The Over-Distance Ride

Above, the numbers from yesterday's over-distance ride. The bike computer reads, 200.1 km, ridden in 5:52:52, at an average cadence (pedal revolutions) of 94 RPM. That's an average speed of 34 km/h. The Ironman bike course is "only" 180km, or 112 miles.

One of the training methods used to prepare for Ironman is the over-distance ride. The theory is, if you can ride 200km or more, then you are physically and mentally prepared for the 180km of the Ironman bike leg. It's also a great opportunity to practice your fuelling strategy. The best time to do this long a ride is no less than three weeks from race day, otherwise it takes too long to recover from.

This was the biggest-volume weekend of my build cycle for Ironman Canada, with the race being August 26th, or three weeks today. Friday was a 4000m swim featuring 30x100m repeats, Saturday was the 200km ride followed by a 10-minute transition run, and Sunday started with a 30-minute easy spin on the bike, as a warmup to a 2:50 run (20.4 miles), followed by a cooling and therapeutic 20-minute recovery swim in McKenzie Lake.

Next week consists of the usual swim, bike and run interval sessions Tuesday thru Thursday, followed by another 4000m swim Friday, long ride Saturday ("only" 180km) followed by a 30-minute transition run, and a similar Sunday to today, but with a shorter 2:20 run. Then the taper cycle begins, with a steady reduction in volume and intensity through the last two weeks, allowing the body to recover and absorb the training.

This weekend's big training block was achieved thanks to the great work of the folks at Calgary Sports Therapy. I tweaked my right glute on Wednesday morning moving my weight bench (Lift with the knees, not the back!) and by Wednesday eve I could barely put weight on my right leg. Thursday morning, my chiropractor "threw the book" at it: Hip adjustment, Active Release, and the evil Graston tool. Friday morning, a repeat of the same, plus deep-tissue massage that brought tears to my eyes. After the initial irritation of the treatment wore off, and hourly applications of ice, by Friday evening I was nearly pain-free. During Saturday's ride, I barely gave it a thought; however to reduce strain on the glutes, I avoided riding in the aero position, and kept my cadence higher than normal .

Despite the injury, I only missed a couple of run workouts. I could still bike and swim, in fact swimming helped loosen it up. It's important when injured not to just "throw in the towel" on your training: do whatever your body will let you do, and let pain be the guide. If it hurts, don't do it. Especially multisport athletes, we are lucky to have at least two other training options!

Road Kill

I thought birds were supposed to be smart? I saw at least 15 dead birds during my ride. Many of these were magpies and crows, caught picking over other road kill, I guess. On Tuesday night, while riding back into town on Highway 22X, I nearly hit a Paris Hilton-wannabe, complete with Ipod, coming straight at me on her cruiser bike down the wrong shoulder (facing traffic). Definitely not a smart bird!