Tour de Talbot

On Saturday I rode in the Tour de Talbot.  There were 2 route options - 55 miles and 100 miles.  (Actually there was also a 25 mile "family ride", so I guess there were 3 options.)  I originally signed up for the 55 miles, however after finishing my first Century I was toying with the idea of riding the 100 miles for this event.  But as I studied my training plan and thought logically about what my real goal is (the Half IronMan "HIM"), I realized that it would not be wise to push myself to do the Century.

I was running just a few minutes late.  It was not a mass start, but there was quite a mass of people ready to go at 7:30 am.  Daryl kindly waited for me to get myself together and we set out about 10 minutes after the mass.

Talbot County is pretty and flat.  I was looking forward to riding 55 miles of flat...this would be good training for the HIM.  I didn't have any goals for the ride except to just see how taxing the flat ride would be.  I originally thought that a flat HIM was a good idea, until I realized that flat means that there is no break.  At least with hills, you are working different muscle groups going uphill and you get a break going downhill.  With flat it's just constant pedaling.  So I was anxious to see how I would feel at the end of 55 miles.

Daryl and I started out at a fast but comfortable pace.  We rode with his wife for a little bit.  She said she was good and we pushed on.  We ran into more people that Daryl knew and chatted with them as we passed.  We were passing quite a few people.  At the first rest stop we talked with more of his friends.  This was turning into quite a social ride.  As we left the first rest stop, he saw someone else and headed back.  He told me to keep going and that he would catch up with me.

I linked up with an older man and we played leap frog for a little bit.  I realized that I was going 19-20MPH and Daryl would not be able to catch up quickly if I kept that pace...so I slowed down to let Daryl catch up.  It wasn't long before he caught up.  He was riding with a guy named Marcus who he introduced as a triathlete extraordinaire.  So our little pace line of Daryl, Marcus and me quickly caught the older man I was riding with before.  He jumped in on the line. 

I took a turn leading the group through some fields.  The wind was pretty strong at this point and it really zapped my energy quickly.  I tried to keep the same pace that we had been going (18-19 MPH) but it wasn't long before I was exhausted.  I dropped off the lead and let someone else pull for a bit.  I was able to recover almost immediately. 

It wasn't long before we had gathered a group.  I don't know if we joined another pace line or they joined ours, but we were in a peloton of about 10 people.  It's always amazing to me at how I can be riding at 21 MPH with minimal effort in groups like this.  Drafting makes such a difference...it is illegal in triathlons...so while it was really fun to ride in a big group like this, I knew that it was not good training for my HIM.

I only have a few complaints about this event.  First, we had to travel on several roads that had loose gravel.  This is dangerous and definitely slows down the pace.  Second, the road markings were really good except near the rest stops.  We missed the 2nd and 3rd rest stop because they weren't marked well.  This meant that we were not stopping to take fuel...and I know that those who rode the 100 miles suffered because of it.

At around mile 44, it was time to split up.  Daryl was riding the 100 and I was going 55.  At this point, we had separated from the peloton.  When we realized that we had missed the 3rd rest stop, we pulled off to the side to get fuel and water while the rest of the group pressed on.  So at the split, Daryl went left for the 100 miles and I went right for the 55 miles.  I was very excited to have this last segment to do alone.  This would be the best training for the HIM...flat, wind, and no drafting.  I dropped down to my aero bars and set out to finish this thing strong.

I pulled into the parking lot, quickly racked my bike and put on my running shoes.  My training plan called for me to run for 20 minutes after riding 50 miles.  I wasn't sure where to run so I decided to just circle the parking lot and the drive where we came in.  I realized that I could run around the buildings and get an even larger loop in.  I ran past where the free lunch was taking place and smelled the food...my stomach growled but I kept going.  I was running at a pretty fast pace and it felt really good.  That was very encouraging!

Overall I am feeling like I'm in great shape for the HIM.  I still have 6 weeks left and I'm feeling good.  My swimming is coming along nicely, my bike is very strong and my run is finally starting to feel good again.