Amy's IMMT Race Rehearsal #1
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Hi All! I tried my best to create my own version of "Camp Week" for my first race rehearsal for IMMT. Keeping with the campy theme, what better setting than Sebago Lake State Park, Maine?! -Yup; This RR fell smack dab in the middle of my family's camping vacation. Thursday I did an OWS (2 miles) -Was hoping for the full 2.4 distance, but hadn't had a chance to measure prior. It was a great swim though. Good sighting and steady pace (for me). Friday Morning: up at 4:15am, lighting the head lamp and camp stove for the most important part of the day: COFFEE!
- Rolling by 5am. The bike I planned was fairly simple; a 56 mile out and back that runs Rt. 302 down to Conway NH. I have driven this course many times over the years and know it to be scenic with rolling hills. One of my first mistakes was not driving the course THIS year. The conditions of the road from 13-35 were really bad. LOTS of frost heaves and pot holes. I found myself holding on to my bars for dear life and hoping my wheels survived. Once I crossed the NH border, things improved....until the pavement ENDED (Seems the folks in NH are taking care of all those pot holes, as they had the route torn up for paving.) Okay, new plan; turn around and keep it rolling! I headed back to ME and finished the ride on some of the roads that run along Sebago Lake. Aside from the snafu in course planning, the ride went well. I had all the nutrition I needed on my bike and felt pretty good overall. For liquids I use Nuun and for solids I had one banana with peanut butter and 3 Honey Stinger waffles. I had about 110oz of liquid (estimation- My bike has 2 cages for bottles and I have a front carrier which holds about 70ish ozs. I didn't drink every drop of what I had.) I was trying to take sips at every mile marker, using the little signal as a "drink up" alarm. This worked well for me. I stayed aero as much as possible, only coming out of it for the steep climbs, in which I gladly sat straight up and poked along in the granny gear. My total mileage for day one was 103. I was satisfied with that. Ride time: 6:13, HR 129, 131W, 16.5mph. The ride was followed by a 4 mile run, nice and easy. My form was pretty stiff for about 1/2 mile, but then I felt the body shift from bike legs to run legs which led to more comfort. The following morning I followed the same ritual with the wake time/ coffee, etc...the differences in day two: tired legs, tired tush!!!! In addition, I do not think I had the same mental game as the day before. So much of this sport is in our minds, wouldn't you agree?! Before I even BEGAN the ride, I had reduced it by several miles, thinking "There is no way I could manage another hundred-plus today..." (But I am sure if something very important depended on it, I COULD do it...mind set is everything in situations like this.) Anyhow..I got out there. It wasn't pretty, but I rode 63. My form was a bit all over the place and I made more stops than the day before, but I got it done. Which brings us to Sunday's run. I chose to do this run later in the day, rather than zero dark thirty again. I also chose to utilize some of the beautiful trails in the park. I ran the first half easy on trails and the second half as progressive pace on the roads. Run time: 1:45. My body felt pretty good on the run. Starting easy really helped and I think combining trails/road was distracting enough that I didn't think about how TIRED I actually was. My biggest lessons from this camp week: (1) Measure my swim course (2) Know the current conditions of my bike course. (3) Keep my mind clear of the negative talk -especially on day two. (AND...) Balmex is my friend! Keep it handy for that second long ride!!!
My next RR happens to take place during another vacation week in Maine. (What can I say, it's a great place to vacation! 
I will do much of the same bike course (minus the crappy section), so it will be interesting to see how the two rehearsals compare. Thanks for reading!
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