I was in Sonoma county today to scope out the bike and run courses for Full Vineman. Training has been in high gear for a while and I looking forward to ending this big block at the end of next week and begin tapering for Full Vineman.
Anyways, I reached Windsor High at 6:15 AM and had to pay a visit to the Safeway restrooms, so drove there and back to Windsor High. After quickly changing into bike clothes, stuffing food in the back pockets and the usual drill, I took off at 7 AM. I was still debating how much to bike and I finally decided on doing one loop and then checking out the run course.
The ride was beautiful! The views of rolling hills covered with vineyards were breath-taking. The rising sun added a very marked crispness to the scenery. Since I forgot my Camelbak, I was with only 2 bottles of water, so I was on the lookout for spigots along the road. A found a couple but one just gurgled muddy water and another nothing. Finally, I came across Dry Creek General Store where the girl was kind enough to fill up my bottles. A quick restroom visit, and I was off on the bike. Next water + restroom stop was Jimtown market. After a long stretch along Hwy 128, I hit Chalk Hill Rd with the infamous climb. It was really nothing, but I may feel differently when I hit it on loop #2. Rest of the ride was uneventful and I made it back ay 10:30 AM.
For a minute I thought I dropped my car keys one the bike course and also pulled my phone out to call Progressive roadside assistance, when I realized I had moved the keys from my jersey pocket to the bento box, to avoid dropping them while removing the phone, like I dropped some odd $10 in cash. Grrr. Anyways, I let my HR settle after that little heart attack and eased into the run gear. The plan was to run 1 / 3 run loops and get a feel for the hills Rob was talking about. It is an out & back loop, so I ran all the way out and walked hills on the way back to see how it affected my pace. I was ~15-20 sec/mi slower on the way back, but I think I will need to walk the hills to conserve energy. The heat makes it doubly worse.
After a cool down routine consisting of dousing myself with water, foam rolling and changing into fresh clothes, I took off and drove through Burger King on the way back. Feeling really happy with how the workout went. I already knew a bit about the course and I held fearful respect for the course. Now I am better educated about it and I believe it will help me execute the race more smoothly.
Anyways, I reached Windsor High at 6:15 AM and had to pay a visit to the Safeway restrooms, so drove there and back to Windsor High. After quickly changing into bike clothes, stuffing food in the back pockets and the usual drill, I took off at 7 AM. I was still debating how much to bike and I finally decided on doing one loop and then checking out the run course.
The ride was beautiful! The views of rolling hills covered with vineyards were breath-taking. The rising sun added a very marked crispness to the scenery. Since I forgot my Camelbak, I was with only 2 bottles of water, so I was on the lookout for spigots along the road. A found a couple but one just gurgled muddy water and another nothing. Finally, I came across Dry Creek General Store where the girl was kind enough to fill up my bottles. A quick restroom visit, and I was off on the bike. Next water + restroom stop was Jimtown market. After a long stretch along Hwy 128, I hit Chalk Hill Rd with the infamous climb. It was really nothing, but I may feel differently when I hit it on loop #2. Rest of the ride was uneventful and I made it back ay 10:30 AM.
For a minute I thought I dropped my car keys one the bike course and also pulled my phone out to call Progressive roadside assistance, when I realized I had moved the keys from my jersey pocket to the bento box, to avoid dropping them while removing the phone, like I dropped some odd $10 in cash. Grrr. Anyways, I let my HR settle after that little heart attack and eased into the run gear. The plan was to run 1 / 3 run loops and get a feel for the hills Rob was talking about. It is an out & back loop, so I ran all the way out and walked hills on the way back to see how it affected my pace. I was ~15-20 sec/mi slower on the way back, but I think I will need to walk the hills to conserve energy. The heat makes it doubly worse.
After a cool down routine consisting of dousing myself with water, foam rolling and changing into fresh clothes, I took off and drove through Burger King on the way back. Feeling really happy with how the workout went. I already knew a bit about the course and I held fearful respect for the course. Now I am better educated about it and I believe it will help me execute the race more smoothly.
No comments:
Post a Comment