65 miles across east Kansas
Today, I biked 65 miles across east Kansas in a ride put on by the Lawrence Bike Club called "The Lizard Under the Skillet". The ride named because it is usually hot in East Kansas the second weekend in July.
Well, I learned several things about my riding ability and the state in which I now call home.
First, I now know I can ride my bike 65 miles and follow it up by a 2+ mile run at an 11ish minute mile pace. Not too bad. But I do need to tack on another 47 miles to the bike ride and run 24 more miles to complete the triathlon. Oh, and swim a couple of miles, too.
But I am in training, damnit. And I am told that as long as I follow the training schedule, Ironman won't be a problem. It won't be easy, but it will be doable.
But enough about me. Let's talk about Kansas.
1. For all of you that have never been to Kansas, I want to erase any perception that it is flat. In fact, there are some good-sized hills in east Kansas. That is the only way I can explain topping my bike out at 42.6 mph on a downhill slope. The climb up sucked, but that is the price you pay for the adreline rush on the other side.
2. Kansas animals are smarter than Missouri animals. I would say they are more evolved, but evolution is a myth in Kansas. I make this claim based on the number of roadkill that I had to ride around today and compare that to the number of carcasses I pass per mile when riding in Missouri. Either the animals are smarter or the Missouri drivers less compassionate and actually aim for the animals on the East side of the state line. While the latter is probably the real reason, I want to give my MO friends (those killers of poor, inocent possum, snakes, frogs, birds, raccoons, etc) the benefit of the doubt.
3. "The Lizard Under the Skillet" was a poor name for the ride this year. The weather was perfect for a ride. It was cloudy and 70 at the start and it even sprikled on us towards the end of the ride. Nothing like I was expecting for a ride in east Kansas in July.
My final time for the 65 miles was 4:00:02 for the ride and around 22 minutes for the 2 mile run. I still have to work on my calorie intake during the ride as I was feeling a little woozy when all was said and done. But that is just another part of training and I have still have 10 weeks to work it all out.
Well, I learned several things about my riding ability and the state in which I now call home.
First, I now know I can ride my bike 65 miles and follow it up by a 2+ mile run at an 11ish minute mile pace. Not too bad. But I do need to tack on another 47 miles to the bike ride and run 24 more miles to complete the triathlon. Oh, and swim a couple of miles, too.
But I am in training, damnit. And I am told that as long as I follow the training schedule, Ironman won't be a problem. It won't be easy, but it will be doable.
But enough about me. Let's talk about Kansas.
1. For all of you that have never been to Kansas, I want to erase any perception that it is flat. In fact, there are some good-sized hills in east Kansas. That is the only way I can explain topping my bike out at 42.6 mph on a downhill slope. The climb up sucked, but that is the price you pay for the adreline rush on the other side.
2. Kansas animals are smarter than Missouri animals. I would say they are more evolved, but evolution is a myth in Kansas. I make this claim based on the number of roadkill that I had to ride around today and compare that to the number of carcasses I pass per mile when riding in Missouri. Either the animals are smarter or the Missouri drivers less compassionate and actually aim for the animals on the East side of the state line. While the latter is probably the real reason, I want to give my MO friends (those killers of poor, inocent possum, snakes, frogs, birds, raccoons, etc) the benefit of the doubt.
3. "The Lizard Under the Skillet" was a poor name for the ride this year. The weather was perfect for a ride. It was cloudy and 70 at the start and it even sprikled on us towards the end of the ride. Nothing like I was expecting for a ride in east Kansas in July.
My final time for the 65 miles was 4:00:02 for the ride and around 22 minutes for the 2 mile run. I still have to work on my calorie intake during the ride as I was feeling a little woozy when all was said and done. But that is just another part of training and I have still have 10 weeks to work it all out.
posted by Kevin at 3:47 PM
2 Comments:
Thanks for helping dispel the Kansas-is-flat perception. Kansas needs all the P.R. it can get. :) Just discovered your blog and I love reading Ironman blogs b/c they are so inspiring! Good luck with your training.
or maybe there are more PEOPLE and more CARS on the roads in the missouri side, so therefore there is more roadkill.
just a thought!
good job though!
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