Rev3 RIDE PREVIEW!

*UPDATED WITH PICS, AND HISTORICAL FACTS, 7/18. You know you love it.
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WOO HOOOOOOOOOOO I just got back from the Rev3 ride out near Cedar Point this morning!

And I am currently attempting to rehydrate and eat stuff. But I'll get to that in a bit.

Here are my random thoughts in no particular order as I attempt to rehash this ride before I forget all of it. And I am doing this before I even take a shower, people. That's how much I care. And smell.

:)

Anyways, met up with over 100 riders this morning as my rockin' Tri Club and it's stupendously amazing President, DaisyDuc, organized this supported ride on the course. It was phenomenal to see all the support and all the riders! They actually swam before and ran afterwards, but I just headed out for the ride since we have somewhere to be soon.

(maybe I should take a shower? nahhhhh....)

On a sidebar note, I take full credit for getting Daisy into triathlon. When she's a pro, you can THANK ME.

It was fun to see a bunch of tri peeps that I haven't been able to see since I was out of the loop for a while!

We started at the Sawmill Creek Resort, which did an awesome job of hosting us. It's about 10 miles into the ride, so I didn't do the full course. But I still feel like I got a good taste of what the course is like.

In a word? STEELHEADISH.

Yes, I just made that up. But I felt like this was a great course--lots of country rollers, little lake towns, signs for bait and tackle, and peach groves. I feel like I could really kill it on a course like this. I was killing it, actually, until about mile 40, but that's my own fault and stupidity. I'll get to that.

Random Thoughts Before I Forget:

Rev3 already has a great video up of my buddy George and another CTC member, Tim, talking about the race! They have some great footage of the rollers, too. You can see it here. Also, Heather Gollnick has a nice little video promo of the area and the race--check it out here!

There are a few small climbs--short and sweet--but nothing too bad at all. The rollers are great to break up the ride, and I really could get going on some stretches! The big factor here for this race could be heat (it can get pretty warm in September around here) and wind, but as long as you know that going into it, there shouldn't be a problem.

Pictures courtesy of the Super Awesome TriEric! That's his shoulder there, I think...he was holding the camera up as he rode!

That's me in the red, talking to my buddy Mike in the blue, followed by Daisy's super cool hubby Joey in the dark blue

This is actually one of the hills--see, not bad at all! Everyone out there had a blast--we had a TON of riders on the course!

First Awesome History Geek Welcome Sign: Huron, OH. The sign read, "Site of the highest production of steamboats in the U.S. during the 1830s."

Be proud, Huron. Be very proud.

Instead of going over snakes on the road like I did at IMNOLA, I went over lots of cornstalks. Ha ha!

Second Awesome History Geek Welcome Sign: Milan, OH. The sign read, "Birthplace of Thomas A. Edison." I bet you didn't know that, did you? You're welcome. Now you can sleep at night.

I continually had the song, "All Summer Long," by Kid Rock in my head in the beginning. It always makes me think of the summer trips to the Lake Erie Islands and all the ridiculousness we got into in my twenties out there. If you change the lyrics to "1999" instead of "1989," and "northern Ohio" instead of "northern Michigan" (which is usually how I sing it really loud in my car--don't judge me), it pretty much fits.


I saw lots of signs for cornhole bags for $20! TWENTY dollars for corn filled beanbags?! I think I have found my calling! And if you don't know what cornhole is, you are seriously missing out. I think I'll have to bring up our boards for after the race. We'll have a nice little tournament going.

All in all, I think this is a nice course that would make for an EXCELLENT first Ironman or half ironman. In fact, I'm kind of wondering why I couldn't have this as my first Ironman course! No disrespect, Wisconsin. But you're REALLY REALLY HARD and stuff. I was zipping along easily in the 20s for quite a bit of this course. Route 113 was AWESOME. Lots of little rollers and a great stretch of road to really dig in and take off. The race director, Eric, was there to see us off AND ride with us! It was very clear that Rev3 is super excited about this race, too.

My BIG mistake (HUUUUGE. Sersly.) was to pass up water at mile 28 where there was a gas station. See, I am the world's biggest sweater as well as A FREAKING SALT MINE. I have to be really really careful with my hydration--it could (and has) make or break my race. I had already gone through 3 bottles of nuun and water, and thought I could make it to mile 34 where the aid station was.

Except it was almost at 45.

Stupid stupid stupid me! I was pretty mad at myself after that, because going without fluids for almost 40 minutes when it's sunny and 91 degrees is just something my body doesn't really bounce back from. I slogged through the last 15 miles and brought my overall average WAY down. Lesson learned--I won't do that again! HUGE thanks to the CTC folks who manned the station in little Berlin Heights, which looks like a cute little Mainstreet U.S.A. right out of a Norman Rockwell painting.

But before then, I really was feeling great and like this course was suited well for me--someone who isn't the greatest climber in the world but thinks all flat is just plain boring. I feel better about the race in September. I know I need to keep goals in perspective--at 7 months postpartum with Bug, I did a half marathon, and now I'm trying a half ironman. This will be tough, and it might be too early for me to really see a PR. But I know now that I'll get through it, and not suck.

So I've got that going for me. Which is nice.
Anyway, I am very excited to share my old stomping ground of Cedar Point with my teammates and with everyone who will travel up this way for the race. But you won't catch me on those crazy roller coaster things. NO WAY. I am such a baby when it comes to that stuff. I'll only go on the Gemini and Mean Streak...and even that's pushing it. All wimpiness aside, I think this whole event is going to be top-notch, and am SUPER stoked for the race!

My data, thanks to my awesome new Joule--thanks, Cyclops! You guys rock!

Miles: 61.08
Temperature: 91 F
KJ 1602
Average Watts: 129 (don't laugh too hard...I bonked, remember?:)
Max Watts: 452
Normalized Power: 144
Feet Gained: 1821
Feet Lost: 1780
Ride Time: 3:24.48
Average mph: 17.9 (Stupid bonk! At one point I was over 19 though with no trouble at all!)
Average HR: I dunno because I left my band at home AGAIN. DOH!

I think I can do really, really well on this course. Not sure if I can do that this year. But I'm thinking this is a definite possibility for an Ironman someday.

And did I mention that my awesome brother is totally bringing his boat up post-race? Boat drinks!

SO excited to showcase Northeastern Ohio--this will be a fantastic race!