BIKE: 82 miles in 4hrs 50 mins. TN's Berry Ride. 27-mile loop then the 54-mile loop.
RUN: 1.5 miles in 15 mins. Just enough to say I ran.
Took advantage of this long ride to do my first IM simulation ride-81 miles riding alone at my own pace. My goals were to eat and drink according to IM plans and save my legs for a run in afterwards. I identified many problems last year that need to be worked out, and after today I claim some success! Sorta.
Again it was hot out, 85-90F with a wind from the south. A strong wind but not a killer. Just enough to make you groan when the course turned into it. The first loop went smoothly, took a while to warm up but once rolling I didn't need to stop. I was eating/nibbling every 15 mins or so and sipping cytomax about every 5 mins. In previous long rides, I would eat every 40-45 mins! What did I eat today? 200 cals of cashews, 1 Powerbar 220 calories, 2 gels 200 calories, one huge banana 150 cals, 3 cytomax 300 calories. only 1100 calories over 5 hours? It works out to just over 200 cals/hr. I could probably tolerate more. But no stomach distress, and that's the goal--to find foods I can tolerate.
Another problem on other long rides is foot pain. (The saddle discomfort of last year is gone). Right around mile 65 or so it sets in. It's like a vise on the bones in the ball of your foot. Ironically, the pain and numbness caused by pushing down on the pedals for hours is worsened by lifting your foot off the pedal. It's almost like the downward pressure keeps the worst of it at bay. The fix for this is not mashing on the pedals, which I did on a long stretch into the headwind.
Yet another problem from last year is the mental fuzz that I call The Stupids, they set in after about 3 hours. This is likely due to underfueling and dehydration. My mind gets negative, I start yelling and cussing at myself (in my head), the HR goes up, and I don't drive very well. Today went great, aside from a few moments. Right around mile 66, about the same time my foot started in on me, I realized I was half way to IM distance! Only 66 miles more to go, if this was the race! A few minutes later, I realized The Stupids had found me. Since when is IM 132 miles?!? I was already past halfway! I promptly started consuming more.
A few words on today's fueling. Cashews are great, they have a nice salty crunch. But it's easy to have some cashew bits stuck around your mouth, and when I get a drink out of the aerobottle the bits loosen up and swirl around. I think it would be easy to backwash some nut bits into the bottle. Ick. The PowerBar is good and chewy, but hard to chew on while riding. Gatorade and Cytomax when warm are gross, but might be better a little stronger. The gum I always used to chew on the bike is out of the picture--I can't eat q15mins with gum! PowerBar Gels were almost TOO sweet today, sort of gag when they hit the tongue. Next time? Freeze some water bottles, find a way to get mint on the bike. Aside from gum.
At 81 miles, I realized I was only 20 away from a century ride! And there was a 19 mile loop on the course! Was this the day? I decided No, that I'd rather run than ride. Quality of quantity. All during the ride I was planning for this run, keeping it easy on the legs, no fighting up hills, easy cadence. I wasn't going to shoot all that out the window for some magical number.
Now for the run. I felt pretty good back at the truck. I was dying for something cold, and started eating ice. I gave myself about 10 mins for T2, then took off. I didn't make it far. The body was there but the heart wasn't, I just wasn't into it. A sign of dehydration! I was sweaty, covered in sunscreen, sticky with Gatorade, and my skin had the gritty feel of salt. Little bugs and road grime stuck to the sunscreen. What a mess. But even though I felt good, I couldn't keep the run up. I pushed to 1.5 miles then pulled up and took a bottle of water in. That is enough to put out the fire, so to speak,--running on water like that would just make me sick.
Conveniently, I stopped at the park where strawberry shortcake was being served post-ride!! I skipped the cake and just took berries and ice cream. I BIG bowl too, oh yum, but oh sick. While good on the tongue, my stomach wanted a break. It stayed down, but not without some complaining from the tummy. What a reward at the end of a great day!
NUMERICS: 14hrs 48 mins this week, a bit shy of the 16hr goal in the training plan.
SWIM: 5281 in 1.93hrs
BIKE: 154 miles in 8.83hrs
RUN: 26.9 in 4.03 hrs
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