Day 31: A lesson learned

Yesterday, my Russian companion arrived at 10:30 am for my first legit bike ride of the season. I was pretty nervous about it, since she bikes around 20+ miles a day and is naturally far more athletic than I am, but I pulled out my bike in high spirits.

Round trip, our bike ride was 17.5 miles.

We took a left out of campus, went down Old Westport Road all the way to Drift Road, which is in Westport, down to Charlotte White, across Rt. 88 and then down two more streets.

The weather was absolutely beautiful. We could not have asked for a better bike riding day.

Some of the hills kicked my ass a little bit on the way there. When we got to Charlotte White, I had to hop off my bike for some water and cut through a parking lot because we were on a really gradual, long hill and I didn't have the stamina for it. But we finally made it to the Starfish Bakery!

Unfortunately, I had neglected to eat breakfast that morning. While I felt pretty alright on the entire bike ride, I definitely knew I needed to eat as soon as we got to the cafe. More unfortunately, as soon as we stopped riding, I felt horribly horribly sick. I wanted to curl up in a ball. I was keeled over in my seat. The thought of eating made me feel nauseous. It was like a terrible hangover. At one point, we thought that Kate might have to go back and get the car and then come pick me up, but I decided to push myself.

As soon as we got back on the bikes, I felt fine (which is pretty bizarre). The ride back was slow but not too difficult. It was definitely the right amount of challenge for my body. Old Westport Road was a bitch, though. It just keeps going up. And up. And up. For miles. When we reached Thirsty Crow (right before the final stretch of the hill) we stopped and went in to look at the wares. When we left there, I was able to go right up the hill with a burst of energy.

When we entered the campus, I was feeling SO good about myself. I felt totally energetic and ready to take on the world of biking. Kate's encouragement, coupled with my own sense of satisfaction, pushed me to want to go around Ring Road again for extra miles.

Later that evening, we took a 4 mile walk down to Dunkin Donuts for some iced coffee. It was super pleasant.

I am definitely starting to FEEL more in shape, regardless of whether or not I am. That's got to mean something!

Moral of the story: Always eat breakfast. Especially when you're going to get your work out on.