Shamelessly lifted from Eric's personal blog....After checking the weather all week and making sure I had a good plan the ride was on for Saturday. This year we rented a mini-van for Charlene to drive, since my truck seems to be a little large for her and the van allowed for some comfort while waiting for me at stops. I programmed my GPS for her for all the stops so we didn't repeat last year's problems. After last years dehydration cramps I decided to go with Gatorade Endurance. More for the simplicity of it already being made and the high sodium and potassium content. Lot's of nutritional food for the first half and a lot of feel good food for the second half. I had Greggs due a quick tune up on the R3 and adjust the derailleur for the Zipp wheels. By Friday night at 8 everything was ready to go. Tomorrow's start time 4:45 to 5:15.
Mornings suck! Getting up at 4 on a Saturday is just wrong! So I didn't I think it was closer to 4:20 or 4:30. Hahaha. Nothing like running behind. I got to the start line at 5:25, same as last year, at least I consistent.
Off I go, First stop 35 miles just outside Pacific. Starting at 5:25 put me out with all the 2 day riders. A little slower, so a lot of "On your Left", that will teach me to sleep in! "Single File is safer" is not a slogan that has been enacted yet. First 35 went well. As I rolled out of Pacific there was Charlene and the Mini-Van. We are already doing better than last year. Had a little breakfast some more fluids and back on the road. Next stop 70 miles, Yelm. Sun was getting warmer and I was drinking more fluids, would have to make a ministop before Yelm to refill the bottles. I think South Hill took a bottle in itself. So far pace and cadence were very good. Legs felt OK. At 70 miles had some PB&J, water, Gatorade and a Redbull. Next stop 1/2 way point, Centralia. By this time I have realized that there is a great tailwind. Really warm but the wind sure helps. Average pace was 20 mph. So far a great ride. Back is a little stiff and I could tell I was locking my arms because I could start to feel it in my shoulders and the palms of my hands. In this segment they had repaved some roads with chip seal. I usually don't feel to much road vibration, but holy shit, that was awful. Maybe the numbness will go away someday. At hundred miles I could start to feel the onset of some aches and pains. Good time for lunch. I met Charlene at a park on Pearl Street. I had some sandwiches, pasta salads, chips, red vines and lots of fluids. It is getting really hot. The ice cold Gatorade at the stops was delicious but the the 80 degree juice in the bottle along the way sucked. By this time I've consumed over 2 gallons in fluids, and no bathroom breaks. Crazy! Because of this C and I changed plans. I was going to do the same stops, 35 and 35 then the finish. Because of hydration we would meet in Vador instead of trying to go all the way to Lexington. I changed jerseys, one that wasn't all white from salt crystals. Off for the second half.
I believe miles 101 to 150 are the hardest mentally and physically. It is all rolling hills, and there are some steep one's! Your out in the sun and for me there's not the excitement of the start, or the finish. All the aches and pains are starting to kick in. For this 25 it was just put my head down and focus on form and try to make sure I don't make any of the aches worse. By now it is in the 90's and every hill I went up there was a steady stream of sweat coming off me. I would drink as much as I could as often as I could but by this time I think I was sweating quicker than my body could process all the new fluids. I figured I should try to lessen my exertion to try to keep my hydration up. I even had aches in my kidneys from drinking so much. At Vador refilled the bottles and drank some more. Did some stretching exercises. At this time my left pinky and ring finger are numb. Damn locked elbows! Next stop Lexington. OK, so I have been asking for the end of winter and some sunshine but 95 degrees is hot! Son of a Bitch is it hot! About mile 130 is when I started getting the cramp in my hamstring. Just like last year, same muscle, same distance into the ride. At least I have experience on how to work through it and finish. I just kept drinking fluids.
I started with 24, 20 oz bottles of G. Endurance and the rate I was going I would of consumed it all by mile 175. That's 3.75 gallons of Gatorade, plus water. In Lexington I had the idea of laying down in the back of the van with the AC on while I ate some food and had more to drink. Charlene stopped off at the mini mart and picked up some regular Gatorade so I wouldn't run out. As I was laying down in the comfort of the van I got the worse cramp ever! F#$%! I was stuck in the van! I couldn't bend my leg to get out of the van or would cramp again. This sucked!! C had to remove everything so I could scoot out the back door. Lesson Learned! Won't do that again. Off to cross the bridge into Oregon.
Some of the tricks I learned to work through the cramps were obviously keep hydrating, and then keep pedaling. I found that when the cramp was coming on usually on a incline if I kept pedaling no matter how much it hurt the cramp would subside. Another trouble spot would be if I had to stop and put my leg down. So at stops I would do a messenger stop and keep clipped in. Seem to work, except on the bridge. Same problem as last year. Climbing is usually the start of a cramp and because the bridge is single file your speed is controlled by the person ahead of you there is not a lot you can do. I'm really beginning to hate that bridge! After the bridge is some of what seems like the longest hills. Just kept trucking through to Goble, 46 miles from the finish. The stops were to refill the bottles, drink a cold bottle and get moving again. This is usually where I start to get cranky and swear I'll never do this again so it's best that I kept moving. With 46 miles to go I decided I wanted to make two more stops before the final stretch into Portland. There were a lot of people quitting and on the side of the road, better to give up some time and finish strong than to wash out. So my distance between stops would be about 15 miles apart. My last stop was Scappoose. I had my best burst of energy on the final stretch. 20 mph passing some pretty exhausted faces. It was the opposite of last year, I was pretty cranky going through this area last year. Must of been the adrenaline or something no cramps and attacking the final hills, a strong finish. 202 miles complete!
Aside from the cramping a great day. A little hot and a few new burn lines but I felt I did as well as last year. As I downloaded my bike computer I was almost exactly the same as last year. 14:03 hrs overall 11:59 pedal time. Icluding post race beverages I consumed almost 5 gallons of fluids. I have One Day'd STP twice and this time I did it the same week as I did my first 1/2 Ironman. Now the Seafair Tri.
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