We now have 14 weeks to go until Ironman Arizona; so to break up the lather-rinse-repeat feeling that Ironman training can have – we did a fun ride this past weekend called the “Eat a Peach” ride. It is extremely hilly, in beautiful western Maryland farm country, and has optional distances of 33, 67, and 100 miles. At the end, there is a peach festival, with fresh peaches, peach sundaes, and other yummy food. We had signed up for the 100-mile distance, but we knew that the 67-mile course brings you back to your car, where you can decide whether you had another 33 miles of hills in your legs.
It turns out that I did not. I tried to go out on the last loop, but only made it to 73 miles in the end. My husband, on the other hand, is a maniac, and he went out to do the last 33, only to get lost and to end up completing 106 miles for the day. I did a total of 6,552 feet of climbing, and I think his was around 8,000 feet of climbing. We were both pretty tired after that! The 67-mile loop ends with a really tough hill (most of the hills were between 12 and 15 % grade). I ended up doing the last hill twice, because I turned around early. We definitely felt these hills on Sunday, when we did our swim and run training. We are so thankful that Mondays are rest days!
Until next time… -ookgirl
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