Racing “Hills”

If there’s anything that’s been pretty well documented here, its my fear of hills on the bike. The first time I raced the IronStar course (which is part of the IMTX course), I really thought I would die. I actually ended up pulling something in my leg that stayed tweaky until after the Houston Half Marathon, 3 months later. Then there’s last summer’s Boise 70.3, where I’d drive 70 miles out to Chappell Hill to ride hills and I’d have nightmares about having to walk my bike up the hills during the Boise race. Turns out, the hills in Boise weren’t so bad – mostly because the wind was horrendous!

Since moving to Colorado, I am surrounded by hills. I get route recommendations from people, saying that its pretty “flat”, only to find out that there’s 2,000 feet of elevation gain. I’m trying hard to find a balance between getting better on the hills and not burning my legs up so that I can’t perform well in my next workout. I’ve also been trying to find somewhere to replicate the rolling hills that I will experience for IMTX. Replication is a bit challenging, because my memory is a bit fuzzy – and my point of reference has changed. I suspect that what appeared to be a huge hill a year ago is just a speed bump now. Because I’m a nerd and love data, I decided to overlay the elevation profile of IMTX with my ride that I did last Sunday.

Yep, I’d say I have the hills covered.