Me, Parri, Kat, Valerie, and Anna at the top of Raccoon Mountain
Shelly, Todd, and Jay weren't far behind, but we forgot to get another picture when they arrived
Today we hit the road late enough to avoid the rain but early enough to tolerate the heat and finish before noon, and we had a good group, too. It ended up being me, Valerie and Jeremy, Kat, Lee, and Anna, and we altered the route slightly at the end to make it easier for Kat to get home. This added about a mile to our route from last time, yet we finished around the same time (only 2 minutes slower today). It must have been the company Valerie and I had.
Saturday route
Saturday ride HR, speed, and profile
Stats (8-13-11): 54.46 miles, 3:09:30, 17.2 avg (42.3 max), 129 HR (182 max), 3731' ascent, 3737' descent
Stats (7-30-11): 53.91 miles, 3:07:06, 17.3 avg (46.3 max), 155 HR (186 max), 4382 feet total ascent (4370 feet total descent)
I am not quite sure how we did, according to the Garmin, 600 fewer feet of climbing today when we did on nearly the same course. Hmmm.
Our last big race of the season is the Chattanooga River Gorge Race at the end of August. Since we weren't racing this weekend, we headed over to Chattanooga to recon the course. I am so glad we did--I like to know what I'm getting in to, and this was the perfect way. You can know a little about a course by driving it, but you can know way more about it by riding it as you would during the race. So 11 of us (including Todd and two husbands) rode the road race course (plus a few miles) and the time trial course We will have plenty of time to ride around the crit course before that race, so we didn't check that out.
The RR course is a challenge. That will be good for all of us. It is the last race of the weekend, so my plan is to go all out, go faster than I think I can, and do my best.
River Gorge RR and Profile
Totals: 3:10, 47.89 miles, 3:07:28, 15.3 mph (48.4 max), 144 HR (188 max), 5394' ascent, 4603' descent
I drank 5 or 6 bottles while we were riding, plus 2 more at the end of the RR course (Bill brought us a cooler of gatorade and water, and we were all so grateful!) and another when we were done. I am going to have to figure out how I can stay properly hydrated during the race, when we won't stop to refill at a gas station and will have only 1 feed zone.
Notes from the RR route: ~38 miles, 5103' ascent, 4116' descent, rolling and hard with 2 big climbs (~mi 20 for 2.4 miles and ~mi 35 for 3.5 miles)
Notes from the TT route: ~4.1 miles, 275' ascent, 442' descent, 1 little climb that's less than Lynnwood (~mi1.2, 0.5 miles)
River Gorge TT and Profile
River Gorge Profile: RR and TT, including HR, elevation, and speed
I figured out that the climbs looked like the following for me.
- QoM climb: at ~mile 12, 9:40, 1.8 miles
- Stair-step climb: at ~mile 20, 11:06, 2 miles
- Final climb: at ~mile 35, 29:50, 3.4 miles
My goal is to climb each of these faster during the actual race. That is an attainable goal that will challenge me.
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