Since I had to attend a conference in San Diego last week I decided to take advantage of one of the best triathlon training areas in the world. Saturday would be my day to just drill myself with whatever training I could get in while enjoying the stellar weather and terrain that SoCal has to offer.
A couple weeks prior I reached out to my teammates on the Endurance Nation forums to get ideas for some good training routes/rides. I got a few recommendations and initially decided that I would just hook up with a local roadie group called the Swamis to get in a 60-70 mile ride in San Diego's North County. However, a couple days before I left fellow EN athlete Tom Nelson sent me a link to a route he and his buddy Eric were going to ride Saturday morning and he invited me along. I decided this would be the best thing to do since I would be riding with a teammate and the route sounded incredible.
After picking up my rental bike from Nytro Multisport (which, conicidentally, happens to be where I just purchased my new Cannondale Slice from) Friday evening and getting a ghood night's sleep I made the 45' drive out to San Diego's East County to meet up with Tom and Eric Saturday morning for a 7:00am start. The route we would be riding was Loops 2 and 3 of the100 mile AdventureCORPS Mount Laguna Bicycle Classic ride to be held the following weekend in Pine Valley, CA.
The morning started off a little chilly (~35 degrees) but the sun was out and there was little wind. We started with Loop 2: a 28.5 mile ride with 3300+ feet of elevation gain.
My fingertips were frozen for the first 10 miles or so until we started the initial climb of the day. That's when the real fun started...~14 miles of sustained climbing (10-20% grade) up to the summit of Mt. Laguna at 6,000 feet elevation - definitely an eye-opener and shock to the system for this Midwesterner! We each climbied within our abilities, regrouped at the summit, fueled up and snapped a couple pictures.
Then we started our 10 mile ride back to the starting point which took us all of maybe 20 minutes. On some of the steeper descents I saw my speeds approaching 50mph!
Then we started Loop 3: a 26 mile route with 2800+ feet elevation gain (2,000 feet of which is gained in a 10 mile stretch of a very narrow Pine Creek Road).
Once we hit Pine Creek Rd I couldn't believe what was in front of me. The road pitched up to consistent 15-20%+ grades...it was the steepest and longest climbs I've ever done. The road resembled what you see in the mountain stages of the Tour de France - very narrow and very steep. I'm happy to say I made it all the way up without falling over or blowing a lung, although I came close to doing both on several occasions! These pictures don't do the road or the steepness justice, but take my work for it - they were STEEP!
Finally, we hit the summit and stopped into a very cool general store for some junk food fuel and recovery.
We then made the same speedy descent back down the mountain to our starting point. Here are the stats for the ride:
Duration: 03:38:00 (moving time)
Distance: 55 miles
Elevation Gain: 6,184 ft
Calories Burned: 3,970
Morning Mountain Ride Statistics
Tom and Eric had to get back to go to an Angels game in the afternoon but first we made a stop at a local hole-in-the-wall restaurant to replenish some calories. I couldn't resist the Huevos Rancheros!
Since I only had one day to experience all that San Diego has to offer the visiting triathlete I decided to spend my afternoon riding the beautiful California coastline. So, I drove to Encinitas and started riding solo south along the Coast Hwy through the towns of Solana Beach, Del Mar, Torrey Pines and La Jolla. After all of the climbing in the morning the rolling hills of the coast felt like a few bumps in the road. But the scenery was spectacular.
Once I got to La Jolla it was time to turn it around and head back to Encinitas, but first I couldn't resist sitting in the sun with a little energy food.
Here are the stats for the afternoon coast ride:
Duration: 01:57:00 (moving time)
Distance: 32 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,602 ft
Calories Burned: 2,285
Afternoon Coast Ride Statistics
After the ride on the coast, I had a little extra time before I had to return the bike to Nytro. So I threw on the run shoes and got in a nice, easy 30' brick run. I ran through Encinitas (cool town!) north to Moonlight State Beach. I flipped it here and ran back down the Coast Hwy just south of town, then trotted back. A great conclusion to a spectacular day in SoCal!
Data for the run:
Duration: 00:31:47
Distance: 4.16 miles
Elevation Gain: 133 ft
Calories Burned: 558
All Run Statistics
Here are the statistics for the entire "epic" dayof training:
Duration: 06:08:00 (moving time)
Distance: 91 miles
Elevation Gain: 7,919 ft
Calories Burned: 6,813
Such a great day in San Diego! It was definitely one the most fun and memorable training days I've had since doing triathlon. Big thanks to Tom Nelson for being so accommodating and showing me what San Diego has to offer the endurance athlete. I can't wait to get out there and do it again!
A couple weeks prior I reached out to my teammates on the Endurance Nation forums to get ideas for some good training routes/rides. I got a few recommendations and initially decided that I would just hook up with a local roadie group called the Swamis to get in a 60-70 mile ride in San Diego's North County. However, a couple days before I left fellow EN athlete Tom Nelson sent me a link to a route he and his buddy Eric were going to ride Saturday morning and he invited me along. I decided this would be the best thing to do since I would be riding with a teammate and the route sounded incredible.
After picking up my rental bike from Nytro Multisport (which, conicidentally, happens to be where I just purchased my new Cannondale Slice from) Friday evening and getting a ghood night's sleep I made the 45' drive out to San Diego's East County to meet up with Tom and Eric Saturday morning for a 7:00am start. The route we would be riding was Loops 2 and 3 of the100 mile AdventureCORPS Mount Laguna Bicycle Classic ride to be held the following weekend in Pine Valley, CA.
The morning started off a little chilly (~35 degrees) but the sun was out and there was little wind. We started with Loop 2: a 28.5 mile ride with 3300+ feet of elevation gain.
My fingertips were frozen for the first 10 miles or so until we started the initial climb of the day. That's when the real fun started...~14 miles of sustained climbing (10-20% grade) up to the summit of Mt. Laguna at 6,000 feet elevation - definitely an eye-opener and shock to the system for this Midwesterner! We each climbied within our abilities, regrouped at the summit, fueled up and snapped a couple pictures.
Then we started our 10 mile ride back to the starting point which took us all of maybe 20 minutes. On some of the steeper descents I saw my speeds approaching 50mph!
Then we started Loop 3: a 26 mile route with 2800+ feet elevation gain (2,000 feet of which is gained in a 10 mile stretch of a very narrow Pine Creek Road).
Once we hit Pine Creek Rd I couldn't believe what was in front of me. The road pitched up to consistent 15-20%+ grades...it was the steepest and longest climbs I've ever done. The road resembled what you see in the mountain stages of the Tour de France - very narrow and very steep. I'm happy to say I made it all the way up without falling over or blowing a lung, although I came close to doing both on several occasions! These pictures don't do the road or the steepness justice, but take my work for it - they were STEEP!
Finally, we hit the summit and stopped into a very cool general store for some junk food fuel and recovery.
We then made the same speedy descent back down the mountain to our starting point. Here are the stats for the ride:
Duration: 03:38:00 (moving time)
Distance: 55 miles
Elevation Gain: 6,184 ft
Calories Burned: 3,970
Morning Mountain Ride Statistics
Tom and Eric had to get back to go to an Angels game in the afternoon but first we made a stop at a local hole-in-the-wall restaurant to replenish some calories. I couldn't resist the Huevos Rancheros!
Since I only had one day to experience all that San Diego has to offer the visiting triathlete I decided to spend my afternoon riding the beautiful California coastline. So, I drove to Encinitas and started riding solo south along the Coast Hwy through the towns of Solana Beach, Del Mar, Torrey Pines and La Jolla. After all of the climbing in the morning the rolling hills of the coast felt like a few bumps in the road. But the scenery was spectacular.
Once I got to La Jolla it was time to turn it around and head back to Encinitas, but first I couldn't resist sitting in the sun with a little energy food.
Here are the stats for the afternoon coast ride:
Duration: 01:57:00 (moving time)
Distance: 32 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,602 ft
Calories Burned: 2,285
Afternoon Coast Ride Statistics
After the ride on the coast, I had a little extra time before I had to return the bike to Nytro. So I threw on the run shoes and got in a nice, easy 30' brick run. I ran through Encinitas (cool town!) north to Moonlight State Beach. I flipped it here and ran back down the Coast Hwy just south of town, then trotted back. A great conclusion to a spectacular day in SoCal!
Data for the run:
Duration: 00:31:47
Distance: 4.16 miles
Elevation Gain: 133 ft
Calories Burned: 558
All Run Statistics
Here are the statistics for the entire "epic" dayof training:
Duration: 06:08:00 (moving time)
Distance: 91 miles
Elevation Gain: 7,919 ft
Calories Burned: 6,813
Such a great day in San Diego! It was definitely one the most fun and memorable training days I've had since doing triathlon. Big thanks to Tom Nelson for being so accommodating and showing me what San Diego has to offer the endurance athlete. I can't wait to get out there and do it again!
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