Not being able to cycle the previous two days due to rain has been rather annoying. In particular because this has been a brutal work week thus far, and we are not even halfway through it yet. When I awoke this morning I was eager to get on Red Chameleon and hit the pavement, pedaling towards 50k meditative ecstasy. Thankfully the weather was not only cooperative, but utterly beautiful, heat and humidity notwithstanding.
Since it rained on Monday and I was unable to ride, I used that time to be productive, putting together some "energy balls" to eat prior to cycling. This morning I ate one and drank my usual 750ml water. This seemed to be the perfect balance, hitting me with more energy than I was normally getting out of the granola bars. I could literally feel newfound strength coursing through my veins.
I walked out of the door a bit later than normal due to an impromptu 4:30am work call that was supposed to last 15 minutes, but ended up going on for about 45 instead. Once I was outside, I quickly hopped on Red Chameleon and off we went, destined for the standard 25k turnaround spot I normally like to hit on my 50k morning rides.
Of course the temperature was nowhere near mild. As Tokyo prepares to venture into August, the weather is hot and humid. Hellaciously so! This is not exactly optimal cycling conditions, but something I have to deal with nonetheless. Despite the situation, I felt really comfortable and energetic on Red Chameleon this morning.
The first 25k I felt very strong, not having any trouble maintaining cadence and pace. According to Strava, I hit a personal record for this 25k, knocking off two minutes from my previous best. This was not a surprise considering how comfortable I felt on the saddle this morning. At the top of every incline I still felt strong, powering through the pain and continuing at a decent speed.
On the return the heat kicked up a notch. While I had no trouble with cadence and speed, traffic notwithstanding, there were a few segments where I needed to slow down and rest. All I could feel were red hot knives dropping from the sky, piercing my entire body with high temperature pain. This slowed me somewhat, but also caused me to stop more than normal. At least I had a nice opportunity to enjoy nature and the Tamagawa river surroundings.
Overall, I am quite pleased with todays performance relative to recent rides. I guess the two days of forced rest worked to my advantage, and my legs were roaring to go this morning.
What will really be interesting to understand is how I perform tomorrow. My legs are clearly hurting now, and I will not get enough sleep for a full recovery before I ride again. Hopefully I do not take too much off the pacing tomorrow. I am looking forward to feeling strong like today because it made cycling a lot more enjoyable.
Now it is time to head to work for yet another exceedingly brutal day of back-to-back meetings up through almost 9pm. Gotta focus, get through these meetings, close some deals, and have a productive end of the quarter.
Focus. Kick ass. Take names. Focus some more.
Rinse, repeat!
