Training Log Archive: Bash

TampaRaces.com X-Country
http://www.tamparaces.com/X-Country/index.htm

30 km trail running race in Alafia River State Park east of Tampa. Alas, no photos. On the way there, I almost became one of those Google Map Darwin Award stories. I'd printed out the instructions at home and at 6 a.m. in pitch blackness, I was directed down a rough, narrow, foggy road. It twisted and turned and became rougher. When I got to the place I was supposed to turn next, there was a street sign marking the "road", which had been ploughed into deep sand and was now blocked by a gate. Fortunately, I already suspected that I had been googlemapped, so I didn't turn at the sign and get stuck. My iPhone saved the day and got me to the park just before the gates opened - phew!

There were multiple distance options - 5 km, half-marathon, 30 km and marathon. The 30 km was the least popular but the half-marathon wouldn't be enough training and the marathon would be too much after riding 100 km yesterday. The trails were mostly grassy double track with sandy sections and hidden tree roots to keep things interesting.

Holy Humidity, Batman! I felt great for the first half of the race when the temperature was cool but started to fade as it warmed up to 80F. The last 10 km were tough so I stopped aiming for any particular time and just tried to hold my position. My last 10 km was a minute/kilometer slower than the earlier part of the race but nobody passed me so I guess I wasn't alone in feeling rough.

It was a little stressful since most of the race course signs just said "RACE" in order to accommodate all the different distances. The first "30K" sign I saw was at 28.5 km when I was starting to worry that I might end up doing a marathon by mistake - yikes!

Surprise ending... somehow I got the Female Masters win. I don't think it was a big field but the trophy is a nice piece of art.

I'm down in Everglades City now. Getawaystix has planned an epic 50 km paddle for tomorrow that covers most of this map. I'm taking a headlamp just in case!



A cultural note: We had gator nuggets as an appetizer tonight.

Ride Without Limits - Tampa Bay

Charity ride benefiting United Cerebral Palsy. I did the 62 mile (100 km) course. They also offered 35 and 100 mile courses but:
(a) My longest road bike ride to date had been 43 km, and
(b) I'm doing a 30 km trail running race tomorrow.



Well-organized event. We met at Crews Lake Park - a mysterious-looking place for a Canadian. I kept expecting a dinosaur to stroll out of the woods.







Breakfast was provided by the International House of Pancakes then we lined up at the start around 7:30 a.m. Nice temperature. I actually wore arm warmers for the first 15 km, which I hadn't expected down here.





It was my first experience of riding in a "peleton" on the road. Very fun and cooperative - lots of hand signals and shouting out important info. "CarrrrrUP!" "Slowing!" "Railroad tracks!"

Note the great bike club name - Grupetto. Motto: "No one left behind." They were actually good riders.



The point of this trip is to get some good training in so I hammered to stay with the front group. By the 30 km mark, there were just six of us. At the 50 km aid station (the only one we stopped at), three of us left together and rode as a group till the end. Pete and Alan are strong bikers who made me work. I took my turn pulling a few times but they were merciful and took much longer turns than I did. I was paranoid that I'd touch one of their wheels while drafting so I didn't get any pictures while riding with them. In the last 5 km, they could smell the finish line and were holding 38 kph at times but when I started to fall back, they kindly slowed down.



As we entered the park, the guys insisted that I ride up front so that I could cross the line first, hence "winning" the 62-mile charity ride. I told them that as an adventure racer, I'd rather cross the line with my team but they made me do it! "Not many women can hang with us." (Not that I actually could, since they could have dropped me easily if they'd wanted to.)



Really nice post-race pasta lunch with Caesar salad and garlic bread, catered by Carrabba's Italian Grill. Little kids gave us medals with artwork hand-drawn by kids with CP and thank you cards signed by kids with CP. That was pretty touching but I saw the best thing as I was leaving - a young boy with a huge bouquet of flowers standing at the side of the road holding a big sign that said, "THANK YOU, MOM". Gulp.

I'm pleased that my back didn't hurt any worse for 100 km than it hurts for 25 km - in fact, maybe it was a little better. And my new bike seat rocks - very comfy.

Average 30.8 kph in the wind. No wonder I'm tired now!

There was an Ehrlich Road exit on the way to the event today. :-) And there were other reminders of absent friends.



I went for a seashell-hunting expedition along the beach as a recovery session.



And watched the sunset again. Yes, I know - repetitious photos. But I just can't help myself.

Arrived at my brother's beach condo in Indian Rocks, about 40 minutes west of Tampa. Dave isn't here - this is a rental property. I'll see him in Miami for U.S. Thanksgiving.

It's quiet and the view is pretty sweet.





My top priority was to re-assemble Princess. The good news was that both the bike and the kayak paddle I'd snuck into the bike box were intact. The bad news was that I hadn't had time to practise putting the pieces back together once before the trip.



I brought her around to the porch on the west side of the building so I could enjoy the sunset while I was swearing and fumbling with Allen keys.









You may be wondering... What about that top priority project? Why all these sunset photos and no pics of Princess re-assembled into a working bike?

Answer: It got dark and I was still making small adjustments. At last, as expected, I hit a brick wall - a badly rubbing brake that I wasn't able to fix with my limited bike mechanic skills. Fortunately, I'd anticipated this and had the coordinates of the three closest bike shops. I dashed into one shortly before closing time and a nice older gentleman adjusted the front brake for me. It took him 5 minutes with two tools; I was glad to see there was some challenge in it! He refused to accept any money.

Reward: A take-out slice of "the best Key Lime Pie in Florida". Yum.

So we'll find out tomorrow if I lined everything up right and tightened all the screws sufficiently. If I did - and if my body is willing - it will be my first 100 km road ride. Previous record was less than half that distance but I've done longer rides on mountain bikes.

Made it from parking lot to check-in to Customs to luggage drop with oversized baggage that weighs almost as much as I do. Phew. Rewarded myself by picking up lunch at Starbucks for the plane. Sandwich + brownie + juice = $18!! Will not be able to afford lunch again for the rest of the trip.

'Bent, don't forget to check your texts.

Got home from Wiarton at midnight then BulletDog and I were up early to meet Crash and Skyerocket on the trail for some pre-breakfast intervals. It wasn't the easiest day to force myself out the door, given the slate grey sky and cold raindrops that morphed into huge, sloppy snowflakes. It's been awhile since we've been out and we felt like sacks of potatoes: 2:16, 2:18, 2:15, 2:16 for 500 m for me. At least this proves that it matters whether or not we do intervals. And nobody in the Palgrave Conservation Area got a better workout this morning! ;-)

Packing for Florida now. 100 km charity bike ride on Saturday and 30 km trail running race on Sunday. I will taper on the plane tomorrow. The only thing I'm really worried about is whether I'll be able to re-assemble my bike on my own. I am spoiled having 'Bent as my personal bike mechanic!

First trainer ride of the season on a cold, rainy day. Company was good so the time passed quickly. I was up in Wiarton to chat with Frankenjack and support crew (his sister and brother-in-law) about logistics for New Zealand. This is going to call for a complicated spreadsheet - Phatty would be so proud.

2010/2011 Banff Film Festival World Tour Trailer - their trailers always make me want to go off and have an adventure RIGHT NOW.

I'm building up to another high volume training week next week so I didn't taper for Raid The Hammer and I didn't get to rest today either. I took Princess out for a spin on roads around Tottenham. There were a couple of nice, quiet paved roads but most of the roads were stressful - way too much traffic consisting almost entirely of SUVs, trucks and school buses. I'd imagined it to be flat over there but there are some good hills - a little more work than I'd planned for my legs after yesterday! That's it for road riding till Florida. Princess goes into the bike box now.