Its late...I'm beyond exhausted...still I'm pretty jazzed about today's events. My day started at 4:15am, and the only reason why that's significant is because I had only gone to bed 4 hours earlier. I've been getting ready for tonight's catering event, from which all earnings will go towards my fundraising for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, so I've been keeping some late hours the past few nights, prepping, organizing, strategizing and stressing :) So, the unplanned early start today...I was completely awake and couldn't go back to sleep, and I decided to get up, taking my sweet time to respond to emails, call overseas to my friends in Switzerland (Halo, Barbara & Ernest!), eat breakfast, shower and dress for today's team coastal ride.
I met the team at the Solanna Beach train station, where we boarded the 7:38am northern- bound Amtrak. The women who ruled the train station (these ladies took their jobs very seriously) gave us specific instructions for handling our bikes when boarding the train, so that loading didn't cause the train to run behind schedule. In short, we pretty much threw our bikes in the doors to trusted Mentor Derrick who stacked the precious cargo so that there wasn't any great damage or casualty. Then, the team took over our own private car...I don't think anyone else wanted to be around such rowdy yahoots so early in the morning...which gave us a chance to visit and preview the course.
We disembarked at San Juan Capistrano. The bike ride was spectacular...mostly because I love the coastal scenery, and we were right there next to the water almost the entire 50-plus-mile-ride. The water was teal blue with full swells. The sun was brilliant, making it a warm summer bike ride. GORGEOUS! The other thing I loved about this ride was that it was flat, and you could fly down the bike paths. Now, I've been trying all season to focus on staying within my heartrate zones during our training rides...yet I was just itching under these conditions to see how it felt to go all out. The compromise I made with myself (b/c I'm a goon) was that I would push the first 20 or so miles and then return to Zone 2 training for the remainder of the ride. Oh, the initial hour of the workout was sweet...fast, smooth, little traffic interference, beautiful surroundings and great company!
The most notable part about the remainder of the ride was that I road through Camp Pendelton trapped in a "cycle blob" of visitting cyclists from Las Vegas. "Cycle blob" was coined by Mentor Derrick when I tried to describe how I ended up surrounded by this mass of cyclists, all seeming to be very nice people, yet they completely surrounded me on both sides, in front and behind, and there was no way to break free. I ended up riding in the cycle blob for about 6-8 miles, and it was just as I was really trying to focus on my form, cadence and heartrate, you know "all business", while these folks were just chit-chatting away, asking the new girl (me) about my bike, my training, my next race, where I'm from, how old I am, what I do for a living, if I was hungry and wanted to stop with them in Oceanside for lunch, etc. GEESH! Anyway, I eventually escaped the kind folks from Vegas, and resumed training mode.
I returned to the Solanna Beach train station at about 11:30am, which means the ride took approx. 2.5 hours (I really need to make a better habit of using the stop-watch feature). I felt great, and was elated about the time because I had other matters to attend this day. I loaded my bike, said goodbyes and headed to the closest Chipotle's (I think burritos after a workout are a beautiful thing). I headed home to clean up and take a short nap. Then, I switched into chef mode and went back to event prepping. Everything went just super at the event (special thanks to Ysabel for her help!). I'm now at home...what a full amazing day!
Good night!
G
I met the team at the Solanna Beach train station, where we boarded the 7:38am northern- bound Amtrak. The women who ruled the train station (these ladies took their jobs very seriously) gave us specific instructions for handling our bikes when boarding the train, so that loading didn't cause the train to run behind schedule. In short, we pretty much threw our bikes in the doors to trusted Mentor Derrick who stacked the precious cargo so that there wasn't any great damage or casualty. Then, the team took over our own private car...I don't think anyone else wanted to be around such rowdy yahoots so early in the morning...which gave us a chance to visit and preview the course.
We disembarked at San Juan Capistrano. The bike ride was spectacular...mostly because I love the coastal scenery, and we were right there next to the water almost the entire 50-plus-mile-ride. The water was teal blue with full swells. The sun was brilliant, making it a warm summer bike ride. GORGEOUS! The other thing I loved about this ride was that it was flat, and you could fly down the bike paths. Now, I've been trying all season to focus on staying within my heartrate zones during our training rides...yet I was just itching under these conditions to see how it felt to go all out. The compromise I made with myself (b/c I'm a goon) was that I would push the first 20 or so miles and then return to Zone 2 training for the remainder of the ride. Oh, the initial hour of the workout was sweet...fast, smooth, little traffic interference, beautiful surroundings and great company!
The most notable part about the remainder of the ride was that I road through Camp Pendelton trapped in a "cycle blob" of visitting cyclists from Las Vegas. "Cycle blob" was coined by Mentor Derrick when I tried to describe how I ended up surrounded by this mass of cyclists, all seeming to be very nice people, yet they completely surrounded me on both sides, in front and behind, and there was no way to break free. I ended up riding in the cycle blob for about 6-8 miles, and it was just as I was really trying to focus on my form, cadence and heartrate, you know "all business", while these folks were just chit-chatting away, asking the new girl (me) about my bike, my training, my next race, where I'm from, how old I am, what I do for a living, if I was hungry and wanted to stop with them in Oceanside for lunch, etc. GEESH! Anyway, I eventually escaped the kind folks from Vegas, and resumed training mode.
I returned to the Solanna Beach train station at about 11:30am, which means the ride took approx. 2.5 hours (I really need to make a better habit of using the stop-watch feature). I felt great, and was elated about the time because I had other matters to attend this day. I loaded my bike, said goodbyes and headed to the closest Chipotle's (I think burritos after a workout are a beautiful thing). I headed home to clean up and take a short nap. Then, I switched into chef mode and went back to event prepping. Everything went just super at the event (special thanks to Ysabel for her help!). I'm now at home...what a full amazing day!
Good night!
G
1 comment:
I think they were hitting you, you hot triathlete, you!
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