OK, I’m now far enough into the training year to start wondering if I can somehow get to a fitness level that will be somewhat close to Dave’s level. Dave is doing lots of running this spring, and I think that he has races in early May and sometime in June. We talked about doing some training rides together in May – we’ll see if that happens and how well I can do with him. The one thing that could work against Dave is that in doing all the training for the run, he has really had zero time for bike training. So I might have the advantage of bike-specific training, but always seem to have the disadvantage of an overall fitness level that is never close to Dave’s.
Fitness is such an unforgiving judge. Each year I get older, it takes longer to achieve fitness and it leaves sooner. And there are no shortcuts. It has to be built layer by layer, workout by workout, week by week.
It will be interesting to see how the difference in our fitness routine plays out when it comes time for the ride in July. I continue to feel confident that the ride will be fun, and that I will be able to maintain high mileage while having fun.
Next weekend should be some early indicator as to whether Dave will spend much time waiting for me on the ride…
