7 Days Remaining – Final Big Workout….72 Miles

Yesterday was my last big training day of last week. It marked my largest bike ride to date as well as ending a great week of training. I woke up early to get some breakfast and coffee before heading out. I packed peanut butter and jelly, two honey stinger waffles, GU Roctane drink, and water. I headed out early before 6 to beat the heat and the traffic.

My legs felt dead. They just did not have anything to them. I could not get into a good flow at all the first 30 miles. My legs just did not have the energy to ride above 20 mph. I don’t know if it was the large volume of training, the slight wind, or just one of those days. It was not a terrible ride, but I was hoping to ride a little faster.

My watch did not record each lap due to me forgetting to switch back to this option. As the ride went on I kept feeling better and wish I could have seen my last 10 miles because I think I was above 22 mph the entire time.This ride was weird in that I really enjoyed this ride. I felt so at ease and calm during this 3.5 hour ride. I never felt frustration or had any negative thoughts about not being able to finish the ride. It was a rather peaceful journey.

You can see from the map above I was all over the place. I had no set route I just took off and decided to ride some different roads when I felt like it.

I could not have asked for a better final ride to my training. Yes, I wish my legs felt better so my average pace could have been higher. However, it made me realize that I need to really kick it up a notch come race day. Riding around 20 mph will not give m the time I want. I hit mile 56 at 2:48 which is not acceptable for me come race day. I know I can ride faster than this pace today. I have no worries.

After the ride I took the bike to Healthy Habits to make sure all is good. It is weird because I won’t have it back until Thursday. I need to get two rides in before race day, but not having my bike for most of the week makes me nervous. I know that my bike will be race ready when I pick it up. They are going to work on my chain and derailleurs as my chain pops off on almost every single ride.

The rest of Sunday my body actually felt pretty good. My knees were shot, but the rest felt good. I was surprised at I was barely effected by the ride.

Let the taper begin.