Chica Bike Weekend Summary

The Chica Bike Weekend was great. This was the kick start I needed for the outdoor bike season.

Here's a run down of how the weekend went.

Thursday

My drive down didn't go as planned. I left work and got out of the city on time but an hour into the drive I hit some very bad traffic. It delayed the trip 2 hours! So I called up hubby and told him that I wasn't going to make the entire drive. My bed time is 9:30, no way I was capable of driving late. According to T-Lo (TomTom Go), I would arrive at my destination around midnight. This was not a good start to a long weekend. Hubby looked up airport hotels for me in Indy since it was the closest along my route. We found a decently priced hotel and I ended up crashing there. There was only one room left and I am very thankful to the guy at the front desk who discounted it for me since the online rate we had found was less expensive. He even watched my bike for me while I parked the car. My room was very nice and I had an uber comfy King bed to myself.

Friday
I actually slept in a bit. I called the girls the night before to see when they anticipated wheels up. They decided late morning which was not super early so I did sleep in. Once I woke I took my bike back out to the car then checked out the free breakfast. I got eggs, a bagel with PB, and some tea then was on my way - Roll Out!
For the first ride we rode the outer circle of Bloomington. It was a great ride with some good hills. I particularly am not a hill climber but I know it makes me stronger. I was so happy to ride on familiar roads and the weather was perfect - 70 with a slight breeze. I was smart and lathered on the sunscreen too! We rode a few of the popular hills that I recalled from college riding - down Boltinghouse, up Bean Blossom, Bottoms End, and I know there was one more but cannot remember it. We stopped in Ellettsville for water refill and a few potty breaks along the way. In the end we rode 4 hours, 61 miles, and I averaged 106 watts. During the ride I had 4 Endurolytes, 1 bottle with 3 scoops Perpetuem, 1 lemon zest Luna bar, and 1 peanut butter &banana Bonk Breaker For recovery I drank a glass of Light Soy Chocolate Milk and sampled all the yummy peanut butters everyone brought.
For dinner we got my favorite college pizza - Mother Bears!!! It was so yummy.

Saturday
I woke up with the expected tightness in my neck. It takes a few times riding outside to get used to it and for my shoulders and neck to strengthen. Today for breakfast I had a Natural Ovens blueberry bagel with NN Almond Butter and bananas. The weather was a little more chilly this morning so I wore my arm warmers. I still remembered sunscreen! Today we had an official local guide. M's dad took us on a tour around Lake Monroe. It was a beautiful ride but the weather also made more cars (including boat trailers). My two scariest things for biking are pot holes and Mac Trucks - both of which I saw plenty of. I wish I pack more water, it started to get humid during the ride. We rode for 3 hours, got in around 47 miles, and averaged 97 watts. Post ride we all headed out for a small brick - 20 minute run at 8:07 pace.
Bonus points of the day - Chasing P & H up a hill because they missed the turn. Fighting off ONE BIG DOG - that's what being in the back gets me - dog duty.
When we got back I had some tried Strawberry Recoverite - it did the trick.
For dinner M's parents made a yummy vegetarian dinner - spinach salad with pears and toasted pecans and a mustard vinaigrette, potato and green bean with olive dressing, and grilled portobello mushroom stuffed with Roma tomatoes and feta.

Sunday
Even more tightness in the neck and shoulders. I blame biking not the air mattress. Well we woke up to the expected rain but good thing the expected thunderstorms did not occur. P and I had ride/run brick on our schedule, the other ladies only had a run. We headed out (with our guide) and did a perfect hour ride! A few small hills but some good rollers. The last bit of our ride was a 10 minute LT - I pushed hard and kept up with P the entire time. I hadn't even noticed the rain picked up during the last part mostly due to the fact I was sucking tire water the entire time. Don't worry I checked when we were done - No Worms! I run felt great. Average watts were 103. For the run P and I did 7 miles at 8:38 pace, no hammy issues either. I was a bit worried about issues with my hip flaring up, especially after riding that much and following with a run. Looks like all my PT and hard work is paying off. Recovery drink - Citrus Recoverite with a packet of Herbalife H30 - so so yummy, it tasted like TANG! This will become my new recovery drink.

Ending thoughts
I really had a wonderful time this weekend. I am so grateful to have training buddies like I do. They all allowed me to pick theirs brains for cycling tricks and tips, IM nutrition info, and everything I should know about IM. I feel that I have gained so much this weekend and I hope to use is these next few weeks in my training as I gear up for the Memphis in May triathlon.

Weekly Summary
Monday - Off
Tuesday - Run 6 miles, Swim 3100yds(Masters)
Wednesday - Run 6, Swim 2300yds
Thursday - Off/Travel
Friday - Bike 61 miles
Saturday - Bike 47 miles, Run 2.5miles
Sunday - Bike 15 miles, Run 7miles


As of today - 18 weeks and 5 days til Ironman Louisville!