Post long bike ride... I am always amazed at the all-day hunger that ensues! It seems no amount of food completely satiates me on these days. It's difficult to justify eating all day long, even with the amount of activity I'm doing and yes, even if it's healthy food. Of course I don't literally eat all day, but every few hours is quite often for most people.
Biking just isn't my strength, which I think is part of it. It is so incredibly taxing for me. I keep waiting for some sort of break-through, where I'll kill a ride and be a total badass doing it. But mostly I just feel like I'm struggling through every ride, and I can't figure out why. My nutrition both before and during is pretty on-point. I have been training now for twelve weeks (crazy right?!) and spent the entire winter in high-intensity spinning classes 2-3 days a week to prepare myself so I wouldn't start biking season with weak legs.
I'm a fairly decent swimmer, especially for someone who has never swam competitively. I have cut my swim times to probably 2/3 of what they were before last fall. My running pace has improved, as well as my endurance. What gives with the bike? I can't figure out if maybe it's mostly my attitude (which has been incredibly discouraged) or my legs just aren't biking legs. I don't know. I'm strong, I have muscular legs, and cardiovascular-wise I am very in shape.
I'm trying not to be discouraged by this. I know I have been giving it my all, especially given the schedule I work. Being on night shift is one of the hardest things to do when you're trying to train for something like this. Add to it the long runs of 12-hour nights, trying to squeeze workouts in between, running (literally) on very little sleep... it's been really tough. I've made many sacrifices to do this, and I shouldn't downplay that. I've worked damn hard and I will own that. But I am still frustrated with the biking. Perhaps next week I will be back with a better report there? That big break-through I'm hoping for? ;)
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