Sunday, 9/20 rides

[OakLeaf]

I did a recovery ride - first one I've done in oh, probably, ever. Not quite 15 miles, just about as slow as I could possibly go.

Years ago when I was training hard, our little club really didn't know about recovery efforts, and we trained hard every day.

Lately, on the bike I just ride, not train, so doing an effort I need to actually recover from is pretty rare. I almost considered doing a recovery run instead, since I'm not going to be running very hard or long this week either, but what I read about recovery seems to say it needs to be the hair o' the dog, not a different sport done easy.

Now, I'll ride slow now and then if I show up for a Tuesday ride and no one else is there but the old dudes (they get their miles in, don't get me wrong - two of them just got back from the Continental Divide - but they just don't ride very fast). But actually going out, by myself, intending to ride short and slow, well, that was pretty much a new one for me.

And it was important, too - not sure one way or the other whether it gained me anything physically, although I'm not sore today, which is a great thing - but mentally, just proving to myself I could get back on the bike after KCBC and not hurt at all, showed me that even if I have to cruise the whole way home this Sunday, I'll be able to do it. Those two extra teeth in back help, too, for sure. Saturday I didn't go out really hard, but I didn't really try to relax, either. Yesterday it turned out that with the new gearing, I can relax on up to a 10% grade, if I need to.

(The other thing that's helping is Traumeel on my @ss bones. I will be tough enough for the new saddle by the weekend. )

[indigoiis]

Ambitious plan: ride 30 miles in to the city to show my husband my awesome commute, change at the office (where my running gear was stashed) run a 5K, eat lunch, ride home.

What really happened: 10 miles in after a sweet few hills, I patted my back and did not hear the merry clink of keys. We had to turn around, ride back over the hills to home, where we packed the truck and drove up to within a mile of the race. Did the 5K, ate lunch, rode with full stomachs back to our parking spot, went home and napped.

So 20 miles, but they felt great, despite the letdown of not being able to show the man my commute!