Sometimes the World is Against You

The last three weeks have been a challenge for training. It's the sickest I've been all winter, and I've been dragging. There hasn't been a dip in the quantity, which I suppose is the good thing, but the quality... that certainly hasn't been there. This has been mostly due to a lack of sleep - the hacking all night long gets in the way of a full night's rest. I'm a quasi-insomniac, so this in itself isn't too big of a problem... unless it is prolonged... as it's been...

Anyway, last night I broke down and took some cough medicine. I did sleep a bit better, felt better today, and was looking forward to 50-60 miles of riding. There'd be a short run after, Wendy's, and if all things worked out right, I'd even have my lift done before the ride.

Got home from work late, rushed to the gym, got the lift, arrived late to the church, did the abbreviated first ride (very windy conditions slowed me some), gathered Jimmy, got almost to 337 when ominous rain clouds gathered. We turned and headed for home, but were eventually caught by a light sprinkle. We did manage to get back before the steadier stuff started, which was a good thing. When I started my first ride it was 65 degrees and partly cloudy. By the time we finished it was 50 degrees, windy, and threatening rain. BIG difference!

I was now cold, uncomfortable, and running was out of the question. I think God was trying to tell me something! Time to rest, boy. Time to get better. If you don't hit xx numbers this week, it will be okay. Get better.

I think I will listen. If the opportunity comes to get some miles, I'll take it, but stressing about it? Nope. I have a pile of miles already this year, and this is as good a place as any to use some of that built-up collateral. One scenario says no ride until Saturday (100 miles), then ride Sunday as well (50 miles). That would give me 180 for the week, a pretty solid down week. The other scenario has me doing 40-50 miles tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday, for well over 200 miles. I'm leaning more toward the former than the latter, though there are other ways to bring the numbers in line.

I think I'll wait and see how being out in the cool tonight impacts my rest. That will steer me for tomorrow at least. No matter what happens, I will host swimming at 8 tomorrow. 

Foiled!

I really thought I'd get to sneak a ride in tonight. My daughter's event was 7 PM, and if I hit the road right away, I would be able to keep enough time to make 40 miles. That would have allowed me to ride from the church to the line and back, so long as I made good time. Of course if things didn't go well I could turn back at any point and still make the time. Seemed like a workable plan.

Then it started raining. And not just rain, mind you, but thunder and lightning. There was no way a ride was going to happen this afternoon, and I finally resigned myself to that fact. Better to wait for the 5:15 run.

This was likely for the best. I didn't sleep again last night because of the coughing, and frankly I'm pretty worn down. It's getting to the point I may have to curtail training until my health improves. I don't want to, but I may have no choice. I'll give it a couple more days before I pull the trigger.

If I do continue training, the plan will be to ride 100 miles between tomorrow and Thursday, plus plug in a couple of runs. That's going to be challenging. There will also be a Thursday night swim, whether or not I swim. Finally, I plan to ride 100 miles on Saturday.

I guess the best thing to do is see how sleep goes tonight. If all goes well, I move forward with training. If not...

The Climbing Package

I shared this with the riders on the Century late in the ride today, and I think it is germane to this post. Let drop into anecdote mode for a second here and you'll soon get it...

Back when I started running, I very quickly discovered I had some ability, and with some work and coaching, I might be competitive on the road circuit. Fate cast me into the hands of such local running greats as Galloway, Jarrard, Moffatt, etc., but it was Jarrard in particular who molded much of the runner I would become. He was so methodical, intense, and tough, it was impossible to not admire him. I took every chance to run with him and soak up his knowledge and insight into the sport.

Moffatt was a very experienced runner, and a charming fellow at that. Think of him as the Mitchell Jimmy, except faster. He was another guy who, especially long runs, I made every attempt to join in running. I learned a lot about how to handle long-distance running from him.

Taken separately these two guys were helpful, supportive, and really helped bring me along. Taken together, well, they weren't. Every teacher knows there are combinations of kids that just spell trouble, and these two boys on a run meant trouble - for me.

I always wanted to be as fast as the guy up front, and always fought to be there. I wasn't ready, but that didn't stop me from trying. If these two guys were running, the pace would be elevated from the start. All it would take for things to get nuts was one guy getting a half-step on the other - looks would be exchanged, and it was on. I would bury my head and hang in there as best I could as the pace dipped, 5:45, 5:30, 5:15, 5:00... It never failed.

We have a riding version of that now - Miller and John T. If you are going out on a climbing course with either of these guys separately, it probably won't be too bad. Together? Somebody's gonna get hurt.

Today we headed for French Lick. Anyone who can read a topographic map can see this was going to be a challenge for a century ride. There are some pretty good hills along the way, nothing massive, but they just coming and coming. And at the front of every single one of them was either John T. or Miller.

I certainly wasn't shocked by this - having ridden with these guys for a few years, I know they climb great. I also knew adding Bartley to it was going to make for a long day for me. No matter. What's to lose? I'd never ridden on some of the roads and it was worth the risk to do so.

So as we started out on the ride, we also had along with us Jimmy and Rand. Believe it or not, that just made things worse. Jimmy is a great climber too. So there we were, early in the ride, Jimmy pushing the pace because he didn't give a crap, he was going short, and we got to the first hills. Great, 4 of the top 5 climbers in the club were right in front of me. I couldn't see how that could possibly go bad...

Jimmy and Rand turned back soon as we were on the back side of Spring Mill, and the rest of us resumed or trek west. The plan was to ride south and west as much early as possible to avoid the worst of the coming headwinds. We cut through Orleans in a new spot, made our way past the Super 2 and were then back in God's country.

Just like last week, it was still breathtaking. Not only because of the beauty; the hills were challenging, and John T. was making it all the worse by setting a strong tempo. There wasn't much talking today - if last week was a ride, this week was a workout! Miller looked super strong too. Bartley was being smart, hanging off a bit, not getting sucked into what the other guys were doing - yet. He suggested they might ride off and leave us, but I reminded him Scott was in charge of the course, and they didn't know it. They had to wait. ;)

In about three hours' time we made it to West Baden. I was low on fluids and wasn't going to take a chance Bartley might ride on through. I declared I needed a stop in this town to replenish, and it was lunch time anyway. Just then a McDonald's passed by on the left... oh, man! What I would have done with a double quarter-pounder with cheese...

Instead we landed at a mini-mart, which had more than acceptable food. My bit of trouble came when we came to a stop. Bartley put his foot down on the concrete pad, slid, and I thought, "Oh, man! He about fell over!" Stupid me, I pulled too close to the pad, couldn't move my foot to unclip, and fell over!

We grabbed our lunch, got our supplies, and had a very pleasant meal out on their patio. It was actually as nice a gas station setup for us as one could ask for. John T. hassled a couple of turkey hunters. They even let him get into their truck to see their day's prize. It was kind of like having Roy along to talk to the wood cutters in Campbellsburg. John T. speaks very fluent hunter.

As we left, we got on Highway 150 again and left town heading towards Paoli. Finally the wind was at our backs, the road was pretty good, and it was the easiest riding we did all day. If there had been a ballot, I would have voted to ride that puppy to Paoli and move on from there. However, Bartley ruled with dictatorial impunity, and we turned left off the road - and onto our first big hill of the return trip.

Oftentimes when you stop for a bit while riding long, you get back on and your legs burn the first time you press them. Mine were fine, a surprise given how sick I've been. Miller's must have been blank, because he started pounding us on every climb. I mean POUNDING. Even John T. was beginning to scale it back a bit by now, but Miller never flinched.

For my part, I was happy with my climbing at this point. I could still do it, which was great, and I wasn't struggling to catch Miller again after I topped. No, I couldn't stay with him on my best day in a climb, but overall his riding wasn't taking anything out of me I couldn't handle. This had been my fear leading up to this ride of course... the 1-2 punch of Miller and John T.

50 miles turned to 60, and somewhere in the next 10 miles I finally moved to the front and asked Miller to back down just a bit. We had a long way to go, and it was getting warm. He's a machine, and if I had to be the first to squeal, so be it.

Scott and I made on-the-fly adjustments to the course in the next few miles. We were planning to head to Livonia, but it was obvious to me after a point that was going to take us way too far out. I know 337 like the back of my hand, and using that as a reference, if Scott could tell me where he was going to dump us onto and how far away that point was, I could narrow down when we should make that move. We wound up jumping onto 337 west of Bromer, right about 26 miles from home.

The wind was now strong, so I offered to pull us easily into Orleans. What was supposed to be a southwest wind felt like it was steady (and strong) in my face all the way northwest. Thankfully we didn't have to go that way all that long, and we were finally headed north out of the direct wind. From here we would just take the traditional path home - including Rabbitsville.

When it was all said and done, we had between 100-101 miles. Scott deserves a great deal of credit for the work he's done on selecting courses this year. It was an outstanding all-around ride, challenging, pretty, and adapted for the conditions. It also included a carved Sasquatch statue. Not just any course can claim that!

I did go out and run two miles afterward, though I didn't want to. It didn't go poorly. I'd weighed myself before the workout and after. Starting weight was 175.6 lbs. Ending weight was 171 lbs. Hey, it was almost a six-and-a-half hour workout in the sun - you have to expect to lose some weight.

Rider Ratings
Not that anyone gives a crap, but as a coach I tend to watch everyone throughout a workout. The observations I would share...

Miller - outstanding in every department. Climbing, flats, into the wind, with the wind, it made no difference. He was clearly the man today. Total machine.

John T. - also outstanding. A little harder to measure compared to Miller because he exercised some caution in the second half. I never felt as though he was weakening in the least, just that maybe the thought entered his mind he might.

Bartley - it was a strong ride. Scott did two things today - he rode 100 miles faster than ever, and he rode the hilliest 100 miles ever. Half of that was his fault, the other of course the fault of the two guys above. He did a MUCH better job keeping fluids in, and though I know the ride got hard in places, he held in there. He's new enough to all this to perhaps not appreciate completely how well he managed to hang with two of the monsters of our riding group.

Jimmy - he's a sissy. Wussed out when things started to get tough.

Rand - a bigger sissy. No particular reason why, he just is.

It was an interesting mix of riders today. I dubbed this group "the Climbing Package" because all the guys (other than me) are great climbers. I can only guess what would have happened had Troy taken a day off and joined us...

Bartley, the Not-So-Dark Horse

In typical endurance athletic fashion, let's get the excuses out of the way right off.

1. I am not 100% healthy, not even close. Breathing is a bit of a problem.
2. I rode 60 miles Tuesday.
3. I ran 5 miles at a brisk pace before the ride.

There, that feels better. Clears the air, now real discussion can happen.

Bartley is becoming, very quickly I might add, a monster. As a runner he's been often referred to as the male Kathy inasmuch as he always runs ahead of you. Doesn't matter how hard you run, he runs faster. You simply have to accept he's going to run ahead of you. It's becoming the same way in riding. I've had the opportunity to ride with him a lot this spring, and I believe enough data points are collected to come to some conclusions, or at the very least a progress report. 

Data point #1: Scott is probably the best climber of the group. Sure, John T. and Troy might be able to challenge him, and maybe they can't. Those that have been riding with him on a regular basis know what I'm talking about. 

Data point #2: Scott's straight line speed has improved. We've done a couple of time trials and a pace line or two, and Scott has moved firmly into A Group status. 

Witness this Tuesday. We were all there, we know John T. took off from the front once we hit 337, and that Miller and I caught the small, elite group pulling away. We know I took the front, and that I tried to drop or at least hurt the riders. What is germane here is Scott didn't get dropped - more than that, he wasn't pushed. One year ago he would have snapped off the back like a broken Lego. 

Witness his time trial last week. He and Roy (also coming on) posted great numbers. I don't care if it was wind-aided or not - what is important is the gap. I once enjoyed 3-4 minutes gap on both guys. I had only 1 minute on Scott. I could not catch him with only a 2-minute head start, something easily accomplished last year. Folks, that puts him in the Miller/John T. speed range on the flat.

Data point #3: Scott is pressuring on every ride. That's not a bad thing, don't mean for it to sound that way. He takes his training seriously, reminding me a great deal of my old friend Galloway. He's out there to work; better lace them up if you're coming along. 

Witness last night's ride. I knew I would struggle to keep with him and said so. We'd agreed on a Hucks'-and-Back deal, so I didn't pack a Cliff bar, figuring we'd stop at Huck's. (Galloway, you'll love this part.) We took a looping path through Orleans, coming south the traditional path to the east, crossing 37 heading west, and there was Huck's.

Except... Scott rode right by. He was in the front, I slowed, and he kept pedaling. What?! We're not stopping? My wallet started whimpering... "Huuuuck's. HUCK'S!" Too bad, so sad. Now I was seriously worried about bonking. My body weight has dropped dramatically over the last couple of weeks (171.6 lbs this morning!) and I don't have any reserves on board. 

Hey, this was Scott's ride. It was his idea from the start, he was in charge, and I would tough it out. I did my best not to hold him up, tried to keep the gap closed so he wouldn't have to slow to much to wait on me. I dropped to aero to ease the load, to maintain speed better. 

There was one monumental challenge left - the Cut. There was no way on the best day I could stay with him, and my burning quads weren't going to have any of a strong push. I would have to do what I could, plain and simple. You don't have to guess; he was about out of sight when he topped, kind of the way Jake used to be able to do. Once I got on top I recovered and caught, but the point was made. 

Oh, I forgot to mention; he did this not on his time trial bike, but his backup bike. He was sitting straight up the entire ride. Pretty humbling. 

Summary:

So let's examine this... great climber, check. Great flat rider, check. Strong daily effort, check. On every possible measure, Scott is currently sitting at or near the top. Add to that he can run pretty darn well, and you can see we have to figure out some way to get him in the water. If he can swim at all, he might very well be All-American material. 

Justice is Served

Let's start with the apology - sorry about the confusion. I am suffering from the worst sinus infection of the whole winter, and I'm groggy most of the time. Last night in my post I stated the ride tonight would "be at 5:15". Galloway contacted me five minutes after the post went live and asked about the time. It never occurred to me why he was asking. Of course the ride is 5:45 standard... I was confusing Jimmy office time, I'm guessing. Regardless, I hope no one was seriously put out.

Next up... Scott and I will be riding from Jimmy's office at 5:15. Let me double check that... Jimmy's office... 5:15... yup, that's right. Riding 'til dark, all invited.

Continuing on, Saturday's Century will start at 8 AM from Parkview, as normal. This seems to be the time that best fits conditions/schedules, and that is a consensus decision. Or should I say "quorum"? I will be at McDonald's by 7 AM, all are welcome (both to breakfast and the ride).

There's nothing guaranteeing I haven't posted something utterly nonsensical, so if you catch it, text me. I'll fix it ASAP.

On to tonight...

It was one of the best turnouts of this early year. Dan, John T., Troy, Galloway, Roy, Scott, Miller... we even saw DfO and Judy Cross out at the pee tree. The strong northwest wind promised a challenging return trip from the county line, though I didn't hear any real whining. Dan rode from his house, as did Troy. I came an hour and a half early to put in some miles.

From my early ride I got a taste of the strength of the wind, especially the gusts. It was the opposite of last week, only stronger. Straight down the pipe, but into our faces, with blasts that dropped speed 5 mph. Oh yeah, that was going to be fun...

After the guys chastised me for setting out the wrong starting time, we got rolling. Of course it was easy going south, and we hit 337 in good time. After getting on the road, John T. and Scott rolled to the front, dropped into aero, and were instantly off the front. Troy covered the move right away. Roy and Galloway ignored it. Miller and I were in the back with Dan talking about training. Suddenly Miller stood up and moved around Galloway and Roy. He was going to cover the ground before it was too late.

I was seriously conflicted. I'm sick, and really would have been smarter to stay put or at the very most drop into Roy's pull. I've never been accused of being overly smart, and it stung a little to get dropped. In fact, that's been happening a bit too much lately, and I think it finally reached the breaking point. If Miller could cover the gap, so could I.

It wasn't easy. Those guys had a big jump, and they weren't cruising. I was going 30-31 mph with the strong tailwind, and still the gap came down slowly. It wasn't until we were in the Lost River Valley I caught the group. That's when the real testosterone poisoning took me. I figured if I'd had to ride that hard to catch them, I wasn't going to wait. I moved right up to the front and poured on the coals. I really wanted to break away, though I knew that was practically an impossibility. Next best would be to make them work hard. That at least had a chance.

This was one of those rare times in riding that having a cassette with eleven teeth wasn't good enough. We flashed through Bromer at over 34 mph, and there wasn't any more gear to be had. I had the muscles to push, but not the ability to turn the legs over at a speed required to get more out of the cassette. I could hear the guys behind me, and they were in the same boat.

As we left town, Miller took over. He took us up for a bit, and were moving along at 31 mph. Slowly the speed began to drop. I decided to move around him again, and we charged in to the county line with a good head of steam.

I cannot say how hard the other guys worked. My cold hindered me, of course, and I began hacking right away, but I did get a good workout in that span. Whatever happened after that, I'd gotten a good hard segment.

DfO was at the line, along with Judy Cross. He said, "Well, since you guys already pulled out here, I might as well go." And he left. Comedy gold.

The guys talked about holding speed down, sharing the load, not dropping anyone, blah, blah, blah. The second we turned out on the road, Troy snapped the speed up and dropped Roy, Galloway, me, and Dan. I could have gone around and caught, it wasn't THAT fast. The thing was the "collaboration" lasted less than 5 seconds. Roy did an admirable job pulling Galloway (and me) back to the group, though it took a mile. Dan wasn't so fortunate. I looked back and he was nearly out of sight.

My conscience stung me. We said, "no drop". We forced him to go before he was ready to leave. Essentially, we set him up to be hammered. I was sick, didn't need to ride hard any more, so I opted to turn back and ride in with him.

From what I am told, the rest held a bit over 20 mph into the strong headwind. Troy pulled for 2 miles, Scott for 3, John T. for 2.5, then Miller finished it off. Galloway was dropped at some point (another data point!), and I'm not sure about Roy. They all had a strong ride, and no one complained. I should say also Dan never once complained about being left. He did thank me for coming back for him as we finished.

Back to the vehicles, John T., Roy, Scott, and I ran Allen's beloved Garden Three-Mile Run. Roy and I ran 11 seconds per mile faster than last week and Scott was still out of sight when he finished.

It was a great workout, better than I could have hoped for. God willing, I'll get over this infection soon and be able to challenge some of you guys in something... ANYTHING...

Edit: Oh! The title, "Justice is Served" refers to the possible KOM effort on the reverse time trial segment. Turns out I missed it - by one second. As I told the guys at Wendy's, I'm glad. This was a group effort, and it wouldn't have been right taking it from Troy that way. I was already 2nd on the list, so no harm done. 

A bit delayed

I was starting to feel a bit weak by the end of last week. I chalked it up to overtraining, and perhaps it was, but hand-in-hand with that came the cold. By Thursday's swim it was obvious I had a sore throat and should stay out of the water (which I didn't). By Saturday morning that sore throat had moved into my ears. Now it would be real trouble. I hadn't slept much the night before because of drainage. Would I be able to hold on in the 100?

Roy and Scott returned for another century ride despite the difficulties from the week before. This showed great resolve, but could they take the previous week's experience and learn from it? Did conditioning improve? How about the mental game? It's a long day, no matter how you slice it. Everything must be managed.

Galloway surprised us all by starting out with us. The reason that was surprising was the temperature. It was only 50 degrees when we left, and this is below the Galloway standard for suitable riding weather. He made an exception, and we're sure glad he did. We've been missing our swarthy little buddy.

Allen, Jimmy, and I are no strangers to century rides, but in terms of conditioning, mine far outstripped the others. They planned to be careful, drink a lot, and hold the pace down early. The only question was "what kind of course were we riding?"

Which brings me to a point... things worked out just fine the last couple of weeks, but I'm afraid we might be headed for a disaster of sorts. We need to try to settle down a course, or a mostly course, before we start down the road. Some guys just need to know where they're going. Most are flexible, some don't care at all, but some have to know where they are going. It may not seem like a big deal, but there's no sense alienating anyone from the group for something that is so easily avoided.

For my money, I say give the job of course master to Scott. This weekend's ride was a thing of beauty. We went toward Orangeville to start, and in places it was simply breathtaking. Did we climb a bit more? Yes. So what? We need to do that anyway. But the scenes, the rolling hills, wide vistas, bright blue sky spilling onto fields awaking to intense yellow-green early spring growth... and ahead of me, in a slow, sweeping downhill left turn, my friends ride silently in aero, in line and evenly spaced, hunkered down against the cool morning breeze... The experience was visually intense and vibrant, a mental snapshot I will have always.

Another great aspect to the ride, and this was a bit more collaborative in nature, was that we didn't have to double back or circle aimlessly around to make distance. We cast a wide net and found all our miles in our first haul. About the only negative about the course is I didn't get a Campbellsburg hamburger, but it was worth it.

Back to the pacing... early on Scott started to lead off again, and then, he didn't. He found his way to the back from time-to-time, admitting he needed to watch himself. I began to feel good about his chances of finishing strongly. Allen hugged the back tenaciously, as well as his head wrap. Even when temperatures had nearly reached 70 degrees, he still wore his arm warmers and head wrap, as well as cold weather gloves.

I started to nag him to get it off. I teased him, mocked him, warned him, but Allen is a stubborn man. Finally, at nearly 40 miles into the ride, I got him to stop and remove the head piece. The sun was quite warm by this point, and it could very well be the difference between finishing and not finishing the ride. That's the thing about a 6-7 hour workout; the little things you do early magnify over time. Like a small snowball on the top of a mountain, by the bottom of the hill they can become massive boulders of snow.

This is where an interesting dynamic of the day played out again. Jimmy, Scott, and Roy continued on while Allen stopped and removed gear. I told them I'd wait for Allen, and I knew Jimmy and Roy had some kind of time restraint. It would have been okay if they had gone on, Allen and I would have ridden it out just fine. Instead they got to Livonia via Highway 56, with us trying a slow chase from behind, and waited for us. This is what I couldn't understand at the time; if they were going to wait anyway, they might as well wait with Allen, who was clearly struggling to keep up. By doing it the other way around, they were wearing him down quicker. In other words, if they thought he was slow before, do that to him a few more times and see what happens!

We headed down Hardinsburg/Livonia Road south to Hardinsburg. This was largely Scott's/my idea, mainly to avoid backtracking. The bad part of course was it included more climbing. That's where I suppose I owe Allen an apology - I should have known better. I felt we needed a little bit more to get in the necessary miles, Roy and Scott hadn't seen Chainsaw, so... up Route 66, up the big hill, and there we were at the apex point headed south. It was a high price to pay, but from this point on we would be headed north.

This is where we needed a bit of strategy. There would be a headwind all the way home. It wasn't terribly strong, but we had 40 miles of riding to get back. Once we reached 337 I would pull lightly, 20-21 mph. That would keep speed where everyone could stay on, and if I didn't give up the lead, no one would get a wild hair and take us up to 25 mph (would have been easy to do). That would have dropped riders, something we didn't need to have happen at this point.

So I held a very steady effort. The speed went up and down, but it followed the terrain. Everyone held in there, and that 10-mile piece of road disappeared effortlessly. Even from the front I'd conserved a great deal of energy. We were about 20 miles out, and decided we could take a pretty much direct path home. So we headed down 37 in the modified Tuesday night return route.

Scott got on the front and was gone. I mean G-A-W-N. Jimmy and Roy went with him, but I stayed with Allen. There was no way for Allen to even consider getting on the back of that line. I rode in front of Allen, allowing the other three to slowly slip away, trying to minimize the damage, and gave Allen a wind break as much as I could. I'll give it to Allen - it must have been frustrating. We've all been there... sometimes you just feel bad.

Once back in Mitchell, we took the regular routes to get home. It only took one turn on Hillcrest Circle to make everyone's distance come out right. With another century ride in, I would probably assess everyone in the following way:

Scott - dominant rider of the day. He could have left us any time in the second half. I think, at least for this day, he sorted out some key elements to day-long exercise.

Roy - nearly dominant. I would have given him dominant except he broke off the back of the lead group on the climb out of Orleans. Scott was just a bit stronger.

Jimmy - strong enough to cover any move made, and smart enough to recognize them when they happened.

Myself - with a huge base, it was never a question of finishing the ride. I coasted the back much of the day, but could pull anytime it was needed. The other three guys were stronger, but it was a solid ride.

Allen - struggled near the end. It was a great effort, and mentally proved his strength of will. Sometimes the hard workouts give us the best benefits.

I was the lone rider to finish the day with a run, though shorter than the week before. I ran 2 miles, the first with my lovely wife. After that I was done for the day.

Now the cold really set in that evening, and Sunday was even worse. I considered not going to work today, but we are so short of subs I didn't want to put the school out. I soldiered on, finished the day, then went for a 10-mile run and half hour lift. No, I still don't feel good, but I will get through the night and tomorrow too. Things definitely feel better.

Tomorrow we ride from the church at 5:15 pm. I plan to run afterward if anyone is interested. I do plan to ride cautiously. I also plan to arrive an hour early, hopefully picking up another 20 miles if I'm lucky. 

One Run and One BIG Ride to Go!

Kids take note on the title; intercapping is almost always a bad idea.

No matter how you slice it, last night was hard on me. Well, so was Tuesday. And Monday. The first half of the week was chock full of quality and quantity. It wasn't the optimal way to do things, it was the only way... with the rain early in the week, there wasn't any other way to work the rides in. We do what we have to do! The benefit (which also adds stress) was that the schedule enabled an extra swim. That's a lot of training in a short space!

Allen contacted me shortly before school let out wanting a ride. We quickly settled on meeting at the church as quickly as I could ride down. I would get more; he would drag me through the middle, and I would ride home alone in tears. It was a good plan except for the stiff breeze from the south. I had just enough time to make the rendezvous, Allen was ready, and we shoved right off.

We did a loop through Orleans, nothing special, and nothing really fast. That was good, because any time I tried to apply real pressure to my legs the lactic acid screamed at me. My legs were flat, pancake flat. After I left Allen I headed north, got on the highway, and tried to just keep a steady pressure in aero. To my surprise I did hold decent speed without pressing too hard. This made up partially the time I lost heading south. The overall average speed wasn't great, but it wasn't embarrassing either.

I picked up a sinus infection from the last few days' training, likely as not last night's cool ride, so I didn't know if I could swim. I was surprised when I got in and swam the fastest mile I've done all year! Goes to show you never know until you try.

Looks like it will be an 8 AM start on Saturday for the century ride. Parkview Track, I assume. 

The Right Frame of Mind

My image of Troy is shattered. There he was, all built up on that pedestal, a larger-than-life portrait of a living legend. Gone, within a matter of days, demoted to mere mortal.

I was willing to overlook his weakness on Monday when he accepted (read: "begged his wife for") a ride home at the end of a ride. It was cold, and it was raining, and hey, been there, done that. It hurts. That gets a pass. Tonight was different.

Troy was whining. He was complaining about the temperature, calling it "cold". Ahem. Mid-50's are cool, but definitely not cold. This is the same man who rode outside all winter long. This winter. THIS winter! Methinks there's some lost perspective here. I tried to point out the illogical nature of his viewpoint, but he wasn't having any of it.

Before you think I'm being too hard on Troy for whining, or even wonder if he was indeed whining at all, let me just say I'm somewhat of an expert on the topic. First, I've taught school for 28 years. Second, I know Allen Burris. Third, I'm probably a world-class whiner myself. I know what I'm talking about.

Since we're talking about whining, let's develop that a bit. All joking aside, whining occurs when we feel injustice, helpless, or frustration. We whine about things we don't have, things we can't do, or how unfair a situation might be. For us athletes, we fret about things we can't control, like the weather, our age, our failing bodies... and these negative thoughts can betray us, making us feel helpless and hopeless. We forget about the things we can do because of the things we can't. 

My good friend Galloway and I were both trying to offer advice to a novice triathlete during a run a few weeks back. We differed greatly on the issue of confidence vs. experience. Galloway's viewpoint was the more experience you get, the more confidence you get. Mine was the reverse; if you don't have confidence, you'll never even try. Truth might be in the middle, I suppose, but I'll stick to my guns here.

Roy, Scott, Troy, Dan, and I were the only riders to show tonight. The wind was steady out of the southeast as forecast, and it promised a fast ride out of the Washington County area. We were hardly started before the negative thoughts began. Be it the cold, recent workouts, lack of sleep, injury, already minds were turning away from the task at hand, a point so simple that it should have been easily grasped.

We were there to work hard. That's it. If we went fast while doing so, that was great, but the main thing, the most critical thing, was to stretch our bodies a bit and make them suffer. Whatever it took. No excuses, no backing off. Just do it. There is never anything to lose in trying.

I needed a lot of miles tonight, so I started early. I had 22 in before the rest showed (Troy also started early), and the group ride would wind up giving me 60. This was a conscious decision I made to make the distance, not the speed, the priority. It was still no excuse. I would in spite of that go ahead and give a time trial a shot. One by one everyone bought in, by default if nothing else as there was no one to share a line with anyway.

I won't go into much detail, I'll just say Scott, Roy, and I were going to run after the ride, so we broke from the others, pace lined down to the county line, then started our rides. Scott lead, followed by Roy, then me. Right away I could feel the lactic acid in my legs. So what, keep pushing. Get what you can! I had my heart rate monitor on, and I was curious at this point how high a heart rate I could manage on a hard effort.

Scott disappeared right away, almost never to be seen again. Roy was a distant red dot, a dot that took forever to catch. Both of these guys rode extremely well tonight. Scott especially. I have two words for Scott next time he says something about not being fast enough for Terre Haute. Here they are... Shut. Up.

I caught Roy just before the drop into Lost River. I never caught Scott. I couldn't even see him at the finish. Now he's not happy about his time, I know, but he has the wrong perspective. Maybe I didn't ride my fastest tonight, but I've given both Scott and Roy 4-5 minutes before and caught them. Scott couldn't have been more than 2 minutes ahead at the start. He closed the gap, as did Roy. Both guys rode great, whether or not they choose to see it.

Troy finally did man up. He'd ridden his secret time trial before we came out, and he was going at it again on the second trip. He clobbered me tonight, probably both times, and if there's any justice, he got the KOM. No one has worked harder to turn himself into a top-tier athlete than Troy. I happen to believe dedication should pay off (even at my expense!).

When it was over, Scott, Roy, and I ran 3 miles. Take that, Jimmy! We even ran Jimmy's favorite course - Allen's Mitchell Tour de Crap (pronounced "Turdy Crap"). Roy whined (channeling Jimmy), "Hey, Scott, you are going the wrong way - you keep moving away from the church!" and "Scott, slow down!" Okay, I might have helped with that one.

In the end, the day didn't break any records despite its promise. No matter. If one looks at things the right way, what is important is all the workout goals were accomplished at a high level. I needed 60 miles - got it. I wanted to push my heart rate - done. I wanted 3 running miles - ran. And, thanks to Scott, Roy's goal of running 9-minute miles were only missed by 43 seconds per mile (8:17 pace).

Great job, guys!

Better Running Through Better Pacing

In my younger days athletics were simple - I could do whatever I wanted as long and as often as I wanted. That's not an exaggeration - there were many times I was home after a 8-10 mile run and someone would knock on my door looking for a run. Inevitably I would head right out for another 8-10 without a thought.

Things change. If someone knocked on my door looking for a run after I'd finished mine, I'd slam the door in their face faster than I would a Jehovah's Witness. It's not even something to consider anymore.

When I was younger it was all about appetite... I could do as much as I wanted to, but mentally could not take as much as I can now. Ironic it is that I am mentally stronger but physically more frail.

I always said I wanted to go after this athletics thing like there is no tomorrow because you never know when it will be over. As I look at my running life, I can definitely see darkness growing in the east and light fading in the west.

This could be an awful thing, but in some ways it's also liberating. I can't do what I used to do, and nothing will ever change that. With that in mind, there's no reason not to experiment. And that can be exciting. Over this winter I changed up and did not take my running miles up as I usually do. Instead, I popped the riding up. This is harder to accomplish with the time available, but it has paid huge dividends. I maintained optimal body weight throughout the winter, and in some ways have never been in better shape. I changed lifting emphasis to core, and that too has made a big difference. I've found new running/riding/lifting combinations that balance pretty well and have given me overall great health.

But can I race on that? We'll soon see. Terre Haute is coming soon, and that's where the rubber meets the road. I'm fit, but am I racing fit? There hasn't been any speed work over the winter, so I'm guessing probably not. Will that be overcome by greater fitness... we'll see.

Tonight I ran again, another 10 miles, and this one faster than last night. That's unexpected, because I will normally slow down the second day. I have also worn my heart rate monitor the last two days, and got more unexpected results... my recovery heart rate is in the 90 beat range. That's outstanding, and a sure sign of great fitness. Effectively my recovery is almost instantaneous. That most certainly can be used in racing.

Tomorrow is the group ride from Mitchell Church of Christ, 5:45 PM. I plan to run afterward.

It was easy, then it wasn't

With a day off yesterday, the start of today's run was very strong. I mean, I felt strength in my legs and push off I haven't felt in a LONG time. It might have been smarter to run easier, saving some for tomorrow, but there is another side to the coin; racing is coming, and I am woefully short of pace work in running. Pressing the heart rate a bit won't hurt a bit.

And so I wore my heart rate monitor tonight. Yup, going to have to do that more. Triathlon is about effort more than speed. Gotta stay in a sustainable effort, no matter the conditions.

So the miles ticked away, faster and faster, until I got back to the house in the first 5. Time was 34:34, a solid run for me. The break between runs was 15 minutes, far longer than I usually allow, and it would be trouble. I stiffen up so fast when I stop running, and 15 minutes was more than enough to cause some agony on the restart. Did it anyway. The right hip hurts? Too bad. Go with it anyway. It is what it is.

The second run was slower than my first, for which I was thankful. That is until we were by Southland Church of Christ, where Bartley diverged from the group in his usual GPS-obedient fashion, forcing me (and Miller and Bartlett) to follow. Since it is longer, we of course had to run a hard segment to get back to Jimmy and John T. Miller toyed with me, Bartley only less so, and they drug my sorry butt to the guys. That would be the last time I sprint off the pack.

Toward the end I started getting hungry. I hadn't had a snack in a while, and I was definitely beginning to lag. Hey, I'd lifted, then run almost an hour and ten by then. I'm a growing boy! The run did indeed end, and a great workout was in the books.

Now we come to the issue of tomorrow night and the group ride...

Look, I'm not in charge, though folks do ask me what we are going to do. All I can do is state my thoughts and plans. You guys are welcome to join me or not as you wish, though I always welcome the company. That disclaimer aside, here's my plan...

Tomorrow the forecast is for a high of 42, northwest winds of 10-15 mph. About the only thing that would make worse conditions for this ride would be rain. A month ago 42 would be a great temperature, but it's not so great anymore. I need 50 miles (at least), and this isn't going to happen tomorrow. So for me, the smarter way to go is to repeat last week and go with Wednesday instead. The high that day is 55 degrees AND the wind shifts to the southeast at 10-15 mph. What that means is pretty optimal conditions for time trialing. So your choices are cold pace line into a strong headwind OR a warmer ride coasting at high speed with a strong tail wind... let me think... this is a hard one...

The bonus here is I will add an additional swim tomorrow night. That's a tough deal to beat, folks.

The bonus/bonus is I am also taking my shoes on Wednesday for a short run after the ride. Yup, it's time to start bricking again, and no time like the present. Again, feel free to be a part of this or not.

Finally, for those that plan far out (I do) I am doing another century ride on Saturday. Allen is in too, and Jimmy (for a big hunk of it). Join us if you like! You don't have to do the whole thing, stay for whatever you need (or want), but if you want someone to share a ride, we likely have a wide target for you to hit. 

The Dark Ages

What a beautiful day for a ride! Miller, Jimmy, Scott, Roy, and I didn't waste this one... sure hope you didn't either.

To begin, this was the first century for Roy and Miller, and the first of the year for Jimmy. For that reason, Scott and I discussed the course and opted for the easier options. This was wise on the face of it, and wiser by the end when the results would be known. The wind was low at the start, but by noon time it was strong from the south. For this reason our course took us deep south as quickly as possible.

From the start Miller and Scott looked strong on the climbs. I wasn't having any of the early push. I took my time in the climbs. It's a long day, and it was going to get warm. There was plenty of time to push later if we felt up to it. For this reason I spent most of the first half at the back end of the ride.

We wound our way through Mitchell, Orleans, and Pumpkin Center by the usual routes, then hooked over to Livonia. From there we jumped on Allen's new segment and trekked north to Campbellsburg. With around 55 miles in we stopped for lunch. Everyone was still looking good by then. The only problem was Scott had overdressed a bit and was still wearing the jacket from the morning. No problem - except it was already over 70 degrees and climbing.

A word on the food at the Campbellsburg gas station - I love it. Lord help me, I love it so. And it never tastes better than when you are just off a 3-hour bike ride.

To get our miles, we were forced to go again into the teeth of the strong south winds. This was an unpopular decision, voiced mostly by Roy, but I'm sure it was a common sentiment. Since it was at least in part my decision, I took the long pull south to get us back to Livonia. This was when it became clear the ride was wearing some down. I wasn't pushing, but the farther we went on, the more the group struggled to stay together. It might be a long second half.

Back to 337, and it was easy. OH! So easy! Once we topped the hill above the county line and dropped onto the time trial course, it was a coast to go 26-27 mph. I mean, I wasn't pushing down on the pedals at all, it was just fast. The group broke up, so I slowed it down. 23 mph was nothing. I bet my heart rate wasn't over 110 the whole time we were on 337. Jimmy wound up pulling when I dropped to the back, and he was coasting at a similar speed. For me, this might have been the easiest part of the trip.

After passing Huck's, it became clear one more push south was needed to make the ride complete. I pulled this one too, albeit at a more subdued pace. After that, we turned west, then north for good. The rest of the ride promised to be an easy coast northward.

The thing about long rides is you are never sure how they will turn out until the end. One little mistake early will cost you big in the end, and the end can come suddenly. Scott was clearly beginning to show serious signs of dehydration, from his demeanor right down to his salt-stained shorts. That jacket was literally killing him.

Despite all this, we found ourselves back on Dixie Highway 'ere long, turning out onto the highway for the final piece of ugly on the day. No one wanted to lead the climb, so I did... we had a strong tail wind, how bad could it be? Miller and I topped first (and let me say, he looked fresh as a daisy the whole ride). Looking back, we could see Scott and Jimmy a bit back. Roy was not in sight. At all. Clearly something bad had happened.

The road was littered with trash, so the odds were it was a flat. Still you never know. I bit the bullet and said I would drop down the cut to find out. Miller followed. Sure enough, there Roy was, on the opposite side of the bridge, changing a front tire. By the time we got turned at Burton he was ready to get back on, and we all then climbed back up the hill.

Jimmy and I were going to run after the ride, but this delay was enough to put Jimmy off. Probably for the best though... that would have been quite a load for him at this point. I was not deterred, and did indeed go home, shoe up, and ran 3 miles. It was my fastest pace of the week, I might add.

So to sum up, I will use the words of Jimmy during the day's ride... "It's a beautiful day... I'm only sorry more of my friends aren't here to share it with me."

A short note

It's late and I'm tired, but I didn't want to go to bed without making a few observations on the evening's events.

1. New guys Brian and Dan seem like fine additions to the group. Welcome! It was challenging out there tonight, but you both seemed to keep your chins up and handled it. It's never easy chasing Troy!
2. Saturday looks to be the keeper day of the rest of the week, which is great because we have a century ride scheduled, starting 8 AM from Parkview. 
3. I need to get 50 miles tomorrow, and I don't know where that's going to come from, since it's going to be horribly windy. Man.
4. My running week is almost over. I did 5 miles this morning, bringing the weekly total to over 25 miles. In this respect, the first half of my training plan for the week is a total success. 
5. I want Sunday off. No, I NEED Sunday off!

As stated above, I will ride again tomorrow night one way or another. I hope to get at least 47.2 miles in, which would give me 100 miles for the week. That would allow me to ride the Saturday century and have Sunday off. 

Let's see how THAT pans out...

Possibly thwarted and more

It looks like the Tuesday ride may be canceled due to weather. I'm watching the forecast, but as of now it looks like there's a better than average chance it'll be raining at that time. I don't know about you guys, but I don't have much appetite to ride in cool rain. Better to wait until tomorrow if it comes to that. That will cut a few guys out. Sorry! To make up for that, if we are out a ride, I will plug in another swim at 8 PM, BNL.

Managed 10 running miles in the rain - and more surprising was how many other guys showed; John T., Scott, Bartlett, Miller... less surprising was Jimmy didn't. He whined something about his foot and ran like a little school girl over to the lab. I'm expecting a repeat performance all around tonight.

Awards
Here are some candidate awards thus far:

• 21st Century - ride 21 century rides in a year. It's a progressive award system, and you level up for every century.
• English Channel - swim 20 miles in a year.
• 24/7 - get 24 training hours in one week.

Admittedly these are volume awards and favor athletes with big training appetites. However that is rather the point, right? To encourage a bigger appetite? 

As for performance awards, this is a bit more problematic. There has to be a way to give everyone a chance at an award, or there is no motivation. Climbing is difficult to prove because it appears mobile GPS technology (or the algorithms used by Strava) just aren't there yet to give reliable numbers. Speed needs to be scaleable to allow benchmark goals. 

Performance possibilities:

• Sound Barrier - break 60 km/hr (36.6 mph) in the final sprint. This could be distributed in 5 km increments to the top. 
• Pike's Peak - find a hill with over 20% grade for at least 1/10 mile. 
• Steady As She Goes - hold a steady pace, +/- 2 mph throughout a time trial. This wouldn't have to be on the pace line course, which is too rolling to effectively complete this task. distance would need to be at least 5 miles. 

Just throwing some stuff out there. 

Another big week

Rest is a luxury of the rich it seems. A working man has to double-down to get his hard-earned training, balancing between work and play. Toss in a little weather, and things can be a challenge. The Lego pieces of life can only be assembled so many ways.

A quick review of the week in our club is revealing.

• Scott rode his first century
• Heavy weather made that century difficult to accomplish
• The top-3 riders in mileage this week were all above 185 miles(!)
• People are looking STRONG

Such is an Ironman year, where those that sign on the line face the all-too-real certainty the date will arrive and they will realize they are ready or they are not. Experience says that's scary enough to get them out there training when ordinarily they might not. 

Our start yesterday was not without some mix up, which happens when so many people coordinate different schedules, and I won't go into details other than John T. and Miller started early, met the later group, and we all rode together from there. Participants were (in addition to the first two) Roy, Scott, Jimmy, and me. Our target from the church group was 40 miles - at least, that was my target. I needed 36 miles to get 200 for the week, but wanted a nice round zero on the end of the day's number. The others were happy to accommodate, especially Jimmy who'd bailed on the previous day's century mid-ride. 

The course was meandering, which drives some guys nuts. We had little choice - the flooding made simply picking a path and going difficult. Twice we were turned around, and on the second event I made a decision to go a divergent path. We were within sight of Highway 56 between Paoli and Livonia - it was perhaps a mile away and in clear view. I knew it was open, a pretty road, and I was curious about the state of Highway 37 from Paoli to Orleans. 

We began to backtrack, and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to go 56. Thing was, I didn't particularly want anyone to go with me because I couldn't be certain it was safe. That's what I really wanted to find out. There was also embedded a challenge; could I get to Huck's around the same time they did? I figured the distances were approximate, but guessed also (correctly) my path would be longer and hillier. I would have to work pretty hard to do it. 

The first climb was almost enough change my mind. It peaks over 14% grade, no small thing the day after a century ride. The other side was over 43 mph downhill, giving some idea just how big it was. From there it was full commitment to 56. 

Highway 56 is to me a beautiful ride, even as it gets hillier. The farms are built into the hills in a very picturesque way, and there is a certain rhythm to the climb and glide sequence that is challenging and rewarding. 

I wish I could say the same of Highway 37. It was crowded, busy, and ugly. That said, I always make great time going north despite the uphill nature of the ride. It wasn't as if I had a tailwind (as I should have); the winds had shifted to the north and it was a steady pressure in my face. Like the day before, the longer the ride went the better I felt. 

I did catch the group at Huck's. They couldn't have been there too long as Miller was just completing his food purchase. Perfect! I would have time to grab a quick snack and drink. On top of that, the Seidles were there, and we had a little time to catch up with them. We apologized for the absence of Allen's calves, though I did spot a tear in Bret's eye as he slowly turned his bike west for his return trek to Bedford. 

It was a great day to ride. Part of me wishes it would warm up already and be spring, really, but another part of me knows that riding is never easier than it is right now, in these weather conditions. No bugs, no sweat, no stress. It's hard to argue with that. 

Scott's First Century

It may have been a cold start, but what a beautiful day! Jimmy, Scott, Allen, and I headed down south at 9 AM, still in the lower 40's and with a light north wind. That actually helped a bit because it gave us a tailwind, effectively minimizing the effects of low temperatures.

Jimmy couldn't go the whole way. He made it as far as Huck's before he turned back. With a noon meeting, he had time for under 3 hours riding. He kept hinting we could ride back with him, but for once I'm glad we didn't bite. Century rides are hard enough without retracing the same route over and over. I like Jimmy, but not that much!

We tried to follow the "Between the Spokes" course as much as the flooding allowed. Scott had scouted the night before and we used his gathered intelligence to steer us. We had only one place where we were blocked; other than that, the ride was clear sailing.

We had stops at 24, 55, and 75 miles. That worked about right. For my part I kept my pace down from the start, and so the whole affair was rather even in effort. I won't speak for the other guys...

Scott looked solid for his first Century. Sure, he was tired by the end, but who wouldn't be? Allen was tired too. That said, I never thought either guy wouldn't make it.

Tomorrow looks to be the better of the two weekend days. Good news for those of you who didn't get to ride today! We will ride again tomorrow from the Mitchell Church of Christ at 3 PM. I'm looking for around 40 miles, though depending on how I feel I might be compelled to ride more. 

Got the 10 after all

I didn't think I'd be able to finish my running week tonight - I was tired and sore. The happy intersection of need struck again, as Jimmy contacted me about a run, and with time to get 5 miles before his run, my 10 was set. Scott joining us was just the cherry on the sundae.

Tomorrow we do 100 miles. I hope it works out. Between the cold and the flooding we'll have challenges. We'll eat breakfast at McDonald's at 8 AM, then meet at Parkview at 9 AM. Jimmy is going shorter for anyone wanting less. 

Some quick hits

Just a few quick-hit thoughts on a slow night:

• Industrial Park Drive was closed due to high water this afternoon.
• Saturday's long ride will be a cool start, extending to a warm day.
• Flooding will likely be a problem along the course. Be prepared to change plans as necessary.
• Check out the new group event feature of Strava. Pretty cool. Find it on the club page.
• I know where an Allen-sized full wetsuit can be bought cheaply, if you need one.
• It may be raining, but at least it's not snow.

Swam a mile tonight. Saw John T., Brent V., Rand, and Allen. Thursdays will be fairly regular for the rest of the school year. I can't guarantee every week, stuff happens, but for the most part they should work. 

Ran 7 miles, 4 of them with Sully. 

100-mile ride planned for Saturday. All invited. 

Another ride Sunday. Plans to be determined.

First indoor run with the Garmin Forerunner 220

I've been avoiding the inevitable treadmill run for this week. Today's weather made further delay impossible. With 3-4 inches of rain predicted by Saturday morning, it's hard to see a path clear to outdoor running for a working man.

It was a chance to try out the indoor function of my Garmin Forerunner 220. With a motion sensor built in, it is possible to get distance without a foot pod. Calibration is supposedly accomplished by running outdoors enough the watch learns your stride length. All good in theory. In practice, not so much.

The club uses commercial-grade treadmills, which in my experience are very good and fairly accurate, at least to the point I get equivalent workouts compared to outdoors. I set the speed to 7.5 mph (8-minute pace) to start out. After a couple of miles warming up, I dropped it 3/10's of a mile an hour for every one of the remaining 6 miles. In the final half-mile I cranked it down to 6:15 pace.

The results were, to say the least, disappointing.

My first mile on the watch was 8:53. Second similar, third similar, and so on. I was stuck in a groove. Finally, when I was near 7-minute pace on the treadmill, I got a mile in the 8:25 range. Now perhaps an argument could be made the treadmill isn't as accurate as I think, but let me just say I asked the nice man supervising for a mop so I could clean up the floor surrounding the treadmill. He thought I was joking, but I wasn't. I have to run pretty hard to get that much sweat up.

So no, I wasn't running near 9-minute pace. I can do that in my sleep. No, the accuracy of the sensor, at least for me, is so far off as to be unusable.

On to tomorrow... I need to run again. I'm thinking 7-10 miles. That would put me in position to finish my week on Friday with a solid run. This would in turn set me up to ride all weekend long.

Speaking riding this weekend, right now the plan is for 100 miles on Saturday. Scott, Allen, and I are hashing out details, which I will post here when complete.

Double Dip

It's not too often we see back-to-back pace line opportunities... okay, so it's never happened before. It did this week, at least for John T. and me.

Roy, T-Roy, Miller, John T., and I finally got together after some small confusion over venue (vestiges of last night's discussion). I won't go into it, but I drove down Highway 60 and caught T-Roy before he got to Spring Mill. It didn't slow us much, as we headed out in the typical 5-minute grace period.

The sun was shining brightly as we left. Ah, spring! The air is clean, crisp, and the world is full of the promise of a fresh beginning, brimming with possibilities on this the cusp of a new racing season. Who can't get excited about that? Though the wind was out of the WNW and steady, what did it matter on the way out? We could enjoy the fine weather.

Then Roy got a flat. It's hard to say what got darker, Roy's mood or the sky which seemed to reflect his demeanor. It took Roy and Miller maybe 10 minutes to change the flat, but no kidding, in those 10 minutes the sky became completely overcast, and the signs of imminent rain were everywhere. Now the plan had to change.

The only way to make the county line was to pace line out. The tailwind made this easy. The only problem is when you have a tailwind out, you have a headwind in. John T. and I shared the pull on the way out. The way in was going to be a slower affair. The group decided to stay together, and a speed of 20 mph or so was chosen. Short pulls would be the order of the day.

Of course 20 turned to 21, 22, and sometimes above. I am not the only guilty party, only the first! Everyone took it above the limit, especially Roy. The only really noteworthy moment of the way back was when Roy tapped at the base of Lost River, handing to Miller. Yup, there are a couple of you reading right now who just rocked your head back and said, "OOOOhhhhhh...." Ordinarily this move would have been fatal, but Miller was kind and eased up the hill.

Light was quickly fading, and we were forced to take the highway back to Mitchell. This was the other noteworthy part of the ride, because John T. pulled it all the way back, into the wind, at a fairly good clip. This guy is STRONG!

Last Night
Okay, I've read a couple of comments from a couple of you guys regarding your efforts in last night's time trial... let's get some perspective here. John T. rode over 27 mph. Scott rode 26.7 mph. Jimmy and Rand rode 25.1, and Allen rode 24.3. I can remember times when the entire group, at its peak, working together couldn't hold 25 mph. 26.7 mph would have been KOM for most of the year last year. I can remember not being able to break 24 mph as an individual. In short, everyone did great. Everyone is in great shape. Yes, we were wind-aided last night, no doubt about it. Pull a couple mph's off your speed. Could your really be disappointed with that for a ride at the end of March? I can't see it. I'm excited for everyone, scared of everyone, and realize that I have to be on my game or get left behind. THAT, my friends, is one of the many ways working out with this group helps us all.

By all means, keep working hard. Don't beat yourselves up... be positive!