60 Miles And My Back Is Burning

Literally, my back is burning. I went on my ride today, and totally lathered the sunscreen all over myself - except for my lower back where it peeks out when I bend over on my bike. I kind of forgot that part. Not smart. It's swollen, it's so burnt.

Other than that, my ride was awesome today! Here's what my training plan said:

B: 4h long bike, easy pace. In and out of aero position. Try out fuel/hydration that you plan to use during races. If weather permitting, use race clothes as well.

Weather was so permitting me to wear my race clothes today, hence the low riding shorts, and the sunburnt back. I did this last time I wore my tri shorts too. I will learn from this! The weather was perfect for riding, though! It was in the 70s so it was really warm, but the breeze was nice and cool (except when going 5 mph uphill, then it got pretty hot). 

You must be wondering, "How did you get out on a 4 hour bike ride on a Monday?" Well, I have great friends, that's how. I dropped Ethan off at school, then took Elle over to my friend Ann's house where she was so excited to play with "Little Ethan." I headed out on my ride from there at about 12:30, shooting to be back by 5. I had anther friend, Dana, pick Mindy and Ethan up from school for me. It worked out just perfectly, and I think Dana even took the kids to the movies! They couldn't tell me what the movie was called, though, so I'll have to ask her about it. She's just awesome! Thank you both for helping me out so much today, it was wonderful!

Ann lives in Sugarhouse now, so I rode from there, through downtown which was kind of fun, and up the same route as Saturday to Kaysville. I was going to see if I could get to that same park where we turned around on Saturday, but I ended up missing the turn onto Smith so I just rode until I hit 30 miles. This was at almost 2.5 hours. I stopped and got off my bike to stretch a little because I was feeling pretty sore. I took some Hammer Gel then started again. I felt so much better! It's amazing how much good some stretching can do.

The way home went so fast. The wind must have been with me again. I kept looking at my speedometer and seeing 19, and I liked that. I liked it a lot. I think 19 -20 miles an hour is the nicest speed to cruise along at. I'm going to try to do it more often.

My total distance for the day was 60.3 miles! I did it in 4:16, and my average speed was 14.5 mph. This was slower than Saturday (15.3 mph), but I felt really good at the end. Not sore at all. I'd like to go faster, but I do like feeling good after the ride when I think about having to run a marathon when I get off my bike. 

I had my recoverite and stretched at Ann's house, then went to pick up Pete and the kids. When I picked Mindy and Ethan up from Dana's, she asked me if my legs were rubbery, and I was surprised to be able to say that I felt great. I feel like I totally could have kept going. Maybe I feel so good because I didn't have to run after this ride, I don't know. I'm glad I feel good, though, that makes me feel very optimistic! The most painful thing right now is my sunburnt back. Don't let me do that again!