Friday, August 19th 2011
“asshole workout”
Bike: 5:20 (98km)
transition about 5 minutes
Run: 90 minutes (not sure how many km, but I ran well)
comments:
Mario told me before we started the bike ride, “today is going to be very tough, but you have to trust me and why I am making you do this…”
I spent the first 30 minutes trying to warm up my legs, at the same time thinking of what we were going to do today…I am a weak cyclist so any climb is hard for me.
After 20 minutes of easy riding, We came to a long climb and Mario said it would take us about 90 minutes to get to the top. (90 minutes Mario time means 2 hours for me) The weather was cloudy and it looked like rain.
I plugged away, peddling trying to get my mind into the ride … peddling, peddling, peddling … and a man in his late 60’s maybe 70’s passed me like I was standing still.
10 minutes later the man turned around and rode down the mountain – he waved for me to turn around as well and he pointed to the sky…
I kept pluggin away… All of the sudden it started to pour down rain, and I saw Mario riding down waving for me to ride down as well (it was pouring rain) riding down a steep mountain in the rain is not pleasant.
Secretly, I was a bit relieved because I figured the hardest part of the ride was over (cut short by the weather) Mario and I stopped under a covered walk way and he told me that we would ride down to the other side where it was blue sky.
After 10 mintes of down hills … Mario slowed down and pulled up next to me and asked “are you ready?” Stupidly, I asked “how long is the climb?” Sweet Mario replied “a little more than 40 km…”
The ride was so ridiculously steep …. normally we see many cyclists when we ride, but on this climb we didnt see another cyclist — surely, because the road is so steep and long.
I kept thinking that once I got to the top of a steep climb, i would at least have a sort of decent … but it never happened. Only climbing.
For any cyclist reading this, I ride a tribike, “cervelo P3” …not the most condusive bike to climbing a moutain.
I am not a cyclist.
30 minutes or so into the ride… I had to stop. I drank some water, ate a banana and thought about how I was dead … and the climb is 40km!
Mario rode ahead, but kept turning around or waited for me at the top. He didnt look tired at all. I was dripping with sweat, and foolishly out of breath … but he was all smiles and not tired.
90 minutes into the climb, Mario suggested we go back down because i was tired, but I said “no – let’s keep climbing.”
I had to stop several times. It was fucking miserable.
After 3 hours, 3 hours of not one decent, not one section going down … just 3 hours of climbing…Mario turned around and said it was time to go …”we are still far from the top.”
On the ride down, he told me that this is one of the hardest climb he has done, and that he has done it only 4 times. Then he told me “we will have to do this again, but next time we will not stop until we are at the top.”
The remaining 2 hours of the ride were uneventful, but to my extreme dissapointment — we had two more long climbs on the way home.
On one of the last climbs, Mario looked back at me with his silly grin and asked “you ok?” and I replied aggressively “do i look ok?”
After 5 hours and 20 minutes we were back at his house — my energy seemed to come back as soon as the bike finished. Mario told me to only run one hour — but I felt ok, and wanted to do what was on my schedule, which said “90 minute run.”
I had a very good run. Quicker pace than normal. I am very poor runner. My technique is one of survival; I dont have a technique.
But on todays run, I focused on lifting my knees as I ran, and my pace was 3-4 minutes quicker than normal. My legs felt good. The only thing which bothered me was the sun … the sun beat down on me as I ran through the tree-less, shadeless paths.
Tomorrow I have a 4k meter swim (which I will do first thing in the morning) then in the afternoon I have that tough run again … the hellish 3 hour run around the lake which will be followed by a 2 hour easy recovery bike ride.