crampin' my style
Lessons from the Tour de Cure...
The ride...kicked my ass. I finished it, but that was probably the hardest thing I've done since I don't remember when. It was also one of the more painful (and yeah, it ranks well above being waterboarded on the torture meter, Ms. Pelosi).
I'm coming to the conclusion that rain, when I did the two 100 mile days for the MS rides, was actually a good thing. It may have been wet and miserable, but at least it was cool. Heat is worse...a lot worse, if you don't make the right preparations. I learned a few things about that though, like drink water and gatorade early, even when you don't think you need it. When it's hot out, do it early and often. I didn't do enough. At about the 70 mile mark my thighs started cramping. I had to stop for about 10 minutes on the side of the road between rest stops. Then, for the last two rest stops (75 and 90 mile marks), I had to really stop and rest. I drank a lot of water and gatorade those last two stops, and had a few bananas - the potassium is supposed to help prevent cramping. At the last rest stop, I literally could not get off my bike without help. Every time I straightened my legs, the thighs would cramp and I'd have to bend them. As long as I kept them bent, I was OK. A guy from a bike shop that was there for bike support knew what I was dealing with. He helped get my bike out from under me, and told me, "I've seen this plenty of times. All you can do is chug water." One of the SAG vehicles stopped, and the driver asked if I wanted a ride to the finish line. The bike shop guy said, "Don't do it, man. You're 10 miles from the finish line. You'll hate yourself if you get in that van." In my heart, I knew he was right. I got this far pushing through the pain. Giving up now was out of the question. The volunteers manning the rest stop gave me some motrin. That helped get me to the finish line...under pedal power...photographic evidence below. That would be the youngster and friends super soaking me when I got there.
We stayed at the finish line for a while. I had one celebratory beer (probably a mistake) and then more water. They had a shaded pavilion, with tables and chairs set up for dinner, so we stayed there a while and tried to decide what we'd do for dinner. It was free at the pavillion for me and my neighbor, who rode with me, but the families would have had to pay $20 a head, so we stayed to see what the fare was. They were unimpressed (more with the price than the food...my neighbor had kids who were too old to eat free, but too young to get anywhere close to $20 worth of eating in), so we left for a restaurant. Even still, when we drove away, my left leg started cramping again.
I heard other people talking about cramping, and one thing I heard mentioned was salt tablets....as in, "I took a salt tablet and that took care of the problem." Salt tablets? I haven't heard of people taking salt tablets since....Deep Purple was playin' 'Hush' on the radio. Memo to self...research that. Maybe there's an answer in there somewhere.
Two days later, my legs are still a little sore, but that's to be expected. Despite the ample use of sunscreen, I'm a litle bit burned, but not drastically so. I can't imagine what I would have looked like if I hadn't used it. I think I'm pretty much over the ordeal. Yesterday my thighs were still a bit tight, but I think I'm all better now. It was just a painful lesson to learn.
The ride...kicked my ass. I finished it, but that was probably the hardest thing I've done since I don't remember when. It was also one of the more painful (and yeah, it ranks well above being waterboarded on the torture meter, Ms. Pelosi).
I'm coming to the conclusion that rain, when I did the two 100 mile days for the MS rides, was actually a good thing. It may have been wet and miserable, but at least it was cool. Heat is worse...a lot worse, if you don't make the right preparations. I learned a few things about that though, like drink water and gatorade early, even when you don't think you need it. When it's hot out, do it early and often. I didn't do enough. At about the 70 mile mark my thighs started cramping. I had to stop for about 10 minutes on the side of the road between rest stops. Then, for the last two rest stops (75 and 90 mile marks), I had to really stop and rest. I drank a lot of water and gatorade those last two stops, and had a few bananas - the potassium is supposed to help prevent cramping. At the last rest stop, I literally could not get off my bike without help. Every time I straightened my legs, the thighs would cramp and I'd have to bend them. As long as I kept them bent, I was OK. A guy from a bike shop that was there for bike support knew what I was dealing with. He helped get my bike out from under me, and told me, "I've seen this plenty of times. All you can do is chug water." One of the SAG vehicles stopped, and the driver asked if I wanted a ride to the finish line. The bike shop guy said, "Don't do it, man. You're 10 miles from the finish line. You'll hate yourself if you get in that van." In my heart, I knew he was right. I got this far pushing through the pain. Giving up now was out of the question. The volunteers manning the rest stop gave me some motrin. That helped get me to the finish line...under pedal power...photographic evidence below. That would be the youngster and friends super soaking me when I got there.
We stayed at the finish line for a while. I had one celebratory beer (probably a mistake) and then more water. They had a shaded pavilion, with tables and chairs set up for dinner, so we stayed there a while and tried to decide what we'd do for dinner. It was free at the pavillion for me and my neighbor, who rode with me, but the families would have had to pay $20 a head, so we stayed to see what the fare was. They were unimpressed (more with the price than the food...my neighbor had kids who were too old to eat free, but too young to get anywhere close to $20 worth of eating in), so we left for a restaurant. Even still, when we drove away, my left leg started cramping again.
I heard other people talking about cramping, and one thing I heard mentioned was salt tablets....as in, "I took a salt tablet and that took care of the problem." Salt tablets? I haven't heard of people taking salt tablets since....Deep Purple was playin' 'Hush' on the radio. Memo to self...research that. Maybe there's an answer in there somewhere.
Two days later, my legs are still a little sore, but that's to be expected. Despite the ample use of sunscreen, I'm a litle bit burned, but not drastically so. I can't imagine what I would have looked like if I hadn't used it. I think I'm pretty much over the ordeal. Yesterday my thighs were still a bit tight, but I think I'm all better now. It was just a painful lesson to learn.
Labels: It's all about me
John put this out here at 7:27 AM
1 Comments:
atleast you didn't get in the van! Good job!!! :)
Post a Comment
<< Home