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!
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Training Update: May
My #1 goal for May was to complete a 10-day block of training averaging 110 miles per day. I ended up with 1110.8 miles, for an average of 111 miles per day. Mission accomplished.
I learned a few lessons along the way. On day 5 I drove over to Fernley for (a) a little change in scenery and (b) to get away from the rain in Reno. For some reason I was feeling pretty good that day. I don't know if it was the change of scenery or what, but my legs felt fresh. You know that feeling you get when you have a tailwind but you're in denial about it? You feel like you've made some sort of breakthrough in your training. The hard work is paying off and you're finally getting faster. It's a great feeling, but then you turn around and it all comes crashing down.
I didn't have a tailwind on day 5, but I had a similar feeling. My legs felt fresh, like I had made a training breakthrough thanks to the 4-day blocks and back-to-back long days I've been doing this year. I rode harder than the previous 4 days, satisfied with myself along the way. The next day was like turning around and realizing that I had been riding with a tailwind the whole time. Day 5 was not a training breakthrough. In fact, I rode too hard on day 5 and ended up paying for it on day 6. I was able to ride at an easy pace on day 6 and recovered for day 7, but I learned an important lesson.
Pacing is everything. That's the big lesson I learned from my 10-day block of training. I'm bound to have some up days and some down days during Petoji. I have to resist that urge to ride too hard on the good days.
Aside from the day 5 mistake, I was pleased with how the 10-day training block turned out. My previous high mark was 500 miles in 5 days, so a lot of this was new to me. I did well on the post-ride nutrition front. I was recovering well from day to day and my weight was steady. At a certain point I just got into the groove. Eat, ride, eat, sleep, then do it all over again. When the 10th day was over I felt like I could have kept on going. I gained a lot of confidence from this 10-day block.
10 days is good, but it's obviously a long way from 23 days. I may be happy with the way things are going, but there is still a lot of work left to do.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
I learned a few lessons along the way. On day 5 I drove over to Fernley for (a) a little change in scenery and (b) to get away from the rain in Reno. For some reason I was feeling pretty good that day. I don't know if it was the change of scenery or what, but my legs felt fresh. You know that feeling you get when you have a tailwind but you're in denial about it? You feel like you've made some sort of breakthrough in your training. The hard work is paying off and you're finally getting faster. It's a great feeling, but then you turn around and it all comes crashing down.
I didn't have a tailwind on day 5, but I had a similar feeling. My legs felt fresh, like I had made a training breakthrough thanks to the 4-day blocks and back-to-back long days I've been doing this year. I rode harder than the previous 4 days, satisfied with myself along the way. The next day was like turning around and realizing that I had been riding with a tailwind the whole time. Day 5 was not a training breakthrough. In fact, I rode too hard on day 5 and ended up paying for it on day 6. I was able to ride at an easy pace on day 6 and recovered for day 7, but I learned an important lesson.
Pacing is everything. That's the big lesson I learned from my 10-day block of training. I'm bound to have some up days and some down days during Petoji. I have to resist that urge to ride too hard on the good days.
Aside from the day 5 mistake, I was pleased with how the 10-day training block turned out. My previous high mark was 500 miles in 5 days, so a lot of this was new to me. I did well on the post-ride nutrition front. I was recovering well from day to day and my weight was steady. At a certain point I just got into the groove. Eat, ride, eat, sleep, then do it all over again. When the 10th day was over I felt like I could have kept on going. I gained a lot of confidence from this 10-day block.
10 days is good, but it's obviously a long way from 23 days. I may be happy with the way things are going, but there is still a lot of work left to do.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Training Update: April
One third of the year is over and Petoji is only 4 months away. April wasn't a huge month (1172 miles), but I accomplished my main goals for the month. I wanted to do back-to-back centuries on 3 out of the 4 weeks, plus one double century. I was able to accomplish those goals.
The back-to-back rides seem to be paying off. I'm getting more and more comfortable on the second day. I want to keep doing consecutive rides as much as possible. Obviously 2 days in a row is a lot different than 23 days in a row, but hopefully my body is starting to understand how to recover from one long day to be ready for another long day.
May is going to be a very important month. Starting on May 16th I'm planning on riding 10 days in a row averaging 110 miles per day. This is a big step up from the 4-day blocks I did earlier this year. If I have a solid 10 days I will feel confident that Petoji is possible. If not, I'll have a lot of doubts. I'm looking forward to the test. I feel ready, but you never know until you get out there and do it.
The back-to-back rides seem to be paying off. I'm getting more and more comfortable on the second day. I want to keep doing consecutive rides as much as possible. Obviously 2 days in a row is a lot different than 23 days in a row, but hopefully my body is starting to understand how to recover from one long day to be ready for another long day.
May is going to be a very important month. Starting on May 16th I'm planning on riding 10 days in a row averaging 110 miles per day. This is a big step up from the 4-day blocks I did earlier this year. If I have a solid 10 days I will feel confident that Petoji is possible. If not, I'll have a lot of doubts. I'm looking forward to the test. I feel ready, but you never know until you get out there and do it.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Route Update: April
All hotels are booked, so I have made a few slight changes to the route.
The changes start at Day 12. I added about 20 miles to finish in Pampa, TX instead of Borger, TX. From there I decided to route through Anadarko, OK instead of New Cordell, OK. I mainly switched because of the hotel situation. It makes for a long Day 13, but Day 14 becomes shorter and a rest day of sorts.
On Day 15 I switched from Talihina, OK to Heavener, OK. This was a route change that I didn't necessarily want to make, but the hotel situation forced my hand. The switch removes a section of the Talimena Scenic Byway. It's unfortunate, but I'll still get to ride half of the Byway. On the positive side, the switch adds extra mileage to the route as a whole, pushing it over the 3,000 mile mark. I don't know why, I wanted that number. It's one of those irrational human things. Is a 100 mile ride more impressive than a 99 mile ride? No, but I'd ride that extra 1 mile almost every time. Is 3,000 more impressive than 2,900? Probably not.
Those are the only major changes. The other cities stayed the same, but mileages may have changed slightly because of more exact routing from hotel to hotel. I've updated the daily GPS files and the big route map on the website.
 |
| Original Itinerary |
 |
| New Itinerary |
On Day 15 I switched from Talihina, OK to Heavener, OK. This was a route change that I didn't necessarily want to make, but the hotel situation forced my hand. The switch removes a section of the Talimena Scenic Byway. It's unfortunate, but I'll still get to ride half of the Byway. On the positive side, the switch adds extra mileage to the route as a whole, pushing it over the 3,000 mile mark. I don't know why, I wanted that number. It's one of those irrational human things. Is a 100 mile ride more impressive than a 99 mile ride? No, but I'd ride that extra 1 mile almost every time. Is 3,000 more impressive than 2,900? Probably not.
Those are the only major changes. The other cities stayed the same, but mileages may have changed slightly because of more exact routing from hotel to hotel. I've updated the daily GPS files and the big route map on the website.
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Training Update: March
After a slow February, I picked things up a little in March. I had 1,400 miles for the month and 9 centuries. (For the year I'm sitting at 3,700 miles and 23 centuries.) Most importantly, I was able to complete a 4-day block of training where I averaged 119 miles per day. There's more detail on those 4 days here if you're interested.
I felt good during the 4-day block and I'm getting a better feel for how I have to pace myself for multiple long days in a row. However, 4 days is less than 20% of what I'll need to do for Petoji. I feel good about my progress so far, but I still understand that I have a lot more work to do.
Towards the end of May I might have time to fit in a 9-day block of training, so I'm going to use April to focus on back-to-back rides. I want to do 2 100-mile rides in a row on 3 of the 4 weekends. I also want to squeeze in one double century. There are a few days around 170 miles, so I want a few doubles in the bank before Petoji.
There won't be any long training blocks, but April should be a busy month and May will be even more important.
I felt good during the 4-day block and I'm getting a better feel for how I have to pace myself for multiple long days in a row. However, 4 days is less than 20% of what I'll need to do for Petoji. I feel good about my progress so far, but I still understand that I have a lot more work to do.
Towards the end of May I might have time to fit in a 9-day block of training, so I'm going to use April to focus on back-to-back rides. I want to do 2 100-mile rides in a row on 3 of the 4 weekends. I also want to squeeze in one double century. There are a few days around 170 miles, so I want a few doubles in the bank before Petoji.
There won't be any long training blocks, but April should be a busy month and May will be even more important.
Monday, March 2, 2015
Training Update: February
As expected, February was a quiet month. I only got in 724 miles for the month. However, I did start adding more intervals into the schedule and I'm doing 2 days per week now. I don't really have a structured plan. I'll do 40/20s, pyramids, or just go 100% on a climb.
It doesn't sound like much, but I have to keep reminding myself that this was all part of the plan. Things will start to pick up in March. I want to start getting my weekly long ride into the 110 mile range and I have a block of 4 100-mile days in a row planned. I should start to feel like I'm making progress again.
It doesn't sound like much, but I have to keep reminding myself that this was all part of the plan. Things will start to pick up in March. I want to start getting my weekly long ride into the 110 mile range and I have a block of 4 100-mile days in a row planned. I should start to feel like I'm making progress again.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Training Update: January
January is over and Petoji is only about 6 months away. How did January's training stack up and am I on track with my training plan?
So far the plan is on track. I was able to work on one of my big points of emphasis- riding hard on consecutive days. I completed two different blocks of 4 days in a row at 100 miles per day. These blocks were the main goal for the month and the most Petoji-specific training I could do. I was even able to fit in some adequate recovery time after both blocks, which is something I don't always have the discipline to do.
January turned out to be a big month. I did 1,596 miles and a total of 11 centuries. I was blessed with a combination of more free time and better weather than normal. Hopefully it's a good foundation for the year to come.
February is going to be a change of pace. I'm going to have less free time on my hands. As a result, I will pick up the intensity. I might even do some dreaded indoor riding (I find it easier/safer to do intervals indoors). I'll still do my weekly long ride and I want to fit in one weekend of back-to-back centuries. Aside from that, there won't be a whole lot going on when it comes to Petoji-specific training. Essentially I'm just trying to stay in decent shape until March and then I will ramp up the training again.
So far the plan is on track. I was able to work on one of my big points of emphasis- riding hard on consecutive days. I completed two different blocks of 4 days in a row at 100 miles per day. These blocks were the main goal for the month and the most Petoji-specific training I could do. I was even able to fit in some adequate recovery time after both blocks, which is something I don't always have the discipline to do.
January turned out to be a big month. I did 1,596 miles and a total of 11 centuries. I was blessed with a combination of more free time and better weather than normal. Hopefully it's a good foundation for the year to come.
February is going to be a change of pace. I'm going to have less free time on my hands. As a result, I will pick up the intensity. I might even do some dreaded indoor riding (I find it easier/safer to do intervals indoors). I'll still do my weekly long ride and I want to fit in one weekend of back-to-back centuries. Aside from that, there won't be a whole lot going on when it comes to Petoji-specific training. Essentially I'm just trying to stay in decent shape until March and then I will ramp up the training again.
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