I had a lovely fall bike ride today.  It was a bit warmer (45°F) than my last ride (30°F), so I was able to enjoy it more.  I biked on a lot of low traffic roads some of which I had never been on before.  It made for a very pretty ride.  Here is a quick shot of the colorful tree line.  I could have taken pictures like this all day long, but I’d have never finished my ride.  The only reason I stopped to take this picture was because I had just climbed the biggest hill I have ever climbed and needed to grab some water.

Despite the warmer weather and extra layer of socks, my feet were still the coldest part of my body.  I wore my bike shorts with long tights over them along with a long sleeve shirt and bike jersey over that.  Coupled with a headband and gloves I managed to stay mostly warm.  I just need to find a way to keep my feet warm at this point.

 
The hill mentioned above was at about the 18 mile mark.  It may not look like much, but if you zoom in,
the elevation graph goes nearly completely vertical for a bit.

Overall, it was a very fun ride.  A bit hillier than I thought it would be, but that is what I get for trying out a new route.  I ended up going 26 miles in 1:28:36 for a 17.6 mph pace.  Hopefully this warmish weather keeps up for a bit longer so I can delay moving the bike onto the trainer. 

Feel free to queue up some mid 90’s Presidents of the United States for the duration of this posting if you want.

Earlier this week, I noticed a lump on my right calf.  Generally, the finding a lump, conjures up bad thoughts.  I did some research and found that the most likely causes were:

• herniated muscle (which I doubted because there was no pain)
• a cyst
• DVT (again doubted this because I am obvious very active)
• fatty build up

The lump doesn’t cause me any trouble, it is just there.  It is a little tender (like a bruise) when I push on it, but that is it.  I don’t feel it when I am running or biking either. 

In order to play it safe, I scheduled a doctor’s appointment for today to have it looked at.  Originally, I figured I should just schedule a full physical because I haven’t had one in a while.  However, there wasn’t any openings for a full physical until December (talk about ridiculous), but they could see me for the lump.

The appointment was quick and painless.  I have a lipoma which is essentially a fatty build up, so at least it was one of things I had self-diagnosed.  My doctor said that I really don’t have to worry about it unless it becomes a problem.  Usually people have them removed if they are in an inconvenient location or if they are a cosmetic problem.  Mine is currently not even visible without touching it, so I’m not going to worry about unless it grows.  I asked what the down time is if I decide to have it removed and he said there isn’t any.  It would be a quick procedure with a couple of stitches.  I even found a video of the procedure on YouTube (you can find anything online) and it didn’t look too bad.

Other than that, my training has been going very well.  I did a hard, hilly bike ride today and still managed a 19+ mph pace.  I’m going to keep working on my hill climbs in preparation for the Reeds Lake Triathlon which includes the mammoth Fulton hill.  My goal is to maintain 16-17mph on the hill come race day.  Plenty of time to get ready.

Stay tuned!