Thank you @WindWarrior, I will definitely do that. I’m originally from California… and I miss it…
Hi All! Not sure whether anyone will see this, but it’s a good news/bad news situation at the moment. I did the Katy Flatland over the weekend, which ended up being 55 miles/ 91 km and 4 hours and 20 minutes of moving time with an average of 21 kph. I passed 2 people the entire time and was passed by literally hundreds, so pretty much everyone out there is faster than I am. I guess I can look forward to improving. So that was the good news. The bad news is that the Hotter than Hell is in just less than 6 weeks and we are going to have to stop training for the first 2 to 2 and a half weeks of August due to a family matter. Not sure how the training will go after that because I don’t have the huge base that many people have and so am not too sure how the time off will affect me. I guess I’ll just have to see and then do the best I can. I’ve entered the time away into my training plan and let the adaptive feature do its thing. I’ll definitely be going for the 50 mile option though and probably won’t do a summer 100 miler until I get a lot faster (and thus able to finish before it gets too hot).
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Congratulations on finishing. You have a great perspective in looking forward to working your way up! I think you’re making a good call to go for short distance and avoid the heat at HHH. Sorry to hear about your family matter and I hope things start to look up.
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So now I have a new idea. The training plan is pretty much toast at this point. I will be able to get on the bike maybe twice before we have to take time off. I can’t imagine (well, I can, but…) that we won’t be going to the Hotter than Hell event at all, but we’ll have two weeks at best and maybe only one to get workouts in before that weekend. So with that in mind I wonder whether it’s a better idea to take the 25 mile route (now that I’ve already done 55 
) and see how I feel. If I feel great, maybe I can try to ride faster than the last time since I won’t have to go as long. We’ll be starting about 35 minutes later since there is an official start to this one, so I would definitely be on the course a bit longer. Seems like the 25 miler would be a more fun option at this point. Then I can pick a new event and start the training cycle over. Does that seem like a good idea?
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Go with your gut, based on how you feel.
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I agree with WindWarrior. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with deciding to do the shorter route, especially at HHH where there is really danger involved. On the other hand, if you feel you can and want to do the longer route, go for it.
A small word of advice, if you’ll be doing zero riding until a week or two before, I would dedicate 100% of my training to heat acclimation. It will likely be 100+ degrees and the humidity really drains you. Going from untrained to riding in miserable conditions is tough. I know you said you can’t train before then, but even going for a long walk in the heat a few days a week would help.
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I’d do the shorter route with your life greatly interrupting any training. Nothing wrong with choosing a shorter route.
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Sigh. Now what? We are back from Germany and moving my mother-in-law into her new place in long-term-care. We did the best we could to get her settled and as happy as possible and get her apartment cleared out before we had to return home. I know it was helpful that we were there, but it was sad and draining and now I have zero motivation to kick into high gear to try to get ready for the Hotter than Hell, which we head out for next Thursday. I think I might just try to Zwift with a pace partner a few times and see how that goes.
So should I delete my training plan and start a new one after we get back from the HHH?
Personally, I’d just skip it…doesn’t sound like you are in the right head space to do it. Life happens sometimes. Nothing wrong with skipping the ride due to your circumstances.
Remove this bit of stress from your life and use riding to relieve stress, not add to it.
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I couldn’t agree more. Unless you just really want to challenge yourself and see what you can achieve, I’d let this one go and focus on what makes you happy. Get your head in the right place and get to where riding is fun again. Once you’re there, you’ll want to start training again. The HHH will be there again next year!
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Do you still have your accomodations reserved? Why don’t you just go, ride 25 miles very casually, enjoying the excitement, the stops, the atmosphere, and use that to motivate you on future endeavors? I feel like it’s such a fun environment being around that many riders that I come away with renewed discipline to tackle bigger cycling goals.
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Yeah, this is something I learnt this season after a few injuries that changed my A races to “finish and have a good time” races. It’s an atmosphere that really can’t be replicated, and I always came away with renewed motivation and a more positive headspace around training. The key is, though, is that it’s something manageable enough that you’re not struggling and feeling miserable to whole time, especially with events in challenging conditions. That’s as much mental as physical, so it’s up to the individual to decide if they can make this event a positive experience (even if it’s not the one you had originally planned), or whether it’s better to start with a clean slate.
That can be a good approach too- test the waters, see how you’re feeling, and don’t put any pressure on yourself. Sometimes just getting moving again can help 
Is your husband still riding the event? He might be a good one to talk to, and if he’s anything like most cyclists I’m sure he’s been in a similar position before.
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Thanks @Power13, @Pbase, @ciarrai and @toribath, I really appreciate your thoughts! We do still have our accommodations and my husband is going to ride for sure. I’m eyeballing the 25 miles at this point. I did one TR workout that was terrible and in hindsight, I shouldn’t have done, and then today I did an hour with the 1.2 w/k pace partner and that was actually ok. If it really isn’t working out, our daughter lives in the area and I guess I could just call her and ask her to pick me up. I hate to be a sissy about it all though because I am trying to do this so that I can ride with my husband someday. But he is the ride hard, ride fast, power on through it sort, so it’s hard to know what to do.
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I really think you’ll benefit from finding some riding partners in your area, especially women. They will help keep you accountable and motivated even when you have normal life interruptions. Highly recommend taking with Katya at Cool Cat Cycles to facilitate and get you pointed in the right direction.
In the mean time, have fun at the HHH. It’s a great event and the expo is fun to see tons of bike stuff.
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Well, that went just fine! Thanks again to all who responded with info about riding in events like the HHH and with thoughts about how I should approach the day. It was all so helpful!
I ended up doing the 25 miles and it was great! I know I could have gone farther and will do so at future events, but for this time it was the perfect distance to see how it all worked. The course was fabulous with the super-fun and exciting treat that the 25 mile course went through Sheppard Air Force Base! They hosted the second of 2 aid stops on the course and I would have trouble putting into words how thrilling it was to get to ride through and stop on the base.
Otherwise it was fun to chat with folks along the way and I got done before it got too hot.
The scariest part was actually the start. There were lots of families, some with fairly young children and it was really nerve wracking as the start takes up the entire width of the road and then narrows to two lanes going up and over a bridge. I ended up having no trouble getting up the incline (thanks TrainerRoad!), but I had thought that I would be among the slowest, so was keeping to the right, but then I had to get out and around the children who were literally swerving all over the place. At some point I was glancing back every few seconds and calling out “moving to the left”! Thankfully I got over and around without mishap - and another woman was right behind me, happy to follow in my wake. She said that she was terrified that she wouldn’t be able to unclip in time to stop if one of the kids swerved in front of her. My strategy there was that I simply hadn’t clipped both feet in yet and was waiting until the obvious hazard was past.
The other really helpful thing I did, which I think was recommended on one of the podcasts about racing recently, was to drive the course in the car the day before. That gave me a good sense of what to expect and I was able to recognize where I was, which was comforting. I was about a half an hour slower than I thought I might be, but with so many riders, that was unavoidable. And made no difference at all to my enjoyment of the day.
So now I wonder whether there are events that are in lovely places during the most pleasant times of the year weather-wise?? Instead of Hotter than Hell, maybe Perfectly Pleasant??
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Awesome…congratulations. I’m sure the sense of accomplishment is fantastic.
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Absolutely, with all the cycling groups and terrain we have them every weekend (excepting a few rainy weekends) in NorCal / Sacramento / Napa / Sierras.
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Well, @WindWarrior , I guess we need to move to Northern California then! 
We just need to figure out how to afford it…
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Congratulations!
I’ve never understood why Houston doesn’t do big rides in cool months. They’d get participants from all over the US who wanted a break from the snow. Obviously that doesn’t work for HHH, but heck, let’s do some fondos in March!
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First, HUGE congratulations on the accomplishment! Those mass starts with families and kids are always really scary. You handled it beautifully, it sounds like! Furthermore, you ENJOYED yourself during the event, which is even better!
Regarding whether there are events in lovely places at pleasant times of the year: have you ever heard of the Tour de Tucson? It’s in Tucson, Arizona, so it’s in a not-crazy-expensive place, and it’s always the Saturday before Thanksgiving (well, not in a COVID year, anyway!). Plus, major benefit: it’s not a crazy climby course! They have a 32-mile half-metric option as well as longer ones, so this might fit what you’re looking for!
Disclaimer: I haven’t done this ride for 9 years (since we moved out of the area), so I don’t know what it’s like now, but it always had been a terrific ride.
Again, I’m so happy you had a great experience!
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