Day 64: Totally Different

8:15AM

Team Outdoor Bike

Whew! It is totally different riding on the road than the trailer. I know this of course, when you make that transition its always hard. I know I've gotten stronger on the bike I just haven't been able to put it all together on the actual road yet. The factors of turns, wind, and elevation are just some of the new things you have to consider when getting back on the road.

My problem today was that I was late and felt the need to catch everyone. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. By the time I was up to the main group I was worn out. Coach Michael wanted me to stick with them and I did for a whomping 2 minutes. I think at that point I had a mini bonk. So instead of trying to power through it and kill myself I decided for the rest of the workout I was just going to work on being smooth.

"Smooth is fast" is a phrase that several people have told me before and its true. You just focus on being in perfect control and the speed comes naturally. The concept is applicable to running, swimming, biking, and even driving. For me on the bike this involves keeping my heart rate and cadence consistent. The way I've grown accustomed to doing this is choosing the effort I want to bike at and then using gearing to make sure I'm peddling at that effort. If I feel the peddles pushing me back a little (ie - getting tired or on a uphill) I switch to an easier gear, if they feel too loose (ie - downhill or last stretch of the bike) I switch to a harder one.

I did this for the rest of the workout and found myself going at a decent pace. I still need to get out there more to get used to the road.