26.2 Miles of Fun

I decided this past Saturday that I wanted to bike the Long Beach Marathon on Sunday morning. No preparation. No Worries. I mean I have already run a marathon, how hard could it be to bike one? Right? Wrong! 

I rode down to the starting line at 5:30am sunday morning in the freezing cold, with my next door neighbors (who are both experienced bikers).

Starting line - it's still dark out:

I was feeling pretty good the first few miles and gaining confidence until we hit our first HUGE uphill at mile 5. I don't really have much experience on my new road bike and I am not too sure about switching gears. So I kept my bike in the same gear up and down the hill. I know I wasn't in the correct gear going up hill cause people on beach cruisers were passing me. But I didn't want to risk losing my chain so I kept it in the same gear. Dumb, I know.  When I got down the hill I felt better again and cruised the next 5 miles. I got to watch an amazing sunrise over the Queen Mary and Shoreline Village as I was riding in to mile 10. Before this ride 10 miles was the farthest I had ridden on my bike so I was pretty excited that I still felt good and could ride farther.

I kept pedaling, down the beach path. The sun was completely up by this time and I could see everything. I saw a lady with a baby in a carrier take a nasty spill and cause a bike pile up on the path. But I kept pushing forward. We rode uphill towards Cal State Long beach and eventually thru the campus. I haven't been back since I walked in my graduation ceremony there in '04. It was a little nostalgic to see the dorms where I lived my freshman year and to see how much still looked exactly the same. Sororities and Fraternities were lining the bike route with signs and water cheering for us. The athletic department was there cheering "Go Beach". Out of CSULB we rode back around the campus to head down towards the finish line at Shoreline Village. This was my favorite part of the ride. Mostly downhill with the sun shining and peace of mind knowing that I was on the latter half of the 26.2 miles.

I finally crossed the finish line at 8:10am - after a 130 min ride. I felt great! Until I got off my bike and could hardly stand straight up let alone walk. My back was a little tight and my legs were sore. Also - sitting on that bike seat for that long wasn't really comfortable since I don't have those padded bike shorts! 

I finished!

All in all it did make me want to ride more. Anyone want to join me??

Things to know for my next ride: 

1. How/when to switch gears

2. Wear padded shorts

3. Get more than 4 hours of sleep the night before