First of all, the weather was beautiful. The temperature was in the 70's with the sun shining and a slight breeze. I could not have asked for more. In order to be able to ride 15 miles to the pool I had to drive, from my house, about 10 miles further away from the pool. I was motivated by the challenge of this workout and also excited about the weather. What's more was that I was using my new fancy backpack for the first time. I purchased the backpack because the bike bags I have will not provide enough room for the gear I will need to bring on the ride across the country. Today, though, it was carrying my towel, suit, and goggles.
It has been more than a week since my last ride, but I felt great. I was going fast. I was never below 13 mph on the climbs and was able to hold 20-22 mph in the flats. I was cruising and not very concerned with how my legs would hold up during the swim and ride back. I was surprised at how easily I kept the pace up. I wanted to see how high I could get that average speed. I completed the 15 miles in just under 50 minutes with an average speed of 18.3 mph.
Before swimming I quickly downed 48 ounces of water. The cool temperature of the water in the pool felt great. The 1,000 yard warm up was no problem. Yet, not longer after that, both my quads were cramping up. Oh, no. Everytime I straightened out my leg the muscles right above my knees would immediately cramp up. I was pushing myself, that's for sure.
I completed the 3,000 yard workout in an hour but had some slight concerns with how this ride was going to go. I wolfed a couple of peanut butter Powerbars (they taste pretty good when you are really hungry) and got back on my bike to finish my swim sandwich.
My strategy was to try to keep my cadence high so that I wouldn't strain the muscles in my legs by pushing too hard. The ride back starts out flat and then the last 5 miles are hilly. However, the flatness was not going to be as easy as I hoped. There was quite a headwind. My legs were in no shape to fight it so all I could do was shift down and keep my feet spinning furiously. I felt fine, but was not going very fast. I hovered right around 15 mph. For the first 10 miles, all I was thinking about were the hills that I was going to have to get up.
I have mentioned this hill in my blogs before. Every time I climb it I am exhausted at the top. However, I have never had to walk my bike up it. I was not going to end that streak today. The entire climb I was in my lowest gear. At the steepest part, right in the middle of the hill, that gear was not low enough. I was out of the saddle and was pushing with all my might just to get the pedals to go around one more time. Since I was out of the saddle my legs were now straightening at the bottom causing my thigh muscles to cramp up. Fortunately, there were no people walking on the path nearby because I was making some noises from all my exertion that would've been quite alarming (and yes, pretty funny). Despite the cramping legs I made it over the top! The streak goes on!
After that climb my confidence was soaring. There were other hills that slowed me to a crawl but I was not going to let those make me walk after I had climbed the largest one. I finished the second 15 mile ride in about an hour. I was very happy with the whole workout.
See how happy I am?
Notice the new fancy backpack?
Unfortunately, the post does not end here. In order for me to fit Blue in the Camry I am posing in front of, I have to remove the front wheel. Today was no different and after I removed the wheel I leaned it against the front of the car and proceeded to pack everything else up. The ride home was wonderful, lasting 30 minutes as I went through the park with no radio on, the windows cracked, watching a beautiful sunset and relishing in my accomplishment for the day.
I pulled in the driveway and began unloading my gear. My legs felt rubbery and I was looking forward to consuming a large quantity of food as soon as I got my bike out of the car. Then, I was snapped out of my post-workout/hunger daze when I realized that I had left something where I had parked my car! My front wheel! Having no other choice, I jumped back in the car and sped back to where I had just come from. This time, the drive only took about 20 minutes.
When I reached the parking lot, I was very happy to see this:
Phew!
By placing the wheel on the front of my car, I did not notice it as I backed out of the parking spot. I'm never going to forget that again!
Depsite my memory lapse and the extra driving it caused, it was a wonderful training day. I hope to have some more of those this weekend.
life = good
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