Another double today. I got out a little later than the previous time, in the hopes that the weather would be a bit warmer. The weather ended up being partly cloudy with winds from the north and a bit chilly. I wore 1 base layer + arm warmers. I was debating on wearing leg warmers, but decided against it. I got a good warmup in, to the top of the Keene descent. I was a bit encouraged from the cold weather. The descent was a bit cold, but got warmer as I descended. The return ascent was done in good tempo. No real digs, just real steady tempo. My legs felt good, no real ailments other than a bit of soreness in my left knee. I fed at the summit and continued within a few minutes. I stretched a bit while making my way to the mail lockers. Like planned, I consumed as much fluids and swapped bottles. At this point, I was warmed up real well. I commenced a little reserved and raised the tempo, but never went above moderate. As I made it to the Banducci wall, the weather started to get cold. Not good for the legs. I did good time to the summit, but the weather proved to be against me for the remainder of the ride. I fed at the top of Banducci, rested a minute or two then continued. As I approached SS, my right calf muscle began to cramp. After this point I was real concerned about injuring my calf. I stretched and changed my position as much as I could. I think I dodged a bullet today. Will have to see how the legs feel tomorrow. I did a final feed on the top of SS. No stopping from that point. I decided against stopping and resting the leg, as I didn't want it to cool off and loose its warmth. I could have done better tempo on the return trip, but my leg didn't permit. Nevertheless, I did as good tempo as I could have. My concentration was actually fairly good and my balance, despite the ailment was real good. The cramping came and went until I reached the final climb. After that point, it just lingered, but didn't feel like an injury. Interestingly enough, I felt fresher at this point than the last double. I attribute this due to the slower tempo and the temperature was a lot warmer on the previous ride.

Another double today. I got out a little later than the previous time, in the hopes that the weather would be a bit warmer. The weather ended up being partly cloudy with winds from the north and a bit chilly. I wore 1 base layer + arm warmers. I was debating on wearing leg warmers, but decided against it. I got a good warmup in, to the top of the Keene descent. I was a bit encouraged from the cold weather. The descent was a bit cold, but got warmer as I descended. The return ascent was done in good tempo. No real digs, just real steady tempo. My legs felt good, no real ailments other than a bit of soreness in my left knee. I fed at the summit and continued within a few minutes. I stretched a bit while making my way to the mail lockers. Like planned, I consumed as much fluids and swapped bottles. At this point, I was warmed up real well. I commenced a little reserved and raised the tempo, but never went above moderate. As I made it to the Banducci wall, the weather started to get cold. Not good for the legs. I did good time to the summit, but the weather proved to be against me for the remainder of the ride. I fed at the top of Banducci, rested a minute or two then continued. As I approached SS, my right calf muscle began to cramp. After this point I was real concerned about injuring my calf. I stretched and changed my position as much as I could. I think I dodged a bullet today. Will have to see how the legs feel tomorrow. I did a final feed on the top of SS. No stopping from that point. I decided against stopping and resting the leg, as I didn't want it to cool off and loose its warmth. I could have done better tempo on the return trip, but my leg didn't permit. Nevertheless, I did as good tempo as I could have. My concentration was actually fairly good and my balance, despite the ailment was real good. The cramping came and went until I reached the final climb. After that point, it just lingered, but didn't feel like an injury. Interestingly enough, I felt fresher at this point than the last double. I attribute this due to the slower tempo and the temperature was a lot warmer on the previous ride. After making the last Summit, I knew that I had it in the bag. From this point, I did modest tempo and made use of the descents for resting the ailing leg. I felt relatively fresh in the end, but I'm concerned about my leg right now. I bought some Knee warmers today, they'll get here in a couple of days. I want to try them ASAP! The gear worked flawless today, just a few clicks here and there. Hydration and food wised, perfectly done. Absolutely no signs of bonking.
Other notes, I saw 2 deer as I was making my way through OTR. I got some photos on my Gopro.