Spinervals Lake Placid Camp, Chapter 3

Saturday, June 22, 2013: Coach Troy told us at the meeting last night that he was moving up our start time for the 112 mile ride today, from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. It was looking like some rain may be moving in later in the day, other camps were there and he wanted to get us out before them, and an earlier start would mean an earlier finish. At last night's meeting, Troy also told us that the reason he had us do the reverse loop of the course first, is so we can see how hard the course could be. If we could survive that seven-mile climb yesterday, today would seem easy. Ri-i-i-ight! I slept a little better, got up at 5:30, but this time drove to the Stewarts for my breakfast. I felt a little guilty about that, but it seemed prudent to not tax my legs anymore than I needed to. I had rinsed my jersey out in the sink after yesterday's ride, and basically wore the same thing as yesterday: Spinervals jersey, (fresh!) tri shorts, and sun sleeves. I got a sausage, egg and cheese sandwich and a coffee for breakfast. I mixed my liquids--carried three bottles today versus two yesterday. I threw a bunch of gels in my bento bag, along with a protein bar and some leftover Chomps. We all met in front of the hotel at 6:40, and started out at 7:00 a.m. Troy led us out again, taking us up past the Olympic Center to show our IMLP campers where the transition area and the bike start would be. He controlled the pace for the first 10 miles or so. Our instructions today were to ride easy to the top of Keene hill, descend at our own pace, and regroup at the bottom. From there, we would ride the rest of the day at our own pace, but were encouraged to find a group or a partner to ride with, looking for Dan and Dave with fluids and cookies along the way. I took a look at the make-up of the A group, and proposed to Jerre that we look for each other when we got dropped by them, and ride together. We hung with the A's until somewhere around Upper Jay. They were setting a hard pace, so we eased up and rode just off the back to Ausable Forks and back to Jay. After a quick stop for fluids and cookies, we started the climb up 86. That is a deceptive little climb. The first part is pretty steep and can catch you by surprise if you're not ready for it. When Troy rode by us, Jerre wondered how we'd feel at this point on the next loop. I shared a quote from a friend who has raced Lake Placid several times, "No matter how good or how bad you feel, it won't last." We did the out and back on Haselton Road, and started the climb up the Notch. There was a good headwind, which is typical, so I proposed to Jerre that we take two minute pulls and tempo our way up. One other camper was with us, I don't remember who it was now. Anyway, every little rise we came to, he'd ask, "Is this Mama Bear?" And I'd say, "No, Mama Bear is almost at the end." He clearly was hoping we were at the end with every hill! We dropped him at some point, and Jerre and I crested Papa Bear to see the A group with the sag wagon at the Cobble Hill Inn. Coach Troy yelled to us, "Good job! Hop on with this group!", which we did. We rode into town and the group went back up and around the Olympic Center. I left it up to Jerre whether he wanted to do that, or make a left turn at the end of Mirror Lake Drive and start the second loop. He chose option B. This put us ahead of the A group for a short time, but they soon caught us before the descent. Jerre was having a difficult time with his liquids. Troy had talked about mixing electrolytes heavier than the directions say, to prevent cramping. Jerre took it to heart, and quadrupled his mix. He hadn't been able to stomach it for much of the first loop, and had drained all of his other liquids. I had a bottle of plain water that I hadn't touched yet, so we stopped and I was helping him cut his mix, when Dan and Dave pulled up. Perfect timing! We started our descent, but I noticed a troubling development; my butt was really feeling uncomfortable. I tried to ignore it, but I was starting to look at the mileage left and wondering how I was going to survive. I had left a pot of chamois cream in the sag wagon, and I was applying gobs at every stop. We had a uneventful ride on 9N to Ausable Forks. On the way back, storm clouds were threatening and the wind came up, giving us a glorious tailwind. We hit the climb up 86, while all the while I was silently praying the east wind would continue on our climb up the Notch. Haselton out and back once again, and up the Notch we went. And, thank you cycling gods, we had the tailwind! We felt a few drops, and Jerre and I were both commenting how good a cloudburst would feel at that point. We had about 10 miles to go, and Jerre and I got very quiet. We had reached the "death march" phase of the ride. No two minute pulls on this trip; Jerre pulled on the flats and downs, and I paced us up the hills. Now, my right big toe was also killing me. I had lost the nail from running earlier in the year, and it was still sensitive. Standing out of the saddle relieved my butt, but hurt my toe. Sitting made my toe feel better, but killed my butt. I couldn't win. I made some comment to this effect, and Jerre said, "Oh, I'm so glad you said that! I'm dying, and I thought it was just me!" He had developed a hotspot on his foot and was in agony. We both just got into this rhythm and pushed as hard as we could, knowing the sooner we finished, the sooner the pain would end. We passed several riders (not from our camp) as we climbed, but we were pushing so hard, not one jumped on our wheels. We had some rain in the last few miles, and it felt exquisite. Finally, the Three Bears and over Northwoods hill, and we had made it! I had timed our loops: We did the first loop in 3:12 (riding time), just two minutes slower than yesterday, and the second loop in 3:22. But even better, when I got home and uploaded my data, I discovered that we had ridden the 12 mile segment up the Notch faster on the second loop! That tailwind made a difference (ride data here). We had an optional run off the bike today. I opted to skip it and save my shin for the half-marathon run tomorrow. Jerre headed out to do the run (he's doing IMLP), and I waded into the lake for my now ritual leg soaking. One of the coaches, Ryan was already in the water, so he came over to join me. Within a few minutes, Jerre, Christina, Merle and Lola, and a few others had all joined us, and we stood there in the water up to our waists, debriefing the ride. I wonder what the other hotel guests thought of us?

We had a 5:00 meeting after the ride, so I eventually made my way back to my room for a shower, food and rest until the meeting. My husband called and said the rain had interrupted his work for the day, so he was coming up to Lake Placid to eat at a friend's restaurant. I left a key card at the front desk for him, and went to the meeting. After the meeting, we had a group dinner at Northwoods Inn. The food was very good, and we had some great conversation, sharing training and racing and life stories. We traded contact information, just in case we forgot to do it the next day, and headed back to the hotel. We were happy to have two hard days of riding behind us. We were enjoying our shared suffering and conquest of the hardships, but we knew we had another tough day--a 13.1 mile run--ahead of us. (On a side note, back in my room, I glanced at my bike and noticed something odd; the nose of my saddle was angled up at least a half inch, instead of being level. No wonder my butt hurt! I think it rocked back on one of those hard bumps on 73). (Another side note: while resting in my room, I wrote down my calories and fluids for the day--3 bottles of electrolyte mix, 2 bottles of water, 3 GU gels, 4 GU Chomps, 1 Protein bar, 6 Endurolytes and probably a dozen fig newtons.)