One Helena Hundred Ride Report

Turns out this was the truth.

I got a road bike in February, fell in love with it, and signed up for a Century ride...  Fortunately for me the event I signed up for had metric century, 100k or 62 miles.  Saturday was the day.  I was super nervous and maybe a little undertrained.  PJ was originally signed up to ride with me, but because of the details of life he wasn't able to train at all so he decided not to ride and worked as my awesome sherpa.

Sherpa #1

Sherpa #2

We headed up to Cascade around 7:00am, got signed in, and hit the road.   There was no start time, just a rough start point to roll out from.  I kind of liked not starting with a group, it allowed me to pick my pace, but also freaked me out because I was totally afraid of getting lost the entire time...

Before

The weather was absolutely perfect, the first 20 miles felt pretty great.  There were rest stops every 10ish miles and after stop one I got roped in by 3 people from Helena.  I told them this was all brand new to me, and they spent some time teaching my how to draft and running in my first ever pace line.  It was a blast, but unfortunately they were moving a bit fast for me so I dropped off after a few miles.

Things starting getting a bit hotter and the negative thoughts started to creep in around the 30 mile turn around.  I knew physically I could do this, but my brain would be my demise if I let it.  I was slow, I got passed A LOT.  By mile 40 I was the LAST person, not by far though, every time I pulled into a rest stop there were a handful of folks there.  The last 20 miles were pretty brutal both physically and emotionally.  Before Saturday the longest I had ever ridden was 40 miles.  I kept reminding myself I'm brand new to road biking, it was my ride and it didn't matter where I finished simply that I finished, and to be grateful to have a body that let me move along such a beautiful road.

Over all it was probably the slowest Metric Century in US history, 5:36:30 was my total time for the day.  When I finally saw PJ at the very end I broke down in tears, I was so happy and proud that I had set this goal, and finished it.  I also was ready to be off that bike! My bum, hips, and shoulders were done with me and done with being on the bike, but I did it!  

I am pleasantly surprised that I am not sore today.  I'm tired (very tired!) and I feel there is no gas in the tank, but I was bracing myself for pain when I got up and there was none.  (I swear EnduroPacks is part of that!)

I learned:

• I really needed more hours on the bike.  It's not just being fit, it's being used to having my butt in that saddle.
• Being a good squatter and having big thighs (thanks crossfit) helps make those hills happen.
• Positive self-talk is really real.  Everytime I let the bad crap in I started to hate the ride and think about quitting, but I'd start the cheesy positive self talk, and I'd be moving right along again.
• I'm pretty dialed on fueling, but I need to drink more water, I let me self dehydrate a bit early on I think.
• My fiance and puppy make amazing sherpas.
• And lastly, I learned I'm pretty freaking awesome if I set my mind to it.

The very last photo snapped before I crawled off of the bike.

First ever "race" report

About a month ago I got a wild hair to sign up for a 5k.  So I signed up for the 4th of July Freedom Run.  Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.  But this is the farther I've run since getting out of the military over 5 years ago.  And I've never ran in an organized event like this.  I went into it with no running specific training, just my usual crossfit training.  Basically my goal was to not stop moving forward.  So, I did not run the whole thing, there was walking.  But I finished it.  My goal was 45 minutes.  I finished in 43:40.  It's a start :)  I've changed my training schedule, and plan on doing another 5k in October, so we'll see...

Either way, I got out there on the 4th of July wearing my Team RWB shirt, and finished my first ever 5k.  I'm proud.

Team Red, White, & Blue Functional Fitness Camp

A week or so ago I got the amazing opportunity to travel to Virgina for a functional fitness camp with Team Red, White, & Blue.  There were 50 veterans from all over the US and a bunch of phenomenal coaches.  I was super excited before even flying out because I knew I would be training at Crossfit Rubicon which is one of those gyms you always see in crossfit news, and I knew I was going to get the chance to meet a crossfitter that inspires me on a regular basis (Jason Sturm).  What I didn't expect was how much I would learn, and how many other amazing individuals I would meet.

Team RWB Funtional Fitness Camp 2013 at Crossfit Rubicon

I flew in Thursday evening, my shy side got the better of me and I hung to the back at dinner.  I found my roommate who had zero functional fitness experience but was a super excited and outgoing former Marine, and we hit it off right away.

Friday we headed over to Crossfit Rubicon for camp to really begin.  We had classes on squatting, goal setting, mobility, and dead lift.  We finished the day with a team workout (which team 4, my team, dominated).  Saturday was overhead progression (press, push press, push jerk, overhead squat), more mobility with Dr. Larson, the clean, and wrapped the day up with the "21 Gun Salute" workout. 

On one hand I would say I didn't learn a lot that was new to me, but on the other hand I learned so much and haven't really stopped thinking about it all.  It was great to train with different coaches and to better understand the how and why's about their gyms.  I got to watch new athletes discover crossfit, I got to see people without limbs adapt and overcome, I got to see veterans come together and cheer on every last individual through their workouts.

Dale and Derick were the coaches I primarily worked with.  They challenged me, a lot (and yes, I was listening even if it didn't seem like it).  I realized it's been a long time since I focused on the basics.  I can squat and I can clean, but what happens if I move my feet in an inch? or pull myself 2 degrees further over the bar?  I realized that my technique has gotten sloppy and it's no one's fault but my own.  I have learned to just survive my workouts, but not to be conscious or to push myself through them. I've just been going through the motions.  I've been stuck on my plateau for a while, and now I see why.

I am renewed.  I have changed my training schedule to include time for warm ups, mobility, technique, and my wod.  I owe it to myself. I realized that I need to be more present and conscious both in the gym and in my life, and to keep attacking.

So thank you to Team RWB for giving me this opportunity.  Thank you to all the coaches for giving your time and energy to teach. Thank you to all the friends I made, you remind me why being around other veterans is important, and that we all have garbage to over come, I'm not alone in that.