Last Day of the Month Desperation Push

For the third month in a row I started to mildly panic because my total mileage numbers were down in a month-to-month comparison with the previous year. I know it's just a game and that mileage totals is not a complete measure of success in training. However I'm not one to shy away from such mental games.

I knew that I had to ride 30 miles to match last June's total, so I explored a familiar route with some new variations, namely Lounsberry Rd., Burns Rd. and Creamery Rd. in Brooktondale. It's a very pretty stretch with broad vistas of Ellis Hollow and Buffalo Hill. What a gorgeous day, though the winds offered quite a challenge on a low-energy day.

I managed to eke out just over 37 miles, surpassing last year's June total, though I doubt I'll be able to match last July's total of around 900 miles.

Some stats for the year:
Total mileage through the end of June: 2520 miles
Average miles per week since January: 100 miles
Average miles per week since May: 166 miles

Tuesday Night Race

Damn, that felt good! Feeling kinda twitchy tonight. My first time racing (albeit unofficially), and while I certainly made some rookie mistakes (early attack where I paid the price), this was more fun than should be allowed. Nice bunch of folks, too. Got dropped on Coddington on the first lap and just couldn't quite catch back up. Sure is hard to catch a paceline, but I learned my lesson on the second, more civilized, lap. I was able to keep with the paceline all the way around and felt more energized at the end than I did halfway through. Now I'm certainly looking forward to Hollenbeck's Classic on May 2nd. Whatever happens, I don't care now. If I get dropped, I'll just ride my best pace.

Stats:

Distance: 30.32 miles

Avg. speed: 20.4 mph

Vertical ascent: 1613 ft.

Calories burned: 2154 kcal

Max. speed: 40.7 mph

Time: 1:29:02

Chilly Ride

Chilly, windy day in the low 40s with mixed precip. in the higher elevations. This was one tough ride, and in spite of how silly those booties look, I think I'll need invest in some for such days. The rest of my body was cozy, while my left foot was frozen solid. Why just the left? Gail's theory is that it had to do with wind direction...good guess.

This was only my second time climbing Ringwood from the Ellis Hollow side, and it's quite a challenge, particularly the last two climbs. Feeling good now, though it was really hard to get out of the door.

Stats:

Distance: 25.33 miles

Avg. speed: 18 mph

Vertical ascent: 1854 ft.

Avg. heart rate: 141 bpm

Calories burned: 1587 kcal

Max. speed: 31.1 mph

Time: 1:24:27