Over Christmas break I bought a Women's Cycling book with tips and a good indoor trainer workout to get ready for a century ride based on your heart rate. So I went out and bought a heart rate monitor with my Christmas money and when I got back to school started to workout in the gym. When I started telling people why I was biking all the time they were so amazed at what I was going to be doing in August. The feeling was awesome. I could feel myself getting stronger as winter was coming to an end and it was going to be time to start riding outside. I quickly found out that riding a trainer is nothing like riding outside!! (At least the trainer at the gym.) I biked when I could outside, squeezing rides in before or after class or dinner and I was feeling pretty good until I realized that Fredonia is a pretty flat, level place.
When I got home I started biking a lot before or after work and really started nailing the hills. I knew that my distance nor my speed where going to be a problem, I knew it was going to be hills. Hills have always been my weak point, but I had a feeling these hills at home were going to be no match to the hills my dad and I would experience in Philly. I trained hard all summer, most of the time riding alone but when my dad and I were running on the same time schedule we would ride together and he always pushed me to fight to get to the top of those hills, even when I was swearing under my breathe because my legs were just about DEAD! HA...
August was approaching fast and once it got here I was getting nervous. The weather had been horrible all summer, lots of rain which called for little riding, and when my grandma passed away I didn't ride for a week or so. I was more nervous because I was going camping for 10 days on an island with little room to ride but I brought my bike up and trained for about 5 out of the 10 days I was there. I got back from camp the week before the ride and had so many things to do like pack, move up to school, work for class, and a million other things.
Friday arrived and we were leaving on Saturday morning. I was getting so excited to get down there!!! I hardly slept Friday night because I was wicked excited. When I woke up Saturday I was ready to go. We packed up the car and headed out for Philadelphia! It was a long long car ride. Approx. 6 hours. Out of the whole six hour ride where was the traffic jam, 15 minutes from our destination!!! A car had tried to switch lanes and ran into the cement divider, they had to call in a rescue helicopter!!!
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After the jam we finally made it to the college where we had to check in and get all our goods!! I have been a member of http://www.livestrong.com/ where I post my workouts and stuff to a blog and people comment and give tips. A few of these people were particpating in Philly and we decided we would meet. Due to the traffic jam I only got to meet one girl but she was really nice. My dad, my mom, and I went through the mud filled feild to the registration table. We gave them our names and they issued us our bib numbers (I was 1980 and my dad was 1981) and gave us a bag with a water bottle, free tshirt, and other goods inside!! On the back of our bib numbers it said which event we were participating in. When the lady handed me my bib she said "Your doing the 100 miles?" And I said "YES!" and she said "Well good luck!" After that we went over to the 'store' and we looked at the t-shirts. My dad got the black t-shirt that says LIVESTRONG in yellow and I got the yellow t-shirt that says LIVESTRONG in black... and my shirt was 8 dollars cheaper because I could get a little girls tshirt!! HAHA!!
After that we went and found our hotel and unpacked out things and got settled in while we waited for the Anderson Family to get back from town. Then, we all met up at a resturant for dinner. It was a nice restaurant!! Isabelle seemed very excited that I had come to see her and I heard from Donna that I was all she talked about for a while... "When can I see Kara?!" and Isabelle insisted she sit next to me at dinner. I didn't know what to eat that was not going to sit in my stomach the next morning. Charlie decided to get meatloaf and insisted that if he was slow in the ride tomorrow it was because there was a brick of meatloaf sitting in his stomach!! Dinner was awesome and we all decided we had better get back to the hotels and get some rest as we had a big day ahead of us!
The alarm rang at 4:30am!! We got up, got dressed and headed to an IHOP for breakfast that we thought was 24 hours. NOPE!! So we went to a local diner that was open. I was excited and nervous. I thought I was literally going to puke!! As I looked through the menu I thought it was only reasonable to get the SHORT STACK OF PANCAKES!!! I hardly ate because the insides of my tummy were churning. At one point I went and sat outside because I really thought I was going to be sick. I was THAT nervous!!!
We headed to the college and found a parking spot. I put on my jersey (HOT PINK!!) and got my water bottles filled and everything ready to go. Then I headed down to the bathroom (blue bowls... eww). I met back up with my parents and we walked our bikes to the starting line where we met up with Charlie, no Donna, no kids. Charlie was stuck in the traffic jam to get to the college and it was faster for him to ride in and let Donna park the car! Donna and the kids and Charlie's mom showed up soon enough!! Isabelle and Gavin were excited!! My stomach wasn't churning so bad. They made an anouncement that the ride was going to start half an hour late. So, we took the opportunity to take some pictures!!
After waiting patiently we headed towards the starting line!! This was it. I was ready!! My dad and I had discussed that we would most likely end up doing 70 miles but if we could do the 100 miles we'd go ahead and do it but if not we'd make the turn at the turning point for the 70 miles. We kept inching forward to start over the finish line. I was ready, Pink Jersey, Pink Socks, Pink Helmet, Pink Gloves... they even mentioned my outfit when I crossed the start line... how my socks matched my jersey!!
And, they're off!! The begining started off at a decent pace, nothing crazy like I had invisioned!!... I was crusing at a nice 12 - 13mph pace. Cops were stopping traffic for us to cross busy roads until we could get out into the middle of nowhere. In the first three miles my chain popped off!! CRAZY!! It has never done that before. My dad fixed it for me and we were on our way. We were going down a small hill when I gasped and covered my mouth. A girl in front of me a ways got hit by a biker behind her and flew over her bike and landed on her back!!! They had to call the ambulance! Going up the other side of the small hill it seemed really hard to petal and I couldn't figure out why. My chain was on the verge of popping off again and my dad was gone ahead of me. A guy nicely helped me figure out what was the matter and I caught back up to my dad!
After 12 miles was stop number one. My dad and I stopped to grab some fresh water and head back out for another 15 miles till stop number two. The hills were gradually getting harder and I was gradually getting more tired. Rest stop number two was big. We rode down this path and there awaited gummy bears! and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches... and fresh, COLD WATER!!!! My dad and I refueled and began to head back out on the course. Just as we were riding out a guy said we were headed towards a big hill and that we had not seen anything yet!! Sure enough... there was a giant hill infront of us. I started switching gears and just petaled at my own pace. The fatigue was really starting to set in. These hills were gigantic compared to what I had ridden on all summer back home. The next stop seemed miles and miles away. It was about 20 miles between rest stop two and three. We made it to the top of another big hill and the turn off for the 70 mile route was our only option because the 100 mile route had closed off at 11:30. No problem! We planned on doing the 70 mile route that day because we had not been prepared for the hills. After the turn off I started to get cranky because I really needed the rest stop. I needed to stretch, get more water, and I needed food!! The hills seemed to bring out my cranky side! YIKES!! hehe... Finally, in sight, I could see a fire station that had been transformed into a rest stop!! We were about 35 miles in. My dad and I stayed at this rest stop for about 20 minutes. We grabbed some trail mix, took a bathroom break, I stretched and put on more sunscreen, and drenched myself in water because I was so hot. They even had ice for your water at this rest stop!! It was fantastic. I remember they had fresh orange slices too. An orange has never tasted so good in my life as it did that day!! After all our resting we jumped back on our bikes and headed out. This was the easy part on rider said. It was downhill for a while. I love decents, if the whole 100 miles had been decents I could have done it peice of cake!! My dad and I were looking at the map before we left and realized that before rest stop four was a big big hill. I braced myself and said lets do it, not turning back!! The down hill was nice!! A real rest for the legs and you could watch all the scenery because you weren't huffing and puffing trying not to look up the mountain! haha!!... then the hill came and it was a long one. I again switched my geers and petaled at my own pace. Then, something happened!!
I had started to feel really really tired and I just kept thinking that if I closed my eyes I could fall asleep. Then, I noticed that I was feeling dizzy and I was shaking pretty good. I thought maybe it was just all the energy I was putting into making it up this hill. Finally, I turned around to my dad and said "I need to stop!" I stood there for a minute and drank some water. My dad handed me a fun sized payday to get some protein and salt into my system. I was just very light headed and knew I had better take a break. On van stopped and asked if everything was okay and I said yes. I was going to make it up that hill even if I had to wait 20 minutes till I was back to it. Another van stopped with a girl in the passenger side and asked if I was okay. I told her what was up and she said the same thing happened to her. Finally I felt better enough to tackle the rest of the hill. And I did just that!! Not to far past the top was rest stop number four. I grabbed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and trail mix and water and sat in the shade for a bit. I was feeling a lot better after getting some food into my system. I saw the girl from the van at the rest stop and she said she gave me a lot of credit for making up that hill because she couldn't have done it!! That made me smile and feel pretty accomplished!!
On my was back to grab my bike and head back out I ran into Charlie! He was stopped at the rest stop and getting ready to head back out too! This was the first time during the ride we had seen each other. There was 30 miles left! We just kept saying it was like a normal training ride and that we had it in the bag.
I went back to my bike and my dad and I headed out for the final 30 miles. At this point my legs were tired and even little hills felt like moster hills. I was pushing my limits but knew I would finish. 10 miles went by and I was getting more tired with every rotation of my petals. Then there were 15 miles left. I knew that 15 miles was nothing compared to some rides I had done this summer. I knew I could do it!! With 12 miles left was the last rest stop. I didn't realize my dad was stopping to call my mom so I kept going. Finally I realized he wasn't behind me so I stopped at the side of the road and waited for him. Things were starting to look familar from the begining of the ride which meant we were getting closer to the finish line. Small hills really felt like mountains now but I just kept pushing. People passing me kept saying how well we were doing and that we were in the home stretch now. The last 3 miles is where I felt the most rush. It was mostly downhill and getting back into the college campus. As I entered the campus I was getting excited!! I knew the finish line was coming fast.
My adrenalin was pumping and my legs were pumping fast. I could see the ballons, and I could hear the music and the announcer. As I came riding up the final stretch the announcer commented on how awesome my hot pink jersey was, just in time for my to notice I was riding down the lane that cancer surviors ride/run down and quickly got into the other lane. I had the biggest smile on my face and realizing what I had just done and how many people I had written on the back of my jersey almost brought a tear to my eye.
I CROSSED THE FINISH LINE!!!
There were Donna and Charlie at the finish line with the camera and handing us water and telling us how good we had done! My mom met us up at the top of the finish area; she had gotten there a few moments later. Everyone was so proud of my dad and myself. I couldn't stop smiling!! The first thing I did after the finish was run through the mist sprinkler they had running!!!
After, my parents headed back to the car and I went to meet one more person from the livestrong website. On my way back to the car I ran into Donna and the kids. I told her we were just going to go back to the hotel and relax for the night and Isabelle and Gavin came over to say goodbye. They really wanted my to play in the jumpy house with them but needless to say my legs were a little out of comission at that point!! I ran into Charlie on the way back to the car and told him I had a great time and that I would definitally be here next year! He was glad I had been there!
My parents and I headed back to our hotel were I immediately got into the shower. A shower had never felt so great!! I was clean and not sweaty and gross!!! I called Barb to let her know I was still alive and that I had made it through the ride okay. Then my parents and I went out for a quick bite to eat and then I was asleep by 8:30!! We had a long day ahead of us the next day because I was starting my first day of my senior year of college and we had a seven hour drive to Fredonia. Needless to say I slept 6 out of the 7 hours in the car and apparently my mom texted a nice picture of that to Donna!!
I must say, this was quite the experience. I still smile each time I think about what I did and how it was for such a good cause. I will DEFINITALLY be doing this next year, and the year after, and the year after that, and you get the point. It was the most physically challenging thing I have ever done and I would do it again in a heartbeat!!!
Next years goal - the whole 100 miles!!!
Kara,
ReplyDeleteYou guys did an amazing job. I am very glad I was there to watch you cross the line and proud to have been a part of your day. Looking forward to seeing you there again with maybe Jon?!?!?