Training over the 4th

I am excited about what God is doing in my life. I've been doing some reading and also listening to my audio books. Everything seems to be about dreams and what God has planned for you if you choose to follow your Big Dream. It's going to be exciting to see what He has in store for us as a family. China is coming up in 1 1/2 weeks and that is a BIG step out of my comfort zone. No knowledge of the language and me, a teacher? That will definitely be a God moment.

All this is scary because I like my comfort zone. It "feels good" to be in the same rut, but I see this DALMAC as one of the first steps out of that rut. That comfort zone needs to be expanded. For me to do this, I have to put in the time and training, but it is truly God that takes me through it for I know I don't have the power without Him.

This past weekend we spent up north in Cadillac camping. We normally go up with a group of family or friends, but as this was a last minute trip we were all alone as a family. It was a great time, but the one bummer was the boat was not working as it should so we had limited time tubing and enjoying the lake. Note for next year: pre-test the boat in the water before you leave on vacation.

As far as riding goes, it was actually a great weekend. We arrived Thursday evening and I was up and ready to go at 6:00 am. The only problem was that I didn't bring the energy drink that I normally train with so I was not "feeling" it. This could have been psychological more than physical, but either way it was there. The area there is beautiful and more or less flat. It was awesome to see the sunrise that came over the trees as I was starting out, the ducks on the lake, and even a blue heron looking for breakfast. God puts these things in just to remind me that the world He created is beautiful if we look for the simple things around us.

I rode by myself around the Lake Cadillac four times plus a little extra to get my 30 miles in. There were a few other people out on bikes but no one to hook up with to push the pace. Overall I felt good with a low heart rate and a decent average speed of 15.5 mph. I definitely wasn't pushing it too hard as I knew I had a long ride coming up on Saturday. One thing I did learn is that as things warm up early in the morning, the bugs start to hatch near the water. I definitely learned to look ahead so I could keep from breathing was I went through these clouds. This came after I took in my daily amount of protein on a couple of clouds.

On Saturday, I was up and ready to go early. I'd planned on putting in 40 but I spoke with Clint the night before and they were planning to put in 50. So, I decided I needed to get on their program and do the 50. I had already went and stocked up on some power bars and high-power breakfast food on Friday night, so I was all set anyway. I was planning to do 25-30 and then take a break and finish it up later in the morning. That plan changed as I was feeling really good in the saddle.

I started off by riding around Lake Cadillac again. Four times clockwise and once reversed just to mix it up and to keep myself from getting dizzy. That was about 35 miles. I was actually feeling really good and my heart-rate was staying down. My pace was down to about 15 mph but I was going for distance, not intensity. I ate a power bar and had some go-go juice as I rode and decided to push on through without the break.

To mix things up I decided to do an out-and-back partway around Lake Mitchell. This was a nice change of scenery and also allowed me to get some elevation changes in as well as this wasn't quite as flat. The roads weren't as nice either but it was still very enjoyable. There are some beautiful homes on this lake! I don't know how they pay for them but that's not my problem. Everyone was very friendly as I rode past. I was starting to get a little tired now and my water was gone, so I stopped by and asked a gentleman if I could use his spigot. He actually went in and filled my bottle with ice water! Awesome! What a God moment for me as that was exactly what I needed.

As we were speaking, a group of women rode by in a training group. They looked like a bunch of triathletes so I said goodbye to the man and tried to catch up with them. Unfortunately, as I was just beginning to catch-up, they veered off on a different road. I didn't want to follow as they were heading away from "home." It would have been nice to have someone to talk with for a little while, but I was almost done anyway. I finished the day at 52 miles, the most I've ever rode in one day. It didn't seem that far as I didn't end up going anywhere, really. I can't wait to actually ride that far and get to a different place every day.

It was interesting that, as we were speaking about our day and my ride with our camp neighbors, they actually hosted a DALMAC overnight at their Christian school. It was neat to hear some of their perceptions and stories about the event. They told us about the great food provided at their location and how all the riders rave that it was the best they'd had on the trip, but unfortunately our route won't go through their location. Fifty-one more days! Can't wait to see how God pulls this off!

Camping and Training

Training has been going well on the weekdays. I rode with Andy on Tuesday and Wednesday this week during the lunch hour. We have been getting in just under 10 miles in just over 1/2 an hour. Wednesday's ride went much better than Tuesday's as I realized I hadn't checked my tire pressure in a week. The bike rolls much better with 120 psi in the tires compared to 80 psi!

I'm starting to get a little nervous about getting my long rides in before Labor Day. We went camping last weekend at Hoffmaster State Park at the last minute. I didn't bring my road bike and I should have. My mountain bike just doesn't cut it any more. We did ride to the Whippy Dip on a 6 mile family ride, but this was definitely not a tempo ride. Plus it was probably counter-productive because their "small" blueberry cobbler cone would be a large anywhere else!

We leave tonight for the 4th of July up at Mitchell State Park. I am planning on doing some training while we're up there, but it's not as much fun riding by myself. It's about 7 1/2 miles around the lake so I'm planning on getting 30 miles in on Friday, maybe 40 on Saturday and then another 20-25 on Sunday. I typically ride early in the morning before Ally and Lisa wake up. Plus there is a lot less traffic as everyone else seems to be smarter than me and are still sleeping as well.

After that, my training is going to be seriously hampered as we leave for China on a mission trip on July 17 until August 3. Won't be doing much riding there! Maybe I'll have to see about doing some jogging or something to keep my stamina up. The heat will play a factor as well as it will be at least in the 90's with high humidity. Have I mentioned that I sweat a lot?

We also have one more camping trip with my parents up at Wilderness State Park during mid-August. This is up in the Mackinaw area so it will give me a feel for what the end of the ride will feel like. I heard from Clint that we have about 40 hills in the first 20 miles on our last day between Boyne City and Mackinaw. Hopefully I don't have to get off and walk any of them!

Labor Day sounds like a long way away but it is truly coming up quick when I look at how much true training time I have. Please pray that God gives me peace about this and that the training I do get in is effective.