RIDE: 49.2 miles in 2hr 44 mins
RUN: 3.27 miles in 31 mins
Usually I'd round up or down (usually down) to an even number but now that the numbers are so small I'm looking for every tenth I can get!
My weekend plans changed drastically last night. Originally, I was going to run a loop in the park then do a 1hr ride today. Then tomorrow was going to be a 44 mile group ride with a brick run. But I started have race anxieties. What if I crash on the bike riding in town close to other riders? What about all those stoplights, what kind of workout will I get? Will there be enough hills to test the new climbing gear cassette just installed on the bike? Will I have to wait at rest stops for the rest of my group? Questions, questions. Answers?
Go it alone, at my pace on my route with my goals. So today was a 50-mile ride in the hills south of Columbia. The hills in the bluffs have tough climbs and good descents, similar but not as bad as the ones in the race. I wanted a chance to test the new bike gear and really focus on staying in a low heart rate zone. As much as I would have preferred to ride with the group (for all the stops at rest areas, they push a hard pace!) I needed this last ride to be all about me.
Cuz that's all Ironman training and racing really has to be: all about me.
The route I chose opens up with a sharp hill in the first mile. Since I wasn't warmed up yet, my heart rate shot up high. Focus on staying calm. Downshift the gears. Take your time, what is the rush? At first I was disappointed that the new gear ratios didn't make the climb "easy". What did I expect, a free ride up the hill? Regardless of the gearing, physics has it that the amount of work would be required to bring me and the bike up the hill. The new gear cassette isn't a motor doing the work for me, it's just a way to change how much work I'm doing with each pedal stroke. Once I'd convinced myself of this, I enjoyed the new cassette, it will definitely make some of those hills easier.
I worked my way through the hills in perfect weather--cool and sunny. Few cars if any in sight and overall peace and quiet. I talk to myself while riding alone, I crack jokes and give myself a hard time. When I'm in a positive mood, I laugh at my own jokes. When the mood is soured, I'm mean, negative, and the joke is on me. Today was all good. This is the energy I need in one week: good outlook, fun, and willing to take a few bumps without worry.
Once out of the hills, the road flattened out. Completely flattened out. In fact, the only real hills were at railroad crossings. Instead of turning north towards the finish, I went south to fill in the miles. I smiled thinking about our ride earlier this year on this same flat road. It turned into a fast race in a paceline at speeds around 25mph. I was doing only 20 mph now, it didnt' occur to me until I turned around that one reason the 20 mph felt so good was because I had a tailwind.
Oof, the headwind! Once I turned around I realized that the ride home would be longer than expected. Riding in the hills shields you from the wind, so I wasn't really aware of the NW wind I would find. So much for a fast trip home. I ended up enjoying the headwind though, it make it a tougher workout. These shorter rides don't leave me satisfied unless they hurt a bit. :-)
The brick run was planned to be short--just enough to shake out the bike ride from the legs. My heart rate was awful high--160-175! But I don't think that was accurate because I didn't feel my heart racing like that. My form improved as the run progressed--another good final reminder that my run will be hard for the first few miles until my muscles adapt to running.
Overall, a great ride! I'm going to miss these long rides come winter.
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