Training Week In Review: Week 14

This week was my first week back to full workout schedule and vigorous effort since racing a 70.3 in Macon on May 31st. I used last week to recover and slowly work back into training, which proved to be a good thing at least mentally as I was eager to hit the ground running.

New bars and new bottle!

For the most part my workouts were uneventful leading into the weekend. I managed a brick on Thursday morning spending an hour indoors on the bike followed by an outdoor 3mi run. The legs felt well rested so I pushed the pace a bit on the run as I want to start doing on my shorter runs to help offset the longer, slow paced runs on the weekends. It felt great to be back at it, and I was ready for my main training set over the weekend which included my first ride on the IM Chattanooga bike course. I was also excited to try out my new AP Pro bottle mounted to my new T1+ Viper aero bars filled with my new Infinite Nutrition drink. (lots of "new" things for this ride)

IM Chattanooga Bike Course Preview Ride

I will admit that while driving up to Chattanooga Saturday morning, mu mind went back and forth on the 2 possibilities that this ride would bring. Option A: What have I gotten myself into? I'll never be able to run after this hilly bike course - OR - Option B: I'm where I should be at this point in my training. The result? You'll have to read further to find out...

There was a group of us that met at the Bi-Lo on Tennessee Ave. to start the ride (about 5 mi from transition) because the Riverfront Festival was going on and access to Riverfront parkway wasn't possible. It was great to finally meet some people I've messaged with on the IM Choo Facebook pages. There were about 35-40 of us at the start and we headed out of the parking lot onto the course. My test on a new course with a new aero bottle was about to begin. We quickly split into 3 groups over the first 3-4 miles. I remained with Reiko, whom I had met and ridden with before in Cartersville, and 4-5 others who were looking to hold a 16-17mph pace for the 60mi course. The faster group quickly disappeared in front, and we lost sight of the slower group behind us not long after that. There wasn't a ton of traffic on the roads, but there was enough to force you to ride single-file to be smart.

We rolled through the first 10-15 miles and I was waiting to encounter the first hills that everyone had been worrying, analyzing, and complaining about on Facebook. Mile 20: waiting. Mile 25: still waiting. As we approached the hill leading into the turn onto Hog Jowl Rd., Reiko mentioned that this was the first big climb and it got steeper at the top, but to just take it slow and it wouldn't be difficult. She was right. It was a semi-steep hill that spanned 1 mile, but I geared down and kept the pedals steady. I reached the top feeling not much different than I had the 30 miles leading up to the climb. We got to enjoy a brief downhill stretch before applying the brakes enough to make the 180° turn at the base of the descent. It was after this turn that I realized we were over halfway through the loop and my legs were feeling really good. By this time our group had dwindled down to 3 as others had either gone ahead or took an extra stop along the way.

A quick stop to replenish water

The next several miles passed with more downhill than up allowing for momentum to carry me through most of the hills without much change in gears. We rolled past Old Bethel Rd. and I had to pause and smile for a moment as I knew that I had family that lived just 1 mile down that road. I refocused on the course as we peddled to the stretch into downtown Chickamauga. The road here is definitely what I would call a false flat, but still nothing too strenuous. There was much more traffic here, but for the most part motorists were considerate and left plenty of space when passing. This stretched seemed longer than I thought it should have because I'm used to driving it in a car and not propelling myself on a bike. I imagine that this stretch through downtown Chickamauga will be a great cheering section on race day and very inspirational as we pass through twice during the loops of the course. We breezed by and reentered the countryside with sparse houses and open fields. After a quick stop at a gas station for cold water and bathroom break, we turned onto Lee Ave. I knew that we would soon be approaching the second hill that I had noticed on the elevation charts. This hill was longer than the first but not nearly as steep. It lasted a little over 2 miles, but was manageable with gears and steady pacing. This hill was different from the other climb we encountered as you do enjoy a 1.25 mi downhill stretch that is straight, on good roads, and lets you fly with no effort. I coasted the downhill and still reached 35 mph. It felt good to feel some speed, and better when I noticed that I was at mile 52 and not far from the starting point on this recon ride. The legs still felt pretty strong all the way back to the parking lot. The only stretch I felt any effort was after the turn back onto Highway 193. This is also the only section of the course where I felt any wind. It wasn't strong, just steady. This is an open highway with a wide shoulder, but there are grooves in the pavement on the shoulder that prevents riding on them. We kept close the white line, but the cars that were passing us were flying. Again, most of them were courteous, but a couple should have left some more space between us and their side mirrors. We took a leisurely pace the final 2 miles through the St. Elmo area which is full of older houses that give the area a certain kind of charm.

Reiko, my riding buddy for the day

We peddled back into the parking lot and a rush of confidence came over me. I had just tied my ride for the longest distance on my bike, and felt great the whole time. What's more is I expected to average right at 16 mph and I looked at my Garmin and saw 16.7 mph. I know that I have to ride a second loop in September, but I honestly expected to have tired legs after this ride and that simply wasn't the case. I will take this confidence and throw it back into training to get that much stronger on the bike. Earlier this year I think I would have taken the results of this ride and used them as an excuse to pull back on training a bit, but my mindset has shifted over the past 2 months and I'm not going to let confidence now be my downfall in September. The aero bottle worked pretty well. I'm glad I secured it with a zip tie as the first few miles were rough and I don't want to chance losing another aero bottle (they aren't cheap!). I need to secure the straw where it inserts into the guide leading into the bottle as the bumps cause the straw to come out a bit along the way and that's something I definitely don't want to lose either. The recommended amount of liquid for the bottle is 20-24oz but I would stay closer to the 20oz. mark as I experienced a little splashing at the beginning.

Here is the link to my Garmin track for the ride: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/520648713
Mileage: 59.58 • Avg. Speed: 16.7 mph • Elevation Gain: 2080 ft.


First Impressions:

• This course is either up or down. There are very little truly flat areas.
• Pay attention to the roads because there are some stretches that are rough.
• Pace yourself on the 2 major hills and they won't see that bad.
• Take the time to look around. You'll see ponds, streams, farms, fields, and mountains. Truly spectacular scenery to enjoy if you look up from the road once in a while.
• There are lots of railroad tracks (6 if I remember correctly) that aren't bad, but take caution.
• Pace yourself on this course as it could wear you down if you go too hard, but it's not as bad as everyone else had hyped it up to be (in my opinion)

Weekly Totals - Swim: 3500m • Bike: 97mi • Run: 11.6mi