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🌍 RIDE: Sam’s Impromptu Ironman
📰 NEWS: New funding, an e-bike ban, and road diets
Written by Sam Westby, @samcwestby
RIDE REPORT
Sam’s Impromptu Ironman
On Wednesday, I set out to answer the question: Can I finish a full Ironman with no training?
It really was no training. In the past 2 months, I swam about 2 miles, biked ~200 miles, and ran 20 miles. Basically 1 Ironman.
Just like the Little Engine, I thought I could.
That’s my superpower - being delusional enough to start and stubborn enough to finish.
This whole event was inspired by a friend who told me about Misogi Challenges. In Japan, some circles of people set out to do 1 super hard physical challenge per year. It has to be hard enough that they might not finish. The goal is to push themselves past their barriers and set themselves up for a good year.
Swim
The morning started with some frustration. There’s a pool a 5-minute bike ride from my house, but instead I biked 20 minutes to a better pool. I figured if I’m gonna be there for 2 hours, the nicer pool would be worth it.
I get there at 6:15 am, start changing, and realize I forgot my watch.
Strava or it didn’t happen. I needed my watch. Plus, there is no way I would be able to remember my lap count once I got tired.
After a 20-minute ride back home, I put on my fully charged watch and went to the pool nearby.
6:57 am: Start
2.4 miles, 4224 yards, 3862.43 meters. I planned to go slow and take breaks. Don’t be silly. Don’t expend myself.
This worked for a while, until about halfway, when I started to get seasick. I don’t know if it was my goggles or rocking in the water for 45 minutes, but I had to take more frequent breaks for my stomach. I was trying to swim sets of 400s, but that number became smaller and smaller, so I wouldn’t have to cause a pool evacuation.
Besides that, the swim felt good. I swam for 1 year in high school and have reaped the benefit of moderately passable swimming ever since.
9:05 am: Back home, Transition 1, eat food, chill
9:39 am: The Bike
My bread and butter.
Bike mission: eat as much as possible and keep my heart rate below 155 BPM. I went on a classic route along the north shore above Boston - Manchester-by-the-Sea, Cape Ann, Ipswich. Calm riding, great views, quiet and smooth roads, no massive climbs.
No massive climbs is a cheat code for endurance. If you want to whip out a long ride with no training, then find somewhere flat. Without fail, the hardest riding challenges I’ve taken on have involved ridiculous climbing. (I’ve never done an Everest, but maybe that’s next?) That’s why I avoided central Massachusetts.
At this point in my life, I think I’m developing old man riding strength. 15.8 mph (25.4 km/h) moving speed for the 112 miles (180 km) (not including the abundance of stop lights).
No stress on the bike. The weather was warm, and I felt good.
7:06 moving time, 7:20 total time. I’m happy with that, given how many stoplights I encounter.
5:26 pm: Run
Here’s where my experience turned.
First 10 miles, piece of cake. Didn’t go too fast. Took breaks before I needed them
Then my power meter sprang a leak. I don’t think it was bad nutrition or bad racing. I just literally don’t go for runs. No strength left.
My pace went from 10-minute miles to 12-minute miles, and by mile 26, I was shuffling for 0.3 miles, walking for 0.1, shuffling another 0.3, walking. It was tough. For the final 3 hours, I was in survival mode.
“Don’t get injured. Keep going. You can walk in 2 minutes. Drink some water.”
I hit a steady state with the walk/shuffle where I could keep moving forward.
11:04 pm: I hit 26.2 and could finally rest.
16 hours and 10 minutes. A solid way to spend the day, and those final 3 hours of suffering made it feel like a real Misogi Challenge.
Find all the stats on my Strava
Funded. Officials voted to transform the Irvine, CA, train station into a mobility hub with walkability and bikeability improvements. (Voice of OC)
$249,000. The Missouri DNR awarded a grant to Warsaw, MO, to build 7 miles of new trail. (MO Bike Fed)
Bikelash. Utah state legislators are trying to remove 3 bike lanes unless residents can prove they aren’t causing an impediment. Why is it guilty until proven innocent? (Streetsblog)
Road diet. Denver leaders are finally moving forward with a debated road diet on Alameda Avenue. This should make the street safer for all users. (Denverite)
Road diet. One of Oakland, CA’s most dangerous roads, 18th Street, will also be put on a diet starting this summer. (The Oaklandside)
2.3 miles. The length of the now-open Baldwin Park Greenway in Los Angeles. (Streetsblog)
14 miles. The distance of the new Brooklyn bike lanes announced by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. (WBGO)
Banned. Carlsbad, CA, bans children under 12 from riding e-bikes. This seems uncontroversial and good for children’s safety. (San Diego Union Tribune)
Proposed Ban. A Boston city councillor is proposing a ban on mopeds and e-bikes for deliveries because he thinks they break lots of rules and are dangerous. Someone should show him the stats on cars. I couldn’t imagine more cars parked in bike lanes outside restaurants. (NBC Boston)
Snow piles. Bike lanes in major cities on the East Coast are still full of snow from the massive East Coast storm weeks ago. Boston cyclists protested by shoveling the lanes themselves. (Boston Cyclists Union)
Passed. The Omnibus Bicylist Safety Bill HB661 passed unanimously through the Virginia House of Representatives and is headed to the state senate. (FABB)
A Note From Sam
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