We had a much needed and long overdue break in the weather yesterday. For the first time since we started doing our long rides in February, I started out a ride with two layers and finished with one-and bare arms. I thought about removing my leg warmers, but I had not thought about sunscreen (besides the fact, I would have blinded my entire team, AND the drivers coming up and down Hwy 16). I was SO thankful to have warmth and sun rather than rain and wind.
We started in Eagle and rode to Middleton, where we all gathered up and had a water and bathroom break. As we took off again, one of our team had an issue with his tire. He pulled over and started to fix it. The guys stayed behind and helped, and the gals decided that the guys would catch up quickly, so we kept moving. We got to Purple Sage and Blessinger where the “Shoot Me Now” hill (written about in my blog on 6/27/10) is. I stopped and looked down the hill, thinking “If Brad were with us, he’d probably make us all go down it and back up.” Jen said that she would come if I went, while Brandee and Macey said they would wait for us. Down the hill I went (I have a hard time resisting the down-it’s the up that gets me) Jen following close behind. When we turned around, I was thinking, “Why oh WHY did I decide to do this?!?!?! I hope I don’t regret it later in the ride.” (I didn’t.) Jen powered on up past me, and I settled back for the ride. Getting to the top, I pulled over for a rest, seeing that a couple of others in our group had caught up with us. It didn’t take long before we were back on track and headed on to finish our ride.
Back at the car, I felt better than I have after any long ride. A lot of it had to do with what I’m eating and drinking. I’ve discovered that I’m not doing enough of that. Asst. Coach Daniel sent out an email earlier this week, telling what he was going to eat and drink before, during and after the ride, so I tried something similar. I know I didn’t eat as many calories, still, as I should have, or drink as much as I should have, but I did eat and drink more than I ever had, and felt really good-and recovery time after the ride was much faster. I didn’t feel like I had to lie around on the couch all day. In fact, I took my pooch for close to a 3-mile walk yesterday evening. Aaaah, what a difference.
43.6 miles
2 hours 47 minutes.
15.5 Average Speed. (my fastest average speed for a ride so far)
35.4 Max Speed. (only because of the “shoot me now hill”
Total Miles on my bike: 1265.9
Sounds like you got the eating and drinking down...and WAY TO GO on the extra hill!
ReplyDeleteHi Julie,
ReplyDeleteI am sitting looking out a window at a lake in North Carolina and enjoying the peace and tranquility of getting up earlier than everyone else. It gave me the opportunity to read your blog. I am so looking forward to riding with you again in Tahoe!
I really enjoy reading your blog. I can tell you from past experience that the spinning will make a big difference in your overall biking performance! My first year of SCC I did almost all of my training on a spin bike since it was summer and the girls were not in school all day, and it was my strongest performance ever!!
Hoping to get a chance to ride on Saturday sometime, but so happy that Brad and Allison are able to ride during the week so I don't have to go alone anymore.