But it's not all glory....
This week I trained hard. I ran 8 miles on Tuesday, rode 25 miles on Wednesday followed by a weight class, ran another 10 miles on Thursday, Swam 2000 meters on Friday and was on my bike again on Saturday. Tuesday I woke up with insanely tight calves. The whole run I battled the bottoms of my legs feeling like they were in a vice. Wednesday I woke up feeling big and had one of those days where personal vain insecurity threatened to get the best of me.
Thursday felt to be a better run, but the tightness in my calves still slowed me down. I had slept on my back wrong causing some low back pain and tightness.....it was a slow day. Friday I went swimming...just a gentle swim and 2 laps in I jerked my neck wrong causing a nauseating tightness when I turned my head left. And Saturday.....
Saturday was the one day that I had thought about, stressed over and planned over the most. I wanted a 60 mile ride. It was a personal milestone for me. The longest I would have EVER ridden a bike. It was going to break any fear I was harboring about the race's 56 miles. I wanted it, planned for it, fueled for it and was going to get it.
Bob and I left in the early morning and headed on our way. The ride was fantastic. I truly felt so strong. With every mile we went I grew more confident...I've so got this 60 miles in the bag. We made the turn up Usery Pass Road for our final 12 mile stretch and my gears that had been skipping the entire ride started acting funny. The final 3 mile hill was mine for the taking and 1 mile in I shifted down and heard a sickening CRUNCH. My bike no longer moved forward and I had only a brief second to unclip before I would have fallen over. I looked down at my back tire only to find my derailer (the part that moves your chain for your gears) had broken off and my chain was a bent mess.
Now, there are a lot of technical issues that can happen when you ride, and pretty much all of them can be handled in route. You may have to slow down, or change the way you ride to limp home, but most problems you could face won't completely ground you. This one on the other hand is simply "Not fixable" or rideable. Unless you are on a downhill and can coast, you are walking.
So there I was....all of my 60 mile plans dashed, walking my bike up a 2-3 mile stretch, in my socks. Bob had to go ahead to not only finish the ride but come back with the car. It was just me and broken Lady Trek on the road. I got passed by too many cyclists to count, cars stopped to ask if I was okay, even a police man followed up with me. I had a runner actually run by me and say, "Put those shoes on and grind out this hill! You got it!" As if I was so unmotivated that I had simply given up on riding and walked up the hill........oh buddy, if you only new.
It's not all glory folks. You will see me cross that finish line and reach my goal. It will be victorious and glorious, but the journey was and is hard. Lady Trek is now out of commission for a week having parts ordered and replaced. It happens. This journey is long and fraught with unplanned obstacles.
In all of this I am grateful for 3 things 1. Protection. Where it happened, when it happened and how it happened was truly the best place of the day. Thank you Jesus. 2. That my mind is greater than my circumstances. Give me set backs I'll just come back stronger and 3. That it happened on a training ride and NOT my actual race. So so SO happy about this. Lady Trek will be practically new come race day!
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