I will start off by sending a big KUDOS to everyone that raced in the Melting Mann this past Saturday. Temps were in the 30's with a steady dose of rain and snow falling all morning. The pics from just the parking lot were terrible. Pics from the course were not any better. So, good job to all of you that raced, volunteered, or cheered for this event. I was home....in a warm bed. I am very thankful that I didn't sign up for 60 plus miles of slop in this event. Bullet....dodged.
In my last post I mentioned a ride in the rain. But that was on pavement. Gravel is a whole different animal in the rain. No thanks. That being said, it was raining again (as I mentioned above) this past Saturday. I opted to ride indoors. Training called for a 2 hour ride. I looked thru Zwift and found the Eastern Eight. A nice 32 mile ride thru the dessert and forest. Not a terrible route with a long flat run into the Titans. Then a solid climb up Titans Grove KOM. You then loop around and have some other flats before riding back up Titans Grove KOM in the opposite direction. Then a long run into town where the loop is finished. At least that is what the route was supposed to be.
My legs just didn't feel like it. I actually skipped the second time up the Titan KOM and headed towards town early. Ending up with 25 miles instead of the 32. Not terrible, but just not in the right head space to muster the distance.
Sunday I finally got my hitch installed on my Equinox. It was finally a decent day to get it done. Once I wrapped that up I was driving home to grab some food and head out for a long road ride. The gravel was still destroyed from the rain all day Saturday. I had my route planned and was in the right frame of mind for it...when I started to see sprinkles on my windshield. By the time I got home is was raining....ugh.
So, I fired up Zwift again. I need some longer rides to get my endurance up, so 2 hours was the plan. I once again clicked on the Eastern Eight loop, this time with the mindset that I would finish that route. Started well enough, and I got to the top of the Titans Grove KOM with a PR. barely, but still....Zwift popped the confetti and I had a new PR, so that was good. I was off to a good start.
The funny thing is....the summit is only about 8 miles into the route. lol. So after an achievement I still had a long ways to go! You can see the route below.
I was rewarded with a long descent. I just kept plugging away, but a lot of this route is flat. So its just spinning the cranks for long periods of time. On the trainer that gets rough. Around 1:15 I started to crack. Being heavier, its hard to just sit and mash the pedals for long periods of time. My...taint...needs a break now and then. I just stood and stretched and moved around a bit then got back at it. This is how I would do it on the road, so I didn't ever technically stop...just got super slow a few times.
I pressed on, and then I reached that second trip up the KOM. This isn't a huge climb, so I was able to steadily reach the top. Then, it was almost downhill to the finish. My ride was planned for 2 hours. My final time was 2:00:24....right on schedule. Not fast, but not terrible either considering how I started to feel on the bike.
Another solid week back in training. Feeling pretty good overall, and I have dropped a lot of weight this year. As I said before my girlfriend and I are doing Whole30 and I am following it how I should. My body is learning how to function again without all the garbage. No, I won't eat perfect forever....but at this point I am going to keep rolling and pushing on towards my goal weight. Creating new habits along the way. Big test coming up with a trip to Myrtle Beach. But I am taking my road bike with me to get some solid miles in while there.
My season officially begins in less than 2 weeks.
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