Century Training - Week 6, Day 5

Week: 6
Day: 5
Ride: Pace Off-Day
Scheduled Mileage: 15
Actual Mileage: 0

I was supposed to cycle 15 miles this evening after work [job #1].

I did not.

I chose instead to order Pad See Ew from my favorite Thai restaurant in Midtown, Pam Real Thai, because:

Excuse #1: You know when you mess up your diet one day and say to yourself, "Self, I've already eaten this many calories today, I might as well eat everything else I see" ... ? Well, that's how I feel about my training - or lack thereof - in Weeks 5 and 6.

Excuse #2: I have to ride 53 miles tomorrow and I want my legs to be fresh [I'm sure if that were actually true, America by Bicycle's Century Challenge & Endurance Cycling Training Guide (reproduced with permission by Rodale Press) would assign off-days just prior to long-ride days ... and they don't].

Excuse #3: I wanted to order take-out, catch up on TiVoed episodes of The Ellen DeGeneres Show - that I have not been able to watch because of my busy schedule - and be in bed early, reading Life of Pi until I fell asleep. And I couldn't do all those things (and compose this blog post) in one evening if I spent over an hour cycling 15 miles in Central Park.

So the decision to not ride my bicycle in preparation for a 50-day cycling tour that averages more than 60 miles a day and begins in less than nine weeks seemed only natural. And you know what I discovered?

Random Topic of the Impromptu Off-Day:
Thanks to Ellen, I've learned that Shemar Moore and I have something in common - other than taking this photo together in Miami after my friends and I chased him half a block down Ocean Drive back in 2007 - and other than the fact that we both celebrated a Big 0 in 2010 (as in the Big 3-0 and Big 4-0) - Shemar Moore is also a cyclist. He wears padded tights just like I do!

Also, Ellen has been giving away a lot of bicycles lately. Click here if you often win free giveaways and raffles. I often don't so I won't. But ... Shemar Moore wears padded tights, too!