99 Days...

At noon today, the RAW countdown clock ticked through 100 days.  By coincidence, today also ended my block of racing in the RAW Training Plan.  The next eight weeks will likely be the highest volume weeks of the buildup to RAW, and in my 34 years of cycling.  Every week will push a new limit.  30 hour training weeks will become the norm.  The only race remaining on the calendar is Tour of the Gila.  More on that below.  Its been 113 days of training and preparing for RAW since Day Zero--its been quite a ride.   We even had our story about RAW in the University of Arizona Daily Wildcat.  

TBC Road Race, photo by Damion Alexander Team.

"Through planning, preparation, and execution, we can take what at first seems outrageous, recognize it is merely audacious, then make it seem straightforward.  Discovering this path has been the most rewarding part of cycling, and of RAW."

RAW issued race numbers... I'm R108 (the greyhounds are my own doing!)

End of the Racing Block

I originally had a 5 week race block, planned after the first big endurance build to get the speed back in the legs, and to stay in contact and support the local cycling community.  Its a great community, with many friendships based on a shared passion for the sport and mutual respect for each others talents, both on and off the bike.  I ended up extending this phase a couple of weeks to include Tucson Bicycle Classic, a race I first did back in the 1990s, and one of the few races by parents saw me race at.  We climbed that same hill today, six times, and I remembered them on the side of Anklam Road with my young sons, who were just little kids back then.

With the race schedule, every other week was back to endurance, and I finally managed to get the progression to the 9 hour ride accomplished.  There is still speed in the legs, more than I expected.  Even at RAW, its important to go fast, and take care not to get just really super good at riding really slow.  Having that quality work in raises both the LT and the aerobic threshold, so "easy" is faster.  That will be important in 99 days.

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Arizona Greyhound Rescue and Sol Dog Lodge

Probably the most exciting development during the 113 day journey to date was partnering with Arizona Greyhound Rescue and Sol Dog Lodge as my charity.  Arizona Greyhound Rescue has been operating in Southern Arizona for over 25 years.  They are committed to the belief that every sighthound deserves a loving, permanent, and responsible home--their "forever home". In addition to placing retired  greyhounds, AGR also works with local shelters to retrain and rehome all breeds, and helps place rescued sighthounds as service dogs with individuals with disabilities and veterans.  Learn more in my blog announcing our efforts to help them with RAW 2019.

AGR had a wonderful reception at the Madaras Gallery last week, which Cathy and I attended.  We also bought a couple of prints of Diana Madaras's very cool southwestern art, 20% of which went to support AGR.  Sol Dog Lodge will be located just a few miles from our house in Northwest Tucson.  Sol Dog is expected to break ground on their new site this summer, and open in late 2019 or early 2020.  Just this last Friday, AGR closed on the purchase of the land for Sol Dog, a huge milestone for them.

Chevy and Napa already have their reservations at the current Sol Dog for RAW.  The current facility is pretty small, so its can be hard to get in.  The new Sol Dog will be much larger.  We will have one less thing to worry about knowing that Chevy and Napa at at Sol Dog.

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The top of Sweetwater Road, in the 3 hour ride after the race today. It was special ride today, clearing my head after the race, and looking down the road 99 days to RAW.

The Next 99 Days

The next 99 days will be super busy, and I'm sure will have its special moments and its character building moments.  From a training perspective, I start the weekend triples this next weekend.  By the end of the first block, I hope to have all three rides over 6 h, and have the longest of the rides up in the 10-12 hour range.  The plan has five weekends of the triples, but I hope to fit 6-7 in before Gila, now that an "easy" weekend is a 5-6 hour ride.  I still find it so remarkable what we can train our bodies and minds to accomplish so much--make it a new normal.  I would have never thought I could become so accustomed to 20+ hour training weeks, and 100 mile rides.  More daylight and warmer mornings will help.  I'll be working more to get the feed on the bike up from 350-400 calories per hour to 500 calories an hour.  Maria Crawford and Edge will be helping me watch my body composition and nutrition.  

Finally, there is still a ton of planning.  About half the route now has a detailed plan up on the web site.   The timesheet is also up, and has been a great tool for figuring out support, leapfrog and direct follow requirements, knowing that we descend through Jerome in the dark, and other details, and little details like the  McDonalds in Camp Verde AZ closes at midnight, and Starbucks at 9:30.    New jerseys with Arizona Greyhound Rescue on them will be ordered this week.  Greyhounds on the kit! How awesome is that?  We have an Amazon Wish List, and invite you to help if you would like to support the race and the crew.   Better yet, please consider a donation to Arizona Greyhound Rescue, give one of these majestic retired athletes a loving forever home, or spread the word about Sol Dog Lodge.

​My RAW Story, Day 113, 99 Days 16 hours to RAW 2019.

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