Getting Better, All the Time

As I sit here writing my blog entry, I'm thinking of the classic song with the lyrics, "I've got to believe it's getting better, it's getting better...all the time." That's how I feel after my long bike ride on a sunny but chilly President's Day holiday.

Frank and I rode just shy of 64 miles and climbed roughly 3,700 feet over nearly four hours.  I'm excited to report that my ride included a successful 20 minute time trial in Simi Valley towards the beginning of the ride, with my average mph at 21.78 mph.  Granted, that's with a 1% downhilll most of the way, but there were uphills and a cross-wind, so I think it evens out a bit.

My reward was a brief visit at my dad's auto shop, where my mom promised me I wouldn't upload this photo.  Whoops!

While I pushed it on the bike for most of the remaining 50 miles, I still was able to run a few miles in zone 2 with my Newtons.  It was my third time out with them, and while I'll save the details for my actual Lava Magazine Online review, so far I like what I'm feeling.  Don't worry though, I'm taking every precaution to go slow for my first few runs.

Perhaps my favorite part of the ride is witnessing another strong effort from Frank. He's clearly regaining his power and stamina, which helped mold me into a better cyclist early in my training days.  Frank challenged me hard up Santa Susana Pass and through the first 45 miles of the ride.  I know we're not supposed to be competitive with our buddies, but for whatever reason, Frank forces me to bring out the best in my riding.  I can't help it.

I like where I'm at in my training now.  Like I've indicated recently, I can finally see strength and stamina gains.  Though I hate to jinx it -- the past several minutes have included an elevated body temperature and hotness behind the eye sockets.  Steph is sick at the moment...I hope I wasn't in the peak form that Mark Cavendish wrote about in his book -- which often led to immediate illness.  Fingers crossed!

Now it's time for stretching and chores.  But I'll be humming a certain song in my head while I do them.

120 days and counting.

PS: Here's my Garmin data from today's ride.  The pace is slower b/c I tacked on about 20 minutes of running while still on the "bike" setting.  But this is really where I'm at in my training from an overall viewpoint. Gotta regulate the HR a bit more on the bike but otherwise I'm feeling good!