Saturday: windy
I treated this ride more like a Wednesday night ride than the first half of a 150 miles. Short version - I probable drank the equivalent of 1 bottle of Accelerade, 1 bottle of water and couple snacks along the way. Jimmy and I hooked up with a couple of fast groups for the first 40 miles. The last group that I hung with was trucking at 27 mph on the flats. After about 50 miles I was toast. No leg strength left. A slow last hard long 20 miles. I made Jimmy go on ahead so I would not be bogging him down. I still finished at noon which was my goal.
But the way I finished just sucked the life out of me. And - I had 75 more miles to go the next day. I was not looking forward to it. At the TXU tent we talked about my “problem”. Well, 5 bottles, 4 - 5 gel shots, lot’s more snack (carbs) a better breakfast was more of what I should have done.
Excuse? I have none.
Sunday: very windy
Saturday night I cleaned my bike, oiled the chain. My bike and I had a private conversation in the garage in which I apologized for my poor preparation. Steel cut oatmeal, a bottle of Gatorade for breakfast, a Camelback full of
water, 2 bottles of Accelerade, 4 Gel shots, 2 bars plus I knew I would get some more nutrition at three short stops.
It took a few miles for my leg to into the ride, but I already felt better. The ride out to Decatur was pretty fast. At Decatur it was a left turn straight into the wind all the way to down town Ft. Worth. Jimmy and I traded off about every mile but it
was a grind. Hooked up with two more guys which allowed us to pick up the pace. Four in the rotation was much better than two. By the way the aero bars were great for the lead position. I still got weak toward the end and finish about 40 minutes slower than Saturday but I enjoyed the ride more because overall I felt that I did a better job.
Lesions Learned:
Drink a bottle minimum every hour - thirsty or not. Saturday it was misty all day.
I never really felt thirsty and paid the price
Eat something every 15 -20 minutes - gel, bar, snack, etc.
Don’t hook up with groups you can’t hang with unless you are near the finish.
Take a long ride more serious.
I need to train more on the bike. A Wednesday night ride and one weekend ride
every once and while is not enough. I need to build some leg strength before the
HH100.
5 comments:
We may be old but we still learn lessons the hard way. I feel your pain.
Some times "tri-ing not so hard" is not the best approach.
Good lessons! Really-1 gel every 15-20minutes? How would you not want to throw up?
HNH100 last year didn't give you these lessons? I'll be anxious to hear the training plan for this year! Better get better with those aero bars if you are going to pull me through Hell's Gate:-)
I can't seem to digest much when I ride so small amounts more often work better for me.
And I don't pull riders that are better than me.
The you definitely won't mind pulling me:-)
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