90 Miles - No Problem, I Got It

Last weekend I had my longest bike ride ever scheduled 90 miles (NINETY).  Holy crap, that's really far.  Think of how far it is to drive 90 miles.  Now imagine doing that on a bike. Yikes.  I should have been really nervous.  I mean, the farthest I've ever biked before was ~60 miles.  The longest time I've ever spent on my bike was the hideously long bike time at Wildflower (~4 hours 45 minutes).  So, 90 miles was going to be WAY further and way more time.  We had a 6 hour minimum time AND 90 mile minimum (meaning you go all 6 hours even if you've hit 90 miles OR if it his 6 hours before 90 miles, you keep going til you get to 90).  I wanted to get through the 90 in 6 hours or just under.  Seemed like a reasonable goal based on what I've been doing and what the course would be (north on PCH to Las Posas, east to Camarillo and back).

I really SHOULD have been nervous.  But, I wasn't.  At all.  I knew I could do it.  I've been doing everything my coaches tell me to do and I know they wouldn't have me go for something I wasn't ready for.  I got all my stuff together and prepped my bottles and nutrition the night before.  I was super tired and passed out early after a swim at the pool (the ocean was being mean and nasty and it wasn't safe to do OWS in the afternoon, and I couldn't make the AM OWS, so a million laps in the pool for me =/).

Woke up Saturday morning, still not nervous.  Got to OSV and was ready to go a few minutes early.  Its funny, cause not only was I not nervous, I was actually excited.  I was excited to tackle this distance and see how my body would respond.  We rode down Ocean to PCH and headed North.  I felt good the whole way, even the climb up Encinal.  I tried a new bar in my nutrition thinking it would be good.  Its something I've eaten before, but not while exercising.  A Bonk Breaker Bar.  So yummy.  Seemed like a good thing to try.

I kept up with my nutrition and hydration pretty well and was averaging around 15mph, right on track.  I was excited.  When I got north of Zuma Beach the wind picked up a little bit, and I felt like I was pedaling hard and not going anywhere.  But, it wasn't as bad as the power brick day, so I kept going.  I got out to Las Posas and started to head east.  It was boring.  I was singing little songs to myself in my head, all with the words, "this is boring" and "i am so bored" with a couple of "FOCUS!" thrown in there to get myself to pay attention to my speed again.

On the way back to PCH I started to get uncomfortable every time I was in aero.  My stomach was hurting and I realized the bonk breaker was sitting there, not digesting well, like a rock.  Ugh.  This went on for about an hour or so.  I drank more water than normal and prayed it would break down faster.  Back on PCH there was a good tail wind heading south and I was making good time.  I was still on pace for ~6 hours, even with not really being able to be in aero for a good hour and a half.

Finally my stomach started to feel better and I was able to return to aero.  I was still feeling good (albeit a little bored at times).  Actually, when I got to our check point at mile 54 I told my teammate, I need to remember this feeling, cause this sucks, I don't want to do this again, one full ironman will be enough (I still had 35 miles to ride and I wasn't feeling great and was a little bored).

At about 5 hours in I saw a car pass me that looked like Coach Brad's.  But, it didn't stop, so I kept along my merry way.  I got to the top of a hill and there was the car, parked, with Brad waiting for me.  He told me I looked like I was "lumbering" up the hill.  I already knew that.  I was just starting to feel better post bonk breaker bar.  I told him about the bar and he said that wasn't really that surprising, other people have similar issues.  Now I know, what I've been doing works for me, no need to change it up.  I told him I was good and ready to finish strong.  He looked at my time, 5:09 and seemed happy.  Good, cause I was very happy.

Off I went to finish.  As I approached American Apparel on PCH I started to think about how far I've come, how much I've changed.  It's incredible the things I'm capable of.  I passed the spot where I crashed and at 6 hours I was at 87.8 miles, I slowed down a little bit and reflected on everything that has happened since I started this journey.  Not that long ago I was scared of my bike, intimidated by a ride of 25 miles, wondering if I could do this.  I headed up the last hill to OSV (its a mean little hill at the end of a long ride - rude) and stopped my timer.  90.9 miles in 6 hours and 11 minutes.  Boom.  A hair slower than I'd like, but I did it. I DID IT!!!  I was never scared or intimidated and I knew the whole time that I could do it.  And I know I'll be able to do 112.

After the ride we had a 30 minute run.  That was the worst part of the whole damn day.  That run hurt.  When I finished (2.65 slow poke miles) I wondered how the hell I'm going to run a full marathon after 20 more miles on the bike. Ouch, that run hurt.  My body was not happy.  That afternoon I had a late lunch with some teammates and then got home and about 2 hours later had another meal.  I was famished.  I guess a 90 mile ride will do that to you.

Sunday morning brought OWS.  The water felt good and it was a good swim.  I stuck with a teammate who doesn't love OWS and I think it helped her stay calm and made the swim better for her.  After the swim was a 17 mile run.  I had twisted my foot earlier in the week at an event (blog post on that coming soon) and after the 90 mile ride it was feeling angry.  I mentioned it to Coach Brad and said I was still planning on running.  I was doing okay, but coming down Amalfi (a hilly street) it hurt every single step.  I got to our sag box and stopped for a few minutes, took off my shoe, foot was swollen, and rubbed it.  I was debating what to do.  After seeing a couple of teammates I knew I needed to head back to the start, my foot wasn't having any of it.

I was at about 10 miles when I got back to the start and my body felt fine (the first couple of miles I was trying to figure out how the hell I was going to finish the whole run, cause I was not feeling it).  So, I decided to run up and down the beach path, thinking the flats would be easier on my foot.  It was okay, but by 12.5 my foot was done.  I stopped and waited for the rest of my teammates.  Its incredibly frustrating cause I knew better when I was doing what I was doing and hurt it, I knew I shouldn't have been doing it, and yet I did (foot still hurts a little).

Post run I got home, ate whatever I could that was quick (cause, damn, I was HUNGRY) and hurriedly got ready for Hawaii send off at Trader Vic's at LA Live.  At send off I proceeded to eat all the things.

This is what I felt like on Sunday.

I was ridiculously hungry.  The hungry monster passed by Monday, but on Sunday, I felt like I couldn't eat enough.  And, 90 miles ridden plus ~15 total run over two days kinda hurts.  But, my body felt surprisingly good on Sunday and on Monday I felt normal (I did live in compression gear on Monday, so that might have helped a bit).  Win.

Week 1 of "Go Time" deemed VERY successful.  Hit my workouts and hit 'em hard.  Week 2, so far so good.

It was lovely to have Monday off and I went and did something very grown up - bought furniture.  I've never actually bought furniture before - long story.  But, I am the proud new owner of a lovely couch and chair and small ottoman being delivered tomorrow - yay!  And, I've definitely decided what dining room table I want and will be making that purchase post-Vineman.  Double yay!  Now I just need to find a good coffee table and a new dresser then I'll be like a real adult - finally.

Remember, I'm still fundraising and getting really close to my deadline.  Please donate if you can.  Lots of miles are still available to be sponsored, just $15/mile!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/vinefirn13/ewallersco

Thanks!