Tuesday - June 11, 2013
Morning Ride
Ah the beautiful morning air. It is 5:15am, pitch black, not a sound to be heard, and I head off on my bike for a morning ride. My new wheels seem to roll smoother than my old ones, and the wind feels great on my skin; almost cold. With my 1,000 lumen headlight guiding my way, I start what will be a 23.1 mile bike ride. Rolling down to Camp Dennison is pretty smooth and uneventful. I have my right earphone in, with my iPhone playing music to keep me company. I listen for cars with my left ear, and only see a few each morning.
In Camp Dennison, I get on the bike trail. From Camp Dennison to Milford, along the bike trail, it's bug city. Today, I wore my clear safety/shop goggles to keep the bugs out of my eyes. My headlight is lit up with life, as I pass through gnat swarm after gnat swarm. I'm sure they're in my hair and sticking to my sweat. But, this part of the ride will be over soon. I pop a GU packet about halfway through the trail section, as I'm about 10 minutes from The Hill. I pull onto 126 for a brief stretch, until I turn right onto Indian Hill road.
This road will make a cyclist out of me yet. I cruise along, as the 10% grade of the start of Old Indian Hill is all I can think about. As I near it, I keep my momentum going and shift to my easiest gear. I'm able to make it a ways seated, but after maybe a quarter mile I'm zigzagging to try to make it easier until I give in and stand. It's a hefty climb, even standing, and many cyclists do this exact hill for the great training it brings. Once you round a left turn, I see the summit and cross it. My HR is probably through the roof as I cruise and eat a Clif Bar, washing it down with Gatorade.
After this, the route is pretty much smooth sailing. Through Madeira on Miami road, I do manage to hit 35 mph as I pass Camargo and head to the railroad tracks. I actually pulled away from a car that was behind me. I finish the 23.1 miles in 1:29:44.98, with an overall average speed of 15.4 mph, burning 806 calories with an average HR of 141 bpm (aerobic!). My new pedals and their 4-5 degrees of float (heel movement without causing your foot to unclip) winds up giving me a blister. I will try again with tighter shoes before I switch to a 0 degree float cleat.
Lunch Run
A co-worker wanted to run at lunch. It was hot and humid, but I agreed. When else was I going to run with the family and all. We headed out the back door at work and ran to Kenwood Road and made a loop around Kenridge Lake (very scenic) and back to work. We were doing 9:30mm pace the whole way and covered 4.48 miles in 43:02.03, for an average pace of 9:36mm, burning 556 calories, with an avg HR of 169 bpm. It was so hot, I could have rung out my shirt and filled a glass (gross, I know). I was hot and sticky for the rest of the day, as we ran back to work and just toweled off - no shower. But, it was good to get in a run, and Tuesday turned out to be a nice day of training.
Day two of the caffeine challenge. I was very tired all day. It doesn't help to quit caffeine and wake up at 4:30am. I was eating cookies and Snicker bars trying to get a sugar high to keep me going. It was rough, but still no headaches. Just extreme fatigue.
Here is the Strava data:
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