LP 2009 or Do I Really Want to Do This?

It was supposed to pour today. It did pour this morning. There was lightning and thunder and everything. I felt it was a good move, therefore, to stick with my plan of going to Fast Splits to train with a few of my teammates on the trainers there. The trainers were set up such that we could all ride the Lake Placid course at the same time. Three hours on a trainer goes faster with a group, and I figured the course terrain would provide me with additional distraction.

When I arrived at Fast Splits the weather was staring to clear. I began to feel pangs of regret. I really, really times eight billion need practice outside on the bike. She's new, and frankly, I'm still new to biking. I lose a lot of time worrying I'm going to topple over when I ride outside.

Anyway, our coaches got everyone set up. I got on the bike, shifted, and my chain dropped. I got all greasy trying to put it back on until Tim took pity on me and put it on for me. (Yes, Tim from "Hi, I'm Tim.") I don't appear to be recovering well in the loser department from his perspective, I'm sure. I then took a look at the big screen from which I was going to view the "course."

You know that game at a carnival where each person takes on a plastic horse and you squirt some sort of water gun to move the horse forward? On this screen you could view the elevation profile of Lake Placid, but you could also view which rider was where on the course, and therefore who was ahead and who (soon to be my case) was behind. Oh joy. Each rider (horse) had a column with his/her name, wattage output, calories burned, pace and power to weight ratio on it. While I was eager to view this info for me, I was not so eager for my compatriots to view it. Sigh.

We calibrated the trainers. Mine was set to 2.4. What does that even really mean? Rainmaker, if you read this, can you please explain to me why computrainers need to be calibrated? I don't get it. And if a trainer is calibrated to 3 instead of 2, what difference does that make to the rider?

I digress. sorry.

We started. The Lake Placid course is pretty hilly, as I'm sure you know. What I didn't know was how UPHILL it is at the start. Holy shit. I thought I was going to die. I didn't have a gear that was low enough to deal with the hills. (Rainmaker, again, if it was set closer to 2 would this have made a difference?) Immediately upon starting my heart rate shot up well beyond my "zone" and my power output was up in the high 100s. Didn't I just establish that 165 was thresh for me? I began to panic. I was NOT going to survive this ride.

To make matters worse my "place" was soon established. Out of eight riders, I was sixth. One rider, Michelle, was not working it b/c she's doing Boston next weekend. The other rider "behind" me was Maureen-- who is 52.

Everyone else kicked my ass--.

I'd like to say it was because I was staying in zone 1--except that zone 1 wasn't even a possibility for me. My average hr was well into zone 2 for the ENTIRE ride. I'd like to say it's because I'm little, and so therefore I was at a disadvantage compared to those with more weight, but each rider's weight was entered and calculated for, so this was not the case!

This week I have been lamenting my lame ass performance in a variety of arenas. Today, however, I'm not going to lament how bad I suck. I actually thing I did wicked awesome today. The thing is, it's not that I suck, it's that my teammates are AWESOME. I am in awe. And that includes you, Kim--hello! Number 3! Sweet Jesus. I'm never listening to you bitch about being slow ever, ever again. Bah! You go out next weekend and kick some ass!

I would also like to say that I have a sweating issue. I'm just acknowledging, that's all. My teammates were dry. I had to wring out my top ever few minutes and I couldn't see for the sweat dripping and stinging my eyes. Yep. Such a lady.

I was able to ride next to Maureen, the 52-year-old woman I mentioned, who is, by the way, just an amazing athlete. (I hope to be doing half what she's doing when I hit 52.) She was so funny--told me a thousand stories to keep me entertained throughout the ride. At one point she was talking about how hot men who do triathlon are--especially the young ones--and how they (the young ones) don't suspect that we old ladies are completely in awe of their hotness, as if grandmas have lost their sex drives--or maybe never had them. She was so funny about it, I almost wet my biking shorts I was laughing so hard. I couldn't wet, though, because I was putting out all of my body's water stores via sweat.

I went for a short transition run after the ride and though it was slow, it felt great. The weather had turned warm and bright, and I was high from having worked my ass off for three hours. I really feel like the season is about to begin.

The end.