I’m five weeks out from the most epic triathlon race that I’ve ever prepared for (Embrunman) and this past weekend was one of two “big” training days. I don’t do these epic rides very often but when I do, I have a few goals for the day.
1) The workout is not about gaining fitness but testing fitness. I don’t look at any metrics during the ride but rather, I go by feel and look the numbers after I finish.
2) I use the workout as an opportunity to test nutrition. I bring all my nutrition with me so that I am 100% self sufficient.
3) I enjoy sharing a big ride with other people. Unlike a normal ride or workout, there seems to be less excuses and more focus when you know it’s going to be a long day in the saddle.
4) I feel nervous but excited for these days. I know these workouts are going to be filled with highs and lows but I feel so much gratitude for my body for what it allows me to do.
5) An epic training day needs to be respected in the training cycle but I also don’t want to be so destroyed that I am unable to train for several days.
My friend Garrett mapped out the route that I came up with for my birthday ride. Although we ended up doing a different route for my birthday, I was saving this ride for a special occasion. I knew I wanted to do a big ride before Embrunman so this past weekend was the perfect weekend. I was able to recruit three guys for the ride. Karel is preparing for Ironman Lake Placid (on Sunday) so he (wisely) sat out for this mega ride.
I left my house at 7:05am and met Garett, Matt and Nate at 7:15 at “the rock.” We started our ride on the Swamp Rabbit Trail and then made our way to the roads and then started to head towards the mountains.
This ride included 5 significant climbs but as you can see from the profile, there are a lot of little bumps along the way.
The first climb was Callahan Mountain. 1.3 miles, 432 feet elevation gain.
Next came the Watershed. 9 miles, 1400 feet elevation gain.
While climbing the watershed, the rain came down. Thankfully it was still warm out so the rain was fretting. We actually had perfect weather as it never got too warm or too cold.
We made our first gas station stop to refill bottles before descending down Holbert Cove. Although there are no long climbs on this 9.2 mile section that includes several tight switchback, there are a few steep hills that make the legs burn.
Then came the two most significant climbs of the route.
We climbed both sides of Skuka, starting with the White Oak side (which I consider the more difficult side). 3.9 miles, 1760 feet. Average grade 8.3%.After a mandatory picture on the top (with the most beautiful view of the mountains), we made the descend down the mountain. At this point, Garrett and Matt had to leave to continue their ride home so it was only me and Nate (who is a professional cyclist). I was very grateful for Nate as he was my domestique for this ride and helped pull me from climb to climb. When Nate was feeling good, he went ahead but for most of the climbs, we stayed together. Nate is an incredible descender so he would wait for me at the bottom of the climbs.
We climbed Skyuka and chatted for most of the climb. It went by somewhat quickly and I was surprised how good I felt. I much prefer this side as there are more switchbacks to help break up the steep climbs. 4 miles, 1800 feet. Average grade 8.5%.
After descending the White Oak side, we stopped at the gas station in Tryon and then made our way to our last significant climb. Hogback mountain. 5 miles, 1475 feet. Nate stayed with me for most of the climb but then he wanted to try for a KOM/top ten segment near the top so he went for it while I continued my steady effort.
After descending, we made our way to the windy roads of Lake Lanier before we turned left and climbed up Lake Road. Although it’s not a long climb (less than a mile), it’s very very steep. This climb was on my mind throughout the entire ride as I knew it wouldn’t be fun. We conquered it.
We continued our ride with more climbing but there were a few rolling sections where we could get good speed. Nate pulled me for the rest of the ride and we ended up making up some good time. To finish off this epic ride, we finished with one last climb up Little Texas road.
It was a long day in the saddle but I felt extremely accomplished.
116.7 miles.
12,915 feet.
7 hours and 26 minutes.
15.7 mph average.
After the ride, I went for a 5.1 mile, 42 min run. My goal was at least 30 minutes as it takes me a few miles to find my legs off a big ride. I did a run/walk strategy of run a mile and then walk to sip my sport drink and then continue running. The run started off rough but I finished feeling much better than when I started.
For bike nutrition:
-6 x 32 ounce bottles
-810g carbs (INFINIT Fructose + 2 capsules Kenetik Kentones Concentrate per bottle)
-80g carbs (3 x gels. Enervite and 2 x Amacx)
-1/2 can Dr. Pepper
Total: ~130g carbs per hour
For run nutrition:
-20 ounce fluid
-60g Never Second C30
-A few Skittles :)
