3. I'm capable of some pretty vicious hill climbing on Frea. So am I taking Bird or Frea to Maryland?
4. I'm no more or less crazy than my training buddies. We all have our limits, goals, strengths, and weaknesses. And they are all different and just taken in stride. I loved that part of this--that we can all do something different (distance or time or sport) but still be strong and comfortable with ourselves. No comparing or whining about it. LOVED that.
5. I'm in a good spot training wise. I'm tired but still buzzing along. It really helped to leave behind work and club duties. I'm amazed at how caught up in those activities I can get, how diverting and draining it can be. I learned that I can focus on what I'm doing and enjoy it.
And so now I'm finally caught up on last week. Wish I had put more time into some of this week's logs, but just busy.
The numerics:
Planned hours: 13:40 Actual hours: 12:32
SWIM 4001 y in 2.08 hours
BIKE 94.12 miles in 6.7 hours
RUN 21.1 miles in 3.4 hours
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