Week of Firsts

Last week had a lot going on. It was my first week back to training after vacation and my first break in training since I started in January. I did run while on vacation but nothing more than a 5k and never really pushed my pace. It was more going through the paces so I didn't feel guilty about all the crap I knew I was going to eat. While weight gain is not a positive for me right now I was happy that I only gained 2 pounds during the week I was gone. I had an appointment with my trainer that Friday and knew I needed to get the 2 pounds back off so I jumped back into working out with both feet. Started with boot camp class and a recovery run on Monday. Was sore Tuesday but went to the gym for a weights circuit and then to the swamp for a brick, 17 mile ride and 5k run. Wednesday was weight circuits at the gym and an off day for cardio. Thursday was my long run of 11.1 miles. When I stepped up to the scale on Friday I was nervous. It said 247 but it was not the normal scale we use so I am not very confident in the reading. Next weigh in is two weeks.

To end the week on Sunday I hit my first group ride ever with Walt and the staff from Fat Frogs, and the ground was moist from overnight rains. Love the fact that they are literally 5 minutes away and have quite a few days that they ride, including both days of the weekend. When I pulled into the parking lot I was shocked at the amount of people there! Didn't get a full count but knew there had to be 25-30. They split into two groups and I went with the slower "B" group, they were to maintain around an 18 mph pace for the whole 21 miles. My group was 8 people strong, and I made sure I fell in the end of the line. I had a lot to learn during this ride. I knew very few of the hand signals and had no clue of what to expect. The five-mile mark was where I got my first real taste of group riding. I slowly moved my way up the line and was riding number two as we came to an intersection I noticed mud on the road and was trying to slow down but still stay close so I could draft the lead bike. He called clear left and just as he finished we both saw an SUV come flying around the corner. He locked is bike up and I locked mine up but too little too late, BOOM! Clipped his rear tire and over I go into the mud. Amazed at the fact that I was more worried about my bike than any injury I could have had. Ended up with just some road rash on one leg and knee, but that was it, my cherry was popped just 5 miles into my first group ride. Feeling embarrassed I jump back on and off we go. The rest of the ride was quite eventful as there was another wreck later but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Was quite happy with my performance and look forward to the next ride.

Overall a great week. First group ride, first wreck on my bike, and 11.1 miles is a new long run record for me. 54.3 miles this week is a new personal best for mileage, and those added to my yearly total brings me up and over the 500 mile mark for the year (508 miles total). Estatic about all of those. 500 miles blows my mind when I think about where I started from, but there is still a long way to go!