179

You may think that because it's the off season from bike racing that 179 signifies what my weight has escalated to since the race season ended. Ha, you are wrong. The competition shall cry when they find out that is not the truth. Actually 179 is the heart rate that I had to hit yesterday on my training ride when I was visciously chased by two dogs while riding on Washougal River Road. I pride myself in my ability to control my heart rate under any circumstance in my off season training but yesterday that became an impossibility when two barking dogs came tearing out of a driveway. The road I was on was flat to maybe slightly uphill, so I had a disadvantage. I had to sprint as hard as I could to get away from them, which is hard when you actually haven't sprinted in a few months. They were gaining on me and I could see a hill up ahead, I thought I was doomed. I can honestly say that sprinting when something is chasing you is a lot more interesting that sprinting for the finish line. I think it was one of my best sprints ever, even with the yelling and screaming at the dogs to try to scare them away (which didn't work). Needless too say, I think I have a good mental vision of what I need to sprint like to win a race. Maybe this was a good thing for me.