Big Day

I don't know which angle I should take for this post. It was an interesting training session this afternoon. Should I talk about my training partner today? My speed? What about my near crash? The fact that I did my first brick? I better just fill you in on all of it. Hey, lucky you!

My in-laws are visiting and Brian came home from work early, so we decided to go ride our bikes. We haven't ridden together since we were in San Francisco for that 20 miler, and our riding styles didn't click that day. Fortunately, this was a mere 8 miles (or 33 minutes) of togetherness. I led and he was right on my tail. I told him to back off because he was making me nervous. Then each time I tried to turn around to see if a car was behind me, all I could see was Brian. Which brings me to the next points to share.

We averaged 14.5 mph today. It would have been better if it hadn't been for the strong headwind as we were going west. What a challenge! My top speed going east was 18 mph so you know that wind created quite a resistance. But when I tried to turn around on the first lap, I had a little trouble with the U-turn.

I took that turn way too fast and I didn't have enough room to comfortably turn 180 degrees. Luckily there was a curb and I hopped off right in time. I blamed Brian for riding too close behind me and making me nervous, but I know it's because I was going too fast. Hey, training's not just about getting your body ready. It's also about learning to use the equipment and learning your body's limits. We both knew it was my own dumb fault and we were both laughing about it by the end of the ride.

Finally, this was my first brick--where you ride and then jump off your bike and start running. It doesn't sound like anything, but have you ever tried it? Do you know what your legs feel like after riding as fast as you can for 30 minutes? It's not easy to run. It feels really funky, and not in a good way. I ran for only 5 minutes, but in that time my legs never got back to normal. I'll try it again in a few days. The more I do it, the faster my legs will be able to adjust to the change in movement. Or so I've been told.

So, all in all, it was a good training session today! Maybe we'll run together in the morning.