I Finished my First "Century" Bike Ride!! And I can still walk today...

If you follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc then you may already know that I have been training hard to ride my first "Century" -- aka, a 100-mile bike ride. I've been doing lots of long rides, shorter rides along the American River Parkway, hill repeats (going up and down hills = BLAH), etc.

Why would I do this, you may ask? Well I have been running for the last few years, and my husband Greg is an avid cyclist. He and I made a pact this year that I would do a century with him if he does a marathon with me. I like a good challenge.

So this last weekend I conquered the Napa ALS Century in 8 hours and 52 minutes! The weather was nice; cool in the morning, not too hot, and a little breezy in the afternoon. The first half of the ride included climbing lots of hills, including one section called "Ink Grade" that was just over 4 miles with a little over 1,000-feet of elevation gain (that's a lot for me!). The second half of the ride was relatively flat...Unfortunately that breeze I mentioned was a headwind for about the last 30 miles of the ride. But, I crossed the finish line at 3:52pm. What a great experience! I am going to train for a "Double Century" next year (that's a 200-mile bike ride).

Greg and I will be doing a half marathon together in a few weeks, and have registered for the California International Marathon coming up in Sacramento in December. So we shall see if he can keep up his end of the bargain. =)