Day 15 TidBits

Off the front…

There's off the front and then there is really off the front. 'Off the front' is a term we use to describe a rider who puts in a huge attack on the group (peleton) and then gets significantly far enough ahead that the rider is considered 'off the front' in a way to be in a good position to win the race. My friend Jamie is often off the front putting us all in the race or ride trying to chase him in a significant amount of difficulty. The past few weeks have offered me the opportunity to watch the truly gifted athletes in the TdF hammer off the front and put huge gaps into some of the top riders in the field. It is simply amazing to watch these guys open huge gaps in such a short amount of time. It is really hard to appreciate how fast these guys can accelerate by watching on TV. I have also seen some average looking guys in our group just completely hammer up these climbs. A fella named Bruno, a 50 year old Frenchman, is one such guy. On nearly every ride, this 5'5", 165 pound guy tears up climb after climb. As I commented when riding with Greg Anderson, see post on Hill Repeats, it is always inspirational to ride with guys with huge aerobic engines. You know you too can get there, it is just a simple matter of training. So, no matter your vocation, train hard and get off the front in your own competition - its well worth the view, I'm told.

Managing cramps...

In the Day 4 post I complained of significant cramping in my legs on the climb to "Tore-my-legs-off" (Tourmalet). I consulted the former pro rider leading our group about ways to manage or mitigate cramps, other than water (I believed I was hydrating myself well enough). His advice, "Train more." Great, sounds like my friend and coach Jamie. So, I regressed to a prior experience, my days in wrestling. When I wrestled in high school, I would drop a lot of weight the week leading up to a match. Obviously, most of the weight loss was water weight. When subsequently putting the body under the strain of competition, the muscles would sometimes seize with cramps due to lack of good hydration and proper nutrition. To combat the cramping, I would typically dose myself with aspirin about 45 minutes prior to my bout. This would thin the blood a little bit and help combat cramps. Well… works in cycling too. Over the past few days on significant climbs, I'd drop 4 aspirin in the water bottle, add some PowerBar mix for sugar and minerals and top off with water. I consumed this special concoction over the first 1.5 hours of the ride. While I experienced muscle fatigue, I did not cramp. I also concentrated on good hydration pre/post ride and tried to add a little extra salt to the food. The combination seemed to work. Not a long term solution, but the combination of tactics really helped me perform on the rides this past 10 days.

Training metrics...

One of the important elements of this trip for me, besides the experience, was the training benefit the trip offered. Over the last two weeks I've been on the bike for 39 hours of total riding time. I am sure I spent more time with the bike, but this is a riding time only metric. In the 39 hours, I covered 580 miles and 49,000 feet of climbing. I am done with riding for the week. I am short of the contemplated 800+ mile goal, but I think I got my money's worth. In all, I think I consumed more than 450 baguettes, and still counting.

Expected benefits...

I expect this trip to improve my aerobic engine significantly. When you are working a climb for 1.5-2 hours with your heart rate at the very high end of your aerobic range, while intermittently operating over it, you expect it to translate the activity into a bigger overall engine which will operate at a higher capacity when returning to the racing environment. For me, this will be the races in late Aug and Sept. We'll see what happens. In short though, I now know a lot better what I can do and know that I can do just a little more when needed at race time. I expect I'll retain the training benefits even though I will not be riding for the next week. I will, however, continue my assault on the supply of available baguettes and all the other rich food of the regions we visit.