Mountain Training Weekend

    A free weekend presented another chance to get in some long rides and climb some mountains. Shannon was out of town on a trip with Amber, so I was busy logging in the miles all week following the Music City Triathlon. My plan was to make another trip down to the Ocoee area, taking both the road and mountain bike this time. Like my big weekend before, I started off with a 63-mile ride Thursday night after work with the group in Clarksville.

     My parents decided to make the trip to Ocoee with me and do a little riding for themselves. I think they went mostly because it would be their last chance to take a trip with me before the wedding. We went down Friday after I got off from work, arriving at the Parksville Lake Campground late in the night. We had hoped to stay at Thunder Rock, but it was full so we had to backtrack to Parksville.

     A hot night of sleeping in the tent gave way to an early morning in the truck for a drive over to the Blue Ridge Parkway, our route of choice for today. I have ridden the Blue Ridge from Cherokee, NC twice before, both times turning around 38.5 miles down the Parkway at the highest point on the parkway, which tops out at 6,047 ft. The first ride, I climbed into the car at the highest point during a thunderstorm, and last year and I turned around at the highest point and rode 14 miles back before climbing into the car. This year, my plan was to ride out all the way back for a total of 77 miles. The ride out features three mountain climbs of 10, 5 and 12 miles in length. There is a sweet descent 7-mile from Waterrock Knob after the second climb that makes the whole ride worth it. The ride back from the highest point features two climbs of 7 and 4 miles in length. The climb back up to Waterrock Knob is definately the hardest, but overall the trip back is easier.

Garmin satellite layout of my ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway

    I settled into a good pace for the entire day, rolling over the first climb and by Big Witch Gap and Thunderstruck Ridge. Couldn't help but get a little AC/DC going in my head for the rest of the day.

You've been...thunderstruck!

Many tunnels along the parkway

     The first descent was fun, but I was in climbing mode and ready for the second climb up to the Waterrock Knob Visitor's Center. It was cool to see all the motorcycles that were out on the parkway. Many people gave me the thumbs up as they rode or drove by. I was holding a good pace up this climb. It isn't very steep so I could roll the big ring up most parts. Some black clouds were hanging around the summit, but it never did rain on me. I was feeling great when I reached the visitor's center. I was now 22 miles into the ride with my favorite part coming up.

Dark clouds in the distance

Getting darker as I near Waterrock Knob Visitor's Center

    The descent from Waterrock Knob is awesome. Just over 7 miles of 40+ mph descending goodness! The curves are just gentle enough that you can remain tucked if you have the nerves, but sharp enough to still be a challenge and make you question whether to grab the brakes or not. Last year, I tried to catch a car down the mountain. I got it in sight, but never could catch it. I was hoping to have a carrot ahead of me again. It just so happened that a car came by me just as I left the visitor center and began the descent. The early part of the descent is more gradual and only about 35 mph. The car got away from me, but I stayed patient and waited for the curves to begin and the grade to become steeper. I was tucked as low as possible, butt on the top tube below the nose of the saddle and chest on the stem. It isn't the most comfortable position after a few minutes, but dang is it fast!

    I was able to catch the car. They noticed me in the rearview and sped up which helped me to go even faster as I was close enough to get a little draft. I was tempted to tuck in right behind them, but there were just too many overlooks for them to turn into and I did not want to end up implanted in their trunk lid. It was such a fun descent. I topped out on the steep part at 66 mph with the draft off the car. That's the fastest I have ever gone on a bike.

Looking into the distance you can see the haze that gives the Great Smoky Mountains their name

     Next up, was a 12 mile climb up to the highest point. It was much more gradual than the first two climbs and I was able to big-ring the whole thing. I finally reached the turnaround point after 3 hours and 6 minutes. There were three older ladies at the pulloff that came over and asked me a few questions, like "Where are you riding to?" and the typical "Do you know Lance Armstrong?" Of course I said "Why yes I know Lance. We started together earlier. He should be coming by in a few minutes." No really I didn't say that...but I did think about it. Messing with people is fun.

 

     My parents were behind me on the parkway, plugging along at their own pace. My Mom rode up the first climb and then back down to the truck. My Dad had planned to ride out as far as he could until my Mom caught up in the truck. Then he was going to jump in and they were going to come back and give me food/water support for the rest of the way. On my way back down the 12-mile descent, I passed my Dad who was taking a nature break in clear view at an overlook. Bikes are quiet and give you sneaky ability so you can surprise people while they are watering the bushes. A few miles into the difficult climb back up to Waterrock Knob, my Mom passed by in the truck. She picked up my Dad, who was now on the same climb after turning around behind me.

     This climb was definately the hardest of the day. I got rained on for about 4 miles of the climb. It was a gentle rain that felt good on a hot day such as this. The parents caught up to me with a mile to go. I stopped at the truck to refill bottles and have a banana before finishing off the climb. Once over the summit of Waterrock Knob, it was back to clear blue skies and dry roads for the descent. Only one climb remained and it was a fairly easy one compared to all the others. I was up it in no time. My Dad got a little crazy and started pulling off at the overlooks so he could run next to me like a Tour de France hooligan. He almost got taken out by a guy on a recumbent that was coming down the mountain. Like I said before, bikes are quiet and sneaky.

The Waterrock Knob climb coming back is 7 tough miles. 

     On the final descent, I let it all hang out, trying to have fun and waste what legs I had left. Surprisingly, I still felt really good. There were some mild curves that were enough to slow down my parents in the truck, but not effect my speed. I caught them on the way down. I actually had several opportunities to pass them which was tempting, but I figured it wasn't worth killing myself over so I just pulled up next to them a few times and then tucked back in behind the truck. I ended the day with 78.6 miles in 5 hours and 25 minutes, with a 14.4 mph average speed. This ride featured 15,569 ft of climbing. Not a bad day in the saddle at all.

     My Dad took the scenic drive home from the ride and so little else was accomplished on Saturday. We just had dinner and rested up for the next day. Sunday morning I was up at daylight again. This time I took the road bike out from the Parksville Lake Campground and went up to the Chilhowee Campground on top of Chilhowee Mountain. It's 7 miles to the camground when you leave Hwy 64. The first 5 miles are tough as you twist your way up the mountain, climbing about 4,000 ft. The last two miles just roll along the top of the mountain until you descend part of the way down the backside of the mountain to the campground. It was a nice ride. I got see some nice morning views overlooking Parksville Lake, an angry swarm of honey bees at an overlook and a rattlesnake crossing the road. I got back after 23 miles of riding, then loaded up the truck with the mountain bike.

Ride from Parksville Lake Campground up Chilhowee Mountain to the campground

Looking across Parksville Lake just after dawn

Looking down on Parksville Lake from an overlook about halfway up the Chilhowee climb

Looking across the mountains at the larger Big Frog Mountain from atop Chilhowee Mountain

Another view overlooking Parksville Lake

Looking across the plain that borders the backside of Chilhowee Mountain

     We drove down to Thunder Rock Campground and sat up a campsite for Shannon and Amber. They were planning to spend a few days here at the end of their trip so we left them tents and other camping things. My Dad and I took a lap on the SERC race course and then rode the short Quartz loop. We got in an additional 12.3 miles of riding, bringing me weekend two-day total to 113.8 miles of quality climbs.

Mountain Bike ride around the Tanasi trails

My Dad climbing along the trail

The Ocoee River was flowing fast today

We were able to watch from the trail as rafts came down the river

     Shannon and Amber arrived at the campground after we finished the ride. Shannon and I went for a dip in the Ocoee River in my favorite deep section while my parents went of to explore the local roads on their motorcycle. Shannon and I floated down the river numerous times, enjoying the free ride down and the coolness of the water. We found a nice place to exit the river where a trail was located to take us back to the campground. It was a great end to a good weekend of riding. I just love it in the mountains. On the drive home, I was already planning out fun things to do the next weekend when we were scheduled to race the SERC finals in Fontana, NC.

Shannon and I floating the river

Music City Triathlon

   My one and only road triathlon up to this point had been last year's Music City Triathlon. I am not the best on the road. My time trialing ability is pitiful most days. It has really irritated me the past few years. Time trialing takes a lot of work to perfect, but I've never really taken the time to work on it. I was pumped for this year's Music City Triathlon despite my poor TT ability. I hadn't ran or swam much in the weeks prior due to my ankle injury while hiking down in Ocoee. Persistant icing, massage and ultrasound helped the ankle recover in time for the race.

    My excitement for this event came from the chance to push myself farther than last year, when I completed the Sprint Distance. Sprint distance consists of a 400 meter swim in the Cumberland River, 20k on the bike and a 5k run through the streets of downtown Nashville. This year I upped it a bit and signed up for the Olympic distance. Olympic is made up of a 1500 meter swim, a 40k bike segment and 10k run. I had never swam more than 1000m and I did that just a few days before my ankle injury. So there were a few question marks in my mind as I arrived to LP Field and prepared for the start. I like question marks. They keep things exciting.

     I got to pick up my packet and the new race number tattoo system the day before the race. The transition area was already set up so I got to do a quick walk through of all my transitions. That made the morning of the race a breeze. You have to be up early for triathlons. I have gotten spoiled this year having a lot of evening crits. You have to be at a triathlon early even if you start near the end because the transition area closes before the first swimmer hits the water.

A full transition area before the start

     The start was time trial format with one swimmer starting every three seconds. The Sprint racers went first. I was in the last quarter of the Olympic starters so I had about an hour wait before I got to start. There were quite a few people signed up for this year's event. 965 starters to be exact.

The line of racers awaiting their turn to start the swim

Sprint Distance swimmers coming back to the dock for the swim exit

     My goal for the swim was to remain clam and stay settled into my own pace. I knew I could make the distance if I just paced myself. The only part that really worried me was that we finished the last 300 meters against the current. I knew that getting fatigued early would make me pay dearly by the end of the swim. It was finally my turn and I jumped off to a good start. It was probably a bit too fast, but I was picking off a lot of people and that made it hard to back off. We started against the current, then turned right and went across it. I had a little difficulty holding my line against the cross-current, but managed to only get about 3 feet off my line. I toned down my pace once the current was at my back. There were several fast swimmers behind me and most of them came by like a speedboat as we went down the back of the course. Fatigue was not even a thought in my mind until the last 100 meters. My goal time was 45 minutes and I was out of the water in 33:08.

The swim took place in the shadow of downtown Nashville

Swimmers in the waters of the Cumberland River

Me grabbing some air near the end of the 1500 meter swim in the Cumberland River

One of my weekly riding buddies in Clarksville, Barry Woods, was also taking part in the Olympic Distance today

Me running up the hill from the river and towards the transition area to get my bike.

Barry running towards the transition area after his swim

     I couldn't have been happier running up the hill to the transition area. I just blew my goal out of the water! That was good motivation to start the bike. I was a tad slow with my transition, but I still gained some spots and managed to get clear road ahead of me after the first few turns through the LP Field parking lot. The bike course was a rolling 20k loop that left LP Field and went North on Ellington Parkway, then back. It's the only time all year that Ellington is completely shut down to traffic. The climbing along the course is long, gradual grades, typical of a major highway. The city paved the course just in time for the race, finishing it up just a few days before. They were proud of their effort to help the race. Then they stopped using their brains and decided to begin paving on the roads that lead to Ellington. They chewed up and grooved the pavement on Friday, making for a very rough transition to and from the Parkway. Got to love TDOT.

Bike course mapped out on Google Earth from my Garmin reading

     I was a little too pumped on the bike and went out harder than I should have, but I was able to maintain it. Starting so far back gave me a lot of traffic. I was considerably faster than most of the people on the course. I was passing riders in groups on the climbs. Constantly having someone ahead to chase made me push harder. I was very settled and smooth the whole ride, clicking off 2 laps of the 20k loop in 1:06:48 with a 22.3 mph avg speed. That was only 31st fastest overall, but it was a good time for me. I can tell I am definately improving my time trialing. My old mountain bike buddy, Mike Purvis, rode the fastest bike time of the day with a 59:49. He was the only rider to break the 1 hour barrier.

Me leaving LP Field to head out for lap 1 of the bike segment

Coming back to LP Field to complete lap 1 of 2

One of the women during the bike portion of the race

Me cruising the aero bars as I begin lap 2

Going out on Lap 2

Rounding a corner on lap 2 of the 40k bike

Rounding the turn to bring me back to LP Field and complete my bike section

Racers negotiating a 90-degree left turn near the end of the bike course

Me staying tucked during one of the final turns on the bike course

     I was so focused during the bike that I forgot to eat and drink until the last 5 miles. And that mistake hit me hard during the run. My lack of riding in the aero position made for some tired and sore glutes by the end of the bike. As soon as I stepped off the bike, I knew I was in trouble. My hamstrings and glutes were very tired and near cramping. And I could tell I was beginning to bonk. My run was good for about half a mile, then I hit the wall and totally fell apart. The run course was 2 laps on a 5k loop through downtown Nashville. It featured 3 good-sized climbs, 2 of which were out in the sun. The temp was now up into the mid-90s. I roasted on the climb up First Avenue and had to walk at one point to keep from passing out.

Run course through downtown Nashville

Timex triathlete Bruce Gennari during the run

I'm suffering like a dog at this point...

A steady line of triathletes work their way up the hot hill on First Avenue

First Avenue was a place of suffering for everyone

     I felt so bad and it was frustrating to see my average pace at over 10 minutes per mile. I was hoping to finish the run in about 50 minutes, but wound up finishing in 1:07:20. I started to feel better at the end, but there was nothing left in the legs to pick up the pace with.

Wrapping up lap 1 of the run

Glad to have some water on a hot day like this

Barry appears to be enjoying the run at this point

Coming down off the Woodland Street bridge with less than a mile to go

Very few times have I been more happy to see the barriers and the finish ahead

Done!

    I wound up taking 16th in the 25-29 class and 159th overall. It was a bit frustrating that I fell apart, but I still did better than expected so I still consider it a successful day. I have one more road triathlon to go this year at the Cedars of Lebanon Triathlon. I'm sure that my experience today will help me be better prepared for it.