Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

We set off from the campground for our third day of hiking, and me being me, I immediately began second-guessing the direction we were heading. All along the way, markers with a blue square at the top told us we were on trail. For the first half mile beyond camp, I saw no markers. Then we reached a Y. My gut told me we needed to go left, but the Shadow of Doubt raised its head, and with one eyebrow cocked said, "Are you sure?" I looked at Angel Baby and suggested we go right. He just shrugged. We headed right. Still no trail markers. After another half mile, I stopped and suggested we return to camp and ask. Again, Angel Baby just shrugged. We backtracked, running into a young lady we'd met the day before. Sanna, like in Susanna, with the 'short a' sound. From Norway. I explained my fear of going off trail, and she nodded, pulling out her map and opening it up for us to look at. My gut had been right: we needed to go left at the Y. We thanked her then set off ag...

Rode the Bike Psychos Century today with the hopes of finishing sub 6 hours. I rolled into the parking lot after 5:55, average speed 17 mph. Given the beastly hills and the 10-15 mph winds, I was utterly and completely happy with my efforts. I now have a new marker to keep in mind when I ride my next century. This ride came after a night of very restless sleep. I figured I was going to bonk at some point simply because I was running on so little quality sleep. To help prevent the bonk, I ate and drank often. This time around, I didn't pack the energy gels or bars. Instead, I ate the fruit, the pbj sandwiches, and the other goodies offered at the rest stops. I took the advice of Edmund Burke and Ed Pavelka, authors of The Complete Book of Long Distance Cycling , and ate real food. I also made sure to drink, drink, drink. Not once did I feel low on energy, and I attribute my feeling good the whole 100 miles to taking these two guys' advice. The route took us along the Illinoi...

It's Friday, Friday! Which meant I was able to get a longer ride in. Starting Wednesday, I thought often about rolling out right after my youngest set off for school, and that's exactly what I did. I didn't have a route planned out like I usually do. I just went, and when I reached the point of having to make a decision on which direction to go, I followed whatever popped into my head. What popped at Spin Lake was "hey, take the route you rode for the Miles of Smiles century backwards." So I did. And when I reached Congerville, what popped was "hey, you can ride the part you missed during MOS." So I did. Very quickly I found out what I missed: hills, hills, and more hills. A couple were 10% grades, a couple were 7% grades, and one was even an 11% grade. Towards the end of the ride, I was hearing a noise on and off, coming from the crank. The hills put a lot of pressure on the crank today, so I won't be surprised if some maintenance is needed. 60 mile...

Yes, I did it. I completed my first century ride, the Swedish Days Ride just west of Chicago. In the end, exhausted, almost overwhelmed by having actually finished something I've longed to do for a year now, I could only lean against the truck and take deep breaths to stay calm. The last ten miles forced me to dig deep mentally and physically, and at times I doubted my strength. Thankfully, at that ten miles to go point, I could see the tower marking what I thought of as home. I kept my sights on it and just kept pedaling. The last leg was maybe a mile, all uphill and into the wind. I put my head down, telling myself Hubby, food, and clean clothes were right around the corner. Turning into the school drive, I didn't have to pedal any longer. I coasted from the top of the drive down to the truck parked in the lot just outside the school. Like with all the crazy things I do, Hubby was there, and when I saw that smile of his, when we high-fived, I just wanted to grab hold of him...

Not quite the run I had hoped for, but given the cold (34 degrees with a real feel of 25), the wind (20 mph), the snow (really should have taken sunglasses), and the hills (four, two pretty good ones), I'm happy with the 30:10 I finished with. That's a 9:44 pace, much faster than this time last year, and much better than the 5k from four months ago. I finished 9th out of 21 in my age group, and though I wanted sub-30, I'm not disappointed. Actually, I'm kind of eager to see what I can do with better conditions. The first mile I heard the young lady call out 9:13 when I passed. I really just wanted to maintain that, and I think I did pretty good through mile 2. It was mile 3 that got me. The wind was in my face for much of that mile, and one of the tougher hills was during that mile, too. I know I slowed considerably. For not running outside for four months, I am very happy with how I handled the conditions and the course. I'm even happier with my mindset. My leg...

For awhile now I've been working towards today's ride, a century downstate at a national park. I knew hills would definitely be a part of this ride, but I wasn't expecting the inclines we faced. The first hill was definitely an eye-opener if not a body waker-uppper. The second one made me smile as I passed several people who were riding bikes that were way more expensive than my cheapo sporting goods store end of the season clearance bike. The third one did Hubby in, and I found that from then on I had to stop at the top of each hill and wait for him as he walked his bike up. I have to hand it to him--he tried and he kept going. But at mile 40 he said, "Please just go the 62 miles and stay with me." I was torn. I'd been working towards this century for several months, and all I've been thinking about is finishing the season off with a century ride. One look at him, though, was enough to see he really needed my help to finish the metric century. I couldn...

Getting ready for my first longer ride, so I went 25 miles this morning on a new route. The first half took me up to the lake where I stopped to check my pace per mile and to get a drink. I also talked to an older gentleman who asked me if I'd ever been on a longer bike ride, one that spans a couple of days. We chatted for a minute or two then he went on his way to fish, and I went on my way to start home. As I sat there, looking at my pace per mile for the ride to the lake, I basked in the six miles during which I maintained 18 miles an hour or faster. Two of the miles were at 20 mph. Go me! With the glow of triumph enveloping me, I started the trek back. Less than a quarter mile into the return ride, the glow disappeared, the breathing became labored, and the legs started to feel the burn. When had the wind come up? And this wasn't just a slight breeze. This was a 10 mph, blowing the cattails by the roadside wind. To add insult to injury, after the two hills leading away from...