I might be a desperate masochist, but those Rev3 folks are sadists. The Quassy HalfRev course is proof enough.
Cold temperatures drove me indoors for this week’s long ride, scheduled to be a 3 hour session.
Hmmm. 3 hours on the trainer – that’s just a touch less than a half iron distance course for me. My mind immediately went to Quassy, which we will do for the first time this summer in Middlebury, CT on June 5th.
One of the best aspects of having a CompuTrainer, versus a standard trainer, is being able to download and “ride” almost any course you want. The software comes preloaded with hundreds of courses. I’ve done courses in Hawaii, France, Canada, Talladega, Florida, Athens to name just a few. I’ve been around the world from the shelter of my living room.
The Quassy course is not one of those already available via the software; however, a Google search did not disappoint. There it was, right at the top of the search results: “Phil’s Triathlon Training Blog – Some Garmin GPX to 3dc file conversions. Quassy.”
This finding was exciting for two primary reasons:
1) I would be able to sample the Quassy course (pause for a moment of grateful appreciation to Phil for taking the time to make these conversions; I would have no access to Quassy course without it), and
2) I can make my own courses based on my saved garmin gpx files (pause for another moment of grateful appreciation for winning this CompuTrainer. There is no way we’d be able to afford one if I didn’t.)
So, that settled it. It was the Quassy course for this week’s long ride. I downloaded the file, set it up and opened it in the 3D software. Then, I saw the elevation profile you see at the top of this post.
My first thought? Well, if I’m being honest…
Holy Sh#t. There is not a single flat section on this entire course.
Now, I had seen this profile already. The image wasn’t a surprise, so much as a reminder. If you recall from a previous posting, I had tried to simulate a version of the Quassy course on my basic trainer a few months back. In that simulation ride, which lasted 2.5 hours back on January 15th, I averaged 15.6 mph with an average heart rate of 133 bpm. At the time, I thought that ride was challenging, and I was very pleased with the outcome.
But, rest assured, there is an ENORMOUS (yes, all caps is necessary here) difference between my homemade trainer version that I did over two months ago and the CompuTrainer version that I completed a few days ago. Quite simply: the hills actually feel like hills. Oh, goodness, those hills really feel like hills.I’m pretty sure my mouth needs to be washed out with soap for all the profanities I uttered during my 3 hour ride.
This course is relentless in its undulations. You go up and then you go down. Repeat 87 times.
I think I saw a 0.0% grade on the screen for mere fleeting moments the entire 3 hours of this ride. For us hill-deprived folks in southern New Jersey, this ride is great to build climbing strength.
The Quassy course boasts a whopping 3,537 feet of climbing (yes, just elevation gain alone) across the 56 miles. As a point of comparison, the Lake Placid course is about 2600 feet of climbing across the entire 112 miles.
Gulp…
Some other fun facts about the Quassy course. It has a maximum grade of 35.6% and a minimum grade of 26.9%.
Gulp…
My friend Charlotte did the course last year. She’s done almost a dozen Ironmans, oodles of sprints, halves, raced in age group nationals, and more. In other words: lots of experience. Her description of the quassy course?
Quassy is by far the hardest course I have done. The bike is tough and the run is also. I did that course at training pace last year and had a great time, but I can’t imagine red-lining it in any way:) you’ll love it- it’s beautiful!
Gulp…
Another big difference between my homemade simulation and the CT simulation: I had the kind of ride that is making believable my goals for the season. I averaged 17.3 mph, with an average heart rate of 130 and a max of 153, an average watts of 157 and a max of 342. That’s almost 2 mph faster than my simulation two months back.
Is this really me?
These numbers are exciting for this point in my training, with 17 weeks to go for the big show. 17 mph is my dream goal for the Lake Placid bike. But, speed really isn’t the best way to evaluate a ride. Let’s look at the more telling numbers of my effort.
The average heart rate was about 72% of my max for the bike, and I took the hills conservatively enough that I never officially redlined.
My average watts sit at a little over 70% of my FTP. Based on a recent conversation with Simon Ward, as well as the recommendations in his PIG program, that’s a hair short of where I want to be for my long rides. However, it was difficult to maintain high watts on some of the downhill portions. So, that will be something to work on for future rides.
If you are doing Quassy, get ready for the ride of our lives! It should be quite the epic challenge. My hope is that it makes the hills at Placid look like little bumps.
