There She Blows!

I must preface this by saying I've never been sailing on the open seas. I have never been in a sailboat on the lake. I have been on a small catamaran-like boat on a day where there was relatively no wind. But today, I can honestly say, I know what it must feel like to sail. I also know what it felt like when Dorothy's house was being blown to and fro before it came to rest on the witch. Needless to say, when my bike came to a stop, it was time for me to put on my ruby slippers (a.ka. tennis shoes) and hit the yellow brick road. I'm not from Kansas but yesterday, I'd have made the trip!

We ventured out for two 50-mile loops on the bike. I can honestly say it was one of the most unpleasant rides I've been on. Although it was an accomplishment after it was all said and done, it was miserable from a fun perspective. It was cold, windy and overcast. We managed to make it as fun as possible. We laughed, we complained, we pedaled, we tried to move forward and we tried not to be blown over. At one point towards the end of the first loop, I turned around to one of my buddies and said, "Seriously, am I going anywhere?" I was pedaling but felt as if my output was maximum effort with complete and total minimum return. We took a beating. We dropped one after the first loop and added two new cyclists. It was great to have a cycling buddy of mine from the Bettys, Amanda, join us for the second loop. She was quite the trooper to be out riding for fun despite my forewarning. We didn't get to see the wizard but we did get to see quite a few Toto's along the way.

Following the bike, we'd planned for an 8-mile run. I think I wound up running between 5.5 and 6 miles. It was much later than I had anticipated given the wind and running solo in an unfamiliar area just wasn't appealing to me. The run continues to feel really good after cycling. I am hoping it continues in the weeks ahead or should I say, 34 days. I felt strong on the run despite honestly not doing well nutritionally on the bike. I am going to have to force myself to drink even if I am cold. I consumed 4 of 6 bottles of Infinit while on the bike. It must've been the wind because I've been doing so well. I have to mentally force myself as we may face similar winds in Arizona.

The coming week is a recovery week and then we taper. TAPER???? Seriously, already??? We've got a 20-mile run on Saturday but otherwise, 4 days off this week with a short swim, bike and run on three separate days. I am very much looking forward to catching up on some much needed "TO DO's" on my list. The goal now is to stay injury-free and healthy. I am praying for the same for my training buddies. Again, I say, what a phenomenal group of people I've grown to love, admire and cherish over the past 12 months. Happy Training!