Aggressive ride

So, yesterday I had a 1.5 hr ride scheduled, zone 2 (aerobic endurance). I have been trying to hook up with my neighbor Trey, a marathoner/triathlete, for a ride for some time time now, and yesterday we were finally able to coordinate it, along with another neighbor triathlete Glenn.

I should have known I would not stay zone 2. Ego? Machismo? Yeah probably. I didn’t want to get dropped….plus,I had a lot of energy in the tank, too.

Both guys are stronger than me, but I was able to keep up and take the front from time to time. I chased Trey up several hills and at the end of our 25 mile ride, I felt literally spent. No more left in the tank. Actually it was two miles from the end when I realized it, when all I could do was just spin in a lower gear and keep the two of them at least within eyesight.

It felt good, though, to train with others and get challenged like that. A plan is a good thing, but sometimes circumstances need to be taken advantage of. In my mind, I simply had decided to take today (Monday) off to recovery. I felt that going full throttle was more important than the plan. Next weekend’s three hour fifty mile ride, well, that’s a different story. No sprints on that puppy. And at least Trey will be going, too, but I will let him go as fast as he wants, if need be.

And my feet didn’t hurt at all. I think for the first time I felt absolute confidence in my ability…no worried searching for twinges or tenderness in my sole, no snippets of apprehension. I felt like a “normal” athlete again. To God be that glory.

And you know what, considering all the zone 3-5 work this weekend, I feel pretty good today. A little tight and sore, but not fatigued. I was going to take today off, but will go the pool this evening instead of this morning. The intensity of training the next three weeks will go up, and I will be adding more speed to the mid-week workouts as well. Hopefully at week four, I will really feel the fatigue so I can relax and recover.