It has been an up and down week for my riding.  Too much food on my stomach prevented a long ride last Saturday, so I tried again on Monday and put in 45 miles.  I had planned to go longer, but it was hot and I just didn't "feel right" on the bike.  Riding in the heat, slogging down carbs and fluids, just didn't appeal to me that day so I ended it early.  No sense in riding if it hurts or puts me in a bad mood.  Riding should be fun and enjoyable. 
    I did my ride on Wed in the early a.m. to avoid the heat and started out slow since riding hard still didn't sound like a good idea.  I ramped up my cadence and focused on keeping even pressure on the pedals and before I knew it I was hammering around the lake.  The wind was just right out of the north, too, so I had a tail wind going south, but not much coming north.  I managed 18+ mph laps and 92-94 rpm cadence for three laps. 
    I missed riding this Saturday (which I'll go into in my next post) and ended up putting in 55 miles on Sunday in the cooler a.m. hours.  I was feeling more like my old self again.  I think the bonk I experienced a couple weeks ago on that hot 70 mile ride completely depleted my energy stores.  Without carbing up beforehand, I burned through the glycogen in my muscles, then the glycogen in my liver and was probably burning protein (muscle) by the end of that ride in addition to probably being dehydrated.  That might explain why my leg muscles were sore and why I've been without energy for the last couple weeks.  My body has just needed longer to recover...to repair the damaged muscle and slowly recharge my liver.  Perhaps, if I don't overdo it in the next couple weeks (eat right, get enough sleep and pedal sensibly), I can ride my own century on 8/29 since I can't afford to go to HHH this year.