I need to get more flat rides in for similar terrain training to IronMan Arizona....which is flat flat flat....
Someone from SF Tri Club mentioned the Silverado Trail in Napa so I decided to give it a try today as a 50 mile bike ride.
Driving took close to 1 hour, so this needs to be a weekend drive (perfect for the upcoming Memorial long weekend I think!) and there are soooo many roads to explore for great biking....so very happy we came here.
The map isn't great but gives you a sense on it's location...between Napa and Calistoga and on Highway 121 parallel to Highway 29 (the main road for wine tour traffic).
The goal was to ride a 50 mile distance...but then I had to ask myself to set the details. This was harder for me...I'm not the fastest biker but trying to get faster. I also am trying to build up endurance and distance as will need to get to 112 miles in November.
What can my body take and not bonk? How much can I push myself to feel good but also be realistic?
I decided that I've wanted to get an average pace of 17mph....just a target I heard many people in IronMan say...so a good place to start. My average has been more in the 14-16 range so knew this was a goal I had not accomplished, and could be a stretch, but a first goal to set.
Here are the results with some notes for my future reference:
- Great that I was below 3 hours, I expected a 3.5 hour ride
- Heart rate was in the cardio zone of 160-170 for most of the ride
- Average moving speed above the 17 mph goal. woo hoo!
It was a great ride overall. I felt great, my legs felt able to keep going, and I was especially happy with the rolling hills - I have had to slow down on hill climbs to a slow slow pace but this time there was only 1 hill I went below 10 mph. On others I actually practiced increasing my speed...and what a rush that was!
I drank my IronMan perform drink for nutrients and ate 1 bag of Cola chews at the half-way point (man they tasted good!) and then decided to do a negative split going back....legs went into gear and I felt like I was flying!
There were points I felt tired and slowed down...but when ever I saw the speed dip below 17 I told myself to pick it up and keep moving....and I did!
Graphs show the details below, some points I'm noting for myself:
- Speed: happy to see that negative split seen in higher speed on return half
- Speed: standard variations in speed from hills and stop lights and pee breaks...but a good visible average in there at 17-18 mph
- Elevation: higher than I expected overall and most was in the form of rollers through the ride, added a good element of practice to not reduce speed
- Heart Rate: sticking around 170 area....will look to reduce this over time as I build up endurance and get long slow rides in..reasonable target in a 6 month time frame?
Finished the ride with a great feeling and achievement that i pushed myself and got a new goal.
T-Run: keeping up the practice for a t-run after the bike....just 10 minutes...but OUCH...shooting pain in the knee....which just leaves me going "oh crap!"
So a new action item to find a doctor in my new city and see what options I have....I'm staying positive (or naive!?) and believing I'll get to a place I can run again...by IronMan...
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