Through rain, sleet or snow

Through rain, sleet or snow, Carol will get her long bike workout in!   Well, okay, not sleet or snow.  But I will ride in the rain.  And I did ride all day long – in the rain!   Mostly a gentle drizzle, but at times it picked up to a steady rain.

My training plan called for a 5 hour bike ride.    I set my bike computer to show time so I could turn around when it showed 2:30.    I headed out Old Greensboro road, which goes all the way to Greensboro, by the way.     That road consists of  mostly nice gentle rollers, so I can simulate flat riding and keep a nice steady cadence the whole way.

Along the way, there are signs showing how far till you get to Greensboro. 

• 30 miles
• 21 miles
• 10 miles

Those signs taunt me.

Last time, I rode 90 miles and got past the 10 mile sign.   I kept riding and riding hoping to see the “Welcome to Greensboro” sign.   Never did make it before I turned back.  That was the ride that ended in severe neck pain, which the  Chiropractor helped fix.

Today’s ride went well.    I had put the KT Tape on my neck again.    It seems to help alot, so I will use it on my long rides, and probably even on race day.   Just to be safe.     My neck started to feel a little achey at the 2 hour mark.   I made sure to sit up and stretch and move it around every once in a while.    It never got much worse than “a little achey”.

I passed the 30 mile and 21 mile mark.  I kept looking for the 10 mile mark.   I never found it.   When my timer showed 2:30, I kept riding.  Just 5 more minutes won’t hurt.     Still no sign.   Okay, I have to go at least to the point where I ended last time.   So more riding.  Another 5 more minutes will be okay, right?   And anyway, I have another Chiropractor appointment tomorrow, so he can fix my neck again.

What is wrong with me?

When I got to the point where I stopped last time, I looked at my bike computer.  Elapsed time was 2:39.   Then I looked at miles.  46 miles.   Wow, if I just ride 4 more miles, I will hit 50.   Then when I get home, I’ll see 100 miles on my odometer.

Why can’t I stick with the plan?

So, stubborn Carol kept on riding.   My odometer showed 50 miles at the 2:53 mark.   I was still feeling pretty good.   Neck pain was manageable.

I rode and rode and rode all the way home.   In the rain!   When I got home, my odometer showed 99.6 miles and my average speed showed 17mph.   I thought about riding past my house just to see the odometer roll over to 100 miles.  But at that point, I was hungry and had to pee really bad.   Besides,  I’m not THAT stubborn.  Or at least my stubbornness is limited by the size of my bladder.  LOL!   It’s still 100 miles in my book!   It rounds up, right?

The race begins at mile 80 of the bike

My Trakkers teammate, GoSonja , wrote in her Ironman race report that an Ironman race starts at 80 miles on the bike.   She said at that point she started riding hard.   So, at the 80 mile mark, I tried to pick up my pace.  I lookedat my average speed, which showed 16.9 mph.   I kept average speed on the display and glanced down at it once in a while to see if it moved up.  It bounced between 16.9 and 17.0 mph the rest of the ride.

I had planned on taking an ice bath when I got home.  But my legs were not at all sore, so I bagged that idea.  I did ice my neck for a couple hours tho.    This morning, my neck feels pretty good. My legs feel great!   No soreness whatsoever.

Other notes:

My nose was completely stuffed up today.  Those nasal sprays the ENT doctor gave me don’t work very well. At least not yet. She said the steroid one will take a few weeks to get going.    The only one that does work, is the over the counter spray, Afrin. She said to use that on race days.    But not every day, as it has the rebound effect that ends up making the stuffiness worse.    I tested Afrin the other day, and it totally clears my nasal passages.  I soooo wish I could use it every single day because it makes my nose feel normal.

I had a little dizziness today, but not as bad as the last few rides.  Maybe the iron is helping.    Also, I tried to look forward more, rather than down at the road.  I think that helps too.    I just approached today’s ride with the attitude that I was not going to let the dizziness control me.    That seemed to work too.

I’ve been having trouble getting my heart rate up.   This was a zone 2 ride, but I spent most of it in Zone 1.    I TRIED to get my heart rate up to Zone 2, but just couldn’t do it.     Even at the 80 mile mark, when I tried to pick up my pace, I coudln’t stay in Zone 2.  Funny thing is, from a perceived effort standpoint, Zone 1 feels like Zone 2, and Zone 2 feels like Zone 3.

• Maybe my zones are wrong and I need to test again (but I just tested them in August, so…?).
• Maybe I am overtrained.    I am feeling a little burned out.  And I think it’s a mistake to have a big ‘A’ race in the Spring, and another one in the Fall.   I started my Rev 3 Tri training plan in January.  So, I have been training hard for 9 months.    I did take 2 weeks easy after Rev3, but still – that’s a long season!   Too long. I am looking forward to a nice rest after B2B.
• When I googled “Black Cohosh dizziness” I found lots of articles about the side effects of taking that herbal supplement.  Aside from dizziness, it can lower your heart rate.  Hmmm… Damn, that stuff really helps my hot flashes and moodiness, tho.   Is it such a bad thing that it lowers my heart rate?    Should I stop taking it, or maybe just retest my zones with  my new lower heart rate?   Life is full of tough choices…

I will leave you with this funny picture.  It’s the sign posted in front of a little diner along Old Greensboro road.  I tweeted “But what if I am hungry today?”    One of my twitter friends tweeted back that this diner is fantastic. Someday, I will stop there for lunch!