This weekend was my first event of 2022: a 200k. As with any good event, there were several good lessons I learned.
Making last minute adjustments. Forecast was for perfect conditions with no chance of rain. I woke up the morning of the ride to find it raining. I scrambled getting ready to adjust and get what rain gear I could find for the conditions. We had on and off showers for the first half or so of the ride. Nothing too bad, but enough for a southern California weather-wimp. It was a good opportunity for learning to roll with the punches.
Using power for pacing. This was my first time doing an event after training with power. While I’m not sure my strategy was correct, I planned on doing the tempo pace we’ve been working on this cycle on the extended climbs while using aerobic endurance power on the flats. I felt like this helped me push the pace while being confident that I would not blow up.
Hydration and nutrition. I’m not sure I got this right. I think I under-ate and -drank. While I didn’t blow up, I was feeling it towards the end. Reviewing my data, I have have a Pw:Hr of 10.53%, which makes me wonder if I was getting a bit dehydrated during the ride.
Reminding myself how to hurt. I haven’t been able to really go too deep over the last couple years due to a sciatica-like injury. I’m making this year my comeback year. While I probably went a little too hard on this ride for the progression, it was good to remind myself that I can still hurt and dish out hurt. Pushing myself makes me feel alive. It was completely worth it to know I can still do it and I’ll be ok once it comes time for my goals.
Now it’s time for overreach and challenge week here in BaseCamp. 😃