7-8-2022: 40 Miles – It was Hard
40 Miles – It was Hard
7/8/2022
That is all… Thanks
I will probably step away from the computer before I finish
this, it is almost time to go pick up Kona from Daycare and I will finish this
later and perhaps I will have something more inspiring to say or write about
other than that want to just go into my bedroom and drop on the bed and wake up
again tomorrow.
I am not going to lie; it was hard out there today. There are several reasons why it was hard out
there.
First, last nights dinner consisted of Movie Theater
popcorn. I went to see Thor: Love and
Thunder last night. It was great. I don’t know why it is getting such shitty
reviews. It is a superhero movie. Chris was great. Portman was great. Tessa was great. Bale was fucking amazing villain, Gorr the God
Butcher. What a fantastic name for a
fantastic actor in fantastic role.
However, I knew I would be eating the popcorn and therefore, I didn’t
eat anything else last night. No good
balance of macronutrients. Could have
bene a reason for the struggle today.
Second, last night I went to see Thor: Love and Thunder and
well I didn’t get home till 11 and when that happens, I can never lay down and
just go to bed. Especially not when I
must let the girls out and then spend some time with them. So, I was up until after midnight and then up
this morning at 7:20. So, not the best
rest before a long bike ride.
Then who knows what else it could have been. I know I didn’t bring enough snacks with me
on the ride. I am sure you are going to
love this one, I left without my “Just a handful of nuts” that is normally what
I take with me. I did have four protein
bites with me, but the nuts would have been clutch. Please get your mind out of the gutter. I really meant I wish I had my food with me. Like I said it could have been any number of
reasons why I struggled out there today.
Nuts, movie, previous day food, who knows.
When I started out it just felt like I was riding in sludge. The push out Greenville is never what I would
call easy. However, it bothered me more
than normal today. Maybe my legs were
still dead from Wednesday, but Thursday was a perfect good rest day. I put very little load on my legs. Still,
when I got to the end of Greenville and realized it had taken me 45 minutes to
get there, I suspected I might be in for a long day. Let me state one thing here and now
though. Let’s not mistake a touch ride
for a ride I didn’t enjoy and that I didn’t spend most of the time smiling on. Even know it was hard and even though it took
everything I had to get to 40, it was still fun. It went by fast; it was not torture it was just
hard. I smiled a lot, enjoyed the scenery,
but I found myself running on fumes. We
all just have some days.
The best I felt all day was going down Tesla to Concannon,
then Concannon to Murder Lan, then off to Pleasanton. I felt good heading over to Pleasanton. Cruising down Stanley. It felt a lot more down hill today than it
did a week ago. Perhaps the earth shifted
in its place.
I did get little lost circling downtown Pleasanton and even
took the wrong route. MapMyRide I think intentionally
sent me into a townhouse complex and routed me into the very back of it to a
dead end. You must be careful with that website,
or it will send you on squirely little out of the way things, like the back of
a Townhouse complex. Luckily, I noticed
a way through on my way in and quickly got myself out of there. Then it really confused me when it put on Stanley,
but the cross street was also Stanley. I
didn’t know what to do, so I chose to go straight, which was the wrong way and
I ended up bypassing downtown Pleasanton.
Cruising Santa Rita wasn’t bad. Although at first, I was wondering if I was
going the right way. Honestly, I could
get lost in my own house if I am not careful.
Ok, so I am not that thick, but sometimes I wonder. However, I confirmed I was going to the right
way when I crossed Black Avenue, the home of my master swim team. I was a little to early for the master to be
there, but I still waved and was excited that I was biking past my swimming
hole. I thought that was uber cool.
I really started to hit a wall again when I turned onto
Stoneridge and started pushing my way back to Livermore. I just felt beat. I had been on the bike for 20 some miles and
I had been out for a few hours I think at that point. Around this time, I realized that I might run
out of water, and it was getting hot. I
was trying to conserve water, but I was thirsty at the same time. So, now we add me being worried about water
to my legs that felt like a million pounds trying to push back home and you see
where the recipe of it being hard day on the bike was comes from.
I stopped alone Jack London and had some Sports Drink. I also ate my first two protein bites. I
always stop along there in the shade. I
don’t stop for to long. Apparently, some
cyclists stop on rides for lunch and for coffee and stuff. Is that ok to do? Is it legit?
I just always assumed if you are out riding for exercise you don’t
stop. I must investigate this. Me, I take like a two-minute break. Eat a few bites. Drink a little sport drink and then start
cranking again. If you can stop and have
some coffee on a training ride, I know just the McDonalds to get some tasty
decaf and maybe have a few co-workers meet me for a quick chat.
My energy came up a little bit after my snack. However, the boost was short lived. By the time I got into Livermore proper, I
just felt tired again. Not in a bite me
zone type of way. Just I am working hard,
and I am tired kind of way. I wasn’t
angry. Although I did tell a car to go
fuck themselves because they pulled out in front of me, or did I call them a dumb
fuck. I don’t remember. Doesn’t matter, I am sure they were a mile
away by the time it was out of my mouth anyway.
Energy picked up again where Portola meets North
Livermore. The big ass pickup truck,
that I pulled up next too was rocking the Country Music when I stopped at the
light. It was one of the old school
country songs from my time back in Indiana.
So, I knew the words. So, sitting
at the stop light waiting for the green, I decided to sing along with Brooks
and Dunn. “Now if you lose your one and
only. There's always room here
for the lonely. To watch your
broken dreams. Dance in and out
of the beams of a neon moon”.
Yes, I saw Brooks & Dunn in concert in Reno with my parents. I knew a lot of their songs. It surprised.
Not a surprise I picked up the lyrics coming out of that pickup
though. When it pulled off, I had to
fight of the urge for my mind to keep playing that song over and over in my
head. Instead, my mind went back to the
other song that has been stuck in my head which I don’t know if it is better or
not. It is a cover by the Jerry Garcia
Band that came on when I was playing ball in the backyard with Kona, “The Night
they Drove Old Dixie Down”. Anyway… really make me want to figure out who
Stoneman is, and what he did to the tracks in the South, but never mind.
I stopped on again on May School Road and ate the rest of my
protein bites and sipped down some more sports drink. I had one more hard push to make and
honestly, I wanted to skip it. I think last week I mentioned Dagnino, well I
had a date with going north on Dagnino and it was the last thing in the world I
wanted to do. Heading north on Dagnino
looks like you are going downhill. You are
not. It is a mile or two-mile slow steady
climb up to a dead end. I needed it to get
to 40 miles, but that in no way shape or form meant I wanted to ride it. I cussed the entire way down Dagnino the
first time. This time, I knew what I was
getting into. My legs were spent. I wanted to curl up in a ball right there on
the side of the road and sleep. There
was nothing for it but to go.
I put my front gear in the middle ring. I lowered my back to the easiest gear I could,
and I went. Knowing it isn’t flat and
that you are going up at least doesn’t make it the ridiculous slog fest it was
the first time I did it. I was ready for
a long slow ride. My legs burned. My energy was low. I tried to remember to smile, and I flashed
it a few times. I admired the long-horned
cattle I passed. No shit there are longhorns
out there. I don’t think I had ever seen
a longhorn before. If I had had more energy,
I would have mooed at that them and tried to give them the hook’em horns sign
with my fingers. Not this day
though. The absolute joy of reaching the
end of the Dagnino was partially ruined by a mailman, who couldn’t make up his mind
if he should go or if I should.
Idiot. Finally, he parked, so I turned,
and I let gravity pull me down. 25 mph back
down Dagnino was fantastic. The wind
felt wonderful in my face. I feel like the
longhorns were looking at me with approval.
I was satisfied, it was a good run up and back, but I still
had another 6 miles to go. When I
looked at my watch and saw that I was a little bummed out, but I knew the way
home. I have ridden to many times to
count over the last few months. So, we
pressed on. I found myself fighting
between pedaling on and coasting. Every
time I caught myself in a coast, I would push myself to pedal again. I had to keep going. I had to finish the ride strong.
I did finish strong.
I was very proud of myself when I wheeled back into my driveway. It was a long ride three hours and forty-five
minutes to be exact. I did it. I made it.
I owned it. Sludge fest and
all.
I will be doing some thinking over the weekend about how I
can make my performance better. The
mileage isn’t going to get any less going forward. We are entering the high mileage stage of our
training. 45 miles next week. Then going up by 5 each week until we do back-to-back
60-mile rides before we enter taper mode.
I need to make sure I am eating properly before we go out to
ride. Need to make sure my macros are in
line before the long rides. I also need
to make sure that I am getting enough rest before long rides. Have to get 8 hours before these marathon
rides. Thor doesn’t come out every week
so that is good. So, I won’t have to
worry about staying out to late the night before a ride anytime soon but
still. I have to put myself to bed and
get the proper rest every night during the week. Means turning the TV off earlier and putting
the phone down when I hope into bed. So,
much goes into this, have to make sure we are doing all the things right, we
still have a long way to go and that is with putting 258 miles on my legs since
June 14, 2022.
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