Today I rode outside.
It was really fucking miserable outside.
The start of the ride was okay. It was raw, yes, but it wasn't so bad. I had on wool socks. I figured I'd be okay.
An hour into my ride the skies opened and it started to pour. Ten minutes later sleet began hammering against my helmet. Ten minutes later I began to fantasize about getting windshield wipers for my sunglasses. The icy rain drove against me. It. sucked.
Soon my wool socks weighed about 500 pounds. My hands (in cotton gloves, yes cotton) were frozen and I couldn't shift. I rode in one gear for the final 10 miles of the ride. That was fun.
I didn't exactly feel sorry for myself. Honestly I just felt like an idiot. I could've completed the ride on the trainer, but I didn't because I felt so sick of the trainer that I thought (stupidly) that anything would beat it. I spent the remaining time of the ride contemplating how I must certainly be the only one dumb enough to be out on a day like today. I did see a few runners out, but nary a cyclist. Of course I didn't see a cyclist. Only someone who is borderline insane, like me, would ride in this.
By the time I got home I was so cold I could not remove my clothing. Andy had to pull it off me before I got in the shower. Fortunately he remembered how to do this. When I got in the warm shower my hands and feet started to throb. Thawing hurt. It hurt very very much.
But finally I did thaw. Then I toweled off, dressed and went to log into Training Peaks to admit what a fool I had been to ride outside.
Minutes after I logged in to report the workout Kurt emailed back to say that he had been riding in the rain, too.
He had?
Really? In that cold rain?
And he had been out there longer than me.
And he was talking like it was no. big. deal.
Then Ange emailed to say she had just experienced the worst ride ever... that she couldn't even undress herself she was so cold upon finishing it. It was driving snow the whole time.... she could barely make it home. But unlike me she had STILL gone on her transition run whereas I had selected to strip and get in a hot shower.
AND then, a little while later, I learned that my friend Mike had been out riding too, along Sebago Lake in the driving snow.
Wow. I'm definitely not the only insane one.
I didn't think I was a bad ass, really. I just thought I was crazy for even thinking of riding in that kind of weather. (Of course I am just coming off a case of hypothermia, but still.) But the truth is most of my friends are as crazy as I am. They really are. In fact, they are sometimes more crazy than me.
And I guess that's the rub, isn't it? You don't get good in this sport by deciding it's too wet and cold, that getting in the ride outside is not worth the risk of dying from hypothermia. You get good by training insane amounts in sometimes insane conditions. If I was the only one crazy enough to ride in shit weather like today, then I would probably be winning race after race. But I'm not. I'm not because Kurt, and Ange, and Mike....
are out there training in that shit, too.
17 comments:
Crazy BUT impressive!!!! I did run outside, but I bitched and bitched, and bitched, and rode on the trainer instead! I am a wimp!
Wll that clinches it. I guess I need to get out there. It's in the low 40s and the roads are damp. Poor me. Thanks for the ick in the pants, Mary!
Well, I guess I need to go out now. It's in the low 40s and the roads are damp. Poor me. Thanks for the kick in the pants, Mary!
Well I guess I am not insane becaUse I took a big PASS to ride out in that mess yesterday--in SoME it was hailing/freezing rain for a while...
You must have made huge gains in your mental game after that ride. Hopefully my ride today goes way smoother. :)
this cracks me up. Yes, It IS good that 'he remembered how to do that.' LOL on that one.
Yes,we're all crazy kindred spirits and I love You All for it!! thank goodness we are all in this together. I felt half bad ass half crazy too.
Glad you're warm now. The SUN is shining today and I'm putting on my shorts for my run. Allelujia or however you spell that word! Happy Easter !!!!
My coach always tells me when I even think about complaining about the wet conditions, "those who train, train in the rain."
Luckily I didn't have any riding scheduled yesterday - the weather sucked here too. Today it was damp for my hill intervals this morning but my flavor of insanity was to squeeze it in between all the Easter obligations. the kids need to speed up the egg hunt a bit next year.
That is tough! But my coach always says, "on race day it won't matter that the weather sucked 2 weeks ago" Think of all your competition that sat at home OR the honkin piece of chocolate bunny you can eat guilt free! Good job! I am jut about to blog about a similar workout but it was too hot! UGH, I may take hot over cold though!
"we dont use the sky for motivation".
as an athlete in New England I always have: rain pants, rain cape, neoprene gloves and a cover for the helmet. 3 hours Sat drenched. 3 hours Sunday in shorts.
Gotta love it.
***But I'm not. I'm not because Kurt, and Ange, and Mike....***
Mike, me Mike?
You know what I think of post marathon training, particularly post Boston(the career killer). Maybe you want debate? Maybe you are writing of another Mike. I will leave that alone.
I have a treadmill and an indoor trainer, and I am just a fun runner. I only run in the rain if I absolutely have no other option. And I do not ride my bike in the rain, no how - no way, too dangerous; at least too dangerous for me.
A day off or days inside does not a career make or break.
I am a natural racer, training does not make me tough, training makes me fit that’s it. I only train to race, not to abuse myself.
When young I was determined, it is a fine line between determined and insane. I try to stay on the determined side of the line.
Great athletes happen when desire, determination, and intelligence intersect. Add that to my comment on your last thread, and that is all I got.
I ran on Saturday for close to 2 hours, and it was not fun. I rode on Sunday, and it was gorgeous.
I really have no problem with harsh weather, I run in everything, it never stops me. I just don't pay attention to it. With biking, however, I am cautious, mostly bc I don't trust my biking skills and there is lots of traffic where I ride.
Great job for getting out there. I can't wait for you to kill it this year in the triathlon.
me and amanda rode in a thunder storm/flash flood watch. but at least it was near 60 degrees. good on you for getting out. fuck the trainer.
Judy wrote>>> f### the trainer...
I disagree completely!!!!!
True story - My BF/college roommate came home to his wife doing exactly that effing her trainer. Now, there are those that perceive us running dudes as skinny little meaklings, but that is not necessarily true. If you rise to a certain level good runners also tend to be pretty wiry competitive athletes. And my boy was a 4:02 miler and a 8:30+ steeplechaser. The miler/steeple combo is usually a rough dude with strength and speed. Needless to say, my friend ended up spending a night in jail, divorced his wife, and the roided up trainer gets laughed at back home for getting his tail kicked by a runner whose wife...uh, well you know, f###ed the trainer.
A lewd story from Mike! I love it!!!! :)
On second read of Judy's comment it has occurred to me I have made a mistake and misinterpreted.
But my sentiment remains the same -
DON'T F### the Trainer!
So with Mary’s approval I will hijack her blog for one more minute to defend my position one more time, because I think it is important to state how very important IMHO, it is to eliminate inefficient training and add intellectual decision making and proper use of science and technology.
The elite athletes I know, Runners, Cyclists, and Triathletes alike, use technology and science if it will make them a better racer and protect their health. Ego and bravado gets wiped out pretty quickly when there is no margin for error, and at the level that Mary and others like her are targeting, there is no margin for error.
The top guns tend to be very thoughtful and considerate trainers who have eliminated mindless and worthless machismo from their training and racing.
If you are going to be as great as you can as a racer you have to be damn near emotionless in training. Use emotion to get up in the morning, use brains to stay safe and gain maximum fitness.
I understand having to deal with the environment and learning to ride in all conditions, of course. But, as a boxer I also learned to not go to war in the gym, and don’t fight in the streets, you'll end up beat up and worn down, or dead.
Maximize your training to improve your racing. Sometimes that means facing the weather, sometimes it means jumping on the trainer(the machine, not the person;-) or treadmill and living to fight another day.
Tough dumb guys and gals get their tails whipped by tough-SMART athletes nearly every time.
Treadmills and Trainers are two of the most important and valuable tools ever invented for athletes. I use them, proudly.
Again – words of wisdom from Marcellus Wallace: you might feel a slight sting. That's pride f###in' with you. ###k pride! Pride only hurts, it never helps. You fight through that siht. 'Cause a year from now, when you kicking it in the Caribbean Ironman or Boston marathon, instead of rehab, you gonna say to yourself, "Marcellus Wallace was right."
Awesome, those are the moments that forge us. Of course, I can say that as someone who has not once gotten out on her bike in the rain this year, LOL. But kudos to you!
I would just like to say yes you are insane! But at least you are all insane together :)
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