Saddle Up

About two weeks ago I was scheming ways to sabotage my indoor trainer. As much as I love to watch enriching shows like Greys and Real World, there's not much I dislike more than trying to enjoy them while keeping my heart rate in zone 2. About one week ago I officially refused to ride my trainer at all.

So now, I'm in some sweeeet weather that lets me get back in the saddle....and boy have I. Yesterday the Heathernator did her easy run with me while I did pickups (yes, even my pickups are 'recovery pace' for her. Ha!). After 10 miles, my lungs exploded. We parted ways to gear up for a group ride; I had about 45 minutes to get ready. About 45 minutes later I found my way home after getting lost in the trails. So now I'm supposed to be meeting for a ride and haven't changed, eaten, rehydrated, or even caught my breath!! 15 minutes later I make it to the ride start and have a bento box stuffed full of food, these people think I'm crazy. 10 minutes into it I'm being dropped and my heart rate is out of control (if only I would've gotten on that stupid trainer when I was supposed to!). Around this point I was also informed that this easy ride was a 50 miler, oh man! 1 Peanut Butter PowerBar, a Roctane, and a CarboPro/G2 mixture later I was back on their wheels. It ended up being super fun and everyone with us was super cool. 2.5 hours in the saddle, Day 1 down.

Day 2 began with a long ride (what? Yesterday wasn't long!?). I woke up to more frost on the grass and knew it would be a challenge. The only cold weather outfit I brought was in the dirty clothes hamper, doodie! After putting together an extremely coordinated outfit (ha! not), I rode over to meet the group, they had a good laugh on my behalf, and we headed out.

There are two key pluses to my new riding partner: 1) She brings a lot of really good food with her (I had two bottles for our 4 hour ride) and 2) She pees... a lot! And when someone (me) secretly skips all of her trainer rides these little pee breaks are greatly appreciated :-) Seriously though, the ride was really fun and went pretty well. The legs weren't with me the entire ride, but they gave it a good effort and the horse farms around here make me feel right at home.

Now it's time to rest up for a fun-filled day tomorrow. I can't remember what it entails but I do know my poor butt gets a break from the saddle. Hope you all have a great weekend! Warm or cold, just be thankful that you're healthy and able... and go for it! Until next time!!