The 100-Mile Trial

So...this has been a rough week.  Both Ironman training and work took significant tolls on my time (Grand Opening preparations are nuts!).  The past four days, I've averaged about 4-5 hours of sleep per night in order to get everything done.

I had a wonderful race yesterday at the Charlton 5K.  Amazing weather and, as always, a wonderfully-planned and managed race.  I finally broke the 22:00 milestone with my time of 21:47!  And I felt GREAT.  The beginning felt easy and I had just enough left to kick hard at the end.

Right afterwards, I was working until about 9 pm and had to get up early this morning for the Tour de Cure 100-mile ride.

I will be honest.  I woke up this morning and did NOT want to do it.  I was (and still am) very tired.  I would never have blown this event off (particularly since friends and family donated money to support my ride), but I honestly considered cutting it short and opting for the 50-mile ride instead.

With this idea running through my head, I made a compromise with myself.  Here are the rules I made for today's ride:

1. No GPS watch.  No obsessing about pacing or mileage.  Only a regular watch to use for timing nutrition.
2. I am riding EASY.  Leisurely, even.
3. I can stop at any time to rest for as long as I want.
4. I can eat whatever I want within reason.  Food is an excellent motivator for me.  And the Tour de Cure's rest stops are chock full of goodies -- PB&J, energy bars, cranberry muffins, etc.  So I allowed myself to choose what seemed appetizing and eat it in appropriate quantities to fuel my performance (and not make me bloated).
5. If, after all of the above steps, I am still miserable, I can follow one of the shorter course's roadside arrows to cut the distance down.

I am pleased to announce that I completed the 100-miles successfully.  Not only that, I actually feel pretty good.   I finished faster than last year without pushing myself too hard at any time.  And it was an important learning experience for these reasons:

• I learned I am riding my long bike rides too fast.  By riding them VERY easy, I am just as strong at the end as I am at the start.
• I learned that I am not eating enough during training rides.  I have been having pretty miserable training rides lately -- which I now suspect was due to bonking.  By giving myself the freedom to eat at will, rather than according to a schedule, I felt much better and had more energy.
• I discovered my new favorite, AMAZING bike food -- Peanut Butter Pretzel Powerbars.  Like all good discoveries, this happened by complete accident.  My go-to bike fuel of choice is Peanut Butter flavor Powerbars.  I had some with me to fill the food gaps between rest stops, and I keep them in my bike pouch.  At one rest stop, as I was perusing the food choices, I saw pretzels, which I'd never tried before during a ride.  I ate one and it was the best pretzel I've ever tasted.  Taking that as a clue, I shoved a handful into my bike pouch with my Powerbar.  Well, today was hot, and the Powerbar melted a little and fused with the pretzels, so I had to eat both together.  OMG it was AMAZING.  I put pretzels on my shopping list to add to my training menu.
• MOST IMPORTANTLY, I gained much-needed confidence with my bike distance.  I completed 100-miles, and I still have several weeks of training ahead of me.  I feel much more comfortable with tackling the 112-mile Ironman bike course now.

With tired legs and a satisfied ego, I'm off to work.  I'm feeling pretty good right now -- I just have to make it through June and I'm home free!