57 for 57
Earlier this week I posted a message on the Asphalt Green Tri Club website looking for others to join me on a ride in Harriman State Park. It went as follows:
On Saturday, May 6, I am planning a 100 miler (at least) in the hills of Harriman State Park in celebration of my own birthday. I plan to go around this 14 mile loop until I wish I wasn’t born. It should be a gut wrenching and emotional experience.
Well, the ride turned out to be on Friday, May 5 and it was just my buddy Todd and I. Soccer coach responsibilities were to be had on Saturday and it wouldn’t do to miss the game for a long ride. I’ll also admit that I like the couple of hours coaching my son’s team, a bit more than I like sitting in the saddle for 6-7 hours pounding out 100 miles over very hilly terrain. Both options are equally satisfying, but the former has a greater impact on me, as well as others.
The plan was to get in 100 miles, although I seriously had my doubts as to whether I would be able to make it the entire distance. I was pretty sure I wasn’t fully recovered from the marathon the past Sunday.
We got to Harriman later than I had hoped, but still early enough to tackle 100 miles. It was a perfect day outside; mid-70’s, breezy and sun-filled sky. It was definitely not the kind of day where you wish you weren’t born, although I did get to the point where I wished I wasn’t riding anymore.
Todd and I finished the first two loops in 51 minutes. On the third loop I started to seriously lag and thought that it ought to be my last. I started to make extremely slow progress up Tiorati Brook Road. I arrived in 58 minutes, several minutes after Todd. I told him I’d had enough, but he didn’t want to hear that. For some reason I let him talk me into a 4th loop. I started out slow, but I felt halfway decent. I thought maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. I just hoped for the best on the climb up.
I won’t say the 4th climb was brutal. It was just very slow. When you move so slowly, you aren’t working so hard, so it doesn’t feel so bad. I did begin to wonder if I was just mentally quitting or if I was really just physically too tired. When this happens, I do my usual test; which is to try to push a pace for more than a minute. When I can’t even do that, I know I am not mentally dogging it.
My 4th and final loop took me 68 minutes. It was also exactly 57 miles which I though quite fitting. My birthday is 5/7 and finishing on that distance seemed appropriate. My odometer clicked exactly 57 just as I reached my car. I didn’t even hesitate to stop. I dumped my gear, grabbed my PB&J and quietly sat at a picnic bench eating. When I finished, I laid on top of it and silently took up some sun.
Todd was already onto his 5th loop when I stopped. I must have really been enjoying my quiet time, because Todd seemed to be back right away. He tried to talk me into another loop, but I told him NFW. He wanted to go on for another loop, but thought I just wanted to start going home. I really did feel like just hanging out by myself and insisted that he go on. Once again he was back too quickly, but by now I was ready to leave. I wanted to get home before I caught all of the rush hour traffic. I was disappointed not to be able to ride longer, but definitely not upset. It would have been nice to have ridden longer, but I really didn’t have much choice in the matter. There will be other days for longer rides.
On Saturday, May 6, I am planning a 100 miler (at least) in the hills of Harriman State Park in celebration of my own birthday. I plan to go around this 14 mile loop until I wish I wasn’t born. It should be a gut wrenching and emotional experience.
Well, the ride turned out to be on Friday, May 5 and it was just my buddy Todd and I. Soccer coach responsibilities were to be had on Saturday and it wouldn’t do to miss the game for a long ride. I’ll also admit that I like the couple of hours coaching my son’s team, a bit more than I like sitting in the saddle for 6-7 hours pounding out 100 miles over very hilly terrain. Both options are equally satisfying, but the former has a greater impact on me, as well as others.
The plan was to get in 100 miles, although I seriously had my doubts as to whether I would be able to make it the entire distance. I was pretty sure I wasn’t fully recovered from the marathon the past Sunday.
We got to Harriman later than I had hoped, but still early enough to tackle 100 miles. It was a perfect day outside; mid-70’s, breezy and sun-filled sky. It was definitely not the kind of day where you wish you weren’t born, although I did get to the point where I wished I wasn’t riding anymore.
Todd and I finished the first two loops in 51 minutes. On the third loop I started to seriously lag and thought that it ought to be my last. I started to make extremely slow progress up Tiorati Brook Road. I arrived in 58 minutes, several minutes after Todd. I told him I’d had enough, but he didn’t want to hear that. For some reason I let him talk me into a 4th loop. I started out slow, but I felt halfway decent. I thought maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. I just hoped for the best on the climb up.
I won’t say the 4th climb was brutal. It was just very slow. When you move so slowly, you aren’t working so hard, so it doesn’t feel so bad. I did begin to wonder if I was just mentally quitting or if I was really just physically too tired. When this happens, I do my usual test; which is to try to push a pace for more than a minute. When I can’t even do that, I know I am not mentally dogging it.
My 4th and final loop took me 68 minutes. It was also exactly 57 miles which I though quite fitting. My birthday is 5/7 and finishing on that distance seemed appropriate. My odometer clicked exactly 57 just as I reached my car. I didn’t even hesitate to stop. I dumped my gear, grabbed my PB&J and quietly sat at a picnic bench eating. When I finished, I laid on top of it and silently took up some sun.
Todd was already onto his 5th loop when I stopped. I must have really been enjoying my quiet time, because Todd seemed to be back right away. He tried to talk me into another loop, but I told him NFW. He wanted to go on for another loop, but thought I just wanted to start going home. I really did feel like just hanging out by myself and insisted that he go on. Once again he was back too quickly, but by now I was ready to leave. I wanted to get home before I caught all of the rush hour traffic. I was disappointed not to be able to ride longer, but definitely not upset. It would have been nice to have ridden longer, but I really didn’t have much choice in the matter. There will be other days for longer rides.
posted by Rebel at 6:08 PM
1 Comments:
Whoa, tough luck. You're right, there'll be other days. I think even one 14-mile loop would exhaust me - and I have no idea how you do it on top of a marathon. How'd that go by the way?
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