Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Midweek Looonnnngg Bikes – Part I

Welcome to final build week for Lake Stevens!  Every day I get more and more excited about the race…and the whole trip associated with it!  This is actually going to be my big vacation for the year so I’ve been looking forward to this for awhile.

Tuesday Swim

After taking Monday as a rest day it was back to work on Tuesday.  I was at the pool early Tuesday morning for a great workout.  I ran into my friend and teammate Michelle and we wound up sharing a lane.  The company was great even though we were doing different workouts.  I had a 2300m workout with some long hard sets in it.  It went really well!

Tuesday Group Ride – Coming Round the Mountain!

Tuesday night were supposed to be hill repeats out in Cochrane.  As I started driving out there it started raining.  Ack!  I don’t want to ride hill repeats in the rain!  Since I was already on the road I just kept going, but I had already rearranged my schedule around in my head just in case I couldn’t ride.  By the time I got to Cochrane the roads were slick, but no more rain.  I think a lot of us were unsure about riding hills…but off we went! 

I’ve only ridden up the main Cochrane hill once.  My goal was to do all of my repeats up the main hill – 400 feet of elevation gain over 1.17 mi.  The other option is to go up Gleneagles, but the grade isn’t nearly as steep.  I wanted to really knock the harder repeats out instead!  I kept my effort steady and focused on feeling strong the entire way.  I wound up getting “She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain” in my head as I was going up and I spun the pedals in time with the tune in my head.  I got in three repeats up Cochrane hill, with each repeat getting a touch faster.  Boo yah!  1688 feet of climbing over 22.5 mi.Cycling Cochrane 28-07-2009, Elevation - Distance
This workout has given me a lot of confidence for the Lake Stevens 70.3.  I might not be a super fast climber, but I know that I can ride the hills smoothly and efficiently.  I’m not sure why I’ve been so scared of riding repeats up Cochrane hill…I loved this workout! 

3 comments:

Rainmaker said...

Those will indeed help ya when ya get out here on the course. I love hill repeats as well - or really anything involving a hill. Up, down, up down - tons of fun. Looks like you knocked that one out of the park.

Lindsay said...

wow, WANTING to attack the steeper climb. you are a beast! lol about your song of choice. let me know the next time you do this ride, i'll come play the banjo on the side of the road. :)

excellent hill workout. i need to not be such a wimp about them (in running).

Downhillnut said...

Well done!

One day, when I muster enough courage to tackle the Cochrane hill, I will look back on your post and remind myself that "Leana loved it", and maybe I will, too.