Century and a Half

Yesterday and today was the MS Bay to Bay Ride. A fundraiser for Multiple Schlerosis (which my father has - unfortunately his diseases don't stop there), it's a 100 mile ride on Saturday followed by a 50 mile ride on Sunday. Son1, Marc, got me to sign up for this with a couple of his buddies. As sometimes happens, they weren't able to train enough for the 100 and chose the 50 mile option for Saturday instead. With this being an important lead up to Ironman Arizona, I wasn't willing to shorten my ride. Bad dad or focused athlete... you decide.

The ride starts in Irvine, heads south along the coast, and then inland through Camp Pendleton, and popping out in Oceanside at about 48 miles. I was in the first wave of 75 or so riders. It's a "wave" start and it's "not a race" so it's not timed and they don't keep track of who finishes or when. I hung bank with the leading group for about 15 miles but began to get impatient with the low effort and finally took off with another guy. We talked a little about this and that for a few miles. A few others stayed close and would catch up periodically.

Because we were the lead riders we were escorted by a motorcycle! I use the word "escort" loosely - he generally rode slightly behind us or would ride up a 1/4 mile and wait until we caught up. He didn't seem to know the route or offer any help with the directions of the route; he didn't really seem to even know what the route was. More than once he went the wrong way and circled back. I got lost twice very briefly when there were no route arrows to be seen. These were in areas not exactly accessible to cars so that arrows could be placed. Still, it was nice having the motorcycle there.

Eventually another guy caught up while the other guy I had been riding with dropped back. We rode into the Marine base and a few miles in we suddenly had to stop at an intersection for at least 3 minutes. In front of us, crossing the road were at least 300 Marines marching in columns of 4. While I wanted to get going, it was also one awesome sight to see! They were marching with backpacks and rifles, chanting in response to their Sargents. Once we got going, through thick fog, I hung with 3 others that caught up while we waited, including a woman who knew where she was going. The guys were laboring to keep up with her, praising her for her speed and strength. I wanted to stay with her since she knew where she was going.

I took the lead for a while and we dropped 2 riders. Once we got to the 48 mile mark where there was a rest stop in Oceanside. I stopped to get the next route directions, some water and a quick portapotty visit. I stayed longer than intended because I was sort of waiting for the other 2 I'd been riding with. I could see they were in no rush, very common on a century ride, so I got back on my bike. The motorcycle guy says, "You're leaving? Don't you want to rest?" I said, "No, I don't need a rest. I'm ready to go." And off I rode. I felt badly because I think he was ready for a break. I apologized at the next red traffic light but he said it was okay, it's an adventure. I think my split on that relatively flat first 48 miles, including the Marines and the many stop lights was 2:35. This is fairly quick for me and gives me confidence in my bike fitness, especially when I consider that it came after a week that included a 3 hr ride on Thursday, a 2:20 run on Friday morning, and 4500 yd swim on Friday after work. Not to mention having to get up at 3:25 a.m. to get to the bus in the morning.

The rest of the course was loaded with hills, not one of my strengths. I did manage to stay ahead of everyone else for the rest of the ride. My only companion was the motorcycle escort. It felt pretty strange. The thing about being in front is that everyone is behind you and you don't know who is gaining on you (even though it's not a race). You also have no one else to follow. If you screw up on the route, there's no one there to tell you.

Much of the 2n half of the ride was through some beautiful back country hills through San Elijo Hills, Questhaven, Del Dios Hwy, and Rancho Santa Fe, etc. The sun made it's only appearance before the fog returned as I got back to the coast.

The motorcycle buddy was full of praise for my relentless push. With a couple miles left I began to join some of the late starting or slower 50 mile riders as everyone ended up in the same place. The finish was anti-climactic because nobody cares what place you are, let alone the fact that no one knows whether you've ridden 50 or 100 miles, which makes it funny. No one caught up to me for that last 52 miles so I was happy about that. I must repeat that this only means that I was fastest in the FIRST wave. Who knows how many from later waves rode faster! I'm sure there were plenty who rode faster than this geezer but I'm still pleased with my ride. My effort was strong and solid. I kept my heart rate in a consistent zone 2-3 pretty much the entire way. And I take away some lessons for Ironman Arizona next month.

The goodie bag, live band, and meal were all good. I met up with Son1 and his buddies and we sat around eating and recovering, which was especially nice since we didn't even see each other before the ride. Linda came and got us. The guys eventually went to watch the SC game with a college friend.

This morning was the 50 mile ride from Carlsbad to Mission Bay. We ate breakfast and then got on the road. We all stuck together for about half of it, including the Torrey Pines hill. We met back up at the top at the rest stop, where we hung out for 10-15 minutes. It seemed like forever as I (uncharacteristically) waited patiently until everyone was ready to roll again. I didn't push hard like yesterday and it was fun riding with Marc, "Bucks", and R.

As I got into La Jolla I couldn't hold back any more and just kept riding. I waited for them at one point but they never appeared so I just started riding on until the end. It was a nice ride through neighborhoods. The only downside was all the stop signs. The finish at Hospitality Point was nice, with burgers and dogs being served. Linda met us as the 3 guys finished. We hung out for quite some time until they got on the bus to go home to Santa Monica, etc.

My quads are hurting tonight for sure but it was good to push. Hopefully it will translate into strength for IMAZ in 4 weeks. Thank goodness I only had some core and arm strength work left to do after the ride. The legs had NO interest in working any more. Monday is an off day. Tuesday starts the final "Peak Phase" week of training, culminating with a Brick on Sunday - 6+ hours ride, 30 min run.