[Photos:
Texas Plume - a fun short and modestly hilly section of the ride,
The hole in the front yard before soaking it, adding fertilizer and other secret ingredients And the tree,
My lunch - normal ingredients as listed in previous postings.]
The ride out was into the wind and not to notable other than being a challenge. The big motivator for going out was knowing that the ride back was going to be fast and fun! (And it was, but more on that shortly.) I decided to time the bridge portion on the way out (into the wind) just as a ref and it was 15.6 mph avg for 1/2 mile into the teeth of a strong wind. The avg speed on the way out was just over 15 mph - not moving very fast, but the wind was really strong.The ride back was Great! There were several (8+) trips in the the 30's, but no 40's today. I forgot to restart my HRM so it didn't record data for the return trip. I was a little bummed by that as I worked pretty hard even with the wind to my back and would have liked to see the avg HR as I suspect it would have been in mid to high 150's. I spent a fair bit of time in the 160's and even 170's on the return trip as I was trying to put more power to the road.
The two highlights for me on this ride were both on the return ride. The first was about a 1/3 of the way back. I rode past 3 other cyclists who were on the side of the road. After I passed and went through the stop sign I noticed that they had started up and were heading my way. Knowing someone is behind you and would likely enjoy catching you - well that is a motivator for me to push a little harder. A little further I looked in my mirror and I could see them back there - that was the last time I saw them in my mirror. I guess that tells me that I'm pretty competitive. Not like some that I know, but still it is a strong motivator for me. The second was my favorite little Time Trial over the last bridge. Today it was 36.3 mph avg for .55 miles for 1:54.36 with an average cadence of 109. The cadence is a little lower as I shifted into a higher gear towards the end and tried to increase my power output. That gave a quick increase to the burn that was already consuming my thighs and hamstrings. I looked down and saw my HR: 183 ... 184 ... I didn't see higher, but I didn't look down after 184 and often it will continue to go up after I back off. So, I know it was 184 and probably 185 - which is what I've been using as my MHR, but haven't seen past 182 for many months and I think that was the first time I saw my max heart rate (MHR) on a ride. There's a sense of accomplishment to push hard enough to see your MHR and that's what excited me most.I did notice though that my chest hurt at times afterwards when I got home. I think it was my heart and I'll send a note to my cardiologist asking him about it. (It's nice to be on a first name basis with my heart Dr - and have him read and respond to my personal emails. Thanks David!) The symptoms I noticed were when I would bend over when my lungs were empty: that's when I'd get a pain in my heart area. If I sucked in a big breath of air and then bent over, I didn't have any discomfort. I stopped noticing it sometime after an hour. It was a little concerning but the more I thought about it the easier it became to explain it away. After all the heart is an amazing muscle. And like other muscles they can ache and even hurt after a strenuous work out - and my heart certainly had one of those today. With all the high HR pushes on the way back and the MHR too. I think it was a Great work out for my Heart Muscle!!
When I got back I was really hungry. So I fixed a nice lunch as shown in the photo: I really like my vegetable chicken dish...mmmmm yummy! I also planted a tree in the front yard today. It's been in a pot for over a year. We've already lived in this house 13 years - another 13 years and that tree will be ready for some serious grandkid climbing... :-)
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