#ChurchHillRiders

I DID IT! I DID IT! I DID IT! Can you tell I'm excited? Almost a year ago our little biking group decided we would take the plunge and sign up for the Cap 2 Cap 50 Mile Ride. I remember when that sounded impossible. It's good to have a goal we said. It'll keep our feet to the fire over the winter so we don't let 3 months go by without a ride. Little did we know what training and executing the ride would actually entail.

Finishing was one thing. We didn't just want to finish. We wanted to finish strong. That meant building up our muscles and our stamina. That meant learning how our bodies would react and what we'd need to do to fuel them for this level of work. As someone who has never (ever) been called an athlete in her life, this was quite a new experience. My body changed. My lungs changed. I changed.

As a group we went through ups and downs too. There were weekends where we felt like doing 40 mile rides both days. There were Saturday mornings where I seriously, and I'm sure others, thought about calling out sick. Somehow we made it through, and I will always look back on our group with a fondness and love that can only come from going through something like this together.

Ironically, we all became separated within moments of the race starting. A singular journey it then became. I had already decided I wouldn't stop until most likely the third rest area. Every 13 miles Powerade, bathrooms and other assorted goodies were available. My muscles get tight if I stop too long, so it proved to be the right call. Hills! Why are there so many damn hills?! Why is this bike so hard to peddle? All tidbits that scrolled through my head between the second and third rest area. Time to stop. The last 13 I had a surge of adrenaline but then dropped back down. That's when I really started having to tell myself I could do it and I was almost there. Come on girl....

I think I speak for everyone when I say the finish was very emotional. There were tears, expletives and hugs all around. We did it! Holy s&%$! we did it! This won't be our last race, but it will always be special because it was our first. Love you guys!

#ChurchHillRiders