Sunday, July 17, 2016

South Bay Roadie Ride

I am still working out regularly, suffering through each one. Today's workout was a road ride. Since my workouts have been slow and tedious, I wasn't expecting much. I decided to ride from the house to make it easy. Unfortunately, it takes 7 to 8 miles to get to somewhere cool from San Jo. Even though it's been hot, I felt good. Zipped down the road on Pandora and, surprisingly, quickly settled into a comfortable pace. Maybe walking the dogs around the block first had helped me warm up.

I couldn't believe how quickly the miles flew by. It was hot, and I am out of shape, yet this ride felt easy. Of course, I pulled a little trick on myself--I took the batteries out of my computer so I have no idea how fast I was going. That way, I would avoid negativity drills. I reached Hicks Road and began climbing. The climbing was hard, very hard. However, I was still able to settle in and find a pace.

Very soon, I was winding my way through Los Gatos and Saratoga. I felt great, and the tough hills were behind me. I was amused at a couple of male cyclists who hammered past me, only to pull off at the top to drink water as I passed them again, slow and steady. I wove Pandora through crowds of pedestrians, bikes, and cars around the Saratoga Village, avoiding a huge weekend festival. Soon, I was headed home again. I still can't believe how quickly the 22 miles went by. I feel great and even followed it up with some core and upper body weights.

I am pinching myself. This is the first workout that has felt fun and "easy", relatively speaking. It makes sense that it would be a bike ride and not a run (although running is my favorite). I can't underestimate the thousands of miles I put into the road bike years ago for my IM training. Is there such thing as muscle memory? I guess I'm going to find out. I'll keep you posted.





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