Last week was tough... I decided to do the Skratch Challenge and ride 16 hours in 8 days. Skratch (electrolyte hydration products) and Strava (GPS run/bike tracking) partnered together and challenged cyclists worldwide to ride while the AMGEN Tour of California Pro Cyclists were riding the length of California.
While the pros faced a week of hot, dry temps in the 90s, here in Colorado it was a race against old man winter. The first day and a half of the challenge it SNOWED! When the clouds finally parted just before evening of the second day, I got on my bike and went for a quick spin just to get the first miles in. Most of the week was 40s with cool, blustery, rainy, foggy, and cloudy weather so I had to make a plan if I was going to get through this. I decided to ride and map out loops so that I'd know exactly how far I could go in X amount of time. I had a Short Loop, a Long Loop, an Extra Long Loop, and Carter Lake. On the longer rides I was able to link 2 or 3 loops together and use my house as a warming hut - grab a cup of tea or soup - and go out again.
Dave Scott, one of the greatest Ironman athletes ever, lives in Boulder. He says the Ironman is a test of mental determination, you know what you have to do, just "GET IT DONE." I used that mantra to get through the week. Along with the extra hours of riding, I kept up my full Ironman schedule also. One day I ran 12 miles, another day I swam 2 miles, a couple of days I did Kaia cross training, and even squeezed in a yoga session one day.
All told, I rode a total of 234 miles and climbed 8,852 feet in 16 hours and 18 minutes over 6 days. (I was so motivated to keep my Sunday day off I that I finished the challenge early!)
Stats: Overall Rank - 4,907 out of 43,423
Female Rank - 305 out of 2,441
#1 Colorado Female Rider
I'm glad I tried it, I'm glad I finished it, and I'm really glad to add the Skratch cycling jersey to my gear!
While the pros faced a week of hot, dry temps in the 90s, here in Colorado it was a race against old man winter. The first day and a half of the challenge it SNOWED! When the clouds finally parted just before evening of the second day, I got on my bike and went for a quick spin just to get the first miles in. Most of the week was 40s with cool, blustery, rainy, foggy, and cloudy weather so I had to make a plan if I was going to get through this. I decided to ride and map out loops so that I'd know exactly how far I could go in X amount of time. I had a Short Loop, a Long Loop, an Extra Long Loop, and Carter Lake. On the longer rides I was able to link 2 or 3 loops together and use my house as a warming hut - grab a cup of tea or soup - and go out again.
Dave Scott, one of the greatest Ironman athletes ever, lives in Boulder. He says the Ironman is a test of mental determination, you know what you have to do, just "GET IT DONE." I used that mantra to get through the week. Along with the extra hours of riding, I kept up my full Ironman schedule also. One day I ran 12 miles, another day I swam 2 miles, a couple of days I did Kaia cross training, and even squeezed in a yoga session one day.
All told, I rode a total of 234 miles and climbed 8,852 feet in 16 hours and 18 minutes over 6 days. (I was so motivated to keep my Sunday day off I that I finished the challenge early!)
Stats: Overall Rank - 4,907 out of 43,423
Female Rank - 305 out of 2,441
#1 Colorado Female Rider
I'm glad I tried it, I'm glad I finished it, and I'm really glad to add the Skratch cycling jersey to my gear!
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