150 KM!

Today was my 150 km bike ride. Even though I have done this distance before, and longer (I did a 200 km training ride in 2007), it certainly felt like quite a milestone for me. The wind, of course, was hitting me from all directions, there were moments when it was worse than others, and it certainly accompanied me for all 5 and a half hours, but I managed to find my "happy place" and control my rage (just kidding - see previous posting). I tried to start my ride as early as possible, but by the time I got everything together and got out going, it wasn't until about 7:30, which isn't quite as early as I hoped. I didn't get home until about 1:45, so it sort of felt like my entire day, which makes me wonder how people do this if A) they have kids, B) they have a full time job (I only work 8 or 9 shifts out of 10 for every two weeks... it's great!) or C) they have a social life. I have none of these things. 3 things from today's bike ride are worth noting:

The first thing, and by far the biggest highlight for me, was my cheer squad that surprised me at the perfect time by showing up at my turn around point. Alison had the kidlets up early for cheer practice, and so they decided to take it out to the road and put their cheering to some real practice. I think the wind god's were giving me a reward for fighting so hard that they allowed it to work out perfectly, I was just stopping to have a gel and a little snack (please note: I just dipped into my EXPIRED stash of Cliff bars from Ironman 2007 training. They are expired for a reason). My mom, Alison and the girls showed up at that exact moment! Aria rushed out of the car with two big white pom poms and cheered for me (even though I was actually stopped). She was chanting "Run Run Run" (she may have had her sports mixed up) which she learned after 14 hours of cheering for Uncle Bruce last year at Ironman 08. My mom surprised me with a small baggie of chocolate covered raisins, which most definately beat the not-so-fresh Cliff bar! She's very thoughtful that way! My personal cheer squad and support vehicle gave me exactly what I needed to get home, I definately felt a huge energy burst after seeing them it was great!

The next event that is worthy to be made public is sort of a funny one. I had a quick stop to change my water bottles around, stretch my back, dip into that chocolate covered raisins baggie that I was surprised with, etc. I was balancing on my left leg while I had my right foot still clipped into my pedal (it was supposed to be a very quick stop). In the near distance I saw a semi-truck coming up behind me, I suppose after hours of hearing trucks coming and naturally bracing myself for the gust of wind that accompanies them, I guess I went to go and do the same thing. I failed to remember that I was balancing only my left foot, which I proceeded to lose balance on. The result... an extremely graceful topple over in extremely slow motion... in perfect timing for the truck driver to witness the entire acrobatic act. It didn't hurt at all, except for the giant oil stain on my calf (I scrubbed till my skin was raw and it's still there!) and the giant bruise on my ego. I relayed the story to Craig over dinner.... he laughed so hard I thought he would bust a rib. Makes me wonder what the truck driver was telling his family over dinner.

Lastly, I discovered the perfect little treat, yet still reasonably beneficial nutritionally speaking. I LOVE food! I love eating healthy, I love experimenting with new foods, I love treats, I love anything and everything that is related to food such things. I've studied nutrition quite a bit over the years (in fact, I'm actually a Registered Nutritionist, however, it's more for personal benefit than a career). With that said, I'm sure you can imagine the extreme upset and heart break when my cliff bar was impossible to bite in to. I also packed myself another little something... Chocolate milk. It was SO GOOD. Ideally, I know that chocolate milk is actually quite a good recovery drink, the milk provides protein, and the chocolate is high in antioxidants, as well as a bit of sugar to replenish my lacking glycogen storage. I had it in the middle of the ride, it worked great then too, and to top it off, I didn't suffer from any cramps or stomach upset (which in 2007 was an ongoing issue for me on the bike). I'll be sure to have my fridge stocked for the rest of the summer. Craig will be happy about that because it was actually his chocolate milk that I stole from the fridge to take on my ride... you would have thought that I drank the last chocolate milk in the entire world though, Craig was pretty heart broken that it was gone (on that note, I do all the cooking/grocery shopping in our home, so in my theory, I have first dibs on anything in the fridge).

I guess that's it for the ride, overall, it was a success, and great training. I get to do it all over again next week! The rest of the week has 3 swims, 3 runs and another 2 rides scheduled... I'm guessing by Sunday I'll be ready for my rest day (and my first weekend off of work in a month!!! Yipee!)