I still climb like a FAT guy!

I rode 52 miles this morning to try to get my legs and lungs back in shape for next weekend's 300km brevet. By design, I rode from the house to Ghiasallo for their group ride at 7:30am. I have never ridden in the shop ride, but thought the ride would roll out just about the time I was heading into the valley towards my hill workout. I rolled out with the group and paced along at 17-18mph while chatting with Jim "Johan" Sullivan. The pace was fine with me and then someone rolled up to take a pull at the front and our pace quickened to 20mph. I was still fine with the pace (knowing the climbs would be what shoots me off the back, not the flats.) As I took a couple of pulls on the front, I kept the pace 20-21mph. As we approached the base of Ossenfort I noticed our group was only 12-15 riders. As they 'sprinted' up Ossenfort, I 'lumbered' up like I was dragging a coffin behind the bike. At times, I wished it was a coffin, as it would make it easier to bury my sorry carcass.

After the climb and regroup, I learned the pace was a little faster than the group normally keeps on the way out. I apologized to some riders as I felt bad for being a contributing factor to the speed in the flats. I continued with the group for another mile or so. I then split off and headed for Fenton to watch my son run his second 5k race. I headed towards the hills of Castlewood with a nice little tailwind and kept the pace north of 21mph through the rolling terrain. As I climbed out of the Castlewood area hills, I recall thinking man, I must have a flat or my brakes are rubbing, because I can't be this slow. "Sorry FAT guy, you just can't climb" was the response from my brain.

I got to Fenton 15 minutes before my 9-year-old son's run. Overall, my pace for the ride was 17.5 mph and that included several lengthy climbs as well as some headwinds and rollers. I'm pleased with that pace and feel like I'm really getting over the chest cold and my legs are coming back.

At Fenton City Park, my son and my wife were running today. My wife has been working out a lot, but she's never been a runner. She's encouraging my son to run (in addition to playing soccer) and decided to run with him to further encourage him. This was a charity event, so it wasn't chocked full of serious runners, but there were approximately 50 runners in the event (along with a lot of walkers.) After the first lap, my son came by in 7th position and was within 100 yards of the first place runner. My son finally finished in 8th place with a time of 25:19, which beat his best time in the 5k by 3 minutes. My wife finished with a combination of walking and running in 37 minutes. I'm extremely proud of both of them. My wife for encouraging our children's physical fitness, in addition to her own. My son for pushing himself when it's awfully easy to sit inside and play video games.

Overall, it was a great day of exercise and now we're going to watch our St. Louis Cardinals take on our northern rivals the Chicago Cubs. I may not climb well, but I can relax with the best of them. IT'S TIME TO RELAX!!