I had optimistically laid out everything last night in case my calf was feeling up to a ride today. I was pretty excited when I woke up feeling good. My calf was still a little tender but nothing to keep me from riding. So off I went to the bike path. I meant to get there for 7am but I'm still having trouble transitioning back into my early morning routine after having to switch my schedule around for work to the other end of the spectrum. But I was on the bike and going by 8am so that wasn't too bad.
I did 30.09 miles today in 1:56:30 which is a 15.5mph average. That includes all of the time I spent waiting at intersections, traffic lights etc. I probably averaged closer to 16mph without the stops. It was a really great ride today. I felt strong and I was excited about the thought of riding for two hours and continueing to push the distances I've covered on the bike. Not to mention it was nice to tap into that edurance zone again for the first time since the marathon. Despite the somewhat relaxed pace on the easy flats of the bike path it still felt really good, and I had plenty of gas in the tank after the ride was done. As I get used to the bike I'm having a greater and greater apprecitation for the traithletes that can get off a bike in a full ironman and start running at world class paces. How their legs do it I don't know. I'm looking forward to getting into some brick workouts once I'm cleared to run again at the end of the month and seeing what that feels like.
I did my first riding with traffic today as well as the end of the bike path hits at around the 13 mile mark and I wanted to head out for 15 before turning around so I rode through Bristol for a couple of miles before turning around including heading up a nice long hill at the end of that. I felt fairly confident for the most part. Although when descending down that hill its a little nerve wracking when I could have reached out and touch someone side view mirror. But I'll get used to it eventually.
Here is a happy me at the end of my ride today.
I have to say I love cycling gear. The cyclists have their act together much more than the running world does when it comes to cool clothes to train in. That and fun training outfits motivate me to get out there and get moving!
After my ride I came home and cleaned up, showered and then headed off for a massage! An hour with Lou Ann (who is also a distance cyclist) was great as she really worked on my calf and we got to talk about bikes and other fun stuff.
I followed that up with a shopping trip down route 2 and came home with a car full of yummy organic food from Trader Joes. Time to clean up a little and then make something delicious! Definitely a great Sunday!
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