The Final Push toward NOLA

Wow. Is it really possible for me to put together a solid weekend of training AND have good weather. It isn't a misnomer. I think it actually happened. I was in Nashville for the weekend and traditionally I don't have good workouts up here. I don't really know why but things never seem to come together for me when I train long.

I set out Saturday morning for a 50 mile ride. My goal was to ride at least 50% of the time at tempo pace. My course was full of gentle rollers but I cruised along at a swift pace. Physically, I felt really strong. My body ached here and there but I had no difficulty maintaining the proper power. I got done and was feeling good about it. I have confidence that I will be able to hold a higher wattage during the race.

This morning I set out on a 12 mile run. I tried to find the flattest stretch of road knowing that it would be a bit challenging. The goal was to run 6 out and then pick up the pace on the way back. I felt really good for the first 6 miles holding a steady 8:40 pace on mostly a slight incline. Knowing that I would have the terrain with me on the return, I was able to open it up a bit and cruised at a 7:40 pace for the next three miles. There were two monster hills between mile 9.5 and 10.5 that took the wind out of my sails and dropped my pace to about 8:10. When I had the final mile to go, I wanted to gut it out. I had a solid downhill for half of it but I wanted to push through it. I wanted to feel that pain. I got my pace down to 7:13 and was done.

Right now, that is exactly what I needed from training. I had good weather and put together two solid workouts. Typically, I have one good weekend workout and the other is mediocre. Now I just need to replicate both of those in 2 weeks and I know I will hit my goal for New Orleans