Words of Encouragement

Let me preface what I am about to say with James is a great coach…he has taught me so much about riding and swimming and triathlons. That being said, I don't get a lot of compliments from him...maybe he doesn't think I need them…maybe it's a guy thing...I don't know. Anyway, this weekend, the compliments were flowing!!!

Last minute instructions from the coach

The first compliment came during our ride on Saturday. After we left Valley Springs, there was a nice long stretch with small rolling hills. It begged for a burst of speed. As soon as I had a chance, I took off. Before long I could hear gears changing behind me and I knew I had some on my tail. At that point I had no idea who it was because they weren't saying anything, so I just kept going. When I came to the end of the road, I stopped and turned to find coach James right behind me.

"That was great! You're a lot stronger rider than you were last year."

Wow! Really? I didn't know what to say :-)

Honestly, I don't think my riding has improved at all...maybe that's because I can never catch the Bull.

On Sunday, we met to do the Speedstar ride. Before the ride, James had invited a lady to come speak to our group about a charity ride for her church the following Saturday. She really liked my bike and made a remark about how I must be pretty fast riding it...then came the best compliment of the weekend...Coach James said..."It's not the bike".

I was floored! Such a simple statement meant so much. It also turned my "recovery" ride into a sprint and gave me a new goal.

Speedstar stats

New Goal

While I matched my best average speed for this course, my top speed was a bit slower. My goal is to get my average speed up to 18 miles per hour...which is also my goal for Barb's Race this year.

The good news is that when I watch the "player" on Garmin, I averaged over 20 mph coming down Highway 12. If I can pick up the pace early on during the ride, I should be able to raise my overall average as well as my top speed.

Speedstar by tpengilly at Garmin Connect - Player

Looking forward to next Sunday's Speedstar ride ;-)