When I went out to run the sun was shining? Such a tease she is. The forecast called for heavy rain late afternoon. Maybe if I started early enough I would miss it? Within the 2 hours of my run and massive waffle baking the clouds rolled in. But still...no rain. The outside temp was warm. I opted to go with shorts and a shortsleeve jersey. I packed arm warmers and my Castelli Windblock/water resistant vest just in case. My toes were armed with Smartwool. Out the door Canage and I went...praying that the weather Gods were on our side.
The first hour sucked serious ass. Literal ass. I did strength weight lifting the night prior and the one legged squats and walking weighted lungs took a serious toll on my backside. My body did not hold back from expressing how angry it was. It also didn't help that my first 1000ft climb was within 20 mins of being in the saddle. That was a rude awakening.
The rain kicked in a little after the first hour. It started light and manageable. The temperature was warm enough (high 60s) that even when wet I was able to keep warm. There's that and the fact I was working hard enough throughout the ride to keep my core temp and extremities warm. The bad thing about the route I was doing is that it was close to my house. I had the option to turn in (give up) if it got too bad. I was never more than 13 miles from home. Hmmmm 3.5hrs and only 13mi from home kind of sounds boring....but it's not when you ride the Skyline and have 10-12 long climbs to choose from. Up one side, down the other....rolling, back down around and climb again. Random dude joined me at about 1:45 in. I swear he was a saving grace. I had tackled 3 hills already and ridden Skyline once. I was starting to get tired and the rain had started to pick up. Got to love how cyclist pick up on one another...."You have a hot hub". "Yea it holds high powered wattage". :) Amazing I still have wit when tired and fatigued OR that I get hit on rockin' the sewer rat look. Anywho - dude kept me company for 30 mins or so....until I decided to drop down to find another hill to climb up.
I should have stayed with the guy as he was good for my morale. I've been doing 3-3.5hr rides alone for the last 3-4 wkends in a row. One might think I'd get used to the solitude, but I don't. I'm good for about 2 hours then my mind likes to turn b**** on me. It's very vocal (like my body) and I don't care for the vocab that is expressed. It also didn't help the rain really started to come down. I was 2:30in and could have easily just called the ride good at that point. But why would I do that? One more big climb and several rollers to go was all that was left. So I decided to suck it up and turn up to climb Thompson from Beaverton side. 40 rpms in Z4 is hard when the sky is pissing heavily upon you. I thought maybe if I sang the weather Gods may be a little more forgiving.
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Ok, maybe not. The singing did help keep my spirits high but I think my tone deaf voice pissed off the weather Gods even more as now I had wind and heavy rain. F*** me. Luckily I just had to descend down. Lol - I used descend and luck in one sentence.
I rolled in home tired and completely soaked yet accomplished. I knocked out another 3.5hr ride alone...just me, the rain, the hills and some random hot dude (for a short period). I knocked out 4300ft of climbing in BIG ring intervals.Hills Baby!
I told my body and mind to shut the f*** up when it b****ed and moaned. I stuck with it....this is why I am who I am.
1 comment:
sweet im down with that workout seriously i kicked the long beach triathlon this morning at 5AM but your workout was harder, afterward my adrenaline was off the friggin chart, i think i need a half IM. you inspire me :)
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