Saturday Casey and I rode the breakfast ride for only the 2nd time this season. I looked up when we started riding it last year, and July 20th was our first ride. So...still slightly ahead of last year ;) but I really thought I'd have been out there every weekend so far. Weekends have just been full I guess.
The first time out this year, back on June 14, I had only been riding a bit by myself on the trail or around the 'hood. And by a bit I mean like 3 rides of 15-20 miles. I hadn't been spinning, running or really doing much else because of the crazy work stuff. But knowing I wanted to do these rides again when it wasn't too chilly in the morning anymore, I tried to get in some biking. However, I wasn't too surprised that the ride went pretty terribly. I got dropped on the first hill and the group never waited to re-group. So then we were so far back we didn't know what route people were taking to avoid a construction detour. Quite a few miles ended up being cut off the ride and we arrived earlier than the main group. Coming back, I fought nausea as I worked hard to stick to whatever wheel was in front of me so I didn't get dropped again. Comments from the sag person and experiencing the reality of my physical fitness sat pretty poorly with me.
But it was also motivational. I love the breakfast ride and didn't want to have such a bad time on it next time. So I have really begun to work on my biking. I have sought out hills (still am trying to find a good area of hills for repeats) and have been working on my cadence. Plus, now that crazy work time is over I am back to working out – running and swimming and strength. Hurray!
So, this past Saturday when we went on the ride for the second time this year, it went SO much better. I managed the first hill without losing the group. I may have even been ahead of someone. And all of the other little rollers that can sap it out of me – I managed those better too. I attacked and kept my cadence high so that my breathing didn't spike so quickly. I thought about quick, full circles. Then I used my gears to pull out of the hill at the top and stay the pace with the group. I may still be working harder than the others, but I think this is a huge improvement for me. I feel like this ride was nearly as good as my first ride after the tri last year.
Coming back we had to take a detour due to a bridge that was out. There was a steep climb and I was really done. I almost fell over I was going so slow. I just had nothing left due to a short climb minutes before where I felt my quads burning and shuddering, and mentally I was really done. So for the first time ever, I maxed out my legs before I maxed out my breathing ability. A weird win! I'm pretty encouraged to see direct improvement from how I've been working at it. And I can work harder, so I think things will get even more fun.
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