A Beautiful Weekend in GP

This weekend was great for training, unfortunately my training partner was sick this week and it was a bit lonely out there. I really missed starting out and finishing with AD but it was quite nice to get up early and be done early on both Saturday and Sunday. Normally a day with a planned long ride means we won't be home until 4 or 5pm but Saturday I was on the road at 8am and done at 2. I felt great and aside from stopping for lunch and needing a rest/recovery stop for 20 minutes at noon, I gained a lot of confidence in my long-riding ability.

I headed south on Highway 40 towards Grande Cache and once you leave Grande Prairie there is nothing for 180km, no gas station, no rest stop, no washroom, nothing but road and forest, it was awesome! Although I needed to make sure I planned my ride appropriately, there was no way I was going to do the whole ride with 2 water bottles. It was cool enough in the morning that I could ride a couple hours on one bottle but I wasn't going to do more than 60km before turning around. It's a very hilly route and you don't want to get caught out there without water. I was moving really well and finished the first 120km in 3:43, not bad considering there are some big climbs coming out of the river valley. I had lunch at the Esso where I parked my car and was surprised that they had a very good selection of sandwiches. One thing I've noticed from being on the road is that the selection of food at most gas stations leaves a lot to be desired.

I could have called it a day at that point but I had it in my head that I was going to ride 180km today so I was determined to get that distance in. I headed back out on the same route another 30kms and turned around, the sun was beating down on me at that point and I was completely spent coming up the final hill. It wasn't an easy ride but definitely a 'developmental' ride. I can tell the endurance isn't quite where I want it to be yet but I'm confident that after tour BC things will be right on track.

Sunday I woke up early again and headed out for a long run, I wanted to get that feeling of running on tired legs again and I could tell that I haven't done one in a long time. The run was incredible though, after covering 11km on the pathways in town there is a 5km section of trail that makes it all worth it. I felt free and fast as I moved through the trees with no one around and totally escaping the city. It was like I was out in the wilderness and the only thought in my mind at that point was just how good it felt to be running. Unfortunately when I emerged from the trail and was back on the path I ran out of water and I struggled for the next 6kms to get to a place where I could fill up. My body told me that 30kms was all it was going to do that day and I called it a day after 2:10. Still it was great to be done at 10am, I had the whole day to hang out with AD.