Many people had told me about the bike course being hilly, but since I never drove any of the course I really didn't know what to expect. To put it in perspective for the locals, the terrain was very similar to Brown Co./southern IN. If you are driving, it's lots of beautiful rolling hills. If you are on a bike however, it is a lot of shifting, climbing and descending. I got above 30 mph coasting down hills at least 15 times, with a max speed of 42.8 mph!
I went out at an easy pace, trying to not push up any of the hills and only went faster when it was flat and the pavement was smooth. There were only a couple hundred people behind of me at this point, but there still seemed to be a steady stream of people passing me. By halfway through the first loop the leaders passed by (on their 2nd loop) and I got to see how crazy fast they were going up the hills. 3/4 of each loop was along country roads, passing mostly farms and a few neighborhoods. It was scenic, but it was also kind of lonely as you're pretty much out there by yourself since you can't ride near anyone else for fear of a drafting penalty. I tried to keep it above 15 mph and let my mind wander again, thinking about what I wanted to tell the crew when I saw them next.
The last 1/4 of the loop was much more exciting. First is a pass thru a small town with some great volunteers and then I came up to the steepest and longest hills on the course. These turned out to be a lot of fun b/c a ton of people were along the hill cheering (a la the Tour de France), shouting and encouraging all the riders. One guy had a big grill out, cooking burgers & brats & drinking Fat Tire (all which sounded really good at the time). they had painted a bunch of stuff on the road and there was even the token fan in the speedo (again, a la le Tour). Having people there made so much difference, I wanted to get out of the saddle and sprint up the hill, pretending to be leading a break up the Alpe d'Huez. I resisted and saved my legs for the 2nd loop; but thanked all the fans along the way. Shortly after leaving the hills, I came into the town of Verona, where I expected to see the support crew and more crowds. The main street through the town was all blocked off for us and there was a big crowd cheering everyone that came by. I was able to spot my crew thanks to the big signs they had made and stopped to chat for a bit. It was so good to see them, but also tough b/c I knew it would be several hours before I made it back to them.
I tried to push the pace a bit more the 2nd loop, but it was definitely harder. My legs were holding up well, but my feet began to really hurt (the pads of my feet where they made contact w/the pedals), my neck got more and more sore and my "seat" got more uncomfortable. I would try stand up to give my seat rest, but that would put more pressure on my feet. I sat up tall to relieve my neck, but that slowed me down. All I could do for my feet was try to pull more than push on the pedals, but that seemed to only provide a few moments of relief. This is another example of how mental this race is - there are so many moments where you have to tell yourself to keep going, to not slow down, to take care of your body.
Speaking of that, I had met with a sports nutritionist (Heather Fink @ NIFS) and she helped me come up with a complete food plan for the race. I am so thankful for her help as it is one of the big reasons I was able to keep going at a steady pace all day. She had me eating every 45 minutes on the bike, in addition to drinking 20+ oz of fluid every hour. It was 80+ degrees on race day, so I knew the liquids and salt tabs were extremely important and so I did my best to stay on track. In total, I drank 4-5 bottles of water, 2.5 bottles of gatorade, ate 3 bars (hammer & lara), 3 bananas and 3 gels. More than I would've ever eaten on my own, but I'm sure that it helped me stay on track to finish strong. This may be the first race that I actually did well with my nutrition, as I never had any major cramps or dehydration issues.
I made it back thru the tough hills ok, still had plenty left in the legs. After I stopped to use the bathroom (yes, I stopped each time and enjoyed the break rather than soiling myself for the sake of saving a few minutes) at about 90 miles I felt pretty good and pushed hard to the finish. I got to see the crew again as I passed thru Verona and there were definitely a lot fewer people out, but I expected that being at the back of the pack again. I got to hear that Chris and Tony were enjoying all the local fare on my behalf and that made me smile. I cruised to the finish, trying to go as fast as I could without hurting my feel or neck any more than necessary. Got to T2 and was so happy to take off the bike shorts and not be sitting down any longer.
bike time: 7:32 rank: 2053/2397 (I actually passed a few people! or they might have just dropped out...)
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