HHH Preview

It's horrible (read on). It's hilly (over 10000 feet of climbing). There are hundreds (200 K/124.2 miles). And to top it off it will be both hot and humid. The misery comes in multiple flavors for this event.

This weekend is the Horribly Hilly Hundreds - the 2nd toughest event on my calendar this year (the 1st hardest is a new ride this year called the Dairyland Dare held in the same region in August). For those who think it isn't hilly in the midwest better check that. Unlike other areas of the country, all of the hills in the midwest have been gathered together in one area - the southwestern corner of Wisconsin. These are not the long, sit back, find your rhythm, settle in, and spin your way up climbs of the west. These are the short, ridiculously steep, lowest gear you have, vein popping, turn-your-lungs inside-out, totally anaerobic climbs of the east coast. After completing this ride I am more exhausted then I was after the Ironman. It kicks my ass every year and this one will not be an exception.

The best thing about this ride? The next day is Father's day. Floating in the pool, drinking Guinness, entire family at my beck and call. Now that's recovery!

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Workout Summary

1200 yd interval swim

20 mile bike ride (tempo)

6 mile run (tempo)

30 minutes circuit/core/stretching

Woke up late this morning so had to shorten the swim a bit. Went extra hard to make up for being lazy so it ended up being ok.

The bike ride was a double loop around a paved trail in the Busse Woods forest preserve which is about two miles down the street from my health club. Definitely liking being out on the mountain bike instead of being stuck inside in a spin class studio. Still have to tweak the positioning a bit as it's been a while since I've been on the mountain bike but overall I felt good, averaging 20 mph for the ride (I have slicks not nobbys which helps).

The run off the mountain bike was a much better tri simulation then the run off a spin bike. It took me about a mile and a half to get my run legs going - which is about what it normally takes during a tri. Overall the run was faster than normal (8 mpm pace) without my iPod tagging along which leads me to believe that my cadence based playlists are not fast enough. I'm actually beginning to enjoy running without music so I think I'll be running a little lighter for a bit.