The final weeks leading to STP were meant to keep me sharp. Just for kicks, Adam threw in a field test which absolutely obliterated me. My results were good, but I could tell my fitness was slipping a bit. You see, Portland has a ton of great restaurants and we've been going out to eat a lot. Even though I make good choices at restaurants now, it can start adding up. In fact, I stopped losing weight last April. But I fit in size 30 pants now, so its not a big deal. Healthy eating is a daily choice and Monique is helping the both of us by learning some really great light dishes.
The final build week included one 3-hour and one 4.5-hour ride with Tempo sets. Those were tough days spent climbing. I was dead after those workouts were completed. The week prior to STP was a tapering week, which meant a lot of rest and recovery. I kept hydrated an carbo'd up all week long - no Atkins for this kid. I overhauled my bike and replaced my PowerTap wheels with my fast Mavic Ksyrium's. By the time we drove up to Seattle on Friday, I was ready to rock and roll.
I got up at 3:30 am and got all mys stuff ready. I had a peanut butter and jelly bagel and coffee for breakfast and rode to the starting line. It was surreal - about 2000 people on their bikes in a party atmosphere at 4:30 in the morning. We started at 4:45 am sharp and surprisingly, the field separated pretty quickly. Within 10 miles, I had identified a group of guys I could hang with (all in the same red jersey) and we started taking turns at the front. At the first rest stop, I introduced myself to Stephan, one of the guys in the red group, and he invited me to stay with them. I met the other guys on the road.
The big red train was fast and furious over the flat first 100 miles. We averaged well over 20 MPH and reached the halfway point in Centralia at 10:00 am sharp. That was 5:15 total time, but by my computer, it was 4:30 riding time. That was incredibly fast! Monique met me at the first stop and she made me up a couple bottles of Cytomax and a bottle of Endurox. It was great to see her and spend a little time with her. It made me remember why I got into this in the first place.
The second half of the ride was a little more challenging. Many more rolling hills (if you can call the rollers - they went up a lot before the leveled off, then went up again), a nice climb over the the Longview Bridge (terrifying) and 42 miles down Highway 30, including a nice big climb out of Scappoose. Guys in the big red train were getting fatigued and one guy started getting hot foot. Stephan flatted, and a couple other guys were dropped on the hills. I was usually the first guy up the hill, which told me that I had been well-trained for this event. It was hard, but after each climb, I felt like I still had gas in the tank. That's huge after 150 miles.
We slogged it down Hwy 30 and it was when we hit Sauvie Island that I realized I was home. We still had another 12 miles to go, but I knew I was on roads that I bike throughout the week. There were my roads, mytown and the familiarity of it gave me a big boost of energy. 8 miles before the finish line, we spotted the "Welcome to Portland" sign - everyone in the red train gave a big yell and fists were raised in celebration. Still a few more miles left, but now the pace was picking up as everyone was anticpating the finish.
Then, right at Vaughn Avenue, they threw in a 200-yard 15% climb. Talk about adding insult to injury! That was the only time during I can remember my attitude giong south. I didn't have enough to power up it, so I parked it in my granny gear and spun as best I could. We went across 19th to Everett and I remember thinking that this was a really cool way to see the city. Usually we're in our car; this was the first time I had been across the downtown on my bike.
We made our way to Lloyd's Center, to the finish line and I was smiling ear to ear with satisfaction. They handed me my "One Day Rider" patch and I felt very proud. But I was also terribly hungry and craving anything that wasn't sweet. I called Monique to come pick me up, parked my bike at the bike corral and bought some Janapese noodles with Teriyaki chicken. I chased that down with a beer by the time Monique arrived. We loaded up my bike, ordered a pizza and went home.
In the next couple of days I could reflect on what it all meant. My journey to good health is far from over, in fact, in a way, its just beginning. I may be in great athletic shape, but diabetes and heart problems run in my family and I need to make good choices every day to keep from suffering later on (or at least to put it off a few more years). Its not so much dying that I'm afraid of, its living in a broken body. This is my chance - my window of opportunity - to take control of my health.
I have obsessed over my diet and my trainnig regimen for over a year and it produced the results I was hoping it would. I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge my family and friends who, in ways big and small, helped me stay on track. Whether it was a pat on the back for riding a century or just listening to me rant about fitness, they were there for me and I couldn't have done it without them. Adam Mills has been instrumental in teaching me to "train right" and not jst to traing hard. I highly recommend CTS for anyone looking to make a major paradigm shift in fitness routines.
More to the point, I owe so much to Monique, who was my confidante, coach and partner throughout this whole process. She taught me how to be patient with my progress, how to make healthy eating choices, and she put up with me through all my ups and downs. She made big sacrifces to keep me going and never once did she demand that I put aside my training to be at home with her. The next few weeks will spent making some of that sacrifice up.
I've learned a lot about myself over the past year, probably more than I have in the past. I've learned that hard work is the foundation for results. I've learned that suffering can actually be fun. But mostly I've learned that health and fitness is a lifestyle choice and not just something you do at the gym three times a week. I'm glad I made that choice and I hope to continue to make that choice moving forward. Thanks for reading and call me if you have questions about how I did what I did.
<- Part 7 | Part 8 | Go To The Beginning ->
Author's Note: I wrote this article in the Fall of 2004 and since
then I have received great feedback and a request to make it more
available. Since then, I've lapsed into some old (bad) habits but I'm
on my way back. A new "Re-Reinventing the Cyclist" is in the works. For
now, I hope you can find some nugget of usefulness from this archive. -
Carlo