Bring it!...

Hi All! Hope everyone is having a great weekend so far. We are truly blessed to have days like this. Before I get started, let me begin by saying to those you lost loved ones on 9/11, my hearts and prayers were, and always will be with you.

Well, we couldn't of had better weather, quite a change from last weekend's heat fest! My weekend was fairly uneventful, which these days, is another way of saying it was perfect!

I had a few friends who went up to Big Bear this weekend to continue their training for the Everest Challenge coming up September 25-26. I was invited to join, and gave it some serious consideration, but ultimately decided that I'd rather spend more time on the bike, and less time in the car. One of my least favorite things to do, is to load up the car to go for a ride. That's one of the reasons I quit mountain biking.

Saturday morning, I rolled out of the driveway around 8:15, fully committed to getting 6-hours, and 100-miles on the bike. I wasn't sure of the route I was going to take, but I knew I wanted that much time and distance, and to do the ride at a nice, high-intensity. One thing I've learned over the last four years of racing and training, is that when you feel physically, and especially mentally prepared to take on a big ride, then do it, don't hesitate. Even as much as I love to ride, it's not very often that I want to go out for 6+ hours, and 100+ miles.

As I was gearing up, I decided on a route...head East to Escondido, up Lake Wohlford Road, down Valley Center Road, up Highway 76 to South Grade Road, up South Grade to Palomar's summit, back down South Grade to Highway 76, Highway 76 to Oceanside, Coast Highway to Palomar Airport Road, Palomar Airport Road back home.

When I reached the market at Valley Center Road and Highway 76, (the official start to the climb up Palomar Mountain), I made the decision that I was going to take a "run" at the mountain, in other words, I was going to go hard all the way to the summit and see if I could match or beat my PR of 69-minutes. I was 28-miles in to my ride at this point, so my legs were good and warm.

I reached the split to South Grade Road off Highway 76 in 26:30, I knew I was right on track to possibly beat my PR. I continued on up South Grade Road, pushing the pace, noting that my heart rate had been at 170+ since I left the market. I felt good, and decided that I could hold that pace to the top.

As I neared the summit, I noticed three riders up the road, and I was gaining on them fast. As I went by, I recognized one of the riders from my repeats last week on Palomar. I said hi and pushed on. A little ways up the road, he caught up to me and began talking. I made the mistake of letting up so I could respond, why? To be friendly of course. He's a nice guy, and I didn't want to be rude, but looking back on it, I should of just kept my mouth shut for one more kilometer, reached the summit, and then spoke! Needless to say, I missed my PR by one minute! 70-minutes to the top! The good news is that I'm convinced if I hadn't let up, I could of at least matched my PR.

There were some other minor events and sights during the ride that I won't bore you with. Stats for the ride...6:08, 99.7-miles, 7000ft of elevation gain, 3300 calories burned.

Today, I fully planned on getting at least 4-5 hours on the bike, and wanted to push it hard again the whole way, but about an hour in to the ride, I noticed that no matter how hard I pedaled, my heart rate wasn't getting above 150bpm. What's that mean? My body was telling me it's tired. When your heart does that, you're far better off to take it easy, cut the ride short, and let your body recover. It's not going to make you any stronger or faster to push through it. Actually, it can have just the opposite effect. Stats for the ride...3-hours, 49-miles, 3000ft, 1200 calories. Good enough!

On a sad note...the Mt. Charleston Hill Climb was officially cancelled this week due to lack of participation! Sign of the times? As soon as I received the email informing me of the cancellation, I immediately pulled the trigger and registered for the Death Valley Stage Race. I already intended to race it, but with Charleston off the schedule, I decided to fully commit. With all the training I've been doing in preparation for Chalreston, and my fitness at a high level, it would be a shame to call it a season and let it go to waste.

So it's the Death Valley race October 16-17th, then probably the Santiago Canyon TT the first Saturday in November, then my season will be officially over! Hope all is well, until next time...