I Need A Nap

At 8:30 this morning I rolled into the Redhook Brewery parking lot ready for my 25 mile bike ride on the Burke Gilman Trail. It was a cold morning and from the moment I jumped onto my bike I wondered if my Jamaican blood was really cut out for this.

There were many Team in Training members out on the trail as we rode into (not literally) the marathon team. Plus, there was another large group of about 100 people that were going to be riding over 50 miles and then of course you have the people that just love to run on the trail or live in the area, so needless to say for a cold morning the Burke Gilman was very busy.

As we headed on down the trail, towards Seattle, my fingers became more and more numb. I couldn't feel anything, surprisingly my ears were doing okay and so were my feet it was just my fingers I was having a lot of trouble with. I was feeling pretty strong 3 miles into the ride and very encouraged that my body, and those pesky fingers, were going to start warming up.

For the majority of the first half of my ride I was pretty much on my own and very focused. It was at mile 11 that I had a couple pass me and decide that it was time to chat, take over the entire trail and slow down to the point where I was coasting most of the time. It was just before the turn around point that I had the opportunity to pass them, I kept it that way.

The second half of my ride didn't go as well as the first. The first problem was there was a very cold head wind that was kicking me in the butt. Then, although the trail is somewhat flat, heading back there was a slight incline and this time instead of my fingers going numb, my toes were now feeling very uncomfortable. To make matters worse, I didn't eat anything before the ride therefore my legs were beginning to run out of gas. I made it back to our meeting place but I was needing some serious nourishment and a warm fire at that point.

For my first official ride with the team and for the season, I was pleased with how things went. I am looking forward to more long rides and improving my performance.