Diabolical Double

Yes, this was the hardest event I have done yet (stay tuned for Top 10 Toughest Events 2008). The Diabolical Double had been previously described to me as: 125 miles and 15,000 feet of climbing. This ride will hurt you. Badly. Really. The ride was one 125 mile loop, also covering most of the Savageman course. I had done the Savageman Aquabike last year. It hurt me. Sooo I was pretty anxious leading up to this ride. The ride was to take place on Saturday morning and was the last part of Savage Camp.

Matias and I had not been able to attend the full Camp so left for Deep Creek Lake State Park on Friday evening and arrived at 12am...everyone was sleeping...so we found where we were sleeping, got situated, and were in bed by maybe 1am...up at 6am to prepare for the ride. yaaaaa

I went across the street to Kyle and Laura's cabin, where the other half of the group was staying. Walked in, recognized the faces of some of the stronger riders in our area...SHOOOOT...what had I gotten myself into...I was scared. I asked Kyle if there were cue sheets..."NO, here is this Garmin Forerunner...it has the route and will tell you where to go." Great, I thought, as I pictured myself hitching a ride from someone in the middle of Westernport, MD. I am not huge on the technology (bike computers, HRMs, GPS) that everyone uses....yes, and I called myself an Agency Technologist. Computers frusrtate me and HRMs take too much fiddling around with. I had no idea how to use this contraption.

We were on the road by 8am. The group (~15 people) hung together. Pace did not seem to bad. The legs were feeling pretty good...but hard to get too excited...it was going to be a long day...lots of time to feel awesome and lots of time to feel miserable. 1st real climb (1st of 10 categorized climbs) came at about 15 miles...a beater. I may have been the 1st to the top...after that I stayed ahead for a bit. Matias shortly caught me..."You are an animal," he said. "I am nervous...gotta pace myself." I was feeling maybe I should be taking it easier...but I did not feel I was pushing it to much at all. There was a rest stop at mile 30 and then mile 50...the group pretty much stayed together up to this point. The big hills were coming one after another...a few rollers in between. Then the hugest hill came right before lunch (mile 65). It was a killer...this ride was sick. I was still feeling good. Had been keeping up on my nutrition (eating ~150 calories/hour, drinking water, taking Endurolytes, and eating fireballs of course). At lunch I stuffed my face with gluten-free pretzels and mint candys. 130pm and we were on the road again and over half way done. I was feeling a bit fatigued...

I had taken half my clothes off and left them at the rest stop (we had passed on the drive in and would be able to get them on the drive out). I felt weird...maybe the temperatures changes (when we started it was in the low 50s and was now in the high 70s). Climbing and descending sometimes gets to me when I climb and get really hot and then descend and become really cold. blahhh. Things are a little foggy now. The course become flatter and some more downhills as we entered Westernport. I started dropping behind the group. Then I was dropped. A few more hills...but I did not have the same climbing effort as I usually have. A few others were near me. Tom Shinners, had stayed back and was rounding up the stragglers (me mainly). He pushed me up the hills. HAHA. We came into Westernport at about mile 95. I felt like POOP...not necessarily bonking...I had just had enough. We regrouped, went down into Westernport, and made a rest stop. There was an option to go back 20 miles, instead of 35 miles. I felt like maybe I could make the 35...I did not want to be a wuss. Tom said he would take me back...I accepted and went with him after crushing 2 popsickles. I was so glad with my decision...it was the most hurtful 20 miles I have experienced on my bike. We had to do 12,000 more feet of climbing in those last 20 miles. All I could say to Tom was how miserable I was and ask him how many more miles, how many more climbs? "DO NOT ASK AGAIN how much more, stick to my wheel, put it in the lowest gear, GRUNT if you are falling behind, he shouted." GUHH I was so miserable. "How much more?!" I mumbled, buhaha. With maybe 10 miles to go he made me stop and take a gel and drink half my water. My throat and esophagus hurt like heck...maybe from breathing so hard for so long. I felt a bit better. Then Tom asked me what my "ALMOST home distance" was. I said, about 5 miles WHY?! I was cranky. A few minutes later he said almost home. HOORAY! And finally we enetered back into the state park and then were back at the cabins. 9 hours, 110 miles, almost 15,000 feet of climbing...I was freakin delerious and so thankful to Tom for dragging me back.

The rest of the group returned about an hour later. Everyone was SPENT. We then went for eats and drinks at Unos. I was feeling OK except for my throat/esophagus was killing...I had either become sick from the ride or just worn out from breathing so heavily over a long time. I crashed pretty quickly that night...woke up the next morning feeling pretty similar. I decided to go for a 45 minute swim in the lake followed by a 30 minute run...throat hurt during the swim and strangely felt pretty good on the run. Matias and I hung out with the group a bit and were on the road home about 2pm. WHAT A BEATER!!!

Ready for hot yoga tonight :)

Up Next: General Smallwood International with Team LUNA Chix DC June 29, 2008

125-DiabolicalDouble

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Eagleman...1st Half Ironman!

***RESULTS***

Overall: 5:30:36
Swim: 29:14
Bike: 2:44:44
Run: 2:10:16

***PRERACE***

I hate tapering. All week I felt anxious and had trouble breathing...anticipating the race and slowing down the training was getting to me. Saturday morning Matias and I went for a quick swim with Reston Masters before heading to Cambridge where the Eagleman festivities would begin. We were on the road by 11am...no traffic/stopping...arrived at the Expo/packet pick-up by 1:30pm. Waaaa...this race is serious business and always makes me nervous from the start...all the fancy bikes, pros, serious faces, talk about crushing it, etc. cripes. Matias and I could sense each others nervousness and quickly busted outta there. We then dropped our stuff at the Victoria Gardens B&B (not sure how we ended up a block from transition...I highly recommend this place), got settled, and headed to drop our bikes off at transition. Headed back to the B&B, where Lynette, the Australian Innkeeper who shortly became our new mom, took care of us.

I think that was the best I have slept pre-race...when you wake-up and forget where you are at...always a good sign. Had some coffee, fruit, and rice cakes with jam (my new favorite GF thing). And we headed for the race. I was in transition and set up by 6:30am. My wave was to go off at 7:45am. I had time to wait in line 45min for the porta. My stomach was a mess...I went to the bathroom at least 6 times that morning. I felt pretty empty and was a little worried.

***RACE***

SWIM - I got my full sleeve wetsuit on. I had decided to go with this because 2 years ago when I had done the Aquavelo I had gotten attacked by jellyfish 3 times. I wanted to keep as much of my body covered as possible. I was HOT. But that was OK. I gathered with the rest of the dark green cappers and before long we were off. It was a big group and I struggled to break away for awhile. I kept locking arms with a girl to my right. Finally I broke off with another girl. And I could see a few others ahead but not too far. I began to pace with the girl...she was holing a good pace for me and I was able to settle into a good rhythm. At the turning back point I was feeling pretty hot and the water tasted bad making my stomach feel nauseated. Was passing a lot of the earlier waves so that made me feel better. Finally we were entering the finishing chute. I felt pretty sluggish with the heat coming out of the water.

T1 - Ran into T1 and quickly got going on Bananas.

BIKE - As soon as I started riding I had a gel...I was feeling hungry before even starting the race and the last thing I wanted was to bonk. My legs felt solid...it was going to be a good ride. My goal time was 2:45...which meant holding 20mph. I settled into this and felt like I could hold it the whole time. I actually think I ride stronger in the heat...it gives my legs a chance to warm up. In the cold I feel like I am just grinding. The bike was pretty uneventful/a snoozer...just stayed aero, came out of the saddle several times to stretch my legs. I had 3 more gels, a a Clif Nectar bar, a bottle of 2x LUNA Electrolyte drink, and some Endurolytes. The last 10 miles of this course are always rough..wind seems to always pick up. I was getting nervous for the run. Had I saved enough? too much maybe. I felt good.

T2 - Came into T2...there was maybe only one other bike back in my area at this point. This transition was abit slower so that I could grease up my feet...and I am not up on my T2 as much as T1 yet :)

RUN - So I have been running solid in the Newtons the last month or so. Took awhile for my calves/hips to be ready for them. And then I had been getting some serious blisters on my toes. I suspected that the shoes might be too small for my large feet. Matias, a blister veteran, had fixed me up with some moleskin in the bad spots pre-race. So I should be alright. I started out slow...the bike legs were not quite ready for busting it into a run yet. But I was moving and felt ok. It was freakin HOT. Good thing for Bikram yoga...the heat did not seem to bother me anymore...just gott go with the sweating. I came upon mile 1...there was a drink/food station every mile. I was still feeling pretty slow...hopefully I would feel better. Mile 2...my feet felt hot and squished and this was going to be rough. I was dreading what my feet were going to look like when I took my shoes off in the end. I felt blisters coming on the bottoms of my feet and toes were they were being squished together...maybe it would go away. yea right. Mile 3...not going away...only getting worse. I continued to run. 10 more miles...this was going to be absolutely miserable. Mile 4 and 5...serious hurt. The run was out and back...so it was keeping me going to see people I knew. I saw Shawn and shouted "How much longer...guhh I am hurtin"...he said, "Only about a mile or so." Yeah right...after 2 more miles at least was the turn around...turning HURT. It hurts to write this. Anyways, I was on the way back. Half of the race was walking...I kept running slowly...it hurt more to walk. I decided to take it 1 mile at a time...walk through the stations. The next few miles were absolutely miserable. I would walk through the station and dump the ice water on my head to get myself moving. The last 2 miles I kinda shuffled. My energy levels were good...so it was frustrating being in pain because my body wanted to go. I had 2 gels and water throughout the run. Finally, I could see the finish. I busted it to the end. I was SO happy I had chills all over. I had completed my 1st half ironman along with my 1st half marathon.

***POSTRACE***

I went straight to the hose and got a rinse and then took my shoes off...I could not even look at my feet. Matias then found me. I told him to check the feet out..."GEEEEEEZ." Ahh not good. And I am so sunburn. Matias had a GREAT race...1st amateur male...nice work. In the end it was a good day...despite the miserable run...I figure it is a long race and lots of room for error and improvement. I enjoyed the half distance and look forward to Savageman. AHAHAHA

***LESSONS LEARNED***

-Wear a hat on the run...and maybe apply some sunscreen in transition.
-Go through blister preparation (bigger Newtons, and been talking with Mary and Al on some good ideas to get my feet tougher)

Up Next: Savage Camp June 19-22, 2008, General Smallwood International with Team LUNA Chix DC June 29, 2008

Lake Placid Training

Long training weekend up in Lake Placid last weekend. Joe Coyne, had organized a training trip in preparation for s upcoming Ironman USA.

DAY 1/Thursday: Thursday morning Matias and I started off at Turkey Thicket with a solid 5,000 yard swim. We then headed out...picked up Kelzie, and then headed to meet up with Joe and Laurel. Team Versa was on the road by 9:30am, only 30 minutes later than planned. The drive was pretty uneventful..a few rest stops...and then around 3pm a stop in Woodstock to ride a 30 mile loop Joe had found. WOW...Woodstock was just as I pictured it. My legs felt stale...this would be a rough ride. We got going and it did feel good to get moving. After about 20 miles though I was ready to be done and thought this could be a long few days if my legs did not feel better. Since Tour de Skyline they just had not been feeling it. Not much recovery and over-training is what I suspected. We missed a turn and ended up with about 36 miles and were back in the car. After a quick stop at Sunflower, a local health food store, and a run in with a very laid back yogi we were on the road again by 7pm. We made it to Placid by 10pm...I was beat.

DAY 2/Friday: After a look at the weather forecast the previous night and our late arrival, we decided to sleep in a bit until 8ish, hit the grocery store, and then head out to ride one 56 mile loop of the Placid course. At about 10am we were ready to roll out. I was glad we had waited a bit for the sun to come out and temps to go into the upper 50s. As we started to ride my legs still felt so strained. UGHH. BLAH. I wished I was swimming. The 1st part of the course was some serious downhills...dang...downhills are not my strength at all. So yea, maybe 6 miles of realy downhill. I wanted to turn around but now though that might not be such a hot idea as we plummeted into this valley...going back up might not be so fun. I was stuck. After about 14 miles the downhills ceased and we came into Keene and regrouped. I was definitely not feeling well. I decided I should turn around and find a pool. BUHAHA. I told the group I was not feeling it and going to head back...the reminded me I had to go back up what we had come down. I did not care...I love climbing. Sucka...the climb back up was rough...nuf said. After that I felt a bit better. Headed back into town...the group would not be back for maybe another hour so I decided to ride through town and check out the Lake Placid Fitness Center, which supposedly had a pool. Unfortunately their pool was closed. Major bummer. I headed back to the condo...for a total of about 40 miles. The group returned around 2pm. The afternoons workout was a swim in Mirror Lake. We headed for the lake at 430pm. I had heard the water was in the lows 50s and was a bit nervous but really wanted to swim. Got my wetsuit on and lingered around awhile. Matias busted right on off the dock...huh...he seemed ok. I went over to the shore and waded in and started swimming...it was freakin cold. Not the type where one would warm up. DANG. I swam maybe 15 minutes and started feeling dizzy...this can not be good. I decided I should be a wuss and turn around before I had a problem. I was done trying for the day. That night we crushed some food and watched a movie about a guy who somehow became blind in Mexico.

DAY 3/Saturday: After yesterdays bust...I decided to do my own thing today. The group was doing a lot of riding (at least 1 loop of the course each day). I decided that was not the best for me with how my legs had been hurting and with Eagleman coming the following weekend. I planned to do a long run and then try to find a pool. At 930am I headed out solo-mission in the Newtons to run around Mirror Lake (which I believe was about 3.5 miles round trip). I did one loop and was feeling pretty good, and no signs of blisters (At the end of my runs in the Newtons my toes would began to get sore and I was getting some good looking blisters). One more loop should put me at 8 miles. After the 2nd loop I was still feeling pretty good so decided to go for one more. Coming through the town that 3rd loop my feet/toes started to hurt. I could have done another if I cut my toes off. I headed back to the condo and ended with about 12 miles...m longest run to this date. I really wanted to swim so looked online and called some places to find a pool. No matter where I go I am always able to find something...NOTHING. geez. When Matias got back from riding he felt my frustration and decided we should try and bust into a hotel he had seen. We headed to the Adirondack Inn and were able to sneak into their 15 or so yard pool. It felt great to stretch out and then sit in the hot tub. After the swim we went to Pasta La Villa for a Starburst martini and $1 drafts. nice. Then headed back to the condo to catch the end of a movie about a he-she. That night we crushed some more eats and then headed to the American Legion for some karaoke. We sat in the corner and watched the professional karaokeeer's line dancing and singing. After about an hour we were all falling asleep and decided it was bedtime.

DAY 4/Sunday: Today I would attempt to ride 1 loop of the course with the group again. We decided to get an earlier 8am start as the weather looked like it would get worse throughout the day. The way to Keene my legs felt soso...the downhills began...really not fun. Mile 35 the legs started feeling very strained again. Well at least only 20 more miles. The next section was this out and back. The wind started to really pick up and at times I felt I was going backwards. I became sad and wanted to be done. Kelzie was ahead...Matias was ahead but kept slowing to wait up for me and make sure I had not blown away. Joe and Laurel were not far behind. At mile 44 the climb back into Placid began. It had started to rain and I got cold. The last section was Little Cherry, Big Cherry, Baby Bear (weak), Mama Bear, and Papa Bear hills. Not too bad...I do love climbing. And finally it was over and we were back at the condo. Matias and I headed to the crepe place and I had a sandwich with gluten-free bread! It was so yummy. Then we decided to check out the Swedish Hill Winery. They had some great wines and we bought 3 bottles. Everyone was pretty wiped from training at this point...that night we crushed the rest of the food and talked about what we would do our last morning in Placid.

DAY 5/Monday: The group discussed a couple options for the morning training before leaving to go home. I was leaning towards NOT riding and just going for an hour run. They had wanted to do a mini-tri. This would mean getting in the freezing water around 7am. I was not up for that. Then someone mentioned this Whiteface Mountain ride. UGHH ride. Then the talk was of this mountain which consisted of 8 miles of climbing. OK I was in. Whiteface Mountain is 8 miles on a 8% Grade. The Climb is 3,500' up Scenic Whiteface Mountain Veterans Memorial Highway. New York's 5th highest peak with 360° panoramic views of the Adirondacks, New England, Vermont and Montreal. Starting line is at the Junction of Routes 86 & 431 in Wilmington, New York. Team Versa headed out at 630am, arrived at the starting line at 7am and were rolling by 715am. The climb began. Is this the start I kept asking. I sure as heck hoped...we were already significantly (out of the saddle type) climbing. "Yes, but we have not entered the actual climb," they kept saying. nice. Mile markers started saying 3, 2, 1 miles until Toll Booth (that meant park entrance). After 3 miles we came upon the closed park gates and signs which said NO bikes. I was bustin on through. Matias and I had gotten there 1st..we waited for Laurel and Joe to make a decision. Laurel said "LETS GO"...so we were climbing. Yes, this was climbing...no relief whatsoever. We settled into our paces. Matias was about 50 feet ahead of me and Joe about 50 feet behind...I did not want to let Matias out of my site. We came up on a sign...ROUGH ROAD 5 miles...great 5 miles till the top. They were not kidding...this was crazy tough. After wat seemed like a loooong time I came to ROUGH ROAD 4 miles...GOOD GRIEF. I needed fireballs and a gel...I was going to bonk after riding 4 miles. The next 2 miles seemed long and it started to get colder...maybe a temp drop of 10 degrees from the base. And the visibility was becoming very low...maybe 50 feet...I could barely see Matias but knew he was only about 50 feet in front still. Then the wind picked up...I had to really fight to ride through it. Finally, I came upon ROUGH ROAD 1 mile. There were no longer trees as we were at the top of the mountain...I felt as if I were in a different country. And finally I was at the top at some castle. So strange. I found Matias and Joe shortly followed. We were SO cold. Temp had gone down to 40 degrees and the wind was very strong. Some guys who worked in the castle had drove up right as we were finishing and told us we should not be up there and better ride back down asap. We were waiting for Laurel and then were gonna head back down. I was NOT looking forward to the ride down. Laurel arrived and they let us warm up a few minutes in the castle. Then we headed down. I took it EZ...breaked the entire time. There were some serios small rough bumbs middle of the road that could have taken someone out if you had not been paying attention. My eyes were watering and I was SO cold. I gripped my breaks so hard that my hands went numb. Temp was rising...at mile 4 it was about 55 degrees and then at the base about 62 degrees. I did not see anyone ahead of me at the base...I felt delerious and was unsure of where to go. I called Matias and Joe...AH DUH. Then figured it out...made my way back to the car. I was proud of that accomplishment. Probably the hardest thing I have done on Bananas. We got back to the condo, packed up, and shipped out. The way home went quickly. Matias drank too much Rockstar and went psycho. He finally bonked about 8pm...there is a 1st time for everything.

Thanks Joe for putting this training trip together. I had a great time training and hanging with everyone! Go Team Versa!

Up Next: Eagleman June 8, 2008