Hills are Not a Friend of Mine

Finally got out on my bike in Boston... I know, it took me quite a while. My first bad decision in this outing was going with Vic, BU's strength and conditioning coach training to be an Iron Man... yeah, he's insane. Thankfully he took it REALLY easy on me, but the hills still kicked my butt and probably could have all the way back to my beautifully flat state. This 35 mile adventure through Boston and the outskirt town of Weston definitely opened my eyes to what exactly I am getting myself into this summer, which is approaching rather quickly... Although I still think I will be fine, I definitely am getting a little nervous about the hills. Hopefully I adjust to them quickly
I went to the mountain and hiking store yesterday and bought a bag to carry my life in over the next couple months, a sleeping bag, a head lamp, a quick dry towel, and a compression sack. Turns out I bought the wrong temperature sleeping bag, so I will be exchanging that in the next couple days. Everything else is going ok. Got out to a red sox game, one game too late and missed the no hitter by Lester. Went on the famous Duck Tours, quacked at people, and got to drive the boat in the Charles. Ate in the North End. Walked all through the city. Am learning a whole lot hanging out with Darcy in the Varsity gym.
She taught me full Olympic lifts and the progession of teaching them to others the other day which was really cool. She showed me a dvd of when she competed as an Olympic lifter and it was pretty crazy to watch. Some of those girls in the upper weight divisions were beasts! I started reading the chapter in my strength and conditioning book yesterday on nutrition for my discussion with Darcy on Tuesday and am trying to make myself a diet according to how many calories I should be consuming according to my activity, and the ratio of proteins, carbs, and fats that should be included. It's really cool actually seeing how changing those details can improve your performance. I am making a spreadsheet that I put formulas and such in so I can manipulate the numbers depending on how many calories I want to eat and what kind of activity I am engaging in. I think this will be really helpful for my cycling trip so I can make sure I am eating the right foods to help keep me energized.
Looking forward to starting this trip, but not looking forward to the altitudes I know are going to be coming with it. I definitely think I need to get out on the bike a few more times before I leave for this trip to try and get used to it a little more. On a completely different note, it's suppose to be 80 degrees here tomorrow... yay!