Last 3 weeks of training for 111 hilly miles

[Bklynmom]

Hey Starfish-
Thanks for the eat drink suggestions - I found the hard way that I can't really eat real food and then climb hills - ugh! Gels and maybe a bar for me too.

You will do great -- your ride is Saturday or Sunday? In any case you will have plenty of time to adjust to the elevation.

I have to admit that I am getting a bit edgy, but we will both be fine I have a feeling. We leave early tomorrow for Hartford, Ct, then Friday DH will drive me to Sturbridge MA. There is a dinner the night before then the ride which starts Saturday at 6AM.

I have been in touch with a few other TE members, it will be fun to meet them. I am going to the ride with a friend, but I am riding on my own. She did about one third of the training mileage I did, but has become much faster. I'm sure I will find riding partners along the way - it is a friendly group.

I am sending good vibes your way for your ride!

Lisa

[Starfish]

I am sending good vibes your way for your ride!

Good vibes back at ya!

For some reason, I have begun to get worried about this ride, and I'm not sure where that's coming from.

I keep reminding myself that my goals, in this order, are:

1) Have fun and stay positive!
2) Accomplish a PB for elevation gained.
3) Finish the whole ride.

I'm trying to remind myself that if those really are my goals, then I have full control over goal #1, regardless of what happens! For some reason, I'm still nervous, which is a little strange for me. I mean, what do I think will happen?

[Bklynmom]

Starfish-
Nice to have someone to have an anxiety attack with

Seriously - we could just be hanging out at home watching movies, and instead we are seriously challenging ourselves athletically - that totally rocks .

You are going to climb a Mountain on your bike - wow!

My goal is to stay on the bike, not get sick to my stomach, have fun and meet some new people. This ride is the reason I bought my bike and started this whole process (since this March). And I raised almost $3,000 for cancer research too.

The Pan Mass ride actually has a start group for casual riders under 13 MPH - at least I can count myself as having graduated from that group.

I look forward to some day having the same skill level on the bike as I do in my work! (OK, not a professional bike rider, but a competent B16 rider who does big hills at 7 MPH would be good).

Being excited and a bit anxious is the totally appropriate response!

Lisa

[Starfish]

You're right, we totally rock!

You really, truly rock, with the money you raised for your ride, and the fact that you just started this process in March. That is pretty amazing to me.

Don't know if you'll get this before you leave, but good luck! We will have to debrief when we're done!

[Bklynmom]

My ride was just great. I trained correctly, and the Tapering worked. The hills were so much smaller than I expected. I really preserved my energy, so I was not fried when I was done. It did take 9 hours, but it was fine - I met all kinds of interesting people along the way too. I raised more than $3,000 too.

Having a hydration/eating plan and sticking to it was a good thing too.

Starfish-
How was your ride?

Lisa

[Starfish]

My ride was just great.

Starfish- How was your ride?

Lisa

Oh, I'm SOOooo glad you had a great ride! Yippee!!!! I DEMAND A RIDE REPORT!!

You can check out mine at: http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=17819

Congrats! Sounds like you were really smart, and really prepared. Way to go! And, you should feel pretty awesome about the fundraising. Thank you for doing that.

[Bklynmom]

My ride report ( a little less coherent than yours ):
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=17927

Lisa