Spontaneous Century Ride

Steve and I met at 6:30 a.m. with plans to ride 80 miles in preparation for the Great Floridian that we're both doing next month. Eighty miles was quite a distance considering the farthest I'd taken my little red bike was 65 miles!

We rode around Clermont and on the West Orange Trail. I did my metric century in Clermont so I'm quite familiar with the hills. Trust me, Clermont's hills is not typical Florida!!

Conversation flowed plenty as the hours passed. The halfway mark snuck up quickly and we felt so good we challenged ourselves to another five miles. And then another five. Yep, we blew our personal distance records out of the water and spontaneously rode a full century (100 miles)!

At the 45 mile mark, after deciding to go for the full 100, we decided to stop by a gas station for some fuel.

Meet Steve. He's quit the character, huh? :) He just quit smoking! Congrats!!

We loaded up on bananas, Fig Newtons, Gatorade and water to power us through the rest of the ride. Te cashier was so interested in what we were doing. She chatted with us while she was outside on her smoke break :)

Miles 45-49 were awesome. We were so excited about our new 100 goal that we powered through the miles. Then BOOM. On the last mile we came across this HUGE hill. I literally laughed out loud as we flew down this huge hill and I watched the milage go just over 50 miles. You see, going down is great, but at the halfway mark that just meant we'd have to turn around and climb back up!

This was no little hill! I felt my heart fighting to escape my chest as I powered up the mountain. We couldn't help but laugh (and pose for photos) at the top. The first 50 were easy... did we set ourself up for a tough 50 back!?

The rest of the ride was surprisingly strong and smooth! We both agreed we only felt our mileage when climbing up hills. Not sure where all my strength came from but I loved it!!

The gorgeous scenery may have helped too!

With 20 miles left we made our final stop at a park off the trail to refill our water... and do some yoga of course!

I couldn't believe how heavy my body felt as I tried to kick up! Still, I definitely felt more balanced and refreshed after my down dog and handstand.

It's crazy how much of endurance activities is mental. I felt strong and I was strong, but seeing I had only a few miles left had me so antsy! I would've been fine if I hadn't seen the mileage. My mind plays tricks on me!

We hit 100!!! I immediately felt so proud for covering such a big milestone.

Final stats: distance: 100.08 miles- average speed: 15.3 mph- total time: 6:31

I shoved so much food in my face when I got in the car. AND I stopped at Starbucks for a Venti Soy Strawberries & Creme Frappucino :) I more than deserved it!

How to Conquer Long Distance Workouts:

1. Don't Focus On Time- I made it a point to not check the distance on my bike's computer until we were well until the ride. The first time I checked it we were at 41 miles- more than halfway to our original goal. Not focusing on the distance helped me get into the rest of the ride- conversation, nature and how I really felt.

2. Find a Workout Buddy!- I love distance workouts, but it's safe to say I wouldn't have pushed for 100 had Steve, my biking buddy, not been there. Conversation and someone to encourage you make the hours fly by!

3. Choose Your Attitude- I perform best in a workout when I'm pumped for it ahead of time. I thought and talked about this ride for days ahead of time. After saying it was going to be awesome enough I eventually believed it myself.

4. Keep a Bigger Goal in Mind- We pushed to 100 miles because we have a 112 mile ride coming up as part of the Great Floridian. Having the pressure of a bigger goal can pull you through long training workouts.

How do you keep motivated during long distance workouts?

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