My First Century...The Journey Begins

When I decided to do my first century ride, I did a lot of research on the web.  Mostly it was instructional articles, training schedules, and nutritional guides.  Throughout my search, I kept coming across personal stories documenting first century rides.  With each one, I got more and more excited about my own ride.  So much so, that I specifically started searching out these first time testimonials.  Not only did I enjoy the ups and downs, the emotional journeys, and the subtle, sometimes humorous advice; I loved the pleasure and pride these individuals conveyed in their writings.  And even more meaningful than exclaiming their accomplishment to the world, they created a wonderful way to reflect back on what was no doubt a long and at times trying day.  So I hope when my first ride is finally accomplished, I might be able to provide some enjoyment and possibly a little advice to someone else who may be anxiously anticipating their first century.  Or at the least, I can have something to help me look back and remember what I anticipate to be one hell of an experience. 

But first, let me back it up and explain how I got here.

Before my son was born, I was in OK shape.  At one point, I was down in the neighborhood of 200.  But five years and two kids later, I plumped up to a hefty 260.  I looked at my wife and sadly declared that I was getting close to "the point of no return".  I was 38 and a pack a day smoker who got winded just going from the couch to the fridge.  I did not want to be that old guy who couldn’t keep up with his children as they grew older and started playing sports.  So I set a goal for myself:

By they time I turn 40, I want to be in the best physical shape of my adult life.

The only question was, how do I get there?

Not only was I big, but I was achy.  Flat feet, bad knees, sore back.  I ran cross country in high school, but running was out of the question.  My body couldn't handle the punishment.  I started out on a bike, not just any bike, but a comfort bike with shocks and springs and a big cushy seat.  The wheels are two inches wide and weighed about 5 pounds each.  I rode most of the summer and I really enjoyed it except for the fact that I could not go far and I could not go fast.  Compared with other cyclists, I was pedaling a tank.  But I put in some miles, not a lot but some.  I dropped a few pounds, not a lot, but a few. 

tank

Summer quickly turned to fall.  The days got shorter and colder and I put the bike away.  I joined a gym, lifted some weights and rode a stationary bike.  I was on a fairly organized schedule and I was seeing results until.... my plan came off the rails.

I was leaving the gym early one November morning when my vision got blurry, I got dizzy and nearly passed out.  For the rest of the weekend I was jittery and couldn’t control the shakes.  My wife ordered suggested I visit my doctor.  After an extensive round of blood work, I was placed on a heart monitor and eventually I was sent to a cardiologist for a stress test.  Before they even started the test, I was sent to the emergency room.  To this day I’m still not completely certain what was happening at the time or what they saw that sent me to the ER.  I wasn't completely focused on the details, just trying not to have a panic attack on top of whatever else was going on..  After spending most of the evening wired up to machines with nurses and doctors routinely checking in on me, I was eventually sent home.  Thankfully, I was not having a heart attack.

Let me take a selfie

My life was briefly turned upside down. The stress test was rescheduled for later that week.  After walking on a treadmill and being shot up full of heart racing chemicals, I was strapped into a machine that took pictures of my heart's circulation.  It appeared that parts of my heart were not getting enough oxygen.  The doctor scheduled me to have a heart catheter to look inside my arteries and to put in stints to remove any  blockages.  I had just turned 39 and I’m having a doctor tell me to take it easy, no shoveling snow and don’t pick up my kids.  Don’t pick up my kids?  Needless to say, I was now in panic mode.

I won't get into all the horrific details, like the multiple attempts it took the nurses to run an IV line or the various places on my body that had to be shaved.  After having a wire threaded in my wrist, up my arm and into my heart, they determined that they made a huge fucking mistake that the test produced a false positive.  Thousands of dollars in medical bills and hours upon hours of stress and fear just to find out that my heart was healthy and my arteries were fine.  Turns out, I had a minor vitamin D deficiency....Oops.

With a clean bill of health and a new lease on life, I put it all behind me.  I returned to the gym and spent more and more time on the stationary bike.  At this point, I was really looking forward to spring and hitting the open road and getting out from behind that TV monitor.

This seems like the opportune time to recognize someone who helped steer me towards my current love of cycling. Several years ago my friend Steve made the decision to slim down and ended up dropping nearly 170 pounds.  He was an absolute inspiration.  He got the cycling fever and never looked back.  This encouraged me to try and follow down his path.  And if cycling were anything like Alcoholics Anonymous, Steve would be my sponsor.  He has always been there to offer me support and advice no matter how dumb my questions were.  "Do you wear padded shorts?" "Does your bike have a kickstand?" He motivated me to upgrade from my comfort ride to a street worthy road bike.   And most importantly to me, Steve has always shown a genuine excitement and interest in my progress and achievements.  And for that, I thank him.

Strong like Bull

As spring rolled in,  I started researching road bikes.  I was checking out reviews and prices.  I was also seeing articles with basic tips, ways to train, and eventually came across the term Century.  I was intrigued and continued researching.  At the time, I was already up to about 20 miles on the tank and guessed that on a nice road bike, I should easily be able to increase my distance.  I started searching for Centuries in my area and found one at the end of the summer in the town I grew up in, Hershey, PA.  I was still a long ways away, but a plan started formulating in my head.

After searching multiple bike shops, I went with a sweet Trek 1.1.  I named her Salley.  Next I had the conversation with my wonderful wife.  She was a little hesitant at first.  We both work and have a 3 and a 5 year old at home.  I told her my planned schedule, which was identical to my normal routine with the exception of Sundays.  Sundays would be my long day.  She graciously agreed and supported my new challenge.  After a few rides on Salley, I was convinced I could do it. I signed up for the 4^th Annual Tour de Chocolate Town Bike Tour.

Meet Salley!

I gave myself 14 weeks to prepare for my Century ride.  The first thing I did was set up a detailed training schedule.  My typical week consists of four rides; two days commuting to work (7 miles each way), a moderate ride on Saturdays (18-22 miles), with Sundays being my long day starting at 35 miles and working my way up to 75 two weeks before the big event.  I've seen many different schedules.  Nothing longer than 12 weeks and most around the 8 week range.  My main concern with a 14 week schedule is that I may get a little burned out by the end.  My second concern is that I get injured and get off schedule. So the other 3 days of my schedule (and just as important) consist of weight training, taking a rest day and having a day to stretch.  I even found a few Yoga manly stretching routines on YouTube.  

The highlights represent vacation, holidays and various other events that I expect to take place between now and my Century.  WT = Weight Training and Thursday's are for Yoga stretches.

I also gave myself two secondary goals.  One is to log 1,500 miles in 15 weeks. The other, which I feel I may need to accomplish to finish my first century ride, and confident I will accomplish if I achieve the 1,500 miles, is to drop another 20 pounds.  I’m currently sitting at 235 (down 25 from last year) and I’d love to be at 215 come race day.  We shall see.