So far this year, training outdoors has been a real challenge. Don't get me wrong, we have had our share of nice, fair weather days, but they have been hard to come by if you are a working stiff like me. It has seemed like the weather, for the most part has been optimal while I am stuck at work. The last two weekends have been a complete bust, in the last 10 days we have received about 16 inches of rain, that is more than some major cities get in a year. Along the same theme, early in the year we had three major snow storms dump more snow and cold air than I have ever witnessed in NWA. Trails are in terrible condition and the ground is saturated. What little tan I had is gone. Please bring on the Sunshine.
I did manage to get on a bike ride today. My schedule called for a three hour mtb ride with some hill climb efforts. I had the day off work so when I woke up to rain showers and thunder I wasn't to bummed as I had all day to wait for the rain to stop. So, I got some housework done, surfed the internet, cooked some breakfast burritos, wrenched on the road bike, drank some coffee, surfed the interwebs(again), more housework, etc... You get the picture, it rained all day.
Finally at 4pm I decided I couldn't take it anymore. I suited up and headed out on the mountain bike. The temp was 45 with a windchill of 40, no big deal as I have ridden in much colder weather. The issue came when I cruised under the
I540 bridge and hit a foot deep puddle of water. This soaked both feet 35 minutes into a scheduled 3 hour ride, not good at all. I was dressed appropriately with wool socks but an hour into the ride, I was ready to go home to get warm and dry. My feet felt like blocks of ice as I pulled into my driveway and I was oh so happy to pull of my cycling outfit and put on dry clothes. I got a solid two hour ride with several sustained efforts/sprints on my way home.
If you are wondering about the XTERRA race in Arkadelphia, it was cancelled due to weather earlier in the week. Once again fighting Mother Nature
