Going Long

Last week I had my last long swim, run and bike before the Big Race.

My swim was documented in my pop tart post and I'd rather not revisit the experience.

My run was just shy of two hours and happened before work!  Before work!  And I was relatively on time for work.  Nothing I could say would be more impressive than the fact that my just shy of two hour run happened before work ... so, I won't.

That, then, leaves us with the bike.  Four hours with a 30 minute run off.  I've been lucky enough to do most of my long rides at the beach this summer.  The beach with fewer cars and intersections and hills.  But the Last Long Ride was happening locally and I had worked myself into a state about it.  I didn't want to get hit by a car (what can I say?  I don't raise the bar too high) or get lost or have to get on and off of my bike a million times but I also didn't want to go to the local park and ride its 8 mile stretch for 4 hours.

So I decided to head to Harriman State Park and ride the course from my May Oly.  You know, the one with the big hill that I had to travel to pre-race to make sure I could get up?  Yeah, that one.  It seemed like a good plan.  A challenging plan, but good nonetheless.  Each 14 mile loop of the course has 1500 feet of elevation gain and I figured I could get in a minimum of 3 loops ... which meant a lot of climbing, but if I could do that I could do the Big Race.  

This all seemed like a good idea, until the alarm went off at 6 am the day of the planned ride and I was again riddled with anxiety  - even in the relatively controlled environs of Harriman I was still planning to drive one hour to ride for 4 hours by myself.  And really, anything could happen - I thought about tagging along with Sara on her 4 hour ride (and by tagging along,  I mean, asking her and her friends to wait for me periodically and then hopping I wouldn't crash into them while trying to clip in and out) but I need this ride to be me and my nutrition plan and little to no stops.

So I decided to be a big girl and get on with me day.  I also decided to see what it was like to ride for four hours in tri shorts.  PLEASE, do not try this at home.  There really is no need to put yourself through this unique and seemingly innocent form of torture other than on race day.  And really, then, only if you don't have a place to put on biking shorts.  Seriously.

Anyway, I was in the car by 7 and on the bike by just past 8 and I rode that loop two times without stopping, up that hill two times and sticking to my nutrition plan the whole time.  I stopped once to pee and fill up water bottles and then I was back for 1.5 more loops.  And I felt strong the whole time (except when, in the middle of the big hill some lady pulled up to me - in her car - to ask directions and got annoyed when I said I (a) didn't know and (b) couldn't talk).  I passed a wide array of road kill (snake, deer - sad, other unidentifiable animals) and the same guy fishing three times (I wonder if he caught anything).  The other bikers were very friendly - offering a hello or a nod and a smile, which gave me some comfort that if I fell over still attached to my bike they'd help me up without killing me and throwing me into the lake all still attached to my bike;)

After 50 miles and over 4500 feet of elevation gain I threw the bike in the car and ran for 30 minutes during which time I realized I was covered in bugs and had consumed over 2000 thousand calories that day ... none of which I really had to chew.  And then I got back into the car, the sky opened up and I managed to drive home in the pouring rain without falling asleep (always a bonus).  Although AS SOON AS I was out of the shower I passed out.

So ...?  It was a long hard day, but I did it.  Alone.  And it wasn't that bad.  So ... while I'm still terrified for the Big Race I no longer think that it will kill me.  I'm ready.  Ready to do it and ready kind of to be done and stay up late on the weekends without worry - exciting, I know.