A
year ago today I was in Iraq and didn't think I
would ever be training for an Ironman race. How
times have changed! I had my toughest training
week so far.
Peter has me at my training peak and I have been
logging the miles and spending a great deal of
time in the saddle.
On
Saturday I competed in the Bulldog Bike race.
The Bulldog is a twenty-seven mile road race
that attracts some of the fastest riders from
Southern California.
This year the race started with seven hundred
cyclist competing in staggered ten minute
starts. The race terrain is rolling, but has a
steep one mile climb that takes the you into the
mountains of Camp Pendleton.
I
noticed that I was one of the only cyclist
competing on a TRI bike, but thought this race
would be a good way to jump start a five hour
Ironman bike and run training day. The pace was
fast and furious. I noticed that several club
riders were in attendance for the Bulldog race.
Riders from Swami, Dewalt Tools, and several
other cycling clubs were on hand and setting a
feverish pace. I tucked into the pack and felt
pretty good until the first major climb.
Climbing on a TRI bike isn't really fun. I
quickly fell back off the pace and thought that
my day would be over. Luckily, the one mile
climb had small flat sections in between that
allowed me to keep the lead riders in sight. I
worked with another rider who I will refer to as
"Cervelo Soloist". Cervelo and I took turns
pulling on the long down hill portion until we
caught the lead pack of riders.
In
the end it was a sprint to the finish. I ended
up placing 6th overall and 2nd place in the
35-39 age group. I finished the race and still
had three hours of riding and one hour of
running to accomplish.
Racing during my Ironman training plan has kept
me focused and motivated toward the big prize.
I
can't thank PR PEAK PERFORMANCE and Specialized
enough! Peter has brought me to a racing and
training level I didn't know I had. I wish that
I would have looked for a training coach years
ago! One more tough week of training and then
my Ironman training will slow down as the race
gets closer. If anyone is debating whether or
not having a coach will help them achieve
personal goals, I am proof that it will!
Semper Fidelis,
Andy
