If you read my last blog entry you know I did my first Charlotte ride this past Saturday. Here are some reflections on 120 miles of QT with my bike and my good friend Stephanie...
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| Ready for the long stretch |
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| Getting closer |
The ride to Charlotte traverses some beautiful NC countryside and I would totally recommend it to anybody who needs to get some good mile in before and Ironman (or just for the heck of it). We started from the Food Lion in Carrboro where we had a firm departure time of 8am. Sometime around 8:45 we managed to roll out. Being girls ;) we made it about 15 miles before our first rest stop. Once I cleared my system of the 2 cups of coffee we made it about 30 seconds before we got ADD and made our next stop. This could not be helped as there were puppies AND roosters playing together by the side of the road and pictures were needed. Mental note: keep camera available for photo ops during long rides. By the time Steph dug her camera out they had disappeared into the bushes so sorry, no pictures. :) Right before we hit Highway 49 Steph got some hard family news. However, being the trooper she is we decided to push on and get the ride done. 49 was the longest stretch of road and offered up some great rolling hills as well as a few solid climbs and, my personal favorite, some long gradual downhills where we could really fly. I got in about 50 miles of tempo during this section which I was pleased with since we had decided to be slightly conservative on the first long ride of the year. The hardest miles for me were the first 40. I think it was partially the daunting mental task at hand as well as not being warmed up well. The rain held off until mile 90. From then on we had a steady and fairly heavy amount of rain. Looking back, it would have been smart to tie our raincoats around our waists, but you know what they say about hindsight! The rain wouldn't have been so bad, but the rain/cold (approx 40 degrees) combo really started to get to us the last 15 miles. 5 miles before our stopping point we were looking at our rain soaked map and shivering and decided to call it. At that point we were shaking so badly and riding through heavy rain and traffic that it no longer seemed safe or an effective workout. We found the closest CVS and a great deal on some hoodies (75% off the sticker price) and waited for Richard Armstrong, Stephanie's Coach, to come rescue us.
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| Brrrrrr! |
We didn't make it quite to our destination, but 120 out of 125 miles ain't bad and Stephanie is going to kick some butt at Ironman St. George!
Oh yeah, almost forgot we played the animal counting game and here is our tally: Roosters, puppies, cows, goats, sheep, ostrich, emu, horses, mini donkeys....Steph, what am I forgetting? :)
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| Finally warm!!! |
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