RUN Week 4, Friday 12/2 - Bike December 3, 2005
Posted by Amber D. Evans in : Cycling, Chico CA, Training Stats , add a comment"Is it getting shorter, or am I getting stronger?"
Context
City, State: Chico, CA
Location: CSUC
Course: One-Mile –> Honey Run –> Durham Loop –> One-Mile
(Loop)
Terrain: Flat –> Steep Hill –> Flat –> Flat. Paved.
Distance and/or Time: 35 miles, 3 hours
Speed and/or RPE: 12.4 mph, 8 (harder)
HRR: 154-174 (Aerobic High)
HR(avg.): 175 bpm
Friday, December 3, 2005
The Cycling
- High Cadence
- 2nd chainring, 2-7
- Lot's of 2's positioning (Stands), seated hill climb
Synopsis
- Upshot: The weather was crisp, but clear–PERFECT!
- Downside: I almost missed out on the ride!
- What I'm most proud of: I only stopped once up the hill (this is a first!) to remove my jacket b/c I was too hot!
- What I would do differently: Brought a camera …
Overall
Is it getting shorter, or am I getting stronger?
Obviously, the mileage of Honey Run (from back in October?) didn't get shorter. So, I must be getting stronger. I felt like I was booking it up the hill at my generally slow pace. I was the only female from my cycling class that decided to ride up to Paradise today. That always makes me a little more self-conscious, if only because I'm a tad slower than the A group of guys. I'm usually leading the B group, but for some reason, all the B group people didn't show up today. And there was only one C group person, so she headed back at the covered bridge. Which meant that the A group was going to have to wait for me up top. Ack. I hate that.
So, I did my best, relaxed my grip, and grinded away at the pedals. I made plenty use of the spinning practice (stands and seated hill work) and that proved worthy. Darn did it get hot real quick! Stripped off my outer jacket, and continued on up. I had long since lost sight of the A group and figured they were going to be annoyed with how much slower I was going to be. I just shrugged it off and figured that they can wait till Hell freezes over for all I care. I just wanted to see if I could make it all the way without stopping again. (I did it!)
So what if I only go 4.3 mph in some parts? So winding up and up I continuted, recouping when I could on semi-flats and steadily accending through various tricks learned from Spinning.
I crested the last hill and heard the men clapping for me as I pulled up and asked, "How long did you hafta' wait?"
"Not long," said my instructor, "Only about 7 minutes so far." He looked at me and said, "Great job, Amber!"
Sweet! Another ass-kickin' ride. I was avoiding using "Granny
gear" when coming up. In that case, I think I was doing admirably. Coming home was like flying at 30+ mph. What a rush! What a bone-chilling rush! It's chilly, but thrilly! Hooray for the day!