Eastern Shore Ride Report

The plan for our final big training weekend was a 100 mile ride followed by a run at Kiptopeke Sate Park on the Eastern Shore. Charlotte and I headed down on Friday afternoon so we could do a short OW swim in the bay. With the car loaded to the hilt with bikes, gear, food and most importantly beer we made good time and got to the lodge around 3 PM.

Let me just say the lodges are wonderful. Much nicer than I had expected with room for everyone, towels and a well equipped kitchen. After a bit Sharon and Karen arrived. We chatted, unpacked our stuff, donned our wetsuits and headed down to the bay for our swim. The water was pleasant and mostly calm but somehow I managed to get seasick and the last stretch of the swim was rough. I hadn't eaten since morning so that probably contributed to the dizziness. We swam about 1000 yards and then headed back to the lodge to wait for the other TG's.

Saturday morning came all too soon and we were up and off on our ride. We knew to expect wind but even so the outbound ride was tough with a good bit of headwind and some gusty crosswinds thrown in for good measure. It was a beautiful fall day with great scenery, mostly good roads and very flat. We all made it to the turnaround, refueled and headed back for the last half of the ride. Thankfully the wind was mostly a tailwind and we were flying back averaging around 18-19 mph.

All that changed at mile 27 when we decided to ride in a paceline. Some of us didn't quite get the gist of this; me, Heidi and Kate O. We thought this meant we needed to speed up for our turn at the front. Well needless to say the three of us promptly trashed our legs and the last few miles were brutal. At about mile 93 I was toast. I wasn't having a very good ride and I was struggling to hold it all together. I had a terrible headache and I was nauseous.

By far this was the worst of my 100 milers. While I did not question I could do the distance, I just didn't feel great the whole day. I had expected it to feel almost easy as it was my third time at this distance. But the combination of too little sleep, poor pacing, leg fatigue and inadequate nutrition (I had forgotten half my bike nutrition in the fridge at home) left me lagging. After the ride we headed out for a short run. The run was uneventful but quite painful and I only managed about 2 miles.

With the final big workout complete it was time to celebrate. Hot showers, a good dinner prepared by Super Sherpa Karen plus a few beers made for a great night.

A few thoughts about training. Even though this ride was not ideal, I learned a lot about what my body can tolerate. I also got a first hand look at the difference between feeling good off the bike or not so good. Also for the first time I worked with the wind instead of against it and this made a huge difference mentally. Finally, I know I need to stay with my routine. I know after all this training what works for me and what doesn't; so I need to stick with my plan on race day.

So with three weeks to go we are ready, everyone looks strong and we are ready for Florida.