It was meant to be a 40km bike ride with a friend, but after fearful dreaming all night long (I seem to stress in advance of getting on my bike in a way that I don't stress about, say, a long run), when the alarm went at 5am and I checked my messages, I discovered that my friend had to bail. It was so early that I went back to bed, trying to sort out what I wanted to do. I thought I'd sleep awhile longer. I didn't want to run instead, with my calf hurting, and I didn't feel like swimming either, and yoga seemed too low-key. I wanted to bike!
So I got up, got dressed, ate some peanut butter toast, and headed out, husband informed and cellphone in pocket. I've never gone for a solo ride before. I thought it would be lonely, maybe even a little bit scary. What if I got a flat tire in the middle of nowhere? But once I was out on the road, it felt just as awesome as always.
At first, my energy seemed low. I thought, uh oh, this feels like a weak week--especially after yesterday's slow swim. But the funny thing is, that the further I went, the stronger I felt, til by the end, I didn't feel ready to come home. I took a couple of extra streets in town to lengthen out the ride, plus I found a loop (which I only did once), that I could easily use on future rides. It doesn't take me that far out of town, the roads are pretty quiet at 6am, and it has some killer hills--do that a couple of times, and it'll be a killer ride. On the downhill, I actually thought my chain had fallen off because I had zero resistance in the pedals. Flying. And the uphill is a challenge, but I'm getting better at my gearing--I don't have to think about it as much as I used to.
I've only been riding now for a little over a month and a half (is that possible???), but the improvements to my fitness level have been heartening. When I got home, I checked the route, and I'd gone 31.5km. Not 40, but not bad, especially considering that I ended feeling lots of energy, and dashed out for a 2km run immediately afterward. If I could feel that good when running on Sunday, I'd be thrilled (oh wait, I'll have done a swim and an extra 10km, so it's not very likely). But the run felt good. I don't know whether I'm getting more used to the post-bike feeling, or whether I didn't push as hard as I would in a race, but I didn't have that feeling of weirdness in my legs.
Going to get the bike tuned tomorrow.
And my body is a series of aches and pains today, so I'm planning to go to yoga to stretch it out.
Nothing seems to replace that adrenalin high of a good hard cardio work-out. Nothing. I'm not quite sure how I got to this, but I can't imagine stopping now. It burns off the restlessness that would otherwise lodge in me all day. I realized that I needed it this morning--to start my day with effort and buzz. Is that a good thing? Maybe I'll choose not to label it good or bad, but just observe that it has a positive effect on my day. That I like it. That I'm managing to squeeze it in without sacrificing too much else.
Hoping for a lake swim tomorrow.
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