Well, my "official" CES (Chicago Endurance Sports) group training has begun! I wasn't sure what it would be like or how I would feel about it. I have always run alone (or with one or two friends, but even then, only occasionally.) I'm not much of a "group" person, I like the alone time of training. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I really enjoyed our first group run. It wasn't a long run, we spent most of the session going over good running form and then did a quick 20 minute run to practice with some stretching at the end. I was happy to quickly befriend a group of women who are also newbies (with me being the only one who has actually completed a sprint triathlon).
I also have coaches, which is really nice and also kinda weird. They use a program, training peaks to send out our individualized training plans, which are based on this very long questionnaire we filled out for the coaches about our medical history (mine was VERY long and I attached medical release letters from my doctors) and our personal training goals. The program even has an app for my phone so I always know what workout I should be doing...
My workout for the day was a 60 minute bike at Zone 2 (easy, relaxed pace). Well, first I had to change the tube in my front tire. This was a first for me! I've watched others change a bike tire, but I've never actually done it myself. I had the new tube, my pump and levers. You Tube was up and ready to watch how to videos! After a couple how to videos and my wife also talking me through it, I changed the tube in my tire! Yay for small successes!
So...on to the bike ride! I was very excited to bike along the lakefront path. I wanted to bike south on the path since it is more scenic and often less crowded. I knew the weather was a bit colder today, but I figured that would be nice on a longer ride. I did not however, check the wind. BIG mistake! I basically rode for 30 minutes and then turned around for the last 30 minutes. I could tell it was windy as I was riding south, but it was primarily blowing from the side or behind me, which was helpful, but after 30 minutes on the bike, I turned around to ride north. I instantly knew this was going to be MUCH harder. The wind was intense and I was riding directly into it. At times, I was pedaling and it felt like I was barely moving forward. I had to stop a couple times to regroup and shake my hands out because I was gripping the lower handles so hard to try and balance the bike while staying as low (aerodynamic) as possible to cut through the wind. It took me almost 15 minutes longer to get back to where I started and it was so much harder than I anticipated. I even yelled out at one point (to no one in particular as there weren't many people out), "Oh my god, are you kidding me!" By the time I got home, everything hurt. My legs were sore, my ass was sore, my hands were sore. I checked the weather and there were 17mph winds with gusts up to 25mph. I'm glad that I rode in the wind. I know its an important thing to do around here, when wind can often be an issue. I need the practice, you never know what race day conditions will be like, but I hope beyond hope, that it is not THAT windy! My legs felt like jelly. I can't imagine running after that. But, I made it. I didn't quit and take CTA back home, I battled through it and ended up biking 72 minutes in some pretty intense wind! I rewarded myself with a hot bath and a good, healthy after workout meal of arugula and steak with greek yogurt and some grapes. Yum!
No comments:
Post a Comment