Back on the Road (and only lost half a step)

November (Ironman Arizona) was the last time I rode my bicycle.  This past weekend, Iron Sherpa and I took out or bicycles again to start up the 2013 training.  We headed out to the Palos Verde loop, a scenic and hilly route we thoroughly enjoy.  It has challenging hills, but nothing too steep or too long, and spectacular ocean views.

The big news out of our ride was our speed.  I expected to lose significant pace compared to pre-Ironman rides, when I was training hard.  Although slower (in part due to taking it easy going downhill as well), there was not a significant drop in speed.

Although the speed differential was not great, one item to note is my max heart rate.  On this last ride, my heart rate went as high as 181 bpm - meaning I was working pretty hard.  On my September ride, my max heart rate was a more manageable 154 bpm.  The difference in average heart rate between the two rides was 12 bpm.  So while I wasn't significantly faster, I worked a bit harder to be a bit slower.

Lots of work ahead for 2013.