On Saturday, September 20, I rode 56 miles on a half iron relay team. My teammates Francis (the swimmer) and Jack (the runner) outperformed me, but then again Francis is a great swimmer and my 15 year old son only knows two speeds anyway. I am a novice cyclist.
I began training in March of 2008 with my husband, Alan who competed in the Redman Half Iron Distance. Alan has recently taken up marathons at the age of 46, but he's been running for years. I thought competing in the Redman would give us an opportunity to train together more often. I was right. From March to September our trainings increased to twice a day workouts. As a beginner, I was able to ride 10 miles per hour easily for 2 1/2 hours. My goal was to progress to 15 miles per hour average for the 56 miles.
The final weeks before the event had me clocking 16 to 18 miles per hour on a stationary bike and 14 to 15 outdoors on 2 1/2 hour rides. I completed 56 miles indoors 1 week before the event in 3 hours and 37 minutes. I figured I was as ready as I'd ever be. I crossed the finish line at 3 hours and 49 minutes. Our relay team only beat two other teams because my time was the slowest of all the team cyclists. But, I finished. The wheels didn't come off, and we didn't come in last place.
I began training in March of 2008 with my husband, Alan who competed in the Redman Half Iron Distance. Alan has recently taken up marathons at the age of 46, but he's been running for years. I thought competing in the Redman would give us an opportunity to train together more often. I was right. From March to September our trainings increased to twice a day workouts. As a beginner, I was able to ride 10 miles per hour easily for 2 1/2 hours. My goal was to progress to 15 miles per hour average for the 56 miles.
The final weeks before the event had me clocking 16 to 18 miles per hour on a stationary bike and 14 to 15 outdoors on 2 1/2 hour rides. I completed 56 miles indoors 1 week before the event in 3 hours and 37 minutes. I figured I was as ready as I'd ever be. I crossed the finish line at 3 hours and 49 minutes. Our relay team only beat two other teams because my time was the slowest of all the team cyclists. But, I finished. The wheels didn't come off, and we didn't come in last place.
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