Forth, and fear no darkness! Arise! Arise, Riders of Theoden! Spears shall be shaken, shields shall be splintered! A sword day... a red day... ere the sun rises! Ride now!... Ride now!... Ride! Ride to ruin and the world's ending!
With the slight dizziness of the swim gone, I was ready to ride. My plan was to take the first 40 miles as a warm-up, see how I felt at that point and go from there. The ride is best broken up into segments.
0-15 miles: The Ride To Verona
The ride started down the helix, similar to the one I just ran up from the lake but now at the opposite end of the Terrace building. It was a No Pass Zone and a nice coast downhill. I saw my two friends at the bottom, their cheering got me smiling. The first few miles were a nice easy ride on local bike trails, with sharp turns and switchbacks to keep the speed under control. A technical ride that would be more difficult to focus on 6-7 hrs from now. Soon enough we were on the roads! The immediate and not unexpected problem was the 10's of other cyclists in my immediate area. This was a no-drafting race, and it seemed impossible to not be drafting! Still warming up, I did my best to stay off the back of others. To do so meant I had to pass cyclists going even slightly slower than me. But I wanted to keep it easy for now, meaning I purposefully tailed a few as far back as I could. I hadn't ridden or previewed this part of the course and it was all new to me. It went by quickly.
********
15-56 miles: The First Loop
Once into Verona, the roads became familiar. This was the part of the course previewed a few weeks ago, and I am so glad for that preview. It gave me landmarks to look forward to, a headup of technical areas, and something to think about while riding. Never before was a course preview so useful!
The course was still pretty flat in this region, so it surprised me when my chain jumped off the big ring around mile 15-16. I was shifting, but not on any incline. Further, it jumped off the biggest ring to the outside, usually it jumps off the smaller ring. Only mildly frustrated, I put it back and kept rolling. And hoped their wasn't an adjustment problem on the bike that would cause a repeat performance.
The hills started soon enough, and I stuck to my goal of spinning up them easy without getting my heart rate up. But the problem was that I was continuously passing people! Moving up from one group to the next, pass that group, then catch the next. I began to wonder--was I going too fast? Would these people pass me later on the run when my legs are blown out from riding too hard? Or was I seeded into groups of slower athletes based on my slow swim? I tried using people as pacers, staying behind someone for a few minutes to find a slower pace, but this only worked for a minute. Then I'd pass. I didn't get nervous or upset, just kept going.
Soon enough we entered Mt Horeb, the first city in the loop. The crowds were out lining the streets, as were the residents of the local nursing home! Wheelchairs and oxygen tanks lined one section of street. Some of them didn't even look awake, but I waved and smiled anyway.
My drinking was on schedule (every 15 mins) but my eating was lagging. Instead of every 30, it was more like every 45-55 mins. It is harder to eat on hills because you don't' want to take your hands off the bars, so I thought it crucial to eat in the flatter sections. Cutting my packages open before the ride was a wonderful idea. But pulling the bars out of the foil packages in the warm sun wasn't easy, and at one point I nearly ate a small piece of foil!
After Mt Horeb, the real hills started. Long roads with fast hills. Speeds varying from 5mph to 35mph. Climbing gear to descending gear, over and over and over. I loved it! I would get passed by heavier and/or more confident riders on the downhills, then I would boogie past them on the uphills. We call this leapfrogging. Again, the course preview made all the difference here, I knew exactly what to expect. The course was beautiful in this area: farms, hills, cows, trees, idyllic pastures, and more spectator-placed signs for Sara and Marie Frey than I could count. Those lucky athletes has some unbelievable supporters!
Cross Point was the next city on our tour. Not as many spectators here, but we only saw a little bit of town. Some flats, then the real hills were ahead of us. I used the flats to refuel and rest. It was in this section that we crossed areas of the course I'd forgotten about. Once I saw it, I'd remember, but I kept thinking hills were just around the corner only to find they weren't. But The Hills, the famous ones on the course, were marked by a U-turny road that crosses paths with a farm's cow crossing. No missing or forgetting that!
The first of the 4 hills was lined with spectators. I loved that these people drove all the way out to this rural road to yell, cowbell, and hold signs. My favorite sign was one that said FASTER DAMMIT it big letters. So many good signs, wish I could remember them all.
I flew up hills. Passed people left and right. Err...I mean left, not right (passing on the right is a race violation). Seeing my progress, I'd get my own special cheers which unfortunately only encouraged me. The first two hills passed without much problem for me, the only problem I had was that I was going faster than everyone else and could pass easily. A brief flat, a right turn, the The Biggie, a long straight hill that is most famous with spectators. Again, I flew up. And I saw Elvis. He would chase cyclists up the hill. :) Best of all, my husband was there. Seeing him raised my spirits and I took off down the hill, now going too fast and getting my heart rate too high. Bad Tracy! Slow down! The 4th hill is coming up!
We started heading back towards Verona, but not before one more big hill with the EN group cheering people on. They were wearing pick speedo shorts that said something about cowgirls. Another fast hill climb, again I'm worrying that I'm ruining my run, but it all feels so good....
Verona was a welcome sight--it was the halfway mark through the bike. The crowds picked up again and as I was learning crowds mean adrenaline. Verona marketed itself as having a Iron Festival on race day, I have to say I was pretty disappointed in their Festival. It was just a long water station with crowds? Really? BUT--I did hear my dad yell for me as I went past!! I was afraid of whipping my head around in aero to see him, but oh what a rush! There were right there cheering me on even if I couldn't see them. At the "turn left to Finish, turn right for 2nd loop" split, I came across the JM's. I think they were lounging in chairs? Or sitting on the curb? Regardless, the brief contact with family and friends left me smiling for the next round. Time so far about 3-3.25hrs.
Second verse, just like the first. I won't rehash the course here, but I'll hit some highlights. I stopped at my first aid station right after the split. Topped off the tanks, don't think I stopped for the bathroom. Also stopped at special needs and gathered the rest of my stuff. Probably wouldn't need it, but I'm paranoid. Both stops were clumsy, I felt rushed too. All those hours in aero The nursing home people were all gone and Mt Horeb was a little thin on cheering. The rollers before Cross Point tasted just as good. I ran in to Bob from MEC in the flats. Cheering also a little sparse in the Big Hills, but my family was there! Yeah!!! Again I attacked on the hills and gained a lot of ground of other cyclists.
The ride continued with good fueling, good energy, and fun. I passed the JM's at the top of the last big hill and JoM jogged with me a few steps. He said something, can't remember what now, that had me smiling for the next few minutes. I needed it, I was starting to wear down.
I hit the Turn Left split and was buoyed, but my body wasn't. My focus was starting to blur. My legs getting stiff. And my feet. OMG my feet started to hurt around 100-106 miles. Burning, sharp, pain in the balls of my feet. I wanted to stop but didn't want to stop. My water was warm. Gels were over-rated. This was my sign--Eat Anyway!! So I ate, knowing I needed all the focus I could get for negotiating the turns through the bike paths before the finish line. No need to crash now! It was funny riding the last few miles in the country, I really don't remember riding them outbound just 6 hours ago!
I ignored the pain, focused on perfect pedal strokes instead. It abated around mile 110, at which point I started mentally mapping out my T2. It was a welcome distraction to think ahead, I'd been keeping myself from doing so all day.
Finally we came to Lake Menona (I swam in that this morning!!) and the convention center. 112 miles and no flats, problems, or worries. The last feature on this ride from heaven was the ride up the helix to T2. In training, I reminded myself to hang on to some energy for this last "hill". I'd heard that regardless of how tired you are, being so close to finishing got you up the helix. True! I popped right up and got ready to hand Frea over to the bike catchers. I swung off, put my feet down, and the pain was so bad I nearly fell over!
No comments:
Post a Comment