First Group Ride

This weekend I planned on going for my first group ride on Sunday so on Saturday I headed up to the gym in the morning to get a swim in.

Swam 1650 @ 24hr
Total Time: 29:55
1500 @ normal pace, 100m in 1:19, 50m in :40

Wasn't really sure how far I was going to swim when I got to the gym but finally settled on 1500m. I felt good the whole time and tried to focus on my form and stroke count. Lately I have noticed that floating is becoming easier for me as "pushing my buoy" becomes more natural. At the end of my swim I decided to do a fast 100m which I did in 1:19 - the last 25m were tough but I pushed through and finished strong. I rested for a couple of minutes then did 50m fast which took me 40 seconds. I was bummed out when I went to the steam room and it was not working but a couple of guys from 24 hr. worked on it and got it working. The downside was that it was REALLY working - the steam was coming out for 15 minutes without pause!

SUNDAY
Group ride with Cyclepath on Calaveras Road
Total Miles: 28
Total Time: 1:42:54
Avg mph: 16.2

This weekend was my first group ride on the bike and it was great! I headed down to Cyclepath in Pleasanton not really knowing what to expect when I got there. I arrived around 8:40 and was one of the first people to arrive. One of the guys from the group (Scott) introduced himself and then I looked around the store for a bit. I was wondering if I should have worn a long sleeve shirt since many of the other people arriving had on jackets, long pants, long sleeve shirts, etc. It was a bit chilly out for sure (around 50) but I knew that once I was out riding in the sun I would heat up (and I was right). Once everyone arrived and was ready to go we headed out as one big group (around 25 riders) and took over the road. This was pretty cool to me since I am used to riding in the bike lane solo - these guys took over the whole lane and cars had to wait to pass us or go around when they could. There was not much traffic out so this wasn't really a problem. For the first 7.5 miles we rode at 24/25 mph then stopped at the intersection of Pleasanton Sunol Road and Calaveras Blvd. (Hwy 84). At this point the A group took off on Calaveras and I hung back with Scott and two other guys (John and Chad). We waited for the rest of the riders to catch up with us and once they arrived we took off up Calaveras with one addition (Don). Scott, Don, Chad, John, and I formed a pace line and were going around 20/22 mph when all of a sudden Don moved to the side and it was my turn to lead! I wasn't really sure of what to do - was my pace ok? Too fast? Too slow? I just kept on at the pace we had been going and after about 5 minutes John overtook me and picked up the pace for a couple more minutes. We stopped again at the beginning of the hills and waited for some people to catch up. Scott and I headed up the hills at a nice easy pace and shot the shit for a while. After climbing for about 20 minutes Chad and John caught up to us and we climbed the last 1/4 mile together. When we stopped at the top Scott explained that it wasn't actually the top, there was another 6 miles or so of climbing then some rolling hills followed by a steep descent known as "The Wall". After about 5 minutes we turned around and headed back down the hills we had just climbed and it was FUN! I didn't push it too hard since there were quite a few twists and turns and it was my first time on these hills. At one point I came flying around a corner to see a deer standing in the road about 100 feet ahead of me. He moved out of the way in time but it was a good reminder to keep alert at all times. I came out on the bottom of the hill to see Scott, John, and Chad up ahead of me and I pushed hard to catch them. I took me about 5 miles to close the gap and I was working the whole time. We got back to Cyclepath around 11:45 then I took off to get some breakfast. Next Sunday I have a 5k race but I will definitely be back for another ride the week after that.

MONDAY
Morning run - 4mi
Total Time: 30:26
AP: 7:36

After riding hard yesterday I decided just to run fast but not too fast this morning. I figure I can push myself on Wednesday then do a recovery type run on Friday before racing on Sunday. It was chilly this morning but not too bad so I was still in short sleeves and shorts. I picked up a long sleeve technical shirt this weekend at Sports Basement but probably won't be wearing it for a couple more weeks.