Torture Test

If a big part of racing is mental preparation, today's long workout should guarantee I'm ready. With the Wintry weather on the first day of Spring, I ended up doing my longest training ride indoors. I rode 60 miles on the trainer, exceeding my previously longest ride by 10 miles. Since this was a brick, I had a 5 mile run immediately following.


The Bike

In order to make it through 4.5 hours I needed:

- Two movies
- Two-and-a-half episodes of Sex and the City
- Four very short "stand-up" breaks
- My blackberry close by
- Four bottles of Gatorade Endurance
- Three gels
- One Uncrustable
- One bathroom break

The first 15 miles we're in my aerobic range so they were even slower than the rest. It took all day and yes, there were times I was bored to tears, but it really wasn't too awful until the final five miles. Those were some long miles.

The Run

After a seven-minute transition that involved layering up for the cold and wondering why the heck I do this, I started my run. I felt good and that was a relief. This ride was longer than what I'll race so it's comforting to know my legs still worked. My splits were: (1) 8:46, (2) 8:17, (3) 8:17, (4) 8:00, (5) 8:29. And once again, I experienced that joy of running.

I'm shipping my bike to New Orleans tomorrow and that really brings the reality of the race to life. I hope what I've done is enough. I hope the day goes well. I hope I enjoy it. At this point, all I can do is hope.

Biking (trainer)
Distance - 60 miles
Time - 4:29:46

Running
Distance - 5 miles
Time - 41:53