For me, the magic seems to happen when I can log ten or
more hours of riding in a week. Early
in 2019 I was counting all aerobic hours which made sense. Riding, skiing and running all counted. When
the snow melted, the metric reverted to cycling hours only. As the OTGG gets
closer, I’ve added more and more intensity as well as pinned on a number and
raced a couple times.
As much fun as I have had with intervals recently, it is
time to taper and while I do keep some intensity, my saddle hours finally get
to reduce as I hope to start OTGG with fresh guns. The magnitude of the OTGG
scared me and I have been a selfish dick and logged a lot of miles in hopes of
not dying during the event. I have been
doing the core work I always hoped I would do.
I’ve been embracing the polarized training model and it appears to be
working. All of this has created the
false impression in my head that I am ready, and thus I can taper without
wondering if I should have done more.
Despite the miles
I have behind me, I am keenly aware that I am not a young man. My years of
“toughing it out,” or getting by based on my exceptionally good looks are past
and now there is no substitute for diligent preparation and mandatory diminished
expectations.
I have worked out the bugs and have a saddle that seems
to work with my butt, I have found the foods (fuel) that seem to agree with me
three, four, five, or six hours into a ride.
I’ve figured out which gloves protect my hands the best from hours of
vibration on rough roads. I’ve done the
toteming that determines which bits of gear make the trip and what stays home
in the drawer.
The goal after this weekend is just to not mess up. Don’t eat too much or lift anything too heavy. If someone near me sneezes, just watch me
walk away. I can’t afford to waste all
the sacrifices I have made as well as all that I have asked from Hottie. I did manage to drop a forty pound sheet of
construction debris on my foot Sunday morning, but by a miracle of happenstance
I was wearing some Vans skate shoes with a thick padded tongue. My foot is blue, and I’ll take blue over
broken every time.
If there was a weather app that allowed you to order your
local weather I would have ordered warm and sunny this week as a final tune up
for OTGG. By some coincidence, that is
what we are expecting.
Time to pack.
