Strava: http://app.strava.com/rides/21456096
Attendees: Shannon, Galen and Jeremy
I think my endurance has been coming again, which is nice to see, but today was to test and see how well that translates to climbing hills. With Shannon, Galen and Jeremy coming out, I knew I was going to have to work. I know in the tempo zone, I can ride at a great pace and hold it, but today these guys definitely tested how I'd do in the threshold and anaerobic zones. As expected, I still have a long way to go.
It was a fairly mild morning temperature-wise, but I think when we got to Barranca, I could already feel the heat. Wind-wise wasn't too bad, so I won't complain about that too much today, but the heat.... I'm surprised, however, that by the end of the ride, I didn't experience any cramps despite the exorbitant amount of sweat that trailed behind me.
While they said they were going to take it easy in the beginning, that never is what I understand it to be. All three of them were working here and there, and I'm thinking "doesn't anyone want to save it for the climbs?" Galen mentioned that we should, but getting behind him when he pulled was so contradictory to this. HA HA. Now I would have loved to stay in the back the whole time, but I did start taking some turns (not a lot but with some decent effort) on our way out to Bake.
When we started climbing up Bake, Galen led most of the way up and that was pretty rough. He started to gap at some points, but I was able to close (or he let me) as needed. Jeremy had led up originally, but went to the back eventually.
When we started climbing up Glenn Ranch, we pretty much stayed together, but once we got on Saddleback, Jeremy decided it was time to launch an attack. Shannon responded (i.e. the giant was awakened) and he went blasting up the hill like a mad man. Galen had stayed a little ahead of me and kept a pace that didn't let me fall behind too much. Thanks!
Going up the hill after Cooks, I was still feeling the climb, but I managed to stay with the others for the most part until we hit Modjeska. At the base, the guys took off and I just couldn't hold their pace. The last time I climbed up that hill, I had a little trouble so all I wanted to do was make it. Sad. By the time I got to the top, the other guys had already gotten off their bikes to take a BIO break and/or wait for me. However, as I crested, I was in no mood to stop and didn't want to be the one to slow the guys down...so I kept going.
It's nice to play rabbit, but I knew it would just be a matter of time before they caught me. They did roll up on me a little bit before we got to Silverado, so I jumped on once they passed and was set to just try and hang on for the whole climb up.
Shannon and Galen were trading long pulls while I just stayed with them as best as I can. I wasn't doing too bad, but when I looked down and saw that my HR had been pegged for a while, I finally decided to drop off. Jeremy had joined the two, and although I had fallen off still kept them pretty much in my sight. There was a team training up the hill as well, and a few guys passed me and made their way up toward the other guys. Once a girl from the team passed, though, I had to draw the line and jumped on and passed here before the end. HA HA.
When I got to the top, the guys were again off their bike and while I stopped for a little bit, I opted to start ahead of them. Shannon was talking about getting water at the bottom, but as I still had about a bottle and a half left, I was just going to keep going until they caught me again.
I made it all the way down to Santiago Canyon on my own, but would look behind on occasion just to see if they were coming. When I saw they weren't, I continued and decided to pick off riders that appear to have fallen off from the Como Street ride. I was hoping someone would jump on and work with me to keep ahead, but no luck.
When I got to the top of Dump, I saw some Sho-Air people pulling back onto the road from the top and I thought I'd have a little fun. I chased them down and slowly but surely made my way to the front where they latched on all the way to the Jamboree intersection. They ended up turning right, however, but Jeremy and Galen rolled up on me at the light. Shannon had slowed down some because of a cramp, but eventually regrouped at the gas station with us. There, we also so Vin and some of his buddies where they, too, decided to go to the gas station.
Jeremy had decided he was going to ride with Vin and I thought I'd go ahead as well just so I can get back in time for my son's soccer game. Shannon was refueling, and I thought Galen was going to ride with him originally, but Galen also ended up coming with us when we took off. Shannon did say he was going to find some others to work with from Como as he made his way back to Broadcom, but after I left felt bad and should have just stayed. The guy waits for me ALL the time. Never again. Sorry, buddy!
Taking off from the gas station, Jeremy and Galen were moving already and I think already dropped Vin and his friends just going up the driveway back onto Jamboree. I stayed with them and decided I'd do more work here just to burn off all the food I ate from the night before. Jeremy had dropped off since he was planning to still do some sister and do a hundred miles for the day (insanity), so Galen and I were alone. As I was feeling good, Galen let me work and had me lead until I needed him. He did relieve me a couple times, the 2nd time being for a fair distance, but for the most part I had fun going back into a tempo pace.
Overall, the ride was nutty for me, but what else can I expect when I hang around with nutty guys? I think I'll hang around the donut shops or senior citizen centers so I can recruit new people to ride with. Otherwise, I think my heart will start to leave an imprint on my chest from beating so damn hard. 167 bpm average HR? Really?!? smh
Thanks for the training, gents!
No comments:
Post a Comment