Happy Marathon Weekend!

It is a big sports weekend.  For those of us who define sports as swimming, biking, running, or combinations of all three.  First up, Saturday is KONA! Superbowl of triathlon. But more local and attainable, is the Chicago Marathon on Sunday. I ran in 2009, 2010, and 2011, and this will be my first year spectating, which I am very excited about.  In 2011, I was a CARA pace leader for summer marathon training, and wrote the following for my pacees in anticipation of the big day.

At the starting line you are surrounded by 45,000 people, mostly strangers, but all sharing the same goal.  You all come from all over the world and have a zillion stories and reasons for running.  While your friends might still not get why you gave up your social life for 26.2 miles of hell, these folks get it.  They were right there with you waking up at the crack of dawn all summer to put in those miles. 

The first few miles you can't believe you are here, running a marathon.  The day is beautiful, the energy is insane.  You are feeling good.  Nothing will stop you. 

Miles 5 and 6 you are running by the zoo.  Run like an animal!  We've run near hear every weekend, but now it's different. 

You are in your groove.  Step after step, bringing you closer and closer to 26.2. 

Miles 7 and 8  soak in the party around you.  This is way more fun than any training run.  This isn't a marathon, it is a 26.2 mile party!

Mile 10 is approaching and you are confident.  How many people can know that 10 miles is just the beginning?  Remember how we celebrated our first double digit run- now its no big deal!  Think of how far you've come in these past 18 weeks... 

Mile 13.1- halfway there.  Run from aid station to aid station.  Take in your water and gatorade.  Listen to your body.  Adjust your pace as need be.  No one said this was going to be easy. 

Take in the crowds.  These people are out there for you, amazed by you.  Let them inspire you and you inspire them.  Many of them will take up running after watching you, and change their lives just like you know running has changed yours. 

Miles 15 to 17- you are getting tired.  This is ok, you knew it would be tiring.  You also know you are prepared and will finish this.  Take in some calories, it will help. 

Miles 18 to 20 - start repeating your inner mantra to yourself.  You've done this in training.  You KNOW you can do 20 miles.  You know the crowds and the adrenaline will take care of the rest.  There will be periods you don't feel good, but most likely they will pass.  Just, Keep. Going.

Mile 21: Now you are in uncharted territory.  No, we didn't go this far in training.  This is where you realize you can do anything.  Remember- "Everything you ever wanted to learn about yourself you can learn in 26.2 miles."  Whenever things get tough in life, you can look back and remember this moment, and how you just kept going.

Miles 22: "You can quit if you want, and no one will care. But you will know for the rest of your life." - John Collins (Ironman founder)

Mile 23: Yes, it hurts.  But you knew it would hurt.  YOU ARE STRONGER THAN THE PAIN.  18 weeks have made you stronger than the pain.  Think of those who live every day in pain, and be inspired by their struggles.  Your pain is only temporary. 

Mile 24: Remember all those training runs you didn't want to do.  All those times you made yourself wake up and do it anyways.  And now you just have a couple miles.  Easy!

Mile 25: Think of that first time you ran.  How proud you were of yourself.  And now here you are, 1.2 miles from finishing a marathon.  Be impressed by your achievements. 

Mile 26.2: "When you cross that finish line, no matter how slow, no matter how fast, it will change your life forever."- Dick Beardsley

About that powermeter...

When I joined Endurance Nation, I was hearing about power constantly.  It was like the cool club that I wasn't part of, but would guarantee I would be better if I was on the inside.  I bought into the idea, more so for training than racing initially.  I never knew if I was pushing too hard or not hard enough on the bike. Typically when riding outside, I'd base it off of speed. High numbers = good ride, low numbers = I'm a failure. While Chicago doesn't have hills to challenge this technique, it does have winds.  Riding into a 20+ mph headwind that I swear wasn't that strong as a tailwind makes for a not fun ride, and it is even worse when you feel like a slow slug the whole time despite your legs screaming. So yes, something was off with my speed based training approach.  When I rode inside, mainly with Sufferfest videos, I was never too good at that RPE scale (despite that I have patients use it...). A powermeter it seemed, could solve all these issues.

I started with Virtual Power with TrainerRoad- highly recommend! Then I went for the PowerTap, and trained and raced with it all summer.  I am definitely no power expert, my rides are still extremely variable and I am just scratching the surface on how to use the data. But as my first year with Endurance Nation draws to a close, I feel I can adequately reflect on how I feel about the whole power monster.

I like it. And I hate it. And I am positive I am not the only one saying this.

Power will, without a doubt, make you a stronger, faster, smarter cyclist/triathlete. It will also give you a gazillion ways to measure and prove that you are better than your old self. Power tests are also the devil's work, but more on that in a few weeks when I do my first test in months...  A powermeter has allowed me to get a really good focused workout in.  For Ironman training, my Wednesday morning bike rides were rarely over an hour, but kicked my butt every time.  Back in my old training days, any ride would have to be at least 1.5 hrs of just riding along to feel I had done anything. Better training in less time is a definite win.  It also pushes me. I have numbers to hit, and most of the time I am motivated to do so.  It lets me know when I go out too hard or not hard enough. It also tells me when something else is making the ride hard (wind, false flat, etc), as I can see my power going up and my speed going down. Basically, it gives every ride a purpose.  Not only is this great for short FTP intervals, but makes a 4.5 hr ride go much faster. It isn't just 2.25 hrs up and then turn around, it is split up by hitting set intervals along the way, and before you know it, time is ticking by (until your butt hurts. and your back hurts. and you have no idea why you ever though this would be a good idea. yeah, time does eventually stand still on those rides regardless of intervals).

I'm not even going to get into what it does for racing, because that is a whole long deal, but in summary, it lets you "flatten" any hills or wind and stick to a target so you can actually run the run. Because no one brags about swim, bike, walk.

When I say I hate it, it isn't because it makes a ride hard and painful and horrible. That is a good horrible. I hate it because sometimes it just takes the fun away.  I have been riding my bike for years- as a kid I was super independent by riding to friend's houses or just around the block over and over again. In Chicago I love riding the lakefront from top to bottom, or heading up north to the burbs.  Unfortunately, when you are focused on your watts and glued to the Garmin, you lose some of the fun. You don't notice the scenery, or just the awesomeness of riding around.  When you are having a leisurely ride in gorgeous fall weather, as I was doing today, you glance down at the numbers and then feel inferior. Your power sucks. Why are you riding if you aren't trying? Well, because this is all fun and games, and if it isn't fun, quit. And I don't want to quit.  So I must remind myself that the power meter is a tool to make me better, but I need to be mindful of when it drains the fun.

I think it is important to occasionally bike naked. Not the type of naked that leads to embarrassing chafing, but without the technology. Data is fun, and trust me, I'm a data whore, but just spinning along can be pretty sweet too.

I want to feel like a runner again!

There are a few misconceptions people have about you when you do an Ironman.  1) You must be in the best shape of your life.  2) A marathon will seem so easy now!  False and false.
First, I might have the best endurance of my life, and great willpower to just not stop.  But best shape? Not right now.  That might be different if I had trained better, but I would guess that for most of the MOP, we don't need to be in tip-top shape. At no point are we really racing, we are just hoping to keep going and survive, getting to the finish line in a reasonable time.  Obviously, this is different for FOP.

As for the marathon comment, someone just said this to me yesterday and it made me pause.  Yes, the Ironman marathon was ridiculously hard, but a very different hard than a stand alone marathon.  It is more mentally challenging and you are just exhausted.  When I did the Chicago Marathon in 2011 in 3:32, that was hard! I was pushing it the whole time. So much so that I had a prolonged sympathetic response, meaning that my heart rate and blood pressure stayed elevated for a couple days. It was awful since all I wanted was to sleep but my body truly couldn't calm down. I heard in training that the Ironman marathon isn't a marathon, it is 26 one mile repeats to the next aid station, and that is very true. It is an entirely different beast, and makes me no less afraid or prepared for my next stand alone marathon, whenever that might be.

So, to cut to the chase, while I did an Ironman one month ago (exactly), I do not feel like a runner. These days a nine minute mile is the norm, not the sluggish pace.  I have to psych myself up for a 4 mile run, and it isn't easy. My weekly mileage is teensy.  I don't look like a runner in the mirror.  And I know my marathon PR is way out of reach at this time.

I think part of this is due to a return to triathlons.  I spent 2011 focused solely on running.  In my marathon build I hit a few 50 mile weeks, and was consistently in the upper 30s to 40something miles.  A five mile run was no big deal. 10 mile runs were really no big deal. My pace was comfortably below 8:30, and when I paced the CARA 9:00 group for marathon training, it requiring a lot of looking at my Garmin to make myself slow down.  I was always sneaking in a run- before work, at lunch, after work.  It was just part of life, and I felt off when I didn't run.  I had a great base, so nothing ever hurt. Ahh, the glory days. 

Yesterday I ran home from work. 7.6 miles, and I really did enjoy it.  I use to run to or from work frequently, and I always found it to be such an enjoyable way to commute, a little confidence boost to start or end the day.  While I enjoyed it yesterday, it wasn't easy, and I longed for when that was just part of the routine.  Today I went for a 4 mile run at lunch. It hurt. My hips were tight, stomach unhappy, right foot pain (and of course my mind jumps to stress fracture) now that the plantar fasciitis on the left has stopped).  Running just seems hard.  The main difference between then, when I felt like a runner, and now, when I feel like an imposter, is ease.  I rarely struggled on my runs then. I felt like a rockstar when I could bang out five miles at just over an 8 minute pace and think it was easy.  I was also able to push it, make it feel hard, but that resulted in awesome times.  Now when I push it, I still feel slow. 

Right now I am working on building up my running again.  Focusing on frequency, getting my body accustomed.  Getting my brain in the habit.  Getting my brain and my body to not listen to each other.  I'm not sure I will be able to get back to my running prime when focused on triathlon, but I'm hoping to at least move in that direction. 

It seemed so promising...

The week that wasn't.  A week ago I felt that I was back. I felt mostly recovered from IMWI. I felt I had the motivation, and I had my whole season mapped out. I was ready to make my return to more formal training. 

Well, that didn't happen.  Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday went great. I was running, I biked with my powermeter again, I even swam, and for bonus points, went to a yoga class at the gym.  My eating was right on track, nice and clean, no cravings, felt healthy.  The scale was being nice to me.  The whole big dreams for the 2014 season seemed to be giving me a good push in the right direction. 

This was very similar to how much of my training this past season went. I'd seem on a roll, like I was back in my old groove, and then it would fall apart again.  Three to four days seems to be the limit.  I have been looking at the cycle and this is my hypothesis.

Day 1: Feeling good. Rested. Yay for healthy food. Love this sport!
Day 2: Look at me, two days in a row. I'm making sure to get the workouts in, but life stress might be starting to climb up just below my conscious level.
Day 3: Uh oh, lots to do with work, cleaning, studying, etc.  Stay up late. Don't want to miss tomorrows workout, so still wake up early.
Day 4: Ah, wonderful, 5 hrs of sleep. I can do this. Possible struggle through a morning workout, possibly just use the early morning time to do other things, since I tell myself I will feel more like working out later.  But then I am tired and stressed. I eat crap. And when I say crap, I mean ice cream for breakfast, finished off by handfuls of chocolate chips. Then I'm on the sugar roller coaster and binge all day, with barely any real food. Of course I feel too nasty to workout, so I skip and feel guilty. But the sugar keeps me up too late, so the cycle continues tomorrow. 

Yes, bad eating, as said before is derailing my workouts.  But I think the root cause is lack of sleep, and the root cause of that (yes I am not using "root" correctly) is stress and chaos in everyday life. 

So once again, this is a new week.  I'm not going to make goals about hitting every workout or being perfect with my eating (though both would be lovely. Kinda like when you say on your first marathon you don't have a time goal, but man, are you chasing down 4 hrs). Instead, my one goal is to get 8 hrs of sleep a night. This will be an n=1 experiment. My hypothesis (aren't I a good scientist) is that I won't have the food cravings. I will feel more in control. I will want to workout. I will be a better me. 

Starting the Year with Deena Kastor!

Today is my "Happy New Year." Nope, not January 1, not a new school year, not my birthday, or not even Rosh Hashonah. But it is a year until my next Ironman- Ironman Chattanooga 2014! Being this, I have decided today officially marks the end of my 2012-2013 season and the start of my 2013-2014 season.  So, Happy New Year to me!

I've always loved the start of a new year.  It seems so promising. It seems that you can wipe away the things you disliked about the last year, and more importantly, the person you were in the past year, and start again. I am sure I am not alone in my love for this idea, seeing as how most people at least make New Year's Resolutions.  On Rosh Hashonah, the Jewish New Year, we take it to another level. We judge ourselves and prepare for God to judge us for who we were this past year. While I believe faith is important, I am not a very religious person, however, I find myself flocking to temple year after year on the High Holy Days (Rosh Hashonah and Yom Kippur) because, as solemn as these days are, I believe in the important of taking stock of yourself in the past year and preparing for another chance to do it better.  One of my favorite meditations from this time is the story of the Chasidic rabbi Zusha:

"I'm afraid!" said Zusha. "Because when I get to heaven, I know God is not going to ask me 'Why weren't you more like Moses?' or 'Why weren't you more like King David?' But I'm afraid that God will ask 'Zusha, why weren't you more like Zusha?' And then what will I say?!"

I hope no one takes it as sacrilegious to apply this teaching to triathlon, but I see triathlon as a metaphor for life and personal betterment, so I believe it is appropriate.  This morning I ran with Deena Kastor (more on that in a bit).  I will never be Deena Kastor. I will never be an Olympic athlete, and I am perfectly fine with that. I have other important contributions to make. I do have big dreams though (cough Kona cough) and the person I was this past year is not someone who was on the path to those dreams. I am not and never will be Deena Kastor, but I can be the best "Rachel the Imperfect Triathlete" that I can be, and see where that takes me.


I think the heart of all resolutions is respecting yourself. Respect who you are and even respect the mistakes you have made. Most of all, respect who you want to be.  That is the easy part, we all have high hopes for what we might become.  The tough part next is respecting the dream, respecting the process, and respecting that who you are right now is always in flux.  When we break resolutions, it is because we lost respect for ourselves. We started to doubt that we could achieve those dreams, that we were worthy of that success, that accomplishment.  Respect is different and more important than willpower.  Willpower is what people claim they have or don't have when they stuff the donut in their mouth, or are able to walk by the office candy bowl.  Respect though, is knowing that you deserve the success you imagine for yourself, and that giving in in that moment is disrespecting those dreams, and disrespecting the person you can be.

I have not been the best Rachel I could be this past year.  Not just in training or horrendous eating, but in many aspects of my life. I was lazy and apathetic for much of the year.  I have not lived up to my potential.  My best friend frequently quotes her mom to me, saying "The great thing about life is that you can always change." How true this is! And while it is true any day, any hour, any moment, I see a New Year (whether of the Jan 1, jewish, academic, or triathlon flavor) as the epitome as a chance to change.

For my "New Year's" celebration, I kicked it off in epic (for a geeky runner) style- I ran with Deena Kastor. No, unfortunately it was not just me and my new BFF, but a sponsored "Run with Deena" Fun Run at Fleet Feet.  I got up before dawn to meet the group at 6:30 for a run, and I am so glad that I did.  My first observation was that this girl is TINY! I have gotten use to seeing triathletes, even the pro's who are minimal body fat have very muscular legs. I'm not at all saying that Deena isn't muscular, I'm sure she is pure muscle and bone, but has that elite runner build that I am so far away from (again though, I'm not trying to be Deena, just to be the best me). She briefly chatted with the group, and told us about how people ask her about nerves.  Then she said that she has been running since she was 11 and has never been nervous. Huh? But she proceeded to describe those race morning feelings- the knot in your through, butterflies in stomach, shaking hands when tying your laces, and then said "That isn't nerves, it is excitement." We laughed, but how true! I would argue that the high before a race is better than any high afterwards. It is being around hundreds or thousands of people, all with different but similar dreams, who have all done the training and made the sacrifices and are ready to test their bodies. Just like a New Year, it is the point where anything seems possible, and we dream big. I am yet to have a finish line where I felt as excited as the start line, and that is the high I chase when I sign up for races. 

The other main thing I got from Deena was her love for the sport.  Yes, she is paid, and I am sure would not make sponsors happy if she appeared to be a grumpy runner, but she truly seemed genuine, wanting to run with us lowly recreational runners. She even spoke of how that is what is so awesome about the sport- all levels can share the same experience, and I believe this is so true. To think that in an Ironman more people come back to see the final finishers than the winner- how amazing is that! Sometimes it is easy to become a slave to a training plan and lose that joy and love for the sport. While it is a job for some people like Deena, for most of us, it is a game we are lucky to play.  I need to remind myself of how fortunate I am to run (bike and swim) and that while it hurts so bad sometimes, it feels so good too.

The great thing about this New Year's Run with DK was that it pushed me. It pushed me out of bed when I honestly thought about just sleeping in. It pushed me to run further than I have (umm, Deena, interesting definition of 5 miles), and it pushed me to go faster. Heck if I was going to get left behind by Deena Kastor- I wanted to be as close as possible to soak in her awesomeness (swear I'm normal, not a stalker...). I think it was the push I needed to start my year off right.

In lieu of making specific resolutions for my triathlon new year, I pledge to respect myself. I will respect both my current abilities and my goals in all facets of my life, and take frequent stock of whether I am living up to being me. I guess we can call Ironman Chattanooga Judgement Day!

North Shore Century 2013 Recap

Yesterday I took part in the North Shore Century. I chose the 50 mile route as with biking to and from I would hit 62 miles. For two weeks out from Ironman Wisconsin, I thought that was a respectable distance. I hadn't been on the bike since Madison, apart from a quick spin to meet the group for Saturday's run. Confession: I still haven't washed Baby Beluga from Ironman Wisconsin. There is a solid layer of sports drink and other gunk, along with my bike sticker. As in, yes people, you are passing me. Look here, I did an Ironman two weeks ago. Sometimes it's ok to brag.

The weather was perfect. It was an ideal fall day, started around 60 degrees. My goal was to enjoy the ride, no focus on power, speed, etc. Just pedal forward. I left home just before 8am to head up to Evanston to join the ride. There was a large group there, but registration went smoothly.  I usually shy away from paying for rides that I do on my own, but despite my summer spent on the North Shore, this ride went a different route going north so it seemed like it would be a nice change. The volunteers were telling everyone, along with signs, to follow traffic laws in Highland Park and around Ft Sheridan, as apparently cops have been ticketing cyclists there.

The ride was just what I was looking for. Once again, I found myself smiling most of the time.  It felt so good to be back out there, no matter how slow I was. There is just something about endurance events that I have come to crave. Keeping the pace easy, my legs felt perfectly fine. But the numbers don't lie. My speed was <15 mph, and my power was lower than my Z1. Pretty sure that is the recipe for an enjoyable post-Ironman fall ride.

The ride started out heading west and then north.  It was a nice change of scenery from my normal jaunt up Sheridan Rd. However, in terms of using this route for training next year, I think it might be too stop light/sign heavy for a good training ride. Once up in Lake Forest, we headed east through the town (really nice, I somehow have never ridden right through it) and up into Lake Bluff, also lovely. I stopped to take a picture of the lake through the trees. It doesn't do it justice of course, due to 1) being an iPhone, 2) I'm a triathlete, not a photographer.

After that it was back south, but not before I followed folks who I later realized were not part of the ride and took a wrong turn. I don't think it cost me more than a mile or two, and luckily I was able to find my way (i.e. type it into my phone) good ol' familiar Sheridan Road.

The route took us on a detour through Fort Sheridan that I had never done before and plan to add onto some of my future rides. I love that about being on a bike- can just take a new turn and find out where you'll end up. Much less fatiguing than new/wrong turns on runs (flashback to Bakersfield where my 4 miler turned into 7). By the time I got back to Evanston I was feeling ready to be done, but nothing really hurt or felt fatigued, just mental. I stopped for a few minutes in E-town before heading the 6 miles back home.

The Garmin file for my ride is here. Yes, abysmal stats:
Distance: 63.6 miles
Time: 4:22:08
Speed: 14.6 mph
Average Power: 90 W
Normalized Power: 98 W 
Nothing at all to brag about, but who needs that when I can still brag about the Ironman?

Course support was great. There were two rest stops with lots of fruit, sandwiches, baked goods, water/gatorade, and other goodies. Volunteers were plentiful and friendly. The course was very well marked, so my slight detour was really just my fault. I would definitely do this ride again, except next year it will be the week before Chattanooga. Maybe the 25 mile route?

As this was day 2 of my "Healthy Eating" kick, I was mindful of my nutrition, careful not to give myself permission to just eat whatever.  Before the ride, I had oatmeal with chia seeds, banana, and brown sugar. I carried and refilled two bottles of water, and had a powerbar and two powergels. At aid stations I snacked on fruit.  Garmin says I burned 1400 calories, so I think I did good. For a race or even in season, this would not work as enough fuel, but for any easy ride when I am targeting weight loss, it was just fine. On a more general nutrition note, today marked day 3 of healthy eating. My rules have already relaxed, but I think it is ok. I have had popcorn as well as a TJ's 100 calorie dark chocolate bar, and I'm feeling good. Actually, that is a lie. Right now I feel the opposite of good- headache and nauseous, but hoping to feel better with some sleep.

I was a bit worried about Baby Beluga after the incident the day before IMMoo, but that probably seems to have resolved. I am still having the squeaking when I downshift (maybe upshift too?) in the middle of my middle chain ring.  I am hoping to be able to get it in to be checked out this week. Of course, to prove to me that he too is worn out, as I was putting BB back in the bike room, the bottle cage snapped in half. Bright side- most definitely the cheapest component to replace, and far less traumatizing than when my seat post broke this summer.

This ride reminded me of how odd the endurance mindset is.  Normal people do not go out and ride 63+ miles and think little of it.  To most, that would be a huge accomplishment. And yet, it was just a nice, leisurely ride.  At EN, we talk about "doing cool things with your fitness." In other words, I have worked hard (not as hard as I should have) to get myself to this place. Now I can have fun with it, and fun, sadly, is more endurance events.  Even within myself, my mindset has changed. I remember bragging about biking the whole Lakeshore Path- 36 miles.  Now that is a short ride. I think a huge part of Ironman training is getting comfortable mentally.  Being on my bike for 4+ hours is not boring anymore, and that is the huge difference.  I think many would be able to do the ride I did with no training at my 14.6 mile pace. But it is the mental fatigue/boredom that would get them, and that is a very strong muscle on me right now.


This weekend was great to be back out there running and biking. My big take home message though, was that I am not back.  I am still recovering.  I feel fine, but my body isn't putting out the speed/power I am use to.  I wonder if this is almost a protective reaction of my body- "no, you can't go full throttle (or even half throttle) right now or you will do serious harm."  I am trying to listen, but balance it with getting back out there.  I think focusing on good nutrition will also help my body heal. For that reason, I am not attempting to restrict anything beyond good sense. If my body wants an apple, even though I've had 3 pieces of fruit already, it can have the apple. If it uses the same reasoning with chocolate, which I'm sure it'll try, I will have to use a different tactic. I know when I have done marathons before, you feel about 85% better within the first week, probably even the first few days. It is that last 15% that takes about a month. Ahh, patience, now that is still in training.

Back on the Wagon

I feel like a healthy triathlete again! This morning I went for my first run of any significance (I did a 20 minute jaunt last weekend). I met up with the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation's Team Challenge to do their 6 mile training run with them. Team Challenge is how I started my foray into endurance sports five years ago when I did my first half-marathon with them in Miami in January 2009.  Obviously I feel a connection to them and am so thankful for the work they do fundraising, but really they do seem to always be a great group of people. I got to do this week's "Mission Moment" to talk about my journey with IBD and how I did the Ironman to raise money and awareness. Always fun to show people who don't have the disease under control yet that it does get better.

It was really nice to run with people. However, I felt like I was running a really strong pace only to find out that it took me 58 minutes to do 6 miles. Huh. That is my slowest running speed (minus the IM marathon).  I guess my legs still are recovering.  I was also slightly worried since I had some foot/achilles pain. Plantar fasciitis? Oooh, I hope not! I'm hoping it is just a warn out body complaining a bit. Other than that, I felt great.

More importantly, today I started my healthy eating. It felt really good to be putting healthy stuff in my body, no surprise there. I also really like cooking and meal planning. I went grocery shopping and did the age old trick of "if you don't buy it you can't eat it". 

I also spent some time today mapping out my training plan for the upcoming year.  Endurance Nation does this for me, but I'm waiting on my plan from Coach Rich right now and just started by creating a spreadsheet of all the races/events I have planned as well as life obstacles, such as travel for conferences or weddings.  I have a pretty good guess of what he will have me doing, so we'll see how well our plans match up.

Tomorrow I am doing the North Shore Century.  I am planning on doing the 50 mile route, plus riding there and back for about 62 miles total.  I'm excited to just have a nice easy ride, not pushing it, worrying about anything like power, pace, nutrition (well, eating would probably be a good thing). Should be a nice fall day for it too.