75 miles...my back hurts...

Last Saturday, I rode 75 miles through the Northern branch of the Cook County Forest Preserve from my parents home to Highland Park near the Botanic Gardens and back which is a 25 mile loop. I completed the loop 3 times for a total of 75 miles. After the second loop, I stopped to get some new water bottles.

When completing a ride that long three issues arise: 1) pacing; 2) hyrdation and 3) nutrition. When it comes to the pacing issue, I for the most part, just tried to keep a steady pace of 18-20mph with an average speed of 17mph..this worked well until I hit mile 65 when I just became really tired. The difference between cycling in a triathlon and a cycling-specific race is body position. Even in cycling specific racing, cyclist drop down to the lower part of the handle bars, this is not as demanding on the body as riding in the aero position of tri/time trial bike. I spend most of the time in that position but when I reached mile 65, I couldn't handle it anymore and even got to the point of sitting up because my back hurt.

Hydration, was not a problem. When you are doing such a long ride, it is important to do it in loops so you can get new water bottles. Drinking water will not suffice because the body does not absorb the fluids quickly enough. I drink Gatorade Endurance because it is high in electrolytes and is served in most of the races. I usually drink 70% Gatorade and 30% water.

Nutrition...I get so hungry on the rides. I eat Gu gels every hour and either fig netwons or peanut butter sandwiches every half hour. The carbs are good but practically speaking, I get sick of gels and need something substantive.

Next week...75 miles with a 45 minutes run...how fun!!!!!

Continued Training

Even though I haven't been consistent about writing about my training, I HAVE been training. Last Saturday, I rode 50 miles on my bike. It was a nice ride but doing the loops more than once tend to get boring.

Last Sunday, I ran 9.5 miles based on a running schedule that my friend and I had created for me. I was a little tired from the previous day's ride but during the race I will be tired from the previous activity. I stayed below 80% MHR. It was a good run. Two weeks prior, I wasn't as prepared and after mile 7, I became hungry and delirious or deliriously hungry..thinking about pizza and ice cream. During this run, I packed fig newtons.

Monday was a rest day. Tuesday, I ran 3 miles with one set of fartleks. Today...I didn't have time to train as of the publication of this post, so I did some weight training during lunch.

Increased Run

I am behind on my run...mainly because of injury caused by a change in my running style. I will have to dedicate a couple of posts to running styles because it has really affected my training this year.

Despite the race on Saturday, I completed a 7 mile run last yesterday in order to jumpstart my run training.

I decided to start slow and and pace myself. For the last couple of months I have stopped using an iPod and my heart rate monitor. Yesterday, I brought back the heart rate monitor. I was running a 12 minute mile and even though I was in pain from the day before, I completed it with no problem.

The last .50 mile, I started to get a little delirious. I think it was from hunger because all I thought was pizza and ice cream.

Terre Haute - Thunder in the Valley - First Race of the Season

Last Saturday I completed the first race of the season ...Terre Haute, Indiana....Thunder in the Valley. I had high hopes for the first one of the season but I came away not feeling so hot....
Last year, I arrived in Indy at about midnight, then after picking up my friend and fellow racer, Rob, we made to what we thought was Terre Haute at 2:30am. When we checked in we realized that it was another 20 minutes away. After 3 hours of sleep, I raced it...better yet...I completed it.

This year I left early..3pm from Chicago. When I got to Rob's, he still had to pack and when we finally started our trek to TH, it started to rain and I mean rain...I think we drove through a tornado. Even when we were stopped, the rain came down sideways and we couldn't see. The next day we saw the aftermath and it wasn't a tornado but the damage to several apartment complexes tells a different story.

The water was warm this time and it was a nice swim...in theory. For whatever reason, nerves fatigue...I wasn't feeling the swim. All those hours in the pool, all those times, I practiced the stroke went out the window when the announcer screamed GO! I was afraid to put my head completely in the water and my form completely disintegrated.

The bike...I have never had that many people pass me. I am a strong rider and I don't get passed that often...it was disappointing.

The run...two words...brick workouts. It was a 5m/8k run but I walked 25% of the way...

The first one is on the record books or on the bottom of a bird cage to use as liner....

....There's always the next one.

Here is the website to the triathlon: http://www.thtriathlon.com/