Real Ale 2014 ride report.
This is definitely one of those "the less said about this ride, the better" sort of rides. Which won't stop me from talking about it.
Kelly said to do the 80 mile route, and to push the effort a bit. That's all well and good, but then I looked at the forecast. 10-20mph winds both Saturday and Sunday. That should be interesting. In case I haven't mentioned it, I sure don't like wind.
I wasn't planning on riding with anyone, so when I got to Blanco and parked and it was right around 7:15am (ride started at 8am), I decided to just go ahead and start. And hope the course was well marked, since I wouldn't have the crowd to follow.
It was chilly (mid 50s, but felt much colder with the wind), and I'd only brought a short-sleeved jersey, but I had a light jacket in the car, so I wimped out and decided to wear it.
The course was, in fact, well marked, and I had no problem figuring out where to go. And then about a mile in, I went up my first (of very, very many) hill(s), and suddenly the jacket was ridiculously oppressive, and I couldn't imagine wearing it for the next 78 miles. Oops. So I stopped and stowed my jacket behind a mailbox, hoping it would still be there when I came back for it later with the car. Hoping I'd remember to do so. (I did. It was.)
And then.. well, the ride was just hard. It was hilly, of course, but I knew that going in. I've done this ride. It's got some EHCT-style hills that require the smallest gear and out of the saddle for a long time, but they're all doable. Then you add in the wind.
It started as a headwind. I knew it couldn't be a headwind the whole time, but damned if it wasn't a headwind for 75% of the time. How does that even work?
I kept a pretty good attitude, but I watched my bike computer too much, and the 5 mile splits it was giving me were just sorta depressing. I'd have one crazy fast tailwind split for every 10 embarrassingly slow headwind splits. I eventually stopped looking.
But even though I kept a good attitude, my body did NOT like the wind. My right quad was really sore randomly, the wind making it worse, and then getting out of the saddle to go up hills making it even worse. And that weird thing where my right big toe hurts is even worse in the wind, and possibly this is the worst it's ever been. It felt like an ingrown toenail by the end.
So it was hard. My nutrition was great, my hydration was great. Stopped twice very quickly to refill water, remake my Skratch-Bo once, and pee both times.
By the time I was done, I was just done. I didn't even ride to the brewery, just back to my car (didn't even have the energy to find someone to gift my beer and food tickets to). I had to hustle home, because home was an hour away, and I still had to do my 90 minute open water swim when I got home. Except as I drove home, I kept nodding off. I was SO worn out, I had trouble staying awake.
So when I got home, instead of going straight to swim, I ate and then laid down. Didn't manage to nap, but realized that I needed recovery more than I needed to swim, so I didn't swim.
However, I made myself a variety of promises/deals over the course of the day, and I stuck to them all. I told myself I'd try to swim Sunday instead, and I did. And more importantly, I told myself if I got out there in the wind and did the whole Real Ale ride, if the wind was bad again Sunday, I'd let myself do my ride on the trainer. And it was, and I did. And I have no regrets.
So I was bummed that my ride was as slow as it was, even though I recognized how tough a course it was, even without the strong wind. Then I looked at my power info, and realized that my average power was significantly higher than any distance ride I've ever done, including either of my EHCT hilly rides. So I may have been slow, but I wasn't slacking. I worked hard to achieve that slow.
Another 78 hilly, windy miles in the Ultraman bank!
And a strong, successful 4.5 hour trainer ride, 90 minute open water swim, and 60 minute strong, warm afternoon run on Sunday.
Kelly said to do the 80 mile route, and to push the effort a bit. That's all well and good, but then I looked at the forecast. 10-20mph winds both Saturday and Sunday. That should be interesting. In case I haven't mentioned it, I sure don't like wind.
I wasn't planning on riding with anyone, so when I got to Blanco and parked and it was right around 7:15am (ride started at 8am), I decided to just go ahead and start. And hope the course was well marked, since I wouldn't have the crowd to follow.
It was chilly (mid 50s, but felt much colder with the wind), and I'd only brought a short-sleeved jersey, but I had a light jacket in the car, so I wimped out and decided to wear it.
The course was, in fact, well marked, and I had no problem figuring out where to go. And then about a mile in, I went up my first (of very, very many) hill(s), and suddenly the jacket was ridiculously oppressive, and I couldn't imagine wearing it for the next 78 miles. Oops. So I stopped and stowed my jacket behind a mailbox, hoping it would still be there when I came back for it later with the car. Hoping I'd remember to do so. (I did. It was.)
And then.. well, the ride was just hard. It was hilly, of course, but I knew that going in. I've done this ride. It's got some EHCT-style hills that require the smallest gear and out of the saddle for a long time, but they're all doable. Then you add in the wind.
It started as a headwind. I knew it couldn't be a headwind the whole time, but damned if it wasn't a headwind for 75% of the time. How does that even work?
I kept a pretty good attitude, but I watched my bike computer too much, and the 5 mile splits it was giving me were just sorta depressing. I'd have one crazy fast tailwind split for every 10 embarrassingly slow headwind splits. I eventually stopped looking.
But even though I kept a good attitude, my body did NOT like the wind. My right quad was really sore randomly, the wind making it worse, and then getting out of the saddle to go up hills making it even worse. And that weird thing where my right big toe hurts is even worse in the wind, and possibly this is the worst it's ever been. It felt like an ingrown toenail by the end.
So it was hard. My nutrition was great, my hydration was great. Stopped twice very quickly to refill water, remake my Skratch-Bo once, and pee both times.
By the time I was done, I was just done. I didn't even ride to the brewery, just back to my car (didn't even have the energy to find someone to gift my beer and food tickets to). I had to hustle home, because home was an hour away, and I still had to do my 90 minute open water swim when I got home. Except as I drove home, I kept nodding off. I was SO worn out, I had trouble staying awake.
So when I got home, instead of going straight to swim, I ate and then laid down. Didn't manage to nap, but realized that I needed recovery more than I needed to swim, so I didn't swim.
However, I made myself a variety of promises/deals over the course of the day, and I stuck to them all. I told myself I'd try to swim Sunday instead, and I did. And more importantly, I told myself if I got out there in the wind and did the whole Real Ale ride, if the wind was bad again Sunday, I'd let myself do my ride on the trainer. And it was, and I did. And I have no regrets.
So I was bummed that my ride was as slow as it was, even though I recognized how tough a course it was, even without the strong wind. Then I looked at my power info, and realized that my average power was significantly higher than any distance ride I've ever done, including either of my EHCT hilly rides. So I may have been slow, but I wasn't slacking. I worked hard to achieve that slow.
Another 78 hilly, windy miles in the Ultraman bank!
And a strong, successful 4.5 hour trainer ride, 90 minute open water swim, and 60 minute strong, warm afternoon run on Sunday.