Freeeeeeee-buuuuuurgggg......

BIKE 69 miles in ~4:05hrs

I usually don’t do this, and I don’t enjoy doing it, but in the end I did it and enjoyed it…but I did a long ride alone this weekend. The goals were simple. A 3.5hr ride, focused and fueled, sure and steady effort. Oh, and ANY route other than the usual Columbia one I did all spring.

Luckily I found a route that leaves the same place, goes the same direction, but uses only some of the regular roads backwards. Backwards! Roads look different the other way, so this way I know where I am in case I have a problem but it’s different enough that I’m not bored.

During the drive over, the sunrise was gorgeous. As in, why don’t I stop for a picture of that gorgeous. But I didn’t. It was also a cool morning in the low 70’s. It didn’t last long but I enjoyed it while it did.

Riding alone is different. In a group ride there’s conversation, something to take your mind off the miles. I’m looking out for the “pack”, watching for cars and road hazards. But today I barely looked over my shoulder, quietly avoided bumps and holes, and just stayed quiet. It was a strange sound.

It was funny to be riding these roads from a new map. It was also funny to realize that for the most part I had no idea what the names of the roads were! But I recognized them—the hill I now call Zingger hill; the gas station in Freeburg that I stopped at during my 2010 bonk ride, the stretch of road I paused at in that same ride and tarred my shoes (tar is still there!)…all familiar. And wonderful to see again!

Amazingly, no problems or flats on this ride. The only blip was a bridge out on Press on the way to Smithton. I should have taken a picture of it, again a missed opportunity. And on the way into Freeburg I saw two Trail-net looking painted arrows indicating conflicting turns. Another good picture.

I wanted to stay focused and fueled, I usually burn out and fizzle in a ride of this length. I tend to underestimate how much fuel I need, thinking that it’s “only 3-4 hours”, and I tend to go out too fast and lose energy over time. I did good until about 60 miles, at which time I thought the road I was on to be much shorter than it actually was. I kept thinking ‘the next turn’, ‘the next turn’, etc, until I just lost focus. I reached a point where I just wanted to be DONE.

AH!! I needed to EAT!!!!  Hydration was OK, but I needed to eat. In the end, I had eaten a powerbar, 400 calories of Infinit, a small banana, and half a package of cashews from Freeburg. So…240+400+90+120=850 calories over 4hrs…or 212 calories per hour. That number should be closer to 300! 

On a good note, my feet hurt much less this ride. Ever since CDA, both feet have been more prone to tingling and hurting even in short rides. What has changed? Nothing! I thought at first it was just swelling or overuse injury from CDA, but they didn’t hurt at all in the race. It’s something I noticed a few days after coming home. And now even a short 90 min ride leaves me hurting with the burning feeling. It’s possible that my form is crappy and I need to work on that too.

As for how this week went, 33 miles of running in 5hrs, 121 miles of biking in 7.5hrs, and only 5800y swimming in 2.25hrs. I missed a swim and the speed bike workout.

 The bike speed has me worried. To get a 6hr bike I need 18.7mph average on the bike at Redman. For 6.25hr I need 17.92.  Sundays ride was ave around 16.8mph, which would be a 6.7hr bike ride!  This needs to be improved! This weekend and the last my bike ave speed was lower than expected. Sure, it’s counting the stop signs, hills, etc (but not stops since I use autopause) but is this ave speed normal for me? Or is it normal when I’m riding alone? Or am I tired. I do have to admit that the first 10 miles of this ride had me just certain that my rear wheel was dragging. Nope—I was dragging, not the bike! Something to watch.