Wait, that's not a bike....

Sometimes it's a relief to get my butt off the bike and do some cross-training. So there I was, hiking with my daughter as she rode Mooney in the Tassahara Valley. It was one of those perfect days. =)

Three-Peat

For our latest ride, we climbed Mount Diablo 3 times yesterday, 63 miles, 10,000 feet in 7 hours. The route started on the south side, climbed to the top, down the north side, climbed to the top, down the south side, then climbed one more time. We planned our nutrition and hydration well and focused on keeping a steady, easy cadence for each ascent. I also practiced descending in my drops (thanks to my buddy Kurt for convincing me to do this more often) and am getting better at it, I think. We kept moving, only taking a short breaks for water and bathrooms and we ate on our bikes, except for a very short lunch stop after the second summit. All in all, it was great, as we had enough power left to go all the way up the summit each time.

Even though it might seem a bit redundant to climb the same mountain multiple times in one day, each ascent was distinctly different, both physically and mentally. The balance of mind and body must be able to adapt to the current situation, where at the beginning of the ride, an athlete will rely on a well nourished and rested body, but as muscles become more tired over time, the mind must be able to take over (in my case, Irish pigheadedness) and push the athlete through the event. So each ascent requires a different strategy and I found myself breaking up the ride in my mind as I planned how to tackle each part of it, just like I would for a triathlon. It worked!

I checked my log and as of today, I've completed 1,500 miles and over 100,000 feet of vertical distance on my bike since February 1. Lord knows, I've had my share of bad training days, but I am feeling better about being ready for the ride in July and couldn't do it without the support from my family and friends (and my Irish heritage).