If you had asked me two weeks ago if I’d ever do a virtual “Everesting,” I would probably laugh. Fast forward those two weeks and on Friday, I was like, “well, why not?” With no racing for a while, I might as well have some sort of “fun” with a challenge.
I tried to prep everything as best as possible (with limited knowledge of how things would go down) – filling bottles of OSMO and setting out ride food for 9+ hours on the bike. I am not always perfect when it comes to drinking during training rides, but I know on the trainer, you sweat… a lot. I’d have to ride up the Alpe du Zwift climb in Zwift eight and a half times to hit the 8,848m of altitude required to complete the challenge, but I knew I wanted to finish all nine laps!
I started at an effort that I expected I could hold for 60% of the time, which in reality meant I went a bit harder than that effort because I was excited! I also had a friend and former teammate, Simon, riding with me to start things off. It was smooth sailing through the first four laps, then halfway through the fifth lap, I hit the first “wall” (the first of many for the next few hours…). It’s funny how your general feelings can come and go in waves – from feeling like a hero, straight to a zero!
I was motivated by the support of many others online cheering me on to complete the full effort – the best part? I was less than five minutes off from the time I had projected based on climbing speed/effort! Not bad for a first try. The last hour though… My stubbornness had me riding until 10,000m, no matter how badly I wanted to crack the beer in front of me (because I always already cracked)!
Now what’s the next challenge?! I hope everyone is staying happy and healthy – and keeping yourselves motivated to enjoy what you can! Thank you all for the support!!
In terms of the OSMO that I went through – I drank the following:
Pre-ride: two scoops of Preload (Pineapple Lemon)
During Ride:
- 4 bottles (26oz) of Active Hydration (3 scoops in each)
- 4 bottles (22oz) of Active Hydration (3 scoops in each)
- Lemon Lime and Blackberry Flavors
After Ride: 4 scoops of Rapid Recovery (Chocolate Flavor)
It made the difference!! Especially on the trainer where you’re sweating more than you typically would outdoors (or at least perceptively).
