Weekend Getaway

What better place than Chicago, under the watchful eye of my coach? On Friday we packed up (for a two week safari, from the look of our bags) and drove to Chicago for a weekend of training. I was going to hit the Computrainer for a long ride, and plenty of other fun would ensue!

Proper nutrition is a bit hard to come by when on the road. I had one water bottle on the way, but probably left myself under-hydrated for what was to come. We got my bike set up Friday night, then hit the bed (and watched the end of the OSU game).

On, Saturday morning, we got an early visitor when our hosts left for masters swim. Boss greeted us with an army crawl into our bedroom, and spent the morning with us lounging around and playing with his squeaky carrot. For the carrot's own good, we had to lock it away from Boss, lest it be furless by the end of the morning. Soon enough, it was time to ride! But first, we measured my weight and hydration to judge my nutrition plan. When that was done, it was on the bike and off to see the course. The first hour was fairly flat and straightforward; a few hills gave me the feel of the trainer. Legs were good, head was good, and all was right with the world.

Hour two - the course heads out of town and up into the hills. On the trainer, some of these hills were nasty. Rather than a gradual build to a hill, it was like hitting a wall. I stayed seated for them, and "spun" my way up in the single digit speeds. Even though my average was suffering, I was still feeling good.

Hour three - Up, down, up, down, repeat. The rolling hills at the top of the CDA course were plentiful, and felt nothing like rollers around home. Still, I was feeling decent. I've done 3+ hour rides before, and though this one was tougher, it was still in my comfort zone.

Hour four - Uh-oh. Somewhere around 3:15 or 3:30, the wheels started coming off. I was putting in about the same effort, but my speed and cadence were dropping. My quads were getting a little tight, and at some point I even got off the bike to stretch them. It was really frustrating to be feeling so bad, and to know that there was still over an hour to go. And it was worse to know that I was on probably the easiest part of the course and still feeling that way.

Hour five - Pure survival. My speed was absolutely shot, and I was just turning the pedals to get done. I think I averaged somewhere around 11 mph for the part where I started the second loop. Hope that's not the case on race day, or I'll be hard pressed to make it to the run!

Once the fun on the trainer was wrapped up, it was time to take my measurements again to see how I did nutritionally. Well, not only did I maintain my weight despite being a heavy sweater, I gained 3 pounds over the course of those 5 hours. Hmm. Not exactly sure how that works, except that I was dehydrated beforehand. Done now? Nope, down to the treadmill for a 10 minute run. The GOOD news: my legs felt absolutely fine once I got to running. I held a 9:40 pace, which is just fine by me after that long a ride. Given some time to get the legs warmed up, I can usually pick it up a bit too.

Meredith and I snuck out for a quick bite to eat after the ride, since we were both starving. She had done some pretty tough strength and speed work while I was riding. And what sounded good to us? Well, when we came back in, Liz had but two accusing sentences: "You went to McDonald's, didn't you? I can see it in your eyes." We couldn't deny the truth. But the truth tasted awfully good.

On Sunday morning, Meredith and I headed to the nearby arboretum for long runs. Despite two cranky knees, my legs felt pretty good. After 30 minutes, the knees were warmed up, and I was able to hold a decent pace. I came in at 10.77 miles in 1:45, right around a 9:45 pace. Not bad for a hilly course and the day after a long ride. After the run, we hit the pool for a few pointers and a welcome soak in the hot tub!

Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Liz and Chris (and Boss, who made one last ditch attempt to join us for the return trip) and head home on Sunday. Back to work and normal life, but it was a great weekend! Thanks guys!