Ok. It’s been a while since I posted. Well, that’s because I haven’t had a lot to post about. Seems like after the Harpeth River Ride on 6/12 (more on that below) I picked up some kind of stomach bug and haven’t been feeling well. Without going into TOO many details, I was going through what most people go through with stomach issues plus I had a slight fever and a little achiness. That came on Monday after the River Ride. I figured it was no big deal. Probably be gone in a few days and then right back at it. Well it’s now 10 days later (11 days off the bike). As of tonight I will have missed two planned races (today was touch and go but considering I’m still not 100% I figured it would be best to pass). I went to the clinic on Sunday and I am still waiting for results of …ahem…certain tests. Through all of this, of course, I haven’t been able to eat all that much so I’ve also lost some weight. I blew right through my 165 lb goal for the remainder of the summer and weighed in at 161 this morning. While, under normal circumstances I’d be celebrating this, I am sure that my performance is not actually going to benefit from weight loss like this! 
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Things are feeling a bit better today so I’m hopeful that I can at least get out on my bike tomorrow morning just to reacquaint myself with it. I have registered for a 42 km Individual Time Trial on Saturday and a Road Race on Sunday. So at least a spin tomorrow would be nice. Those races should be interesting (understatement) due to the lack of training time and probable decline in condition. But I think I’ll line up anyway just to do it.
So. On to the Harpeth River Ride. Our team decided to volunteer and roll out on this ride together. The team picture is just before the roll out (I’m way in the back, center and unseen tucked behind a teammate). So I was up at 4 AM to go help with parking. Ouch. I’m not a morning person. It was HOT and HUMID. I was already sweating at 7 AM before the ride started. I signed up for the 100 mile route. In retrospect I should have bailed and done the 62 mile route. I have a feeling that the stomach issues that I am currently suffering from may have already been just starting on this day. It seemed like my energy was just not up to par. On top of that, in the mass start of this ride (over 1300 riders) I lost contact with the team almost right away and got blocked by some slower folk. So once I was able to spring free a bit I put in a bridging effort to catch the team. I mainly wanted to so this because my wife and daughter were waiting on Main Street in Downtown Franklin to cheer us on as we went by and I wanted my lovely wife and daughter to see me ride through with the team.
Well, I managed to bridge and pass by my cheering family with the team. Then I was dropped again shortly thereafter. I just didn’t have the juice to hang on. In retrospect that bridging effort was also probably a bad way to start a 100 mile hot ride 
. I latched on to another great group for a while and had some fun with them taking my turns pulling at the front when called upon. That helped break things up. Thanks TAO folks! Well, for a little back story…
A few days before this ride I went in for an extensive bike fit. I spent several hours getting measured and tested and all kinds of stuff. I’ll write more on that once it’s all complete. Well, as part of that fit I got shims put in the new shoes I just got and I got my bike back together kinda sorta the same way it was before. It’s the kinda sorta part that may have been the problem. I’m looking forward to having all of the fit numbers, new bars & stem and all applied to my bike!
So with that in mind, at mile 51 (rest stop) I was already starting to feel telltale signs that this was going to be a hard day. I was already starting to cramp and in places that I don’t usually get sore/cramp. I think this was probably due to not having my bike dialed in and the shims. I’m thinking I should have worn my old shoes. Maybe a 100 mile ride isn’t the best place to break in a new position? . Plus I think the cleats may be just a tad too far forward on the new shoes as my feet were really starting to hurt. Going to have that looked at. Anyway, at this point I was only about 10-15 mile from home. I seriously considered riding straight home and having my wife drive me to pick up my car. I sat in an air conditioned church an thought this over and started feeling a little better. I poured some water over my head and figured it was only 16 miles to the next rest stop so I’d give it a go.
I wasn’t feeling too badly for a while but my stomach started feeling a bit upset and I couldn’t tolerate my feed bottle (Perpetuem) any longer. I just started sucking on my clear water bottle. Then I started to get goose bumps like being chilled. Oh oh…that’s a telltale sign I remember all too well from last year’s ride. Heat exhaustion. Oh great! Then at about mile 64 or so climbing up a small bump in the road both legs cramped up on me so bad I had to get off the bike (painfully) and lay in the grass and stretch out a bit. I knew deep down I was done. No mas. I managed to limp the next 2-3 miles to the next rest stop where I poured more water over myself, drank a lot and cooled down. Then I caught the sag wagon back in. So that’s two years running that this ride has defeated me. DOH! Both years were exceptionally hot. The year before that when I actually made it the weather wasn’t quite so hot. I think I’m sensing a pattern here. Looks like I have trouble with really hot weather. It also looks like I need to work on my nutrition/hydration on longer rides. Obviously something isn’t working. Or, maybe a combination of that and my stomach issues may have been starting up already that day.
So, the grand total was about 67 miles. Still had fun even though I’d much rather had finished the ride under my own power. Here are the ride stats…
66.64 miles, 4:14:40, 3179 ft ascent, 146 watts avg power, 148 bpm avg hr, 2487 calories.
My CTL reached 69 which as high as I’ve had it since the end of last season. TSB dropped to -35 after that ride. With the extended involuntary break my CTL has plummeted to 53 as of today. TSB is 34. So I’m well rested at least.
Hoping to get out for a moderate spin tomorrow. Stomach is feeling a bit more normal. Actually had some baked chicken and mashed potatoes for lunch which was a feast compared to the white bread toast, bananas & applesauce I’ve been eating this week. Seems like it’s sitting well. Fingers crossed.