It's not been a good fall. I got some riding in, but then my husband fell down the stairs in our house on November 13th, and needed surgery, hospitalization, and home care. I immediately stopped riding - what if I crashed? We'd both be injured, and he'd be without a caretaker. Not a pretty thought.
Furthermore, the weather turned really awful right after his mishap: rain, mist, fog, wind, COLD, and (once December turned over) freezing rain. Ick. I ended up riding less than once a week. Low teens in December in the Mid Atlantic are really unusual . . . and they really, really suck.
So, here we are in Florida (Jeff's recovering nicely, thank you) and I'm kicking ass like I'd been training for the last two months. Huh. What's up with THAT? But, hey, I'll take it. 150 miles in 7 days, 3 solo rides at a 15+ pace, and today's paceline ride with the Suncoast Cycling Club. 40 miles at 16.6? Yowza! I've never even come close to that before. (And on about 3 hours sleep, no less.) I rode to the rest stop (Starbucks in Safety Harbor) with the fast group, barely hanging on, but managing an average of 17.2. Going back, I went with the slower group, finishing strong and happy. Truly, the second 20 miles seemed to go by in a blink.
Jeff was waiting for me at the Starbucks; he's not yet riding his road bike, but is able to pedal a few miles on his old Trek Hybrid. Progress! Not bad for someone who could not walk for 5 days (crush injury to his quads, and a nasty case of rhabdomyolosis). He cheered me on, and was available for SAG, should I feel the need. (I didn't . . . I tend to underestimate myself, I fear.)
Once again, I just barely missed 3,000 miles in 2008, this time by 52 miles (missed it by 40 in 2007). This year, though, I think I might make it. My knees feel good, and I am obviously stronger than I think.
I'm going to hang onto that thought the rest of January and February.
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