The race course:
Buh.
Roo.
Tull.
Quad shattering climbs on the bike route. Long and steep, a lovely combo. My perspective on "hilly" is greatly expanded. A 6 mile climb that goes over the continental divide (according to the race site) is one of the highlights. Much sterner stuff than I'd ever experienced. I loved it. I need to get my swim in gear so I come out of the water relatively fresh going into the bike and run. The legs will certainly not object to a swim emphasis and less bike/run for a bit.
Arrived at about 3p Thur. and got in a solo ride of the 56mi course. Enjoyed about 8 "bonus" miles thanks to a wrong turn.
Friday I did a short swim in the lake near the race area and ran one loop of the 2 loop run course. The middle 4-5 miles of the 6.6 mi course are on hiking trails. Technical and hilly. More long stretches of steep uphill... If the legs aren't screamin' after the bike, they will be not long into the run.
Friday night was poker. The one night the boys would all be in town at once, a gathering motivated as a final get together before 2 of the moved to Fla. and New Mexico 9/1.
Up to about 5 years ago we'd get a house on the lake for a week every summer. These days it's an event if we see each other once a year on our home turf.
This time around only a few fellas maintained the beer and boating and water skiing tradition during the day. But all posted for the poker. I won early and lost late. Oh well. The cards were really just an excuse to hang out.
Saturday I rode the bike course again, this time with six other racers in to check out the route. This time the hills did not seem quite as nasty. They hurt. A lot, the way cycling can. But the mind blowing aspect was not as severe. Wide range of age and abilities in our group. One of the group is part of the race organizing outfit. The elder statesman, Don, is a retired state trooper who has been doing tris for a few years. Ironman USA in Lake Placid is on his schedule for next year.
The first real climb, the 6miler, split up the group explosively. There's no slowing down to stay together on these things. You crawl into your own little cave. It's a matter of get in the easiest gear you've got, find a tempo if you can and try to keep moving enough not to fall over. It's that steep at times. Don and 2-3 others fell back, resorting to the "paperboy" tactic of weaving back and forth across the road.
As we waited to regroup at the top, I found out that Don was shot in the chest as a trooper and was left with one lung. Jeezus this! and Holy that! was the head shaking refrain. He's doing this on one @#!*&% lung! Yeah. Perspective again, on a few levels.
A misc image to close out on a light note...
I didn't see this guy
but he looks like a mountain man.
but he looks like a mountain man.
A competitor in Ironman Kentucky (Louisville) held this past Sunday.He finished. Cut off jeans all the way I hear.
Oh, hold on. I drove back to Rockville after the group ride on Sat.
1 hr (flat!) run on Sun.
Easy 40min run Mon. 8/27. Left knee and achilles barking at me since Thur. Bark, but no bite so far. Not pleased with the punishment they took in the mountains.
$2.79 for the cheap stuff in Deep Creek.
2 comments:
Good report. A little bit of a brutal race you have ahead of you. Almost more than I need to think about...
Next time you want to go to Deep Creek Lake, you should plan to stay at our place in the Canaan Valley -- just an hour or so to the south in W. Va. It's a great place to recupperate!
Post a Comment