Warm weather cycling

Woo hoo, another wonderfully warm day today! High of 66*F here today. I don't usually ride my bike much while my girls are in school, because I'm paranoid about crashing or flatting and being late and having no one able to pick them up from school. But today I couldn't resist! Even though the winds were gusting up to 30 mph, I couldn't resist taking Buttercup out for a spin on our nice country roads.

Gosh, it sure felt like I was working harder on that return leg to maintain some speed, but the heart rates tell the tale - I was working just as hard on the way out into the wind when I was only going 14 mph. I guess that's just going to be my Poor Woman's Power Meter because I'm not going to spring for the real thing.

I realized something else new on this ride: a new important cycling safety feature. My NEON DAY-GLO WHITE LEGS in January in cycling shorts are a big deterrent to cars. I was surprised that none of the drivers had to scream and cover their eyes from the glare.

My body composition work is going well in preparation for my March races - I'm 80% decided that I'll do the full marathon instead of the half marathon on March 2nd, and so far I'm 2.4 pounds down for the first 8 days of 2008. More than a kilogram less to carry around the course! Hurrah! I'm definitely hoping to keep this trend going in the same direction all the way until race day!

Snow day

Snow day today. Schools closed.

Maybe ONE inch of snow on the ground, not a speck on the streets. You all would laugh if you could see it.

Beautiful sunny crisp day, no clouds in the sky, no wind. I'll be surprised if there's any snow at all left on the ground by 3PM.

Sigh. There goes my planned run today. I'll probably have to bundle the girls up and go to the playground for them to burn off excess energy.

NO RUN FOR YOU, MISSY!

First snow!

Coming down now, outside the windows, slow and fluffy. We had two days of howling winds which took most of the last of the dead leaves off the trees, so I suppose it's time. Even though there are still lavender and red blossoms on my fall-blooming azaleas.

Will it stick? Possibly, there are two inches in the forecast. Which means the girls may be dismissed from school early if the roads get slick.

Which means I need to roust myself from this chair, pack up my cell phone, and GO RUN before the roads get too slippery for my running shoes!

And oh yeah, if you haven't done so already, please GO HERE AND VOTE FOR ME!

The snow day

This is just enough snow to shut down the schools this afternoon (I know, you northerners and Coloradans are incredulous).

Just enough snow to eat off a bush. . . .

No ride today

Here's the view out our front window today, and it's still coming down. I'm ready for spring!!!

My butt got kicked today

My training buddy David and I did our usual training ride today to Claiborne and Tilghman Island and back. I started out bundled up warmly and feeling strong. It was about 27*F with little wind when we started out. But. . . .

On the way heading south we were riding into the wind and you can see my heart rate climbing and climbing as my pace declines steadily. The wind was increasing as we rode, up to about 10 mph with gusts to 15 mph. You can see a squiggle where we rode over the Knapps Narrows bridge (at miles 16 and 21) and then got into the shelter of the wind a little bit on the island.

After the turnaround (visible in the graph at about Mile 19) we were able to pick up the pace a little with the wind at our backs, but the last five miles I totally bonked. I was feeling tired and my back ached and my heart rate went nuts while my pace went into the gutter. It's nice to have the heart rate data after the fact, though, so I know I wasn't totally dogging it at the end - even though I was going slowly my heart said I was still working hard! That, dear readers, is what a bonk looks like!

Fortunately David, who is training for Ironman Coeur d'Alene next June, was able to ride off the front and get a little faster workout in before the end of the day to deposit in his account in the Bank of Ironman!

I found my limit

My limit for riding outside in winter is now officially 22 to 26*F and 10 to 12 mph winds. That's how cold it was for our ride today and while we had a very good workout, I don't think I want to brave it out there in anything very much colder! When the water in my aerobottle tube freezes up and the anti-splash pouf freezes in place, and the water freezes my teeth when I drink it, that's cold enough!! Plus it's kind of difficult to ride with three pairs of gloves on and your glasses fogging up every time you slow down. The small exposed area of my face got quite windburned, too, and stung when I took my hot bath upon my return home.

But the worst cold day outside on the bike is still better than the best day indoors on the bike trainer, by a long shot! We checked out the ice on the waterfront, saw a couple of hawks, and talked to my training partner David's brother-in-law the waterman, who was out working on his boat.