It's fun, in an incredibly painful sort of way...

That right there is how I described the Thursday interval rides to someone yesterday. Yes they are fun, but they are also incredibly painful. Yesterday's ride was probably the most painful of all too. I was finally able to lift again on Wednesday so I did, and my legs were not happy about that yesterday. My quads and hamstrings were aching as we rolled out of the parking lot. "Oh well, keep pushing, it will get better" I told myself. I rolled out with 2 of the guys I work at the shop with and listened to Eric tell us all how "out of shape" he is. Keep in mind that this guy is about 6'4" and definitely built like a bike racer (aka he's really skinny). As soon as we started the first interval Mr. "I'm out of shape" Eric took off with the fast group, while I did everything I could to not get passed by absolutely everyone. Eventually I assumed my spot at the back of the group and stayed there. Like I said to the boys, "Someone has to be at the back!" Unfortunately after about the 3rd interval, I felt a cramp creeping into my left calf, I backed off a little to try to avoid it, and hoped that it would work. Apparently running around the airport all day and not finding time to drink much water isn't the best way to prepare for the interval rides. Unfortunately that sneaking feeling of almost cramping stuck with me for the rest of the night. It never actually turned into a cramp, just constantly felt like I was almost cramping. Which I think is even more annoying than the real thing. By the end of the night, we did 5 double intervals (evil boys!!) and I rode 90 minutes and covered about 28 miles. (Yes, we were going fast!)

Tomorrow I am heading out to Austin to watch the pros race the AT&T Austin Crits, it will be a very quick trip (less than 24 hours) but I can't miss seeing all of those boys race by! I heart very fast boys on bikes. :)