EXTREME! Training weekend

I am blatantly stealing the title of this post from a friend, who refers to my current craze as my “EXTREME! training schedule,” with full use of both italics and exclamation marks. Up until now, I’ve been denying that my training has become extreme, but this weekend I have to admit that I may have bitten off more than I could comfortably chew. My legs kind of hate me right now. Here’s the weekend recap:  

Yesterday I met up with Bert and we did 51 miles, which included a stretch of the Custis Trail and the W&OD. For those of you outside the DC area, both are great trails that’ll take you out of the city into the wonders (har har) of Virginia. If you get far enough out and, like, squint very hard, you can pretend that the leafy green scenery is Minnesota. The W&OD is a pseudo rail trail, so the incline is kind, but the Custis has some ugly hills, right off the bat, which make me cranky. If I had a fairy godmother of biking, I would ask her to grant me the ability to stand up on my pedals while climbing hills without feeling like my quads are going to fall off, or like I am going to topple over. Why is this so hard for me?? Children can do it! Yet I cannot. 

One additional observation: I think I am a very dirty biker. No matter where I ride, I somehow manage to attract all sorts of grime and dead bugs and chain goo. Seriously, people appear alarmed when they see me coming. This problem was exacerbated yesterday by the fact that I dropped my bike spectacularly on the sidewalk in Georgetown because I was trying to simultaneously carry my lunch, apply lip balm, and walk my bike to a park where Bert and I could eat. My bike slimed my legs with chain poop like you wouldn’t believe. I am not a ladylike biker, people. And apparently I should lay off the multitasking.

Today I had to go to running club in the morning because it was the first day of our 10-mile training program and I am a coach this session (don’t laugh! just cross your fingers for my poor trainees). We only did a few miles but the run still gave my legs a weird new sensation: really stiff, yet Jell-O-like. Fascinating. Then I did a ride with Miguel down Beach Drive, which so glorious I was actually composing songs (a la Andrea!) the whole time, except for the hilly parts, which made me curse the day Beach Drive was born. I’m fickle like that. 

That’s all I’ve got. I’m now crazy tired, which is unfortunate because I’ve got plans to go meet friends (including Andrea’s hubby, who is in town for work!). I have a feeling my conversation style tonight might include lots of mumbling incoherently and intermittently putting my head down on the table for a nap. Which would not be very EXTREME! at all.