I had a great ride today with Andy (the bike) and Ansley (the friend).

Andy’s maiden voyage was pretty good. I had a small mechanical about Mile 7 – my right tri bar twisted outward, which would have been a pretty uncomfortable remaining 55 miles.  Right when I realized I had an issue, I also had a vision- my multi-tool sitting on the front seat of my car. I have ridden with that thing forever… today, I leave it behind.  I flagged down a rider who had lots of gear – he lent me his tool, I straighted the bar out, and we were off again.

About a mile later, Ansley screamed and almost wrecked. “Something’s in my helmet!”

“Ahhhhhhh! Something’s in my helmet!!!”

Some bug or something bit her, on her head, inside of her helmet. I love riding with Ansley.  When she’s with me, there’s at least a 50% less chance that the weird thing of the day will NOT happen to me. 🙂

Ansley made fun of me and how dirty I was.  I am not sure where the mud came from, but I was covered in it.

Dirty!

 Andy was so dirty too.

62 miles is the farthest I have ever ridden.  And by the end, I could feel it.  Averaged about 16.5 MPH overall, but about 19.5 on the last 20 miles. I can say that the tri bike made an immense difference in the 4 mile run afterwards. I could tell that I had something left in the leg reserve, and my hamstrings were not nearly as wrecked as from riding Antonia, the road bike.

I saw SBM friend, Yoda, on the trail too!  She was putting down “only” 80 miles.  Studette!

As I left the house in the wee hours of the morning, I saw Antonia in the garage and I actually felt bad for taking Andy to ride.  Is it weird to imagine the bike as having feelings? Antonia and I have been through SO much together… it just felt mean to leave her.

To be honest, Augusta feels like it is going to kill me. Just running 4 miles today after a 62 mile effort was incredibly difficult. I know that I will be rested for the race and also have another final build cycle… but 13.1 after 56 on a bike seems like a nightmare at this point. I know it will be okay. I am definitely farther along in my swim and bike training than I was this time last year… it’s just the blasted run. I was running more before Miami.

Why is the run so terrifying? It’s not like I am going to die on the run. I might just have to walk a little. Or alot.  I told Coach Monster that I thought Augusta was going to swallow me whole.  He told me, “Nonsense.”  Alrighty then.

What’s coming up this week? RECOVERY WEEK (waaaahhhooooo!).

Then Acworth Women’s Tri on Sunday!  I love love love that race. It’s a nice sprint. I would love to improve on my time from last year – but we shall see. I had a great race last year…   and was in pretty good shape.

Have a great week friends.

9 Responses

  1. Thanks for the inspiring story and encouragement! Training for Miami 70.3! Best of luck in Augusta!

  2. I’ve got my first HIM (Rev3 Maine!) in 27 days and I’m right there with you. I’ve done so well with my swim and bike training, but my running is well… blasted. Hope the training continues to go well!

  3. Great, Inspiring story!! Thanks for sharing it with us!! You will do GREAT on your Tri in Agusta!!! But the saying that keeps going through my head as I train for events is “Train HARD, Race EASY.” Good luck, keep training and doing your thing!!!!!

  4. the bike is definitely different! That being said, I’ve been riding a road bike with AERO bars for over a year and a half, and i think that made a difference in preparing me for the position. The shifting took about 30 miles to get used to, but I think it’s easier, actually. Now, that being said – I haven’t taken Andy to the hills yet – I think climbing with the shifters on the aero bars may be weird – but stay tuned!!

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