Wow! Almost another month checked off and another race right around the corner. I had my last big training workout just a few days ago out at Applegate Lake. A few posts prior to this one I talked about going out there and getting my first ride in on the new Grammo and not being so excited about the day in its entirety. This was for a few reasons, one being the weather. It was miserable with huge wind gusts. The other reason was that I wasn't hitting the times I knew I could. So I went out there again, this time on a nicer day and wanting to prove to myself that I could hit the numbers I knew I was capable of.
My coach had given me an idea of where she wanted me to be and I thought it would be a stretch but possible. I figured if I really wanted to be competitive for Waco Texas, then her numbers were right where I needed to be. She wanted me around the lake faster than my previous time of 1 hour 31 minutes, which is a respectable time. Today I was doing a lap and 3/4's. Then on the run, she wanted me to hit 7:15 minute miles for 7.5 miles. I needed to set up my transition area, because it was just me out there and I needed to do more than one lap but didn't have time for two entire laps. I drove around the lake, dropped off my shoes, water bottle (I'm trying to keep pesky cramps at bay) and a bike lock in the middle of the woods. Then I drove my truck 7.5 miles down the lake to the start of the bike ride.
All that was left to do was ride and run, so off I went. I thought that I would go out a little bit and get warmed up but truth be told, I pushed hard right from the get go. Not even two minutes into the ride I rolled down a small ravine and didn't realize how steep the climb out was and had chosen the wrong gear to get me out. I needed to use a lot more strength than I should have to get out of the climb and this proved fatal for my chain. What is funny is I just had a talk with a good racing friend (Frank Posse) and we were talking about how in his younger days he was "more strength, less finesse," and would often break chains by just muscling too much. Of course, when I heard the chain let loose all I can do was laugh and think of Frank. There was no finesse at the bottom of that ravine. Luckily I had an extra master link with me and it was a quick fix. It had broken at the quick link and half of the broken link was still good. I saved it in my bag and took off. The day was beautiful. I couldn't have asked for a better training day. I had a good pace going and at the end of the first lap I was way ahead of my previous best time. I had made it around the lake in just under 1 hour and 18 minutes. My goal was to have negative splits and make it to my transition area in or under 55 minutes. The start of the second lap I hit that ravine that had cost me a master link the same way I had hit it before, and again it cost me another master link. I did the same exact thing, rolled down way too fast and needed to power out of it. I heard the chain come undone again, hopped off the bike, and saw that it had broken at the master link. I didn't have a complete master link but I did have the half I saved. Funny, this time again, one half was good so I took my two halves and put them together. I smiled to the skies to whoever was looking out for me. Off I was, pressing hard to meet my goal time. Things were smooth and I knew I would be close. I hit the last big climb just a few minutes off pace. 28 miles later I made it back to transition just 1 minute over what I wanted.
I hurried in transition but found time to take a picture of my biking gear left behind. The run was mostly trail but started with a mile and half pavement to the trail head. I started off probably a little too fast. When I looked down at the Garmin I was hitting 6:10 minute miles but it felt sustainable so I figured I'd keep it up and see where I was half way into the run. It is so hard not to check that watch every 30 seconds but I told myself to just push it and keep my eyes up. Half way through the run I heard some bikers behind me and moved out of the way so they could have a clean pass. I was getting a little fatigued and this was the motivation I needed to pick it up. It was like when your in a race and you feel your pace starting to slip and then BAM! All of a sudden, you come up on someone and out of nowhere you have this little boost of energy to get around them. When the last biker past I thought to myself "keep them in your sight for as long as you can." And that, I did. I probably hung on to their tail for a mile or so but it was my carrot and got me past the half way mark. I had checked the Garmin a few times at this point and knew I had a good chance to be right on with my goal pace. That in itself was motivational and allowed me to push through any pain I might have been going through. I popped out of the woods and the last mile stretch was pavement to the truck. I was able to pick up the pace for the last mile and was averaging 6 minute 20 second miles for the final mile. I reached the truck and had done even better than I thought. My run ended up averaging 6 minute 50 second miles and on the bike loop I averaged 13.5 miles an hour.
At the end of the day I was pretty excited about my times. All the hard work is done, and April 17th is just a few days away. I feel prepared and am excited to see if my efforts have been enough. This will be my first Xterra Championship Race and I can't wait to get down there for it. The mountain biking will play to my advantage. It's technical so you can't just show up with a road bike and fat tires. This one will be a true mountain bike triathlon. Now that's exciting! The next post will be a race recap. Hopefully I'll have some good news. My goals are to qualify for Worlds in Maui, finish in front of a few pro males, and do my best to be one of the top three amateurs. But I'm happy to just be able to go all the way to Texas to do what I love to do. I consider myself extremely lucky to be a part of Xterra and be competing in all the races that I am this year.
Till next time . . .
My coach had given me an idea of where she wanted me to be and I thought it would be a stretch but possible. I figured if I really wanted to be competitive for Waco Texas, then her numbers were right where I needed to be. She wanted me around the lake faster than my previous time of 1 hour 31 minutes, which is a respectable time. Today I was doing a lap and 3/4's. Then on the run, she wanted me to hit 7:15 minute miles for 7.5 miles. I needed to set up my transition area, because it was just me out there and I needed to do more than one lap but didn't have time for two entire laps. I drove around the lake, dropped off my shoes, water bottle (I'm trying to keep pesky cramps at bay) and a bike lock in the middle of the woods. Then I drove my truck 7.5 miles down the lake to the start of the bike ride.
Luckily I had an extra master link with me and it was a quick fix. It had broken at the quick link and half of the broken link was still good. I saved it in my bag and took off. The day was beautiful. I couldn't have asked for a better training day. I had a good pace going and at the end of the first lap I was way ahead of my previous best time. I had made it around the lake in just under 1 hour and 18 minutes. My goal was to have negative splits and make it to my transition area in or under 55 minutes. The start of the second lap I hit that ravine that had cost me a master link the same way I had hit it before, and again it cost me another master link. I did the same exact thing, rolled down way too fast and needed to power out of it. I heard the chain come undone again, hopped off the bike, and saw that it had broken at the master link. I didn't have a complete master link but I did have the half I saved. Funny, this time again, one half was good so I took my two halves and put them together. I smiled to the skies to whoever was looking out for me. Off I was, pressing hard to meet my goal time. Things were smooth and I knew I would be close. I hit the last big climb just a few minutes off pace. 28 miles later I made it back to transition just 1 minute over what I wanted.
When the last biker past I thought to myself "keep them in your sight for as long as you can." And that, I did. I probably hung on to their tail for a mile or so but it was my carrot and got me past the half way mark. I had checked the Garmin a few times at this point and knew I had a good chance to be right on with my goal pace. That in itself was motivational and allowed me to push through any pain I might have been going through. I popped out of the woods and the last mile stretch was pavement to the truck. I was able to pick up the pace for the last mile and was averaging 6 minute 20 second miles for the final mile. I reached the truck and had done even better than I thought. My run ended up averaging 6 minute 50 second miles and on the bike loop I averaged 13.5 miles an hour.