The Century was quite an experience! It was certainly challenging and I often thought of the 112 mile IMAZ ride and how I was going to manage that as I took advantage of almost all the stops on this ride. The longest I have ridden before this was 75 miles and since I hadn't experienced Lookout Mountain (a famous climb around these parts) I wasn't sure what I was in for. At one point right before the first big climb there was a short VERY steep road. After that was an aid station where I proceeded to check my cassette to see if maybe I had the wrong one on my bike. (that hill was really tough). I had correct one on (easier for climbing) and was a bit discouraged about how challenging I thought that hill was. Fortunately, Lookout Mountain, while a long and winding climb, was not as steep as the little monster leading up to it and I handled all the climbs fine. They were challenging and I got tired but I kept on plugging away.. The ride took us to places I have never seen before so that was great. My nutrition plan didn't work out so great. I did the two hour bottles of Infinit but I didn't drink enough of it ,I don't think, and then didn't drink the water I needed. I just wanted some solid food so started with the Cliff bars and has a few animal crackers and some pretzels along the way. Cold water and pretzels were great at the 82 mile stop. My back and shoulder were acting up pretty badly by the 82 mile stop and I spent some time lying in the grass trying to stretch things out. I haven't ridden much on my road bike this year so I am sure that was part of it. Overall it was a good day but I was ready to be done at the last aid station. Once we arrived at the finish, my Garmin was at 98.9 miles so I road around the parking lot to get the last mile in. I wasn't about to go all that way and not have 100 miles to show for it. Of course if I spent the time to figure out all the features of my Garmin, I wouldn't have stopped it by accident and lost some of the data.
It was great to have
Julie along for the ride (thanks for the pics by the way) and it was nice to meet
Jill. My friends Sarah and Paul road also and as always I enjoyed their company.
Some pics from the day.
Invesco Field at Mile High. Start of ride
Pic from Lookout Mountain
Almost at the top of Lookout Mountain
Paul and Sarah enjoying a moment after a big climb
I should have kept my helmet on for this pic but I was way to hot.
Sarah, Paul, Julie and Jill
Great job! Some pretty cool riding buddies too.
ReplyDeleteIt was a good ride Kathleen! You are going to be fine for IMAZ!
ReplyDeleteNutrition...yea...I just eat and eat...and since the ride my scale as of this morning is now up 6 lbs!!! Can you say OMG! I hope that it is a temporary thing!
Great training ride for IMAZ. I wish I could have joined you guys. I thought of you often throughout the day and sent positive vibes. I am so glad they got to you because it looks like you had a great day!
ReplyDeleteFYI, I love riding Lookout Mountain!
Congrats on the ride!!!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you did great! My 1st century, I didn't even want to LOOK at my bike by the end. I worried they'd all be like that when IM training came along but it definitely got easier!
ReplyDeleteWoohoo! Congrats on doing the century! Yay!!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Someone told me that one thing I should do to prepare for IMAZ is to ride the trainer for 4+ hours and just basically spin. Because the course is pretty flat, with not really any hills, your legs are constantly spinning. So, I ordered the Spinervals Tempe DVD and hopefully it will come soon! Let me know if you want to come over for a trainer party and do the Spinervals DVD together!