148 miles for a beer- The b2b Ride

                                                                             

This past weekend was a doozy on the *training to train* TGP plan .  I did a little riding. Ok,  A LOT of riding. The b2b ride to be exact.  It's a 148 mile trek from The Harpoon Brewery on the waterfront of Boston to the Harpoon Brewery in Windsor Vt.  I have done this ride several times over the years and this year was no different. Pretty much a hefty dose of pedaling which panned out to be  eight hours and forty five minutes of saddle time averaging 16.9 total ride time (can I just say 17mph?) That sounds much faster!

Here's how the day looked

3:45 AM   wake up call

4:30 AM   drive to the waterfront/ fish pier in Boston

5:30 AM   miss the exit and drive to the airport instead (Doh!)

6:05 AM   quick drop off, packet pick up, chamois creme slathering ..no wait I did that at 3:55!

6:25AM    Roll

mile 16..    First basic (no food) aid station pee stop but i don't have to pee.

mile 46.9   Rest Stop #2

 WOW! that was the best 46.9 miles I've ever done. We are averaging 18.9

 Ok... so I let the chivalrous boys lead and burn out their legs pulling me along for this aperitif part of  the ride.

mile 70  Aid Station # 3 Good lord,  THE HILLS. I am  rapidly burning all my matches.  My quads begin to  feel trashed .

mile 97.5 Aid Station.  I roll in with my group with bone dry bottles.  I stop and sit down in front of the mini Snickers bars box at the end of a table carefully unwrapping them because they are melting and strategically pop them into my mouth not knowing or caring who is watching me.  The thought of having 50 more miles  is unsettling.  My knee caps are shaking. It's getting hot and I'm getting cranky. Need to say more?

mile 125.6  FINAL Aid Station   Forget the pickles on the table. I drank the pickle juice and give my Team Mate Scott Schorer a cup as he is just one big giant CRAMP at this point in the ride.

I am sweaty, my hands are sticky from Blackberry Gu. My A$$ hurts and my right calf  is cramping.

I have to use the porta potty to pee. It's hot in there with very little air and I'm already sweating BUCKETS but I sweat even more now that I've stopped riding. My shorts are stuck to my hips and feel like they are 2 sizes too small with the sticky sweat.  I pee and it's a trickle. The sunscreen I just slapped on my already burnt face is now running into my contacts from the steamy portapotty's  interior climate.

 My feet feel swollen and my wrists, shoulder blades and neck are sore yet I am happy, YES HAPPY and wound up tight on caffeinated gels and Cliff Bloks.   I've made it 125.6 miles on minimal fitness and my friend Maggie is sticking to me like glue even though she's done 8 billion - 6 hour rides getting ready for Ironman Germany. Bless her.

I leave this aid station with  2 full bottles of rocket fuel mixture: PowerBar drink mix and coke which gets me through the last hilly 23 ish miles to the finish.

I lose Maggie who surges ahead and  I stick with her friend Brian. He is dying a slow death so I take off and LATCH onto one more mini group to the finish but not until I've time trialed  it for 4 miles to catch this group.  Oh... My.. God....  Finally, the quaint covered Vt. bridge that smells like old antique wood... 3 more miles but not without one more nasty hill before the brewery.

4:30ish PM  find my gear bag and shower

5:15 PM consume beer and chow on bbq

6PM    Jump on a bus back to the water front of Boston

8:30 PM  retrieve bike and drive home

9:15 Stop at Micky D's for a  vanilla shake and hot crispy salty fries

10 PM  Shower again

10:30 PM Drop into my sheets

9AM (the next day) Do the Wayland One Mile Open Water Swim

It's one bad a$$ long day, that is for certain but a great feeling of accomplishment  to make it through the day without out any crashes, bonking, flats and or mechanical issues with a Bonus-beautiful day.

Many many thanks to Mavic, Ibex CycleLoft Poweraid, Zico, Vitamin Water, CiclismoClassico, Cliffbar, CapeCod chips, Aid station 46.9 manned by The Boston Tri Team, Mary Schiner and friends raising funds for the PMC at aid station 97.5,  Aid Station #3 staffed by Dean and Shelly Varnier and all the people who 

helped make the day a safe and fun challenge.

Lastly My team, Team Psycho and The Harpoon Brewery. Without the planning and dedication to this ride, it would never be the success it has become raising funds for the Team Psycho Elite Development athletes and  The Jim Kenary Brain Tumor research fund.

Happy Training and remember... rubber side down

A Note from Jennifer Abshire aka-Mrs Newton Running

Hi Elaine,

Nice to hear from you.  Happy summer.  It is finally hot here.  It was a rainy spring!

Your shoe wear looks perfect.    There is hardly any wear and the bit that I see is perfectly normal.  You are ready for the performance line full time I would have to say. 

So keep up the good form. I am glad to hear that you are staying injury free. You are a good testimony to listening to your body, taking the right measures to get your biomechanics figured out and starting slowly with your new form.  Way to go!

Keep in touch and for sure keep up the good form.

Jennifer

I decided it was time to take a few photos of the soles of my Newton Lady Isacc's trainers that I've been wearing since February 20th (video on this blog to prove it) in order to get some feedback from The Newton Running Lab in regards to the wear pattern I've created in my modest yet determined attempt to become a more efficient runner  which one can only hope will keep me on the road to injury free status. So far so good.


 As you can see from above, I got a passing grade and there is hope for me. I'm certainly no longer a heel striker and each and every run, I'm continuing to pay attention to all aspects of my form in relation to my arm carriage, my hip, shoulder/upper body lean and my foot turnover.  I am officially and consistently a 90 per minute foot striker now, previously 84-85.
I've run 2 5k's (one sandwiched between a double century ride) and both were PAINFUL  reminders of just how out of run shape I truly am.  I did not become an injured "jogger" overnight and I'm well aware that it will take  many months to gain back a quarter of the fitness, confidence,  maybe some speed and perhaps the feeling that I am controlling the pace, the pace isn't controlling me.


I am fine with that. However long it takes.


In the mean time, I am enjoying my Newton Running Shoes. I wear them exclusively now. They are comfortable,  very well made and if you run in them "correctly" they will last as long as any other pair of running shoes. My fresh new form, the patience to take the time to break them in and more importantly, my determination to get my "jogging status" a thing of the past is work in progress and I'm taking the "crappy run days" (far too many) with the "I think i can do this" days ( far too less) and taking it one 90 cadence-step-at-a-time.