Iron Team East Bay Century
A day of misdirection, I never get last when I know where I am going :-) However I'm not to familiar with the far off land known locally as the "East Bay". Getting to the ride start was my first first challenge of the day, the map I had printed off wasn't entirely clear on the street name where the final turn was not there causing me to miss the turn twice, a theme that would continue through the day. Just as I was getting even more confused I saw the team cycling away, unfortunately I was in the turning lane to get back on the freeway. Back on the freeway and some back tracking I was able to getting to the starting location just 15 minutes late, luckily there were still a few people there and I was able to get a map from the coach, so finally at 8:30am I was ready to start.
The route was very detailed and I was determined not continue getting lost, the first few miles involved navigating through some city streets, things became a lot more straight forward when I reached Ygnacio Valley Road, I picked up the pace some and started catch with other late starters. From there I came on Marsh Road and alongside Mount Diablo State Park, starting worry about missing the next turn as I headed into the middle of now where, there was Coach Mike by the turn on to Morgan Territory Road. This where the ride started to get a lot more interesting.
Morgan Territory Road, lead us into a shaded area which hide a multitude of dangers, in the form of pot holes. This was also the biggest single climb of the route with 1400 feet of climbing. I started to see a lot more of my team mates as I continued up the hill. At the peak of the hill there was a very well placed support stop that gave needed chance to refuel.
On the other side of the climb there was a stark contrast in scenery from a green and shaded climb to a open baron decent with just dried out grass covering the hills. The decent was fast but also very dangerous, around on of the corners there was a pick-up truck heading towards me, there was just enough space for us to pass safely but if I hadn't been so cautious I could easily been, let just say in the wrong place.
At the bottom of the hill the road conditions were good it was rolling hills towards Danville, although it was every open and I did encounter some head wind. Back in to town again I had to be more careful when it came to following the directions, as sure enough I quick made wrong turn leading me to a dead end. Instead continue on San Ramon Valley Blvd (which was to become Hartz Ave), I turned on right on Hartz Ave leading me in the wrong direction, however was a minor course correction, that only cost me a couple minutes. Back on the route I ran into a couple of the North Bay Ironteamers, so for a short time I had some sense of where I was going. We turned off Danville Road, to Hill Grade road a short but steep climb on a appropriately name road. It wasn't too long before we hit next support stop, which was well stock if a variety of food and classic assortment beverages (water and Gatorade).
At was at this point as I realized there was still on heck of a long way left to go and the next section took us off the road on to a cycle path. This was one of the most frustrating parts of the ride, the cycle path had pedestrians and generally felt slow going. It wasn't too long before I was off the cycle path and back on the road again heading out of town toward the next major climb of the ride.
The climb took me into the Redwood regional park, which offered some great views, after a fairly short climb I descended in a very nice wooded and shady area. Of course every good downhill is followed by an uphill this would continue for sometime. When I reached Skyline Blvd. up behind Oakland the climbing got a lot steeper but the views became more rewarding. After a little while on Skyline it started to level out with a few rollers. I started to make a few stops along the way to capture a few shots.
After Skyline I descend back towards Pleasant Hill where we started, there was one last support stop which gave me some needed supplies. From there it was just a matter of getting across the last set of mountains in m way known as the the Grizzles, Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Baby Bear. While none the three climbs were that bad on a individual basis, put all together on mile 80 and there is some serious work to.
With the all the climbs behind me at mile 97 there was not much further to go and I was ready to finish, it had been a long day and a hot one. However it was not end this quickly, I missed a wrong turn and found myself heading in the wrong direction, I caught the mistake fairly quickly and turned back after just a couple of miles. Once I reached the point diverted from the course I ran into another teammate from the North Bay who was also deciding on which way to go. She thought I had gone the right way but missed another turn up head. Willing to believe I was on the right track originally I followed her lead, this time we ended up going 3 miles out before deciding to turn back.
Finally on the right track again and just 5 miles away from the finish, I increased what had become a slow pace and headed back into town. I was doing well right up until the last turn, now just less 2 miles away from the end, I had no idea I spend the next 45 mins going in circles. I was at the junction for the last turn and nearly got it right but when I looked at the sign it "Grayson Rd" instead of "Gregory Rd", so I continued past the turn and for a couple miles. I then did a U-turn to correct my course and then went past the correct turn again and made a left onto Taylor thinking I misread a now barely readable set of directions, after another few miles I found myself looping back onto the road I had just left. By this point I was losing hope, I had already gone 15 miles over the actually route and it was getting late in the day. I decided to called the Coach Mike and tell him I was lost, I explained where I was he pointed me in the right direction. Going back along the road I been on several times, I came across the final junction for the third time, alas I looked up and there was the sign, I had not notice that the road was "Grayson" in one direction and "Gregory" in the other. I made the final turn and sure enough I was at the end in no time. I explained my directionally challenged day some of my teammates and confirmed that the Ironman Canada course would be well marked.
Ride Details (
Click here to view on Google Earth)
7hrs 45mins Ride Time
117 miles
12,971 feet of climbing
15.1 mph Avg. Speed
44.5 mph Max Speed
Labels: Century Ride, Cycling
2 Months to Ironman Canada
The past month of training has given me more confidence in completing
Ironman. Although my haven't attempted any long runs yet, it feels good to hit the 5 mile mark again without any issue. It has been a great month for riding, everything from the beauty of Lake Tahoe to the torture of Lake
Berryessa :-) Still 2 months seems a little soon, any
possibility of pushing out this schedule, just a little?
Labels: Ironman Canada 2007
Canada Rd to Mount Eden
The Ironteam meet at 8am at Edgewood and Canada Rd, to start out the 72 mile ride generally flat ride with a medium grade. We started off heading north on Canada Rd, continuing past 92 on to Skyline which passes by Sawyer Camp, and then turn on Crystal Spring Rd, which has a great downhill as you start into it. The route loop around joining up with Canada Rd using a cycle path which crosses back over the freeway. I had started the ride a little late so the first part of the ride was just playing catch-up, by the time I was passing by our starting point I had reached the front of the pack and was ride with Allen, Al and Jed.
The route then lead us to a couple of hill repeat loops in Los Altos, next on to Foothill Expressway and all the way out to Steven Creek Canyon Rd and up Mount Eden. We took a small rest at the top of Mount Eden and then headed back down, Coach Mike was at the bottom with a Water, Gatorade and most importantly the Pringles (got to get that salt in). The day was heating up the water bottle refills were a necessity, it is at times like this that you realize how great is to have people out there supporting you.
The way back was easier with no major climbs to contend with, just straight along Foothill Expressway which allow for some good speed. Then continuing Alpine Road, which has a small incline to towards Portola Valley, then turning right on Portola Road. The legs were certainly wearing down at this point the next section of road was Mountain Home Rd, which offered some good shade as we reached Woodside. I waited in Woodside while a teammate stopped to refuel at the local store. From there it was just straight on to Canada Rd, to the finish. After followed a run, but I just rested not wanting to over do things my legs which are certainly better than they were a month ago. Besides if I'd done the run I might of missed this fine photo opportunity :-)
Ride Details (
Click here to view on Google Earth):
72miles
3hrs 46mins Ride Time (approx)
6,500 feet of climbing (approx)
87.8F High
182bpm Max Heart Rate
156bpm Avg Heart Rate
19.1mph Avg. speed
36.9mph Max speed
Labels: Cycling
The many ways to climb Mount Eden...
Tonight's Ironteam practice was hill repeats on Mount Eden, while repeats are generally bore me easily, I have to say I actually had great time. The key is to make every time different, each time I reached the top I the coaches gave new instructions on how to climb the next time:
1. Regular climb
2. Half-standing and half sitting
3. All sitting
4. All standing
5. Time trail (just going all out)
6. For fun I tried a one leg drill all the way up (swapping between legs every so often)
7. Just one more for luck.
Afterwards we did a quick run to complete the brick.
Ride Details (
Click here to view on Google Earth)
Graph by Distance
13 miles
2,707 feet of climbing
14mph avg speed
Graph by Time
59mins ride time
Labels: Cycling, Running
Another Spin and Run @ SB.
It was Tuesday again, which of course meant another spin and run at Sports Basement, a 60 minute spin followed by a 25 min run. I felt good on the run for change and kept a good pace.
Spin:
Technological failure no stats.
Run:
25mins
166bpm Average Heart Rate
182bpm Max Heart Rate
Labels: Running, Spinning
Sunday afternoon Rancho run..
No GPS, no cool graphs, no Google Earth flyovers! I felt naked without my GPS but nobody stared at me. Still taking it easy on my legs I went for a run at Rancho, with nice easy pace. It was a hilly loop just under 5 miles. The whether was hot and having gone out without water or nutrition, I was luck to be running with a friend came prepared.
Labels: Running
More fun back on Highway One..
This weekends Captain's Ride with the Ironteam, started at Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz with a 90 mile route straight up Highway One with a turn around in Half Moon Bay. The weather was the oposite end of the extreme from last weekend's ride at Lake Berryessa. When preparing for the ride I decided to put on an extra layer, a wise clothing choice for once.
We started out the ride just after 8am and headed north into the wind, the head wind was not as bad as it had been on previous occasions. I was out on my Tri-bike and made full use of it's aerodynamic capabilities. There was light drizzle and clouds were darker the further north I went, although the weather was more refresh than disruptive. I kept a good a pace going maintaining an average of 18mph before turning around at Half Moon Bay. On the way back I felt I was slowing down, though the help of a tail wind I managed to get a negative split on the way back.
The ride was followed by a short run to train the legs for the bike to run transition.
Ride
Details (
Click here to view route on Google Earth):
4hrs 30mins
93 Miles
7,821 feet of Climbing
49.1mph Max Speed
18.7mph Avg. Speed
179bpm Max Heart Rate
150bpm Avg Heart rate
Labels: Cycling
16mph while standing still...
Another weekly spin at Sports Basement, the weather was good we setup outside for 1 hour recovery Spin.
For those question the accuracy of the Garmin, I will say it is very good accept when your not moving. During the stationary spin I hit a maximum speed of 2.7mph, while maintaining a healthy 16mph average? :-)
160 Max Heart Rate
125 Avg. Heart Rate
Labels: Spinning
Lake Berryessa and the long and winding road...
Friday night was a late drive up to Lake Berryessa, arriving at 11:30pm. Then up before 6am to be ready for the 6:45am swim start. I missed the talk about the swim as I was running late, so I just jumped in and followed everyone else. The water was a good temperature and clear enough to see to the bottom in shallow parts. It was supposed to be a roughly two mile swim, I wasn't even wearing a watch, so thought I'd just keep swimming until everyone else finished. On my fourth loop I was questioned on why I was still swimming? It turns out that 3 was the magic number of loops well it was a good swim :-) Not too much more than 2 miles.
Next up was the 98 mile bike course, I plenty of time between the swim and the bike to get ready. By the time 10am rolled around I was already to go, or so I thought. I started off the ride in the final wave of riders and set out a fairly fast pace, I caught up with Tyler can continued alongside him. After last weeks quick century I didn't worry too much about the pace I was keeping, I knew it would be a tougher ride with the extra climbing but thought the quicker the pace the sooner I'd be done. This was my first mistake I went out too hard and didn't take into account the affects of the hot weather; by 11am it was 80F and rising. I approached a hill still pacing alongside Tyler and realized I need need to slow my Heart Rate which was above 185bpm and rising far too quickly. As continued up the hill my heart rate peaked at 196bpm, I immediately pulled over and stopped to catch my breathe, it took a few minutes but I then continued on a much slower pace.
With that behind me I thought all I needed was too keep a steady pace and the rest of the ride would be fine. Due to the rising temperature my sport drinks had become a unwanted beverage to consume so I had switched to water. I didn't really consider that I all the electrolytes that the sports drink provided, all I knew was water was refreshing. At around mile 40, we arrived at another rest stop and took a few minutes to refuel and refill. From there the climb continued ever upwards, I was riding with a few other people so didn't worry about the route too much. We continued on and the climb got steeper and steeper, I had too pull over a number of time to let my heart rate drop again. At mile 48 where we expected the turn around point there was nothing, so we continued on about half mile further to the peak of the hill, at which is when it was decided we could turn around now that the climb had been conquered. We descended down steep hill at breakneck speed, obviously slowing to avoid the breaking anything and back to the rest stop we had left at mile 40. It was strange that during the long climb we had seen no one else going up or down, it turned out that we had made a wrong turn on the way up giving us an extra 1,000 feet of climbing a grade steeper than anything else on the planned out and back course. With this sad realization of over achievement I continued on.
I passed back through the only town on our route, a small and pleasant in the middle of nowhere, the question in my mind was "Will the $15 I'm carrying be enough for a deposit a house I never have to climb the big hill I'm approaching?". I distinctly remember how great going down that hill been on the way out, which meant only meant it was going to be hell to climb.
I should take a moment to described some of the scenery on the ride, there were trees and a lot of brown (dead) grass, and hills with in view. While it was by no means without its high points to be sure, it seemed like I was on the road to perdition in comparison last week's beautiful bike ride.
But wait there was hope present upon the hill, a Mini Cooper pulled to the side of the road and presented us with ice. At that moment ice was, the best thing ever! If I had been presented with choice a bag of Diamonds or Ice, I would of taken the ice without a second thought.
This seg-ways to an important point, supporting both the North and South Bay Ironteams today were a great groups of volunteers, as well as Honorees and Coaches, I couldn't of imagined doing this ride without their support and with that said I'll go back to complaining about how tough the ride was :-)
With ice the my water bottle no longer burned mouth when I tried to drink it, oh ok, it was never that hot but the temperate was hitting the 90's now. It is true that the ride was uphill both ways as the elevation profile clearly shows. At mile 68 the worst of the climbing was over and it was nearly downhill all the way back, but at this point I was seriously bonking and even downhill felt tough, my stomach was gone, I was drinking it but was in vain as I was already dehydrated. Around miles 75 to 85 there was 10 miles of potholes and even the occasional gravel patch in the middle of the road and enough twists and turns to make a good thriller, it short this was the most miserable piece of road to cycle on.
Finally to main road again, I stopped and took the picture alongside, the lake was in sight again and almost near the end. There was a few more little rolling hills and a number of turns weaving back around the lake, but finally I reached the camp or at least what I thought was the camp ground. I cycled into a place that seemed almost identical from the outside, after few minutes of confusion I headed out of there find to actual place I was staying which turned out to be just a mile away.
I finished! I felt like death warmed over, but I finished!
After the perilless ride their was one more danger ahead, I walked down the boat ramp towards the lake to soak my legs in water, I slipped on the algae and nearly fell flat on my back.
That night I reflected upon all the mistakes of the day:
1. Not drinking enough
2. Not drinking enough before the ride
3. Not drinking a sports drink
4. Not mainting my sodium/electrolyte levels
5. Not following directions correctly
:-)
The next morning was a two hour run, I took it very easy, so much so the last part maybe referred to as walking.
Ride Details (
Click here to view on Google Earth)
98 Miles
13,266 feet of Climbing
91.4°F high
86.5°F avg.
196bpm Max Heart Rate
156bpm Average Heart Rate
14.4mph Average Speed
43.7mph Max Speed
Labels: Cycling, Running, Swimming
America's Most Beatiful Bike Ride
This weekend was America's Most Beautiful Bike, a century ride around Lake Tahoe, it also a national event for Team In Training with over 1800 participants and 8.5 million dollars raised for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I joined the TNT cycle team, halfway through their training season to participate in this event. I had only managed to make a few rides with team before the event but had the chance to meet some great people.
I arrived on Saturday afternoon and joined my teammates for a quick shake down ride. I then went to TNT Pasta Party to carbo-load before the event, we heard stories from an Honoree's and a run down of what to expect out on the roads the next day. I got back to my hotel room early to prepare, as I laid out all my gear for morning I realized a critical component of gear was missing! Yes, I had forgotten my Pink socks :-0 Despite this I decided to go ahead with ride :-)
Sunday morning I woke up at 4:30am, and by 5:45am I was with the team and ready to roll. The day started out very cold, around 45F, I hadn't really dressed for the temperature and visions of my fingers dropping off during the first ten miles of the ride. As we reached Emerald Bay, things started warm-up and this is where the ride really began. I had been staying with my pace line but once we hit the climb up to Inspirational Point I started my attack on the hill and left the group.
The climb up to Inspiration Point was good and having the road closed to traffic made it a lot easier, it was followed by a nice fast descent of course slowing down for the road works, where the other lane is not just closed but missing. Seeing Emerald Bay is certainly one of the highlights of the course. As got to the other side of the bay there were people cheering on the riders as they went by. From there onwards it is a decent towards Tahoe city. There are some great views of the Lake at this point as the road is right along the shoreline.
I reached the out and back to Truckee, the first 4-5 miles are on cycle path which can be dangerous with a lot of riders about, luckily I was on my own a I managed to pass a small group of riders ahead me without a problem. The road out there is a little rough and felt like it went on forever due to some head wind, but I managed to keep a good pace and was the first rider to reach the Truckee rest stop. I stopped for a couple minutes and refueled,
then headed back towards the lake. I started to see the riders behind me as they past on the other side of the road, some of the first were the rest of my team who were not too far behind. As I entered the cycle path again things started to become a little dicey as there were now hundreds of people heading towards me. All I could hear was the words "Biker up" was people then did there best ride single file, luckily I only had to swerve once. Back on the main road again and going through Tahoe City I knew it wouldn't be long before I reached the lunch stop and King's Beach. I started to pass the riders who were doing the 72mile option that stays around the lake. I nearly 15 minutes for lunch and even posed for photo :-)
Back on the road I past a few more of the 72mile riders and continue on into Nevada and Incline Village, beyond there is one of the most scenic parts of the ride. The water was blue and the sky was clear, the long climb up to Spooner Lake had rewarding views along the way. As the climb peaked I was starting to feel the heat, although still very pleasant.
From the top of Spooner Lake it was a straight descent with a couple rolling hills to finish. The final rollers were tougher then they looked, but with couple miles left I could see hotel which marked the finish up ahead and powered through to the end. As I reached the finish line things were very quite with only a few people about and no other cyclists. I checked in at the Team In Training tent, on first inspection they did not recognize me as TNT participant as I was not in the national TNT gear sported by everyone else. Next they asked me with I had actually cycled 100 miles, I looked at my GPS and Cycle computer both confirmed the distance and I said "Yes, of course". They then said "Well your the first one back" :-) With an average speed of 19.2mph I had completed my Century Ride.
It was just coming on 11:30am, so I headed back out the course to find my teammates, I had said I start and finish with them but might not be there in the middle. At about 9 miles back out on the course I caught up with them, I joined back on the pace line and rode the final 9 miles back with them, coming through the finish line was just as good the second time :-)
A big thanks to Matt and the other cycle team coaches, who made be part of the team despite my rouge ways ;-)
(Also thanks to Andy Miner who took some
of the great photos of the lake on this entry)America's Most Ride Details (
Click here to view on Google Earth):
5hrs 30mins Overall Time
5hrs 10mins Ride Time
193bpm Max Heart Rate
156bpm Avg Heart Rate
39.3mph Max Speed
19.2mph Avg Speed
Full 120 mile route elevation profile and details:
8,398 Feet of Climbing
120 Miles
18.5mph Avg Speed
6hrs 24mins Ride Time
Labels: Century Ride, Cycling
A day of misdirection, I never get last when I know where I am going :-) However I'm not to familiar with the far off land known locally as the "East Bay". Getting to the ride start was my first first challenge of the day, the map I had printed off wasn't entirely clear on the street name where the final turn was not there causing me to miss the turn twice, a theme that would continue through the day. Just as I was getting even more confused I saw the team cycling away, unfortunately I was in the turning lane to get back on the freeway. Back on the freeway and some back tracking I was able to getting to the starting location just 15 minutes late, luckily there were still a few people there and I was able to get a map from the coach, so finally at 8:30am I was ready to start.
Morgan Territory Road, lead us into a shaded area which hide a multitude of dangers, in the form of pot holes. This was also the biggest single climb of the route with 1400 feet of climbing. I started to see a lot more of my team mates as I continued up the hill. At the peak of the hill there was a very well placed support stop that gave needed chance to refuel.
On the other side of the climb there was a stark contrast in scenery from a green and shaded climb to a open baron decent with just dried out grass covering the hills. The decent was fast but also very dangerous, around on of the corners there was a pick-up truck heading towards me, there was just enough space for us to pass safely but if I hadn't been so cautious I could easily been, let just say in the wrong place.
The climb took me into the Redwood regional park, which offered some great views, after a fairly short climb I descended in a very nice wooded and shady area. Of course every good downhill is followed by an uphill this would continue for sometime. When I reached Skyline Blvd. up behind Oakland the climbing got a lot steeper but the views became more rewarding. After a little while on Skyline it started to level out with a few rollers. I started to make a few stops along the way to capture a few shots.
Finally on the right track again and just 5 miles away from the finish, I increased what had become a slow pace and headed back into town. I was doing well right up until the last turn, now just less 2 miles away from the end, I had no idea I spend the next 45 mins going in circles. I was at the junction for the last turn and nearly got it right but when I looked at the sign it "Grayson Rd" instead of "Gregory Rd", so I continued past the turn and for a couple miles. I then did a U-turn to correct my course and then went past the correct turn again and made a left onto Taylor thinking I misread a now barely readable set of directions, after another few miles I found myself looping back onto the road I had just left. By this point I was losing hope, I had already gone 15 miles over the actually route and it was getting late in the day. I decided to called the Coach Mike and tell him I was lost, I explained where I was he pointed me in the right direction. Going back along the road I been on several times, I came across the final junction for the third time, alas I looked up and there was the sign, I had not notice that the road was "Grayson" in one direction and "Gregory" in the other. I made the final turn and sure enough I was at the end in no time. I explained my directionally challenged day some of my teammates and confirmed that the Ironman Canada course would be well marked.
7hrs 45mins Ride Time
15.1 mph Avg. Speed
