Jess was coming home from Florida this morning and had the day off, so I didn't want to hog the car. That left me braving some of the coldest weather yet. Fortunately for me, the wind was down, but the temperature was a frigid 19 degrees when I got to work.

It's very hard for me to ride a base pace on cold days like today. Even though the windspeed goes up as my speed increase, I can't help but go faster because I want to get out of the cold. By the time I got to work, my hands and feet were nearly in pain. My new leg warmers did an adequate job--and I much prefer them to the baggier running pants I've been wearing. They should do better in races.

The only thing to note from this ride is that my left achilles continues to be pretty sore. The cold weather made it stiffen up and I was definitely favoring it for most of the ride. It felt a lot better after I warmed up at work, but I'll have to keep an eye on it as the week progresses.

For those unfamiliar with my past history, it should be noted that I've had chronic achilles tendonitis. It usually stems from hard track workouts and is exacerbated by wearing spikes. This is the first hint of injury I've had on the bike and I can't help but admit that I never stretch anymore. That will change in a hurry now that my achilles is making itself known.

I'm not sure what my plans will be for next weekend. I'm contemplating racing Quicksilver again and then maybe racing twice on Sunday at the Tradezone Series. It'll all depend on how my achilles responds. I don't think doing these small races is hurting anything in my training. They're so short and sweet, it's just a nice change of pace from the rest of the week. If I do race, I'm anxious to try a variety of tactics to see how they play out.

Oh how I long for warmer weather! I can't wait when all I've got to put on are my shorts, jersey and shoes. I can't wait to finish rides covered in sweat. But most of all, I'm looking forward to feeling the shifters with my fingers again. I'm so sick of full fingered gloves.

Jess picked me up from work to go out to dinner. We lifted some in the apartment gym when we got home. I'm sure I did enough to get me really sore by tomorrow. I'll have to come up with some sort of regimen in the next few days.

Dist / Time / Avg / Max / Avg HR / Max HR / Odo
22.1 / 1:21:29 / 16.3 / 28.8 / 155 / 188 / 775
Z1 / Z2 / Z3
15:49 / 14:52 / 50:48