Back Out on the Road -- FINALLY

So, after the longest, most annoying winter I can remember, a two-week-long chest cold, and a series of cold and/or rainy weekends, I finally managed to get back out on the bike this past weekend. Since the mornings are still chilly (and Dave works most Saturday mornings these days), I waited until the afternoon to head out. It was gorgeously sunny and in the mid 60's, so I was anticipating a very nice ride. As usual, I decided to do the Slippery Elm Trail, from the Montessori school in Bowling Green to North Baltimore and back (around 26 miles total).

The ride started off beautifully. It was a bit breezy, but it was blowing from the west, so it wasn't really helping or hindering (the trail is a north-south route). I was comfortably hitting 15 mph and with the slightest extra effort closing in on 17 mph regularly. My legs felt great and I was feeling better emotionally than I had in a while (work is excessively stressful lately). I pulled into North Baltimore in just under an hour and was all ready to head back to BG just as speedily. And then...

Headwind.

Not just any headwind, but a full blown, Northwest Ohio style, blow across farm fields that haven't been planted yet, gusting to 25 mph mess that made it feel like I was trying to bike through a brick wall. The wind must have changed directions at some point because instead of pointing to the east, the bright orange wind socks that dot the trail were now pointing directly at my face. Here's what happened to my thought process during this time:

First Couple of Miles, North Baltimore to about Oil Center Road
Well, this sucks a little. Oh well, it'll be good training for the hills outside of Columbus during Pelotonia.

Between Oil Center Road and Cygnet
At this point, my average speed dropped to about 10 mph. My legs were starting to burn. I can always tell when things aren't going well because I start checking my bike computer to count down the miles every few seconds.

Between Cygnet and Rudolph
I had never experienced the "hitting the wall" feeling I have heard runners describe until this time. Not even when I rode 50 miles last summer. My legs felt like lead and there were times that the wind was blowing so hard that I couldn't even get over 7 mph. I started trying to think of ways that Dave could come collect me off the side of the trail, but since I had taken the Subaru (which has the girls' car seats) to the trail, it wasn't really possible. I was close to panic a few times.

When I finally got to Rudolph, which has benches and a water station, I could barely feel my legs. When I dismounted, I almost fell because my legs buckled when I tried to stand on them (fortunately, there was no one around to see that bit of gracelessness). Making matters worse, I only had half of a protein bar left. I took about a fifteen minute break, sent Dave a particularly profane text message to check in, and then pushed on.

Rudolph to Bowling Green
Usually, I can do the Rudolph to BG homestretch (about 5 miles) in my sleep. It's not even exercise most of the time. This time, it was the longest five miles I've ever done. The wind was even worse and I could barely hit 10 mph (remember, I ride a ROAD BIKE). Most of my thoughts during this stretch were too profane to print here, but were along the lines of thinking what the wind could do to itself. When I finally got back to BG, I almost cried. It took me close to two hours (including breaks) to get from North Baltimore to BG (basically double what it took to get to NB). But, I did it.

My heart rate monitor clocked me in at burning 2,317 calories. So, I think I was justified in ordering pizza and breadsticks for dinner.

Overall, it was a demoralizing ride for that second half. However, I finished and I got some good resistance training for the hills I'll encounter during Pelotonia. In the meantime, I'm hoping for less wind and stronger legs as I keep training for 100!

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