Wrecked

This little beauty was supposed to be 35 miles! http://connect.garmin.com/activity/142037558
My legs were truly wrecked yesterday afternoon after this but it was great fun. Left at 7am, dark and very very cold and met Carl. "35 then have you mapped it?" I asked "oh was I mapping it? <smile> dont worry its all in my head" was his reply! The alarm bells should have been ringing. I'd tell you where we went but everywhere was new to me (sometimes I wondered if it was new to Carl too!) so you'll have to look at the map. All i know is that it was a bloody long way. Due to the cold I 'd gone for 2 pairs of socks, leggings over cycling shorts, skin layer and 2 cycling tops and the old reliable 2008 London Marathon rejection coat! I was warm all over apart from the groin area (although this eased quickly enough thank god) and my toes. Chuffing hell my toes were cold. I kept wriggling them as I rode to ensure the blood paid at least the odd visit to the area. After the first hour or so they warmed up but a pair of over shoes appears to be an essential. I would also like to question why Shimano put a hole at the bottom of the shoe in the middle at the front? Gonna have to tape that up! I had a bottle of Lucozade sport (which froze) and a Snickers just in case.
The ride was brilliant but I'll confess to being sick of seeing the back of Carl paricularly at each hill when he attacks it. This is where i lose all my time and pace as i drop through the gears. It is clear his greater fitness and strength is the reason he could do a 50 mile work commute on Friday at 20mph ave! Its very frustrating and something I have to work on. We stopped twice. Once because the sunrise looked amazing and I wanted to get a pic and the second time for Carl to strain his greens! The Snickers turned out to be a welcome snack and from 2.5 hours in gave me the boost I needed to get home. Definitely gonna be the snack of choice in the future. Need to also look at getting a second bottle carrier as two drinks would have been better for a ride like this.
It was fun in the dark (so need to get a beaming front light) and in the frost. It is amazing how you notice changes in temperature from different areas and the change can be quite dramatic. I may also have to consider a change of headgear. I wear a wooly hat under my helmet but once it was full of sweat (nice thought) and whilst it was still freezing cold it then seemed to freeze to my head making my head very cold.
If you knock off the stops we rode for about 3 hours 10 mins at a moving average of 14mph which I was happy with considering the elevations were past the 1000ft mark for the first time.
I've planned the next 14 weeks up to VLM. I wasnt supposed to get to 45 mile rides for another 2 weeks. It was hard but with 24 weeks to Ironman I am wierdly confident the ride section wont catch me out unless I cock it up (go out to fast for example). The plan is to complete and survive Outlaw so as long as i stay steady I should be ok. The ride doesnt scare me, the run does and when i start swimming (hopefully feb) I'll let you know how I feel about the 2.4 mile open swim.
My wrecked legs of yesterday feel strangely good today. So good I feel I could have run on them which I didnt expect. I've got a 5 mile run planned for tomorrow morning and I hope they feel this good tomorrow.
I'm 135.40 miles into 2012 for 2012 and 259 miles in on the bike since I got it mid December. Need to find time to fit in reading Going Long, @ironholgs book which I think is Cant Swim Cant Ride Cant Run and I will definitely be getting @chrissiesmiles book when out in feb! I need some of that focus and single mindedness (as well as balancing work and family of course). Thanks for all the support,great tips and info from my twitter #IMS its a real help. Can I IM? Yesterday there were moments of doubt - today you know I think I can!