It's not that I don't enjoy some good company on my rides and runs every now and then, but for the most part, the bulk of my training is solitary, and that's the way I like it. I don't know if it's because I made my first running breakthrough alone in the dreary Boston winter, or if it's because I'm forging my way as a cyclist alone on the River Trails in the wee hours of the morning... but I run/bike/think alone.
The hardest thing to adjust to with cycling is the formation of de-facto packs of strangers. There's usually low traffic in the morning, but on the weekends, there's a high probability of running into some sort of consterning riding situation. I think why this happens in cycling but not running has something to do with the draft effect and the pack mentality... which clearly I do not have.
Looking back, the riding buddy from last week was really fantastic because he was logical and serious and had the same agenda as me, ie. get to Seal Beach as fast as possible. The pulling/drafting ratio worked out really evenly, and I didn't feel too bad because I was working harder on the pulls than I normally would have alone.
Unfortunately most people are not orderly group riders. This weekend I saw and experienced a whole bunch of annoying scenarios... ranging from people who just latch on to you when you pass them and just draft and never pull, to people who speed up and slow down erratically, and people who are weirdly aggressive about getting in front but then slow down in front of you.
I'm not above sitting back and drafting in dire situations... but in normal circumstances, I really just want to make it on my own. Just go ahead or let me go... I've never had this problem with runners and haven't quite figured out exactly what the psychology is, or how to gracefully extricate myself from these situations.
Sunday 04/26: 78.3 miles, 4:34:33 (17.1 mph), Seal Beach the short way. A pretty awesome ride that went so smoothly it was like the opposite of last week--no snake, no crash, no crazy riding partners, no extreme dehydration. Much more even splits this time, 2:14 out and 2:20 back. Felt pretty good even at the end. I'm actually really excited about that 17.1 avg. It's a big jump from last week, and this time it was all on my own.
I actually then immediately drove to Irvine and rode 25 additional miles today, but they were with my friends from work, and probably too slow to be considered training. There were some nice big hills in there though, and some nice ocean views. We also had a really delicious frozen chocolate dipped banana as a snack in the middle and the most delicious Vietnamese food ever afterwards!
Monday 04/27: Off, semi-planned rest day. Felt like I should take it precautionarily, plus, I got home pretty late from my Sunday adventures, and probably would not have woken up on time. It seems like things are defaulting to the two off day system, but I feel like its worth it to do the higher volume on the weekends.
Tuesday 04/28: 44.2 miles, 2:52:34 (15.4 mph), 12 x RB laps plus bathroom detour. Ouch... my first really bad ride. I guess this was kind of a wake up call in terms of cumulative fitness. My legs actually didn't FEEL tired on Sunday or Monday, but they felt terrible today. In addition, I had cramping in both thighs and L calf... it took about 3 - 4 laps of crawling (think cycling equivalent of 10 minute miles) to finally get my legs loosened up enough to be able to put ANY power at all on the pedals. It was ugly. Things got progressively better after that, but I still felt "off" the entire ride, just tired and weak.
I've only abandoned one ride in my life, and the thought did cross my mind that I might have to consider that with this one if my legs didn't loosen up soon. It was pretty discouraging. It may have been prudent to cut this ride short anyways, but I ended up pedaling through all 12 laps in my frustration... and also to get my average at least over 15 mph. It just felt like such a letdown after a great ride on Sunday. I've decided to feel out tomorrow's shorter ride before making a decision about scaling back for the rest of the week. Bah, humbug!
Wednesday 04/29: Off, unexcused absence. I came home on Tuesday in a foul mood and went to bed immediately at 8:30 pm, yet somehow I still couldn't wake up at 6 am. Guiltily dozed for an hour until it became too late to do my ride, so I went back to sleep for another hour and didn't feel that much better when I did get up. Craptastic....what the hell is wrong with me?
Thursday 04/30: 46 miles, 2:43:35 (16.8 mph) Peter's Short Long Loop. It was emotionally critical for me to have a good ride today, and somehow I managed to pull it off. The inner tube that I patched with duct tape was auspiciously intact this morning, which I took to be a good sign. Nonetheless, I felt kind of weak and uneasy in the beginning, and the wind was tough on the middle section, but I felt really strong coming back from Encanto which was encouraging. I think I just have to chalk this week up to an unplanned down week and try not put too much stock in what happened.
Friday 05/01: Off, shots. Ate a whole bunch of weird things towards the end of the day and felt a little bit barfy. Really wish I had a scale.
Saturday 05/02: 63.6 miles, 3:38:40 (17.4 mph) Rosemead Crossing via Encanto Park with a detour to the base of the 39 on the way home. Felt really strong today, I guess I'm "well rested" thanks to the unplanned off day. I did feel like I quashed my demons from Tuesday though (fingers crossed!) It was kind of gloomy today, the winds were pretty brutal on the River Trail, really hoping that it won't be like this tomorrow for the long ride!
Training this week: 232 miles, 13:49:22
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