Life and Other Stuff

Whenever this silly event rolls around, I hem and haw about how many miles to do, how to fit it into the weekend events and errands, how long it will take, etc. PeloFondo is an endurance event where cyclists all over the Peloton world pledge to ride a specific number of miles/kilometers and have 2 days to complete the goal. While I’ve made these goals and achieved them ten times now, this is the third time attempting the 100 miler. The first one was shortly after I got the bike. It took all dang day and I felt like trash afterward. Last July attempting to beat the time for the same mileage, we were also fighting our HVAC in a particularly hot weather spell. Not fun, but the job was done, and cooler air prevailed.

Two goals in mind going in to this weekend. First – don’t trash my body and need a week to recover. At this point, working hard and feeling the slight soreness of muscles is great, but I am over the “hobble-around-and-can’t-sit-down-on-the-toilet-without-groaning-in-pain-because-I worked-so-hard” phase. Also, will never skip the warm up or the cool down and stretches. Makes the recovery SO much better. EVERY. TIME. The second goal was to beat the time. Didn’t care by how much, just wanted to see some improvement.

Tweaking the attack plan was instrumental this go around. Instead of throwing myself against the wall and doing all the miles in one day, this time both days were in play. No need to fly and die. Gels, sports chews and other endurance nutrition are typically not my friend, digestically speaking, so this time meals and real food breaks were mandatory. Mandarin oranges, bananas, toast, granola bars, water and electrolytes. Meals were simple, like bean and brown rice burritos which provided longer lasting complex carbohydrates. Pasta was consumed after the first day. It was delicious, and set up energy levels nicely for day 2.

It took 10 classes, but felt SO much better without physical annihilation! Genius! Working smarter not harder actually does produce results!

What surprised me is that the second day, 2 classes were PRs. The second day. Where my legs. were. already. tired. Somehow, this beast was a negative split in terms of speed. The last 3 classes were the fastest. Rest, fuel, hydrate = kicking ass.

What did not surprise me was the incredible team I ride with. Our common bonds are sobriety and a Peloton. Teammates who have overcome terrifying health scares, work changes, life stuff, family obligations and so much more, but hold on to their fitness and sobriety is incredible. It’s beyond inspiring. So inspiring in fact, that initially, 100 miles wasn’t even on the table. Pledging 50, doing my part. That was good enough.

But, then as other folks started racking up mileage, setting challenging goals and sharing their why, it compelled me to up the ante. I mean, if 50 is doable, then surely that metric century is doable bc that’s only 12 more miles. And if I can do 62 miles, well, 70 is a nice even number to round up to. But, 75 is a quick 5 more. No problem! And seriously, if doing 75, what the heck – why not just do the dang hundo? If some is good, more is DEFINITELY better.

This shit escalates rather quickly.

Glad to have another one done and dusted. Humbled and encouraged by teammates who chase goals and dreams and share this lunatic passion for fitness and sobriety! Ever thankful for the hardest workers ever – my padded bib shorts, the unsung heroes of the weekend!