Surprisingly, I don’t have any disasters to report about this past weekend up at Whistler. Everything went rather smoothly. The weather was perfect for both cycling and running (we saved our lake swim for Monday, in Sasamat. Even in the rain, it was relatively warm, and no doubt warmer than anything up at Whistler would have been).
Our long ride began early Saturday morning. It was a good thing we came prepared for a chilly morning, because it was about four degrees when we set out. We did one full loop of the course, which was beautiful and not as bad as we’d expected hill-wise, and we planned for a special needs stop back at our hotel room at around 85km.
May I say a few words about Coke in the middle of a ride? I am not normally a Coke drinker, but that small can of Coke was a little piece of heaven. We ate, shed a bunch of clothes, took a bathroom break, and then headed back out for round two.
We did not climb Callaghan twice, and I will admit this is the part of the bike course that scares me the most. Callaghan once is marvelous: it is 13km of mostly climbing, but with some breaks interspersed that really make it enjoyable. The descent is not my favourite thing: it’s steep in parts, and chilly. But still, it’s a descent. I do not think it will be enjoyable to climb Callaghan a second time. I think it will be cruel.
The ride back up to Whistler from the end of Daisy Lake had its own moments of cruelty, especially the second time around. Pacing is going to be everything, and weather will be a big factor. If it’s especially hot, that second loop of the bike course will be a grind. But . . . it’s doable. That was the feeling I wanted to be left with by the end of my ride, and I was.
I called it a day at 145km, which was about as far as I’d wanted to go at this stage of my training. Besides, I had a flat tire and I was back at the hotel. Yes, I should have changed it on the road for the practice. I regret not having done that. But it turned out to be a problematic flat and I’m quite sure I would not have found the source of the problem on the roadside and would have ended up with another tube with a slow leak—and I’ve spent enough money on tubes lately.
The rest of that beautiful Saturday we spent eating, sitting by the pool, and eating some more.
Sunday we ran—the longest run I’ve done since Christmas, which is still only a sad 10.5km, but it’s better than nothing and it didn’t destroy me. Here was our post-run guilty pleasure:
I’ll be going back up to Whistler in about a month to tackle the full 180km. I’m looking forward to seeing how that feels. In the meantime, I’m pleased with the weekend. Still in denial about the marathon, but denial has always served me well. When I’m in the middle of the marathon, I will be forced to come to terms with it. Until then, why worry?
Happy training.
Way to go Michelle! Keep training. It will be sweet to realize your goal…
Not sure if I will realize that same goal. I wish I could run even a few steps without pain and a limp. A shattered ankle takes a long time to recover from. The orthopedic surgeon said running again will not be possible, but I hope to prove him wrong.
I have no doubt you will prove him wrong. Physiotherapists told me I’d never run again because of my back. They were wrong. Also, if worse comes to worst, you can always walk the marathon. I’m sure I’ll be walking part of it. Good luck. Hope you’re better soon.