Monday, June 19, 2006
Deep Creek Training Week 2006
Deep Creek Lake Training Week 2006 is in the books. It was a fantastic week of perfect weather, phenomenal lake conditions, and incredible rides and runs. Unfortunately there were a bunch of last minute cancellations, but those that made it out, even for as little as a day, all had difficulty returning. And Mike and I were happy to not have an army of fresh legs arrive just in time for the monster ride on Saturday. Throughout the week we had Mike, Julie, Jennifer, Ted, Vince, and Zack. And, of course, Riley and Mable! I accomplished my goal of a heavy week of training in the mountains with 7 miles of swimming, just shy of 400 riding, 35 running, and returning home healthy and motivated for the final stretch of hard Lake Placid preparation training. Thanks again to Steve and Kim Trundle for so generously allowing us to use their lake house for the week.
Here are the top 10 memories, highlights, and impressive performances of the week:
10. Mike and I going anaerobic trying to inflate the Turtle Trampoline. Next time, I pay extra for the motorized pump accessory.
9. Having Zack to sacrifice as the ride virgin to the Allegheny Mountain gods. Zack was hit by a car during a ride on Thursday, but decided at 3:30am Saturday that his aches and pains were diminishing so he hopped in the car and drove out to give the Epic Ride a shot.
8. Successfully summitting - barely - the Westernport Wall, and then turning around and watching Zack, Mike, and Ted walk their bikes up. What a bunch of wusses.
7. Jennifer Schwartz crushing both halves of the Westernport Road monster, only to start bawling when told, falsely and maliciously, that the steep part was yet to come. Not nice. I'm sorry.
6. The Turtle Trampoline backflip contest. And the winner is .... this dive .....
5. Zack crushing Bowman Hill only to succumb 20 yards from the top with hamstring cramps. Did I mention the tradition of sacrificing the ride virgin.....? Entertaining video here, but plug the children's ears as Zack has a few choice words about the situation.
4. The middle 70 miles of the Monongahela National Forest 106 mile ride. The road was remote, narrow, and covered by a thick tree canopy, and we encountered about three cars all day long, one of which pulled up next to us and asked "Y'all lost?". Another rode next to us for awhile asking us what we were doing, where we were heading, and then ended the conversation by sticking a Bud Lite out the window and asking if we wanted it.
3. Climbing Westernport Road shortly into the Epic Ride and feeling/hearing the left half of my carbon handlebars crack and bend as I torqued hard on the bars get up the over 20% grade. Sliding the handlebars to the right so that the cracked carbon was contained inside the stem face plate seemed to add support to the failed section of the bars and made them ridable, but riding the remaining 85 miles of steep climbs and descents without placing any weight or stress on the left half of the bars made a tough ride even tougher.
2. Julie's 8.5 mile swim to make up for her canceled Potomac crossing swim. Wow. And then showing how "working remotely" is properly done.
1. Ted's 26 hour whirlwind Deep Creek performance from 7am Saturday to 9 am Sunday. Arrive, swim 3 miles, crush 104 mile Epic Ride, eat/sleep, run 18 miles, swim 2.4 miles, depart. The man got in a good week's worth of exercise in just over a day and the wife never noticed he was gone.
Maybe next year we'll go for the 4th Annual. Or maybe not.
Pictures of the week here, and the few videos here.
-Kyle
