Natchez Trace Metric Century ride 5-7-22

 

Good to be back riding at the trace! I believe they said 984 riders! It's so nice to see things coming back around after our 2 years of the pandemic.  People are eager to get out and do things.  You could just feel the excitement in the air as everyone lined up to start the ride.   I was doing the 62 miler (what they call the metric century) so I started with the 100 miler group at 7am.  Man there were a ton riding the 100 miles!  The 50 miles, 25 miles and they even had an 8 mile ride all started between 7:30am and 8:00am.    It was a cool morning and I had goose bumps when we first started riding.  But that didn't last long as the sun came out full force and it warmed up quickly.  However, it was still a perfect day for a ride except for some wind gust!  I was beating myself up pretty bad over the wind calling myself a baby when a guy rode up beside me and said good morning and asked how I was doing.  I told him fine and he smiled and said, "it's a tad windy".   I laughed and told him I was glad it wasn't just me feeling that way.  😀  He was doing the 100 so I wished him well and we didn't see each other again. 

 I LOVE the jersey!  So glad I bought one!  So colorful and fun! 💛💚💙💜💓

So many people don't know this unless they ride with me, but I'm a big baby going downhill on a bike.  Not the small downhills, I'm talking the steep ones that your bike just keeps getting faster and faster and faster.   I HATE those.  I'm gripping for dear life and praying the whole time.  Not to mention pumping my brakes!   I wish I could be like my friends and zoom down those, but I'm so scared of busting my butt and getting hurt badly.  I was always scared of the downhill, but after my bike crash in 2018 the feeling just intensified.  I knew there were hills on the Natchez Trace, but since it had been awhile since I had ridden the course, I couldn't remember how bad they were exactly.   Well wouldn't you know it... there has to always be ONE!  I was on it before I realized we were heading straight down! And the wind just happen to be gusting at the moment.  I literally saw my life before my eyes! My heart was racing and to my surprise I survived the downhill.   Several people raced by me also while going downhill!  I was so thankful when it was over.  On Sunday after the ride, I've even googled it thinking I'm just a baby, however, it's a real thing.  Even some pros have the fear on steep downhills and have to overcome it.  One thing I read is they practice over and over going downhill.  So maybe there is hope for me when I find time to practice over and over.  I was thankful the rest of the downhills were no where near as steep as that one big one in the beginning.    

Here's a picture of the elevation.

They had a band and lots of food at the finish line.  I didn't hang around long.  I had to get back home for my kids to cook me mother's day supper. 😍

I grabbed a quick 2 mile brick run after the bike before heading home.  The Trace is very nice!

I was pleased with my time overall.  I made 2 rest stops and still got in under 4 hours.  I wanted to try not to stop, but the bathroom couldn't wait and I refused to pee in my pants.  😁  At least I was hydrated since I had to stop 2X to go to the bathroom.  😀  My distance was a tad short of the 62 miles, but I wasn't concerned about riding around the parking lot like some to get their GPS to 62 miles 😁  Normally I probably would of, but I wanted to get my brick run in and get home .. Plus the parking lot was CRAZY BUSY.  Not safe for me! 

I missed all my PPRF running friends! They may go ride on the Longleaf trace for fun, but don't typically do bike rides.  I so miss Frank, Mel & Krista riding with me! Things have changed over the last couple of years.  From illnesses to changes in goals, so we aren't all doing the same things anymore.  Frank and I were talking about that last week.  We had some great times riding! and running over the years! I will cherish all my memories with him and others that I haven't rode or ran with in awhile.   Life evolves and people set new goals, they have injuries that stop them from going, and / or they have kids to raise or life just gets in the way.  We all have seasons.  I've been in a season of marathons with my PPRF girls recently.  I have ran 6 marathons in 7 months!  CRAZY, huh?  I really didn't realize it until I looked at the calendar and was like OMG .. now I know why I'm tried.  We've had some awesome memories and LOTs of FUN!  However, I'm ready for a physical and mental break.  I have 2 more events this month (May) and then my goal is to take the summer off from events.  Of course I'll be training because Penny and I have 2 majors to run back to back in the fall.  So the training my go on.  However, in June I'll take a very slow approach to training and give my body some recovery and then build back up ready for September.  Or that's my hope / plan.  I will discuss with my coach and we'll set a plan for the summer training.  I will not let any of my friends (PPRF) talk me into racing events. 😁 Famous last words some say 😂 but I've set my mind mentally for a break and I plan to stick to it. 😀

Sometimes you just need that mental break from races / rides to revive the soul.  😎