Riding into the Wind

I wanted to write about this yesterday after my ride but the day just got away from me. I'm a bit off schedule, but let's get back in the game today, shall we?

It was a very blustery day. Temperature at 1:15pm was 46 degrees, winds from the S-SW at 10-20mph with 35mph gusts. The perfect day for a bike ride. Crazy, right? Well, of course it is. A day in the life. But in actuality, these were good training conditions. Rumor has it Ironman Kansas 70.3 (my first race of the season) is always a windy race, so the conditions yesterday were fitting training weather. Says my coach, Catherine. Kona Ironman Catherine. When she says it's so, it is usually so. She talks, I listen.

We rode together as we are both in training. Catherine has a race coming up in about a month, Ironman Los Cabos. March 17...my birthday! I'm in awe of her. She is a little powerhouse. We work well together and our relationship is much more than athlete/coach. We are good friends. The cool thing about our friendship is from our very first meeting we clicked. It's like we have known each other for years. Translation: we can be real with each other. Not that we aren't always real, we are. I mean she is a call-it-like-I-see-it gal, my kind of people. She is a perfect example of the type of person I am striving to surround myself with these days. Drama-free. Straight up.

We agreed to meet in Zionsville, a suburb of Indianapolis. We bundled up, saddled up and headed out. The first 20 minutes or so was the warm up, and we chatted as we rode.

When we made it out of the suburbs Catherine "suggested" a workout of 5x5 minutes all out with 2 minutes recovery between each interval. So much for the conversation. Ha ha. I was happy to oblige because this is what will make me stronger. The wind added a little challenge but it was good work.

We rode hard! For most of the intervals I was chasing Catherine's dust while she seemed tiny on the horizon. Pushed me to work harder. The cool down mimicked the warm up with a slower pace and conversation continued where we left off.

Catherine pulled, but clearly I was not within drafting distance when this picture was taken. I was too busy snapping this next photo:

Kids...don't take pictures while riding. Leave this to the professionals ha ha. Seriously, not the greatest idea in the world. Hands should be on the bars, eyes on the road. A pothole can jump out at you any time. And as I know from experience a sudden gust of wind can be treacherous.

Catherine the Great (and her sweet new ride)

Me (the Student)

It was a fantastic ride but I was happy to get into my warm car. I couldn't stop shivering!

Swam this morning, and now I'm off for a meeting with my nutritionist. A day in the life.

Peace out,
xoxo