Training Friday, 4/4/08

Got up this morning and thought it's been warmer the past few days, why don't I get on the bike and get a good ride in... I know the weekend's going to be very busy, let's get a jump on the workout. Then I looked outside and saw it raining. OK, I can deal with rain as long as it's not too cold. Then I got outside -- probably mid-30s with a 10 mph wind out of the southeast. Well, I'm out here anyhow, might as well keep going.

Got about four miles into my ride when I realized I should have worn full-fingered gloves, it was just a bit too cold for the light gloves I was wearing. Another couple hundred yards and I remembered I hadn't brought my cell phone just in case I ran into 'complications.' Then, of course, Murphy's Law hit -- my back tire blew out.

Pulled over and took a look in the rain and muck, and found that not just the tube, but the tire itself had a 1-cm gouge. Yikes. New tire time. Couldn't find the offending object, so I went right to practicing my flat tire repair skills, and didn't even bother trying to patch the tube. Installed my spare tube by myself (first time ever) on the side of the road in the cold rain, got it pumped up to a decent (albeit slightly low) pressure with my CO2 cartridge, and re-installed the back wheel.

By this time I was pretty cold, wet, extremely muddy, and had lost most of the feeling in my fingers. Also wasn't sure how long the tire repair job would hold, given the gouge in the tire. Decided to head home (a bit easier with the nice backwind) and call it a day. Total distance traveled -- 10.35 miles in 45:07, average speed 13.8 mph, calories burned 598, average heartrate 143 bpm. Flat fix-it time -- about 5 minutes.

Nutrition

• Breakfast -- FiberOne oats/caramel bar, 4 ibuprofen (wicked headache this AM), water
• Lunch, Dinner -- TBD.