First century of 2012!

BIKE: 6:27 (autopause time) and 100.8 miles. Easy easy easy pace.

After last weekend's outdoor dismality, this was something I really wanted to get done. A century is more than just a massive mileage ride, it's also a confidence builder. Something to scratch off the to-do list of IM training.
My first ever century was memorable too, it was July 2010 (I thought it was May, had that wrong...) and I had ridden with the MEC group the first 70 or so miles before heading out alone. Alone sux. Groups are more fun! Like today!

There were about 8 of us, all good riders and 4 first-time 100 riders. The morning started out cold and cloudy, I hadn't checked the weather before heading out and I didn't know that it wasn't supposed to warm up or that it was supposed to rain. But I did have my tights and yellow shell jacket. Prepared, but could have done better.

We took off on the normal Co-Mill-Wat-Val route. Somewhere around Wat-Val it started lightly raining. This continued all the way past the bear cage and around to Madonnaville and back to Val. So now it was cold, windy, and rainy. Ugh. But it wasn't all that bad really. My forearms and hands were getting the worst of it, they got numb and stiff. But I stayed mostly dry and never chilled. By the time we hit the flats the sun started coming out and I dried off.

The first loop was 76 miles. I didn't eat much--Infinit 200 calories, Powerbar 210, home made bars 600. And lots of water. I felt great but my left knee was acting up again. The tight pain came and went, but it was enough to take my focus a little.

A quick refuel and biobreak in Co, and off again. The group was down to four: PS, CM, NK, and me. CM and NK were first timers!!  Immediately out on the road my knee went bad. Disturbingly bad. I waited a mile or two to see if it would warm up again after stopping. I nearly turned around. I dropped off the back a bit and worried about my focus and road-handling skills.  What to do...

It did shake out, but was sensitive. On top of that, my left hip started to hurt a little, then my right knee. I was compensating even if I wasn't directly aware of it. What to do....only 20 miles to go...

I stuck it out. I told myself that it's mental and that this is the best mental training and race prep there is. I can't test this race day, I need to know now: can I ride distracted?

Yes I can. It was a long 20 miles, but I did it. My nutrition was down to gels in the last loop, I wasn't hungry really until mile 90 and I didn't want to eat anything, but I knew that was a sign of needing to eat something!

CP has running on the schedule for tomorrow, and my run schedule is back online. I asked him today about mental preps for TTT, the morning and afternoon run sessions and he had some good suggestions, my favorite was to split my Saturday run mileage to am and pm to simulate the TTT race schedule. Another was sim'ing the Saturday pm oly from TTT at Innsbrook then going home and running again in the afternoon. That sounds hard, which probably means it's a good idea :)