37 Feels Good Again, Part 2

My legs felt heavy Saturday morning. I know i didn't sleep well the night before. A friend suggested that had a lot to do with it. I need to keep track of what I eat, when I rest, and how I feel as I train.

Anyway, Lopes turns into East 2nd Street. East 2nd has it's share of rollers. At one point, there was a sign: 6% grade. Six percent doesn't sound like a lot, but someone must have found it noteworthy enough if they posted a sign. I recalled all my hill-climbing tips: sit upright, quiet the upper body, relax the shoulders, slow down the breathing, nice and easy pedal strokes, muscles feeling tired - try pulling up on the pedals for a bit, just get to that sign, now to that tree, make it to the light post ... by the time I know it, I'm at the top without having to stop. "Oh, we've done steeper than that!" I thought to myself. But the reward is always great - a breezy descent.

I'm with the last group now, but who cares. I feel great. We turn right onto Military and ride through Benicia Park. I see the rest of the group just ahead and we stop for a quick breather. Guess who’s there, chatting it up with the team? Roman, in his IronMan garb, taking a quick break from his run! All of the TNT alumni know Roman. Greetings and hugs go around. I do hear a few whispers, "WOW, he looks great," and a "Who is that?" Then Dee Dee does the formal introduction, "This is Roman, and as you can tell, he's training for an IronMan with TNT." Then Merle chimes in, "Not only that, he's an honoree." (And spontaneous applause breaks forth.)

After the welcomed break, he watches us ride into the sunset .. I mean onto Columbus Parkway. I hear someone say, "He's the picture of health." I've heard Roman tell his story enough to know that he'd say, "It's because of a medication called Gleevec, which TNT helped raise money for." My CAL buddy who's also in remission said to me, "Thank you so much for doing TNT. If it weren't for the medication, I don't know where I'd be today." So in effect, we really are saving lives one mile at a time.

All that, a quick bathroom break at a well known coffee establishment, and we're all re-energized for the last half of our ride. Columbus Parkway - you wouldn't know from driving that it's all uphill. Two of the other 4 I'm riding with have to stop for a breather. I may be going slow, but I just keep on pedaling ... cuz I ain't stoppin' on no hill :-) I turn onto Lake Herman, and the thoughts of the Zodiac come to mind. I'd better not get too far ahead. So I stop in the shade to switch my water bottles out, remove my arm warmers, and then glance behind me. I see someone coming, so I hop on again.

Lake Herman Road is a nice, two lane road from which you can see Lake Herman, of course. But there are rollers and hills, and it's on this road where I hit 37 mph on a descent ... and boy did it feel good. I was definitely more cautious and alert, but it was a straight away, so I felt comfortable with the speed. I smile and let out a "Woo Hoo!" as I began to slow due to another incline. "That was it," I think to myself. "I think I'm over it (the crash)."

We take a left back onto Lopes for the last 8 miles, and I finished feeling great.