A Fool’s Errands

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.