Racing Myself - A Tough Contest
By Will • Sep 13th, 2007 • Category: CyclingI use a Garmin Edge 305 GPS as my bike computer. It has a very neat feature - the Virtual Partner - where you can upload an old ride that you have recorded - and then ride the same route and “race yourself.” The Edge has several screens that give various info (maps, elevation, stats) comparing the two rides.
Today I did a 57 km hilly (+1,100 metres ascent) loop from home to the village of Chilly that I had used previously to race myself. Last April I had beaten an October 2006 time on this loop by about 15 minutes and remembered working pretty hard that day. So the goal today was to try and do a little better.
5 kms into the loop I found myself 200 metres behind myself - and for another 20 kilometres I struggled to close the gap. Yikes I was working hard. This virtual partner tool is a fantastic way to push yourself when riding alone. As I started the climb into Chilly, I finally passed my former self - and then I dropped my water bottle while putting it back in the holder - ouch. 100 metres behind me again.
The return part of the ride involves lots of climbing and I felt pretty good today - 75% of the way in I found myself with a half kilometre lead - and I decided to really push it to make sure that “old me” had no chance to catch up.
Ultimately I knocked 3 minutes off my April time, was pretty exhausted, but pleased at the hard workout. Next spring I will try the same loop and see if I can kick my sorry butt.
Below: Pic from couple years back. Chilly was my nickname in university (my old friends and wife still use it).
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Will is Happiest while cycling uphill. More enthusiastic than talented, his 2008 Challenge is to (again) cycle 160,000 metres of vertical ascent.
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Hey, Chill! You are looking pretty good in the photo, which shows how Serious Cycling can turn us all into He-Men. I have not tried the Virtual Partner yet on my 305 as I am worried I am becoming slower with time!
Yes I worry that I am getting slower with age …. but wow Virtual Partner is one way to make yourself really work