I totally bonked during the ride yesterday. I lost 4 pounds on the ride and I did not eat enough. Last night I shivered and I was hot as my body recovered from the ride. At breakfast I was woozy so I decided to eat as many carbs and have as much sugar as I could stand. I ended up eating waffles smothered in syrup and oatmeal. After breakfast before the ride a fellow camper and great rider, Kathryn said, “you look really bad.” I replied, “I feel like shit.”
However there was hope. This is what Robbie said: “this may be the toughest day of camp- mostly because you have 2 hard days in your legs already and most of us are used to a max of two (sat and sunday weekend rides). Although it may be uncomfortable the first half hour have confidence you will get better. When your legs are soar you feel crappy period. However if you keep riding you will be surprised how you will start to feel better once you start to loosen up and get the body snapped back into training mode again. It wants to shut down and recover right now but if you keep it going it will respond but you have to trust it will come in time. Sometimes I do not feel good for an hour or so after a few hard training days. Be patient and do not give up on yourself.”
To help me recover I dropped to group C. They ride just as hard but are less intense. As start time approached I began to feel better. I stretched for an hour dressed and carefully planned my drinking and feeding schedule. Here is my plan: 1 GU every 45mn, 3 electrolyte tablets every hour or at stops, 1 bottle every hour with 2 scoops of gatorade and a mini-coke at rest stops.
Today I had a great day. I climbed well, I rode in the pace line with confidence, I took turns pulling. The only skill I had trouble with was descending because it was real windy, however I was able to control the zipps later in the afternoon and crack the 40mph barrier again. Here are the numbers. Total time 4:18, miles 66.6, 1910kjs, ave mph 15.7, max 40mph, ave watts 125 max 518. These are big numbers for me especially after such a hard Wednesday.
The reason I had a better day was due to my feeding and hydration schedule. The speed today was a tad faster, the weather was cooler, and I think I was more relaxed. I just goes to prove you can have good days and bad days. Yesterday was a bad day today was a great day. Go figure. Robbie also gave me good advice. He said if the group starts to pull away sprint to keep up so you can get in the draft. I did that several times and it really saved my ass.
My big decision is whether to stay in C group. It’s a tad less intense; they will also have a better start time for the final race. I think the start time issue will sway me to change groups. In the end the only day that counts is Saturday.
Tonight we have dinner off. A bunch of us are going out. Tomorrow is an easy day. I am looking forward to a day of soft pedaling.
