Highlander cycle tour ride report: Pedaling on

Naples, New York, one of the many beautiful scenes at the Highlander. 

This blog post was almost about quitting a century ride at Mile 30. I wrote it in my head as I looked for the SAG wagon as we turned onto Route 6, heading east toward Prattsburgh during the Highlander Cycle Tour's Corkscrew Century from Canandaigua Saturday. My quads hurt. I was exhausted.

Would I have blamed myself for quitting? No, just add it to the list of things that have gone wrong in the past few weeks. Most days have brought new challenges. Why should this slightly-chilly morning be any different? (And why didn't I wear a base layer?) Pile it on. 

Ahead were 73 miles and some brutal climbs. French Hill nearly killed me and now this flat road was fatiguing. But what if I managed to hoof it up that beast of a hill from Naples on Flower the Cannondale Synapse, my trusty companion, then five easy miles until pulled pork and a bottle of wine? 

If I could finish this ride, it would mean that all the crap life has put me through these past few weeks would not win. If I could ride 100 miles, I could definitely wake up Monday morning, bang out a few cover letters, and move forward.

Musselman 2013, my first half iron Part 3: Post-race high, and planning what's next

I AM A HALF-IRONWOMAN!! Part 3.

See Part 1 and Part 2 (about the race itself). (Related: I am a marathoner, I am a duathlete, I am a triathlete.)

After I set out to do this in earnest almost a year ago, I completed the Musselman half ironman, Geneva, NY in 7:18:15. It broke down like this: 1.2 mile swim in 49:17, T1 6:21, 56 mile bike in 3:42:36 (included an 8 minute wait for an accident to clear), T2 8:02, 13.1 mile run in 2:31:59. This put me far under my goal, the 8 hour cutoff that I was so worried about making. 

I felt like a rockstar coming through that chute. They mispronounced my last name, and I finally stopped. A volunteer cut off my timing chip, and two young girls handed me the greatest medal ever, and the greatest water bottle ever. 

These are real bike gears! I got a mid-sized one. Photo by Victoria.

This bottle is supposed to glow in the dark. Haven't tried it yet.
But someone on Facebook pointed out that the mussels are in the
wrong order, run bike swim!

I took a few moments to recover, and told Victoria she needed to make me walk so I wouldn't cramp.

I needed not worry about Victoria being bored. While I was out killing myself, she took pictures and Tweeted constantly (even finding a plug in a state park - a feat! -  to juice up and Tweet some more!), updated Facebook on my behalf, made friends with the Moms in Motion, spent a few hours volunteering in the food tent, took a photo of the winner then tweeted it, and proceeded to make friends with him, and still found time to lounge by the water. She blogged about the experience here. (We're first and foremost writers. It's what we do.)

Wegmans catered a delicious meal, I had some pulled pork, potato salad and ice cream. Victoria saw it fit to take a photo of the carnage before it got packed up. (I had spread out a bit before this was taken, I was not a bad transition neighbor!)

I was surprised how awake I was, and how good I felt, after the race. I tried to nap, but sleep didn't come. I was going to stay in Geneva another night, but I was feeling restless and wanted my bed and my dogs so I came home early. Wegmans fed me again, this time with sushi and a frozen pizza, and I finally dozed off.

Monday I was off work, a good decision. I woke up and no muscle wanted to move. I spent the day on the couch. Tuesday I went to work with some stiffness. Standing up and sitting down hurt, being on my feet for more than five minutes at a time hurt, but mostly I was physically tired. It's now 9 p.m. and I'm ready for bed. At lunch, I went out and got a new item for my car. My bumper is getting slightly ridiculous.

I want to send a very sincere thank you to my friends and family who were stalking Victoria's Facebook updates and supported me through this journey. If I didn't have a support system, I wouldn't be able to make it through. We do this first for ourselves, but having people asking you how it's going and cheering you on keeps you motivated.

That's the beauty of social media. Facebook and Twitter played very different roles. Facebook was about connecting with the old friends, in Columbus, whom I miss dearly. I could share things a bit more intimately with them, details that I wouldn't put on a public blog.

These comments appeared underneath a photo I used in Part 1 -- my Musselbaby inside the beer mug from my first 5K as an adult. They keep me motivated, but keep me grounded. Molly was the one who introduced me to Fleet Feet's marathoner in training program.

On Twitter, I was able to connect with others doing the race, and get my questions answered. On Twitter, I found people who were in the exact same boat as me. On Twitter, I realized I was not the only first-timer with nerves!

And, of course, since it's Twitter, share other random thoughts that pop into my head.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Musselman is where I'll peak this year. I have the Highlander Cycle Tour and the Wine Glass Marathon.

Right now I am considering doing a full. It's very much a consideration right now, and I know I'm still on my post race high so I need to approach it with a clearer head.

For now, I'm going to get my life back together, clean up my apartment, do some yoga to try to provide some relief to my stressed muscles. (Sorry, mussels.)

Speaking of which, the whole weekend was a quasi-celebration of the mussel, a sea creature that prior to I was more apt to think of as food.

But after seeing the mussel as a mascot for such a great event, I think I might need to pass on them from now on! 

Thinking ahead to fall

Putting aside the triathlon jitters for a moment (In one week I'll be on the course... AAAHHHHHHH!)...

I made a big decision about this fall this week! Friday I registered for the Wine Glass Full Marathon.

It'll be a tight turnaround in between the necessary rest after Musselman, July 14, and the full Oct. 6. I'm also planning on the Highlander Cycle Tour, a century ride (will I brave Quads Hilla?) Sept. 7.

I hear so many wonderful things about this race, it's point to point, in beautiful wine country, and all downhill.

And it's called the WINE GLASS. Do I really need to justify it further?

Filling out the race calendar, and returning to COLUMBUS!

I should probably wait until I throw down my money to make it official. I've decided to run the Capital City Half Marathon in Columbus May 4! I am so excited to see all my Columbus friends again, but that will mean two half marathons and a duathlon in back to back weekends. I'm also considering  a tri in Columbus at the end of June.

In addition, I'm going to shoot for the Wineglass Marathon in October.

So, the only thing I'm missing is an Olympic Tri sometime in late June. I just need to take the time to find a good one.

So my race schedule for the year:

April 27: Flower City Du: 5K run, 20 mile bike, 5K run, Rochester
April 28: Flower City half marathon - 13.1 mile run, Rochester
May 4: Capital City Half Marathon, 13.1 mile run, Columbus, Ohio (still need to register)
June 2: Strassburg Sock Keuka Lake triathlon, 820 yard (.75k) swim, 14 mile bike, 3.1 mile run, Penn Yan, NY
POSSIBLE: June 9: The Great Western Reserve triathlon, swim 1500 meters, bike 26 miles, run 6.2 miles, Ravenna, Ohio
OR
POSSIBLE: June 30: Greenswell Antrim Park triathlon, swim 1500 meters, bike 24.9 miles, run 6.2 miles, Columbus, Ohio
July 14: Musselman HALF-IRON!!! 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run, Geneva, NY
September 7: Highlander Cycle Tour, 100 mile ride, Canandaigua, New York (still need to register)
October 6: Wine Glass full marathon, 26.2 mile run, Corning, New York (still need to register)

Eeep.

Race report: Highlander Cycle Tour Corkscrew Century

Best swag ever.

Observation #1 from my first organized bike ride: Cyclists kinda speak a different language. "Hey flat handlebars, nice." "I did that whole hill in the big chain ring." There was no t-shirt involved either (just a bottle of wine, which more than makes up for it!)

I asked someone there, "where's the starting line?" "The starting line?" "Yea... where we start?" "Oh, there's no line, persay, just roll out whenever you want. Go that way."

Observation #2: After waiting in long, long, long ladies room lines before MIT and running events watching men walk right in and out of an empty bathroom, I learned that distance cycling is more men than women, sweet revenge, muhahaha.... :)"

Observation #3: Once they're done bragging about their equipment (ah-hem, Mom ;) ) they are such a wonderful community! I was lucky to not get a flat, but my chain popped out (shifting too quickly) and three people stopped in the middle of this massive uphill to see if I needed help. And everybody I saw changing a flat had others helping.

I did the Highlander Cycle Tour Corkscrew Century Saturday. I rode 101 miles in 8 hours and 7 minutes at an average of 12.5 mph.

(This will be a long post, but it was a long ride. The short version.)

Follow me on my bike ride tomorrow! (maybe)

I'm going to attempt to blog/Tweet/Facebook photos and updates from my bike ride tomorrow. I'm doing the Highlander Cycle Tour starting at Bristol Mountain in Canandaigua, starting at 7 a.m. I might be riding 41, I might be riding 100, I really don't know yet :)

I say attempt because:

• I might not get cell phone signal
• My cell battery might not last the entire trip
• I might get too preoccupied and forget
• I'm not sure if I set up TwitterFeed right

So if you don't hear from me by midday tomorrow don't worry. If you don't hear from me by midday Sunday please kindly come to about mile 80 of the course and scrape my remains off the side of the road :-P

We'll see what happens!

41 or 70 next week?

UPDATE: I SIGNED UP FOR THE 70!!!

Sept. 8 I'm signed up for the Highlander Cycle Tour through the Finger Lakes (Canandaigua). I've never done an organized bike ride before so I'm pretty stoked about it. At the end of the month I'll be doing my first duathlon at Mendon. I'm also swimming regularly and getting into the groove of a regular strength training program, so things are shaping up nicely for triathlon training.

My distance PR on the bike is 56 miles, done on all flat surface, with a nice stop for ice cream/flat tire fixing halfway through.

I signed up for the Yodeler ride at the Highlander tour. It's 41 miles. Here's the description.

"The Yodeler was redesigned last year with two objectives in mind. To provide a sample of cycling in the Finger Lakes to the recreational cyclist not ready for a century ride and to provide friends and relatives of the century riders the option to ride the last five miles together. The Yodeler Tour has three route options that meander the Bristol Valley and Canandaigua Lake scene. The full 41 mile ride involves 2200 feet of climbing, with shorter options of 11 or 16 miles with less climbing, about 400 and 1000 feet respectively. They all have the Scenic Overlook rest stop on County Route 12 on their routes, with a great view of Canandaigua Lake as seen on our home page. At the rest stop the riders can meet up the century riders and ride together the last five miles. We’ve packaged as much vista and flat terrain as possible in these short but sweet rides. With just enough challenge to create that mountain-top experience, you’re sure to come away singing. Riders will enjoy the same amenities and many of the same scenic views as the longer riders."

But now I'm wondering if I can push myself a little further and go for a 70-mile option. According to the description, the short course in the Corkscrew Century is about as tame as it gets as far as hills go in Canandaigua. The description:

"We received many accolades last two years for this scenic course and last year the majority of Highlander riders chose this ride so we made no changes to this ride. You might want to bring a camera to save some of the scenic views if not a wine glass and stop along the way. In keeping with objective of this ride, it features the scenic beauty of the Finger Lakes while taking the gentlest route possible in this hilly terrain. It is a 100 mile ride, with a cumulative climb of about 6000 feet but nothing above 10%. You can also take shorter 70 mile option."

Hmmm.....

1/3 of the way to a half iron

I had a great bike ride today, 56 miles in four and a half hours! I'm happy that I got the distance in but I would like to get faster, I averaged 13.1 miles per hour (coincidence, I think not!) I also need to get better on hills.

On the downside, I discovered that the canal path is not all paved, so I went up to Greece, then down to Pittsford, then back to Greece, then home.

On Saturday I'm going to a flat tire clinic, because today I got insanely lucky! I got a flat right in front of a bike shop in Pittsford. So I got a bit of time to explore the Pittsford waterfront, which was beautiful!

I got lucky again, where minutes after I got home it started pouring! Oh, and I also saw someone walking a cat on a leash :-/

I've decided on two events I'm going to do before the year's out.

The first I've already mentioned, the Highlander Bike Tour in the Finger Lakes Sept. 8. There's a 41 mile ride with optional 11 and 16 mile loops.

The second is the Rochester Autumn Classic Duathlon Sept. 28. It'll be a 2 m run/10 m bike/2 m run/10 m bike/2 m run. Should be interesting!!