Today's Workout: Hills anyone?

I was a little anxious about today's workout, make that a lot anxious. I needed to do my long ride and brick run and I needed some hills. I headed to Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park by myself at 6:15 AM. Door to door this is a 75 mile drive which seems ridiculous but my coach has assured me that if I train there the hills around Lake Placid will be nothing come race day.

It was unclear to me where to park so I pulled off into a little parking area right before the entrance and I rode in. Entrance fees for a bike are $8 and a car $15, however, the park was not open yet so I rode in for free.

The first 5 miles, and I do not exaggerate, are uphill. A climb starting at 600 feet before it levels off momentarily at 2200 feet--yes, you are reading those numbers right. At the 5 mile mark there is a big parking lot and visitor center (aka bathrooms and food). I was in my lowest gear those 5 miles on my hill climbing gearing so to say I was worried about the "real hills" is yet another understatement. I realized that all of the cyclist who passed me in their cars were all parked in the Visitor Center lot. Apparently I'm one of the few idiots who ride the first 5 miles but I'll do it again if it aids my preparation.

I forgot to mention that in those first 5 miles when the world was passing me slowly I saw a ton of dear and I heard some other large animals that I refused to look at. There are bear and while I didn't "see" one trust that I upped my cadence when I smelt fresh poop between mile 1 and 2 or heard restling near the roadside.

The rest of the ride was a series of long uphill (which I did like) and 3 downhill on the way out (which I didn't care for). The views were spectacular even as they were shrouded in the morning fog. I rode up and down never getting higher then 2800 feet before my turn around. My turn around which was at slightly over the hour and 45 minute mark ended up being too early. With all of the downhill I was back at the entrance in no time so I turned around and headed up the hill again to ensure I got my full 3.5 hours in.

Back at the car I switched into my running gear and tried to make my legs move for a 40 minute run. They felt dead at first and while it seemed like a long 40 minutes it was uneventful. I was tired driving back but not too bad. I came home, went to the chiro who fixed my hip which was out of place, and then threw a "Cuatro de Mayo" themed dinner party for friends. To say it was a full day....really says it all.