1000 miles in 2009

I reached the 1,000 mile plateau tonight, Monday February 23. As Ive said before, riding throughout the winter in MI is not only challenging physically due to the weather, but mentally as well because there aren't any races to really prepare for (I think the first race Im doing is April 25th) so its really all about just heading out to keep your fitness and get base miles. Since Im not incredibly disciplined, its a lot easier for me to keep heading out the door day after day (or rather night after night) after night if I have a goal to shoot for. This particular goal (to hit the 1,000 mile mark by Sunday the 22nd) had kept me going for the past 3 weeks.

So I had hoped to hit the 1,000 mile mark on Saturday, but Mother Nature had other plans. I needed 68 miles so I figured Id head out early and get 25 miles or so before the WRCS ride, that way Id be sure to end up with at least 70 on the day. So I did get in a few extra miles before the ride and showed up at the start of the ride with 23 miles. Unfortunately the weather forecasters were right and we got about 3-4 inches of snow dumped on us in a couple of hours during the ride, so nearly everyone was happy to end the ride early and I only ended up with 55 on the day. That left me with 987 miles.

I easily could have gotten 13 miles on Sunday and achieved my goal, but I had already ridden 5 of the past 6 days, and went for a run on the other day, and my legs were really sore already from that first run I had done in 6 weeks so I really needed a day off. Plus I had plans to attend the MMBA Expo in Lansing later on in the day so I decided (wisely I think) to stick with my decision and just take the day off. Oh, in case I haven't mentioned this yet, I really am NOT a fan of winter riding and it would have been a tough ride with all the snow we got on Saturday!

So I missed the goal by one day, but I was much less sore today so I think I did the right thing.

To put the 1,000 mile benchmark in perspective, it took me till April 19 (109 days) to get in my first 1,000 miles last year. This year I did it in 54 days. I wonder if Ill be able to double my mileage for the entire year? Hmmm.