Long ride – Montauk Point
I’m not sure how to describe today’s ride. “Up and Down” or “Highs and Lows” sound about right and not only to describe the course I rode. Here goes: the day was absolutely beautiful right from the start, clear and sunny, cold, yes, but it didn’t feel too bad. I bought a new insulated Polar Bottle so that my water wouldn’t freeze, like it did the other weekend. I slept in a little bit and didn’t rush out to do the ride. We had breakfast, played a little with Charlie and then it was noon, and I started getting ready to roll.
I took off around 1:20 and felt great. Montauk Point (the easternmost point of Long Island, see map) is about 25 miles from the house, but my plan was to go out about 15-20 miles, turn around and come back and then do it again. I didn’t want to go too far away in case I got cold or got a flat or whatever. However, as I started going, I just felt great. I was flying down Route 27, averaging around 22 mph. I got 15 miles out and decided to keep going, when I got to the town of Montauk, I was still feeling great and decided to go to the Point. I was psyched, I started having thoughts about writing this entry about how great I was feeling and how much stronger and faster I was than the last time I rode out to Montauk in the Spring. The last few miles have some pretty good climbs and nice descents. I got there in a little over an hour and according to my computer, I was averaging about 21.5 mph. Awesome! Then, I turned around at Montauk Point and started heading back. Immediately, I realized why my ride East had been so good – it was mostly a slight downhill and, more importantly, I must have been riding with a pretty sick tailwind. As a result, I was now riding uphill and into a strong headwind. My speed plummeted – instead of looking at high teens and low 20’s, I was seeing 11, 12, 13 mph and I was struggling. I was in my high gears and my heart rate was higher than I wanted it, but I had to get up the hill. A few miles into this, I starting kicking myself for deciding to ride all the way out to the Point. There was nothing I could do about that though. At mile 34, there was a nice downhill, the first real descent in 10 miles. Then, I started up what I remembered was the last of the big hills. Unfortunately, that “last hill” is nearly five miles long. I was dying.
The first hour I rode around 21.5 miles, the second, I did about 16.5, and I wasn’t getting any faster. I rode into that damn wind the entire way back! I got back to our street and still had more than 90 minutes to ride. I went down towards the beach and rode around some local streets, trying to stay off the main east-west routes where the wind was howling. Unfortunately, avoiding the wind wasn’t really happening, except when I was headed East – and every mile east meant a mile back west into the wind. At around this time I also started getting cold, especially my hands, and the sun started going down. I did one big loop and got back to the street again about ten miles away from my goal of 70 miles. I was tired and my legs were aching. I could also tell that I hadn’t taken in enough calories – I felt a little light-headed and getting weak. During the ride I had 2 Accel Gels, 1 PowerGel and a scoop of Accelerade (an electrolyte and calories replacement drink, like Gatorade, except with some protein as well as the carbs). Total calories in four hours: 410. I had a ClifBar in my pocket and should have eaten it, but I was so close to being done and getting at it would have involved stopping and taking off my gloves. I figured I would just tough it out. Mistake.
Given the darkening skies and my exhaustion, I decided to ride smaller loops around some of the neighborhood streets – there’s a nice little 1.25 mile loop that generally doesn’t have many cars on it and the streets are pretty nice. I did about six loops and got bored, so I turned down one of the side streets. That street dead-ended, and as I was turning around, I saw some ice patches. I avoided the first, but rode right over the next one. I started to slip and, instead of riding straight ahead like I probably should have done, I tried to turn off it. Oops. I went down. Hard. Hip, elbow, head. Thank goodness I was wearing my helmet – the impact on the side of my head wasn’t that hard, but I still heard a crack and I certainly would have been hurting if not for the helmet. I got up right away, felt my aching hip and elbow, quickly looked over my bike (which looked fine) and slowly rode around the corner and home. Less than 2.5 miles short of my goal. Stupid, stupid. I got home and ravenously ate a sandwich, a bagel, a muffin and some chips. I drank a bunch of water. And here I sit with an ice pack on my hip. The bike is fine, as best I can tell. I haven’t looked closely at the helmet yet to make sure it’s not cracked, but I think it’s OK. I probably need to replace it this season anyway, but I’d like for it to last a little while longer. The good news is that neither the Polar Bottle nor my other “normal” bottle with the Accelerade froze or even became slushy. But, since neither froze, I’m not sure if the Polar Bottle helped. On the other hand, it certainly didn’t hurt!
When I got home from my ride, Elizabeth had some very sad news. The Shaffer’s 17 year old husky, Cujo, died this afternoon. His health had been declining for some time – he had hip, nerve and muscle problems, was senile and deaf and his internal organs recently started breaking down. He stopped eating a couple weeks ago and today Seth took him to the hospital because he’d taken a turn for the worse. After much discussion today, they decided to put him to sleep. He was suffering too much. He was a great dog and a big part of the Shaffers’ lives. He will certainly be missed.
On the other hand, Charlie is doing tons better. Yesterday during the day he didn’t seem so good. He kept having these shivering or shaking fits and didn’t have any energy or excitement. However, the moment we arrived at the beach house, he was like a different dog – or, rather, ike the dog he was before his surgery. He ran around smelling all over the house, was excited to take a short little walk outside and generally seemed like a happy dog. He was good today too. He puts some weight on his bad leg, which is all we want him to do now anyway. He is eating some. Best of all, he’s responsive to us and seems fairly comfortable. I think he still hates his cone, but as I look at him right now, he’s fast asleep on Elizabeth’s chest and the cone doesn’t seem to be interrupting his nap!
Elizabeth saw a doctor yesterday about her hip and knee problems. He suggested she get into orthotics and suggested she try different shoes. He told her to do some physical therapy and to do certain stretches and exercises. Surprisingly (to me), he said that, if she follows, his advice, she can run a pain-free marathon. That was a relief.
I’m happy that I put in the time today. I expected my speed to be faster, but I didn’t expect the hills or wind. On balance, I’m pleased with where I am right now. Tomorrow, I’ve got a 1:15 recovery ride and an hour-long run with some Strides (similar to sprints). I’ll probably do the ride inside. I’m just hoping that my hip bruises don’t get in the way of that training. I took pictures of the bruises, but won’t be able to put them up until we get on Monday or Tuesday. They’re not the worst I’ve seen or even had, but they’re not pretty!
Bike – February 17
Time: 3:56:47
Distance: 67.65
Average heart rate:
Course: Wainscott to Montauk Point and back + some local loops
Conditions: Beautiful and very sunny, but cold (high 20s/low 30s) and windy (10-18mph) day