Noah's Ride

On Sunday I did a charity bike ride to benefit JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). The max distance was 37 miles but you could ride as little as 5 miles. I went with a few teammates as well as my former JDRF coach Lewis who happens to be a bike racer for Deno's Wonder Wheel; Lewis also brought his teammate John along for the ride. The day turned out to be fantastic! There were rolling hills, lots of horse farms (I LOVE horses), sunshine and great company, to top it all off there was lots of speed (another thing I LOVE).

There were a couple of challenging hills and one super fast downhill (I reached a max of 43mph). That ride was a turning point for me, wanna know why???!!!! I pacelined for the first time ever!!! For those of you that don't know, pacelining is when you draft or follow right behind the person in front of you. Your front wheel is just a few inches from their back wheel. The benefit of pacelining is that the front person sets an agreed pace for the other riders in the line, they also break the wind therefore making it much easier for everyone else to go faster without expending much energy.

So? Can you see WHY I loved that ride so much??!!! The last 13 miles of the ride I was pacelining, we were going like 22mph! On average I ride 13/14mph, with flats and downhills I can pull 15/16mph but to be able to ride 22mph for that length of time. My god the thrill! The rush of adrenaline! I love speed. It was so freaking cool. I felt like a kid, I felt like (what I imagine to be) a bike racer. I felt inspired to better my riding skills. After the ride was over Lewis came over to me and told me it was some of the best riding I've done, he gave me a high five and said good job. I felt like a puppy wagging my tail who got the pat on the head. So few with his words yet so rewarding when he gives them. That's Lewis.

The ride reminded me of my first century. It's those first moments that you can never forget. The turning points.

I'd like to give a special thank you to Aly, Lewis, John, Lianna, Mike and Lindsay for inviting me, for riding with me and for teaching me. Of course we couldn't have done the ride without Tom and Nancy (the hosts) - thank you for what you do in order to raise money so we can cure diabetes.

2:55:12=13.1miles

I know I'm late in supplying you with a race report. Sorry I'll try not to let it be so long before my next post. Can I just tell you that it was amazing!!!

I got to the race a little early (surprise surprise), I was super paranoid about me missing the start lol. The temp was a nice 47 degrees - and pouring. It was raining since I woke up. I was very disappointed, guess that weather man was right for once :P. The day before, I was able to find a rain jacket to run in, I put my CGM in, and had my new Garmin 310xt so I felt totally prepared for the race.

So the bell goes off and I was pumped. It was so nice to be surrounded by 5,000+ women all doing the same thing - running a half marathon. Whether it was their first, tenth, or they PR'd we were all running 13.1 miles.

I forced myself to stay with my 5:1 run/walk ratio, what can I say I was paranoid about burning out in the end. The first 3-4 miles are torture and it was no different this time around. I tried checking my blood sugar close to mile 4 and my strips failed me cuz I think they got a little wet. I wasn't too worried though because I had the foresight to hook up my Dexcom CGM so if my meter failed I'd at least have my CGM and know what my blood sugar was at all times. Being able to check your blood sugar during a race is soooo important not just because you can see where you're going (high/low blood sugar) but it's a major piece of mind factor. We've got enough to deal with just staying hydrated, fueled and running the entire way. To not have to worry about checking my blood sugar is priceless.

During my training leading up to the half I realized I liked running longer distances - anywhere from 6-9 miles. I also felt like I became a little faster during those mile markers, and you know what? During the half marathon I did! My pace on average was 13:33 minute mile and during mile 9 I dropped it to 12:31!

I felt like the last 2-3 miles were hard especially the last mile. I couldn't really stick to the 5:1 ratio so I dropped it 3:1. I felt really really good throughout the race though. Never any pain, no shin splints. Nothing. Despite it being hard I finished strong. I wanted to make sure I was running hard to the finish - I mean who doesn't right? You've got all those people watching you.

I was all smiles. Running hard. In the pouring rain. My first half marathon.

When it was all said and done I finished the race with a negative split which means I finished faster than when I started (always a good way to run), my blood sugars were high throughout the race and when I finished I was 150! My goal was 3hrs and I ran it in 2:55.

I did it. WOW :)