The Pastor Challenge - MET!

I did not set out to do my Metric Century ride yesterday, but wound up doing it anyway. And yes, in under 4 hours!

I had two goals for the ride - (1.) get to the end of the trail I was riding on, and (2.) see how my body reacted to eating and drinking on the ride.

First, I wanted to get to the end of the trail (which I thought ended at mile marker 40) and then see the total distance from where I start (around mile marker 11.5). It would be somewhat less that 62 miles (56 miles or so), so then I would know how much farther back on the trail I would need to start to get to the 62. But when I got to mile marker 40, the trail didn't end! So I went a little farther, and then a little farther, and I thought: why not just try to do the 62 miles since I had come so far?

The second, I wanted to see how my body would react to eating and drinking. On my previous rides, I took only water along, and by the end of my 50 mile ride, I was completely out of gas. So I knew I needed to refuel on the way. I did some research and took with me Gatorade instead of water, and a power bar to nibble on the ride. But if my stomach didn't like that, I didn't want it to be on the ride I was trying to meet my goal. Turns out I was fine, and I while I was tired at the end of the ride, I did finish well. The fuel was just what I needed.

So here are my results:

So, a little over 62 miles in 4:01.42. I went over because I did not want to get back and find out I had ridden 61.8 and just missed the length! So while my time was over 4 hours, so was my distance. According to the Map My Ride app I use, my time at 62 miles was 3:54:32 - so yes, I made it under 4 hours. :-)

Here are some more stats:

First ten miles:  40:53

Next ten:  36:09

Next ten:  39:38

Next ten:  36:56

Next ten:  34:54

Next ten:  37:19

Part of the reason the first miles were slower is because of warming up for the first few miles and for delays for road crossings. The other variations are because of up- or downhills. There is one section that has a 5-6 mile long, slow upgrade. You can't really see it - but your legs can feel it. So, that ten was a bit slower going out, and a bit faster coming home. But overall, decently consistent.

My time approx. halfway (at 31 miles on the app) was: 120:53. Which means I did the second 31 faster than the first 31, which is good. Part of that, again, is due to the slow start for warming up and road crossings.

My fastest mile was 3:09, 20.6 mph (in the middle of coming back down the long, slow upgrade!)

My slowest mile 3:57, 13.8 mph (at the end of the long, slow upgrade).

I also figure that if you take off some time for when I had to wait at road crossings (which sometimes seems like forever!), and also for the couple of times I had to stop and run back and pick up my water bottle which either shook off because of a bumpy bridge or I just dropped, I would have gained another 4-5 minutes.

But anyway, I did it! 100 kilometers in less than 4 hours. Now it's up to others to help me meet the other half of the "Pastor Challenge" - raising $5,000 for the Pregnancy Center. If you want to help, follow the link at the top of this blog.