There’s a saying that gets bandied about in IronTeam: Iron up.
As in:
“Way to iron up and complete that crazy hard workout.”
Or maybe:
“Not motivated for tonight’s workout? Iron up and do it anyway.”
On Saturday, we did a bike ride that cause me to shout the words at the top of my lungs in the middle of a quiet, residential street. Yep, it was that kind of day.
The East Bay Century is an IronTeam tradition, a 97-miler starting in Walnut Creek and hitting some of the main climbs in the area. For example, the first 10 miles included ascending Mt. Diablo. I find the joy of climbing to be the descents afterward, but unfortunately, this ride ripped this small pleasure from my weak, shaking hands. A camper truck marred 4 miles of the Diablo descent. We went backward on some of my favorite roads, meaning that the wonderful Redwood Rd. descents became climbs; instead of going up the short/steep Schaeffer Ranch Road and down the long/steep Dublin Rd, we did the opposite; and on and on.
By mile 50, my nutrition was starting to suffer. I don’t think the liquid-only plan is working, or perhaps I need more than 200 calories per hour. The rest stop at the halfway point was a glorious relief, but I couldn’t quite get my system back into drive. Which was unfortunate, because then I had to climb Skyline, and then Grizzly Peak, and then (after an admittedly lovely descent down Wildcat Canyon) the 3 Bears and Pig Farm. And I though Pig Farm was it. At mile 80, I thought, “There are no more big hills on this route.” I had that thought. And cursed myself with it.
Because there were more hills, and my food never got quite right, and my legs just got more tired, and then came Reliez Valley Road. I’ve learned in my vast and many years of cycling experience (5), roads with the word “Valley” in them are not good. Also, “Canyon,” “Crest,” “Hillgrade” and more (all of which appeared on this route).
I never knew I could stay upright at 2.9 miles per hour. But I can. Climbing Reliez, I watched my speed on my bike computer vary between 2.9 and 4.0 mph for 10 solid minutes. If I had stood (as my coach has instructed), I could have put more power and speed toward that hill, but I was mentally incapable of that. I thought that standing would lead to collapse, so I sat and slowly, slowly pedaled to the top.
With 10 miles to go, I got to Tice Valley Road (VALLEY!) and that’s when I cried. I was so tired. I wanted to be done, but the massive headwind that had not been a tailwind at a single point that day was battering at my will, and pedaling seemed to be the most burdensome chore in the world. So I cried. And then I got to Crest, and then Hillgrade (yes, hills), and cried more.
Then I thought about Alicia, a run coach who had just the day before lost a dear friend to cancer. He had been taken off life support and feeding tubes 2 weeks earlier, but held on and held on and kept fighting to live as long as he could. Alicia was out there on Saturday, riding in memory of her friend. And that’s when I yelled at myself.
In a random neighborhood in a random East Bay town, I shouted “Iron Up, Damn It!” as loud as I could. It helped. It really helped. It also helped that the last 5 miles were on an entirely flat bike path through Walnut Creek.
It was a hard day. My bike computer said it was about 9,000 feet of elevation gain over 97 miles. I did it in 7:17 ride time, 8:25 total time. Despite how downtrodden I felt toward the end, this was a decent day for me. I only had 1:08 off the bike, which is an improvement over past centuries.
Now, here’s the downside of Iron Up. Saturday night, I started to feel my throat hurting. I didn’t feel great on Sunday morning, but I had a 2-hour run to do. I wanted to skip it, but told myself, “Iron up.” I did my run, and managed a solid 12 miles in 2:02, not too shabby after a century the day before. But now I have a full-blown cold and am skipping Tuesday workout. Should I have ironed up? Or would rest have been better? Answer unknown.
As in:
“Way to iron up and complete that crazy hard workout.”
Or maybe:
“Not motivated for tonight’s workout? Iron up and do it anyway.”
On Saturday, we did a bike ride that cause me to shout the words at the top of my lungs in the middle of a quiet, residential street. Yep, it was that kind of day.
The East Bay Century is an IronTeam tradition, a 97-miler starting in Walnut Creek and hitting some of the main climbs in the area. For example, the first 10 miles included ascending Mt. Diablo. I find the joy of climbing to be the descents afterward, but unfortunately, this ride ripped this small pleasure from my weak, shaking hands. A camper truck marred 4 miles of the Diablo descent. We went backward on some of my favorite roads, meaning that the wonderful Redwood Rd. descents became climbs; instead of going up the short/steep Schaeffer Ranch Road and down the long/steep Dublin Rd, we did the opposite; and on and on.
By mile 50, my nutrition was starting to suffer. I don’t think the liquid-only plan is working, or perhaps I need more than 200 calories per hour. The rest stop at the halfway point was a glorious relief, but I couldn’t quite get my system back into drive. Which was unfortunate, because then I had to climb Skyline, and then Grizzly Peak, and then (after an admittedly lovely descent down Wildcat Canyon) the 3 Bears and Pig Farm. And I though Pig Farm was it. At mile 80, I thought, “There are no more big hills on this route.” I had that thought. And cursed myself with it.
Because there were more hills, and my food never got quite right, and my legs just got more tired, and then came Reliez Valley Road. I’ve learned in my vast and many years of cycling experience (5), roads with the word “Valley” in them are not good. Also, “Canyon,” “Crest,” “Hillgrade” and more (all of which appeared on this route).
I never knew I could stay upright at 2.9 miles per hour. But I can. Climbing Reliez, I watched my speed on my bike computer vary between 2.9 and 4.0 mph for 10 solid minutes. If I had stood (as my coach has instructed), I could have put more power and speed toward that hill, but I was mentally incapable of that. I thought that standing would lead to collapse, so I sat and slowly, slowly pedaled to the top.
With 10 miles to go, I got to Tice Valley Road (VALLEY!) and that’s when I cried. I was so tired. I wanted to be done, but the massive headwind that had not been a tailwind at a single point that day was battering at my will, and pedaling seemed to be the most burdensome chore in the world. So I cried. And then I got to Crest, and then Hillgrade (yes, hills), and cried more.
Then I thought about Alicia, a run coach who had just the day before lost a dear friend to cancer. He had been taken off life support and feeding tubes 2 weeks earlier, but held on and held on and kept fighting to live as long as he could. Alicia was out there on Saturday, riding in memory of her friend. And that’s when I yelled at myself.
In a random neighborhood in a random East Bay town, I shouted “Iron Up, Damn It!” as loud as I could. It helped. It really helped. It also helped that the last 5 miles were on an entirely flat bike path through Walnut Creek.
It was a hard day. My bike computer said it was about 9,000 feet of elevation gain over 97 miles. I did it in 7:17 ride time, 8:25 total time. Despite how downtrodden I felt toward the end, this was a decent day for me. I only had 1:08 off the bike, which is an improvement over past centuries.
Now, here’s the downside of Iron Up. Saturday night, I started to feel my throat hurting. I didn’t feel great on Sunday morning, but I had a 2-hour run to do. I wanted to skip it, but told myself, “Iron up.” I did my run, and managed a solid 12 miles in 2:02, not too shabby after a century the day before. But now I have a full-blown cold and am skipping Tuesday workout. Should I have ironed up? Or would rest have been better? Answer unknown.
Week 28 Mileage
Tuesday, May 21 Swim - 45 minutes, 2300 yards Cardio - 45 minutes (elliptical) Wednesday, May 22 Run - 1 hour, 6.7 miles (Trail Run) Thursday, May 23 Cardio - 20 minutes (elliptical) Cardio/Core - 1 hour (Nike Fit Club) Friday, May 24 Run - 40 minutes, 4.5 miles Saturday, May 25 Bike - 7 hours 15 minutes, 97 miles (8:25 total time) Sunday, May 26 Run - 2 hours, 12 miles | Totals: Swim - 45 minutes, 2300 yards Bike - 7 hours 15 minutes, 97 miles Run - 3 hours 40 minutes, 23 miles Cardio/Core - 2 hours Total - 13 hours |