What a difference a year makes…
Posted on | April 16, 2009 |
So, last year, a couple of my college racing buddies and I participated in a cycling event known as the Mulholland Challenge. 110 miles, 12,500 feet of climbing. We had hoped to be the first finishers but the combination of a brutally hot day and my overtraining left us in about 15th place out of I think 450 starters. Actually, it was hot, but it was my overtrained legs that truly slowed us down. 15th wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t what we were hoping for either.
Here’s what the day looked like last year.
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5374796
See how my heart rate didn’t go above 170 for the last 40 miles? As Raul Alcala might say: “I was cooked. Cooked in the Kitchen.” After that ride we agreed to meet again this year, and to do it right. Why I would’ve agreed to do something like that again, when I could barely walk after the ride seems a bit peculiar, but I suppose that’s what guys do in these instances.
Here’s the ride I did the day the 2009 Mulholland Challenge occurred:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/8001099
A meek 30 mile out and back (and yes, that elevation gain is waaay off for some reason). Again, my heart rate wasn’t over 170 all day. It barely broke 160, but that was because I chose to do that, not because I simply couldn’t go any harder like the end of last year’s ride… Now granted, the real ride didn’t happen for us this year primarily due to the fact that I broke my collarbone about 7 weeks ago and have only been back on the bike for about ten days, but still, it’s a big change year to year. If the same downward trend continues, next April on the second Saturday of the month, I’ll be riding about 7 miles. Time is brutal. Tick Tock. Tick. Tock.