Training Camp: day 3
3-12-07
Today's theme was "up and down again." For both of today's workouts I climbed a mountain and then went back down.
In the morning I went over to Saguaro Park East. I talked with the ranger for a recommendation for a good out and back trail. In the parking lot at the trail head. I stripped down to shorts and a visor. As I started running, an out bound hiker asked if I had enough water; it is obvious that I have none. I tell him that I will be fine. He tells me that I am crazy. I tell him that I know.
The adage "you learn something new everyday" was very real to me during my run. I learned that cactus spines have a barb on the end. So when they implanted in my leg today, it was quite a chore to get them out. The run was really technical with lots of large rocks and plenty of sand and gravel. The trail was very closely lined with cacti on both sides. So, one slip and things could get pretty painful. And, they did.
Back at the hotel, I stuffed myself with as much fluid and food as I could hold in preparation for a tough ride. I planned to ride up Mt. Lemmon today. Depending on where you start, the total trip is around 60 miles. I parked at a shopping center on on Tanque Verde road - a little over 4 miles from the base of the mountain. I went by the local tri shop and asked some questions about the route before I headed out. I was told that there was somewhere to stop on the way up to get water. Well, it turns out that there isn't any where to get fluids except the top of the mountain.
I head out and start the climb. I pass a few people and ask some questions about the coming gradients and where is that water stop. No one that I pass has ridden the mountain before. I get pretty far up the mountain, maybe half way, and I am out of water. I stopped and asked some folks if the building they were standing in front of had any water. They said no, but offered me their own water. I filled a bottle and set out again. My new bike came with a 12X25 cassette. I normally ride with an 11X23. I figured that I'll the new, lower gearing out here with me since I'll be doing some climbing on some tired legs. However, I have a 42 tooth small ring. A 39 small ring would have been nicer, but I probably would have taken quite a bit longer to ride up if I had had the easier gearing.
Finally, I reached the top - out of water again. It took me about 2:35 to get to the top, including a few detours down side roads in the hunt for water. There is a general store, which was heated, at the top. I say heated because at the top it was really cold and snow covered a lot of the ground. I hadn't brought any extra clothes. Before I headed back down, I filled the front of my jersey and bibs with scrunched up paper towels for insulation. It actually worked pretty well. On the descent, which was way too much fun, my feet slowly regained feeling as I dropped back down the ~5000 feet that I had climbed. I made it back to the car just as the sun was slipping behind the western mountains. So, during my descent the sun was setting - beautiful. 1:17 back to the bottom.
After the ride, I was pretty tired and hungry. The first food I saw was a Jack-in-the-Box. I got their gigantic burger value meal and stuffed my face. I felt a lot better after that.
