Even though I was tired on the bike yesterday, I still went out today, and did one last hard bike ride ahead of my taper for Oceanside. 

My ride was three and a half hours long, and included three separate thirty minute intervals at 85-90% effort.  In addition to being a ride where I could push hard to maximize my fitness ahead of my race, it was also an opportunity to dial in my race nutrition plan.

The ride itself was tough.  An hour and a half of pushing hard, at the end of this training block was a challenge. For the same reasons that I explained in yesterday’s blog, my results were not great. My power numbers were quite low, but I expected them to be, so I am comfortable with what I saw.

I also learned something about my nutrition plan.  I tested out different concentrations of my energy drink, to evaluate what my stomach could handle when pushing hard.  This definitely helped me make some decisions for my upcoming race.

The Oceanside race happens in exactly two weeks  from tomorrow.  My last hard bike ride is done and this weekend, I will do my last long run.  After that, my training volume will start to decrease, as I try to absorb all the gains I have made in the past few weeks and months.