Today was session two of the hills. Oh boy, memories came flooding back very quickly from last weeks attempt. There was an almost instantaneous rise of lactic acid in my quads to which I quickly told them to "toughen up". Believe me I wanted to stop on more than one occasion but I refused. My stubborness comes in handy sometimes and when it is in full swing I let it have it's way. Susan joined me today and I am safe to say that she was possibly cursing me on two of those hills. But despite this she still soldiered up those hills way faster than I did. All I could see was her behind disappearing over the crest of the hills. When I finally caught up all I could say was " OMG, don't talk to me yet, I can hardly breathe". Susan looked as refreshed as ever - I wish.
I always think that it is amazing how when you know a specific track and it's intensity, your mind goes into this little "game play" mode and you start to almost question your ability. Annoying really. But I did it and that's all that matters. I just kept thinking to myself, this is going to make me stronger and I will benefit from this immensely. I can already feel my quads starting to bulk up and I like it. Having stronger legs will make my run leg feel easier "I hope". Likewise continuing to run will make my legs stronger for the bike - it's a win/win situation really.
During this session I got to test out my new speedometer on my bike. Quite exciting really. This nifty little gadget tells me my average speed, maximum speed, distance travelled, time spent pedalling, revolutions. So on this session I travelled 21.4km in 1hr 14min with an average speed of 17kph and a maximum speed of 41.5kph - obviously that is cruising it down hill. I think at one point my slowest time going up hill was 9kph. You could have walked faster for sure, however the aim was to cycle up and not put my foot on the ground once.As for how I am feeling physically, well, I must admit I do feel a little less fatigued and my feet don't feel quite as tender. Not sure if it's because I haven't run since Sunday or because I have started my nutritionals or both. I am tending to lean towards the nutritionals, but I am going for a run this morning so I will see how I pull up. It won't be a lengthy run, just 4km but this will be enough to see if things are starting to settle down. Wish me luck.
