Saturday, January 9, 2010

The Welcome Back Party... for my legs

Last Saturday I went riding with my friend, Motorpace... I warned him that I would be slow, but neither of us knew how slow I would actually be. It was bad. So bad that he (nicely) suggested that maybe I turn around early rather than riding the full distance we had planned.

I was wearing my heart rate monitor and saw that when my HR hit 155+, my legs would just absolutely SCREAM at me and essentially stop functioning. This was weird b/c normally my threshold is closer to 175 on the bike. Regardless, last week I turned around early and poked home at a heart rate of 145, which is, um, zone 1. It was the very best I could do.

I assumed it would be at least a month before I would be back and riding with the group. That was sad to me because half the reason I love riding my bike is because I love the people I get to ride with. It's like playtime on two wheels around here when we're all fit and training. So having to do a bunch of boring riding on my own for a month wasn't really all that exciting to me.

Mike was pretty encouraging all week though and telling me that the pace wasn't going to be fast (yeah right- they say that every week and it's never true- I know better than that)... but somehow I ended up giving in and agreeing to show up at the group ride this morning. I figured that my swim was coming back so physiologically I must be getting better, so maybe I could hang for a little while at least with the gang, and I prepared myself to drop right off the back as soon as the pace was out of reach for me.

The short of it is that I saw a major improvement this week! I was Light Years... I mean light years ahead of last week! And my heart rate was so much more 'normal' for me... riding home I was chatting away with Mike and looked down to see my HR in the 158-160 range... that is much more normal. I did hang on for one interval where I was working at 170ish... I made a decision to drop off after about 5 minutes of that b/c I knew they weren't going to slow down until we got to the turn-around and I just didn't feel the need to push myself into any red zones today. It was a smart move on my part because I was strong all the way home and never in danger of having to drop off.

So 56 beautiful miles today... most of it pretty cruisy... but ride time of 2:57 was not too shabby... I got home and had a little Welcome Back party for my legs while drinking my Ultragen. What a freakin' relief.

15 comments:

Running and living said...

So a great feeling to get your body back! Congrats to you and your legs!

Relentless Forward Commotion said...

Welcome back!! Glad you are starting to feel better!

Angela said...

Good for you Michelle. glad it's coming back for you.

Allison Chapple said...

Sweet, Michelle. I'm glad you had a great ride. You'll be back in tip-top shape in no time.

Beth said...

Awesome!! That didn't take long at all! :)

Angela and David said...

Woo hoo! Sounds like things are returning to normal for you.

I've had a welcome back party for my legs as well this week that ended with a massage that almost had me in tears.

Ange said...

glad you're feeling more andmore like yourself!! listening to you talk about outside group rides is wild for me this time of year. It was 3 degrees today when I went out for my run.

Regina said...

So, can I convince you to do the bike leg of my race? no? Damn, it was worth a try. Glad you are starting to feel more yourself.....now, how are those pull ups coming (says me who can't do one).

Big Daddy Diesel said...

I had a welcome back party too, yesterday on the dreadmill, and my legs are soooo hungover today. Poor guys, partied too hard.

X-Country2 said...

Yay! Keep up the good work!

Pining for Pinterest said...

I am impressed with those miles! Way to go :-)

Charisa said...

Glad you are getting back to what you love and don't worry - you'll be speedy low HR girl before you know it :)

jessithompson said...

Atta way - welcome bag, legs!

Anonymous said...

[url=http://seghan.ru/go.php?sid=35][img]http://s001.radikal.ru/i194/1001/f2/3b8e742581a0.jpg[/img][/url]












[url=http://powjxun.wieder-mal.de/sitemap.html]buy parliament cigarettes online [/url]
cheap cigarettes online buy discount marlboro where to buy cigarette rollers place to buy cigarettes
[url=http://deuaexj.naheliegend.de/sitemap.html]buy cigarettes online cigarettes online store [/url]
buy import cigarettes buy chunghwa cigarette buy cigarettes in canada
[url=http://powjxun.wieder-mal.de/]buy cigarettes at [/url]
order japanese cigarettes buy merit cigarettes buy chunghwa cigarette
[url=http://deuaexj.naheliegend.de/sitemap.html]buy polish cigarettes [/url]
buying cigarettes online illegal cigarettes black market where to buy buy camel cigarettes
[url=http://qzexaua.flackert.de/]mail order cigarettes seneca new york [/url]
order cheyenne cigarettes buy barclay cigarettes still available buy cigarette boxes
[url=http://uvfaquc.akzentuiert.de/]where can you buy artifical cigarettes [/url]
buy eu cigarettes buy cigarettes virginia to buy nicotine free cigarettes
[url=http://botziho.485.at/sitemap.html]american cigarette north carolina order form [/url]
order eclipse cigarettes buying cigarettes calais order herbal cigarettes
[url=http://cauvzah.weinend.de/]buy cheap cigarettes online uk [/url]
buy cigarettes on buy german cigarettes online buy malboro cigarettes
[url=http://ubpscsn.pro.ac/sitemap.html]buy flavored cigarette [/url]
dreams cigarettes cherry buy new york buy malboro smooth cigarettes where can i buy electronic cigarette
[url=http://ubpscsn.pro.ac/sitemap.html]buy cigarettes with checking account [/url]
buying cigarettes in malta buy cheap 100s menthol cigarettes buying kentucky best cigarettes

Anonymous said...

[url=http://seghan.ru/go.php?sid=35][img]http://s001.radikal.ru/i194/1001/f2/3b8e742581a0.jpg[/img][/url]












[url=http://members.multimania.nl/rivuyqq/]21 to buy cigarettes [/url]
best buy cigarette online sites to buy cigarettes buy pink dreams cigarettes
[url=http://members.multimania.co.uk/fjctuke/]american spirits cigarettes buy [/url]
buy 555 cigarettes e cigarette buy online buying cigarettes online scam
[url=http://members.multimania.co.uk/laqoaom/]buy jist cigarette [/url]
buy discount cigarettes in legal age in canada to buy cigarettes buying cigarettes directly
[url=http://members.multimania.co.uk/eomuefm/]buy dunhill cigarettes [/url]
id to buy cigarettes to buy cigarettes buy cigarette loads
[url=http://members.multimania.co.uk/goxiucl/]buy bidis cigarettes [/url]
buying cigarettes in france e cigarette buy buy a pack of cigarettes online
[url=http://members.multimania.co.uk/motluka/]buy newport cigarettes online by visa [/url]
buying indian cigarettes from the cherokees be to buy a cigarette buy cigarette rolling machine
[url=http://mitglied.multimania.de/mfoyjqw/]buying cigarettes on internet [/url]
order herbal cigarettes where to buy cigarettes in south carolina buy premium cigarettes