Horribly Hilly Hundred

In all great quest novels the hero goes through a series of trials and tribulations before the quest is successfully completed. There can be weather, trolls, evil opponents, imposing ominous mountains, and other sundry meanies and annoyances that make the completion of the journey seem doubtful or even hopeless. There are always setbacks, side stories and helpers when the hero least expects it. The hero may even consider abandoning the quest. Such is the life of a person on a quest.

The Horribly Hilly Hundred was the past weekend. There are 2 courses a 100 and 200 kilometer course over some of the hilliest terrain in central Wisconsin. I chose the 200K course and made the 3 hour drive up to Mt Horeb the day before the ride to make sure I got a good nights sleep and an early start. The weather the previous days had been stormy and rainy making the event look somewhat doubtful; I will ride in rain but not in thunder storms. (Lighting likes bikes as much as anything else.) However the weatherman was promising a beautiful day for the ride so my hopes were up for a fun instructive experience.

Saturday arrived and there was not a cloud in the sky. I ate breakfast loaded-up the car and went to the finish line at Blue Mounds State Park the highest point in Wisconsin, at 1700 feet, a climb I would have to make at the end of the ride. The start line was in the town of Blue Mounds a sleepy village in central WI. The ride started at 7am and we coasted down to the start, got into groups and began the ride. I expected to take 9 hours to finish the 200K which is an average speed of about 18mph. I expected to climb the steep hills at 6mph but I was going to descend like a stone averaging my speed to about the 16-18mph range.

The temperature at start time was a humid and balmy 80 and the day promised to be a hot one. The first part of the ride was once around the perimeter of the park which made all the riders do a steep climb, 600' at 6-9% grade, twice before we went riding around central Wisconsin. The climb was hard but doable. Many riders had to walk up the hills because they red-zoned, their heart rates were too high and they could not recover enough before they could remount their bikes and continue the ride. There were rest stops every 20 miles or so and my goal was to refuel at every stop.

I had my hydration and nutrition plan, I had my mantra, what I had not figured on was the heat. My plan was to drink 1 bottle of water every hour. The water contained my nutrition and electrolytes. However, because of the heat what I ended up doing was drinking 1 bottle every half hour, meaning I was getting twice the calories. The problem with too many calories is that the body can not process them and you get nauseous. At the 3 hour point I was hot nauseous and had a killer headache. I thought I was dehydrated so I began to drink more which meant that I consumed more calories. I also loaded up on peanut-butter sandwiches at the sag stops. At the 4.5 hour mark I had begun to loose power on the climbs and I could not keep up with my group. I started asking myself why am I fading and then it hit me, I was consuming too many calories and not enough water.

I decided to ride the next half- hour with water and electrolytes only, however the damage had been done. I was unable to maintain my power up the hills. Instead of climbing at 6-8mph I was climbing at 4-5mph. It took all my inner strength to not get off the bike and walk. I promised myself that I was going to ride the entire ride so I rested at a water stop and began to chat with other riders. It turns out that many people underestimated the weather factor, several had gone out too fast and had bonked so we started our own groupetto and limped to the finish line. The final climb was a brutal 2K climb on a 10-13% grade. I made it by shear guts and determination. Here are the numbers:

Total miles ridden 86; Total time 6 hours; calories burned 2700; ave watts 127; normative watts 148; TSS 323. However these numbers deceivingly hide the reason for my big bonk.

Totals for the 1st 4 hours: Normative power 163, this is power smoothed out so it gives a better indication of how hard a rider has ridden, 163 is in my Zone 3 which is tempo riding and burns a huge amount of calories because it is a huge effort; TSS, a score that measures how hard you work, 50 an hour is average I did 70 an hour for a score of 280.

All these numbers add up to the Big Bonk. This is what I learned: I need to train in the heat and I need longer training rides. I also have to watch what I am eating and make sure I am hydrating and finally I need to make sure I do not ride the first section too aggressively.

The HHH was a great training ground. I made a ton or mistakes, and now I am set to continue my quest, so if you see me on the road lend a hand I can truly use the help.

Getting ready for the Horribly Hilly

Saturday is the big tune-up for the ETape. It's the Horribly Hilly Hundred
http://www.horriblyhilly.com, a 200k race (122 miles) over every hill in the area. The weather is supposed to be sun-showers, which is a change from just the regular showers I have been riding in for the last several weeks.

I am ready for the ride. I will pack every piece of bike clothing in the hope that i will be prepared for whatever the weather brings. I had considered bring a bike trailer to haul all the stuff but I nixed the idea because of all the hills.

Here is my plan. I will carry all my nutrition on me during the ride. I will have 2 bottles in cages and then I will have 2 baggies with my nutrition hydration mixture that I can mix at the water stops. These are fairly light so there is only a modest weight penalty. I have stopped using caffeine for the past few days, it has been really hard, to help me have a boost during the race. Thankfully I will also be back on caffeine so I will have a little more mojo.

Finally I have decided to use zipp 404 wheels during the race. These are not considered climbing wheels but are lighter then the wheels I was going to use and should help me on the down sides of the climbs and on the flats while I draft. My mantra for the day is slow and steady up the hill then draft, draft, draft.

I hope to see you on the ride.

Cadence and Positive Thinking

I have just my swapped beloved SRM power-meter for a powertap and converted my bike to a triple in preparation for the ETape. (This means that the power measuring function of the bike has gone from the crank to the hub of my rear wheel.) The triple will give me more lower gears than the standard front chain rings or a compact crank. I need the lower gearing so I can keep my cadence up on the climbs during the grueling mountain stage of the Tour de France which I will be riding. Cadence is important because cadence works the aerobic system not the muscular system and it is easier to recover from an aerobic workout then a hard muscular effort.

My choice to go with lower gearing was reinforced on my threshold workout last Friday. The exercise was to ride 2x20s at 95% of lactate threshold and then 10mn at LT with 7mn between each interval. I struggled on the 1st interval. I never got into any rhythm and I felt I was constantly fighting the bike, the slight terrain and myself; however the results were good and i rode at 97% of threshold. After the brief recovery I started my second interval. My struggle continued but this time it was harder to get the watts up because I was starting to fatigue.

About half way through the exercise I remembered that I was using a triple and I had other gearing options. (One of my training gurus, Harry B, says make sure to use the smaller front cog; it gets lonely and misses you.) I immediately shifted to the middle cog. Once I shifted to a lower gear my cadence increased easily, my watts increased and the ride became a ton more enjoyable: which does not really mean easier. On the 3rd interval I used the same gearing and I was able to ride 10mn at LT. The interval was not easy but cadence helped me accomplish my goal. The power of my higher cadence was reinforced when I looked at the numbers from the powertap. While I had higher watts my first interval I also had a higher heart rate as well as more fatigue. Once I increased my cadence my heart rate decreased by a few beats and my watts increased by 10%, and I did not fade at the end of the ride. These were the results I was trying to accomplish.

There is one more piece of the puzzle that helps me ride stronger. As I work hard during the intervals my mind begins to drift. I always find it hard to stay focused on pedal stroke, watts, breathing, traffic, etc for the entire exercise. As my mind wanders my power usually decreases or I loose form or I loose whatever. This past week I took a class on positive imaging and playing a movie in my mind that will help me concentrate and ride better. During the last interval I tried my movie. I imagined I was chasing a very fast member on my team and I was gaining on her. The imaging really helped my have a better ride. I would suggest anyone try this method of race preparation. It is always better to have a positive attitude because being positive makes your goal so much closer and easier to accomplish.

So positively, I will see you on the road.

The Races are Looming

My "A" events for this summer are looming. I am working hard to make sure I will be ready and capable. To prepare I have been doing long rides on Sundays, 75 miles, and intensity rides on Tuesdays and Fridays. I am always looking to update and advance my training practices. To help me train the best way possible I ask experienced cyclists during group rides what they are doing to train.

This week I learned I may not be doing enough intensity during my intensity ride, go figure. My intensity rides usually consist of 2 20mn periods where I am riding close to my lactate threshold. The goal is to increase my ability to withstand mountains. Harry B, my hill training guru, said that I may want to do 2x20s followed by 2x10s at lower intensity. The goal is to increase my endurance by doing more at lower wattages.

But wait I thought my training was in the grove, was settled, was maximized. I thought I had dialed in everything; and now I have to change? I am whining not because of the change but because I am feeling the effects of training so hard. Yesterday I was tired after my 75 mile ride and the ride was not as intense as in prior weeks. Today, the day after the ride, my legs feel gimpy and rubber-bandy. The good news is that my knees are in great shape and I have no pain from this weeks exertions. However, can I ramp up and maintain my ability to compete?

Some factoids: Strength comes from from rest and recovery. If I over-train and do not recover then I am doing my body a disservice. I am measuring my success by time to completion of some very intense rides. To get that success I need balance, stretching and strength. I am working hard, the body is getting stronger.

A bad day riding outside is better than a good day inside. The weather in Chitown has be cold and rainy. Tuesdays ride was both wet and cold. I love riding outside.

Whenever I have a great day on the bike I am pumped and can't wait to ride again.

The key to my success will be riding intensity, recovering and riding distance. I will up my hours per week to 12 and my miles to over 160. I also want to keep increasing my intensity factor, TSS score, every week. So far so good.

So much for whining. I am on the road so look for me.