Last Big Training Ride

This week my Death Ride team journey was staged out of Kentfield. The plan was to ride anything that went up in Marin County. The route map was 120 miles and 12,500' of climbing. The majority of the big climbs were in the first half of the ride.
It was a beautiful day and I felt good on my first trip up Mt Tam.



We had a few obstacles riding down to Muir Beach and climbing up towards Mt. Tam. First our descent towards the beach got interrupted by road construction which turned Team in Training into Team in Waiting as the road became a parking lot. Then on our journey back up we were slaloming the Dipsea Marathon participants who were running on the street downhill in our lane. I guess they believed they had the right-away.

There were a couple other comical situations that made for good post ride shares;-) I was feeling strong as we rolled through SAG 2 & 3. However, by the 3rd SAG our ride group that began with 7 was now just 3 of us. And our lone very motivated participant taken off while we were putting together the strategy for the people heading back.

We were about 20 minutes behind her and she was having an extraordinarily strong day. I think she must have been drinking out of G4's water bottles;-) We did our best to chase through strong coastal winds...however, my chase abilities are weak at best, sorry Coach. We hit Marshall Wall with still no one in sight! The winds were persisting, we were cold and I was ready to be done with this ride!



We motored to Wilson Hill and in the distance we finally spotted our head coach who was riding with our wayward teammate! It took awhile but we got caught them. To my surprise she had continued to get stronger and as we rolled onto Petaluma/PT. Reyes Highway she dropped all 3 of us as she geared up and broke through the wind...holy crap! That was deflating!

We all re-grouped at SAG 5 in Nicasio. I was feeling very sluggish as I rolled in and knew I needed to re-fuel. As soon as I stepped off Willie and walked up to the snack table my legs started to buckle, I was nauseous and the ball fields were spinning...uh oh! Thankfully there was a chair right there or I would have been on the ground. As I was trying to get Nicasio to stop spinning I heard "let's go, I'm ready"! That's when I needed to make a game time decision. She was having a great day and I wasn't going to be the anchor of the group. I hit a wall and I needed more time and fuel to get right. I called it...game over at mile 100 for me:-( I wasn't feeling well enough to even be pissed at myself.

My first season coach was the SAG and pumped some chocolate milk into me to make me start feeling normal again. I was feeling better as Willie and I got our Mini ride back to my truck.

I analyzed my ride on my drive home and this morning and all of the sudden it became clear. There were a few factors but my AHA moment suddenly hit me.I stopped all my normal ride habits when my focused changed! After SAG 3 I barely touched my water bottle. Climbing Marshall was the last swig I took (until chocolate milk) and I wasn't eating on the bike! I was so focused on fighting the wind, catching a rider and getting done that all my good habit disappeared!

Cycling 101 nutrition & fuel! I stopped taking care of me, so my body finally stopped...my dumb ass move #2 for the season! It should have been a ride I finished and now I know why I didn't:-( I made 100 miles and almost 10,000' but couldn't close the deal...another valuable lesson learned...the hard way.

Three weeks to go...

It hit me this week when another cyclist commented that he was riding Death Ride in 3 weeks. Its surprising that this training season has went by so quickly! The realization we were so close to it is a bit unsettling...am I really ready?



Last week was Altitude Camp, where we all got a taste of what's to come for the event. A tough eye opening weekend for all. For me, the toughest part was a medication mix-up on Saturday morning that has thrown me off for the last week. When I realized it part way up Ebbett's it pissed me off...I felt like a dumb-ass! It also made me feel very raw & vulnerable to have to share something with my team that was very personal. The embarrassment fueled me to not give up on missing the training rides or show my weakened state to them. To my surprise, I made it through and went back and rode both Ebbett's & then Carson the next day!

This week the torture was intensified with John Steven's buddy ride that was beyond brutal for the entire team. I wasn't sure metabolically my body had stabilized enough to join the ride until Friday and it was still going to be a gamble. The route was 100 miles and 11,000 feet of climbing...my biggest challenge of the season so far!



The first group headed out and and we quickly spread out leaving me in the middle riding alone. This season my regular pace hasn't really fit with anyone on this team. It sounds strange to most but my bike, "Willie" has been my consistent buddy on a lot of the rides...and, yes I talk to him since at times there is no one else but us for 50 - 100 miles. Its not ideal but its just how it is on non-team rides. The actual team rides I alter my ride to stay with and support my ride group.

Yesterday my plans changed when I lost my map mid-ride and needed to alter my plans. I believe things happen for a reason and yesterday I needed to be with my ride group. It reminded me why I was pulled onto this team as ride support, we are a team and we all struggle at different points. As my body was screaming for mercy on Zayante, it took me out of myself to be there for my teammates.



We all dug deep to get through this ride! For the first time at the top of Zayante (about mile 70) I was trying to figure out if I could keep riding as my nausea intensified or if I would need to stop to expel what was torturing me. I was also fighting between chills and sweating as my exhausted body was also fighting the changing weather conditions later in the ride. Of course the late in the day chamois issues were there to add to the fun! I've learned endurance cycling is about constantly making choices and riding through discomfort.

I was reminded this week to not give up on myself and it was an important tool I used throughout this ride. Many times I wasn't sure if I had what it took to get through the ride. I just took it one section at a time and self-talked myself through it. Getting back to Page Mill took forever! You know you've hit exhaustion when you wonder if I have the strength and focus to handle the screaming descent back down to the bottom. Willie was ready roll!

I was never so glad to see my truck. However, the happiness and relief was short lived as my ride group rolled in and we all realized one of our group was missing...crap! We all saw her at the top of the decent? Where could she be? Search & rescue went into full effect! We were reminded of how powerful stress and adrenaline can be when you didn't think you had anything left in the tank! Fortunately, I rolled back to the Park n Ride just as she found her way back and rolled up wondering where everyone was...haha! I don't think she realized how long she was lost. I was so impressed with her positive attitude..."go team"! We made our needed calls to end the mission. I was so thankful & revealed she was okay.

I finally rolled home at 9:30 after re-routing through SF for teammate drop-off. Dinner consisted of drive through food at 9:00, since my body was done sustaining on bike food (gels & water) and the half sandwich in Davenport. It was a 16 hour day door to door and my shower & bed never felt so good. The best part...I DID IT!