Week 7: Day 6 = 15 February 2020

• Firecracker Ride = 42.8 miles; time = 3:04:12; average speed @ 13.9 mph
• walked dogs = 2.4 miles total

I had a rough start to my morning before heading out to L.A. for the Firecracker Ride. I like (just kidding, not really) to be unorganized and make things difficult on myself sometimes. I told myself yesterday I was going to take care of some things after work so I didn't have to worry about them this morning, but didn't. Anywayzzzzz...I knew that two friends would be at the ride because they told me. After arriving and waiting at the start line (and during the ride), I found out that I had eight friends doing the same ride. It made me soooo happy and I had a blast which made me forget about how stressful my morning was.

At this time last year (January/February/March), if you had asked me if I wanted to do a 40-mile ride, I would have said HELL NO! even though my longest ride was 35 miles (in 2018). I upgraded my bike in August and then signed up for the Firecracker 40-mile ride in September. I felt that I was ready for something more challenging. When I did the Firecracker Ride in previous years, it was 20 miles...flat and fine for families and beginners. (I didn't do the ride last year...I only had enough money for one event - run or ride - on the same weekend. Running being the love of my life, naturally, I chose the 10k.) At the same time, I was somewhat regretting my decision and asking myself "What have I gotten myself into???" My longest ride for 2019 was 32 miles. I felt better about my decision after doing a 60-mile ride with the Psycho-Lists group in November and did a few 40-mile rides after that. I might have overprepared a little for this ride..it had just slightly under 2,000 feet in total elevation. I did two rides with just over 3,000 feet (and one 40 mile ride with 2,000 feet) in total elevation. I did this on purpose because I wanted this ride to feel a little easier and I didn't want to struggle on any major hills (there were two short rides with a 10% grade and a 10.6% grade).

Right now, I feel pretty good and my legs don't feel sore. I head back to Chinatown-L.A. tomorrow morning for the 10k run. The first time that I did the Firecracker 20 mile ride (followed by the 10k run the next day), I was fine after the ride and thought I would be fine after the run. I was very sore! I'll be dead at the end of the run tomorrow because it's on a hilly course. After tomorrow, I'm still in training, but this time for the Finish The Ride (35 miles) at the end of April.