My goal is in sight!

I\’m drawing towards my goal of 5000 miles (road bike + hybrid) for the year. An average of just over 10.3 miles per day from now through December 31 will do it.

I hope Nature cooperates. It isn\’t looking all that good for tomorrow\’s long ride. There\’s a chance of T-storms by 9 am; but all I can do is hope for the best.

How about progress? Have I made any this year?

During my weekday morning rides I sometimes average 15 mph for 6-7 miles, which is improvement. It used to be hard to touch 15 mph at all! On the other hand, I\’m still a long way from being able to average 15 mph for hours on end, never mind blazing along the bike path at 20 mph.

Well, I can get up to 20 mph or so; but I can\’t sustain it for long. However, to be able to reach 20 mph and hold it for more than one second is in itself progress. Alas, progress is slower than I would like.

But why? Am I stuck in the \”sorta hard\” trap? Have I reached my physiological capacity for improvement? Do I make my recovery rides too hard? Or am I plain old lazy? 

Time to haul out Get Fast! again. Perhaps the best nugget in there is the statement on page xii: \”… getting fast means riding fast.\” Maybe I need to do more work at pushing the pace during my weekly long ride? It can\’t hurt to try! If I\’ve got the goal in sight, getting faster means I\’ll get there, well, faster.