Recovery..Or "Why im unsocial on a Friday Night of a holiday weekend"

Now with the Wild Ride checked off, I thought the Sunday following i'd be a basket case. But i wasn't. I felt pretty good, even tho the scale revealed my food indiscretions. I felt motivated to go ride.

One of my new cycling buddies, told me about how his body reacted to a week long ride. I've been intrigued by these Ultra Endurance rides.  Maybe it's because as amateurs we'll never do much w/ our cycling cept get fitter (which is allright!) or push ourselves to do silly things.  don't ask me, i'm crazy.
Other pals are doing a ride across Iowa next year.  Could i even do this? Big question.

My boss is a marathon runner, and he runs a lot..almost every day.  I've looked into tons of cycling plans, been to classes, and read through piles of cycling philosophy.  The word that keeps popping up..Active Recovery.

Challenge!  Ppl really hate it when i say "i have an idea..."

My goal. To ride 12 days straight without a break. Whaaa sort of messed up notion is that?

I decided, to  go cycling sunday. Just one lap, stupidly slow.  Riders passed me like it was my first time on a bike.  I didn't care. It was nice outside, albiet a bit windy, but still very nice.

Then here comes Monday. A rest day. But for some reason, i was highly motivated to ride again. i suppose i was fueled by  my friends stories.  I rode monday, a couple of laps. It felt good.  Then i rode Tuesday..early, at 5 am. I had seen the weather was supposed to get bad, so i got an early ride in.

Good thing i did...a bad thunderstorm came through. I spent a couple of hours hiding in my closet. I am terrified of tornados, having lived through a giant size 5 in wichita falls in '79.  And with the imagery of Oklahoma and Joplin, my fear rose pretty well, esp when we lost power.  No power all night. No power the next morning, so getting up at 5 am to ride wasn't going to happen. I was exhausted.  But i had made a deal w/ myself to just try to keep riding.

by the time i  got home, oncor  had hussled to get the power back on, and geared up and went out. I made it three blocks from my house and my fatigue was pretty bad.  I downed a Gu Roctane, and forced myself to the lake.   I rode slowly..casually warming up.

One thing i noticed about Active Recovery...warm ups take a lot longer for me.  By the time i made it to Garland Rd, the riders in front of me were going slower than i wanted, and i LOVE flying down that dam, so i flipped around em and shot down it.  Energy. Like someone opened up a hidden can of whoopass.  I was fueled and fatigue gone. Ok can caffeine REALLY affect me that well?

I was going so well, i picked up a wheel sucker.  He finally made contact and i ended up pulling him for 2 of his 5 laps. I felt wonderful. i even ran into one of my favorite cycling coworkers.  (whom sick as a dog, is still fitter than i am..bastard).   i made it home with plenty of fire.  Wow.

Thursday, was a lunch ride.  Two more laps with no problems.  Today is friday. My boss and his awesome riding partner wanted to ride.  Two laps, with so much energy if i had had time, I would have done a third lap.

Then, it was off to the doc.  Despite the fact that I have lost weight, and revamped my eating habits, my LDL is higher than the doc would like, even tho ALL my other numbers are really good. I was pleasantly surprised by the consultation.  They gifted me when a personalized packet of nutrition and eating lifestyle information. REally good stuff.  She even gave me suggestions on how to cook fish properly, and when to eat certain foods. Hat's off to Omega OBGYN..yes! my gyno! Who knew!!

In fact, the nurse was excited when i walked in with my Livestrong.com food and Garmin workout logs.  She told me she wished more patients would change their livestyle. She also said, at my age, and my family's history of heart disease, that if i hadn't been doing all this, I would be on a statin drug.  But because i have revamped my diet, and added in a ton of exercise, I am able to stay off the meds..for now anyway.

So, what did i do to celebrate? I met up w/ my best friend, whom i don't see enough of, and tried to eat well, but had to suck down a couple of drinks :D  By the time i got home, i was worn out.

i should go out. I should go be social and see all my friends because i do miss them and i want to support their endeavors. To be honest, I am whipped.  Tomorrow is a long ride.

I am on day 8.  Focus. Stay Focused.

Clear, calm skies.