Solo long ride.....

Whew!

Just got back from gradumatation. :) Always fun to see the kids all in their gowns. I teach 9th and 10th grade, and I swear when I see these kids walk it feels like yesterday they were in my class. There's a whole post brewing in my mind about leaving school for the last time this school year today, but that's gonna have to wait 'til tomorrow. Me tired.

Thanks for all your thoughtful comments--you guys rock. It amazes me how we as triathletes, runners, etc. are able to do what we do--and you guys with KIDS amaze me even more. I hope I can keep this up when I have a few little TriSaraToppers running around, and you give me hope!

Yesterday I had a nice 11.2 mile run with a negative split--gotta get my long stuff in Thursday and Friday since I'm going to a Triathlon Women's Clinic sponsored by CTC and USAT this weekend--yay!

Today was my first real day off. I had every intention of getting up nice and early and doing my 4 hour ride in the am.

BUT I SLEPT UNTIL 10:00!!!!!!!!

??????????

I just DON'T sleep in, people. Not after 1999 have I slept in much later than 8-9 on a weekend. So I guess my body must have needed it. Whatever--I wasn't about to beat myself up. Still plenty of time to get in my ride.

So I got my Carbo Pro in the mail this week--on TriEric's recommendation, as Perpetuem did nothing but make me want to blow chunks. I know, I know, it's such a great fuel, blah blah blah. But last week even when I was started to feel dehydrated, I just grabbed my Perpetuem bottle, looked at it, and put it back down. I couldn't do it. So it was time to try something else.

Enter Carbo-Pro: supposedly it is "tasteless" fuel that can be mixed with water or any sports drink. Yeah, I've heard that before. "Supposedly" Perpetuem tastes "like an orange creamsicle." Orange creamsicle my ass.

I put it in some Gatorade Endurance, and after the first 20 minutes or so of my ride, grabbed the bottle and braced for the worst as I took a gulp.

*glug glug glug*

GASP!

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was wonderful! It tasted like the Gatorade it was SUPPOSED to taste like! Woo hooooooooooooooooooo

It's kind of like when you're 17 and you think beer is really nasty and don't get the hype, but then you try a Zima with a jolly rancher dropped in it and a bright light shines down and you hear singing..."aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" And you exclaim, "IT'S TASTY! I could drink this all NIGHT!"

Not that I've ever done that.

Well, ah...ahem...

Maybe once.

Anyway, I like do to my long runs solo, but long rides with friends. Why? I dunno. For some reason I just feel more comfortable riding with friends, plus you can draft which is nice. :) But people have to work and stuff. So I had to go solo.

Thought I'd start in my house, then head west, back to my place to refill if needed, and then east and back. My first 17 were a little slow, but there was some pretty strong headwinds, so I was OK with that. The next 17 were a little faster. I debated doing that again but decided against it since there was a lot of construction in one little town, so I decided to head to the park. Didn't even need to stop at my house to get more Carbo Pro--I actually got another bottle holder mounted on my bike so now I can hold 3 bottles! Yay! I got made fun of for only having one and having to wear a Camelbak in the heat 2 weeks ago. :)

Then I headed to the park and this felt easier. I was definitely getting tired and felt it on a few hills, but made it home in one piece and still felt like I could keep going! But it was getting too close to graduation so I had to hurry up and get in the shower.

When all was said and done, I did 71 miles averaging 17.3 mph! I was very excited about this. Granted, it is mostly flat with just a few hills in there and they aren't that big....BUT....we'll take what we can get. Last year, my long rides were mostly averaging in the 16's. So progress is good.

So now I'm very tired....kicked my own butt quite a bit here in the past 2 days. Looking forward to attending this clinic and gaining some good info! Time to read and go to bed.....zzzzzzzzzzzzz

It feels like a Sunday night to me, since I did all my long stuff--but it's not so happy training to everyone out there this weekend!