The Long Way Home

So much has happened since my last post that I had to re-read it to figure out where to start. Not to worry, I did figure it out.

The Tour De Cure ride went really well! Not only did we make our fundraising goal with the generous help of friends and family, but the ride itself (which I was really nervous about) was fantastic. None of my anxieties came true, not even a flat tire *hip hip HOORAY!*. It was certainly a challenge, but the variety of landscapes through farms, town centers, the coast, and country roads made the time pass much faster than I would have thought. We maintained a comfortable pace and really enjoyed our time on the bikes. My only trouble came in the last 5 miles when an unexpected issue popped up and hit me like a brick. My awesome helmet you see pictured is functional but not the most aerodynamic helmet ever created. I had to wear it to look cool and match my jersey, though. The helmet is so heavy that 4 hours of pressure and turning my neck caused every muscle from the base of my skull to my shoulder blades feel they had been put through a cheese grater. I wish I had a better time crossing the finish line, but the pain was so sudden and so all encompassing that it was hard to concentrate on anything else. After getting off my helmet, getting some ice, and indulging in an awesome lunch, I felt much better. I rode double the longest distance I had ever ridden, so I was pretty damn happy with myself. Within an hour we were in the car and on a 10 hour drive to Pennsylvania.

Pittsburgh

Nothing like getting up at 6:30am, riding 60 miles, then driving 10 hours across nowheresville, am I right?

The Last Long Ride

The countdown clock is almost at zero for our 100km ride. It's been a long road (pun intended) thus far between the unexpected issues that put my bike in the shop for a while and Adam rebuilding his dads bike from the 70's. My training plan hasn't been quite as regimented as it could have been, but there's nothing I can do about that now. My biggest fear is not finishing, which everyone assures me will not happen, but this pre-event anxiety is just part of my DNA. I'm a worrier when it comes to these things. I've been going over my mental pro's and con's list going into this ride, and here it is:

THE BAD

Let's start with the bad stuff. Get it out of the way.

I haven't trained on hills... like, at all.
As I was driving up to the north shore for a work thing when I realized I was passing Topsfield Farigrounds, which is the start/end for the race. Quickly after, I was hyper-aware of the gigantic hill I was driving up, and the one that I had just driven down. Boston is pretty damn flat, and the biggest "hill" I ride is Beacon Hill on my way to work. The GPS data for the route promises just over 2,100 ft of elevation gain/loss. People tell me I'll be fine ("Oh just shift into an easy gear and crank it out!"), but let me tell you, hills and I don't get along. I hate hills even in my easiest gear. Rolling terrain is fine, but a big climb will kick my ass no matter how *fine* I'll do.

Always showing up to work a sweaty mess, blegh.

Running is the worst, and I did it.
I decided to go for a run on Monday to break in new trail runners, and even at a slow pace I ended up sore the next day. My quads are still aching today, so now I have to be extra careful to not over-do it before the race.

My schedule is bonkers now until race time.
I give myself Saturdays off for two reasons: 1) I need day that I know I'll be off, for my mental health and 2) Saturdays are a common work day in our field season, meaning I would end up requesting most Saturdays off from REI anyway. It just so happens that we have a work party this Saturday and there's no way to get out of leading it. It's not that I don't want to be there and help, but it means I'll be up early, driving a lot, and doing physical work, all before driving back, getting the bikes and Adam, and making another long drive to the hotel that night. I also have to find time to buy and make all of our food since Adam can't really eat on the road.

Sore elbows.
I have a bad habit of locking my arms when I ride, and it's something I haven't entirely broken yet. Not only do I lock my arms, but they tend to hyper-extend. This bad habits leads to my joints and ligaments taking more jolts than they should as I ride over poorly paved New England roads. A particularly sore spot that usually goes away within an hour of riding has been lingering with me all day today, which means it's probably inflamed. Bummer.

I never got the super-long ride in that I wanted to.
I had a vision to do at least one 50-mile ride, but the longest I ever got in was 30 miles. Not so bad, but I would feel better if I knew I could at least ride 50 miles, and know how I would feel at that point.


THE GOOD

Less pain, better cardio.
It wasn't until today that I noticed a big difference in my pain levels. When I started out, my back would be almost unbearably achy after 8-10 miles. Now I can regularly ride that distance and more with very minimal back pain. I think my cardio ability has improved, too, and distance rides aren't as much of an ass-kicker.

Balloon-brain.
Balloon brain is a term I made up to describe the absent-mindedness that I would get while long-distance hiking. After a while I kind of zone out and my body takes over. I'm hoping I can get to that point on our ride, but reality is that cycling requires much more awareness and attention than hiking (sometimes). Speaking of hiking, I've learned how to deal with pain and exhaustion and keep on going and going and going long after I want to stop, and I think that mental fortitude will help.

I think my legs can do it.

Are you ready for this, legs? I sure hope so.

I've always had pretty strong legs, so if I'm about to take on something that I don't feel fully prepared for I would rather it be a test of leg strength than anything else. Push up contest? No thanks. Repetitive leg motion for 4 hours? Alright, I can give it a shot.

General competitiveness.
I think back to my one-and-only 10k road run. I participated in a 5k fun run and won an entry to a 10k (some prize, huh?). Before the day of the race the furthest I ran was about 4.5 miles, and that was with some walking. The 1.7 mile difference between the furthest I trained for and the distance I had to run was pretty daunting. I thought my goal of running the whole thing without stopping was lofty, but I was able to do it because I was running "against" other people (in my mind, at least). I think someone that's been a competitive athlete never really loses that spirit. I'm equally nervous this could be my downfall, because I don't want to burn up all my energy trying to catch other people.


Well, I'm going to try to tap into my inner tortoise and enjoy the ride. Today will be my last long-ish ride with 20.2 miles in the books. Tomorrow will be a very short day (under 5 miles), then Friday and Saturday will be rest days (bike rest, but not physical rest) before the big event on Sunday. I feel like I'm stressing over this way too much, but it's my first ever big ride. I'm aiming for just over 4 hours ride time (15mph pace; the course minimum is 11.5mph). Realistically it might be more like 4.5 since I'm not ready for the hills, but we'll see. As long as they don't have to drag my sorry ass off the course because I was too slow, I'll be happy. Wish me luck!

Trail Work Karma

"What goes around comes around", a phrase that rings true all aspects of life, including but not limited to living in far-away places for a season of trail work.

Leaving my Boston-life behind was tough last summer, but I knew I had to do it for the great opportunity to lead teen trail crews. I needed to get out of the city and do something different. I had to put myself first and "seize the day", as they say. In the end I gained much more than I missed out on, and I came back a happier person. So when Adam started moping around I knew I should suggest applying to be a trail crew leader. At the same time, I didn't want to suggest it because I knew he would get the job and karma would bite me in the ass. I left him in Boston last summer, and now he would leave me here this summer.

And wouldn't you know it, I WAS RIGHT. He put in an application late by seasonal standards, so when two of his three job choices were already filled I got nervous. I didn't want him to leave, but I desperately wanted him to move on from his job and the city even if it meant leaving me behind for a while. When he was offered a job on the Maine Professional Trail Crew, I thought, "I wanted you to get out of the city, but not THAT far out".

"Just remember who the original axe-bearer in this family is"

I say that half in jest, because from what I've heard the AMC property in Maine is amazing and I know he will be working with and for great people. On the other hand, he'll be ~5.5 hours away in an unorganized territory.... yes, one of those places with no name... with no cell phone service. It's daunting for both of us, especially because he'll be working both Summer and Fall seasons. I will finish our my service year here in Boston and then... well, who knows. I'll do something, somewhere, probably ;)

But on a positive note, he gets to go be a true lumberjack (not to be confused with Lumberjack) in the Maine woods which is really awesome. I'm super jealous, but I'll be doing trail-worky things here, too, and I think my summer will go incredibly fast. 

Suddenly life has been flung into overdrive as we try to plan goodbyes with friends, family, and coworkers. On top of that, we have to fit in a trip to Pennsylvania, our 62-mile Tour De Cure ride, my increasingly busy field season schedule, both of our REI schedules, and getting him ready with all he will need for the summer season. All in the next 18 days! WHAT THE HECK! 

I learned last summer that sometimes you're in a place physically, mentally, whatever, that you don't like, you're seemingly stuck in a rut with no real prospects in the near future when all of a sudden your life is flung into overdrive with a big change that's happening, like, RIGHT NOW (OH SHIT). It's stressful, it causes anxiety, but in the end it's worth it. 

Get your own axe, JEEZ ;)

Also, if anyone has tips on living like a bachelorette please share them. I've never lived alone so I'm equally nervous and excited for what that will be like!