Olympic Triathlon Course/6.5 Mile Bike

Drove out to New Hartford to check out the bike course for the Litchfield Hills Olympic triathlon, which is a race I am considering doing next August. It was 20 miles of downhill and then four miles of uphill, including a climb of 514 feet in less than two miles. No doubt I will need a road bike and clipless pedals to have any chance to complete the hills at the end. The good thing is I have hills right by my house to practice climbing on, and if I want to train for the Litchfield Course, all I need to do is ride those last four miles. I had thought about bringing my bike out, but am glad I left it at home.

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So I got on to my bike and rode from the house to the reservoir around it and then back to gauge the distance for a run. It came in at 6.4 miles, and neatly, it hit 5 miles exactly at the finish of the 5K course. So I could run five and then walk back the rest before I do the full run. I averaged only 8.9 mph, largely due to the terrain. I had some major problems switching from 1st gear back to 2nd several times. There is one long steady hill I have to do (111 foot climb in .33 miles), which I barely made and gave me pause as to my ability to get it done on the Litchfield Hills course. I need some serious bike work.

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Diet

Breakfast -- bacon, peanut butter and wheat thins, pinneapple, diet Coke, kashi
Snack -- mixed nuts, banana
Lunch -- 4 piece nuggets (I'm into nuggets, yo...), small fries, diet coke
Snack -- chicken and rice
Dinner -- Fruit Punch, tacos with buffalo hamburger, rice, corn, grapes

Litchfield Tri Map