I went out for a good, tough ride this morning. I got to do one of my favorite loops not just once, but three times. It is the Sweetwater loop, which turns out to be exactly 23 miles. It takes me roughly an hour and a half for a loop. This morning I went 1:22 on the first lap, 1:24 on the second, and 1:28 on the third. I was hurting pretty good on the final time up. It was also getting a little windy. I had my zone on my heart rate monitor set between 130 and 170 beats per minute. I ended up being below my zone for 34 minutes, above my zone for 34 and in my zone for 3 hours. I think those were the numbers. I don’t know the elevation gain of Sweetwater, but I do know that it is steep.
I was planning to run as soon as I got back, but it felt more satisfying to make some homemade bread and do some house cleaning. I will get in a couple of long runs this week.