Good 112 Mile Ride

Good ride. Completed the planned 112 miles. About same time as seven days ago on the same course. Felt stronger. Less ass pain. Better pacing. Of course, I didn't have as much heat to deal with. Max temp of around 83 degrees today vs. 89 degrees one week ago. Got a wonderful thunderstorm to ride through today. Loved it. Got nice and muddy.

Played the audiobook Digital Fortress by Dan Brown. Good book. Techno-thriller. Six hours of it today. Not done with it. Kept my mind off of the ride. I liked riding with the audiobook and will likely to so again.

Had a flat at mile 42 or so. No big deal. I think it was actually caused by a rock at mile 8 which caused a slow leak.

What else to say about this ride? Enjoyed it. Poop at mile 40. Loved the rain. Slightly less painful than last week. Hardest parts were the last 15 miles and miles 50 - 56. At mile 50 I just want to hit the halfway mark. I want to feel like I'm on my way home and I get impatient. The pain picks up. Of course, it could also be that the longest climb of the day happens just before that. Not much of a climb but it's an incline for about 8 miles.

Brought more solid food. More protein bars. Cliff bars. Enjoyed them last time more than the gels. Still had gels though.

I'm learning. Learning the feel of the 112 mile distance. It's all about pacing. I need to build up my muscular endurance (ME). Currently my legs can't keep up with my heart and lungs. For the last 15 miles I really have to work through weak legs to get the heart rate up. Normally, on something like a 30 minute time trial, my heart and lungs are the bottleneck. Building up ME for 112 mile rides is going to take some work.