Since the rainstorm foiled our training plans at Wildflower last weekend, our coaches put together a “Wildflower Long Course” simulation ride. Although not as hilly as WIldflower, they wanted to add in a pretty nasty (hence the nickname “Nasty Grade”) climb after 45 or so miles. Check the elevation chart above. Yes, that steep! The ride down was scary fun though! There were a few Category 5(see definitions here) climbs sprinkled in there as well. We had a time limit of 5 hours, so if we were back at home base (Zuma Parking Lot) before that, we had to continue riding south and estimate a turnaround spot to make the 5 hours. The great thing about coming back early was that we had an opportunity to make this the longest ride yet this season. The downside? More hills! Yes, hills at the 65 mile mark! My total bike mileage of the day was 72! Woohoo!
Practice wasn’t over yet! There was an hour more of running, which equates to about 6 miles! Luckily, I didn’t expend all my energy on the bike, so my run was pretty normal – started off very quick (~8:15 pace) with high cadence, then stabilized at around 9:15 pace. I was surprised at how much energy I still had by the end. I think my nutrition plan was working for me really well, and thankfully the weather wasn’t too warm outside. I’m just so happy how far the team has come. We’re all getting that much closer to our goal, plus we’re all bonding so well. I love my team! Go TEAM!
