It’s kind of a bittersweet time for me right now. If 2020 had gone differently, I would be in the final phases of preparation for RAAM right now. On the one hand, it’s a bit of a bummer to look back at memories from this time last year when I was getting ready for Race Across the West. On the other, it’s also sort of a relief to not be going through all that stress right now and know that I have another year to get ready.
I did decide to participate in Virtual Race Across the West (VRAW) on the FulGaz platform, and that will begin on the original RAAM/RAW start date of June 16. I’m back to work full-time now and will not be taking any time off for VRAW. I figured I would treat VRAW as more of a challenge to put in the miles between my work hours than as a race. It’s only been in the last week that I’ve been able to sit down and put together a schedule that I’m realizing what I’ve got myself into.
This weekend I finished up a four week training block that I am really happy to be done with. Planet Ultra put together some mileage and double century challenges over the last couple of months to stay afloat during the pandemic, as they’ve had to cancel several events. I spent the last four Saturday’s completing solo double century rides as part of these challenges, three of them to earn credit towards my California Triple Crown total, which I believe now stands at 20. Each challenge had a minimum requirement for elevation gain, which forced me to look for hillier routes. Most people know I’m not afraid of climbing, but it would have been easy to choose some flatter routes for the double centuries just to get them done quickly.
It’s been a whole new mental challenge to start doing double centuries solo and unsupported, but I think I got the hang of it pretty quickly. I also learned a lot over the course of the last few long rides about how to balance my nutrition, hydration, and electrolytes. The physical challenge of the fatigue building up week after week has been good as well, as each long ride I’ve had to stay focused to keep pushing through.
I opted to do my last double century on the indoor trainer yesterday as a final preparation for VRAW. I had some concerns about how I would hold up for longer distances on the trainer after struggling through a few big rides a couple of months ago. Physically, I think I held up about as well as I did on my double century rides on the road. The monotony of sitting on the trainer for so long, along with the knowledge that I could just stop at any moment and call it a day, was a mental challenge that I was able to handle pretty well. It was also good to be reminded of some of the things I need for long indoor rides. I must have placed 3-4 Amazon orders over the course of my ride.
All told, in the last four weeks I rode nearly 1500 miles, climbed 82,000 feet, and worked anywhere from 32-40 hours each week. I know it’s a big cliché, but I always love being able to say that “the hay is in the barn” at the end of a training cycle. I anticipate that I will feel like crap for a few days this week as I start to recover from the hard block of training, but I’m ready for it.
