Last weekend, Reuben and I completed the second stage of the Planet Ultra King of the Mountains Challenge. Breathless Agony remains one of the hardest things I've ever done on the bike, but this year was definitely easier than 2009. We both felt stronger the whole way, and not cramping this year was a huge morale booster. Both of us also improved upon last year's times, and frankly, I actually enjoyed most of the ride this year, whereas before it had been almost total misery. In fact, the only real bummer is that I seem to have temporarily branded an outline of my saddle into my hind quarters. It's time to investigate shammy cream.
Getting saddle sores isn't the most unusual thing that happens during these things, though. Something very strange goes on in my head near the end of each event, and in the next few days afterward. I go through this cycle of "glad I'll never have to do that again" to "well, it really wasn't too bad" to "I bet if I continue to train I can improve my time significantly." The mind forgets the pain very quickly, and the body follows the mind, much the same way it followed the mind up the mountain in the first place.
While riding the last oxygen-depriving bit of Breathless (some 8,000ft above sea-level) I spoke with a guy wearing his KOM jersey. I said I was surprised how long this last part was taking, as I had expected to be farther ahead of last year's pace. His response was innocuous first, but later became troubling. "You're not supposed to get faster each year...it's the other way around," is what he said. Now given, he was more than twice my age, actually probably closer to three times. Still, what a shame for a man to feel that way while completing one of the toughest events in the country on par with a 22 year old. I have a different philosophy.
Certainly, I will improve with age and experience over the next ten years even without increasing my effort, but who's to say it should stop there; that wherever I am when I reach the conventional peak of athletic performance, that's where my inevitable decline begins. Whether built for it or not, anyone who finishes one of these events is a climber. The only decline I'll have anything to do with is the one right before the next mountain comes into view.
Showing posts with label breathless agony. Show all posts
Showing posts with label breathless agony. Show all posts
Monday, May 3, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Breathless Gameplan
After discussing how we'd both like to ride Breathless Agony this time around, we've decided to do a few things differently than last year. Hopefully, this will lead to me launching Reuben into the last section of climbing so that he can max-out his effort. He's better suited for these sorts of events than me, so I'm excited to set him up for a good time improvement over last year. Anyway, I was given a 15-minute penalty on Mulholland for missing a sticker stop, so Reuben's already in better position. Of course, we're in the bottom third of the pack for the King of the Mountains, but it'd still be great to see one of our names climb a bit in the rankings.
Section 1: Redlands, across Timoteo Canyon, through Moreno Valley, up Jack Rabbit Trail, ending at the base of the Oak Glen climb. This section took us about 2:15 last year, but we'll look to cut it to round-about 2 hours flat by taking advantage of pacelining on the flats through Moreno Valley. We're also going to conserve our energy going up the back side of Timoteo Canyon, as that's always been a climb that's hurt us.
Section 2: Oak Glen climb/descent. This section features the steep Oak Glen climb at 6.7% grade over 5 miles. The first section of the descent has some very technical turns (last year a guy got bloodied up from a hard tumble near the town of Oak Glen), but then flattens out for some high-speed descending. We've agreed that Reuben will probably go over the top of this one a bit in front of me, but I'm going to absolutely bomb the descent to catch him. Last year, this Section 2 took us 1:40 including rest stop time, but after doing the climb in 52 minutes (1:15 including the downhill) earlier this month I'm feeling pretty confident that we can do the section in less than 1:30. I fatigued a lot on this climb last year, so I will still be cautious!
Section 3: Ranger Station to Angelus Oaks, via Damnation Alley. This part was the death of me last year. It's only 12 miles, but it's 3000 feet of elevation gain, making it the longest climb in the event. For whatever reason, the miserably long and straight portion nicknamed Damnation Alley does a particularly good job of living up to its name. Last year, my body totally locked up there, with cramps in my quads, hamstrings, and calves. This time, I'm going to stay better hydrated and pop the electrolyte pills beforehand, instead of after the cramping begins. I've climbed this route in 1:35 during training, but it took a little over 2 hours during last year's Breathless Agony. I'm hoping for about 1:45-1:50, but will consider anything under 2 hours sufficient. Again, Reuben will likely arrive 2 or 3 minutes ahead of me, but hopefully I can recover quickly instead of spending 30 minutes working cramps out at the Angelus Rest Stop.
Section 4: Angelus Oaks to Onyx Summit, via Barton Flats. The first half of this section is mostly flat, so I'll sit on the front and let Reuben draft as much as possible. I'll try to hang for the first half of the last climb of the day and then send Reuben on his way to see the reaper. My work as domestique will be done and I can go at my own snail's pace from there. Of course, maybe that won't happen. Maybe I'll have the legs this time around, but there's just no way to tell ahead of time. Last year this section took us 2:30. This year, we'll be looking for just over 2 hours flat.
Overall, we are much better prepared, having done more off-season training and completing the Mulholland Challenge and Mt. Diablo this month. For comparison, last year I did 150 miles of riding in April. This year I'm just shy of 600. We'll be looking to improve last years times from just over 8:30 to somewhere in the realm of 7:45-8 hours. Despite early forecasts for rain and possibly snow at the top, the weather now reads mostly sunny and temperatures in the mid-sixties for most of the ride. Can't get much better than that. Now all that's left to do is let the suffering begin!
Section 1: Redlands, across Timoteo Canyon, through Moreno Valley, up Jack Rabbit Trail, ending at the base of the Oak Glen climb. This section took us about 2:15 last year, but we'll look to cut it to round-about 2 hours flat by taking advantage of pacelining on the flats through Moreno Valley. We're also going to conserve our energy going up the back side of Timoteo Canyon, as that's always been a climb that's hurt us.
Section 2: Oak Glen climb/descent. This section features the steep Oak Glen climb at 6.7% grade over 5 miles. The first section of the descent has some very technical turns (last year a guy got bloodied up from a hard tumble near the town of Oak Glen), but then flattens out for some high-speed descending. We've agreed that Reuben will probably go over the top of this one a bit in front of me, but I'm going to absolutely bomb the descent to catch him. Last year, this Section 2 took us 1:40 including rest stop time, but after doing the climb in 52 minutes (1:15 including the downhill) earlier this month I'm feeling pretty confident that we can do the section in less than 1:30. I fatigued a lot on this climb last year, so I will still be cautious!
Section 3: Ranger Station to Angelus Oaks, via Damnation Alley. This part was the death of me last year. It's only 12 miles, but it's 3000 feet of elevation gain, making it the longest climb in the event. For whatever reason, the miserably long and straight portion nicknamed Damnation Alley does a particularly good job of living up to its name. Last year, my body totally locked up there, with cramps in my quads, hamstrings, and calves. This time, I'm going to stay better hydrated and pop the electrolyte pills beforehand, instead of after the cramping begins. I've climbed this route in 1:35 during training, but it took a little over 2 hours during last year's Breathless Agony. I'm hoping for about 1:45-1:50, but will consider anything under 2 hours sufficient. Again, Reuben will likely arrive 2 or 3 minutes ahead of me, but hopefully I can recover quickly instead of spending 30 minutes working cramps out at the Angelus Rest Stop.
Section 4: Angelus Oaks to Onyx Summit, via Barton Flats. The first half of this section is mostly flat, so I'll sit on the front and let Reuben draft as much as possible. I'll try to hang for the first half of the last climb of the day and then send Reuben on his way to see the reaper. My work as domestique will be done and I can go at my own snail's pace from there. Of course, maybe that won't happen. Maybe I'll have the legs this time around, but there's just no way to tell ahead of time. Last year this section took us 2:30. This year, we'll be looking for just over 2 hours flat.
Overall, we are much better prepared, having done more off-season training and completing the Mulholland Challenge and Mt. Diablo this month. For comparison, last year I did 150 miles of riding in April. This year I'm just shy of 600. We'll be looking to improve last years times from just over 8:30 to somewhere in the realm of 7:45-8 hours. Despite early forecasts for rain and possibly snow at the top, the weather now reads mostly sunny and temperatures in the mid-sixties for most of the ride. Can't get much better than that. Now all that's left to do is let the suffering begin!
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