Day 2: hard enough to throw up...

Barriers ... that we have to push through to accomplish challenging goals; they are many. It's only my second day of focused training and a couple barriers were crossed: those were pushing on when everything in you wants to slowdown, going on slowly when everything wants to stop and pushing yourself so hard that you physically get sick (not just feel bad but actually throw up).

This day started with me getting up and getting ready to do an easy recovery ride this morning. I checked the continuous radar channel on the TV and it looked clear. As I was just heading out the door I heard rain and saw lightning. So, that scrubbed the morning ride. At some point I do need to start riding in the rain, but I'm not there yet.

Breakfast was my normal oatmeal+ (millet, whole oats, flax seed, olive oil, crasins, blue berries, real maple syrup and soy milk). Lunch was also a normal meal, of spicy chicken (chicken breasts, cubed, with cyan pepper, garlic powder, black pepper, fresh roasted garlic and olive oil) and vegetables (onion, red and green peppers, yellow squash, sweet potato, carrot, spinach, fresh garlic, a little cilantro and mustard) and a little basmati rice (with some Bragg's sauce). Dinner, well that is after the hard Tuesday ride...

The rain stopped by mid morning, so by the time early evening came the roads were dry and just a few puddles remained in shady spots. It had been two weeks since I last rode this ride, and those weeks were light riding weeks, so I figured it would be an extra hard ride this week: I was not disappointed. 

The ride: It was the normal route from the dam out to Lake Ridge (this is kind of the warm up leg as we all ride together) with the wind to our back it was 18-24 mph. Once we turn on Lake Ridge, then that is where things pick up. It's faster riding until we hit Texas Plume and then things really separate (it took me 4:51 on the first trip up and 10:00 to do the loop and the second climb (less than 5 minutes is a good time for me up this road)). From the top we go down the service road and back around to Texas Plume and up again. Then it's back on Lake Ridge to S. Lakeview Dr and up Valley View Dr (this is the longer harder hill). We go up and then in the neighborhood make a circle and come back down it. The up it the last time and from there on the service road until Tx Plume down to Lake Ridge and then back to the lake. Sounds not so bad. But, it's not done at a leisurely pace. This is the first barrier that is always crashed through on these group rides: pushing myself to sustain an effort that is beyond my normal limits.

Every time I do this ride I am pushed. I have yet to have my HRM with me, but had I I'm sure the numbers would be very interesting to see. By the time I had finished the second trip up Valley View I was pretty much spent. (There is a hill back there that the other riders call the 'Wall'. and that is what it is like. It's not to long, but I'm in my lowest gear [39-27], out of the saddle and pumping each stroke to keep forward movement. It's at the end and it's tough! The photo doesn't do it justice - it's one that has to be experienced to be appreciated.) By this time I was with two other riders: Tom and Brent and they were nice enough to 'pull' me back the rest of the way. Even with them leading I was having a difficult time hanging on and not getting dropped. This was another barrier: mentally and physically wanting to slowdown, but having very short minute goals to keep up the effort.

Once we got back to the lake, I thanked the guys for pulling me back and headed off for the 8 mile trip home. This is where I was seriously thinking of calling my favorite SAG (support and gear) - my wife, for a pick-up. But another barrier is to finish - even if I have to slow down, there is value in pushing through and finishing for future rides to anchor on this experience of finishing. So, back across the dam it was pretty leisurely 12-15 mph, I was even passed by two recreational riders - but that didn't bother me, I was on a different mission: not speed, but just finishing; no pride left here it was all about continuing on - even that pace was a struggle. At this point I was thinking about a fruit/vegetable/protein smoothie that I was going to have for dinner when I got home. Mmmmm I was looking forward to getting home.

Numbers: ttl ride time 2:49:48, 40.3 mph max, 17.1 avg (that's 8 miles warm up (18.3 avg) and 8 miles cool down and 30.5 miles on the group ride (18.8 avg)). 

The final barrier was getting sick after eating 40 oz of smoothie (apple, carrot, orange, sweet potato, squash, spinach, straw berries, blue berries, whey protein, water and ice). I was very spent physically, and that smoothie just didn't settle well. It took about 40 minutes of lying around before I threw up. So, I ended up not eating any dinner. I was able to get a little ginger ale a few hrs later and then some water in the middle of the night. I slept on the couch that night just to make sure I didn't disturb my wife. I feel fine now, other than being very hungry. According to the scale my weight is ~10 lbs less than what it was a couple days ago. That could partly be due to the BM's and all the fiber and veggies I've been eating, and in part to the hard work out, the missed meal and some partial dehydration. None the less, I think I'm going to eat something substantial this morning. Just not sure what yet.

Conclusion: the ride yesterday had several challenges that effected me physically and mentally. I think it was a successful ride in that I have some points to hold onto in the future when I feel similarly. I also had a little interaction with Tom and Brent - my friendly tow trucks.  :-)