good days,bad days

Cycling has got to be one of the most up and down sports I've ever been involved with.Some days you feel invincible while other days the entire time in the saddle is a struggle.Yesterdays Byron metric century was the latter.

The day started out on a bad note.For some reason when I woke up I was feeling light headed.Not sure what was up with that.After showering and eating a small bowl of cereal I was still light headed.I was thinking I must have just slept really heavy and that once I "woke up" it would go away.On my drive to meet some friends for breakfast I still couldn't shake it.Not only was I light headed but I was also feeling way groggy.Had someone drugged me while I slept the night before??LOL Thats kinda what it felt like.

Once getting to the cracker barrel and getting a little bit of breakfast in me I began to feel a little bit better.I still felt way sleepy but the light headiness went away for the most part.After eating we caravaned to the ride start.

You couldn't ask for a nicer morning for a bike ride.The sun was shining brightly and there was just a little bit of a chill in the air.The temp made you wonder if you should wear a vest or just go with a jersey.I opted for just a jersey and once we got to riding was glad I did.I felt perfect,not too hot,not too cold.

The ride started out as most.We all stayed in a group and let the police escort us safely out of town.This was the perfect time to snap a few pictures,which I did.Once we got out of town the faster riders started separating from the main group.Funny how these 'recreational" rides really turn out to be almost race like.Cyclist are probably the most competitive people I've ever met so this probably explains why there is not such thing as a recreational pace most of the time.

I was feeling really good at the start of the ride.My legs were strong and I felt really smooth leading the "breakaway"out of Byron.I stayed in the front for the most part(which may have been the beginning of the end)but didn't mind.I was feeling strong and fast.After the first couple hills the group started to break apart even more.I looked back to find that me and 2 other guys are way off the front.Once again I'm feeling strong so we roll on.I was really pushing hard to keep up with these two but was holding my own.I didn't feel like I was struggling anymore than they were(which is nice) and once we approached some major climbs we all stayed even.

Not sure what has been going on lately but I have been having some major issues with my low back.Ever since I started riding I have always had some pain but lately it's become unbearable.I got xrays last week and nothing is wrong with my back.No disk problems or anything like that but what I do have is a major muscle imbalance.I guess since I started lifting weights again I haven't focused enough on abs and low back.I guess this has caused my leg muscles to be able to push max effort plus and my low back to suffer the consequences ..What was once just a nagging problem has now become a really painful one.

Once me and the two other guys got to about mile 25 I could feel my back begin to really hurt.When you are riding with a fast group it's almost impossible to stand and stretch.I finally had to just bail out of this group,stop on the side of the road and stretch my back out.

A few more groups came upon me and I tried my best to hang on but the harder I pushed the more my back hurt.Around mile 35 I gave up on trying to ride with anyone else and just pushed on by myself.There is nothing worst than feeling like crap and knowing you have 30 plus miles to go before the end.

Those last 30 miles were brutal.I think everything on me was hurting.Not sure what brought on all the suffering.I did have a really hard week the week prior. Maybe I hadn't fully recovered from the blazing fast Thursday group ride?Maybe all the stress from the prior workweek finally caught up with me?Maybe I pushed too fast too early??Who knows.There are so many variables when it comes to cycling it could have been one of the mentioned or it could have been a combination of all.

I got home around 2 broke out the ice pack,layed on the ice pack on the couch and was out like a light.Didn't wake up till 7.That reminded me of how I use to feel when I first started riding.Evertime I would do a long ride I would be wiped out for hours afterwards.

I guess everyone has bad days every now and then.Final stats for the days ride.

Avg speed 18.6
distance 65.6
ascent 1821
avg heart rate 164