Getting back on the horse....

Today's ride was a repeat of my New Years Day ride - a ride that thoroughly kicked my ass last time. It shouldn't have, really, but a lot of little things went wrong and it all added up to a rather miserable ride.

A few weeks ago I had this great idea - I would help my motivation if I could find a way to make the rides more fun. So on New Years, I'd decided that I was going to ride down to the mall, have an Orange Julius, and then ride home. Well, the ride out went well enough. I arrived at the mall a touch winded, but otherwise I felt fine and in good spirits. The ride home, however, was where everything started falling apart.

First, it should be noted that I'd overslept that morning, so I didn't eat anything except an energy bar before the ride. Now, depending on which calorie burn estimator I use, a 90 minute ride burns between 800 and 1400 calories. And energy bar has about 250. Needless to say I was running a rather nasty energy deficit, and I really started to feel it on the ride home. Then, to make matters worse, about an mile into the ride home, my asthma kicked in. I should have waited it out, but it was already getting late so I pushed through. A couple miles later, I picked up a head wind, making a ride that was already up-hill-ish into a true endurance run, which I really wasn't ready for.

Five miles from home, I hit the wall. I was out of energy, having a hard time breathing, and couldn't keep up any sort of speed. Even the slightest climb left me gasping, and I had to stop and rest after every hill. I should have called someone to come get me, or even taken the bus home, but noooooo, I was too stubborn. So I kept pushing, and gletting slower and slower and slower. By the time I got within a couple of miles from home, I was struggling to hold 8mph on the flats, and hills broght me down to 2. By the time I reached the last 3/4 mile climb to my condo, I realized I was riding slower than I could walk. So I got off the bike and did, finally dragging into the house about half an hour after sunset, cold and beyond miserable.

And then, just to add insult to injury, ten minutes after I walked in the door I was on my knees in front of the toilet, puking my guts out. Yeah, fun.

Oh yeah, and the final straw........There isn't an Orange Julius at the Cherry Creek Mall :(.

So anyhow, I decided to ride that trail again, sort of a way to get revenge. The temps were the coldest I've ridden in yet - 38 when I rode out, and topping out at a balmy 42 degrees. I was worried at first that it wasn't warm enough, and almost talked myself out of it. Glad I didn't though. I deliberately pushed harder during the first 6-7 miles, trying to build up some strength, and then took things easy after that. I felt pretty good, but not quite as strong as the last couple of weeks. I'm coming suspect that this particular route may have a few more hills than the 19 mile loop I've been riding, even though it doesn't seem like it. I just seemed to burn more energy on this run than last time, even accounting for the extra couple of miles. Still, I finished it in good form, so after getting beat up so badly the first time, I'm please with the run.

So, what have I learned? Well....

1) I need to increase the total amount of carbs I'm eating period, and making a point to get some extra carbs the night before the ride can make a big difference.

2) Get up early enough to eat breakfast - at least 3 hours before I ride.

3) If riding into a headwind, don't fight it. Just gear down a couple of gears and take it easy. Unless you actually want a hard run to build up endurance, that is.

4) Don't be too proud to call a ride if you really need to. (But don't chicken out an be a wimp just cause you know it's an option lol).

Last thought - I think the energy drink I've been using may account at least in part for my upset stomach the last couple of rides. I think that it, combined with the gel shots I eat, may be too much. So next time, I'm going to try plain old water again, and see if that makes things better.