The Hay is in the Barn...

This is a saying that my buddy Bill's coach once used with him in the week leading up to the Mt Washington Autoroad Bicycle Hillclimb. The race known as "The World's Most Challenging Race" which, of course, they couldn't say if it wasn't true since that would be false marketing :) Bill is one of my best friends who initially inspired me to attempt to climb this beast of a mountain on my bike. One of the craziest things I've ever done was agree to it, but it was also one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had.

The hay is in the barn.... What this means is that the training is over. There is no further possibility of getting stronger prior to the event. The reserves are full. It's time to sit back and take it easy. Get full recovery into the muscles while still giving them short efforts to remind them of what they need to do come race day. Today was one of the most beautiful days we've had this Summer. About 75 degrees with relatively low humidity. What an amazing day for a bike ride. I thought about this as I pedaled my bike on the rollers in the driveway watching a cyclist speed past the house. I was on the rollers because it's too hilly where I live and I can't go out for a ride and keep my power output low enough to where I need to for the type of ride I needed to do today which was a recovery effort. So I sat there turning the pedals at somewhere between 130-140 watts of power output (half what I need to generate up the mountain) sweating my ass off in the driveway for an hour. That's dedication and focus. Or so I tell myself to rationalize pedaling to nowhere in my driveway on a gorgeous Summer afternoon.

I'm 63.5 hours from heading up the mountain for the 5th time in my life. Each time up I've been a little faster than the time before. I'm stronger than I've ever been on the bike. In the past month I have made ridiculous gains in strength. I've been eating super clean. Tons of fruit and veggies, fish, chicken and eggs, nuts and seeds. Hardly any processed carbs or refined sugars. I just finished my recovery ride and ate a half canteloupe and 2 hard boiled eggs. (Random interjection: why do cage free organic eggs come in a tri-fold plastic container with non-water soluble CFO markings on the shells? Seems counter-intuitive to me).

I'm not as nervous as I thought I'd be. In fact, I am so looking forward to doing this on Saturday that it's surprising even me. Although I know when I'm in the staging area I'll practically be ready to puke with the butterflies. My goal that I set at the beginning of the year was 1:10. Very aggressive considering that, at the time, my best ever time was 1:20. 4 weeks ago I did it in 1:18 at the end of a hard training week, the day after a brutal race up Mt Ascutney, and into a 50 MPH headwind for good part of the last couple miles. I would have to have an absolutely incredible day under absolutely perfect conditions to hit 1:10 on Saturday. If I hit it I will be the happiest man on the planet. My secondary goal was to do better than 1:15. My level of happiness at the end of the race will be relative to how far in front of 1:15 I am as I cross the line. A time greater than 1:15 is not an option.

One thing is for certain, I am going to absolutely crush myself trying to achieve my goal and there will be no doubting whether or not I could have done better. I am going to leave everything on the mountain. I'm ready. The hay is in the barn.....