Nokesville Century

Yesterday Jen and I completed our last "big" ride of the IM training, 100 miles.  It was one of those days where everything just seemed to go our way and gave us another little dose of confidence before the big event which is now just three weeks away.

I am not certain where other triathletes complete their training rides in the DC area but I can only do so many laps at Hains Point or Prince William Forest.  Our coach gave us the idea to check out a course in the Nokesville area which is a little less than an hour way from us.  Jen checked out Garmin Connect and found what we hoped to be paved century course over relatively flat terrain, only 4,600 feet of climbing over the distance according to my GPS.

With a course in mind and the route loaded on our Garmin, we prepped the bikes on Friday before the big ride on Saturday.  Like a true cyclist Jen even took care of swapping out her old tires for new ones while I cleaned the frames and lubed the chains. 

Islay made certain to have us up at 5 am as usual, I am not sure where she keeps her little alarm clock but that is definitely when her day begins regardless of how much sleep we have had the night before.  After some coffee and Celtic Crush, we loaded the VW and headed to Nokeseville for our big adventure.  Our mission, 100 miles in Z2 with a focus on hydration and nutrition just like race day, except I have not just completed a 2.4 mile swim but that is a minor detail.   Light traffic on our way to the starting point at Nokesville Community Park where we made the final preparations on the bikes and said our goodbyes.  Did I mention this ride was to be solo?  I gave Jen 25 minute head start but all she really needed was a five minute head start.  The weather was perfect cycling weather for Virgina in July with temps in the mid- 60's to start and a dewpoint in the 50s.  Now all we needed to do was pedal, pedal, pedal.

So six hours later including a couple of wrong turns (quickly noted by my Garmin) and I was back at the starting point ready for the 20 minute run and trying not to think about the fact I would need to run a full marathon after biking this far in just three weeks. 

Stats on the ride according to my Garmin:
Distance = 101.82
Time = 5:53:28
Average Speed = 17.3 (probably too fast but I would be very happy with this pace in Zurich)
Elevation Gain = 4,612 Feet

I would highly recommend this course for distance training on a tri bike.  The roads were in good shape, several sections where you could get into the aero bar position for a long stretch and a few places to stop and refuel at some small town general stores.  I also found the local drivers very courteous and light traffic on most sections.

My legs felt tire at around mile 70 but I think that is to be expected.  I can't say my legs felt fresh for the run but they did feel better than I expected.  The weather had something to do with that as well I suspect.  The best part of the day was rolling into the park and seeing Jen finishing up her run (this is why she did not need much of a head start from me). 

What is on tap for today?  Only a two hour run which mentally seems pretty easy.  Here is finishing the weekend with another strong effort and one more step on the road to Zurich.