Stupid Hurts

Brundidge-[tag]Prattville[/tag]

I was pretty sore most of the day yesterday. I have realized that slow days make the fast days possible, and that I can’t go balls out every single day.

Luckily for a big chunk of the day I had a generous [tag]tailwind[/tag] from the south. At one point I was beating along at just a hair over 30 miles an hour. I saw a [tag]cop[/tag] sitting over the the grass to my left, and I assumed he would ignore me since I was on a bicycle. Then I see him raise his [tag]radar[/tag] gun and shoot me. I know he shot me because as I blitzed past him I saw him staring at the display on the radar gun clearly baffled. I could not help but smile to myself about that one for the rest of the day.

Somewhere after 50 miles I couldn’t get back onto my pace. I figured since I wasn’t going to get into a comfortable groove I may as well see how far I can go before I have to quit. I didn’t really think that one through very well. Because at this point I had eaten most of my snacks and was nearly out of water from fending off several dogs earlier in the day.

Realizing this after the 70 mile mark I decided to push ahead anyway. And thing were going great until my headlight started to get dim and I could see less and less of the road. Then I noticed all of the lights were getting dim, and I was having problems keeping my bike on the road. After a few more miles I realized what was happening. I was going blind. This had happened before once at a [tag]track[/tag] meet, so I knew what I had to do. Find food and water quickly, luckily for me I passed a well placed all night [tag]MacDonald’s[/tag] and was was able to rest and resupply. I would have hated to be taken out by a rookie mistake like that.

The Day In Numbers
Miles: 84
Average Speed: 11.8
Max: 33.7
Total Mileage: 538.1

So I have a theory as to why chain restaurants are typically successful. Consistency is key. I know for a fact I can go to a MacDonald’s anywhere in the world and without looking at the menu order a number one, and the person behind the counter will hand me a Big Mac and a soda. There is no risk in getting something unfamiliar or “strange” because I know the one in Seattle Washington serves the exact same thing as the one in Taipei Taiwan.
So I went to Checkers yesterday and ordered a new burger they had on their menu. It was awesome. I think I sat there for nearly an hour savoring every single bite. The only thing that would have made the burger more perfect would have been a nice thick slice of pineapple. Given the fact I usually avoid chain restaurants because they are almost always the same time after time, I went back to Checkers today expecting the same awesome burger. Unfortunately I was sorely disappointed. I really wonder what could have happened in 24 hours. This time I came close to tossing the burger in the trash halfway through eating it. I was painfully reminded why I prefer mom and pop places now.

And as an added bonus my chest hurts……..

I really have to reconsider my dietary choices. Since I moved to Florida I’ve started eating Macdonald’s once to twice a week. I know it is horrible for me, but it is convenient and really cheap. I am really starting to reconsider since in the past three days there have been two heart attacks at my Macdonald’s of choice. Maybe I should skip the fries this time.

Past that, the wait to pick up my new bicycle is killing me, but hopefully it will only be a few more days yet. Then I want to start a new training schedule for the next few weeks. My previous 25-30 hour a week training schedule got my legs HUGE, but it was killing me and is partially responsible for me having to spend the past two weeks off my bike and in and out of a doc-in-a-box. I found a ten hour a week training schedule that should work a bit better, and hopefully be a little easier on my body. The article I found is here if you want to read it