D2R2

I've heard of this race, (for all intense purposes we will call it that), referred to as many things, including Hell. And its not just the name that's clever. The courses are well designed and all the proceeds benefit the farmers and land owners that want to protect it from unwanted development. And without farmers....there would be no beer.

 I must admit, studying those elevation maps, watching all those videos and reading the numerous blogs prior to the event, had me a little terrified.

Time to pick up our race kits and meet a few locals

We arrived on the Friday around six to pick up our race kits and everything was well organized with numerous volunteers and and there was a plethora of D2R2 souvenirs to choose from (jerseys, mugs, posters, arm sleeves, etc).  The maps and cue sheets were printed and waiting.  There were a few vendors too which included, "Dug's Art" , a local artist with an extensive racing background and
his stories were as vivid as his paintings.  "The People's Pint", a local brewery and restaurant in Greenfield attended, serving up burgers and beer.  Plus a few more.  Cornel and I  anxiously grabbed for a cold one, for the carbs of course-it had absolutely nothing to do with that seven hour drive.  Unbeknownst to us, was the group of cyclist that had gathered on site at the People's Pint.  We'll be sure to follow up on that one next year.  Oh yeah, there is definitely going to be a next year.

The starting line

As we were toeing the start line, or wheeling in our case, I for one was happy that we had decided to scale it back to the 100km distance.  Everything about this "race" was very relaxed and casual, except for the actual distances and routes-oh, and did I mention elevation?  We took off shortly after 9:00 a.m. and had a good warm up section, traveling on pavement, before the climbing started.   The first hill I took pretty fast and Cornel worried that I would tire myself out too quick.  I was just thrilled our first climb was on pavement; I had also set a goal of finishing within 6 hours and I was pumped, well, at least for the first half hour.  The asphalt road quickly turned to dirt and the climbing on intensified.  I assured myself that all the climbing must be at the beginning.  Prior to the first water stop, there was a steep paved incline and I had to dismount and walk my bike up as I couldn't see a thing.  The sweat was dripping down into my eyes and stinging with contact and without travelling at any significant pace, my glasses were fogging.  This is huge for me as typically I'm not much of a sweater, mostly just a little perspiration; something that resembles Mickey Mouse. That's all I will say about that.   It was only an hour into the race and things were heating up by 10 a.m.  Cornel easily pumped his way to the top.  The assemblage of road surfaces as we wound our way up the hills of Massachusetts made it quite cumbersome, but, on we trekked.

Pickle Juice

When we got to the first water stop, my time limit already expired as we were an hour and fifteen for the first 20km.  That would add another hour over and above.  It didn't seem like an aggressive goal at the time.  I grabbed my half empty water bottle and headed to the water jug to refill it.  On the jug, was a written sign that said "pickle juice" and I thought how cute. What a great simile.  Not so cute and poetic after all, because after I took a big mouthful of the stuff, I realized it was legit.  I've done a few races, marathons, ultra's, a half ironman and never, not once was I ever provided with pickle juice, flat cola maybe, but, never pickle juice.  If you can get by the taste, that stuff is apparently magical, or so I heard.  Much like cabbage juice on a hangover.  I did end up dumping it out, as I was worried about the mixture of coconut water and pickle juice and didn't want to have any emergency stops.  I was a little unprepared in the kleenex situation.

The stunning views of Franklin County

As we departed from the water stop, we had company and some of the people started to become familiar.   There wasn't a whole lot of conversation going on, but,  I think that was mostly attributed to attrition, better save it for the next climb.  Within a very short time frame, we ascended our way up and once at the top, you had to grab a photo or at least blink your eyes.  The vista was breathtaking and laid down the perspective of all your climbing thus far.   It was certainly worth the view. The distinction between green and blue was truly epical. Now, this is living. Shortly, thereafter, we were halted by a fire truck as one of our fellow cyclists had gone down. Glad that he was okay. This is the dilemma, you are on a paved decent and then the surface changes to gravel.  There was a lot of sections like that. At the end, we had heard, there was only four mishaps of a similar nature, but, everyone was okay.  Lucky for me, my coach, Cornel has always taught me to stay loose and reactive; much to his chagrin, I still take the downhills with not near enough caution, loving that top-speed.

Almost 3 hours in and we had hit our lunch spot.   A captivating little oasis in Vermont by a relaxed river and covered bridge that was currently under construction. We probably spent at least an hour there enjoying the lunch that was provided.  There was also another pickle juice table and they were serving shots this time. I graciously accepted the sour and salty notes for the gains they would provide as the day continued to heat up.  Thankful for what little breeze there was.  Departing from lunch had to be one of my most favorite spots on the course.  The road followed the river and it was pretty much flat and shaded, so a good way to digest lunch and warm back up again.  This was also the section for the family ride and I was impressed with all the youngsters that were riding their bike.  We still have some work to do where my grandson Kingston is concerned.  Hopefully, one year soon, he'll be able to join us.  I was still convinced, quite unequivocally that we must have completed the majority of our climbing prior to lunch.   Cornel also has this sinister side to him, evilly telling you that there is just one more climb.  All in all, I was still feeling good and was still pretty strong on the climbs, relatively speaking. I just preferred not to do anymore.  Unfortunately, the choice was not mine to choose.  By the end, was had a total elevation gain of 1800m, which was just 200m shy of the hike we did in Austria.  The comparison really put things into perspective for me.

Cornel pondering how I beat him up that last hill.

 One of the most significant clambers in my opinion was on the way up to the orchard.  It is appropriately named Apex Orchard. I received the full definition from a cycling perspective from Cornel.  Who Knew? We were greeted with cold peaches and apples, cookies and other hydration.  It was hard to leave, but, knowing that there was only 20km remaining before cold beer was enough to put you back in the saddle.  Upon leaving, Dr. Evil made his usual remark.....just one more climb.

It was a nice descent and although, I still felt good, I was content knowing that the ride would be over within another hour or so.  There was a technical tailspin close to the end and this is where I suspect I broke my spoke.  It was the only casualty, so not so bad.  This last sag was also another concern for Cornel as he felt I was taking it way too fast for my level of expertise.  Poor guy, I can only imagine the amount of cringing he must do riding behind me making sure that I'm safe.Without him, I'm not sure I would have been able to do this journey.  He has taught me so much.  He is my rock. Fortunately, the broken spoke didn't cause any further damage, most of which, I was totally oblivious to anyways.

Following that, it was just a nice flat section where you could sprint to the finish if you still had the legs to do it. It was such a moment to cross the line with some energy left to eat, drink and enjoy some camaraderie amongst the other cyclists.  Each of us giving a full description of the days events and our favorite portion of the course.

Looking forward to heading back up there next year and hopefully taking some friends along for the ride.

Happy trails my friends.

70 P2A

70 K Paris to Ancaster Classic Cycling Race

The fridge is becoming empty....not the contents, but, the postcards that adorn the front of it.  Well, until Cornel finds some new races that he is anxious to try and let me tell you, there is plenty.  I get weekly emails with links and YouTube videos of races all over the world, with the majority being held in North America.  I have to admit, I am pretty fortunate to have found an equal when it comes to his sense of adventure.  

So, our latest race, was the 23rd edition of the 70k Paris to Ancaster.  The course takes you over a terrain of rough farm lanes, trails and gravel roads.  I must say, I felt like a kid again, with the amount of dirt I ate that day.  The route takes the riders down dirt corridors with trees on either side and rolling hills of grass amongst the dirt and rocks, but, the sun was on your face and the robin egg sky blended into the green horizon.  It doesn't get any better.  I almost forgot to mention the mud pits; the last being the worst of all.  I took my honey's advise and walked down the Powerline portion, so I wouldn't have to clean my chain and derailleur after making it through. Not sure that I would have kept the momentum going anyways, so I spared myself some time, but, mostly the embarrassment of being covered head to toe in mud.  The course nicely finishes with Martin's Road, which is a climb of 1.3 km.   I will get to see this road again (8x) in about a month when I attempt my first 100 Miler at the Dundas Conservation area.
   

We had fabulous weather considering how unpredictable the Spring can be.  I was checking reports daily to ensure I would be mentally ready for the chance of rain or snow.  Thankfully, the day settled on mostly sun, fortunate for me with the gear I packed.  Cornel and I were in Wave 3, which nicely starts at 10:15.  I have to admit, I love races where you also get to sleep in, or relatively speaking.  We decided prior that Cornel would race and I would chase and this worked out essentially well for us as we both hit the times we were aiming for; if you subtract the time that we were delayed due to the course sabotage.  Its a shame that someone had decided to cut down mature trees to prove some sort of wayward point.  It takes all kinds, doesn't it and I'll leave it at that.  

This was also my first race on a CX bike, after just getting it in March.  I have to admit I love the
responsiveness compared to my Mountain bike.  It provides the ability for turning over the legs fast once you come out of a turn. Its got the power.  Cornel felt it was appropriate for the race and as always he was right. I'm looking forward to our next undertaking, whatever that may be.   

Happy trails my friends!

  

Life's a Climb

Such a big hill to climb.  Its a love hate thing, but something I will soon have to embrace.  I'm about 3 months behind on my 100 Mile training and should be into hill training already.  If I get a good week of consecutive runs next week, I should be good to begin.  Here's some pointers if any of you are looking to rise to the challenge.

Hill training will improve your training distances, anaerobic capacity and strength.  Its essential to soar if you want to put the roof on your training.  Uphill running helps us increase our stride length by increasing our knee lift.  Our quadriceps and hip flexor muscle groups become stronger from lifting our knees higher.  This effect carries over to when we run on flat ground, because the higher knee lift translates into a slightly longer stride length on level ground.

So, if you run with longer strides using the same effort, it’s logical that you’ll cover a given distance in a shorter time. Here’s an example using the 10K distance for an 8-minutes/mile runner, who covers about 1.1 yards/stride. Simply lengthening the stride length by 1 inch, (multiplied by the 9,090 strides to cover the 10K distance) shaves about 250 yards, or around 1 minute off the time.The faster and more powerful your foot-strike, the faster you’ll run and the more steps you’ll have per minute. Hill sprinting improves the tensile strength of your leg muscles, and thus enhances the recoil or return of energy from each foot compression (g-force).  There’s also another way hill running can increase stride frequency—downhill running. If done with short quick strides your neuromuscular system adapts to a faster leg turnover, thus increasing stride frequency.   Let gravity do the work.

Studies show that VO2 max (the ability of your heart and lunges to utilize energy) contributes significantly more to uphill running compared with horizontal running. This high VO2 max level incurred during uphill running is partly due to the increased demands of the lower extremity muscles, the largest muscle mass in the body. As aerobic capacity is improved from uphill training, you‘ll use less energy and oxygen at a given speed, or over longer distances—in other words your running economy improves. This derives from better coordination of your neuromuscular system. At the metabolic level, hill trained runners experience an increase in lactate threshold and anaerobic threshold. Lactate threshold is the point where lactic acid produced in the muscle is not metabolized as fast as it is produced. Hill running improves the strength and endurance of the quadriceps, hip flexor and hip extensor muscle groups—so the increased ability of these muscle groups to resist fatigue (lactic acid) shows through in the latter stages of races. You’ll slow down less, improving your race times.The benefit to you, it that hill trained runners don’t fear steep gradients in races because they have improved confidence from training on them. They mentally withstand the extra demands of hills in races and training to the point of eagerly anticipating hilly courses. 

To maintain the center of gravity over the drive leg you need to shorten your stride slightly. Exaggerate your forward lean by bending at the waist to direct force up the hill, and bring your hands and arms up high (even as high as your ears), as if you were pulling yourself up.
Different gradients require different technique modifications: the steeper the hill, the more you’ll need to lean in to it and drive more powerfully with your arms. Run with exaggerated knee lift and push off hard with your glutes and ankles from your toes. Knee lift should be more exaggerated on steeper hills. On slight inclines run with a shorter, faster stride. Breath deeper when you run uphill. You’ll find in your early uphill efforts you’ll have to slow down. If you persist with this, going a little further up the hill on each outing at your faster pace, your breathing will get easier and your legs will not feel so fatigued and heavy. Eventually you’ll be able to crest the hill at the same pace you started at. 

The best way to think of hills is essentially like doing track intervals. Select a steady uphill slope up to 5% or 8% grade. It doesn’t need to be really steep. Do a number of repeats up it. Lean forward and pump your arms strongly. These repeats should be at about 85% effort, or close to your VO2 max.
Walk or jog slowly back down to the start. No hurry here, as you don’t want to jar your legs too much from the downhill running. You may even want to walk backwards down the hill to relieve the strain on your quadriceps.

"After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb" ~ Nelson Mandela

NOTE:  The information was prepared for my half marathon group.  I received my personal training certifcation thru CPTN at Conestoga College.