Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Boredom on the Bee Line

I am not a fan of the Ironman Arizona bike course. It's a three loop route out and back that goes past Arizona State University, the Tempe Marketplace, and some really butt ugly scenery on highway 87 that includes a shuttered golf course, a gas station, some industrial areas and a large dump and usually some type of roadkill. The top is semi scenic, but since you are climbing a hill, you are busy suffering and don't care.

One of the advantages and curses of living in the same area that you are racing is that you get to ride the bike course. Over and over and over again. It's there, so it has to be ridden. I don't know how many times I had ridden it. I have ridden it when there was no wind(once). I have ridden it when there were wild flowers on the roadside. I have ridden it when the wind was howling and the temperature was in the 90's during IMAZ in April last year. I have ridden it enough to have some really bad memories of fighting myself and the weather and the terrain and the race cut-off times. I have ridden it knowing that my goal of finishing an ironman was shattered even when I was riding as hard as I could.

Last Sunday I rode up the hill with the intention of seeing if I could maintain a goal pace. Supposedly, the theory is that riding an ironman bike leg, you need to maintain a moderate pace so you have enough energy for the 26.2 mile run. I guess it's a good theory, but it doesn't work for me because I ride too slow. My choices are either ride a moderate pace and miss the time cut-offs or ride harder, make the cut-offs and hope I have enough energy left for the run. I am using the latter option.

So when I rode up the hill, I rode a pace that was harder and faster than what I had ridden in the past and not a recommended ironman pace. I kept thinking that I was not going to let this hill beat me again. The dump smelled. There were a few hardy souls also battling the hill. It was hot and humid and there is no shade. I rode a decent pace, but my legs hurt, my butt hurt and I was wasted by the time I got done with the ride of 62 miles. I am not sure I can sustain this pace over a 112 mile bike ride.

When you are riding a long traing ride by yourself, your mind goes into a numb state so you don't go crazy with the monotony. During a race it's different. You have other people to distract you doing various things like passing you, getting in your way so you have to pass them, spitting peeing, and occasionally saying encouraging words to you. You have to do a juggling act to get food and drink from the aid stations. Time flies because you are busy getting through the race. By yourself you only have a desolate, ugly stretch of highway to look at with the occasional mountain in the background. During my longer training rides last year, I would ride up the hill two or three times. Time would drag because I faced rides up to eight hours. I just wanted the ride to be over with.

You always hope you are training hard enough, that what you are doing is the right pace and the right amount of mileage to do well or at least finish. You hope you have enough mental stamina to get through the dark places when you think that all is lost or that you can't go on. So you ride where you don't want to ride, in weather that you don't want to ride in, farther and faster than you want to go in hopes that it is enough. So I will ride this highway until I conquer it.





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