Too Much Time Stressing
Since registering 10 weeks ago for my first bike race, a 100-miler on gravel no less, it’s felt like I’ve spent every waking hour thinking about it. It’s been a long time since I’ve been competitive in an endurance event and I’m older now. Old people fret about everything! LOL
In July, we have our second bike race, but as a 66-year-old in the “50 and up” age group, I know I have zero chance of a top 3 age group finish so I plan to ride it simply for fun. It’s also only 50 miles, but it does involve racing riding gravel up and back down Spruce Knob, West Virginia’s highest point. My strategy is to be at the back having fun!
I plan to recover from the race with a trip to the farm to see my mom. I might take my bike…
Overview of the Week
Before getting into each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll beyond the infographic for daily details…
Sunday
Strength training: 15 minutes of core
Cycling: 20.1 miles
• Average speed: 15.4 MPH
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 10:09 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 66°
• What I wore: bike shorts and sports bra
With rain continuing to fall outside, I opted to stay inside and ride on my spin bike. Later in the afternoon while readying our gravel bikes for Saturday’s race, my husband added sealant to our tires. He said he heard a little pssst as he added sealant to my rear tire and thought he might have broken the seal. To spread the sealant to the possibly compromised seal, I rode a little over a mile around the neighborhood.
Monday
Strength training: 30 minutes of upper body
Walking: 2.03 miles
• Average pace: 15:18 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 82 feet
• Start time: 8:16 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 64°, humid, and overcast, climbing to 69°
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor
My gravel bike’s rear tire had a lot of air overnight so I added air and rode another few easy laps around our neighborhood streets.
Tuesday
Strength training: 15 minutes of core
Cycling: 22.12 miles
• Average speed: 12.0 MPH
• Bike: Salsa Warbird
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 682 feet
• Start time: 9:37 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Ashburn/Leesburg loop
• Weather: 70° and cloudy, climbing to 81° (feels like 83°) and sunny
• What I wore: shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves
While out on a chill taper ride, I decided I needed new gloves before the race (the gel padding on the palms of my current pair was shot). I rode by Maverick Bikes and found exactly what I was looking for, bought them, and wore them home to start the break-in process.
On my way home a bird pooped on the front of my shorts. According to superstition, that’s supposed to be good luck!
Wednesday
Walking: 2.02 miles
• Average pace: 17:37 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 166 feet
• Start time: 5:35 PM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 84° (feels like 87°) and partly cloudy
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor
Thursday
Strength training: 15 minutes of core
Walking: 2.11 miles
• Average pace: 15:27 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 105 feet
• Start time: 10:33 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 69° and raining
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, nylon shell, and visor (took shell off last half mile when it stopped raining
Friday
Balance and stretching: 45 minutes
I canceled my morning clients so I could sleep in the day before my race, but woke up at 6 AM and couldn’t go back to sleep. My husband and I spent the afternoon getting our water bottles, fuel, etc. ready for the big day.
We ate dinner early so we could pick up our race packets at the race venue. As early birds to picket pickup, we each received shoe warmers (the next day at the race I picked calf sleeves at a raffle giveaway).
Once home we had a snack and were in bed by 9 PM.
Saturday
Cycling: 102.73 miles
• Average speed: 11.9 MPH
• Bike: Salsa Warbird
• Surface: gravel
• Elevation gain: 7,497 feet
• Start time: 7:30 AM
• Location: Bluemont Station Brewery
• Weather: 48° and cloudy, climbing to 61°, then dropping to 54° and raining
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, arm sleeves, light jacket, bandless ear warmers, and fingerless gloves over nitrile gloves (took ear warmers and nitrile gloves off at the 30-mile aid station.
There is so much to say about this race, which will come later in a recap. But I’ll give you a little teaser by saying that I finished dead last (even behind the sag wagon) when my Garmin sent me out for a third loop on the double loop course instead of straight ahead to the finish line. I also finished second in my age group. Sometimes it’s just about showing up.
Last Week’s Blog Posts
In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…
- • Sunday – Weekly RunDown: April 28 – May 4 / Tapering Toward the Big Event
- • Wednesday – A Rainy Bike Tour of the Savannah Historic District
Questions:
- • Thinking back to your first marathon, how much non-training energy did you put in leading up to race day? ~ Probably not as much as for this race.
- • Has your Garmin ever sent you on a wild goose chase? ~ Not until yesterday
- • Did you participate in a race this weekend? ~ Yes!
And that’s my rundown… Have a great week!
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I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!
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Oh no on the Garmin detour! I’ve taken a wrong turn before, but always figured it out quickly.
The Farm To Fork Fondo routes are so well marked, but other events we’ve done (like the Lifeline 100 in Md) were not. Getting lost is a big fear of mine.
I just saw Reston is going to have a gravel route. I was going to ask if you knew, but maybe you instigated it!
I didn’t instigate it, but noticed that one of the former presidents of RBC has ridden gravel recently with the VeloPigs. I’m wondering if he’s behind it. 😉 I believe the hills of the Reston Century in western Loudoun will be ridden in reverse again this year. I really didn’t like the redesigned course last year so I doubt I’ll do it this year. We’re eying the Burkes Garden Century which is in SWVA on the same day. Registration hasn’t opened for it yet, so we haven’t committed to anything that weekend.
Oh, i can’t wait to hear the recap for this one!!! Sounds like quite an adventure! I’ve gotten lost during regular runs, but never during a race. Well, congratulations on your finish and AG place! I want to hear all about it.
Thanks, Jenny! I’m hoping to have my recap ready by next Tuesday assuming the photographer has pictures from the race posted by then.
Yay for bird poop! 🙂
Well done on your 100-miler, or rather, 103-miler!! And congrats on your 2nd place!
Yes, sometimes it is about showing up… not many ladies in your age group attempted this race, so that 2nd place is well deserved.
Looking forward to the race recap!
Thanks, Catrina! That bird pooping on my bike shorts definitely brought me good luck because I finished my race happy and healthy.
I think I put less stress into races these days, but I still entertain a hefty dose of it. Most of that stress is weather-stalking, which serves NO purpose because I have ZERO control of what Momma N serves up (no matter how “prepared” I am for it). Congrats on all those 102.73 miles!
Thanks, Kim! I did my fair share of stalking the weather prior to this race and it mostly wasn’t looking good up until the day before the race. We lucked out and the rain held off until right as I crossed the finish line.
oh man, how frustrating that you went extra long, but you still did great Deb! How impressive. Can’t wait for the recap.
Thanks, Jessie!
Well done, Debbie! What a bummer about your Garmin taking you too far, but you’re right that sometimes it’s all about showing up, and that’s important! 103 miles is still impressive.
I had never heard the one about bird poop and luck!
Thanks, Susanne! I didn’t want to post about bird poop bringing good until I researched it just to make sure it wasn’t some little local superstition. I learned that it originated in Russia.
Looks like the bird poop on your shorts didn’t bring you good luck–or maybe Garmin just wasn’t paying attention! Congrats on finishing 103 miles–how are you feeling? Nice work.
Oh contraire! The bird poop brought me good luck because I finished my first 100-mile gravel race healthy and happy! The Garmin glitch was just a tiny blip in an otherwise fantastic day. I’m pleased with how well I’ve recovered. I feel great and hope to take my bike out for a ride here on the farm tomorrow.
Oh my gosh! Dead last and 2nd place AG! That’s crazy!
I don’t think my Garmin has done that to me, but I did get turned around in a 10K and ran an extra 1/2 mile loop.
My first marathon involved A LOT of non-running energy. It was at Disney, so we were up at 2:00AM to catch a 2:30AM bus. Lots of walking from the bus stop to the staging area, and then even more walking to the corrals. From there, it was staying loose for a few hours in that corral, and having to move about 1/2 mile to the actual start line. It was a lot!
Jenn recently posted…Another Trip Around The Sun
Isn’t that a great story for cocktail parties, “Let me tell you about the time I finished my first bike race dead last…” 😀