IOU!

My other IOU blog is for the past weekend. My goal was to do back to back rides, so I could test my muscles without giving them a break. On Saturday morning, I geared up and set off on a ride to Plymouth, MA. I had gotten the idea from from a fellow rider, and it said it would be about 70 miles. The ride down was great, and when I arrived in Plymouth I was feeling pretty accomplished. I was riding by the Mayflower ship and Plymouth Rock


But I stopped briefly to get my gu (after about an hr and 25 minutes) and my chest started tightening up. It was in my back, but it felt like a nerve was pinched and it was making breathing painful. I got a little freaked out since I was so far from home and didn't want to quit , having come this far. I tried to stretch it out for about 10 minutes, but that didn't do much so I rose back to a gas station and bought some Advil and a protein bar. I hit the road again, and while the pain wasn't gone, it was much better after about 10 minutes. The ride back was great, it's always nice knowing you are getting closer to home, and a goal. It ended up only being about 58 miles since I turned around early, but I know that listening to my body was the right decision.


On Sunday, I slept in a bit and set out around 9 to do a Nantasket beach ride with my mom- half hills, half flat road. A great ride, with lots of beach breezes and pretty views.


My legs were comfortably tired from Saturday's ride, and then at the last mile going home- they got very tired! That was after about an hr and 15 minutes, so I'm figuring out that I need more "juice" about every hour, whether it be protein or a gu.

While I didn't get the exact mileage that I was aiming for this weekend, I feel accomplished with these, and am excited to push myself further this week! Only a few more weeks to go!

I will blog about our corporate auction's great success soon!

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IOU...2!

Oh boy I have some blogging catch up to do! I've been absent for the past two training weekends, so here are the updates. I went to visit some friends in Long Island the weekend before last, and knew I couldn't afford to not train, so I brought my bike with me! It was so great to have a change of scenery, and I love working out on vacations because it feels like an adventure and I get to learn more about the area. So I arrived at Montauk by ferry on Friday night, and we drove about 40 minutes home, which seemed around my goal of 50 miles. The next morning I got up and hit the road to ride from East Hampton to Montauk and back.



The first "chunk" of the ride is through a couple of very pretty towns, towns that get busy with cars a lot earlier than I expected! After passing through East Hampton, there are a couple of hills and then a loping strip of beach road that is very flat (a nice break!) that break is needed, however, because the rest of the trip through Montauk is full of hills, including look out spots with beautiful views of the island.


Upon reaching Montauk, I rode through the downtown area, and decided to explore a bit further. a couple miles down the road, I found this beautiful farm


I took a quick break at the harborside while I ate some of my protein bar and gu-ed up for the trip back, and then set off for the return trip. All in all, a successful, lovely ride with hills and flat road.

On a side note, I passed 3 different riders who had all gotten flats, and I realized how badly I need to invest in a spare tube and CO2... Luckily, other more prepared riders had stopped to help them, but I felt like a jerk simply passing them without offering to help. Not to mention, I didn't pack a pump so I hadn't checked my pressure and probably should have gotten a flat myself!!


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Happy Fourth of July!!

I love this holiday. I"m not the most "patriotic" person, but it is the quintessential summer day. Everyone was lining the streets for the parade that falls immediately after the road race, and families are holding their hoses in an arc to refresh all the runners as they pass. Such a fun race!!

This was my second time running, and I was able to beat last years time by 5 minutes!! I went out to watch the fireworks and celebrate with friends last night, and didn't get home until about 1:45. Despite my four hours of sleep, I finished at 42:33, just 2 minutes after my triathlon-mom, which is pretty exciting! By far, the highlight every year is seeing these crazies in full flag suits.. I can't even imagine how HOT they must be during the race, but it sure is entertaining!