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| Day 51 - August 17 - Mont St-Hilaire to Champlain 164km |
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| It's a cool morning when I awake at 6:00 to start breakfast. We have been asked to make egg and bagel sandwiches, which is easier than French toast or pancakes. We lucked out this time. It's just a matter of slicing the bagels, cooking the eggs and setting out the cheese slices. That's all there is to it. Once everyone is served, I start taking my tent down and getting my things packed away. Chris prefers the cleanup to the preparation, so that allows me to leave a little earlier than usual. |
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| We start out with a powerful tailwind to ease us into the day. I can tell it's going to be another nice one. In these conditions, a fast pace for 60km is just what I'm after. Then we stop in Tracy at a place called Patisserie de France. We split a baguette and a block of camembert cheese for an early lunch. The guy who runs the place has a lot of questions about the trip and seems intrigued. He offers to take our picture on the front steps. |
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| A ferry takes us from Sorel over to Berthierville. We do some stretching while we wait, because we plan to start the interval training soon. A 20km warmup after the ferry leaves no further delays. It's time to get a real workout, more intense than the 80km thus far. |
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| The first set of intervals is five 1km stints with a 1km break between each one. I am told to pedal at 85 to 90 percent effort while paying close attention to my speed. The idea is to maintain a consistent speed without slowing down from beginning to end. This means that if I start out too strong at 40kmh I'll have to hold that speed the whole time with varying crosswinds and tailwinds. So instead I start at 36kmh (a more realistic goal) and keep it there. In the four intervals that follow I hold 36, 37, 37 and 38. I drop down to 33 after each one and switch to a lower gear to give my legs a chance to recover. |
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| We stop for Powerade at the nearest corner store and give the quads a good stretch. Intervals seem to take a lot out of me. Pushing it to the limit is the best way to improve. The next set begins 10km from the store. This time it's a 2km interval followed by a 1km rest, then 3km with a 2km rest and finally 4km with a 3km rest. I manage to hold 36, 35, and 34.5 respectively. The crosswind changes to a headwind part way through. And that combined with extreme fatigue results in my speed dropping a bit toward the end. |
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| With 2km still to go, I have a headache and I feel dizzy. I know I'm pushing too hard, but I have to finish this interval, even if it hurts. My legs are burning as I fight the headwind to keep my speed consistent for the remaining distance. As I near the end I break into a sprint and pedal as hard as I can with what little energy I have in reserve. |
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| When it's finally over, Glenn and I stop for pizza. We're both spent; we need to rest and refuel. "You look awful...have a seat", he says. And he's right, I certainly feel awful. But I'm proud of myself for fighting the wind like I did and holding a good speed through it all. The intensity of interval training makes it more of an anaerobic activity for me because my heart rate goes off the charts. I enjoy it though. No matter how weak I feel right now, I know it will make me stronger. |
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| My legs feel like rubber as I find it extremely difficult to climb the stairs into the truck. Glenn and Jan get another good laugh when I stumble back down. An extra helping of pasta serves me well tonight. I need all the energy I can get. It'll be an early lights out this evening so I can rest up for tomorrow. |
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