2019 BHAG - DK200 !

Hey, team! Well, it was a very eventful fall and early winter. I got my stem cell transplant on 18-sep and things have gone great since then. You can get more details over on my MyLifeline site - https://www.mylifeline.org/gflorentine .

The big news is that I've set out on my 2019 BHAG (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal). I've signed up to do a 200 mile gravel bike race - the Dirty Kansa 200. Details about the event can be found here. It'll be a very big accomplishment if I can complete the race! I'm going to start blogging about my training here, since Susan thought it would be fun and informative to hearof my story from stem cell transplant to DK200 finisher.

I'll start with a bit of context. For a few years, I've toyed with the idea of doing this race. It's long, tough (gravel, hot, humid, maybe bad road conditions if it's rained alot). Last year there was a head wind for 50 miles of the race. The race draws riders from all over the world and is considered one of the premier gravel races in the world. For me, the goal will be to survive and finish and beat the 21 hour cutoff time.Susan and I made an agreement that if I got through the transplant OK, I would try this race, which is on 1-jun. So here we are!

The race in brief:

• Long. 206 miles in one day is alot.
• Gravel is slow compared to paved road
• My power output is about 80% of what it was two years ago
• I've lost 15 lbs, probably about 10 of it being muscle mass. In general, being lighter means being faster on the bike, but not if you lose 7% of your body mass in muscle
• It's self supported. There are four places on the ride where you can get help from your support team (aka Susan). Other than that, you  have to be self sufficient.
• It's long. Might have already mentioned that
• It's a fueling and hydration marathon. If you don't put food and water in the top, power won't come out of your legs.
• I've got two great team mates which will ride the race with me. Their lives have both been touched by cancer so they "get it". 
• If the race was tomorrow,  I absolutely could not finish it. I have 4 1/2 months to get strong and be ready for a fantastic day in the saddle
• I'm excited, apprehensive and SO happy to be healthy enough to at least try to do the race.
• I have no idea if I can get ready. But  the challenge is fantastic and if my body responds well to the training loads we'll take on, I should be ready.
• For the first time since I stopped racing crew after college, I have a coach.I also  have a new bike and new  power pedals to help me train. The bike is great,  my coach is great and I've got all the tools to make this thing happen.

We'll see how it goes!