It was a rough day...

I woke up in rough shape. I got to bed around 1 am, according to my Apple watch. I have no memory; we drank way too much last night. 

I didn't get out of bed until 1 pm, and I still felt like I was still a little drunk. It was not the condition I needed to be in to do my Saturday long bike ride, and I started my day with regret and knowing I was self-sabotaging myself. 

I was a little bummed because, under normal circumstances, I would have done my ride in the morning, now it's 1 pm, and before going for a ride, we went out to eat at Lone Star and had chicken fajitas, and I drank lots of diet coke. 

I knew if I drank alcohol at the restaurant, it would be the beginning of the end, and I would start sliding down a slippery slope. I reflected that I've seen some weight loss and getting in better shape, but I'm far from my goal. I'm probably down 10 lbs, which is a win, but I"'m still 40 lbs to go. 

Getting some food and lots of diet coke in my stomach helped me start to feel better, and I kept going back and forth about whether I was going to do my 2-hour bike ride today. Even though we ate, I could feel a delayed hangover coming on, and doing a ride with a hangover was not fun. Trust me, I know. I've done it many times when I was in the best shape of my life. 

When we got home, it was after 3 p.m., a beautiful, hot day. I felt so lousy but kept moving forward mentally that I would do my ride. I didn't want to ride with the existing wheels on my bike. I feel something is wrong with my bike wheels, causing extra resistance. 

I pulled out my 22 year old Trek 5200 road bike, I was going to ride that one. But turns out the front wheel fell out of tru and was bent and couldn't spin without rubbing on the front fork. My next option was to just go with my wheels on the bike and muscle through it or put my Zipp racing wheels on my bike. I decided to put my racing wheels on. It was just killing me not to know if my slow speeds were caused by my wheels or my fitness. 

As I put on my wheels it was warm and just putting on my wheels I was sweating. It wasn't due to the heat but the lasting effects of drinking too much last night. I even had a little regret once I put the wheels on as I noticed the chain was skipping again. I determined it was because I didn't put the wheel on straight. 

I was very concerned that I would have a mechanical issue on the ride or get into an accident because I hadn't had any ride time with those wheels. I can't say how hard it was to push myself out the door for this ride. In fact, within three minutes of the ride, I just wanted to turn around, go home, and fall asleep on the sofa. 

But I persevered and just kept riding. I rode faster than usual, my heart rate was higher than normal, and I was sweating more. 

My route for my long ride early in the morning started with many rolling hills to climb. There was no way I could keep my heart rate down. Even my resting heart rate was up 14 bpm today, from an average of 52 bpm yesterday to 66 bpm today. 

The sweat was salty, sometimes getting in my eyes and making it difficult to see. I muscled through the ride, listening to the Nelk Boys podcast and not thinking about quitting. I just wanted to get home and lie on the couch. 

When I got home, I was relieved. I had no accidents and ended up averaging 25.7 kph—my fastest ride to date. Changing the wheels worked, and I wonder if I would have gone even faster if I was not hungover. I also wonder how much faster I'd have gone if I had been in the aero position. There were moments when I was even riding 30 kph + into the wind. 

Depending on the day and time, riding in the late afternoon on a Saturday has a unique ambiance that is hard to describe. It's peaceful, and the sun's color in the sky has a dusk-like glow. 

After the ride, I felt even worse than when I left. I still felt hungover and physically spent. I didn't feel like eating, but I forced myself to eat half a steak and a protein shake. I had no motivation to do anything; even having a post-ride shower was a chore. 

Around 10:30 p.m., I felt a little better after watching TV and lying on the couch. I'm feeling about 60% and hope to feel better after a good night's sleep. I have my long run tomorrow. I was scheduled to do a brick run off the bike today but saw no value in it. I'd just end up walking, and it would physically break me down more. 

I am happy I did the ride and didn't start going down a slippery slope. I'm back on track after the ride and doing it regardless of how I felt. The best way to describe today is, "If you want to play, you need to play."

Bike - 2:02:52 / 52.53 / 25.7 kph avg