I've ridden 2 centuries since my last post, one of them yesterday. My first ride of 2012 was 100.82 miles. That's a good start, except for the pain I forced myself to suffer through. On the 1st we hiked in Sabino. Nothing crazy, but it was a bit of a workout for my legs. Then on the 2nd we hiked in Madera Canyon, climbing 1132ft in only 1.4m, & then the even harder descent of 1132ft. Wisely enough, I decided that I HAD to ride a century on the 3rd. My logic was sound, but lesson learned. Do NOT ride the day after hiking. Give the legs some time to recover.
I HAD to hike on the 2nd because A wanted to do something nice together. She'd been on break for 2 weeks and between hosting company & life in general, we hadn't gotten around to spending quality time together. So a nice hike seemed like just the thing, and it was! We had a great time & Madera Canyon will quickly cure you of nature deficit disorder.
But then I also HAD to ride on the 3rd because I have a 200k brevet on the 7th. I knew that I was going to need 3 days to recover and be ready for the brevet, so I couldn't have ridden any later than the 3rd. My only option was to just not ride, but that wasn't an option, either. With my brother being here, my recent rides had been fairly short, 53m & 80m. So I definitely needed a longer ride to keep my fitness up. And I'll stand by that decision despite what it did to my knees.
The inside upper part of my knees where the knee meets the quad/tendon area began hurting fairly early on, maybe 30m in. I did abandon my goal of also climbing 5280ft, but I wasn't going to ditch the century, especially not being the first ride of the year. So I trudged onward and by mile 80 I would call the pain in my left knee excruciating, with twinges of something worse from time to time. It was a good experience in fighting through pain, but I think it was a bad experience for my knees! Today, 24h later, they are still pretty messed up. They've got Thursday & Friday to recover, so I'm trying to think of what foods will promote recovery. Protein & antioxidants I suppose, plus vitamins & perhaps some creatine mix. And lots of Advil to keep the swelling down.
Assuming my knees straighten out & that the weather behaves, I'm hoping to finish the 125m Casa Grande Ruins brevet in under 9:11. Why? Because that was John's time last year. I believe that's keeping an overall total average speed (including stops) of 13.7mph. I managed 13.9 through the pain yesterday, but the course was not very similar to the brevet (which generally should work to my advantage). I did over 3k ft of climbing yesterday, so there were periods of climbing--hard work, and descending--no or easy work, and then the last 20 miles were mostly flat. The brevet is just mostly flat, with only just over 1000ft of climbing over 125m. In general, my flat ride average speeds are higher than my climb/descend average speeds, so I'm hoping for at least 13.7. However, I could break the 9hr mark by holding a 14mph avs. If my knees are strong & the wind cooperates, I definitely could do this. The trick is nutrition & planning. Carry as little as possible on the 2 sections.
1. Minimize Weight.
Starting at 7:30, I'll only need 2 water bottle for the first loop, especially since I can get water @ the Ruins. Dress warmly enough but don't overdo it. Carry only 1 tiny head & tail light to be legal. Carry only the food I'll need & have it ready to go, cut open & such. Make everything easy & accessible. Have nutrition ready to go at the car for both a short break & for the second section, the out & back. Being longer & having no services, carry 3 water bottles & a little more food. Also, in case of being out after dark (which let's hope doesn't happen!), carry one larger headlight (but ditch the smaller one).
2. Maximize Aerodynamics.
Remove space bar, lower computer, run only 1 small knog headlight on the lower fork, & remove the light mount from the rear rack to allow air to leave as smoothly as possible. Wear a tight fitting jersey to avoid being a sail!
3. Minimize stops.
Have all food, drink, & supplies ready to change-over at the car at the end of the first section. Perhaps wear shorts instead of bibs so I can use the restroom quicker (no need to remove shirt). Those bibs are fitting pretty loose anyway, but I haven't ridden in shorts for a while. The shorts may be super loose, too??? Better check this out before the brevet.
4. Don't get lost or off route!
Print out a small map/cue sheet, laminate it & mount to handlebars or something. And try staying with the pack. This also falls under maximizing aerodynamics.
The iPod is a ?. It adds minimal weight & can offer some motivation over a long day in the saddle. But if I manage to ride with others, I won't need it. And it IS a weight penalty, even if small, which also adds complexity...messing with the wires or changing playlists takes up time & energy & removes focus from the ride. But maybe it's worth it for the motivation??? A few ounces to keep me pumped up isn't a bad tradeoff.
Well, more to come on the ride. Err...maybe. Brother gets back tomorrow so I may just be IN race prep mode instead of writing about race prep.
#1 factor here is going to be the condition of my knees. Go to the gym & soak in the hot tub tonight! Stretch over the next few days. Advil. Ice the knees when sitting. Eat the right things for recovery & preparation. Well, get to it!
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