Sunday, January 28, 2007

Too much of a good thing...

The only reason I am writing this is because my fingers are about the only body part that doesn't make we want to cry like a little girl when they move. Not sure exactly what I was thinking but I got a little riding in on Saturday. I made plans Saturday with Kieffer to head up to Swayback to put in a full loop, approx 11 miles. With temps hovering around 34 degrees, I figured I would rather be in the woods than out on the road battling the wind. While wind was not a factor, the 34 degree temperature was. I found out it doesn't matter where you ride, 34 degrees is COLD!

Yes, that is frost on the ground indicating it is below freezing and I am heading out to ride a bicycle.

Swayback Trail Head

Anyway, I met up with Kieffer at 8am and we hit the trail. We ascended our first big climb about a mile and half in and that is when we realized we were in for a long morning. I thought my lungs were about to explode. What was going on??? Once my head quit spinning, I looked back at Kieffer and realized I was not the only one that was dying here. He looked about as pathetic as I know I looked. I did a little reading on training in extreme temperatures this past week. I learned a lot about the excess energy that is used by the body. Well, I was about wiped out and ready to go home at this point (been riding for maybe 30 minutess, we ARE big fat wussses) and I think Kieffer would have been right behind me. But we pressed on even though I just knew my fingers were blue underneath my gloves.

A few miles in we ran into Chris. He was on his singlespeed and fighting with the chain tensioner. He had obviously gotten the email about the ride and figured he could still put a hurting on us with just one gear. He was right.

After about an hour in, we were warming up and getting into our groove. Kieffer was riding strong and I spent the whole time trying to keep Chris off my wheel. Only succeeded on the climbs, but that was becaue he only had one gear, I had 24! My new Rush is getting better and better and I am loving it. We got back to the parking lot, packed up all our stuff and headed back home. Another tough but good day on the trail. I figure the faster I can ride in these conditions, the faster I will be when it is 75 degrees and sunny!!! Man, I can't wait till spring.

Now for Part 2...

The three I hold responsible for all my pain... Colin, Ken and Chad

Got back home, unloaded my gear with the intentions of spending the rest of the day laying around the house, NOT DOING ANYTHING. The kids were going to the grandparents to spend the night, it was time for a little peace and quiet! We went to grab a little Mexican for lunch. Right before we left, I get a call from Scott. He wants me to join the group for a road ride at 2:00. Sounded like a good group was showing up and I really didn't want to miss out. I had never put in 2 hrs hard on the mt.bike and then done a 3 hour road ride the same day. Would I be able to keep up? Only one way to find out!!! Honey... I am going riding... again!

Met up with the guys at 2pm and we decided to do the Pike Rd/82 loop... the long way. Colin and Ken led us out. Scott was feeling spunky at the beginning. I stayed toward the back of the pack trying to conserve energy when possible. Colin was on fire breaking the group up multiple times. He has lost over 30 pounds over the past year, riding his rollers twice a day, and has really turned into a machine.

We were setting a blistering pace rarely dropping below 20 mph. About 20 miles in, we had broken up in 3 groups. Ken, Chad and Colin up front, Scott and I in the middle, and James and Bill in the back. Scott and I teamed up and started swapping out turns up front. We closed the gap with in a couple of miles and it felt great. Hopefully this would not come back to haunt me later on.

I was feeling amazingly strong. The legs were already loose from the ride that morning and I decided I wasn't going to worry about Colin, but try and stay with Chad and Ken. THIS would come back to haunt me for sure! The entire ride was intense with playful sprints, climbs at maximum threshold, and full tilt descents. Everybody was having a good time but it was taking its toll.

About 40 miles in, my legs weren't feeling so good. Not too mention, the temperature was dropping and it was starting to sprinkle. I think by this point we were all a little tired. But the intense pace continued. I needed to slow down so I hooked up with Scott and we waited for Bill. See, he was from Chicago and had no idea where he was. Scott thought it would be good to show a little Southern hospitality and not leave him in Bullock County to fend for himself! We met up with the group for one last time before it would be an all out 8-10 mile sprint back to CVS.

I believe James played his cards right. He had not pushed it too hard the entire ride and still had a little left. The group broke up again into 3 groups, with James and I in the middle. It was some of the best riding I have seen of James. He brought us in rarely dropping below 20 and looked great. We got back to CVS right at 5pm, just barely beating the rain and darkness. I was so happy to be done and knew I was going to pay for all this fun the next day.

Well, today is Sunday and I feel as though I have run over by a Mack truck. I don't want to go in my garage because I don't even want to look at a bike. I think this coming weekend I will take it easy and put in some lite base miles and let my body recover. For just being January, this promises to be a great year! Too much of a good thing? Never! :)