Ironman bike ride

I keep thinking about it and it just feels too unreal to even dream about it. Is it? It's not that I would really want to compete in one of these things, I am just really curious if I can train myself to actually finish it within the time limits.

So this weekend I did the Tin Man. I rode half the bike ride on Saturday and the other half today. It turns out that my Westminster-Boulder-Longmont-Westminster circuit is about 56 miles.

The bike still didn't feel right on Saturday and I was really watching my right knee, dropping a gear anytime I felt I had to pedal too hard. Still, about half way through Boulder my knee started talking to me. Eventually I stopped and dropped my seat by about 3/4 inch (that's about how much I raised it the other day) and I also moved it a little forward - probably about an inch. And all of a sudden I realized that I had more power and the muscle didn't complain too much. Interesting.

Saturday ride stats:
Lap 1

1. Westminster -> Boulder -> Jay Rd and Hwy 119
2. 1:39:58
   
3. 14.5 mph average
4. 147 bpm average (heart)
5. 24.27 miles

Lap 2

1. Jay Rd & Hwy 119 -> Longmont, Hwy 119 & Hwy 287
2. 0:29:05
3. 20.9 mph
4. 146 bpm
5. 10.14 miles

Lap 3

1. Hwy 119 & Hwy 287 -> Westminster, 112 & Federal
2. 1:31:23
3. 14.3 mph
4. 145 bpm
5. 21.86 miles

According to my Cat Eye bike o'meter:
56.31 miles @ 17.2 mph average in 3:16:51

The Cat Eye stops when the bike stops, so this time doesn't include my food and hydration breaks (or stoplights for that matter).

According to my Timex GPS o'meter:
56.27 miles @ 15.3 mph average in 3:40:27 with average bpm of 146


Sunday ride:
I programmed my Timex triathlon o'meter to split every 5 miles, so here are the stats for the 12 laps, 5 miles each:

Lap 1:

1. 23:41.63
2. 12.6 mph
3. 150 bpm

Lap 2:

1. 24:13.03
2. 12.4 mph
3. 142 bpm

Lap 3:

1. 23:37.32
2. 12.6 mph
3. 137 bpm
   

Miles 15-20:

1. 21:07.38
2. 14.2 mph
3. 123 bpm
   

Miles 20-25:

1. 16:14.63
2. 18.4 mph
3. 137 bpm
   

Miles 25-30:

1. 15:54.30
2. 18.8 mph
3. 139 bpm
   

Miles 30-35:

1. 16:33.23
2. 18.1 mph
3. 136 bpm
   

Miles 35-40:

1. 15:53.21
2. 18.8 mph
3. 150 bpm
   

Miles 40-45:

1. 17:29.60
2. 17.2 mph
3. 154 bpm
   

Miles 45-50:

1. 19:09.56
2. 15.6 mph
3. 147 bpm
   

Miles 50-55:

1. 18:23.16
2. 16.3 mph
3. 143 bpm
   

Miles 55-56:

1. 5:13.18
2. 16.1 mph
3. 154 bpm

Total:

1. 56.42 miles
2. 15.6 mph average speed
3. 142 bpm average
4. Time in zone (140-165): 1:59:50
5. Total time: 3:37:30
6. Overall time: 4:03:21 (I had to fix a flat in addition to food and water breaks)
7. Maximum speed: 38.6 mph (coming down Hwy 93 and also one hill on Hwy 287)

So, overall impression is that I am slacking off. I should be able to pull off average heartbeat of about 150. Considering I am still worried a bit about my knee, this not too bad. I was able to ride 112 miles in 2 days and not get hurt. Actually I had doubts even today in the morning - I thought of just finishing it, at any time. But my seat adjustments seem to make a huge difference - I think I was extending my quad too much.

Things learned:

1. Proper bike adjustment matters
2. I am more resilient than I thought

With those thoughts I went to play table tennis for 3 hours in the afternoon.

Only if I was this strong mentally. Working on it.