Tuesday, September 04, 2007

cycling Idaho

I tried running last weekend. Just easy 5 miles on the mountain. Hiked up, ran down. It was second trial run since Badwater. This time, I was again testing the hip flexor to see if it healed up completely. Those things can take months to heal. Last weekend was 5 weeks since the race. Well, at first it felt fine. No problems. It was sooo good to be on the trails again. I felt it a bit running downhill so took it very easy. But after my run, I could already feel the deep ache returning. And by the next day, it was back to feeling bad. Not near as bad as before, but it is obviously not healed. Bummer. So, I decided to hold off on running at all for the next 3 to 4 weeks. I've got this bike thing to master during that time anyway.

So, I focussed this weekend on getting some mileage on the bike. I wanted to cycle all 3 days, but got in only 2. Yesterday, I rode the Centennial Trail to Coeur d'Alene and picked up a friend, and we rode together to Higgins Point, which is a famous spot for watching bald eagles in the winter. We turned around there, at the end of the Idaho Centennial Trail and headed back West toward Spokane for a total of 80 miles. The miles were slow and we took some nice relaxing breaks, but still...it was 80 miles! (So, if you decide to view the link to the Centennial Trail to Coeur d'Alene link, whatever you do, do NOT hit the link to the North Idaho Centennial Trail link at the bottom right corner of the page...the website has been hijacked by a porn site. Trust me....it has. You don't have to click on it to see for yourself. Really you don't....you DON'T. Really. Ok, ok, you obviously don't trust me...!)

Ha! I told you so!

Anyway, I wanted to make it to REI before closing yesterday but unfortunately, we spent too much time and had too much fun on the bikes. Dang! I wanted to get me some Labor Day sale stuff.

So, today, I decided to get an earlier start and ride 100 miles on the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes. It was a 40 minute drive to Plummer, Idaho to the trailhead and I headed out east toward Mullan.

(pic from the official website)

This is a rails to trails course, relatively new and thus very nice. It's also flat for most of the course.
(pic from the Trail of the Cd'A website)
The trail hugs Lake Coeur d'Alene for the first part and the river for the second part. There is spectacular scenery all along the way.

I thought I was going to make it back in 6 hours (total time including a break at the deli for drinks and a potty break), but the last short easy 6-mile hill back to the trailhead kicked my butt! It was not a steep grade or anything. I think my legs were just TOAST from yesterday's mileage too. I crawled up the hill and added an extra 20 minutes to my time. -- Not that I really care! -- So, my overall riding time for the century was 6:10 and total time including breaks (which matters in a race!) was 6:40. Not bad but not good either for a flat course. Still... I'll take it! It was a blast. I was by myself and so had to entertain myself during those hours. That's really not a hard thing for me to do. However, it was difficult to push myself without other riders around. I found it very easy to relax into a "touring" pace and had to constantly remind myself to pick up my cadence.

So, today I had time to swing directly over to REI to buy...um....well, stuff, you know....it's REI, there's a sale going on....

And so I bought some essentials and some non-essentials, and I was carrying around one of their big tote bags. And when I went up the stairs, I couldn't believe how fatigued my legs were! I had to do the ole' ultrarunner climbing maneuver, pushing my quads down with my hands as I climbed...

So, this is good. This is a good tired. It will help me at the 508. I wish I could ride again tomorrow, but real life calls.

I will now focus on some hills. I did some hill repeats 2 weekends ago and those too whipped me. So, yep, I can't fake this race! I've got a lot more work to do. Good news is...I LOVE the work!

Anna and I still have to pick our order for the team but at first glance it seems to me that it really doesn't matter much. There are so many long hills in each stage that I'm gonna be crying no matter what I do! :)

(You know I'm kidding, right? There will be NO WHINING! We have an excellent crew, which I will introduce later, and we have our humor and positive attitudes to get us through with loads of fun along the way.)

OK, holiday over. Back to work!

Great job to all the Tetoners! AJW rocks! And so do many others, though notable bloggers include: Bob, Matt, and Leigh. I'm looking forward to reading some reports.

Also, a special congratulations to Dori Robertson (who was on my Badwater crew) for a fabulous race at Ironman Canada with a finish time of 12:41:22!

8 comments:

Olga said...

Hey, biker-girl, rock on to no whining work! I don't expect you to cry either:)

Rick Gaston said...

Omigosh that's one tough looking bike race! Been loving my bike for the fall. They feel like ice skates, you travel so far so silently with less effort. Bike's tough on my quads though because my pedal stroke needs work. I'm a masher, too hard on the down pedal stroke. When I run the next day I feel it in my quads.

Found your blog through Olga and Bob.

Backofpack said...

Lisa,
Wow, didn't know you were hurting from Badwater. Didn't you sweep at CCC? How'd that go? It's cool that you've found an alternative that you are enjoying, though I'm sure you want both. You are tackling the big stuff right away!

Have fun!

Anonymous said...

Hey Lisa,

That 6:10/6:40 century of yours is great news! And you had fun along the way--even better. You are going to rock at the 508. I will try to remember the no whining rule (-:

-Anna

Lisa B said...

Uh oh! Looks like there'll be NO WHINING at the 508! I set myself up for that now, didn't I? Thanks, Olga.

Welcome Rick! I'm amazed at all the runner/cyclist bloggers. It's very cool. I didn't know what I was missing. Yes, it's amazing the distance you can cover in such a short amount of time. The simplicity...the speed...the wind...the quiet hum of the tires... I'm not a masher. My quads don't get tired. But I think that's just because I don't push myself as hard as I should. We'll see..

Hi Michelle - I had a hip flexor strain prior to Badwater, so this recovery time is not too unexpected, though it is a little longer than I'd like, for sure! It's ok though. The bike will busy me until after the race, then I'll start running again in prep for the 48-hour at ATY. It was great to see you and Eric at CCC!

And hey, swift fox! Yep, it went as well as could be expected - for riding solo. There was no whining, only singing over and over again this Bob Marley song that I had stuck in my head. Good luck at IM Wisconsin this weekend!! Rock 'em Fox!

Bob - BlogMYruns.com said...

Anyway, I wanted to make it to REI before closing yesterday but unfortunately, we spent too much time and had too much fun on the bikes. Dang! I wanted to get me some Labor Day sale stuff.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LOLOL awww sorry u missed the sale stuff...

ummm can I call u a "Biker Chick" yet?!! with ur cigarrrrr-lol

I do trust you so umm I won't go to that mistake link...really I am not going to look for that site ...seriously...

ummm ....


not... looking.....

(hmmmmmmmm back to post ...where did she say again ..oh bottom rt corner...)

http://www.northidahocentennialtrail.com
LOLOL ahhhhh those look like some nice trails to run....what great views---lmaoooooooooooo

ok need a cold shower...ummm I need to soak my feet I mean

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

sherpajohn said...

The 508 is going to be amazing.. you'll rock it out for sure as I know you guys have a rockin team of friends headin out there.

Make sure Joe Desena kicks in in gear... I know Lisa SB will be doing this for sure.

ROCK ON BIKER GIRL!

Bob - BlogMYruns.com said...

(((Looking in O_O )))

(((Knock, Knock))) Hello, anyone home?!!

hmmm?? she must be on her bike :-(