Back to the ride - from very early in the day my legs were killing me, I was slow and I felt really lousy primarily because I couldn't keep up with the other 3 women - I couldn't even come close. Usually I fall behind on the hills partly because I have the lowest end bike, partly because I have spent the least time cycling but mostly because I am slow(<- see what I mean?? arrghhhhh!!). Yesterday I couldn't keep up with the pack for more than 5 minutes before I would fall behind - way behind. The pyschological impact of that was devastating. The part where my friend fell in a creek while waiting for me didn't help. Here is the elevation map:

Although it may look like we handled some big hills we only changed elevation by 350 ft over 10 miles. That's a gentle up followed by a gentle down with a few not all that steep hills thrown in the middle. On one of them I actually walked my bike up the last 50 yards - I NEVER DO THAT! This ride was nothing like the last big one I took where I kept my butt in the saddle and wasn't too far behind the group and yet I just couldn't hack the load.

I was just about to write a post on working to achieve our potential and I was going to riff off of Little Miss Runner Pants most excellent post about how running has had such a huge positive impact on her life and oh baby - I had a good one in my head. Going on a 56 mile bike ride seemed as good a jumping off point for that post as anything so what do I do? I blindside myself with self-loathing because I had a bad day.

Next week will be better, won't it?