FILO, Baby

Typically used in accounting, the acronym "FILO" stands for: First In, Last Out...In accounting terms, that means...oh, who the hell really knows or cares, right? It's accounting for Christ's sake...b-o-r-i-n-g.

In Ironman training, FILO represented my Computrainer ride today at the PTC. I was the first one there and the last one to leave. By the time I started pedaling the course, it was about 4:20pm. When I completed the 56 mile course, it was 7:50. Holy Moly...that's a long time to have my hoo-haa in the saddle.

I made Alisa take a picture...sexy, I know...

I was still in the early sections of the course when teammates started showing up for spin. A few greetings and some small talk were all that I wanted to muster. Having done this course before a couple of weeks ago, it was all about managing energy and output. I kept my iPod cranking to some cheesy house music courtesy of Podrunner.com.  

All was well until I dropped my chain on the first long climb into the hilly section. Yes, it is possible to drop your freaking chain on a trainer. I'm sure it's also possible to fall off your bike, but let's hope it never happens. I was at about Mile 26, cruising along at 16 mph, averaging a solid 90 cadence and hitting some decent watts until that booger of a hill rendered me useless and I switched gears only to drop the chain. Unfortunately, I couldn't get it back on with the click of a gear, so Michelle and I tried to pause the computer so that I could quickly dismount and fix the chain. Unfortunately, we somehow stopped the entire ride forcing me to essentially cancel out my data up to that point and start all over again...poopers...Sweet Michelle wrote down all of my numbers (currently in my car) and Maurice reset the ride so that I was starting at 0mph at Mile 26 of the ride...ugh...right in the middle of the hills...

It was odd managing the Computrainer while 30-odd others were listening to Coach Mo conduct his workout. I had my iPod cranked so that I wasn't distracted by his instructions because my ride was so not coinciding with what he was doing. Still, though, I kept plugging along slow and steady through the hilly section. I didn't attack the hills as much as I coasted up them. I had no shame dropping the gears down, but keeping my cadence high. It kept my heart rate in the range I needed it to be 145-155.

Overall, I felt a million times better on this ride than I did the first time. Seriously, the difference in my energy level and leg fatigue was vast. It was fun to see the actual course in front of me although I also spent a lot of time with my head down so that I didn't fixate on numbers and the course. However, I was happy to see that my cadence through the hills never dropped below 88 as an average...spin, baby, spin....

Mo's spin class ended 1 1/2 hours later and I'll be damned if I still didn't have 10 miles left on my ride. Coach Mo told me to keep going. I was happy to hear it because I didn't want to cut another ride short. Plus, I wanted to hit the downhill/flat section at the end!  By the end of Part 2 of my ride, I was at 15.9 mph average, which ended up being my average for the entire ride. 

I'd be thrilled to start the second loop around 16 mph (or even a little better if the actual course proves to be a little easier).

And that's when it hit me...I actually have to do a second loop...and then run a marathon.

Let's hope I'm not "FILO" at the Ironman...