Mystery Solved...and hello Taper!

For the past few weeks I've had a tough time getting dialed into my bike....just not feeling comfortable...and lacking power.  Now I know why!  Apparently, somehow, my seat post dropped down.  I have no idea how.  Since the bolts were tight, it never dawned on me that this could happen.  And, I didn't really want to mess with it.  I'm notorious for not feeling "good" and adjusting my position on the bike...which can make matters worse.  Anyway, on Saturday, I just had it.  So, about an hour into my ride I pulled the post up and noticed the electrical tape exposed below (which was at some point marking my position).  I estimate my post had dropped by approximately a 1/2 inch.  I felt much better immediately.  Although I still need to go back and accurately re-measure everything.  The only downside is that now that I've been riding with the wrong position, re-adjusting everything throws mechanics out of whack.  I was struggling with knees and back during the end of my ride.  I guess I have a couple of weeks to get this fully resolved!

Oh...back to the ride.  It was a good one.  I meet the QT2 contingent of Tim Tapply, Jesse Kropelnicki, and Tim and Cait Snow out in Concord and we proceeded to ride out to Wachusett Mountain.  It was a solid ride...and some fun.  Fun to the extent that it's fun to ride with different people....or anyone at all!  I've done the majority of my long rides by myself this year.  However, these guys were doing 7 hours, starting from West Roxbury....and before I knew it, I was out so far that my 5 hour ride turned into 6 hours.  But, other than my physical issues from changing bike positioning, I felt good.  But those physical issues reared their ugly head during my transition run.  I reduced my run from 40 to 30, since I rode an extra hour (I figured that was a fair tradeoff).  But, my knees were bugging me the whole time.  Oh well....like I said, time to get things right!

Yesterday was my last long run of the year.  I decided to head out to Elm Bank (park) in Wellesley to do my run.  Elm Bank has a 2.35 mile loop (mix of soft surface and pavement....with a decent little hill on it), so I can hit my car every loop for nutrition.  It also has porto-potties....if the mood should strike!  Jenn and Billie came with me and did the reverse loop walking.  It was good to see them....kept me motivated.  All in all this was my best long run of the year.  Although I ran a faster pace during my last long run for LP, we had specific goals for this run:  (1) keep the HR in Zone 1 and 2 for the run, except for the last 30 minutes where it goes to Zone 3; and (2) run 2:15 straight.  I accomplished both.  There were two oddities during this run though.  My first mile was noticeably slow....and I'm not sure why.  I don't think I ran an 8:50 first mile.  Also, about 12 miles in, after the mood struck me to use the bathroom, my HR spike for the better part of two miles.  I know my body well, and I can tell you that it didn't rise to over 200 beats per minute!  Anyway, I ended up with a 7:15 avg for 19 miles.  If you take out the first mile, the avg is 7:09.  Not bad considering I kept my HR at or below 140 for the first 14 miles.  My last 5 miles were 7:00, 6:41, 6:43, 6:47 and 7:00 (which included a 1/4 mile cooldown).

The big workouts are now DONE!  Things start to dial back from here.  Next weekend is short...only a 3 hour bike and an 80-90 minute run.

-P