This weekend, I went with friends to watch the Stage 7 finish of the Amgen Tour of California. I don’t follow cycling, and am generally disinterested in most professional sports, but I do truly enjoy seeing people perform at the top of their game and excel in their athletic endeavors. So watching some pros scream up Mount Diablo 5 times faster than I ever could was pretty cool.
I went with some cycling friends of mine, riding our bikes just shy of the summit and then checking them at the bike valet before walking up the remaining couple kilometers to the top. We got there early enough to snag a spot about 5 feet from the finish line, and could see the announcers who were calling the event as the cyclists charged the last 30 miles or so up to the finish.
Stage 7 included some of the most challenging rides in the area, including Morgan Territory, Patterson Pass and Mt. Diablo. It was 92 miles and an absurd amount of climbing, but the racers reached the finish line at the top of a 4000-foot, 12-mile climb in fewer than 4 hours. These are some amazing athletes.
Later, one of my friends said he enjoyed watching so much because seeing the cyclists in person made it seem real and achievable. Having them within touching distance made the athletic feat they just achieved seem graspable as well (if only you could quit your job and train for hours every day…).
While we were having a post-event meal, the wife of someone we rode with found out I was training for an Ironman and was blown away. She came back to the topic several times, and was truly impressed. She had done a triathlon before, and a challenging one at that, Alcatraz, but the Ironman seemed out of this world. She asked if everyone I told was so floored and what that was like.
This is 2nd and 3rd place. Check the quads! I went with some cycling friends of mine, riding our bikes just shy of the summit and then checking them at the bike valet before walking up the remaining couple kilometers to the top. We got there early enough to snag a spot about 5 feet from the finish line, and could see the announcers who were calling the event as the cyclists charged the last 30 miles or so up to the finish.
Stage 7 included some of the most challenging rides in the area, including Morgan Territory, Patterson Pass and Mt. Diablo. It was 92 miles and an absurd amount of climbing, but the racers reached the finish line at the top of a 4000-foot, 12-mile climb in fewer than 4 hours. These are some amazing athletes.
Later, one of my friends said he enjoyed watching so much because seeing the cyclists in person made it seem real and achievable. Having them within touching distance made the athletic feat they just achieved seem graspable as well (if only you could quit your job and train for hours every day…).
While we were having a post-event meal, the wife of someone we rode with found out I was training for an Ironman and was blown away. She came back to the topic several times, and was truly impressed. She had done a triathlon before, and a challenging one at that, Alcatraz, but the Ironman seemed out of this world. She asked if everyone I told was so floored and what that was like.
With the exception of the Cycle Team last summer, every time I’ve joined Team in Training, it has been to achieve something I didn’t think I could do on my own, and was a little unsure if it was even possible -- my first marathon, my first half-Ironman distance triathlon, now the Ironman.
I don’t know that I could get to the Ironman on my own, but after 6 months of training, it’s graspable, it’s in sight. I can see and feel and taste it. As of Tuesday, it’s exactly 4 months away. I’ve met people who have done it, and worked my butt off for months now, and it is real and achievable. I’m going to get there.
So now, when people are so amazed, it makes me a little uncomfortable. Like maybe it’s not as big a deal as people seem to think. If I can do it, anyone can, right? I actually believe that’s true, that with the right motivation and intention, anyone can do the work to get to 140.6.
Perhaps it’s just that we’re in a recovery week (and, boy, did I recover this week). When the pressure lessens, it doesn’t feel as challenging, and it’s hard to fully recognize the distance I’ve come and where I’m about to go.
But things are about to get pretty crazy. Here’s the schedule for the next few weeks:
Yep, that’s 3 weekends out of the next 5 that I’ll be traveling in order to train. In addition to this, my professional life is about to get crazy as I work to get a major project online by July 1. I’ll have less flexibility to get the needed weekday workouts in, meaning earlier mornings and later evenings.
I think that by July, I’ll have snapped out of recovery week thinking and I'll be fully engaged with the idea that this Ironman training is a really big freaking deal. Still graspable, but only if my grip is strong (iron, perhaps?).
[And thanks to Joseph Torralba for all of this week's photos!]
I don’t know that I could get to the Ironman on my own, but after 6 months of training, it’s graspable, it’s in sight. I can see and feel and taste it. As of Tuesday, it’s exactly 4 months away. I’ve met people who have done it, and worked my butt off for months now, and it is real and achievable. I’m going to get there.
So now, when people are so amazed, it makes me a little uncomfortable. Like maybe it’s not as big a deal as people seem to think. If I can do it, anyone can, right? I actually believe that’s true, that with the right motivation and intention, anyone can do the work to get to 140.6.
Perhaps it’s just that we’re in a recovery week (and, boy, did I recover this week). When the pressure lessens, it doesn’t feel as challenging, and it’s hard to fully recognize the distance I’ve come and where I’m about to go.
But things are about to get pretty crazy. Here’s the schedule for the next few weeks:
- Saturday, May 25 – East Bay Century (a Team 100-mile ride)
- Sunday, June 2 – America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride (AMBBR), a century ride in Tahoe (altitude training!)
- Saturday, June 8 – ¾ Ironman in Clearlake
- Saturday, June 21 – Tahoe Training Weekend (more altitude training)
Yep, that’s 3 weekends out of the next 5 that I’ll be traveling in order to train. In addition to this, my professional life is about to get crazy as I work to get a major project online by July 1. I’ll have less flexibility to get the needed weekday workouts in, meaning earlier mornings and later evenings.
I think that by July, I’ll have snapped out of recovery week thinking and I'll be fully engaged with the idea that this Ironman training is a really big freaking deal. Still graspable, but only if my grip is strong (iron, perhaps?).
[And thanks to Joseph Torralba for all of this week's photos!]
Week 27 Mileage
Tuesday, May 14 Spin – 1 hour Wednesday, May 15 Run – 1 hour, 6.5 miles Transports Trail Run in Tilden - nice! Thursday, May 16 Run – 20 minutes, 2.5 miles Cardio – 35 minutes (elliptical) Core – 20 minutes Friday, May 17 Swim – 30 minutes, 1850 yards New 24 Hour Fitness membership for the pool. Friday lunch is not good swim time at the Potrero location, FYI. Saturday, May 18 Bike – 2 hours, 30 miles Sunday, May 19 Rest, per coach’s instructions. I lounged like crazy. | Totals: Swim – 30 minutes, 1850 yards Bike – 3 hours, 30 miles Run – 1 hour 20 minutes, 9 miles Cardio/Core – 55 minutes Total – 5 hours 45 minutes |