Ride the Rockies Training: Kicking It Into High Gear

On March 3 of this year I received notification that I had made it into the lottery for Ride the Rockies 2012. On that day, on this blog, I set a goal to ride 1,500 miles "in the next 14 weeks" so I could "be in the best cycling shape of my life by June 9" (the start of the ride).

Since that day I have ridden 37 times either on my trainer or on the road for a total of 993 miles. I started off strong, averaging 100 miles per week in the first two weeks of March. But then the wheels fell off. In the second two weeks I managed just two rides for a total of 56 miles. March came in like a lion but went out like a lamb and I was already 150 miles behind schedule with only 260 miles in four weeks.

April started slow with just two indoor trainer rides totaling 30 miles in the first week. Between my travel schedule and weather I was struggling to find a way to get any meaningful miles in the saddle. So I decided it was time to start riding to work even though it was barely light enough and still rather chilly at 6:00 a.m.! The miles add up quickly when start logging 25 miles per day during the week plus longer distances on the weekend. I racked up 350 miles over the next three weeks, maintaining schedule but not gaining back those "lost" miles from March.

But then I ran into another speedbump. Between my brother's birthday trip to Amsterdam and business trips to Oklahoma and Texas, I squeezed in three rides for a total of 72 miles in the first two weeks of May. Not good. By Sunday, May 12, I was running approximately 300 miles behind schedule.

Time to kick it into high gear! In the past 10 days I have ridden 280 miles. I'm on pace to ride over 200 miles this week and still have the Elephant Rock century ride (100 miles) on June 3. So my goal is still in reach but I also want to make sure I taper off the week before the ride and store up some energy for the big event -- 442 miles in six days!

Speaking of storing up energy. I feel like I'm eating all the time these days just to maintain my weight. According to MapMyRun I've burned 97,919 calories since January 1 between running and riding. That's almost 50 days or 150 meals (or 1,030 Michelob Ultras) worth of calories based on a 2,000 calorie per day diet!

Coming up next week, I will preview the route based on my recollections from previous rides and whatever info I can dig up on the sections I've never ridden. Stay tuned...

Ride on!

Daren