Training Log Archive: iansmith

My body is calling a vote of no-confidence in my brain's judgment.

I feel mostly tired, and I felt considerably worse 4-5 hr after finishing yesterday than I did when I finished. This is certainly something to keep in mind when I try to add a third 100 km lap in a day. The strategy of breaking a truly epic ride into 3 hr bouts still seems sound to me, but I need to figure out my physiological limits as I determine my target pace.

I think I could bike again today, but I figured I would give it a day's rest to recover more fully. My legs and lower back are definitely a bit stiff.

C • no confidence 7

Bike adventures, part 2: I did a double metric century, solo.

Flush with the success from May 2, I was eager to attempt another grand adventure. The weather last weekend was lackluster, but today had clear skies and only a weak wind. My route along Lake Ontario was much flatter, and in general I felt good and strong for most of the ride. Including breaks, the total time was about 9:30; this is satisfactory, but not great.

My key lessons from Part 1 were (1) bring more calories, (2) take more frequent, short stops to get off my bike and eat a little, (3) take a longer break halfway to recharge somewhat. I wore a bright yellow long sleeve, knee length tights, gloves, sunglasses (key), and an undershirt, and I wore a jacket for the first forty minutes that I stashed. I carried a pump, spare tube, patch kit, set of allen wrenches, flip flops if I had to walk a long way, 400g of M&Ms, 2.7 L of diluted gatorade, cash, and my Presto (transit) card.

One mistake was not bringing and applying sunscreen; my lower calves, right wrist, and neck are all burned to various degrees.

I started at 5:45, which was not really early enough. I had not necessarily resolved to go the full 100 km, and I had several earlier turnarounds considered. When I passed through the elbow in Burlington at 2:18, I was feeling great, so I decided to keep going until I hit 100 km. I took a 5-10 minute break about every 45 minutes, though the last leg on my outbound was 90 minutes.

Once I hit 100 km (10 am), I stopped for 40 minutes and ate a cheeseburger from A&W, which was delightful. I then biked back via the same route. The return had some key differences - it was a bit sunnier, and the recreational routes had much more traffic. The Waterfront Trail traffic had increased five or tenfold between 9a and 11:40a. Even Lake Shore blvd, a thoroughly delightful route for biking from Burlington nearly to Toronto, had much more car and bike traffic. I should start earlier if only to maximize how long I am alone and unimpeded. A 5 km stretch at 3:09, near Humber Bay, was basically gridlock. Fortunately, the eastbound lanes of Lake Shore Blvd from High Park to Coronation Park had been closed off to cars by barriers to give bikes a place to ride, and I blasted through just shy of 30 kph. But the city itself was quite slow.

Amusingly, I fell over clipped in twice - once while maneuvering slowly in the A&W parking lot at the halfway point, and once at a red light at around 170 km. I was slightly shaken, and the first fall seems to have bent my left brake handle a little, though things seemed functional.

I was almost run over by a Porsche on Lake Shore Blvd; there certainly seems to be a weak negative correlation between how expensive a car is and how much room they give me. Though shortly afterward, I was nearly swiped by a Jeep Wrangler. Night time and early morning riding is clearly the best time to be doing these things safely and quickly in a major city.

Conditions were more favorable for speed, especially with the less climb. I had 3 5k auto splits on the outbound part over 30 kph, and Lake shore is magnificently quick. Even on the return leg, I managed one 5k split at 30.5 kph. My total time includes traffic lights, waiting for cars, and some minor route hesitation. I feel like a 30 kph average for at least the first 100 km is attainable, but 30 kph isn't particularly fast.

I have grander plans in the future; an out-and-back to Niagara Falls is only 80-90 km more than this. There were some intriguing highlands in Hamilton, and maybe Ridge road is bike friendly. On my bike, I need to upgrade my seat (ouch), clothes, lights, bike bags (currently have 0); my brakes could use new pads and maintenance, and I need to get a camelbak, as my old bladder ripped.

I'm forced to wonder how far I could go in a day (e.g.). Say this took 10 hours, allotting some time for more cheeseburger. I felt generally ok; my limiting factor today was my muscles and general soreness. Energy and fitness were fine, and my fueling solution was far better this outing. Is 400 km unattainable? In any case, it's time for some proper training.

C • Cars and drivers 3

Easy run.

In the past, I have identified three limiting factors in exertions: overall fitness, energy level - whether due to food or illness, and structure - muscles, conditioning, perhaps joints or flexibility. This is not scientific and based purely on my perception. Today, I left limited mostly by structure, but also somewhat by fitness.

A comfortable effort on a new route on major roads. There were frequent stops at traffic lights, and I did fall over clipped into my bike once. I had a one minute stop crossing Don Mills, and a two minute stop at St. Clair and O'Connor. The total impact of the red lights and stops was perhaps 10 minutes, so I'm not displeased with my pace. I think I could sustain 32 kph on a long, uninterrupted flat.

Calves felt weak.

2x1 minute plank.