eve of stupidity

Am I on the eve of stupidity?

I've ridden my bike exactly once since the beginning of the year, and tomorrow is a 300k qualifier for Paris-Brest-Paris.

If I had basic fitness, I really wouldn't be worrying about a 190 mile ride too much. Sure I won't be looking to set any PRs, but at the same time I know it won't be some deathmarch.

Instead, right now on the Friday night before a pre-dawn start at 37F on Saturday morning, I'm not sure my body is up to the task.

I rode last Sunday. Cleaned my wheels. Put air in the tires. Lubed the chain. And took the bike and my laptop down to the university, ran some errands, and did some work sitting at the local coffee shop (where the picture above was taken).

Worked until dark, then tested my new DiNotte 5W headlight on the way home. (See an earlier blog entry here for a lighting comparo.)

Total: a leisurely 2 hrs spent on the bike. 150W average. 32 miles. 1060 kJ.

Well, the bike and the headlight check out fine. At least, they're both ready. But I can feel it, despite my running program (I last ran on Wednesday and my last treadmill workout was Monday, see entry here), the body just isn't there yet. One lame excuse I have is that it has been unseasonably cold here in Tucson and that makes me not feel like riding. We've even had snow (some pics in a later post).

And that disappoints me. Whatever the environmental conditions, I need to maintain a minimum and appropriate standard of fitness for the kinds of events I do. Or I might as well not try.

What is this minimum standard? Base level is being ready and able to ride a double century on the bike or run a marathon any day of the week. This doesn't mean being able to do it on consecutive days. It means not having to any special training for it. And I'm worried I'm going to come up short tomorrow morning starting at 5am. Well, there is only one way to find out...

Update:
Dan Emery came up with the following very cool lyrics to be sung to the tune of Barry McGuire's Eve of Destruction (weblink here).

Eve of Stupidity
The flabby quads they are explodin',
Nostrils flarin', carbo loadin',
You're tired enough to bonk about to start bloatin',
You don't believe in drugs, what's that flask you're totin',
And even the Santa Cruz River has waterbottles floatin',
But you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of stupidity.