Monday, August 17, 2009

More bike riding

After the Lake Placid "disaster" I realized I need to put in more miles on the bike. So on Thursday I rode to the golf course and back (38 miles). I did the same on Saturday, and on Sunday I rode 90 miles to Livermore and back. On Friday I "rounded it all out" with a 14 mile run to "sprints" -if you live in Berkeley, you know where that is.

On Sunday I stopped at ExtraMile, a gas station in Danville where I often get a drink. Since I was quite thirsty and since I hadn't eaten lunch despite having ridden 70 miles, I went to the soda fountain and got the biggest drink they had, 52 oz to be exact! I filled it with a mixture of coke and gatorade.

The cup was interesting, it read: soda, the forgotten food group. Seriously! In America, soda is all but a forgotten food group. For most people it is a staple. I never drink soda (or energy drinks) unless I ride. That 52 ounces fueled my bike ride, but unfortunately, most people who stop at ExtraMile are driving cars. It is a gas station after all, and one that is not walk-up friendly. So you wonder what all these people do in their SUV's and pickup's, gulping down 52 ounces of sugar water. No surprise everyone is overweight or obese here.

Today I swam for 45 minutes, taking it easy. I worked on my technique and tried bilateral breathing. It was better than before but I still have trouble keeping it up for more than 50 yards.

I read an interview with Lance today where he indicated he may try ironman. When someone asked him if he was going to win it on the bike, he said: better to take it easy. You can ride your heart out and gain 10 minutes, but then lose 20-30 on the run. So now you hear it from someone else: ironman is about running. If you want to do well you need to focus on the run. If your goal is to finish, and you have never done it, focus on the bike. Although you can't gain much time here, the bike is easily the most demanding leg and it is the one that sets up the run.

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