Century Training - Week 2; Day 5

Week: 2

Day: 5

Ride: Pace
Route: Flat

Scheduled Mileage: 11

Actual Mileage: 12.17

Average Speed: 13.2 mph

Max Speed: 21.7 mph

*Includes city street speed average

Average BPM: 136
Max BPM: 175

Calories: 375

Random Notes to Self:

• Revising my strength training schedule again; still going for a five-day-per-week routine, but going to switch to three upper body workouts and two lower body workouts to give my legs more time to recover. 
• Headwinds might make flags look pretty in photos, but they are your enemy.

My legs have been feeling fatigued lately, which I think I can attribute to the fact that I've been trying to maintain my progress in the weight room and implement a Century Training program at the same time. As I cycled past the USS Intrepid this evening, I was reminded of my military family background, where I was surround by a lifestyle that pushed through the pain. And I adamantly followed high school volleyball and basketball coaches, who preached about no pain, no gain. There was always an importance in working through muscle soreness, but I've done that for two weeks now, and I have to remember that I'm not as young as I used to be, and I'm not a professional athlete under the watchful eye of an expert. And I suppose, when you aren't a professional (or an amateur Olympian), there can be such a thing as overdoing it.

I listened to my body this morning and forwent my my lower body strength training routine at the gym and just did some core exercises in my living room before work. After I left the office, I got in my scheduled 11 miles  along the Hudson River. Cycling north, I was nearly deafened by the strong headwinds blowing south over Manhattan. As I began to tire along the Upper West Side, I turned around and rode south to Tribeca. I was amazed at how quiet the little world on my bicycle became with the tailwinds ... and how incredibly fit I felt. Suddenly, I was cruising along easily at 18 mph. Ah, tailwinds. I will probably write an ode to them this summer.

Before I turned around to face the headwinds again and cycle north back to Midtown, I took a moment to enjoy a beautiful Hudson River Sunset. Since I don't always have tailwinds on my side, I hope my legs feel a bit fresher for tomorrow's 34-mile ride.