New Jersey! (Not the state. The shirt.)

Nothing like some new gear to get excited to ride!  This jersey was a gift from Karin.

The Lure of the BIKE LANE

One of my favorite sights!

As a nervous biker I am always thrilled to see an actual Bike lane.  Of course it does not solve all of the hazards a cyclist faces on the road, but it does give me my own portion of the road on which to ride, and it gives drivers, many of whom have no concept of "sharing the road" with cyclists, some awareness that cyclists exist.  Where there is a bike lane, rather than expecting drivers to slow down and maneuver around a cyclist going 1/3 the speed of most vehicles, I only have to count on them to stay in their own lane and not drift over a solid white line.

Today I rode 14 miles of Bike Lanes.  I just started riding from my house, and headed west and south, until the bike lane ran out, then I turned around, and turned down any random street that had an inviting bike lane.

Of course, 14 miles is a nice ride, but certainly not the mileage I need to be doing.  But for now I would rather have a great ride that allows me to get more comfortable on my bike and increases my confidence, and return home after 14 miles feeling great and loving cycling, than push myself through 25 miles on less enjoyable roads, and come home frustrated or on edge.  Until I build up my comfort and confidence on the bike I can't really focus on building the speed and power I need, so for now I will continue to take it one step (or 14 miles) at a time.

Riding fast to nowhere

So last night I rode the spinning bike at the gym.  I have ridden a stationary bike before, but the spinning bikes are much closer in geometry to riding an actual road bike.  Unfortunately they are in the spinning studio, where there is no TV, no fans, no music.  My iPod wasn't charged, so I rode the bike to nowhere for an hour, alone in a room full of empty bikes, with no distractions except the screen displaying RPMs and Watts, which mean nothing to me.  Karin offered me her iPod, since she was going to watch TV on the treadmill, but I decided it would be good to be bored.  Boredom is very good training for Ironman.

I rode 25 miles in 1 hour.  That is to say, I actually rode nowhere.  But I rode nowhere for the equivalent of 25 miles.  It is amazing how fast I am when there is no wind, no stoplights, no traffic to scare me.  I have actually read that riding on a trainer (an actual road bike mounted on a stationery stand) can be a more effective workout than riding an actual bike on the road, because there is no coasting, no stopping, no tailwind; and you can completely focus on your workout without petty distractions like trying to stay alive.  Of course, if you just ride on a trainer, when you get out on the road you will probably crash pretty quickly, having no bike-handling skills whatsoever.  And clearly my bike-handling skills are already lacking, so it is very important for me to ride outside.  But if the option of riding inside gets me on a bike more often, building strength, speed and endurance, that is a good thing.

A little breezy

Current weather conditions

Having worked all day at the airport in this wind, I know it will be "unpleasant" during the bike ride I had planned for today.  Considering my tendency to cry on my bike, I think I will take my riding indoors today, to a spin bike at the gym.

Just like riding a bike

I RODE MY BIKE YESTERDAY!

I rode 13 miles (during only about 10 of which I felt like I was going to crash at any moment) then ran 2.5 miles off the bike.  This despite the fact that I had a repeat of my tire issues from the Tour de Palm Springs.  Here is a highlight reel of my tire issues on that ride:

The front tire got a puncture and began to spew vile green liquid (Slime, a self-sealant in the tubes I use).  I dismounted and spun the front wheel a few times until the vile green ooze did its job and sealed up the hole, maintaining plenty of air pressure to complete the last 17 or so miles of the ride.  Then the rear tire went completely flat, so I changed out the tube, proceeded to inflate it, heard it explode, put the punctured tube back in and used my last CO2 cartridge to fill it, hoped the sealant would do its job, and proceeded the last 11 miles on it, during which it, like the front tire, maintained plenty of air pressure to get the job done.  Now, today, I got to relive it all!  I got all ready for my ride; snacks, water, helmet, new jersey, arm warmers in the pockets.  Then off I went, only to be turned around after about 100 yards by, once again, green Slime spewing from my front tire, just as before.  ( I had not changed the tube after the previous ride, having assumed it was "fixed").  So I came back to the driveway, replaced the tube, proceeded to pump it up to just over 100 psi, then watched in horror as the full tube squeezed out from between the rim and the tire, and shortly thereafter...exploded.  Try as I might to blame this second, identical, explosion on anything other than myself, after close examination it turned out to be...my fault.  Operator error.  After two exploded tubes I finally figured out my misstep and learned my lesson.

Finally, I got on my bike and rode.  And quickly discovered a busy main road at 5 pm on a weekday is not the best place to train effectively.  But that's okay.  My shoes have clipped in and out of my pedals without incident since I replaced the cleats, and by the end of the ride I was to the point where I would actually stay clipped in for long stretches of time!  (The fallout of getting stuck to my pedals for those many rides is that I have gotten in the habit of unclipping at the first sign of ANYTHING, like a side street with no cars in sight, because I had to be prepared, since I never knew when I would get stuck.  Now that I unclip cleanly every time, I have to consciously break the habit.)

My goal for the rest of my base training phase, which will last until the end of May, is to just get on my bike and ride as often as possible.  I am not going to worry about too many speed workouts.  I just need to get confident on the bike, improve my bike-handling skills, and get time in the saddle.  Even if some days it is just commuting to work, in the dark with traffic and stoplights, it is still time in the saddle, handling my bike.

But I sure do look forward to those days when I can get in a good ride on a nicely paved, lightly trafficked road!

Some ugly truths...

The great thing about being a triathlete in the base (read: less structured) training phase is that if, say, I find myself on the couch at 6 pm watching last night's DVR'd Modern Family, and it is now dark outside and I haven't gotten in the bike or run I had planned on, well, I just go to the gym and do a swim workout.  Now, I   am not recommending this style of training every day, but it is nice to know I can choose from a variety of workouts and still consider it legitimate training.

That being said, I am ashamed to admit that I have not been on my bike since the Tour de Palm Springs, 12 days ago.  (Don't tell my Dad!  It's not that he would be disappointed; just genuinely perplexed that someone with a bike would not jump at any opportunity to ride it!)  Sure, I ran a marathon in the interim, but I am not kidding myself that that is any excuse for neglecting 1/3 (my weakest 1/3) of the events I am training for.  In fact, until about 30 minutes ago, I had not yet even pumped up my tires from the Tour, having rolled across the finish line with 2 half-flat tires.  Tomorrow I get back in the saddle! (I feel like I have had occasion to use that phrase a lot since my training started...)

Tonight's swim was one of my favorite workouts.  It was a series of 100 yard swims consisting of 25 yards easy/25 yds building/25 yds easy/25yds fast.  What I love about it is that it is strictly based on feel, on being tuned in to what your body is comfortable with and capable of.  The distinction between what is "easy" and what is "building" is determined by how I feel while I am swimming.  This type of training (often referred to as RPE or Rate of Perceived Exertion) is based on how hard you are working in relation to how hard you could be working, and only you can judge that.  Therefore it encourages you to be very aware of your body and it's capabilities.  It also depends on you to be honest about how hard you are pushing yourself, because if you slack, you are only cheating yourself.  I feel like it is the exercise equivalent of asking a psychiatrist, "What do you think this means?" and the psychiatrist replying, "What do you think it means?"

In addition to working on my swimming speed in the pool tonight, I also got to work on one of my character flaws: being too judgmental.  While I was doing my 100 yard sets I noticed a guy standing on the pool stairs. There was an open lane, but he was just standing there.  I did a full set, and he was still just standing on the stairs.  Then he got in the water but he just stood at the end of the lane.  I did another full set and he was still just standing there.  It was creepy.  Like, why is he just standing there?  Is he a creepy pervert who just stands there and watches girls swim?  Another set later he had moved about 5 feet.  Finally I chastised myself for being so judgmental.  After all, I am a slow swimmer who crashes bikes on test rides in parking lots and gets stuck in my pedals!  Who am I to judge?!  For all I know he has a debilitating fear of water and he has come to the pool to face his fear and though it takes everything he has not to jump out of the water, he slowly makes his way into the pool and inches his way down the lane.  He is the bravest person I have ever seen!  Finally, he starts swimming.  He swims one lap.  The he gets out.  I am so proud of both of us!  Him, for facing the imaginary fear I have bestowed upon him, and me, for trying really hard not to be such a judgmental b*!#ch.

It turned out to be an extremely successful workout in many ways!

Learn something new every day

As a novice triathlete I am constantly learning new things about my new sport(s).  I have looked at a lot of swim training workouts, and many of them say things like: 5 x 100 on 2:00.  Now, I assumed that meant: Swim 100 yards in 2 minutes, rest, repeat 5 times.  But noooooo!  It turns out the 2 minute "interval" includes the actual swimming AND the rest.  So while I have been looking at these workouts and thinking I am not THAT much slower than everyone else, because my intervals are close to the recommended speeds, I now find out that they actually refer to a much faster pace.  This feels akin to, say, if I felt okay about my weight because a lot of fairly fit people my height weigh close to the same, and then I find out they weigh the same...with a 30 lb. backpack on!

Lost Dutchman Marathon Race Report

My race strategy was this: Grab as many GUs as possible.  The marathon entry fee was $80, so if I managed to snag 55 GUs it already paid for itself!

As far as other race strategies, involving actual running, I planned to start out very easy, having no idea what 26 miles would feel like to my unprepared body.  I had a few goals, listed in order of priority (and reality):

1. Finish.
2. Run the whole way, except at aid stations, where I could walk while I drank or ate, if necessary.
3. Smile and thank all volunteers.
4. Finish in under 5 hours.
5. My ideal: Finish in under 4:30

Goals 1-4 seemed realistic.  Goal 5 was a bonus goal that I would shoot for if I was feeling great, but I did not start out pushing that pace because I had no idea what my body would do after 17 miles, having never been there before.

Since Karin would be driving out to Apache Junction, about 45 minutes from our house, with me at 4 am, she signed up to volunteer at registration for the other races (half, 10k, fun run/walk).  Only marathoners were allowed at our starting area because it was at a trail head in the Superstition Mountains.  The runner shuttle to the start was a 40 minute bus ride!  But the starting area was awesome!  They had tons of small fires and a table of coffee, bananas, cookies, water, etc. and we were right in the Superstition Mountains for sunrise.

Marathon starting area before the race.

This is a small marathon with only about 400 runners.  In a big race a 5 hour marathoner would have plenty of company, but in a small one like this I was definitely one of the sweepers!

The first 7 miles were on a dirt road through the mountains, which was great!  I felt great at the start of course, but I resisted the urge to surge because I didn't want to run out of steam half way through.  I was definitely well hydrated; despite 3 trips to the port-a-potties before the race, the first 6 miles were essentially a race between port-a-potties, which were at the aid stations every 2 miles.  I stopped at 3 in six miles!  After that I guess it got warm enough for me to start sweating and then I didn't go again till mile 20.

The fact that the finishing altitude was actually lower than the starting altitude is deceiving!  There was so much uphill.  Enough that by mile 20 I just started getting mad when another long ascent came into view.

Still smiling at the halfway point! (I had Karin's GoPro with me till mile 18 to document.)

The first 14 miles went by pretty fast.  I definitely noticed myself dragging around mile 10, when they had GU at the aid station, and I realized I hadn't had any since near the beginning of the race, almost 90 minutes earlier!  So I had a GU and about 15 minutes later I felt a lot better.  After mile 14 it started to get harder.  Karin and Riley were waiting to cheer me on at mile 18, which was a huge pick-me-up, and not a moment too soon!  I was struggling by then; my feet were killing me and my legs were steadily working toward full-blown revolt.

Petting my biggest K9 fan at mile 18.

By mile 21 my legs were angry.  If legs could yell they would have been yelling at me.  I figured those last 5 miles would be the hardest miles I had ever run, and boy was I right!  It was so hard.  It hurt so much.  By then I was walking through all the aid stations, and looking forward to the excuse to walk for a minute.  The problem was, after I drank my water or Gu Brew, my body did not want to start running again.  I would try to start running, and literally have to talk myself into it, and then sometimes I would do a sort of fast walk-step-skip thing until my body would finally work up the ability to force my tortured quads and aching feet to break into a sad version of "running."  I did finally give in and walk for a few minutes, around mile 23, not at an aid station.  It was yet another long ascent and it just hurt so bad and I looked at my watch and realized I could walk almost as fast as I was running at that point.  But I only let myself walk for about 2 minutes, because I knew if I did it too long I would never start running again!

During the last few miles I was thinking: If I had to choose between busting my lip in a bike crash again and running another marathon, it would really be a toss up at this point.  Everything from my waist down just hurt so badly at that point, and I was barely maintaining a 12 minute pace at times, and the ascents just kept coming.

At 26 miles the course turned a corner for the last .2 miles to the finish, and I found the strength to put a little pep in my step for that last stretch.  I didn't see my exact time when I crossed the finish line, but I know it already started with a 5 when I was approaching it.  Naturally, realizing I may have missed the 5 hour mark by just seconds, I started thinking "If only I had stepped it up a mere 100 yards earlier...or not stopped at so many port-a-potties...or not pet Riley for so long at mile 18..." and then, "Oh crap, now I am going to have to do another one!"

But when my official time came in, I had finished in 4:59:50!!!!

And I smiled and thanked all the volunteers for 26.2 miles.

And I got 11 GUs!            

What I have to look forward to...

The Lost Dutchman Marathon has warming mesquite fires at the start, next to the gorgeous Superstition Mountains outside Phoenix, and the runners get to watch the sun rise over the desert before the start of the race!  I can't wait!

In Red Vines I Trust

Two days till my first marathon!  At this point in the game there is nothing else to do.  All I can do is trust in my training and go out and do my best.  Except, of course, I don't trust in my training!  So now all there is left to trust in is...

MAGIC!

Those are the magical ingredients that got me a PR at the Havasu Half Marathon last April!  Their power has obviously been proven, so I am sticking with them!  Sure there was actual consistent, focused, efficient training prior to that half marathon.  But that was just coincidence!  The real key to race success is in the above picture.

All I can do now, two days out from 26.2, is hydrate, rest, carb load, and put my trust in Red Vines.

Safety First! Best way to Avoid workout catastrophes: Don't workout!

I decided the best way to avoid another Wednesday catastrophe was to not do anything on Wednesday.  I settled on this prudent course of action around 8:30 pm Wednesday night, when I looked at the clock and realized it was 8:30 pm and I hadn't done anything.  I don't know how this happens, but it is a startlingly common phenomenon in my life.  I seem to be more productive on days when I have more going on.  Often on days when I have nothing going on one cup of coffee leads to four and the next thing I know it's like I have reached my caffeine threshold, and actually surpassed it, to the point where, without even having done anything to exert myself, I am now ready for a nap.

But today is a new day.  A day which started with a pool workout, brief though it was.  I went to the pool before work, but I stopped at the grocery store on the way to the pool to get fruit for my double shift at work today.  It was 6:02 am; the grocery store opened at 6:00 am.  The only people in the store were swarms of desperate men trolling the aisles buying last-minute flowers, candy and balloons on this, Valentine's Day.  10 procrastinating and desperate husbands and boyfriends; one register open.  That delayed the start of my swim (the fault of the men; certainly not my fault for waking up later than planned) so it came in under a half hour, but it felt great to be back in the pool!  There was a girl in the lane next to me who had all the "stuff": kickboard, paddles, pull buoy, and very nicely coordinated swimsuit, cap and goggles.  She swam faster than me.  But I was taking it easy.  So I picked it up.  And finally, during my 50 yard intervals, when I was pushing myself, I finally swam faster than she swam!  Except that she was swimming with paddles at the time.

Oh No! Another Wednesday is upon us!

Tomorrow is Wednesday.  Last Wednesday I crashed a bike and split my lip.  The Wednesday before that I face planted while trail running.  I hope this Wednesday will be kinder!  Perhaps I should just go for a swim...

I took 2 rest days after the Tour de Palm Springs, then today I ran 9 1/2 miles.  It is my last "long run" during my "taper" before the marathon this Sunday.  Those words are in quotes because I haven't really done the "long runs" I should for "real" marathon "training."  And is it really a "taper" if you are "tapering" from not "really" training?  And am I just putting "things" in quotes now just for the "heck" of it?  "Yes."

After the marathon, and subsequent recovery, I will be adding more speed work to my weekly running.  Usually my training runs include a tempo run and repeats or intervals each week, in addition to a long run.  But I was so worried about getting in the mileage for the marathon that my speed workouts have fallen by the wayside.  I feel slow.  So I am looking forward to getting back to pushing myself on shorter runs.

I got my stitches out yesterday morning, and tomorrow will be my first day back in the pool.  As my dad said, "You fell on your face running, you fell on your face biking...in swimming you can't really fall on your face; you just drown.  So please be careful."

Back in the saddle at the Tour de Palm Springs

Me and My Dad at the beginning of the Tour de Palm Springs

With new stitches in my upper lip, Karin and I loaded our bikes on the bike rack and packed our gear and Riley into the car and headed to Palm Springs to do the 55 mile ride of the annual Tour de Palm Springs with my dad, as planned.

I was a Nervous Nelly for most of the ride.  I am already a nervous rider in groups because I don't trust anyone.  (Which turns out to be justified-I can't tell you how many riders just came to a stop or swerved with no warning in the middle of a group!)  Anyway, this was a group of thousands, of all different skill levels.  I got more comfortable with the group riding dynamics as the ride progressed, but I went a lot slower than I would have on a solo ride because I was afraid to pass slow people when there were so many others around me.  That particular fear was not related to my recent spill.  I was also nervous on the long downhills where there was nothing to slow my speed.  If anything got in the way, whether another rider or an errant rock, I could easily go down at 30 miles an hour.  So I kept my speed in check on the downhills and was scared the whole descent.  Now that fear was related to the recent fall.  I am always scared on fast downhills, but after enough riding the thrill of the ride overcomes the fear and you just go with it and push the "what if" thoughts aside.  I wasn't able to do that this time, so soon after a "what if" had actually become a "well that sucks."

I also spent very little of the ride clipped in.  The new cleats I got fixed the problem I was having, so my pedals and shoes were working exactly as they should be, and clipping in and out was a cinch.  But being comfortable riding clipped in takes practice, and being comfortable riding in a group takes practice, so being comfortable riding clipped in while in a group takes a lot of practice!  And since I have been having such trouble with my shoes, I have not had much practice riding clipped in successfully.

But at the end of the day, I rode 55 miles on a beautiful day, through the valley where I grew up, with my girlfriend and my dad*.  I got some good group riding experience, tested out my new cleats, and, not least of all, got back in the saddle quickly after my crash.  I also got to practice changing a flat on the go.  It was my first time using a CO2 cartridge.  I guess maybe you are not necessarily supposed to empty the whole cartridge into the new tube.  I learned this when the brand new tube I had just inflated exploded, and I had to change it all again, putting back on the old punctured tire, hoping the self-sealant had worked well enough to hold air for the last 11 miles.  It did.

* We didn't see my dad after mile 8.

Too much bike for me

Yesterday I went for a 30 mile ride.  But I only did 15.  More pedal trouble.  And now it was starting to really piss me off!  These pedal issues have ruined almost every one of my last 10 or more training rides!  So I went back to the store to get the problem solved once and for all.  It is just not fun to ride when you have no idea if you will be able to put your foot down at the next stop sign!

Well, we finally figured out the problem.  The screws in my cleats were stripped (which I no doubt managed to do when I adjusted them myself).  Fortunately, the simple solution is a set of new cleats.

Well it just so happens that Performance Bicycle was having a "liquidation" sale, and there was an amazing Kestrel tri bike that is normally about $4200 on sale for...$1200!  Naturally I became all twitterpated by such an amazing bike for such a mind-blowing deal!  Even though I am in no way in need of or ready for a tri bike, I was still tempted to buy it!  If nothing else I could sell it for much more!  Tri bikes are designed to go straight and fast very well, and that is about it.  It is completely the wrong bike for the kind of riding I do, so I know it is not the bike for me.  However, I have never actually ridden a tri bike before, and it was just so beautiful, I just wanted to see what it was like.

This is what it was like:

That's right.  I crashed on my test ride.  Clearly it was too much bike for me.  It seems I tapped the break or turned the wheel just a hair before my body was in the proper position to brake or turn and I flew over the handle bars and landed face first on the asphalt.  My first thought, of course, was: I hope I didn't ruin this bike!  I honestly do not know how I still have my 2 front teeth.  What I do not have is some skin and "tissue" from my upper lip area, but what I do have are some fresh sutures and an attractive band-aid mustache and road-rashed chin.

I did not buy the bike.

But the worst part is, after all of that, the store was out of stock of the cleats I needed!

Triathlon: One sport where you can suck at 3 sports simultaneously!

Here is a bad idea for you: Run 17 miles to work, then work an 8 hour shift unloading airplanes.  It seemed like a good idea--combine my commute and my workout.  Until I got to work, and all I wanted to do was take a nap.

At the end of my run my pace was 10:58 per mile for 17 miles. That is the slowest I have ever run.  Granted, it is also the longest I have ever run.  But still, I didn't feel like I could have gone much faster even if I knew I could stop at 8 miles.

It seems I have gotten slower since I started "training".  I was faster, stronger and thinner before I signed up for the Ironman.  What gives?  The only thing I have improved since I started my training is how far I can just...keep...moving.  It seems like in Ironman training, instead of getting better at one sport, I get worse at three sports!

My main theory is that I have fallen into the trap of rewarding my hard work with things like pizza and cupcakes, to the exclusion of things like produce and whole grains.  I have not been fueling my body optimally lately, so I am going to try to focus on that and hopefully reap the reward of more energy.  At a time when I need to pay extra attention to what I put into my body, I have been putting in all the wrong stuff. I have often heard it said that "Nutrition is the 4th discipline of triathlon."  ( I have also heard it said that "rest" is the fourth discipline, that "transition" is the fourth discipline, that "mental training" is the fourth discipline, and that "strength and conditioning" is the fourth discipline.  So clearly, after the first official three disciplines, it's anyone's game.)  It is key not only to put the right stuff in to get the right results, but also to figure out what works for me to properly fuel during racing.  I read that Mirinda Carfrae bonked during the Kona Ironman this year because she lost one of her four drink bottles on the bike!  She had her nutritional needs, like sodium and electrolytes, dialed in so specifically, that replacing her usual bottle with an untested sports drink actually ruined her race!

That being said, I had a fantastic 19 mile ride yesterday fueled almost entirely by a lot of leftover Golden Grahams s'mores bars.

The Left Foot Rebellion

Yesterday was very productive for my cycling; however very little of that productivity consisted of actual cycling.  More like shopping.  I got new bike shorts (which I desperately needed!), leg warmers, and sunglasses (mine broke, again, on the way to the bike store.)  I did manage to get in 19 miles of very enjoyable and productive actual riding.  But the main focus of yesterday was to get my bike shoes fixed!  I took them to the shop and told the guy what was going on, and he said it sounded like the cleats just weren't screwed in tight enough.  Which I thought was wrong, because I felt like I screwed them in tight.  So he "fixed" them, I did some shopping, and later I went for a ride.

Well, the right one is now fantastic!  No issues.  My shoe came out immediately every time, with just the usual little twist to the right.

The left one, on the other hand, still sucks.  I got stuck in it several times.  The cleat was turned again when I took it off.  But the weird thing is, the right cleat was twisted too, and that one is working great!  Maybe it's me?  Maybe my right foot is a good little foot that naturally turns just so, and my left foot is a rebellious little foot that is so desperately in need of affection that it thinks negative attention is better than no attention at all. So my left foot and I are doing some one-on-one training, so it knows that it is just as loved as the right foot, but that bad behavior will not be tolerated.  I actually think I may have figured out a solution.  If I turn the heel of my left shoe just a tiny bit toward the bike,  after it is clipped in to the pedal, which has the effect of straightening out my foot, it seems to come out quite easily when I turn it to the right.  But I just figured that trick out near the end of my ride, so I have to do some more tests before the results are conclusive.  In the mean time, I have been alternating clipped in feet, clipping in only one at a time, so I am never completely stuck in the pedals.  The trick, now, is remembering which foot is clipped in. 

Imagine....

Imagine if I was actually good at triathlon!  This blog would be so dull!  What would I even write?  I suppose something like this...

Did my usual 28 mile ride yesterday.  Had no problem maintaining 20 mph, despite a pretty nasty headwind. In light of that, and the fact that since I adjusted my own cycling shoes they have given me no issues, I had a great ride that involved no emotional breakdown or tears.  I killed it on all the hills.  After all, they are only Cat 5 climbs!  I laugh in the face of Cat 5's!  Hahahahahahahaha!

Today I did a 15 mile trail run during which I fueled extremely effectively and did not get tired and drag ass for the last 5 miles.  Also I did not fall down on said trail run, and thus I have no bruises on my knees or scabs on my face.

I sure love cycling and I am getting better every day!  My father does not cycle twice as far at a stretch and still average about 3 mph faster than I.  No sir!

There is no doubt that I am more than sufficiently prepared for both my upcoming 55 mile ride and my first marathon!