Petoji is coming in less than a month. I've been planning and training all year, but suddenly it seems like there is so much to do and so little time to do it all. Most of that is off-bike stuff, though. I'm happy with how the training has gone.
June wasn't a huge month numerically (1192 miles), but I did 3 back-to-backs and picked up my climbing. Petoji doesn't have a lot of climbing. It averages 5,000 feet per day and there are only 2 days over 10,000 feet (according to RideWithGPS data, which tends to overestimate the climbing a little). However, I feel like I'm better shape overall when I have good climbing legs.
I followed that up with a successful Everesting attempt on July 5th. That was huge for me in not just knowing that I'm in a good physical condition, but that my mind is ready to push through adversity. There was a time during that ride when my legs felt dead and Everesting seemed like too big of a hurdle to overcome, but I was able to continue by pushing the end goal to the back of my mind and focusing on one climb at a time. I'm sure I will face similar tough times during Petoji. I could imagine myself, for example, having a rough day on Day 10 and wondering how I could ever continue on for 13 more days. I'll need to avoid those thoughts as best as I can. One day of a time. It's a cliche for a reason.
As of today there are only about 3.5 weeks to go. I don't have a big training plan for the remaining time. I feel like it's 6:00 AM on the morning of a test. Cramming isn't going to help at this point. I've done a solid year of preparation so far and I have to trust that. I'll take it somewhat easy this weekend (recovering from Everesting), then I'll do 2 weekends of back-to-backs. The weekend after that will be Petoji. It's coming soon!
