Cool Springs Long Route

After my 3x30 sec (heavy) workout at lunch (lunge with 65lb, GHR at 60* with no weight, and curl with 17.5lb dumbbells), I decided to ride with the Harpeth club. It was chilly and I had to turn around once after leaving to put on more clothes, but I'm glad I did the ride. There are always strong racers who come out to play, and though some of the fastest riders weren't out tonight, there was a good fast group still.

I always try to stay with the leaders for as long as possible, and lately that had been until the turnoff to the shorter route. But tonight I let myself stay in the middle of the group, on the inside, so I would have no chance of cutting the ride short. This also meant I was forced to stay with the group, even up Gosey Hill (around my mile 15). That was a challenge, but I survived. Hooray! Once I made it up that hill with everyone, I knew I'd have no trouble staying with them the rest of the ride. Here are stats from the ride:

• Total: 1:45:00, 34.75 mi, 19.9 mph, 159 HR
• Warm up: 21:32, 6.12 mi, 17 mph, 140 HR
• Ride: 1:08:54, 24.64 mi, 21.5 mph, 167 HR
• Cool down: 14:30, 3.9 mi, 17.5 mph, 160 HR

Next time I want to make another lap at the corner of South Carothers and Hwy 96. We leave from Healthways and have to make it through 3 stoplights before we are into the country with less traffic. Because of this, we all stay behind Jeff while he leads us through that last light. It's not super slow, but it's not the fast pace of the rest of the ride either. Without that first mile or two, we probably averaged at least another mph faster (I never once looked at my watch while riding). Also, I found a cut-through from GGP Road into my neighborhood, so my trip back was significantly (and conveniently) shorter than my trip out.