Little Miss Runner Pants

(thank you to everyone for your kind words about stephanie. i appreciate being able to express my emotions and have such a supportive group around me. you guys are the best and it just adds to the many reasons why i love this community.)

after a rather horrible few days earlier this week, yesterday afternoon i knew it was time to get out there and grind it out on the bike.

after last weekend's 70.3 recon and a bismal performance on our TNGR (tuesday night girl ride).. i finally sat down with my coach and 0% and had a talk about a few things...

first of all we all agreed i've got quite the posterior chain.

for anyone who's ever walked/stood/sat/been in any existence behind me.. you'd know...

this ass is no joke.
and after a few years of crossfit, running and now biking...

its a powerful little (read: large) thing.

so WHY, exactly, does that not translate on the bike?!

.... GOOD QUESTION!

for one thing, i've never gotten off my bike and said "wow. my ass hurts".

nope. I MEAN NEVER.
my quads? hells yeah. my hamstrings!? sure..

but my ass... nope. nevah.

to this 0% sort of squinted at me like.. "really?!"... and then assured me.. "well when you learn how to use that thing.. we're all in trouble. nobody will be able to keep up."

.....YES!!!! finally, my derriere has a use!

all i had to do was figure out HOW to use it.

that, plus coach working with me on my timing and gear-shiftiness up hills...

well.
yesterday made for a HARD ride.

a hardy but a goody.

coach, 0%, massage guy and i all went out to ride THIS route:

and while i'd like to say it immediately clicked...

yahhhh.. not so much.

it took a lot of "shift down. shift down. SHIFT DOWN. spin up. spin up. SPIN UP" from my coach for me to finally realize i have a bit of stubborness issue with not wanting to shift down.

somehow i got in my head that i was being a pansy by dropping into my middle chain ring so i was forcing myself to mash up the hills.

ahhhhhh. it felt so good to NOT DO THAT ANYMORE!!!

i was able to get up the hill and not feel like i need a 5 minute time-out in order to recover.

THEN, once i had that under my belt... i worked on honing in on my ass.

and, judging from what it felt like going upstairs this morning to get dressed....
i do believe it worked!

i haven't worked that hard on a ride, i don't think... ever. especially to have such phenomenal results. as 0% put it...

"where's AJ?! you're not AJ. AJ rode on tuesday... who's THIS we're riding with!!"

and i'm not gunna lie... it felt goo-ood.

*so*
i have my work cut out for me.
i also know now, though, that i'm capable of riding, and riding HARD. we rode 30 miles yesterday in under 2 hours. that, for me, is a dream.

so the challenge is to repeat it.

which... i plan to do SOON.