That's not unusual for Monday morning but this is body tired not just emotions tired. My first clue was that I sounded like a bass until about eleven o'clock this morning. That plus lots of stretching required to get unkinked from sleep and a few yawns show me that we are definitely in training mode. Most of you know that I don't get up easily, ever, but after 9.5 hours asleep I sort of expected to start the day a little fresher. Must have had something to do with 15 miles last night after a typical Sunday morning. Per my training schedule, Sunday "recovery rides" seem important to the process of building endurance. I suppose Monday sleepiness will be a part of the next three months.
As will eating. This weekend I noticed I have become ravenous again. I have experienced this in the past but usually not until the last few weeks before an endurance event. I am a full three months away from the century ride and already this weekend I approached each meal with a voraciousness that would make the casual observer think I hadn't eaten for days. I did ride 77 miles last week and ran one day. But we've got a long way to go. What will I feel like when that weekly mileage doubles? I guess we'll see.
The group ride this weekend was great fun. Another of Coach Travis' routines at some point during the morning is to go down the line and ask everyone by name how they are doing and then answer his own question with a little ditty that includes "there's no where else I'd rather be than right here right now!" As I heard him yelling that out on Saturday I reluctantly had to agree.
The second time out with the group was less stressful and less confusing. Two brand new riders this week means we are up to 19 riders for Tucson. Even in a double paceline we are at least as long as a city bus. I'm not sure we are much slower either, who likes to drive behind a bus?
Two important learnings from the ride...
Lori has x-ray vision. She is always the first to see any debris, gravel, hole, in the road and shout it out to the rest of the team. It doesn't even matter where she is in the line, she sees it first. So riding behind Lori will be a very safe position, if a little loud.
Paula is the sugar shack of our train. We were talking before the ride and found a mutual fondness for knowing when we can next eat. She called it a "food-phobia" but I think she is just well prepared. I told her I occasionally have issues with low blood-sugar and so I like to always have food handy. Really I just need to have Paula handy because she starts every ride well stocked. Mid-ride we had to pull over to check a tire and she came up to me with some "sport beans." Think Jelly Bean made from Gatorade. They were GOOD! I only ate four but felt like I could fly on the next miles. I do realize it was all in my head.
Oh, one update. Seems the crash last week was a little more serious than anyone thought. Heidi fractured her radius (in case you forgot the lessons of tenth grade biology that's one of the two bones in your arm). So Dale's statement about no broken bones in TNT is now out the window. I feel badly for Heidi but crashes are part of living. We fall. We break. We heal. And now our whole team pays a lot more attention to the people in front of them. That's good.
I will miss next week's ride to be in Oregon on vacation. Hopefully I'll be able to post pics from Amy's Annual Adventure 2007.
No comments:
Post a Comment