The plan for training today was a 6 hour 45 min long bike ride followed by a 30 min brick. I was not looking forward to it. If I wasn't racing for Doctors without Borders during this Ironman I may have bailed on it and maybe even the Boulder Ironman.
Instead I pushed myself out the door and hoped I'd be able to do the ride mentally and physically.
It was sunny but a little cool and windy. I was under dressed a bit and it wasn't that comfortable of a ride. It was a slow ride for two reasons, I'm fat at 206 lbs and I was riding into the wind it seemed all the time.
You really realize that weight has an effect on cycling speed. At my lowest racing weight I was 180lbs, that's 26 lbs lighter than I am now. Back then my average speed for a long ride would be 30 kph and this ride I was 25.7 kph. I never in a million years could think I would ever ride that slow. That's the speed of 60 year old women who do Ironmans.
I was passed by everyone today. The only people I passed were two migrant workers on old heavy bikes with baskets on the front and I barely passed them. I had other cyclist pass me and I thought in my old shape I would have been passing them.
This is what got me thinking. I've got to lose weight and thinking in terms of weeks is too long. I need to set a short term goal and make it happen. What if I just did a 7 day challenge with myself to only eat healthy and no beer? I thought about it and figured it's something I could do. If I did it I'd probably lose 5 - 10 lbs too. I really need to do something as it's hard cycling heavy.
Along the way I came across a guy who's bike was upside down at the side of the road. I asked him if he needed help and he said it was probably too serious to fix. It was. His full derailleur fell off going up number one side road. I then asked him if he had a cell phone and he did but it wasn't picking up a signal or working. So I borrowed him mine and he called his wife to pick him up. It was a nice break 45 minutes before finishing. It did feel good helping someone out as well.
I find once I can get by 5 hours my mind gets in a trance and I can go as far as I need too. I too had a technical problem at hour 5 in that my odometer broke down. There is nothing more frustrating. I had another watch which I was able to use as my back up.
Where I ride it's beautiful and lots of hills. They are not steep and long, they are smaller and consistent. I'm not it create riding shape so there was a lot of small ring gear using and standing on my pedals. When I'm in great shape I never take it out of the big ring and never stand up.
I was pleasantly surprised that my legs felt pretty good. They were actually sore in the beginning and as time went on they got stronger. Yes got stronger. It's something that happens to me. I seem to excel the longer the distance. I'm made for Ironman.
When I got home as much as I'd like to just stop, stretch and rest I couldn't. I had a 30 min brick run and I was afraid. It would be my first brick run of the year and I wondered if I would even be able to run the entire time or would I have to walk.
Turns out I had a great run. Fairly fast too. As always the first 500 meters my legs are a little rubbery as they transition from the bike muscles to the running muscles. I really like that feeling. Many don't as it could hurt. I find it a very interesting sensation to feel that transition. It doesn't take long for me to get into the groove and not feel it. There is that moment from the bike to getting in the comfort zone that you can't describe and you only know what I mean after you've experienced it. It's the same with bonking.
When I got home I did my stretching, took my post workout Recoverite, Whey protein and Beta Alanine. I surprised myself in that I felt great. I wasn't overly tired or sore and could easily go out for dinner or to party if that was the plan. This is a very good sign and a definite mental boost that even in my current shape I should be able to finish the Boulder Ironman. It would hurt a
I figured today was Day 1 of my challenge if I ate healthy and had no beer. I'd rather start today than tomorrow. If I start today then tomorrow I only have to eat healthy and no beer for 6 more days. Dinner was a salad and stuffed pepper. Feel free to join me in this challenge.
I've told people this more times than I can remember. You need to diet in order to lose weight. Training crazy amount of hours won't do it. Sadly if I have a beer after today's 7.5 hours of training it will shut off my fat burning system and all the training I did today will be for not from a weight loss standpoint.
On my rides I've learned that putting your fitbit on your shoe helps get those steps up. They underestimate the amount of work you do but it's still nice to see the numbers move up. I'm connected to others that have fitbit and I definitely look at their daily results and it's competitive. I want to have more steps than them.
Throughout my ride today I took pictures. It's just a beautiful place to ride. This year the roads are a little beat up from this wicked winter. Most winters out here are not too cold and we don't get a lot of snow. It was the opposite this year.
Bike - 6:50:13 / 175.6 km
Run - 30:31 / 5.5 km
P.S. Looking for all the support I could get as I fund raise for Doctors without Borders. Big our small donations welcome. Support a great cause. http://events.doctorswithoutborders.org/participant/bryanpayne
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