Sunday, June 3, 2012

Three times fun

Seven miles sure didn't feel easy this morning. It could be Galloway and Rand drug us through it. It could be the longest run since Indy. It could even be the 80-mile ride yesterday. My guess is it was all of the above.

We did keep the 7 under an hour, though only barely. Man. A few short years ago that would have been more like 45 minutes. It didn't take long to fade, that's for sure. I was hoping for a bit more tapered decline, not the absolute collapse that actually occurred.

I waited for a while to do the ride. There wasn't a lot of mental energy to go right after the run, but in hindsight I should have. By afternoon the wind had picked up drastically, and my tired legs begged me to change my mind about riding at all. Too bad. We leave for vacation on Thursday, so the only exercise I get this week is the first four days, starting today. The ride had to happen.

I parked at Kenray, arriving early enough to get a similar ride to last week's. The wind was strong, 15-20 mph from the WNW. It wasn't the worst-case scenario, but it sure wasn't easy. What made it worse is the course is constantly rolling for the most part. It was hard to stay in aero, which would have minimized the impact of the wind. Only thing for it was to tough it out.

Twenty-eight miles is what I got. I thought about going out for a couple more since I had some extra time, but that road is rough. I had no desire to take my bike out on it again. I don't know how often I'll try this workout - the main problem is the roughness of the roads. The bike takes a pretty good beating.

Rand and Jimmy showed after a bit, and we all decided we were too tired for the mile. We agreed to go for two laps, with an option for a third. I finished a bit ahead of the other two guys (Jimmy let Rand do all the pace work!), then asked Jimmy if he was going on. Rand was climbing out, so there wasn't really any need to read his mind. Jimmy wanted a half-lap so he would have a half-mile. No way I would let him swim more than me. I offered to lead, then he took off.

It didn't take long to catch him, but once in front I kept going for the buoy. Half-lap? Who does that kind of crap? Either you do it or you don't, you don't half anything! Jimmy stayed with, hanging on to my feet. I lost him a couple of times, but I slowed and let him get back on. It really didn't take that long to finish, and heck, we'd driven all that way to swim. Had to do three.

The rest of the evening was supper and mowing grass, throwing in a mom visit for dessert. And here we are!

Tomorrow morning is the first practice of Girls Cross for the summer, starting at 8. After that, Galloway and I will meet at Lighthouse for a ride (10 AM, 32 miles). All welcome to join!

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