My taper for the century ride has begun. Last Sunday was the last large training block. It was another 100 miler and it was hands down one of the most grueling and satisfying training sessions I have ever had. It's safe to say at this point the end of ANY training build, one is burnt out physically and mentally. It's a tug 'o war inside because part you can't wait until taper begins and the other part knows it needs to suck the the marrow out of any opportunity to condition the body for the endeavor ahead.
I did 108 miles last Sunday. One more mile than I did the week before and I was screaming inside. My quads were shot, my tailbone felt like it was splitting apart and my mind kept recalling the phrase my favorite ultra marathon runner, Sally McRae often says "You've got to let yourself feel it all...and then keep going." I wasn't even trying to go faster. The goal was just to fine tune some approaches and work out the kinks. But, this is where you really see the distinction between one's state of mind and the state of their body when the miles get this long.
My body knew exactly what to do, it just kept pedaling along like every program and resistance level was butter showing me mile after mile just how amazingly conditioned it has become. But, my mind was throwing a hissy! LOL. That's why Ultra runner Courtney Dewaulter is correct when she says, "if you go ultra, it's your mind you have to train the most." Which of course is what I love about these challenges, because they prove time and again that it has NEVER been this body that has undermined my abilities. This body knows exactly what it's doing. It's the stories I indulged in that space that sits between my ears.
Anyhow, we got it done and this week training is cut by 40%. The next week is just 40 miles split up into 2 days and attempting to carb load to the tune of about 3600 cals/day 48 hours prior to cycling the full 111 miles.
On another note, I didn't know Strava provided monthly analysis, but yeah I was pretty blown away when I got my stats. 948 miles worth of training in the month of January and to date 1202 miles after today's session. Not to shabby for a Golden Girl 😁
