82 Miles

I dusted off my tri bike on Saturday morning; an Aegis Victory which has carried me through 3 Ironman races. My coach scheduled me for 70 miles and I decided that if I was going to ride that long I wanted to be fast, comfortable and feel like a triathlete. I could notice the difference in ride from my road bike the moment I got on it. The Aegis fits me perfectly and the ride is smooth and responsive. It makes my road bike feel like it’s constructed from sewer pipe.

I varying rode alone, in a paceline and then with Todd. The ride was pleasant enough and the miles peeled off snappily at an 18.5 mph pace. Todd rode with me for about 30 miles which left me with about 10 miles to complete on my own. I finished a 72 mile ride in about three hours, fifty minutes.

Today I had company for my 10 mile run from start to finish. My daughter after some waffling decided that she wanted to go with me when she saw me heading for the door. I guess the encouraging her to accompany me without pressuring her is working.

I let her lead the run throughout Prospect Park and we explored just about every trail. We had to stop about a dozen times in order for me to carry her bike up or down stairs. It is clear that Prospect Park was designed with little regard to people with disabilities. I could tell that she is getting stronger. She was able to make it up every hill with minimal assistance and only asked to stop 1 time to take a drink. Other than stopping for some stair climbing we held a very crisp pace. My average HR for the day was 144 (78%) with my max reaching 167 (90%).

At the end of the ride, she was complaining that her butt was a little sore. I wonder if they make bike shorts for 8 year olds. If it wasn’t for that, she said she would have gone longer. We shall see; I think I have a 15 mile run scheduled next weekend.