That's a Wrap!

Isn't this a cute pic of Hanna and I??

Today wrapped up a 3 month heavy training block for me. No, really, it's legit. Over the last 15-20 years I've ridden hard and fast, but my volume is always low and I've not put much time on the bike. My usual ride time in any given week is 5-6 hours, and every now and then I've hit 9 hours.

After the State Championship race at ICC, I knew I had a limited time to ride. For 4 years, I've lived with a lot of pain in my right hip. The situation really deteriorated this year and I'd finally had enough. Pedaling was great but everyday life had become impossible in some aspects. I consulted a surgeon and scheduled replacement surgery for November 11. But that left me with quite a bit of time, with no races to do and bikes begging to be ridden. I asked Eli if he would create a block of real training for me...training like modern cyclist would engage in. He accepted, and we used Training Peaks and targeted November 11 as the goal date.

It was an eye-opener. Lots of zone 2 riding, lots of varied intervals (quite different from my all-out preferences), and more hours and miles than I have ever recorded. The weeks piled on and turned into months, and the hours piled up. I definitely didn't want to stop...ever. 

Today marked the longest (in miles and hours) week that I've ever recorded. I know it doesn't sound like much to today's high mileage freaks, but 14 hours is crazy high for me. And 212 miles? I haven't broken 200 miles EVER until the last few weeks. And total miles for the year is right at 4800, 1500 miles more than I've EVER recorded. Plus, I recorded my highest 20-minute power ever. (I didn't have power meters in my youth so let's say over the last 20 years.)

But the writing has been on the wall for a while. For years, my left/right balance has been practically 50/50. I've watched it closely as my mobility has diminished since mid-year. Ride after ride, it's crept apart. As my fitness grew from the miles and targeted intervals, my right leg signaled it's impending demise. We couldn't quite make it to 11/11. I'm sure the extra wear and tear hastened my need to stop the serious riding and just cruise in to the surgery date. 

Even though I'm a bit unhappy with myself for not following a solid training plan over all of these years, I'm grateful to Eli for taking the time to craft one just for me. I'm grateful to the Beautiful Mrs. K for encouraging me to try it, and for giving me the extra time it's taken to log the miles. 

Onward and upward. Never grow up. Never grow old (if you can get titanium replacement parts, that is).