Once on the bike I completely put any thoughts of the swim behind me. After I clipped into my pedals and had a chance to look up I was instantly energized by the amount of spectators that were lining the streets.
My plan was to go out slow on the bike and let my stomach and heart rate settle a bit. I planned to ride the first 33 miles in one gear easier than I thought I should be in and concentrated on keeping my cadence in the 90’s. From miles 33 to 66 I planned to go a little over race pace (high zone 2 and into low zone 3 on the hills and from 66-100 hold a steady pace (mid to high zone 2). For the last 13 miles I just wanted to keep my cadence high and my head in the game.
My hydration and nutrition plan for a predicted bike time of 6.5 – 7:25 hr was to drink 24 oz of water for the first hour, Gatorade for the 2nd and 3rd, 16 oz Mountain Dew/ 24 oz R4 recover drink during hour 4th and alternate between water and Gatorade until the end. Food wise I elected to take 2 gu’s every 45 minutes and eat a P.B & J & and a small can of Pringles from my special needs bag at mile 64 along with my Mountain Dew. Additionally I was taking 4 salt pills an hour to help from cramping.
My plan worked great until about mile 76. About this time my right quad wanted to cramp when I tired to climb with a cadence below 65 on the steeper hills or if I tried to apply a lot of force to the pedals with a cadence in the low 80’s. Because of this, I decided to dial back the intensity and keep my cadence in the high 90’s. My first 56 mile loop I averaged about 17 mph and because of my right quad, special needs stop and two bathroom breaks I averaged about 15 mph on the second loop.
The bike course was beautiful. The first 30 miles take you through town and along the shoreline of the lake and then back into town on a reverse route. Once back in town the course heads north and into the hills. During each loop there were 4 to 5 decent hills and a total of 2600 feet of climb.
My family and team mates kept my spirits up throughout the entire ride. I saw my Wife, Dad and girls at miles 20, 37 & 76 and one of our team's coaches at mile 85. My girls were so proud of the signs they made for me and displayed them proudly. At mile 76 I stopped to give them all a high five and a kiss before I headed back out onto the course. Doing that easily got me through the next 10 miles pain free. Surprisingly my ass, lower back and legs weren’t in to much pain as I finished the bike course.
At the dismount line I got off my bike, handed it to a volunteer and make my way to my T2 bag and then into the changing tent once again. The volunteers at this race were great! The led me to my bag, offered me liquids, continually told me that I looked great and even offered to help me change my gear.
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