Nobody calls him "Sissy." |
I was up early today to watch the Ronde van Vlaanderen, first on the Internet and then on TV when the NBC Sports coverage began at 7:30. That would have been a good enough start to the day, but I also had some very encouraging stats to plug into my Workouts.xls file. My weight is down 7 pounds from where it was at the beginning of April 2011 and my resting heart rate is a mere 45 beats per minute. Those are two good indicators of improving fitness. And my blood pressure was a healthy 105 over 53.
Today’s ride was a really positive experience too. I accepted a last-minute invitation to accompany a group of five triathletes for a briskly-paced Covered Bridge Ride. It was a strong group, only a couple of whose members had ridden with me before. Hopefully I did enough work on the front to merit a future invitation. Despite my 7 pound weight loss, I’m still a substantial wind blocker for people who usually aren’t allowed to draft.
On Saturday afternoon I did a solo ride to close out a brilliant March. I finished the month with 516 miles, a personal record that shattered the old mark of 350 set in 2010. March was my fourth-consecutive month with a personal record for mileage, but I don’t have the same expectations for April. My April mark is 650, also set in 2010, and it’s unlikely to fall because I plan to spend a lot more time on the mountain bike as I prepare for the WORS season opener in Iola on May 6.
The week ahead will be unconventional. Tomorrow, on what should be a rest day, I will do a training ride. I’ll ride again on Tuesday unless we get rain. Wednesday will be consumed by preparations for Thursday’s departure for Pennsylvania. I will arrive in suburban Philadelphia on Friday, hopefully in time to do a short ride. And then on Saturday I will do the Fools Classic, a very hard training ride that should reveal all the holes in my form. Today was the registration deadline and with sun and 60s in the forecast I pulled the trigger. The Fools Classic isn’t a race but I’m sure many of its participants will treat it as one. I will try to run with the big dogs for as long as I can.
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