Week #35 Feeling rested after The Long Voyage!

 

Week #35 - 392 miles

I feel that I have recovered from The Long Voyage better than the other two ultras this year. My legs were a little tired but I was able to get back to regular sleep cycle right away. It may have helped that I rode a little easier during this race and a few less miles overall. I have another couple weeks until Pony Express 120. My plan is to ride this one easy also. I won it a couple years ago so I think it will be fun to go down and just enjoy the day. There are a few big rides that I hope to still get in this year. I know that they may not all happen but there will be some epic ones for sure.

Week #34 Midwest Ultra Gravel Trifecta Complete!

 Week #34 - 482 miles

Well I got it done! 1001 miles of racing in 3 races with over 60,000+ feet of climbing.

The Long Voyage was a huge success. 45 folks finished the course which is around 50% completion. The rain missed us but it found all the MMRs through out the night. It was slow going riding through the ditches and carrying the bike. After we got to Beatrice the roads were fine but we had a little headwind. I had been riding with Paige Redman (overall female winner) since mile 80ish and Larry Lomeiher caught up with us at the store in Beatrice. We all stayed together for the rest of the race. I was able to pull the majority of the time, which was fine with me. I felt really strong after the sun came up. Most of the hills were in the last part of the race, so that was challenging - but fun!

It will be interesting to see how many more folks are able to finish all three of the races in a calendar year. So many things have to go right in order to complete them. 

Week #33 Last prep before The Long Voyage

 

Week #33 - 518 miles

Well we are just a few day out before The Long Voyage. I think I have done everything to prepare. My body feels good and the weather looks like it will hold out for the most part. We may have to deal with a little moisture early on, but stuff should dry out fast.

Tuesday will be my 600th day in a row of riding. I will have got in a little over 35,000 miles (58 miles per day / 408 miles per week). I have been lucky to stay healthy (for the most part) and not have any other issues get in the way. The best part is I still really enjoy getting out everyday on the bike. Things will probably keep going until that changes.

Week #32 A good recovery week out west

 

Week #32 - 243 miles

Well I think my body needed a big recovery week in order to get ready for The Long Voyage's final prep. Hopefully by resting up this past week, I can get a good training week in this upcoming week. Almost all of the hard work has been done so now I can enjoy the time leading up to the race and make sure everything is ready to go. It looks like the weather is going to be dry for the next few days and hopefully that continues up until race day. 

Week #31 The Long Voyage Training Block Complete!!

Week #31 - 578 miles

July - 2377 miles

Well July turned out to be a big month - actually my biggest month ever! Training for the Long Voyage has been going well. Yep, only 19 more days until we take off at 5pm. Hopefully it will be dry, since we have lots of MMRs to deal with. 

Saturday we tried to recon the first half of the course. It was raining when we started and the roads were really soft and slow. The first few MMRs we didn't even attempt because they were too muddy. Once the rain stopped, it dried out fairly fast. The ride was still 200 miles and covered a good bit of the course. I know that I have properly trained but so many things can happen in 24 hours of riding. Not going out too fast and riding within oneself is the key. 

It will be good to see everyone again and catch up. This next week will be about recovering and resting. It should be fun to ride again out in western Nebraska.