A week in the saddle AKA RAINStorm

Ride your bike 160 miles in one day = RAIN (Ride Across Indiana)

Ride your bike 100 miles a day for 5 days = Storm (Same thing only ride more)

Put them together and what do you get? A shit ton of time in the saddle, err... RAINStorm

I was encouraged to sign up for RS. Figured the person who told me to sign up (*cough* Tri Brian) knew if I could do this or not. So I didn't bother to freak myself out by looking at the elevation gains, the maps, the comments, etc.

I wasn't nervous going into it. I figured I would just chip away at it like I do everything else. Well, I'm going to get the negativity out now, I fucking bit off WAY more than I could chew. I knew that within 50 miles of day one. I won't lie, my initial thoughts were "who's going to come get me as I'm not going to survive this week?" and "What the fuck have I gotten myself into?'

Here's the thing, I took a week of vacation to ride the storm. I told myself before I left, I need to have fun, because it is vacation. If I'm not having fun then why bother. I needed to relax some as this was my break from work and life. I needed to unplug and just enjoy the week and all it had to offer.

Well, I'll save you the suspense. I didn't ride 100 miles a day. I rode 84.5 on average each day M-F. I rode about 60 miles and then caught rides with Bill the mechanic from one SAG stop to the next and then got back on my bike and finished the day. With the exception of Friday, I took SAG rides on the flat parts, so I didn't skip any climbs! Could I have rode the full 100? Absolutely! Would I have enjoyed it as a vacation? No fucking way.

By cutting about 15 miles off each day I was able to get back to the hotel about the same time as most of the group. I was able to shower before dinner and have some down time. I was able to enjoy the ride a little bit more and look around. It felt more like a vacation. I ended up having a great time and meeting some really cool people from all over the country. I ended up being the youngest one there with probably the least amount of biking experience. The week was full of some really amazingly strong riders, some hysterical people and supportive souls.

Saturday was a total bust. Thursday and Friday mornings my stomach was a bit unsettled as I ate breakfast. So when I couldn't get anything down on Saturday morning before RAIN, I wasn't surprised, I took it with me and figured I could get some down on the bike. I took off and about mile 5 I was finally able to get a sip of nutrition down. Then the 2nd sip came back up. So I took some water with Scratch. That came back up as well as did some of my dinner.

After about an hour of throwing up, I had to make a decision. I wanted to go as far as I could, but I knew that another 144 wasn't in the cards since I was already behind in nutrition. There were plenty of RAIN personal SAG vehicles, but no official ones. STORM has some SAG drivers out that can come get us. I knew that they hadn't left the hotel yet, so if I need a ride in, I should call sooner rather than later. I'd hate for them to have to backtrack from Richmond to have to get me. So I call Kathy to come get me and call it at day at mile 16. There's some nice women who give me a bottle of water as they wait for their brother to come through. If I take tiny sips, I can keep plain water down. 

Later that night I would be back at the RAIN finish line so Brian can get his extra wheel from someone. I feel this huge punch of regret. The questions start flying "what could I have done differently? Could I have waited an hour and then tried to get something down and keep going?" "Could I have made it to Franklin and bailed at a friend's house?" As we drive back on 40 watching the cyclists ride toward the finish I see my friend that passed me as I was stopped at 16. I saw the group I was riding with that morning and the final twist of the knife makes me sad. I feel like I failed. Well I did fail, because for the first time I quit a race. So many times I've wanted to quit but never did. This time I actually did. It's a shitty feeling. Still, even today.

The week was a wonderful experience. The STORM was so well organized, Kathy and Mark do a wonderful job of mapping everything out. The SAG support from them, Bill, Steve and Larry is incredible. It really is a fun time, even without a beach, sun and water.

I rode 98% of the week by myself. That's a lot of time to be alone with your thoughts. Here are some takeaways from the week:

-Life really is about peaks and valleys. Sometimes you're on top of the world feeling great and other times you're low in the valley facing a terrible, steep climb. In the end, it all evens out. 

-The steep climbs are a bitch. I lost my breath, I cursed, my legs ached, sometimes I had to walk my bike and I wanted to stop. But at the top of the steep climbs was usually an amazing view of the world below and a fun and fast decent down the other side. Sometimes we have to wade through shit to get to something good. Something that is usually better than we could ever imagine.

-I have become entirely too cynical and I have allowed others to influence me to suppress my joy. I complained way too much this week. Yes, there's fucking climbs in southern Indiana, it's a fact. Stating that isn't going to make them any better or make them go away. It's like saying "it's hot" well yeah, what's the point. We all know it's hot, saying it isn't going to make it cooler. You're not any hotter than anyone else, so shut up about it already. I will always be sarcastic, it's like a racehorse, it's in my blood. But I don't have to be a bitch. I'm not the nice person I used to be and I need to find that person again.

-After being on my bike for a week, my undercarriage doesn't hurt nearly as much as I thought it would. Lube up often and early, best advice I'll give.

-The difference between 100 miles a day miserable and 100 miles a day in a vacation-like state is 40lbs. I bought kitty litter before I left and when I picked up the 40lb box it dawned on me that I'm carrying this around with me every where I go. Fuck, that's heavy. So it's time to start focusing on that again. I'm not sure if I've been ignoring it or what, but it needs to be the main focus. Clean eating and lots of water.

-Gratitude is at the heart of everything. I was so full of gratitude the entire week: being mentally, physically, financially and spiritually able to take a week to ride my bike every day. Being grateful that my friends understand why this was a better way for me mentally and physically to spend a week of vacation. Being grateful for the lessons I learned this week and the ones that were reinforced.

This week pushed me outside of comfortable. Just when I think I know my limits, I shove myself out further. Did I have the week I wanted or thought I would performance-wise? No. Did I learn a lot and sharpen my focus? Absolutely.

I know I'm the strongest I've ever been on the bike. I know I'm well ahead of the curve from last year for IMAZ. I know that I can do all my century rides alone this year and I'm only going to get stronger. I know that all the hard work ahead of me, all the steep climbs, heartache and tears are going to provide rewards greater than I could ever imagine. Leading me to the biggest lesson of the week:

I can't quit before the miracle.

I would love to do RAINStorm again next year. However, before I register I have a list of requirements I need to meet, so I had better get cracking.

But up first, Ironman Racine 70.3 on Sunday.