Cramming

The last two weeks have reminded me of the only time in college when I pulled an all-nighter. I was a Biblical Lit major and while the class in itself was not remarkable, the final was exhaustive. If I remember correctly, there were 30 essay questions and 50 Bible verses that we were supposed to memorize. Fifty. And, in true 'Heather' fashion, I didn't read the study guide until the night before the exam. Ooops. I had not memorized one single verse. I remember wandering the halls of the dorm at 4 AM, mumbling "stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord . . ."

It was not a good day.

And now the mountain biking season has snuck up on me. Barry-Roubaix is just two days away and I feel ill-prepared. I've tried cramming 3 months of training into 10 days. 

I'm finding myself facing the hard fact that there is no over-night substitute for months of hard work. And as I recall, I didn't do so hot on that final exam either. 

If I were to get grades for training, here is what my report card would look like:

Pre-riding the BRX course — F

Spinerval Interval workouts — Incomplete

Cross-Training (running) — B-

Hilly Training Ride — Incomplete

Steady State Intervals — A

Strength Training — C+

Extra miles riding with the family — A++++

Shall we call this an 'E' for Effort???? 

My big plan was to do a 3 hour gravel, hilly ride on Saturday last weekend. However, my husband ended up having to work and I was unable to get out for a ride. I spent the day playing with the kids and had a nice cookout at my parents house.

Sunday, to make up for my missed ride, I was going to ride the BRX course one final time with Matt, Jim, and Jim. But that was going to be 3 hours of driving plus 2.5-3 hours of riding. I didn't want to be gone all day.

I compromised, doing a 38 mile ride along the Lakeshore Trail from North Muskegon to Hoffmaster State Park and back. It's not gravely, nor hilly. I didn't get much of an interval workout, but I did try to keep my intensity level up. Then, that evening, we took the kids on a 15-mile bike-ride to the Muskegon Channel. 50 miles in one day is near record for me, especially when considering I was towing an extra 60 pounds for the last fifteen miles.

By the way, the Weehoo is a HUGE hit. And the extra weight is an "equalizer." I don't completely disappear behind Chad now on family rides. 

My legs were trashed by the end of the weekend. 

Wednesday I have a standing lunch road-ride scheduled with a friend. Typically its a recovery ride for me, an easy pace for 24 miles. Being the genius that I am, I thought I would up the intensity and ride my mountain bike this week instead. 

What I learned is that riding a road bike at 17 mph is a nice recovery ride, but riding a mountain bike at 17+ mph for 24 miles is a freaking challenging workout.

After thoroughly destroying my legs, I am taking two days of complete rest—for better or for worse.

Barry-Roubaix Strategy

I'll admit I don't have a race strategy. I still consider myself new to xc racing even though this will be my third year competing, this is my first time racing BRX. Every race is different and full of their own unique challenges. One thing is for certain, this will be a race for the teams and the cross bikes. Even though I may not be competing for a place on the podium, this race will be an accurate gauge of my fitness going into the three months preceding the Lumberjack 100. In that respect, I do have a goal in mind . . . but that is only for me to know. I like to face my demons internally, alone, mano-y-mano and suffer in silence.

Read more BRX preview reports and interviews:

Cycling Dirt: Kim Thomas Interview

Cycling Dirt: Adam York Interview

kolo t.c. 2012 Course Preview

Things I regret not photographing this weekend

1) My son found a container of Bag Balm. Locked himself in the bathroom with it and smeared an entire (new) container of the goo in his hair, all over his body, on his clothes . . . He's going to look like he's used a gallon of hair gel for the next few weeks.

2) Our 6 year old daughter went for her first solo ride in full kit: new PI cycling shorts (size youth small--they are tiny and yet so big on her), new jersey, little pink gloves, pink Optic Nerve sunglasses gifted to her from her idol, and a pink helmet. All that gear for 8 blocks and 10 minutes of independent cycling bliss!

3) And last, a long family bike ride along Lake Michigan. The lake was blue and golden and white all at the same time. The dune grass was tall and soft. It was simply amazing and beautiful.

I need to start carrying my camera with me . . .

Splurge!

Years ago when I became pregnant with our first child, I panicked. My husband was working a bazillion hours then and I knew that I would be home alone with this kid that I had never met. I imagined myself being anchored to the house. I was suffocating.

Even though we didn't have the money at the time and my husband was vehemently against it, I spent the big bucks and bought brand-spankin' new Burley Solo AND a Burley Piccolo bike trailer. Bike rides, I imagined, would be my great-escape.

Turns out, those were investments well worth it. I've spent hours and hours and miles upon miles riding with the kids. When everyone became cranky and ornery, I'd pull the bikes out, strap on the helmets, grab a few snacks and the stress would fly away in the wind as we pedaled.

I have never regretted spending money on either of those products. However, there is a myriad of baby products I was told I "must-have!" that I completely regret buying (Bumbo, boppy, babyswing, the 'Travel System' . . .  trust me, do not waste your money on a travel system).

A few years have passed, we find ourselves with 2 kids, ages 6 and almost 3 years old. And our 3 year old is wanting to do everything his older sister is doing. Which means he does not want to ride in the Solo Trailer, he wants to ride on a tag-a-long bike.

Our 6 year old has some good bike handling skills and is in good shape--she is more than capable of going on 3-5 mile bike rides on her own bike, freeing up the Piccolo for our son.

However . . .

Who is happy just going on a 5 mile bike ride? That's great for after dinner on a week night. But what about those long 12 mile rides to the beach? The ice-cream shop? Around the Bay in Traverse City????

Once again, I found myself splurging this morning. I gagged the part of my brain that attempts to be financially responsible and ordered one of these . . .

It's a Wee-Hoo I-Go trailer (who wouldn't want to ride on a Wee-hoo?).

It should arrive on Monday morning. I. Can. Not. Wait. 

Disclaimer: Why didn't I get another Burley Piccolo? I have to say that I love, love, LOVE my Piccolo. However, our son is a little young and too short to comfortably ride sitting up on it yet. At almost 3 years old, I was concerned about him balancing and hanging on for long bike rides. The Wee-hoo will give him a more comfortable ride while allowing him to participate by pedaling and sitting in the open.