Training Log Archive: silkychrome

night road run w Erl n T. took a couple days off partly to chill after bday ride but also bc i started a new job. back full-time at Alberici. still directing a few races for Alpine but not anything else.

C • work 2

recovery hike at Chubb w Erl and T. we are both pretty beat up. but a beautiful day and this was the perfect thing to move some blood around.

another pool sesh w the Gnu. this time we brought packs and PFDs to work on gear arrangements. figured that out and then practiced wet exits/entries w PFDs which is a bit harder but doable.

C • Gnu 10

FOUR. LAPS. OF. BERRYMAN!!!!!!!!!

on my birthday, w Erl. watch died w about 5mi to go i think. 1 lap is 26 real miles but garmin doesn't get all of it. started at 8:30 AM, tried to keep laps under 4hrs and TA under 15min. trail in great shape. we rode rigid forks....nice and light but man did hands take a beating! ring and pinky fingers on both hands are still tingly.

so stoked w how this went down. we really wanted 4 laps but didn't make the commitment to go for it til about 1/2-way thru 1st lap, we needed to get comfortable w trail conditions (pretty good) and riding singletrack again. but then Erl said he was in so then i was in too.

lap 1 was just cruisy, temps in the 25-35 range. wet spots melting here and there on the trail but nothing more than 10' long, not too mushy and the rest was dry so didn't get bogged down. Erl had a bit of chain suck w new chain but that got sorted once a little dirt got worked in there.

lap 2 i was strangely anxious. so many questions about the mythical "4 laps of berryman" that i didn't have answers to. how bad would it hurt? would the laps drag by or just blink and they were over? could i even do this? would i be miserable? i didn't want to be miserable. so i told Erl and he said just focus on this lap we are on and we will get to lap 3 and lap 4 when we get there. so comforting and also i started believing in myself again and mentally saying "we can do this. you can do this". what a huge change! smile back on face. then we saw the other EK and Adam riding opposite, and they were camping, so they said to stop by after our lap 3 for a beer. YES!

lap 3 was uncharted territory. we turned lights on about 1 hour in. i started getting tired and we took more snack breaks. so hard to stay fueled on this trail while riding, so we just would stop and eat. plus i needed the mini rest break too. we started getting into the "just get 'er done" mode. simple goals of spinning and keep moving. landmarks from the other laps were really helpful and we called them out. we split things up as Spring (mi 6), Sign (mi 12), Paved Road (mi 16), Gravel Road (mi 21) and then 3 grinder climbs and then a 2 posts, a ruin, and then the car. boom! we stopped by EK and Adam's campsite and they took care of us so well...beer, snacks, cheering, just amazing. yay friends!

lap 4 was just about the same as lap 3 except completely in the dark. legs continued to feel good, obvi not as spunky as beginning but able to turn over pretty good. my bar light (seca) was going low so i rode the last 1/2 of the lap with it only on for the downhills (still had stella on helmet). so just got it DONE. it was very very tough but i was never miserable. very proud of this ride.

C • You guys are awesome. 5

chiro appt this AM. really needed as L hammy was getting tight. and a big day planned for tomorrow :)