Manimal Training

WOW! That one work pretty much sums up my day today. 160 miles, 13,000 ft. of climbing and 9 hours of chamois time. I rode from home, up Mt. Evans, which is about 10,000 ft. of climbing right there. It took me 2 1/2 hours and about 4,000 ft. of elevation gain just to get to the start of the Mt. Evans climb. From there it was 32 miles uphill to just over 14,000 ft. As I went up I could see the clouds getting darker and some lightning in the distance. It was a gamble to keep going up, but I had to get to the top. I have been in Colorado for almost 9 years and have not climbed a 14er. This was my chance. I upped the tempo in an effort to beat the weather. I knew I could blow and end up flailing to the peak, but I had to take that chance. My gamble paid off and I felt strong all the way. I finally topped out after 5:20 from when I left home. No time for pics as I quickly threw on my arm warmers and vest for the descent. Descending can be fun, but I was cold, I got rained on a bit and after 20 miles my hands were numb. I finally reached the bottom and was able to peel off the arm warmers and vest. I continued on towards home with some more climbing to boot. I even added some extra miles on the flats around the Chatfield Reservoir. The whole ride I felt strong and in control. My nutrition and hydration were spot on. I felt so good at the end that I threw on the shoes and went for a 30 min. run. Again I felt strong and held 7 minute miles fairly easily. My stride was quick and light, making the run easier and enjoyable. The only bummer is that my PowerTap went dead after the first hour. I replaced the computer head battery a few days ago, but I think the hub batteries are out. Very annoying, but I decided early to forget about it and not let it bother me. The fact is, with or without the data, the ride is the ride. It still will make me stronger, faster and fitter. These long days, combined with hard days and rest make you a man eating man animal, a Manimal! The coolest part of the day was seeing some undercover Mercedes Benz's being tested at altitude. They had about 6-8 of the SUV's and wagons and one heavily disguised sedan. I talked with one of the guys around the cars and he told me that they were testing a new diesel engine and that each vehicle had the same engine in it. The sedan was the new C Class AMG version. It looked pretty sweet and the engine noise was fantastic. The funny thing is that the guy who I spoke with, a German, loved my Kuota Kalibur! He hadn't seen many of them and asked me all sorts of questions. While I was taking some shots of the cars, he took a shot of my bike! I told him that I would trade him my Kuota for one of the vehicles, but he didn't bite.
Before I went for my run I asked Court if she would order up some Nick N' Willys pizzas for dinner. I am a fiend for the Earthborne, a veggie delight of goodness. Being the fantastic wife that she is, she agreed. When I got home we made the pizzas. It was everything I hoped for and more. To make it even better, she bought me a ice cream sandwich at our local creamery yesterday and kept it a secret as a present for me after the ride. The ice cream sandwich made everything worth it.
Tomorrow is an easy day, Friday will probably be moderate and then it's another long ride. The plan is to meet up with some guys in Boulder and ride 150 miles or so. This time though it will be flat and I will have company. I'll keep you posted!