weekend stats, also the verdict on Shiner

Here are the workout stats for the weekend, since the receipt I wrote them on is just begging to be thrown in the trash by accident.

Friday
10-min run, 1-min walk intervals, for 2 miles (+warmup/cooldown)
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 44:30
2-mi run time: 27:52
Speed: 4.3 mph run, 4.0 workout
Avg HR: 161
Target zone: 18:51
Calories burned: 468(140)

Saturday
Workout #1: 10-mile bike ride*
Time: 52:17
In zone (125-164): 45:39
Avg HR: 146
Calories: 467(187)

Workout #2: 6-7 mile walk
Time: 1:55:57
In zone(125-164): 2:19
Avg HR: 119
Calories: 703(422)

Sunday
22-mile bike ride
Time: 1:45:30
In zone(125-164): 1:30:20
Avg HR: 153
Calories: 1034(362)

So, action-packed weekend, eh?

Now, as promised, the verdict on the $hiner ride...

Next year. Though the heart is willing, the body is weak.

Really, the 22-mile ride was fine. I stopped twice--once at 11 miles and once at around 18 miles (at the gas station on the corner of the Road With No Shoulder). Both times, I was fine to go longer, and was refreshed after just a 5-10 minute break. However, I wasn't just itchin' to go longer, and I think that in order to take on a 90-mile ride, I should have a little bit more desire to go on than I did after just 22...if that makes any sense.

If I'm truly honest with myself, this decision was really made yesterday after the 10-mile ride from hell (see below). About 3 miles into it, it occurred to me that every organized ride I've ever done has been in perfect weather. Even the Katy ride last July was a clear day in the low-to-mid-80s I think. No rainy rides, no hot rides, humid rides, not even any especially windy rides. The one time the weather wasn't postcard-perfect for a ride I registered for, I just didn't show up. So what if May 14th dawns gloomy and cold...give up? Or soldier on miserably for 90 miles? No thanks. Then when I didn't want to ride a quick lap around the neighborhood at the end of the 22-mile ride today, it sort of cinched what I already knew my decision would be. Though I'm sure I could survive the ride, I don't think I can be truly ready for it in just 2 weeks.

Will I be ready next year, though? You bet your ass. :)

*Oh, was I seriously pissed about this one. I woke up on Saturday to 50 degrees and sprinkling, when my weather gnome had CLEARLY told me that it was supposed to be low-60s and partly cloudy. Stubborn mule that I am, I decided to go ahead and try to bike at 7 am in spite of the drizzle, since that is what I had planned and I had confidence in my weather report (*snort*). It was just a sprinkle, and it would clear up any minute, right?

See, what I couldn't really appreciate while standing in my driveway was that the drizzle would graduate to a full-on rain at the precise moment that the wind could blow it directly in my face. The wind was pretty gusty besides, and while the roads were not slippery exactly, they were not in the sort of condition that I felt comfortable riding on a road without a shoulder, even if traffic was light. Only the first and last part of my ride were going to be without a shoulder, but it only takes one panicky jackass to go into a skid and turn me into roadkill. So, that's how it happened that less than 30 minutes after I left the house, I was standing at the gas station 6 miles from home, shivering my ass off, ranting about the weather to Rob on my cell phone, and hating the world.

I waited there for a while, bought a hot chocolate and listened to some of an audiobook on the iPod (and before you even get started with the "you had your ipod with you/You wear headphones when you're riding on the road?!"...I use in-ear headphones and only use the right one while riding. My left ear is completely clear to listen to traffic and other important cues. I'm just as aware of the world around me as if I were driving a car with the radio on, probably more so). I impatiently watched dark clouds blow by in endless waves, with only a peek of blue sky every few minutes to give me false hope. After about an hour, I figured it had gotten about as good as it was going to get...then I waited another 10 minutes for a train to clear the intersection, and rode my defeated ass home by the shorter way. The whole ride was about 10 miles, and I was irate and soggy by the end of it. Stupid lying weather report.

Of course, it was low-70s and partly cloudy about 3 hours later. Sigh. It was great for Noah's soccer game, though! And I walked about 2 hours around the neighborhood after the game, since I felt cheated out of my long bike ride.