I kicked my own ass...

I woke up feeling almost no dizziness this morning, except when I bent down to brush my teeth. Once I stood up, I was a little dizzy—not as severe as yesterday, but slightly. 

This morning, I was very tired. My schedule included a swim and a bike ride, but I couldn't push myself to the pool, so I postponed
it until later today. 

The other session was my bike ride. I couldn't miss this one. I had to work out today, or it would be a slippery slope. I need to get back into my routine after the weekend, and I can't afford to lose my gains. My legs are also feeling better, and I wanted to see if there was any improvement in bike speed. 

I got out the door in the late afternoon for my ride, and early in the ride, I decided to make it a strong effort, pushing myself harder than I usually would. I didn't care about the workout intensity of the coaching program. I decided that if I was going to increase my average speed, I needed to stress my legs and go into the pain zone, which I did. 

This workout still needs to be mailed in. I pushed up at every hill, and even on the downhills, I didn't stop pedaling. I kept looking at my average speed, and about halfway through the ride, it was just under 24 kph. My goal was to get it up to 27 kph. 

I spent more time than on previous rides in the aero position, and there is no doubt that when I'm aero, I go faster. My new Canyon is better than my Cervelo when I go over rough roads. It seems to absorb the bumps, almost like it has shock absorbers. 

When I got home, I was exhausted and breathing hard. I can't remember ever getting home from a ride and breathing heavily like I would after I finished a running race. Sweat was pouring from my body and dripping off my helmet at a level I hadn't experienced before. 

I ended up averaging over 27 kph, and I worked for every part of it. For hours after the ride, I felt out of it. Shortly after getting home, I had to go to the bathroom, number two. This would happen only after I finished a half-IRONMAN race and went as hard as possible. 

It was a respectable ride, and I worked every minute of it. I had to, and it needed to be done. I should consider it a win as I would not have been able to do it prior, and not even close 10 weeks ago. I'm improving. 

Mixing and drinking a protein shake was work. I needed some carbs, so I had a big bag of grapes. They tasted so good. Canadian grapes are sweet, nice, and juicy. For some reason, the ones in the United States are more bland. 

I took my blood pressure an hour after the ride, and it was averaging 96/54. I also stink of body odor. All the toxins I put into my body on the weekend came out on this ride. I wasn't in bonk mode, but I was very close, and my head hurt. I just don't want to eat anything but grapes. 

At 8 p.m., I went for another massage. This time, I tried a different person. They were much better than the first, but not great. I'll be going back again and trying another person. Eventually, I should be able to find someone who really likes me, has the right feel, and can identify where I'm tight and resolved. 

Bike - 1:19:10 / 36.18 km / 27.4 per km avg pace.