Today marked the first 100 mile bike ride I've done. Four weeks ago, I did an 82 mile ride, and then two weeks ago did the Lake Placid 56 mile course twice over two days as an intermediary step towards a full century in one day. For a few weeks, I've been debating what course to follow: I could do my ~50 mile Wachusett Reservoir loop twice, I could do the 72 mile Wachusett Mountain loop, and find a way to add 30 miles to it, I could go to my parents in Sturbridge and back (provided I could find a decent route), or I could blaze a new trail that I hadn't ever done before.
I ended up deciding to head to my parents place and back, for multiple reasons. I really wasn't feeling in the mood to do the Wachusett Reservoir loop, then be back home, and head out again. I didn't want to do the Wachusett Mtn loop because I didn't want to put the climb stress on my legs, after they've been beat on pretty good over the past couple weeks. I almost did a course that brought me to the base of the mountain, and then continued on instead of heading up, but at that point known water stops were few and far between. Finally, I didn't want to go on a whole new trail because of the water supply issue, plus the 82 mile loop was forging a new trail, and there was enough to not like about that course that I was hesitant to do it again. True, I'd be going on a new course to my parents, but at least there was a sure water filling stop half way, and knowing a way to get there could prove useful in the future.
Right off the bat I kinda screwed up by not taking the time to get some food in my stomach before leaving. I had thought about scrambled eggs, but opted not to since we didn't have any milk. Usually if nothing else, I have a Clif bar, but it just kinda skipped my mind. I think I was in too much of a rush to get out the door, as it was pushing 6:30 am. Adding to the disappointment within the first two miles was the realization that my legs were still not recovered from the run on Thursday. This was going to be a long 100 miles.
I ended up reverting to being conservative - doing my first century on already somewhat fatigued legs that had been showing some IT band rubbing over the past day, plus it being an unknown course in terms of difficulty (all I knew was that Sturbridge is a hill town - so I had no idea what to expect in terms of climbing), and not having breakfast - I decided I was going to be ok with it being a little slow. Hell, I'd probably have to take a good length rest break in Sturbridge. I was ok with that - I've still got plenty of time in my training schedule that I wasn't going to worry about it too much on the first century go around.
Once out on the road, it was a typical ride. I stopped at 25 miles for a quick break to munch on half a protein bar. It was somewhere around that point that I started thinking about the elevation changes - I knew that Sturbridge is higher than Framingham, but not a more than about 700' or so. However it seemed like I was already having to climb a good number of small hills. The problem was that I knew there were bigger hills coming up getting into Sturbridge. So that meant that the course must be hillier than I anticipated - maybe not a huge net elevation change, but a good amount of ups and downs. That did not bode well, considering I was only 1/4 through the ride on already tired legs. I managed to plod through it, though - but the last 10-15 miles just seemed like a lot of uphill. Not necessarily steep (although there were moments) - but unrelenting. It crossed my mind whether this would be decent training for Lake Placid - certainly not quite as intense, but maybe a worthwhile option.
I eventually rolled into Sturbridge after about 3.5 hours, with an elevation gain of 3000' - a full 600' more than Lake Placid. I don't know how much stock I put into that estimate - GPS altitude estimates are notoriously inaccurate. However, I'd think it would be in a similar ballpark. Once in Sturbridge, I refilled the water bottles, and got lucky as there was some chocolate milk available (those who know me know I love that stuff - it's fantastic). I also grabbed some blueberry cobbler - figuring some solid food would be good.
After about an hour and fifteen minute break, I headed back out. I did feel revitalized, which was good - and I was surely hoping that while I knew some good uphill climbs were coming, it'd be more downhill than up on the way back. I'm not sure whether it was the food I ate, or the rest, or the downhill (probably a combination of all three), but the trip back seemed noticably easier than the trip out. Although I did stop at about 82 miles for a quick break to finish the protein bar I had started earlier in the day.
I also think the mental aspect of 'only 30 miles to go', 'only 20 miles to go' helps as well. Because at that point, after having been on a bicycle seat and propelling yourself, you look for anything to make yourself feel better, because your body starts to feel like shit. Feet get tired of having so much weight on them constantly, hands get tired of being jarred into the handlebars (although this depends on traffic and road conditions), back gets tired of leaning forward. It doesn't matter how comfortable a position may be - after 6 hours, it starts to get uncomfortable. Hell, even laying down in bed during the night people flip over from side to side, and your not even conscious of the discomfort that creeps in!
Surprisingly (in consideration of how I felt when I left in the morning), I actually managed a negative split for the return. Not by much, but I'll take what I can get.
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