Makin Room for Turkey 50 mile ride
I found this ride a few months ago and figured it would be a fun way to recover after the marathon and get ready for a week of eating :) I was looking forward to the ride and the weather looked like it would cooperate. My sister and her boyfriend came into town last night to pick up some tickets to the ECU game today so we all went out to sushi and drinks. This ended up being a late night but I was having so much fun I didn’t want to go home! I ended up getting to bed around 2am with the alarm set at 7:30am-ugh.
The alarm went off and after a few minutes we both got up, Scottie had to pick up the tickets and I just needed to get my butt moving! I got dressed and had a huge mug of coffee and the usual pre-ride/race breakfast of a PBJ bagel. We chatted with Steph a bit before Scottie racked up the bikes and we were off. The morning was pretty chilly but I anticipated the day would warm up, however I knew I would be miserable riding cold so I layered up with a long sleeve compression shirt, sleeveless bike jersey, wool arm warmers, tri shorts and running tights over top with full bike gloves.
This ride was so unlike the races we have done in the past, everyone was so relaxed! There was no day before email reminder so we had to double check the start times, we drove just down the rode, parked, picked up our t-shirt, directions and wristband and that was it! We got our bikes and prepped before heading to the start line. I had a bit of a cough which started last night, not sure if this is remnants of my marathon cold or if this is something new, regardless my chest was tight and my nose was running constantly, this was not going to be conducive to a 50 mile ride. But I stuffed my back pocket with tissues and figured I could also use my gloves, classy no? Mom would be proud. I leave all lady like-ness at home when I do any kind of sport 
After listening to some safety announcements we were off. I stayed in the back of the pack as I knew I would be slower and also wasn’t used to riding in a big group. We had a police escort which was great, no need to stop at every light. Later I find out this would really only happen at the very beginning.
We started off with a nice, easy pace but quickly realized we needed to speed it up because it was quite chilly and we needed to warm up. I was feeling good except for the constant nose running and the cough. My legs felt great and my right knee was behaving. We passed the first rest stop at about 7 miles but I didn’t have a need to stop so we kept going. I wish I would have read the directions because the next stop wasn’t until mile 30! That combined with my odometer not registering lead to a frustrating start. I felt ok until maybe mile 20 or so, by then I needed some chapstick (in my back pocket) but didn’t want to pull over, then I got hungry, then I just got plain tired. And it didn’t help I stopped at a stoplight and shifted my weight wrong and fell over onto my left knee. Fab. I tried to shrug it off but this time it hurt! I knew I broke skin.
After bitching and moaning and hating that we decided to ride 50 miles instead of the 25 mile option we FINALLY made it to the next rest stop. I was so happy! I quickly got off the bike and walked to the snack table where I found OREOS! I snagged a package of 6 and instantly inhaled them. The oreos were like the Fig Newtons during the marathon, just the pick me up I needed.
After a bathroom break and a water bottle refill we were off to the next rest stop, just 10 miles away. I was feeling much better this leg and the miles flew by as we biked through Morrisville, including a nice stretch where I could practice being in aero position. We stopped at the next rest stop and refilled my water and grabbed some FIG NEWTONS! But we didn’t stay too long as we were both ready to be done.
At this point we were pretty much riding by ourselves. The last 10 miles felt good until we hit some pretty long hills and by that point I just wanted to be off the bike! But I powered through but kept thinking if I would ever be able to sit on a bike for 112 miles during an Ironman.
I was so happy to see the EarthFare shopping center and ofcourse finished with a smile on my face that I had actually completed it. I felt pretty good off the bike, I wasn’t waddling and my legs weren’t tight. We racked up our bikes and walked back to the finish line where I grabbed a piece of pumpkin pie. Since we were in the back of the 50 miler group there weren’t many people left so we decided to head off to lunch.
After lunch we went home and I immediately took a hot shower to warm up. I was chilled to the core and needed to get warm fast. I think I had some minor dehydration because I was cold all afternoon and had a slight headache, both of which went away after drinking about 4 cups of water. After my shower I did one of my favorite things, crawled into bed and took a nap while watching college football. Ahhh perfect.
So the day is over already but it was nice to get in a good long bike ride and some lounging. I now know why some people retire their bikes during the winter, biking with a cold head wind just plain sucks!!! It was probably intensified due to me not feeling 100% but biking like that was less then ideal. Still I was happy that my legs felt so great and after stretching out pretty well tonight I think I should feel pretty good tomorrow. Bring on the turkey!
