Two weeks ago I went down, hard. The time since then has had some ups and some definite downs. It's been one of the most frustrating periods of time since I started riding again three years ago. In some ways I've started over in terms of feeling strong and fit.
Late afternoon two weeks ago today, I was rolling about 20 mph when my mind started to wander. I was trying to decide how much longer to go that day. I was lost in my iPod. In a split second I went from rolling 20 mph to sliding on the pavement and then sitting on the road stunned and bleeding.
My wife knew I had fallen badly when I called her to pick me up rather than getting home on my own. That day and the next couple were very painful. Showering with road rash is a unique experience in pain you really can't explain or appreciate unless you've dealt with it. My road rash stretched from mid calf on my left side to the top of my shoulder. Mercifully, showers returned to normal in the first week. Another interesting thing happens, at least to me, after a hard fall. I have bruises appear the first day, but the real bruises don't "bloom" until a couple of days later. This is something you should warn your spouse about if you go down hard, otherwise they will be shocked when it happens.
The real problem has been my ribs. I really don't know how my upper rib cage got hit-whether it was my handlebar or the road or something entirely different, but after two weeks I'm still not right. So what do you do about bruised or cracked ribs? Not a dang thing. It's really not worth getting an x-ray because there's nothing to be done if they are cracked. Analyzing what huts, I'm pretty sure I cracked two ribs and bruised others. I think I cracked a couple because I thought I felt at least one of them shift when I sneezed a few times. What fun.
This has affected more than my riding, but definitely adversely degraded my fitness. I haven't slept very well in the last couple of weeks. Sneezing or coughing, something that can't be avoided when Raleigh is covered in a yellow haze of pine pollen, is probably the most painful thing. The only thing worse is trying to suppress a sneeze. I only did this once, only once, and learned my lesson. I can't begin to tell you exactly how it felt other than it hurt so bad I had to sit down for a few minutes.
Riding over rough road is not easy. Luckily my carbon fiber bike helps dampen the vibration, but I definitely feel every bump on the road in my chest, but that's not the worst problem. Breathing is a unique challenge. My legs have gotten back to normal quicker than I expected, but I can't go with same intensity, strength or distance I could before. Today I wanted to go 60 miles, but I had to pull up at 30 miles because I couldn't go much longer. It got to the point that nearly every breath hurt and I felt significantly more worn out than I should after only 30 miles. It was 80 degrees today and I had time to go longer, but my body betrayed me. Frustrating, massively frustrating.
My cyclist friends have counseled patience. They have told me repeatedly ribs take a long time to heal-maybe 6 to 8 weeks, before I can count on not feeling any pain. I don't do patience well and never have.
This is a big set back for my goals this year. It's not going to keep me out of the Giro d'Italia or Tour de France, but I'm not racing and probably won't for 3 months or maybe at all the rest of the year and that's very disappointing.
On the positive side, I could probably have been hurt worse, but I wasn't. Maybe that is what I should remind myself. I can still ride, not as well as before, but I still can ride. That's what I can try to tell myself when my frustration rises and my patience disappears.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Seeing Oakley Lenses in a New Light
I have been an Oakley fanatic for as long as I can remember, so this won't be an objective review of Oakley sunglasses against their competitors. Candidly, I can't see wearing anything but Oakley sunglasses even if a competitive pair of was given to me.
Based on that, I'm thrilled to have Oakley as a sponsor of my (R)evolution effort this year. I really thought I knew most of what there was to know about Oakley sunglass products until I spent some time with the staff of the local Oakley store. Hopefully this post will help other cyclists make better decisions about lens selection. That's the plan.
I noticed, as I'm sure most fans have, guys on the pro tour have a range of lens selections to chose when responding to weather and road conditions. It's not a luxury for them-it's strategic. It makes good sense for those of us not in Flanders this weekend or preparing for the Tour to have 2 to 3 lens options to select depending on where we are riding or what we are doing off the bike.
The best lens for cycling over a wide variety of conditions is the Fire Iridium lens, like the one that came with my new Radar pair. The good news is you can now completely justify buying and wearing arguably the coolest looking lens available. The Fire Iridium lens is designed for medium to bright sunlight and is a contrast rather than neutral lens. Lenses designed for contrast "improve visual acuity" according to Oakley's website, but I've found that to be very true. My eyes in short, suck and because of the way they suck, according to my optometrist I can't get prescription Oakleys.
The Fire lens is the one chosen in most conditions by riders. I've worn mine in cloudy conditions-we have had plenty of those lately, and brighter conditions. They are the lens I will probably use 70-80% of the time.
The second lens in my arsenal is the VR28 Polarized which is a contrast lens too. There are some conditions where glare is a real problem. This is why in the brightest conditions you will see the pros wearing this lens the Positive Red Polarized or the Black Iridium Polarized lens. These lenses are designed to filter glare coming off asphalt or other surfaces that reflect light. The difference between these three lenses is VR28 and Positive Red are contrast lenses and the Black Iridium Polarized is a neutral lens. Neutral lenses provide a truer color perception or transmission. These lenses are probably a better lens to wear if you're driving.
One of the lens selection factors to consider is the amount of light it transmits. Most of the lens selections for general use allow 9%-18% light transmission. There are options for darker conditions other than a clear lens, which will give you some light filtering and contrast, which could be important in cycling situations. Lenses such as the G30 (30% transmission), Persimmon (61% transmission) and Yellow (90% transmission) all are contrast lens options.
All of the Radar sunglasses have some of the same features regardless of the lens(es) you choose. Oakley Radar lenses are treated with a coating to make them hydrophobic. Sweat and rain just run off and don't stick. Hydrophobic lenses are easier to keep clean because finger prints, skin oils and even suntan lotion are easily wiped off. The lenses are also anti-static to reflect dust or in the case now in North Carolina-pollen.
There are three lens shape options and two nose pieces to best fit your face and nose. Even though the lenses are designed to allow good airflow, there are also vented lens options. Oakley has even developed a material for their nose pieces that makes them stick to your face better when they get wet.
If you have any questions after reading this post you can call Oakley's customer service/order line at 800-431-1439. I highly recommend going to the local Oakley store and specifically the Crabtree Valley Mall store if you live in
There is one other item you really should buy with sunglasses or lenses. Oakley has a lens cleaning kit to take care of your new glasses. Here's the best part, if you buy a lens cleaning kit from Oakley, they will refill it with solution for life! No guessing on what is ok to use with your lenses. Now that's customer service!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Product Review: 1st Endurance Products, UCI Legal Jet Fuel
I was thinking on a recovery ride this week back to when I started riding again in 2006. It was a warm day and I was comfortably cruising at a speed greater than my max speed three years ago. Some of this is due to training and good advice, but some of it has to be due using 1st Endurance products.
I was stuck at how I could cruise at greater than 20 mph on flats with what I considered a medium level effort. Since I started taking Optygen again (I took a break in the off season) along with using Pre-Race and EFS sport drink I noticed I couldn't hit my max heart rate. I decided to see what exactly I had to do to hit my max heart rate on a ride last weekend.
Riding hard over rolling hills in downtown Raleigh and over by NC State didn't do it. Then I road to a hill my Garmin measured as a 14% grade for right at 1/2 a mile. I rolled hard toward the monster and attacked hard up the hill. I was surprised at how I climbed the hill with more strength faster than ever before. Just as I was having fantasies about keeping up with Alberto Contador on a climb or two, I blew up about 10% from the top. I looked down, and yeah, I finally hit my max heart rate, but I also set a personal best on the hill. I'm sure I can continue to expect to ride up that hill with less effort than before. I might not attack like a wild man every time though.
This week I had a chance to speak with Robert Kunz one of the 1st Endurance founders about my experience with his products and also learned about the company's approach to serving the needs of endurance athletes. It should get your attention that Team Columbia and Astana are sponsored by 1st Endurance. Any race fan is aware of how members of both of those teams including Levi Leipheimer, Alberto Contador, and Mark Cavendish have dominated early races.
My discussions with Robert involved how physiologically I felt when I hit my lactic threshold or how I felt as I exercised harder and longer. I was surprised to learn from Robert each athletes body reacts to those challenges differently. What I feel when I get to those points could be quite different than what you feel.
1st Endurance products are designed to increase VO2Max increase aerobic threshold and reduce lactic acid production. Robert put it in a slightly expanded way, which was 1st Endurance products increase an athlete’s ability to handle stress put on it by keeping stress hormone production within a healthy range. This is what translates into increased performance. He said one of the theories about top level endurance athlete is they process and use physical and environmental stressors significantly better than average athletes.
This made sense because I could ride harder faster and with greater comfort than before using their products. The company, in my opinion as a marketer, uses little to no spin or hype in their materials and product descriptions, which is quite rare. They obviously prefer to let their products impress athletes rather than spin them.
Robert also pointed out chronically elevated cortisol suppresses your VO2 and lactate thresholds while also suppressing your immune system. Your body is smart, so you can push it to a point where it shuts down due to too much stress. This manifests through illness and lack of motivation among other things. Your body is telling you to rest and it will force you to rest if you won’t on your own.
This is one of the reasons it makes sense to do some exercises that don't put a tremendous load on it in terms of physical stress. It also makes sense to rest well and not train every day. Coaches, like those I talked with at the HPL, will tell you that rest is important and resting properly will make you faster, stronger or perform at higher levels.
Optygen allows you to handle stress as if you were well rested so your performance improves. However, months of training are required for peak performance so you still have to train since there are no short-cuts.
1st Endurance products are designed to work interdependently. Optygen is designed to be taken every morning. Pre-Race is taken prior to working out-I drink it in a bottle of EFS drink. EFS drink, Liquid Shot and Bars (all are EFS named products) are for use during a race or ride. Robert has even blogged about mixing Pre-Race with EFS Liquid Shot as a powerful race fuel combination.
1st Endurance is also quite unique in the nutrition supplement industry, because the company continually works with endurance athletes while upgrading and adjusting their formulations for improved product performance. Robert noted nearly all of their products have been upgraded multiple times. I recently read a blog post written by a triathlete who tested the company’s new formulation of Optygen. He gave it high marks and noted a distinct difference from previous generations of products.
It's also very important to note 1st Endurance products are totally UCI legal. The company works collaboratively with UCI to ensure there are no problems with the regulatory body's rules. 1st Endurance has no desire to be on the shelves of your local grocery or drug store. You can't find it in some bike shops or GNC or The Vitamin Shope. The company knows who their customers are and who they are not.
The company's products are not inexpensive and not for every athlete who gets on a bike, jumps in a pool or laces up running shoes. However, the products are an excellent fit for athletes that want to train longer and harder to produce better race results.
I'll issue one warning to you about the products. You will be hard pressed to stop if you begin using all of the products. This produces one more reasonably expensive cycling habit, but most of us are already well down that road anyway.
I was stuck at how I could cruise at greater than 20 mph on flats with what I considered a medium level effort. Since I started taking Optygen again (I took a break in the off season) along with using Pre-Race and EFS sport drink I noticed I couldn't hit my max heart rate. I decided to see what exactly I had to do to hit my max heart rate on a ride last weekend.
Riding hard over rolling hills in downtown Raleigh and over by NC State didn't do it. Then I road to a hill my Garmin measured as a 14% grade for right at 1/2 a mile. I rolled hard toward the monster and attacked hard up the hill. I was surprised at how I climbed the hill with more strength faster than ever before. Just as I was having fantasies about keeping up with Alberto Contador on a climb or two, I blew up about 10% from the top. I looked down, and yeah, I finally hit my max heart rate, but I also set a personal best on the hill. I'm sure I can continue to expect to ride up that hill with less effort than before. I might not attack like a wild man every time though.
This week I had a chance to speak with Robert Kunz one of the 1st Endurance founders about my experience with his products and also learned about the company's approach to serving the needs of endurance athletes. It should get your attention that Team Columbia and Astana are sponsored by 1st Endurance. Any race fan is aware of how members of both of those teams including Levi Leipheimer, Alberto Contador, and Mark Cavendish have dominated early races.
My discussions with Robert involved how physiologically I felt when I hit my lactic threshold or how I felt as I exercised harder and longer. I was surprised to learn from Robert each athletes body reacts to those challenges differently. What I feel when I get to those points could be quite different than what you feel.
1st Endurance products are designed to increase VO2Max increase aerobic threshold and reduce lactic acid production. Robert put it in a slightly expanded way, which was 1st Endurance products increase an athlete’s ability to handle stress put on it by keeping stress hormone production within a healthy range. This is what translates into increased performance. He said one of the theories about top level endurance athlete is they process and use physical and environmental stressors significantly better than average athletes.
This made sense because I could ride harder faster and with greater comfort than before using their products. The company, in my opinion as a marketer, uses little to no spin or hype in their materials and product descriptions, which is quite rare. They obviously prefer to let their products impress athletes rather than spin them.
Robert also pointed out chronically elevated cortisol suppresses your VO2 and lactate thresholds while also suppressing your immune system. Your body is smart, so you can push it to a point where it shuts down due to too much stress. This manifests through illness and lack of motivation among other things. Your body is telling you to rest and it will force you to rest if you won’t on your own.
This is one of the reasons it makes sense to do some exercises that don't put a tremendous load on it in terms of physical stress. It also makes sense to rest well and not train every day. Coaches, like those I talked with at the HPL, will tell you that rest is important and resting properly will make you faster, stronger or perform at higher levels.
Optygen allows you to handle stress as if you were well rested so your performance improves. However, months of training are required for peak performance so you still have to train since there are no short-cuts.
1st Endurance products are designed to work interdependently. Optygen is designed to be taken every morning. Pre-Race is taken prior to working out-I drink it in a bottle of EFS drink. EFS drink, Liquid Shot and Bars (all are EFS named products) are for use during a race or ride. Robert has even blogged about mixing Pre-Race with EFS Liquid Shot as a powerful race fuel combination.
1st Endurance is also quite unique in the nutrition supplement industry, because the company continually works with endurance athletes while upgrading and adjusting their formulations for improved product performance. Robert noted nearly all of their products have been upgraded multiple times. I recently read a blog post written by a triathlete who tested the company’s new formulation of Optygen. He gave it high marks and noted a distinct difference from previous generations of products.
It's also very important to note 1st Endurance products are totally UCI legal. The company works collaboratively with UCI to ensure there are no problems with the regulatory body's rules. 1st Endurance has no desire to be on the shelves of your local grocery or drug store. You can't find it in some bike shops or GNC or The Vitamin Shope. The company knows who their customers are and who they are not.
The company's products are not inexpensive and not for every athlete who gets on a bike, jumps in a pool or laces up running shoes. However, the products are an excellent fit for athletes that want to train longer and harder to produce better race results.
I'll issue one warning to you about the products. You will be hard pressed to stop if you begin using all of the products. This produces one more reasonably expensive cycling habit, but most of us are already well down that road anyway.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Crashing Really Pisses Me Off
Saturday I crashed. One minute I was riding along the next I was sitting on the side of the road in pretty much the same position as Lance when he broke his collarbone in Spain last month. Pure and simple. I was stunned, bleeding and starting to get very sore. What surprised me was the number of cars that slowed down or stopped with offers to help me. Maybe not all non-cyclist drivers are jerks.
Here's what I think happened since I'm not too sure, because it happened so quickly. Truly one second I was riding-the next bleeding. I was rolling about 18-20 mph down Western Blvd in Raleigh near downtown. I'd been battling the wind all day, again, and was at that point trying to decide just how far I wanted to go that day. I approached an off ramp for South Saunders Street and hit one of the street reflectors at the point the road and the ramp split. That blew my tire and that pushed me into the sand and grit that collect in the triangle between ramp and road. Blam, I was on the road not rolling down the road.
Crashes in general piss me off because for a number of reasons. I was pretty messed up and felt a little shocky, so I called my wife to come drag my sorry butt home. The week before she had a conversation with an insurance guy who planted all kinds of you should add coverage this and that because your husband is a cyclist. Greeeaaaat! Calling her for help was very unusual, so she dropped everything-in this case shopping, and came to get me.
While I waited for Deborah to come get me, I inventoried damage to me and my bike. First the bike. The left shifter was out of position. The chain was off. Both brakes were out of alignment and oh yeah, the front tube was blown. There didn't appear to be major damage.
Next I started checking myself out. There was a pretty decent size chuck missing from the tip of my right thumb, which explained the blood on my saddle since I leaned on it with my right hand when I was sitting on the ground. I could see road rash from 4 inches above my ankle up to my thigh and feel more all the way up to my shoulder. I lifted up my jersey to see there was a decent scrape on the top of my shoulder-another section of my body missing a piece. Then I notice blood dripping down my left arm. I had a 4 inch scrape running up my forearm because a few layers of skin had been removed.
My Hincapie jersey was shredded all along the left side. My bibs weren't too bad. Then I realized I didn't have sunglasses on. DAMN! Where are my Radars!? I found them near where I fell and luckily they flew off early and didn't have any damage. At least that was good.
Deborah arrived with all three girls. This made getting my bike and me in the Jeep at the same time tough. We maneuvered things to where I sat in the back with the seats folded down along with my bike. I noticed a new pain riding home as Deborah hit bumps that seemed to be huge compared to reality. My left side ribs were very sore. Great, that means 4-6 weeks to get over that injury. We initially thought I'd cracked one or two, but maybe they are only bruised. We'll know in a day or two.
We got home and I put my bike in my workshop and trudged upstairs to take my gear off and get a true picture of the damage. This is the part that really starts to piss me off. Crashing on a bike usually means road rash. It's a bitch to clean correctly and you have to accept that you're going to be in pain every time you shower for awhile. The amount of time depends on how bad you're scraped up.
There really weren't any big surprises as Deborah and I checked me out. I cleaned myself up a bit and got a shower. Yeah, it hurt as expected. The scrapes weren't too bad but my thumb and shoulder were the worst. The second thing that pisses me off is the fact that you are really sore after a crash, but because you have scrapes all over, you can't just stay in a hot shower to help the muscle soreness.
Deborah went out and got the usual crash supplies, with one new addition. She also got a spray with benzocaine-a pain med, and an antibiotic. Excellent I thought, pain stuff with infection stuff. That was until she sprayed it on me. She started spraying at full blast with sweeping motions to cover my left side nearly head to toe. It felt like someone had dipped me in pure alcohol. DAMN that hurt! I yelled a little-well more than a little, but quickly made it clear that I wasn't yelling at her. She felt bad since I was in more pain, but we both got over it as the benzocaine finally did what it was supposed to do and deadened the pain. Finally we both laughed as I apologized for being such a big baby and she apologized for lighting my body on fire.
I collapsed on the couch with Motrin and a remote control for the rest of the evening. Sleeping is a bitch with bruised or cracked ribs. There isn't a good way to position yourself. There's only varying degrees of bad. I found a position I could live with and went to sleep. However, I woke up at 4:30 in a lot of pain so I took some more Motrin and tried mostly unsuccessfully to sleep. Sleeping gets better as you heal, but the first nights suck.
Getting out of bed can be the most painful thing you do with rib damage. You can't get leverage to get up and over the side without using arms and stomach muscles that put pressure on your rib cage. Getting off low couches, out of beds, out of non-SUV cars and other basic movement you take for granted, now hurt and will for awhile.
The next morning we went to church. This is the second round of people telling you riding is way too dangerous. However, in the final analysis, most people wished me a speedy recovery while wincing as they looked me over. Just here to entertain, I guess like a side show freak in this case.
Every non cyclist tells you your sport is way too dangerous for them insinuating you're nuts for riding on the road. Next they start telling your stories of people who had arms hacked off or thumbs hacked off or heads cracked open or people getting killed. You of course are supposed to stand there smile and nod thoughtfully, rather than scream at them like you would prefer to do. Most of what they tell you is third hand information or worse, but it makes for great story telling, so they tell you.
Bless my dear mother-in-law. She is a true saint and I love her as much as I did my own mother. My mother in-law stopped by after church to drop one of our daughters off. I said hello, but I didn't want her to see me busted up unless I had to. Somebody ratted me out. She came over to the couch smiled like only a mom can and said, "well let's see how bad you are." She looked me over smiled and hugged me. She managed to hug me without hurting me or I didn't notice since I love it when she hugs me. Deborah's family was a huge and unexpected bonus that came with our marriage. She didn't chastise me or warn me or anything else like that. She just smiled and said to get better. Unconditional love, I knew what it felt like with my wife and now I know what it feels like with her family. I'm so blessed and I know it.
Today, I'm back at it trying to get things done and take care of the kids while they are on spring break. I'm still plenty sore, but the scrapes are healing probably as much from the tender loving care from my family as anything else.
Can I be pissed off for too long? No I can't. I get pissed off at the non-cyclists who don't realize crashes just happen sometimes. I've had a run of bad luck in the last few weeks, but I've thousands of miles and been hurt very little comparatively. Basketball guy can blow out a knee, right? Softball guy can tear a rotator cup, right? Even golf guy can bust something up, right? Well maybe not, they walk most of the time. My point is any sport a 40 plus year old is going to participate in has the risk of getting hurt. Get over it! I have!
Can I be pissed off at the pain? Sure, but that will lessen and go away in time. Will I stop riding? Not a chance. How quick will I get back on the bike. Within days, maybe even today just for a short spin. I have a cycling addiction and I'm glad for it. Nothing is going to change that. I'm going to ride until I can't push pedals, which means I have at least 40 more years of riding ahead of me.
Am I pissed off right now? No, not really, but crashing your bike touches off tons of irritations and pain that keep you from participating in the sport you love. That's the ultimate thing that pisses me off, but I'll get over it once I get back in the saddle again, SOON!
Here's what I think happened since I'm not too sure, because it happened so quickly. Truly one second I was riding-the next bleeding. I was rolling about 18-20 mph down Western Blvd in Raleigh near downtown. I'd been battling the wind all day, again, and was at that point trying to decide just how far I wanted to go that day. I approached an off ramp for South Saunders Street and hit one of the street reflectors at the point the road and the ramp split. That blew my tire and that pushed me into the sand and grit that collect in the triangle between ramp and road. Blam, I was on the road not rolling down the road.
Crashes in general piss me off because for a number of reasons. I was pretty messed up and felt a little shocky, so I called my wife to come drag my sorry butt home. The week before she had a conversation with an insurance guy who planted all kinds of you should add coverage this and that because your husband is a cyclist. Greeeaaaat! Calling her for help was very unusual, so she dropped everything-in this case shopping, and came to get me.
While I waited for Deborah to come get me, I inventoried damage to me and my bike. First the bike. The left shifter was out of position. The chain was off. Both brakes were out of alignment and oh yeah, the front tube was blown. There didn't appear to be major damage.
Next I started checking myself out. There was a pretty decent size chuck missing from the tip of my right thumb, which explained the blood on my saddle since I leaned on it with my right hand when I was sitting on the ground. I could see road rash from 4 inches above my ankle up to my thigh and feel more all the way up to my shoulder. I lifted up my jersey to see there was a decent scrape on the top of my shoulder-another section of my body missing a piece. Then I notice blood dripping down my left arm. I had a 4 inch scrape running up my forearm because a few layers of skin had been removed.
My Hincapie jersey was shredded all along the left side. My bibs weren't too bad. Then I realized I didn't have sunglasses on. DAMN! Where are my Radars!? I found them near where I fell and luckily they flew off early and didn't have any damage. At least that was good.
Deborah arrived with all three girls. This made getting my bike and me in the Jeep at the same time tough. We maneuvered things to where I sat in the back with the seats folded down along with my bike. I noticed a new pain riding home as Deborah hit bumps that seemed to be huge compared to reality. My left side ribs were very sore. Great, that means 4-6 weeks to get over that injury. We initially thought I'd cracked one or two, but maybe they are only bruised. We'll know in a day or two.
We got home and I put my bike in my workshop and trudged upstairs to take my gear off and get a true picture of the damage. This is the part that really starts to piss me off. Crashing on a bike usually means road rash. It's a bitch to clean correctly and you have to accept that you're going to be in pain every time you shower for awhile. The amount of time depends on how bad you're scraped up.
There really weren't any big surprises as Deborah and I checked me out. I cleaned myself up a bit and got a shower. Yeah, it hurt as expected. The scrapes weren't too bad but my thumb and shoulder were the worst. The second thing that pisses me off is the fact that you are really sore after a crash, but because you have scrapes all over, you can't just stay in a hot shower to help the muscle soreness.
Deborah went out and got the usual crash supplies, with one new addition. She also got a spray with benzocaine-a pain med, and an antibiotic. Excellent I thought, pain stuff with infection stuff. That was until she sprayed it on me. She started spraying at full blast with sweeping motions to cover my left side nearly head to toe. It felt like someone had dipped me in pure alcohol. DAMN that hurt! I yelled a little-well more than a little, but quickly made it clear that I wasn't yelling at her. She felt bad since I was in more pain, but we both got over it as the benzocaine finally did what it was supposed to do and deadened the pain. Finally we both laughed as I apologized for being such a big baby and she apologized for lighting my body on fire.
I collapsed on the couch with Motrin and a remote control for the rest of the evening. Sleeping is a bitch with bruised or cracked ribs. There isn't a good way to position yourself. There's only varying degrees of bad. I found a position I could live with and went to sleep. However, I woke up at 4:30 in a lot of pain so I took some more Motrin and tried mostly unsuccessfully to sleep. Sleeping gets better as you heal, but the first nights suck.
Getting out of bed can be the most painful thing you do with rib damage. You can't get leverage to get up and over the side without using arms and stomach muscles that put pressure on your rib cage. Getting off low couches, out of beds, out of non-SUV cars and other basic movement you take for granted, now hurt and will for awhile.
The next morning we went to church. This is the second round of people telling you riding is way too dangerous. However, in the final analysis, most people wished me a speedy recovery while wincing as they looked me over. Just here to entertain, I guess like a side show freak in this case.
Every non cyclist tells you your sport is way too dangerous for them insinuating you're nuts for riding on the road. Next they start telling your stories of people who had arms hacked off or thumbs hacked off or heads cracked open or people getting killed. You of course are supposed to stand there smile and nod thoughtfully, rather than scream at them like you would prefer to do. Most of what they tell you is third hand information or worse, but it makes for great story telling, so they tell you.
Bless my dear mother-in-law. She is a true saint and I love her as much as I did my own mother. My mother in-law stopped by after church to drop one of our daughters off. I said hello, but I didn't want her to see me busted up unless I had to. Somebody ratted me out. She came over to the couch smiled like only a mom can and said, "well let's see how bad you are." She looked me over smiled and hugged me. She managed to hug me without hurting me or I didn't notice since I love it when she hugs me. Deborah's family was a huge and unexpected bonus that came with our marriage. She didn't chastise me or warn me or anything else like that. She just smiled and said to get better. Unconditional love, I knew what it felt like with my wife and now I know what it feels like with her family. I'm so blessed and I know it.
Today, I'm back at it trying to get things done and take care of the kids while they are on spring break. I'm still plenty sore, but the scrapes are healing probably as much from the tender loving care from my family as anything else.
Can I be pissed off for too long? No I can't. I get pissed off at the non-cyclists who don't realize crashes just happen sometimes. I've had a run of bad luck in the last few weeks, but I've thousands of miles and been hurt very little comparatively. Basketball guy can blow out a knee, right? Softball guy can tear a rotator cup, right? Even golf guy can bust something up, right? Well maybe not, they walk most of the time. My point is any sport a 40 plus year old is going to participate in has the risk of getting hurt. Get over it! I have!
Can I be pissed off at the pain? Sure, but that will lessen and go away in time. Will I stop riding? Not a chance. How quick will I get back on the bike. Within days, maybe even today just for a short spin. I have a cycling addiction and I'm glad for it. Nothing is going to change that. I'm going to ride until I can't push pedals, which means I have at least 40 more years of riding ahead of me.
Am I pissed off right now? No, not really, but crashing your bike touches off tons of irritations and pain that keep you from participating in the sport you love. That's the ultimate thing that pisses me off, but I'll get over it once I get back in the saddle again, SOON!
Monday, March 30, 2009
March Roars Out Like a Lion
Last week's rain just about drove me up a wall. Neither the kids or I could get outside much. This led to the determination I am not wired to live in a place like Seattle. No offense to Seattle, but I need the sun too much to live somewhere it rains as much as it does in the Northwest.
Adding to the pressure of not getting to exercise, was the fact I got laid off from the agency where I was working. I got added to North Carolina's ten plus percent unemployment rate. "At least you'll have more time to train," said a cyclist friend of mine. "Yeah, but I don't get paid to train on my bike," was my response. My prospects looked better by the end of the week, so I'm hopeful this is temporary.
There were good things that happened last week on the cycling front. First, Oakley came in as a sponsor, which was a great endorsement. I've been an Oakley fan back before the days of the M-Frame. I've owned several pairs over the years including a recent pair of Flak Jackets that gave their life to save part of my face and eyes in a crash in January. In that specific crash, I learned sneezing while hitting a pothole can catapult you over the handlebar. I wouldn't recommend it.
I got an education from the team at Oakley about lens selection. It is a lot more complicated than I ever thought. My Oakley Radar Path glasses came with Fire and VR 28 Polarized lenses. I now have two great selections depending on the conditions. Unfortunately I had to wait a day before I could road test the Fire lens. I'll be writing a review/overview of lenses in a coming post.
The next day something mysterious twice punctured my front tube. The first time I thought it was a fluke, so I changed the tube, pumped it up and took off. I didn't notice the tire had gone nearly flat as a took a 90 degree right turn on a slightly wet road about a mile from my house. The bike slid to the left and out from under me. I landed on the pavement and bounced on my head before coming to a stop. One more reminder why cyclists wear helmets. I was fine and my bib tights saved me from getting road rash other than a small patch on my right knee. I've had far worse.
Through some meticulous detective work, I found small nick on the inside of my rim that obviously connected with tubes when they were pumped up beyond a certain point or hit a large bump. A little filing and it was gone-mystery solved.
The next day I finally got to ride a decent distance. I had been taking 1st Endurance Optygen for a few days and I had some Pre-Race added to EFS Lemon Lime drink before the ride. Holy cats as Bob Roll might say, what a ride! I was very comfortable and flying.
I know without question I've moved the bars on my VO2Max and my lactic threshold after the Optygen loading period (1 week). Pre-Race and EFS drink seem to amplify things another level entirely. I'm sure training has had something to do with my form, but the only thing without question that changed over the week was 1st Endurance products. I'm going to write in more detail about that and hopefully talk to one of the guys there to get some more perspective.
I passed the 1,000 mile ridden milestone Sunday the 28th. That's the earliest in the year that I have ever passed that mark. I feel great about it and look forward to rolling the next 1,000 even faster now the sun has returned from its winter hiatus.
Within the last 10 days or so my weight also headed in the right direction. A little discipline and some more saddle time pushed me from bouncing between 174-176 to bouncing between 169.5 and 172.5. Not a lot to crow about, but the direction is right for a change. Only 10-12 more pounds to go before I get to my first weight goal!
This week is supposed to be fantastic with sun and warmer temperature. I hope I can get sunny news on the job front and get some good training time.
Adding to the pressure of not getting to exercise, was the fact I got laid off from the agency where I was working. I got added to North Carolina's ten plus percent unemployment rate. "At least you'll have more time to train," said a cyclist friend of mine. "Yeah, but I don't get paid to train on my bike," was my response. My prospects looked better by the end of the week, so I'm hopeful this is temporary.
There were good things that happened last week on the cycling front. First, Oakley came in as a sponsor, which was a great endorsement. I've been an Oakley fan back before the days of the M-Frame. I've owned several pairs over the years including a recent pair of Flak Jackets that gave their life to save part of my face and eyes in a crash in January. In that specific crash, I learned sneezing while hitting a pothole can catapult you over the handlebar. I wouldn't recommend it.
I got an education from the team at Oakley about lens selection. It is a lot more complicated than I ever thought. My Oakley Radar Path glasses came with Fire and VR 28 Polarized lenses. I now have two great selections depending on the conditions. Unfortunately I had to wait a day before I could road test the Fire lens. I'll be writing a review/overview of lenses in a coming post.
The next day something mysterious twice punctured my front tube. The first time I thought it was a fluke, so I changed the tube, pumped it up and took off. I didn't notice the tire had gone nearly flat as a took a 90 degree right turn on a slightly wet road about a mile from my house. The bike slid to the left and out from under me. I landed on the pavement and bounced on my head before coming to a stop. One more reminder why cyclists wear helmets. I was fine and my bib tights saved me from getting road rash other than a small patch on my right knee. I've had far worse.
Through some meticulous detective work, I found small nick on the inside of my rim that obviously connected with tubes when they were pumped up beyond a certain point or hit a large bump. A little filing and it was gone-mystery solved.
The next day I finally got to ride a decent distance. I had been taking 1st Endurance Optygen for a few days and I had some Pre-Race added to EFS Lemon Lime drink before the ride. Holy cats as Bob Roll might say, what a ride! I was very comfortable and flying.
I know without question I've moved the bars on my VO2Max and my lactic threshold after the Optygen loading period (1 week). Pre-Race and EFS drink seem to amplify things another level entirely. I'm sure training has had something to do with my form, but the only thing without question that changed over the week was 1st Endurance products. I'm going to write in more detail about that and hopefully talk to one of the guys there to get some more perspective.
I passed the 1,000 mile ridden milestone Sunday the 28th. That's the earliest in the year that I have ever passed that mark. I feel great about it and look forward to rolling the next 1,000 even faster now the sun has returned from its winter hiatus.
Within the last 10 days or so my weight also headed in the right direction. A little discipline and some more saddle time pushed me from bouncing between 174-176 to bouncing between 169.5 and 172.5. Not a lot to crow about, but the direction is right for a change. Only 10-12 more pounds to go before I get to my first weight goal!
This week is supposed to be fantastic with sun and warmer temperature. I hope I can get sunny news on the job front and get some good training time.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Being a dad has laughs and sorrow, but riding helps clarify-sometimes
Friday March 20th I signed my wife and I up to chaperon my 12 year old son's middle school dance. There was plenty of teasing about embarrassing him-none of which came to pass. However, it added another day-now three in a row, when I didn't get to ride. However, I wouldn't have missed this experience for the world.
The dance was from 7:00-10:00. When we arrived we were given our rotation of assignments, which consisted of where to stand in the gym like a Secret Service agent being ever vigilant to stop unwanted activities and threats. I'm glad my wife went so we could talk and half enjoy the music played at what seemed to be a skull splitting volume. Let's discuss what the average 12-14 year old thinks dancing is in this day and age. It's what I would call a modified "pogo" or calf pain inducing jumps up and down repeatedly punctuated with arm motions of some sort, but hammering and lawn sprinklers come to mind most prominently. Slow dancing is at this age consists of both partners placing their wrists on their partners shoulders and swaying. Needless to say we laughed a lot, but were very glad to go home.
In between soccer schedules, I managed to get two nice rides in over the weekend, which allowed me to enjoy the improving weather. I got to use First Endurance's Pre-Race and EFS sports drink for the first time since last fall. I ordered these to go with the Optygen the great folks at First Endurance were sending my way. I tried all of the First Endurance products last year during the summer and fall, but I had taken a break due to the cold weather. That was a clear mistake.
I had forgotten how good their products were and what a direct effect they have on my riding. Pre-Race and EFS sports drink when used together are high grade jet fuel. I rode harder in terms of speed and heart rate, but with a great deal more comfort and efficiency. My ride numbers proved that out. On longer rides, I've added EFS Liquid Shot with great results too. I only wish there were other flavors in addition to vanilla. First Endurance also has an interesting blog post about using Pre-Race and Liquid Shot together on rides. I'm looking forward to the added kick Optygen will give me in a week or so after the "loading" process is complete.
There was a painful parenting situation this weekend I'm sure nearly all of us have or will face. My oldest daughter loves soccer. It's her passion and she would rather practice and play than do almost anything. The problem now is her genetics have caught up with her. She still has the aggressiveness and passion for the game, but she may have peaked in terms of her abilities relative to the members of her team. She's seen her playing time drop dramatically as the team progressed into the upper strata of state-wide rankings and new players have joined the team. It's not much consolation for her to be told that she's in the top 250-300 14 year old girls in the state when her playing time is down. It also didn't do any good to tell her that she's progressed farther than I ever did as a competitive athlete at her age. I felt utterly powerless and useless. I'm not sure who felt worse, but it was probably her.
She has my competitive fire, but also unfortunately my lack of natural soccer genetics. The immediate prescription was some additional coaching and playing time as a guest player on a team where she should be a dominant force on the field as well as the ability to learn coaching by shadowing her coach during the game when she's not playing. That seemed to salve the wound, but not heal it. How can a parent effectively, gently, and lovingly tell a child their destiny and skills lie beyond the field of play in a sport they love? I'm still struggling with this one and not sure there's a real answer.
Sunday I did what I always do now. I take my thoughts with me as I ride to try to figure out answers to my problems and to try too find peace to the difficulties in life. My problem this weekend was that while my body felt strong, energized and powerful in the saddle, my brain and soul felt inept, unsure and powerless. I know this will pass with time and my daughter will find her way forward with or without me, but right now that's like my mother telling me when I was 14 I would eventually grow taller. I found peace at 5'9". I hope my daughter will find peace as a soccer player whenever she plays in the future even at my age. More importantly, I hope she and I can find a way to channel her fire and passion into something in addition to soccer.
The dance was from 7:00-10:00. When we arrived we were given our rotation of assignments, which consisted of where to stand in the gym like a Secret Service agent being ever vigilant to stop unwanted activities and threats. I'm glad my wife went so we could talk and half enjoy the music played at what seemed to be a skull splitting volume. Let's discuss what the average 12-14 year old thinks dancing is in this day and age. It's what I would call a modified "pogo" or calf pain inducing jumps up and down repeatedly punctuated with arm motions of some sort, but hammering and lawn sprinklers come to mind most prominently. Slow dancing is at this age consists of both partners placing their wrists on their partners shoulders and swaying. Needless to say we laughed a lot, but were very glad to go home.
In between soccer schedules, I managed to get two nice rides in over the weekend, which allowed me to enjoy the improving weather. I got to use First Endurance's Pre-Race and EFS sports drink for the first time since last fall. I ordered these to go with the Optygen the great folks at First Endurance were sending my way. I tried all of the First Endurance products last year during the summer and fall, but I had taken a break due to the cold weather. That was a clear mistake.
I had forgotten how good their products were and what a direct effect they have on my riding. Pre-Race and EFS sports drink when used together are high grade jet fuel. I rode harder in terms of speed and heart rate, but with a great deal more comfort and efficiency. My ride numbers proved that out. On longer rides, I've added EFS Liquid Shot with great results too. I only wish there were other flavors in addition to vanilla. First Endurance also has an interesting blog post about using Pre-Race and Liquid Shot together on rides. I'm looking forward to the added kick Optygen will give me in a week or so after the "loading" process is complete.
There was a painful parenting situation this weekend I'm sure nearly all of us have or will face. My oldest daughter loves soccer. It's her passion and she would rather practice and play than do almost anything. The problem now is her genetics have caught up with her. She still has the aggressiveness and passion for the game, but she may have peaked in terms of her abilities relative to the members of her team. She's seen her playing time drop dramatically as the team progressed into the upper strata of state-wide rankings and new players have joined the team. It's not much consolation for her to be told that she's in the top 250-300 14 year old girls in the state when her playing time is down. It also didn't do any good to tell her that she's progressed farther than I ever did as a competitive athlete at her age. I felt utterly powerless and useless. I'm not sure who felt worse, but it was probably her.
She has my competitive fire, but also unfortunately my lack of natural soccer genetics. The immediate prescription was some additional coaching and playing time as a guest player on a team where she should be a dominant force on the field as well as the ability to learn coaching by shadowing her coach during the game when she's not playing. That seemed to salve the wound, but not heal it. How can a parent effectively, gently, and lovingly tell a child their destiny and skills lie beyond the field of play in a sport they love? I'm still struggling with this one and not sure there's a real answer.
Sunday I did what I always do now. I take my thoughts with me as I ride to try to figure out answers to my problems and to try too find peace to the difficulties in life. My problem this weekend was that while my body felt strong, energized and powerful in the saddle, my brain and soul felt inept, unsure and powerless. I know this will pass with time and my daughter will find her way forward with or without me, but right now that's like my mother telling me when I was 14 I would eventually grow taller. I found peace at 5'9". I hope my daughter will find peace as a soccer player whenever she plays in the future even at my age. More importantly, I hope she and I can find a way to channel her fire and passion into something in addition to soccer.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
A pissed off ride through the Kingdom of Anerobia
I'll admit it. I was completely frustrated to the point of being aggressively pissed off yesterday afternoon. I felt like the only guy who could see in the land of the blind in one meeting, frustrated by a conference call, frustrated by not being able to move the needle on my weight and the list went on.
I didn't ride Monday because I was still tired of riding in the rain from Sunday. That had me pumped up to start, then all the frustration and angst over the day lit the fuse. I could very clearly hear the HPL coordinator in my ears, "we joke that we could develop everyone into world class athletes if we could cut their heads off." Meaning, my head was telling me maybe I should have ridden a recovery ride yesterday, but instead I went out to kill it.
I hit the road about 5:15 glad it was day light savings time, because I was sure I needed close to two hours of hard riding to clear my head. I hit the pedals and took off hard from start to finish on a route with some decent rolling hills but also some spots to go for pure speed.
The numbers of my ride told an interesting tale. I had gone 33+ miles over rolling hills at the exact same average speed as my first time trial race Sunday-18.7 mph. I'll admit I was pushing myself really hard to beat the pissed off out of me. I guess you can use anger to push performance. Lance sure did.
I got home at dark tired physically, but more energized mentally and much more calm. I made some decisions while I was riding about some critical things in my world. That's probably a good thing and we'll see how it plays out in the next few weeks. I got home more human, more relaxed and less likely to detonate around the people I love. I even sat down with the family to watch American Idol without saying a word. All of my missions were accomplished on my pissed off ride through the Kingdom of Anerobia.
I didn't ride Monday because I was still tired of riding in the rain from Sunday. That had me pumped up to start, then all the frustration and angst over the day lit the fuse. I could very clearly hear the HPL coordinator in my ears, "we joke that we could develop everyone into world class athletes if we could cut their heads off." Meaning, my head was telling me maybe I should have ridden a recovery ride yesterday, but instead I went out to kill it.
I hit the road about 5:15 glad it was day light savings time, because I was sure I needed close to two hours of hard riding to clear my head. I hit the pedals and took off hard from start to finish on a route with some decent rolling hills but also some spots to go for pure speed.
The numbers of my ride told an interesting tale. I had gone 33+ miles over rolling hills at the exact same average speed as my first time trial race Sunday-18.7 mph. I'll admit I was pushing myself really hard to beat the pissed off out of me. I guess you can use anger to push performance. Lance sure did.
I got home at dark tired physically, but more energized mentally and much more calm. I made some decisions while I was riding about some critical things in my world. That's probably a good thing and we'll see how it plays out in the next few weeks. I got home more human, more relaxed and less likely to detonate around the people I love. I even sat down with the family to watch American Idol without saying a word. All of my missions were accomplished on my pissed off ride through the Kingdom of Anerobia.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
My Hell of the North, the Dismal Dash TT Race
You really know you're dedicated to a sport when you get out of warm bed with a beautiful wife at 5:00 AM in the morning especially when there are no kids in the house. Add to that the fact it was 38 degrees outside and steadily raining with gusting winds of 10-15 mph. I packed the car with everything the night before, so it was time to get dressed and head to Suffolk Virginia for the Dismal Dash time trial.
In the planning stages this seemed like a great weekend to race. The most of the kids were with the "other parents" and my wife Deborah was headed to Charlotte for a cheerleading competition with our 12 year old daughter Marrah. I would be on my own regardless of what I decided to do on Sunday March 15th, so I added the Dismal Dash to my race schedule for that reason and because I've never done a time trial before. What I didn't consider was the changeable weather we get in the southeast this time of year. It was gorgeous earlier in the week.
The race is named the Dismal Dash because the ride was through the Dismal Swamp area of southeastern Virginia near Norfolk. On any normal day the area would seem to be far from dismal, but not today. Today? Well quite dismal.
I got in the Jeep and pointed the car north for the two and a half hour drive as the rain pounded on the windshield. I looked down at the outside temperature gauge in the Jeep and it read "38". I was hoping it would get warmer on the drive north, but soon realized that just wasn't going to happen. Liberal amounts of caffeine and pre-race nerves kept me awake through the dark and rainy drive.
I got to the race site and checked in for my 9:20 start in the CAT 5 race and my 11:20 start on my Masters 40+ race. I found out later I was the only person who signed up for two races. Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time! I got my race numbers and timing chips then headed back to the car to get ready. I had about 45 minutes to get warmed up.
For reasons I can't currently explain, I pack and load the car meticulously, but turn in to a mess when I get to the race site. I'm two for two on that issue. I finished getting dressed, got the trainer out and under the hatchback, unloaded my bike and...and...I lost the 9:20 timing chip. DAMN! Where the heck did I put it? I tore the car apart and finally found it, but losing it killed 15 minutes of warm up time. Greaaaaaaat!
I warmed up before taking off into the rain and wind and cold. Putting the trainer away and grabbing full a water bottle I mounted up and headed over to the starter's gate. Today the starter area was a small shelter like you see in parks or at kids games. I felt reasonably good until the two guys who would start after me rolled up with their super aero TT bikes complete with Zipp 404s on the front and rear discs as well as Giro teardrop shaped helmets. These guys easily spent over $8K on their rides and looked like they were lean seasoned triathletes. I passively listened to them banter about this being a"tune up" race. It would be interesting to see how long it would take before they passed me.
The starter checked my number, "number 19? ok, 30 seconds...10...GO!" I pushed with my right foot as the left locked into my Speedplay pedal and tried to accelerate at a steady pace without hitting my lactic threshold in the first 30 seconds. I noticed the steady rain hitting my face and the rooster tail my front wheel was throwing as I headed out of town. The wind seemed to becoming from the southeast or a nearly full on head wind. I'm pretty sure it wasn't my speed.
I should have talked to some of my triathlete friends about pedaling technique because I couldn't really decide what gearing and cadence to lock into. I tried 39-11, which was...ok, but I thought I wanted more resistance on pedaling, which would mean a faster speed. What about 53-13 or 14? That seemed better and my speed picked up, but I had a hard time sustaining a steady cadence in any of those gearings. I settled on 53-14 and tried to push to 53-12 on the very shallow descents, and by very shallow I mean 1% for a couple of tenths of a mile. The course was nearly pancake flat the whole way.
My heart rate seemed to climb for no easily understood reason and I locked in at a rate I knew was above my lactic threshold thanks to the testing I did Monday. I'd pull back on my cadence and it would get better, but not for long. "Screw it," I said audibly and just pushed forward. By the time I made the left hand turn at the 5 mile mark, my face seemed to forget the rain and I just got used to the fact I was going to be looking through speckled glasses for the race because I left my cycling cap at home-the one thing I forgot to pack. I slowed into the turn not wanting to wipe out, and pushed forward out of the turn.
A passing sign reminded me I was in the Dismal Swamp area. Dismal seemed to be the word of the day. My heart rate settled at or near 170 bpm and my legs ached, but I was still pretty dry on the inside so I settled in for cyclist suffering. I pushed on seesawing between 17.5 mph and 20 mph. Riding on a flat area seemed a lot harder than I thought it would be. At about the 10 mile mark, I heard this rumbling behind me and looked to my left as the first tri-guy in the starter tent passed me on the left. Expensive wheels sound different in the rain...more intimidating. He was nice though smiling and encouraging me to push forward harder. Having wheels like the guys who had the Zipps would be nice at some point in the future I decided.
The turn back to Suffolk came at 12.5 miles which was basically a turn from the right lane going south to the other lane going north. I over shot and the officials let me know and pointed me back the other way over the timing bumps. Ok, half done on race one. My average speed was 19.3 mph at that point, I hoped I would finish with that speed or better.
At the 17 mile mark I realized I was out of my element or I didn't fuel correctly or both. My speed was dropping and I changed gearing over and over again, but still couldn't get comfortable or settle into anything approaching a rhythm. How did the tri-guys do it? Was it the aero bars that gave them the edge on settling into a cadence? I didn't know at that point, but made a note to do some questioning on the subject.
I started to get a second burst of energy at the 21 mile mark, so I picked up my pace and finished stronger than the previous several miles. Crossing the line, I looked at my watch. I had 43 minutes before I would head out again. I did the first race at 1:21:13 or 18.7 mph. Not bad, but disappointing that my average speed dropped from the first half. I'd find out later that I would finish 36th out of 39 in the CAT5, which meant nearly half the field no showed for the race because 64 registered originally. Wimps!
Getting back to the Jeep after winding my legs down a bit, I checked my watch to see now I had 34 minutes before I would head out again. I took my Windstopper jacket off to change jerseys. The jacket kept me dry, but was like a sponge and seemed to weigh pounds more than it did dry. I changed into a second base layer and jersey while getting out my cycling rain slicker. I wanted to see if this helped with the weight because I wasn't noticing the cold as much as when I started. I checked the temperature in the Jeep again, 44 degrees. WOW a heat wave! After a couple of squirts from the water bottle and some nutrition, I threw on my rain and slicker. Watch check, 12 minutes to go, so I closed the hatch and remounted my bike to warm my legs up again before I headed back to the starters tent.
"Anyone else doing the course twice today beside me?", I asked the guy who was there the first time I headed out. "You're kidding, right? Not that I know of", he said looking at me like I was insane. "30 seconds...10... GO!" and I was off again. In my head according to the starter as well as on my bike.
The second leg was the virtually same as the first with the same cadence and gearing struggles, but I was also feeling the effort from the first race. I made the turn at the half way mark at an average speed of 18.5, which was disappointing, but I decided to ride as best I could and make notes on lessons learned. My legs were ready to stop pedaling as I crossed the line the second time. My second time was 1:23:57 or 18.2 mph. I later found out my CAT5 time would have put me 4 slots higher than I finished with my Masters time in that group. DAMN!
I rode a bit to avoid shocking my legs by just stopping. After about 5-10 minutes I loaded my bike and changed clothes for the ride home. The rain had picked up as I got into my Masters race and it kicked up a notch again as I pulled on to the road to head home. I was glad to be in the warm Jeep with time to think. I was reasonably satisfied with my effort since it was the first time. I had also ridden 50.5 miles in roughly 2 hours and 45 minutes, not too shabby for a 46 year old guy. However, I was frustrated that I couldn't seem to settle into a rhythm for either race.
I felt surprisingly good the next day maybe because I drank loads of water the rest of the day and stretched once I got home. I also didn't load up on junk food despite huge cravings. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to do well in TTs unless I get some training and a TT specific bike. I'm sure a different bike wouldn't have shaved a huge portion of my time without training, but I think it might have helped me feel more comfortable. More lessons learned on the journey!
In the planning stages this seemed like a great weekend to race. The most of the kids were with the "other parents" and my wife Deborah was headed to Charlotte for a cheerleading competition with our 12 year old daughter Marrah. I would be on my own regardless of what I decided to do on Sunday March 15th, so I added the Dismal Dash to my race schedule for that reason and because I've never done a time trial before. What I didn't consider was the changeable weather we get in the southeast this time of year. It was gorgeous earlier in the week.
The race is named the Dismal Dash because the ride was through the Dismal Swamp area of southeastern Virginia near Norfolk. On any normal day the area would seem to be far from dismal, but not today. Today? Well quite dismal.
I got in the Jeep and pointed the car north for the two and a half hour drive as the rain pounded on the windshield. I looked down at the outside temperature gauge in the Jeep and it read "38". I was hoping it would get warmer on the drive north, but soon realized that just wasn't going to happen. Liberal amounts of caffeine and pre-race nerves kept me awake through the dark and rainy drive.
I got to the race site and checked in for my 9:20 start in the CAT 5 race and my 11:20 start on my Masters 40+ race. I found out later I was the only person who signed up for two races. Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time! I got my race numbers and timing chips then headed back to the car to get ready. I had about 45 minutes to get warmed up.
For reasons I can't currently explain, I pack and load the car meticulously, but turn in to a mess when I get to the race site. I'm two for two on that issue. I finished getting dressed, got the trainer out and under the hatchback, unloaded my bike and...and...I lost the 9:20 timing chip. DAMN! Where the heck did I put it? I tore the car apart and finally found it, but losing it killed 15 minutes of warm up time. Greaaaaaaat!
I warmed up before taking off into the rain and wind and cold. Putting the trainer away and grabbing full a water bottle I mounted up and headed over to the starter's gate. Today the starter area was a small shelter like you see in parks or at kids games. I felt reasonably good until the two guys who would start after me rolled up with their super aero TT bikes complete with Zipp 404s on the front and rear discs as well as Giro teardrop shaped helmets. These guys easily spent over $8K on their rides and looked like they were lean seasoned triathletes. I passively listened to them banter about this being a"tune up" race. It would be interesting to see how long it would take before they passed me.
The starter checked my number, "number 19? ok, 30 seconds...10...GO!" I pushed with my right foot as the left locked into my Speedplay pedal and tried to accelerate at a steady pace without hitting my lactic threshold in the first 30 seconds. I noticed the steady rain hitting my face and the rooster tail my front wheel was throwing as I headed out of town. The wind seemed to becoming from the southeast or a nearly full on head wind. I'm pretty sure it wasn't my speed.
I should have talked to some of my triathlete friends about pedaling technique because I couldn't really decide what gearing and cadence to lock into. I tried 39-11, which was...ok, but I thought I wanted more resistance on pedaling, which would mean a faster speed. What about 53-13 or 14? That seemed better and my speed picked up, but I had a hard time sustaining a steady cadence in any of those gearings. I settled on 53-14 and tried to push to 53-12 on the very shallow descents, and by very shallow I mean 1% for a couple of tenths of a mile. The course was nearly pancake flat the whole way.
My heart rate seemed to climb for no easily understood reason and I locked in at a rate I knew was above my lactic threshold thanks to the testing I did Monday. I'd pull back on my cadence and it would get better, but not for long. "Screw it," I said audibly and just pushed forward. By the time I made the left hand turn at the 5 mile mark, my face seemed to forget the rain and I just got used to the fact I was going to be looking through speckled glasses for the race because I left my cycling cap at home-the one thing I forgot to pack. I slowed into the turn not wanting to wipe out, and pushed forward out of the turn.
A passing sign reminded me I was in the Dismal Swamp area. Dismal seemed to be the word of the day. My heart rate settled at or near 170 bpm and my legs ached, but I was still pretty dry on the inside so I settled in for cyclist suffering. I pushed on seesawing between 17.5 mph and 20 mph. Riding on a flat area seemed a lot harder than I thought it would be. At about the 10 mile mark, I heard this rumbling behind me and looked to my left as the first tri-guy in the starter tent passed me on the left. Expensive wheels sound different in the rain...more intimidating. He was nice though smiling and encouraging me to push forward harder. Having wheels like the guys who had the Zipps would be nice at some point in the future I decided.
The turn back to Suffolk came at 12.5 miles which was basically a turn from the right lane going south to the other lane going north. I over shot and the officials let me know and pointed me back the other way over the timing bumps. Ok, half done on race one. My average speed was 19.3 mph at that point, I hoped I would finish with that speed or better.
At the 17 mile mark I realized I was out of my element or I didn't fuel correctly or both. My speed was dropping and I changed gearing over and over again, but still couldn't get comfortable or settle into anything approaching a rhythm. How did the tri-guys do it? Was it the aero bars that gave them the edge on settling into a cadence? I didn't know at that point, but made a note to do some questioning on the subject.
I started to get a second burst of energy at the 21 mile mark, so I picked up my pace and finished stronger than the previous several miles. Crossing the line, I looked at my watch. I had 43 minutes before I would head out again. I did the first race at 1:21:13 or 18.7 mph. Not bad, but disappointing that my average speed dropped from the first half. I'd find out later that I would finish 36th out of 39 in the CAT5, which meant nearly half the field no showed for the race because 64 registered originally. Wimps!
Getting back to the Jeep after winding my legs down a bit, I checked my watch to see now I had 34 minutes before I would head out again. I took my Windstopper jacket off to change jerseys. The jacket kept me dry, but was like a sponge and seemed to weigh pounds more than it did dry. I changed into a second base layer and jersey while getting out my cycling rain slicker. I wanted to see if this helped with the weight because I wasn't noticing the cold as much as when I started. I checked the temperature in the Jeep again, 44 degrees. WOW a heat wave! After a couple of squirts from the water bottle and some nutrition, I threw on my rain and slicker. Watch check, 12 minutes to go, so I closed the hatch and remounted my bike to warm my legs up again before I headed back to the starters tent.
"Anyone else doing the course twice today beside me?", I asked the guy who was there the first time I headed out. "You're kidding, right? Not that I know of", he said looking at me like I was insane. "30 seconds...10... GO!" and I was off again. In my head according to the starter as well as on my bike.
The second leg was the virtually same as the first with the same cadence and gearing struggles, but I was also feeling the effort from the first race. I made the turn at the half way mark at an average speed of 18.5, which was disappointing, but I decided to ride as best I could and make notes on lessons learned. My legs were ready to stop pedaling as I crossed the line the second time. My second time was 1:23:57 or 18.2 mph. I later found out my CAT5 time would have put me 4 slots higher than I finished with my Masters time in that group. DAMN!
I rode a bit to avoid shocking my legs by just stopping. After about 5-10 minutes I loaded my bike and changed clothes for the ride home. The rain had picked up as I got into my Masters race and it kicked up a notch again as I pulled on to the road to head home. I was glad to be in the warm Jeep with time to think. I was reasonably satisfied with my effort since it was the first time. I had also ridden 50.5 miles in roughly 2 hours and 45 minutes, not too shabby for a 46 year old guy. However, I was frustrated that I couldn't seem to settle into a rhythm for either race.
I felt surprisingly good the next day maybe because I drank loads of water the rest of the day and stretched once I got home. I also didn't load up on junk food despite huge cravings. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to do well in TTs unless I get some training and a TT specific bike. I'm sure a different bike wouldn't have shaved a huge portion of my time without training, but I think it might have helped me feel more comfortable. More lessons learned on the journey!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
I can see clearly now, my trip to the Human Performance Lab
Monday I was like a kid waiting to get out of school. I knew my trip to the Human Performance Lab was going to be very interesting, eye opening, and possibly fun. I ultimately learned I was less than half the man Lance Armstrong is with regard to VO2Max, and probably 4 times the man he is with regard to body fat, but we'll get to that in a bit.
I got to the lab 20 minutes early to be ready for the 5:30 appointment. The tests would conducted while I road my bike so I didn't have to learn anything about operating a test bike. I dropped my bike in the lab and got changed.
The tests started with measuring my height and weight. The height was the usual 5'9", but my weight, at 175 lbs, pissed me off because I'm 20 lbs heavier than I want to be. Next came the body fat composition measurements. I felt OK with all the pinch measurements - there were 8 I think, until they got to just right of my belly button. That's when I realized at least one area of my body that needed to be significantly smaller.
Chris Newport the lab coordinator hooked my bike up to a trainer and a cadence sensor. She hooked a heart rate monitor to me. I switched on my Garmin so I could have a frame of reference for what I was doing since I couldn't see their data. Riding a steady speed and candence was important. The trainer was set to hold me at a specific level of watts regardless of cadence or speed.
The trainer and I warmed up at 50 watts for a few minutes while Chris calibrated the monitors. I got a swallow or two of water and then they hooked me up to the breathing mask to measure my VO2Max. It was more comfortable than I thought it might be, but I felt a bit like Darth Vader and sounded like him too.
The test started at 100 watts and ramped 30 watts every 3 minutes until I blew up at 280 watts. The lactic acid measurements came from blood drops taken from my ear lobe. I forgot to ask why they were taking it from my ear lobe, but it didn't hurt and I barely noticed. The test felt like going up a gentle climb until getting to 190 watts. It felt very hard starting at 250. I hit my lactic threshold at 161 bpm heart rate and 215 watts according to the tests. I now know exactly what hitting my lactic threshold feels like for the first time.
After exploding at 280 watts, the mask came off, and Chris ramped the trainer down to 100 watts to let me spin down gracefully for about 5 minutes. WATER!!! I got some water, cooled down and then they pointed me to the showers. It took them about 15-20 minutes to crunch the numbers. The test from warm up to cool down took about 40 minutes.
I got showered, changed and headed back to the lab. Chris was still crunching the numbers, but she told me immediately I was "over reaching" in my training. My Saturday 73 mile ride was a bad idea in retrospect and forced them to adjust the numbers a bit, but the first conclusion was the same. I was training the wrong way. Riding full out most of the time was not helping and was actually hurting my immediate and long-term performance. Time for a change in approach.
Cycling has been my therapy for the last 3 years or so and I've tended to ride like a mad man every time I get into the saddle so I could come home a nicer more normal person. I don't have ride like that now to be sane, so I need to train more efficiently, with a goal for every ride and half the rides should be"recovery rides". Recovery rides, after a discussion with the lab team, mean staying in the base area without spikes into the T1 area, thus avoiding muscle breakdowns. This is so I'll be ready to break my muscles down the right way on T1-T2 rides.
There was some good news in the results. My VO2Max at 40.3 is in the "good" range for a 46 year old. My body fat, at 18.3%, was also actually in the "good" range. I felt fat, but I was in the good range? Really?! Chubby must be the new normal! My percent of VO2Max at my lactic threshold was 82.8 % and my watts/kg at my lactic threshold was 2.71.
With Chris' input, I established the following goals:
Nearly all of my training before these tests tended to be somewhere in the T2-SS zones. I tried to convince myself that riding at 135 bpm wasn't riding hard enough. I proved that theory wrong by riding the next day watching heart rate most of time and ignoring my speed. Ok it could be done, if I focused, which is the bane of my existence-focus! She said I would lose weight faster and get faster if I backed off half the time and quit killing it all the time, because at higher speeds your body stops buring fat and only burns carbs.
I have to admit, nutrition and fuel during rides have been a mysteries to me. Chris explained my kcal/min fuel consumption at specific heart rates. Matching the kcal/min to heart rate multiplied by length of ride and you have the calories needed to break even. Meaning, a recovery ride at 139 bpm average rate for 60 minutes means 570 calories at 9.5 kcal/min. WOW it all makes sense now.
Chris suggested finding a sports drink I liked cold and warm. We discussed several brands and the ones I've liked seemed to be the ones she recommended. We also discussed gels and food. Gels seem to be more sugar with some electrolytes. In her opinion, food or gels are for the times you want to put something in your stomach that might stay there awhile longer than a sports drink thus delaying hunger.
The trip to the HPL will no doubt have a direct impact on my fitness and race results. I now understand how to correctly train for long term perfomance improvement, which will also improve my overall health. I have clear numeric goals with an understanding of how to achieve them and how to measure progress. The world of nutrition for rides is now significantly more clear than it was before my visit. I know I could take multiple classes and read labels for days, but the critical points are now clear.
Now all I need to do is follow their instructions and apply what I've learned. How tough could that be? Well it won't be easy since I want to kill it every time I ride, however, I am comitted to making it happen.
I got to the lab 20 minutes early to be ready for the 5:30 appointment. The tests would conducted while I road my bike so I didn't have to learn anything about operating a test bike. I dropped my bike in the lab and got changed.
The tests started with measuring my height and weight. The height was the usual 5'9", but my weight, at 175 lbs, pissed me off because I'm 20 lbs heavier than I want to be. Next came the body fat composition measurements. I felt OK with all the pinch measurements - there were 8 I think, until they got to just right of my belly button. That's when I realized at least one area of my body that needed to be significantly smaller.
Chris Newport the lab coordinator hooked my bike up to a trainer and a cadence sensor. She hooked a heart rate monitor to me. I switched on my Garmin so I could have a frame of reference for what I was doing since I couldn't see their data. Riding a steady speed and candence was important. The trainer was set to hold me at a specific level of watts regardless of cadence or speed.
The trainer and I warmed up at 50 watts for a few minutes while Chris calibrated the monitors. I got a swallow or two of water and then they hooked me up to the breathing mask to measure my VO2Max. It was more comfortable than I thought it might be, but I felt a bit like Darth Vader and sounded like him too.
The test started at 100 watts and ramped 30 watts every 3 minutes until I blew up at 280 watts. The lactic acid measurements came from blood drops taken from my ear lobe. I forgot to ask why they were taking it from my ear lobe, but it didn't hurt and I barely noticed. The test felt like going up a gentle climb until getting to 190 watts. It felt very hard starting at 250. I hit my lactic threshold at 161 bpm heart rate and 215 watts according to the tests. I now know exactly what hitting my lactic threshold feels like for the first time.
After exploding at 280 watts, the mask came off, and Chris ramped the trainer down to 100 watts to let me spin down gracefully for about 5 minutes. WATER!!! I got some water, cooled down and then they pointed me to the showers. It took them about 15-20 minutes to crunch the numbers. The test from warm up to cool down took about 40 minutes.
I got showered, changed and headed back to the lab. Chris was still crunching the numbers, but she told me immediately I was "over reaching" in my training. My Saturday 73 mile ride was a bad idea in retrospect and forced them to adjust the numbers a bit, but the first conclusion was the same. I was training the wrong way. Riding full out most of the time was not helping and was actually hurting my immediate and long-term performance. Time for a change in approach.
Cycling has been my therapy for the last 3 years or so and I've tended to ride like a mad man every time I get into the saddle so I could come home a nicer more normal person. I don't have ride like that now to be sane, so I need to train more efficiently, with a goal for every ride and half the rides should be"recovery rides". Recovery rides, after a discussion with the lab team, mean staying in the base area without spikes into the T1 area, thus avoiding muscle breakdowns. This is so I'll be ready to break my muscles down the right way on T1-T2 rides.
There was some good news in the results. My VO2Max at 40.3 is in the "good" range for a 46 year old. My body fat, at 18.3%, was also actually in the "good" range. I felt fat, but I was in the good range? Really?! Chubby must be the new normal! My percent of VO2Max at my lactic threshold was 82.8 % and my watts/kg at my lactic threshold was 2.71.
With Chris' input, I established the following goals:
- Push VO2Max to above 45 ml/kg/min which would put me in the "excellent range" for men my age.
- Drop my weight to 155 lbs (70.3 kgs), or about 7.5% body fat. 10% would be 159 lbs (72.12 kgs), which is where I was last summer.
- Push my % of VO2Max at lactic threshold to above 85%
- Produce over 3.1 watts/kg power at my lactic threshold which would be 225 watts at 159 lbs, or dropping my weight to 70.3 kgs and producing the same 215 watts at my lactic threshold.
- Max watts of over 4.25 watts/kg for a 3 minute time. I'm at 3.528 now. I can hit that with with weight loss down to 155 and 300 max watts or 306 at 159 lbs.
- Moving my lactic threshold curve to the right which means to raise the level and delay hitting my lactic threshold. I should have talked to her more about what is reasonable, but spaced on it.
Nearly all of my training before these tests tended to be somewhere in the T2-SS zones. I tried to convince myself that riding at 135 bpm wasn't riding hard enough. I proved that theory wrong by riding the next day watching heart rate most of time and ignoring my speed. Ok it could be done, if I focused, which is the bane of my existence-focus! She said I would lose weight faster and get faster if I backed off half the time and quit killing it all the time, because at higher speeds your body stops buring fat and only burns carbs.
I have to admit, nutrition and fuel during rides have been a mysteries to me. Chris explained my kcal/min fuel consumption at specific heart rates. Matching the kcal/min to heart rate multiplied by length of ride and you have the calories needed to break even. Meaning, a recovery ride at 139 bpm average rate for 60 minutes means 570 calories at 9.5 kcal/min. WOW it all makes sense now.
Chris suggested finding a sports drink I liked cold and warm. We discussed several brands and the ones I've liked seemed to be the ones she recommended. We also discussed gels and food. Gels seem to be more sugar with some electrolytes. In her opinion, food or gels are for the times you want to put something in your stomach that might stay there awhile longer than a sports drink thus delaying hunger.
The trip to the HPL will no doubt have a direct impact on my fitness and race results. I now understand how to correctly train for long term perfomance improvement, which will also improve my overall health. I have clear numeric goals with an understanding of how to achieve them and how to measure progress. The world of nutrition for rides is now significantly more clear than it was before my visit. I know I could take multiple classes and read labels for days, but the critical points are now clear.
Now all I need to do is follow their instructions and apply what I've learned. How tough could that be? Well it won't be easy since I want to kill it every time I ride, however, I am comitted to making it happen.
Sponsor Product! Rocket Bottles bring Aerospace Design to Your Sport Drinks
The cycling and triathlon world is full of companies with cool names to draw your attention. However, it is rare to find a company name that embodies not only the founders but also their products. Enter Rocket Science Sports a company started by Marcin Sochacki a triathlete who also studied aerospace engineering at the University of Texas.
Rocket Science Sports develops products engineered to cut through the air or water more efficiently and loaded with highly useful features and design elements. This becomes more significant with greater distances in the air or water and speed. While I’m not looking to shave 3 seconds off my personal record on a century ride-yet, I immediately appreciated the design of the bottles for other features.
Rocket Science Sports develops products engineered to cut through the air or water more efficiently and loaded with highly useful features and design elements. This becomes more significant with greater distances in the air or water and speed. While I’m not looking to shave 3 seconds off my personal record on a century ride-yet, I immediately appreciated the design of the bottles for other features.
- The bottles are very light and easier to squeeze than the bottles I had been using. This is more of an issue in colder weather, however in any weather it's hard to breathe, suck and pedal at the same time. Well it is for me!
- The bottles are made with safe and environmentally friendly plastic (PE#4), which is completely recyclable.
- Rocket Bottles are designed for holding 20 ounces of liquid, but they seemed to hold as much if not more than my bottles sold as 24 ounces.
- A tiny detail I immediately appreciated was the inside of the top is dome shaped. Why is that a nice detail? Have you ever filled your bottles up to the top and tried to shake them up to dissolve powdered drinks? You can’t, so you end up short filling them so you can.
- The bottles also have a silicon washer at the top where it meets the screw in bottle so they don’t leak. Why silicon? Because it works better than nothing and regular rubber. Excellent thinking by product management.
- The water level window on the side is nice to keep up with how much fluid is left. You end up shaking bottles that don’t have this design to guess how much is there or taking the top off.
- The Rocket Bottles taper at the bottom which helps them go into cages much easier than other similar bottles. The groove underneath the top is an easy surface to grab even with winter gloves and the dimples add traction. I've often struggled to get other wider bottles or ones with slick surfaces out with gloves or with sweaty hands.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Great weather, silly car mishaps, and lost gear
WOW, it seems spring may have finally shoved winter out of the way here in eastern North Carolina. There were two spectacular weekend days and a pretty good Friday. I enjoyed logging over 115 miles over those three days. One of the other great thing this weekend was the beginning of my 2009 cyclist tan. You know, the one that looks like a farmer tan only way cooler, right? It's also daylight savings time now, meaning an extra hour of training time!
Friday was a fairly normal ride other than almost getting t-boned by an idiot, which was not the name I thought of at the time, in a Mazda 626. She decided to cut in front of me on a left hand turn close enough for me to see what color her hair was as I felt the breeze from her car blow past. I looked behind me for a split second to see what the car situation was there and nearly ended up wearing a Japanese sedan to Friday night dinner with the family.
Why do people in cars do this stuff? On more than one occasion I have put my hand out on a car to keep from hitting it after locking up my breaks. I've been clipped by side view mirrors-twice. The first time was like being hit suddenly from behind and pushed forward. Luckily I managed to stay rolling and not splattered.
The second time I was not so lucky. I got clipped by a Tahoe's side view mirror with such force it put me in a ditch and threw my bike 10 feet away from me. I still don't know exactly what happened. One minute I was riding, the next I wasn't. I was only bruised and my bike wasn't hurt beyond changing some bar tape. The maddening thing was the guy got out of the car and didn't ask me if I was ok. Instead, he asked me if why I hit his truck. Those that know me best can predict my response to his question and it wasn't to wish him well on the rest of his ride home. The silver lining in that accident was the whole thing happened in front of a doctor who saw it all and checked me out before I rode home. Guess what? He was not just a doctor, but also a cyclist. Thank God for the little things in life. I knew that he wouldn't let me ride if I was too messed up, so I trusted him when he said I was ok to get home on my own if it wasn't too far.
This was a bad weekend for gear, which was the only bad thing. I lost not one, but two saddle bags with a spare tube, tire wrenches and a CO2 inflator. Grand total: nearly $100 when you add it all up. I think the lesson is to check the security of my saddle bag every once in awhile to make sure it's there. I guess a couple of good bumps knocked both of them off. So it's another trip to the bike shop to reload again. Sure as the world I'll blow a tube if I don't.
I need to give a shout out to my wife, the lovely and ever tolerant Deborah, for cutting me loose with time for my best ride of the year on Saturday. I did 73.06 miles at 18.5 mph, which is pretty darn good for this point of the season. The first 35 miles were biased nearly all uphill, the next 15-20 were sharp rolling hills and the rest was nearly all down hill. I'm not crazy! I felt awesome the last 10 miles and still had something left to drop the hammer.
Today was payback time. Deborah and I went for a recovery ride for me and her first ride of the season. I checked her bike out, made sure her iPod was juiced up, loaded some new music as a surprise and we were off. We rolled wherever she wanted to go for about an hour and a half until it was time to pick up one of our daughters. My legs felt better to spin some of the stiffness out and she loved the workout she got. It was nice on a day to ride as the temperature broke above 80 degrees again.
Tomorrow I head off to one of my sponsors, the Human Peformance Lab, for endurance testing. I can't wait to get a baseline of where I am now and to get some coaching on how to improve. One of my questions is going to be how to best lose the 15 lbs I don't want to take with me on rides. I'm not too chunky at 173 lbs and 5'9", but I'd like to be closer to 155 than I am now. I'd need to be 140 if I was racing in Europe. Last summer I got down to 158 for a bit and felt great. The goal for this year is to get below that quicker and stay there.
The European race season began in earnest today. It was really inspiring to watch the first stage of Paris-Nice. Contador absolutely slayed it with an average speed of over 30 mph on a 9.3 mile course in the rain and with temperatures in the forties.
This had to have driven a dagger into the heart of all his would be challengers because they know how devastating he is in the mountains and there are 4 mountain stages out of 8 in the race. Alberto had something to prove from last year and I think he made a statement today that might have already ended the race in the rain just outside Paris.
Friday was a fairly normal ride other than almost getting t-boned by an idiot, which was not the name I thought of at the time, in a Mazda 626. She decided to cut in front of me on a left hand turn close enough for me to see what color her hair was as I felt the breeze from her car blow past. I looked behind me for a split second to see what the car situation was there and nearly ended up wearing a Japanese sedan to Friday night dinner with the family.
Why do people in cars do this stuff? On more than one occasion I have put my hand out on a car to keep from hitting it after locking up my breaks. I've been clipped by side view mirrors-twice. The first time was like being hit suddenly from behind and pushed forward. Luckily I managed to stay rolling and not splattered.
The second time I was not so lucky. I got clipped by a Tahoe's side view mirror with such force it put me in a ditch and threw my bike 10 feet away from me. I still don't know exactly what happened. One minute I was riding, the next I wasn't. I was only bruised and my bike wasn't hurt beyond changing some bar tape. The maddening thing was the guy got out of the car and didn't ask me if I was ok. Instead, he asked me if why I hit his truck. Those that know me best can predict my response to his question and it wasn't to wish him well on the rest of his ride home. The silver lining in that accident was the whole thing happened in front of a doctor who saw it all and checked me out before I rode home. Guess what? He was not just a doctor, but also a cyclist. Thank God for the little things in life. I knew that he wouldn't let me ride if I was too messed up, so I trusted him when he said I was ok to get home on my own if it wasn't too far.
This was a bad weekend for gear, which was the only bad thing. I lost not one, but two saddle bags with a spare tube, tire wrenches and a CO2 inflator. Grand total: nearly $100 when you add it all up. I think the lesson is to check the security of my saddle bag every once in awhile to make sure it's there. I guess a couple of good bumps knocked both of them off. So it's another trip to the bike shop to reload again. Sure as the world I'll blow a tube if I don't.
I need to give a shout out to my wife, the lovely and ever tolerant Deborah, for cutting me loose with time for my best ride of the year on Saturday. I did 73.06 miles at 18.5 mph, which is pretty darn good for this point of the season. The first 35 miles were biased nearly all uphill, the next 15-20 were sharp rolling hills and the rest was nearly all down hill. I'm not crazy! I felt awesome the last 10 miles and still had something left to drop the hammer.
Today was payback time. Deborah and I went for a recovery ride for me and her first ride of the season. I checked her bike out, made sure her iPod was juiced up, loaded some new music as a surprise and we were off. We rolled wherever she wanted to go for about an hour and a half until it was time to pick up one of our daughters. My legs felt better to spin some of the stiffness out and she loved the workout she got. It was nice on a day to ride as the temperature broke above 80 degrees again.
Tomorrow I head off to one of my sponsors, the Human Peformance Lab, for endurance testing. I can't wait to get a baseline of where I am now and to get some coaching on how to improve. One of my questions is going to be how to best lose the 15 lbs I don't want to take with me on rides. I'm not too chunky at 173 lbs and 5'9", but I'd like to be closer to 155 than I am now. I'd need to be 140 if I was racing in Europe. Last summer I got down to 158 for a bit and felt great. The goal for this year is to get below that quicker and stay there.
The European race season began in earnest today. It was really inspiring to watch the first stage of Paris-Nice. Contador absolutely slayed it with an average speed of over 30 mph on a 9.3 mile course in the rain and with temperatures in the forties.
This had to have driven a dagger into the heart of all his would be challengers because they know how devastating he is in the mountains and there are 4 mountain stages out of 8 in the race. Alberto had something to prove from last year and I think he made a statement today that might have already ended the race in the rain just outside Paris.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Indoor Intervals Before the Weather Warms Up
I'm sure I'm not too different from other cyclists in that I have a love-hate relationship with my indoor trainer at this point of the off season. I have a nice CycleOps trainer that wasn't cheap so it's a great training tool, but I lack any enthusiasm to get on the thing now.
This week I have been hammering away on my trainer doing intervals to try to boost my VO2Max capacity and breath control in general. Necessary?Yes. A good training exercise? Yes according to all the cycling mags that had various iterations of this type of training in their November though February issues. Mind numbing? Totally. I have ridden with my iPod and set the trainer up in front of the family room TV, but in the end I'm ridding my bike inside and it's gotten stale. Give me 90 degrees with 80 percent humidity over winter any time. I'm ready now!
Last weekend when I had tons of time the weather was aweful. I got mad enough to ride any way, but about froze my hands off. This weekend is going to be spectacular weather and I don't have half the time I did the weekend before. The week started in the 20's with 1-2 inches of snow, which shut the city down. This is a total joke to people that relocate here from places that get real snows. The week will end in the 70's. In like a lion and headed to being a lamb is what March may be about this year. Weather in the Carolinas can be wickedly cruel this time of year, so that's the way it goes.
The good news this week is that I've scheduled my time to go to the Human Performance Lab here in Raleigh to get my pre-season/post race one baseline. I'm looking forward to meeting the team there and getting a better sense of where I am now and what they think is possible. The staff at the HPL are all athletes themselves so they can relate not just test.
The best thing to look forward to this weekend other than the weather, is daylight savings returns! A full hour more of training time no matter what. Another thing to look forward to is the Spring Classics kick off with the race to the sun-Paris-Nice. It should be a good test to see how the big teams and best riders are going to fair this season. It's also been a barometer of who could be on track to win the Tour in July. It should be fun to watch!
This week I have been hammering away on my trainer doing intervals to try to boost my VO2Max capacity and breath control in general. Necessary?Yes. A good training exercise? Yes according to all the cycling mags that had various iterations of this type of training in their November though February issues. Mind numbing? Totally. I have ridden with my iPod and set the trainer up in front of the family room TV, but in the end I'm ridding my bike inside and it's gotten stale. Give me 90 degrees with 80 percent humidity over winter any time. I'm ready now!
Last weekend when I had tons of time the weather was aweful. I got mad enough to ride any way, but about froze my hands off. This weekend is going to be spectacular weather and I don't have half the time I did the weekend before. The week started in the 20's with 1-2 inches of snow, which shut the city down. This is a total joke to people that relocate here from places that get real snows. The week will end in the 70's. In like a lion and headed to being a lamb is what March may be about this year. Weather in the Carolinas can be wickedly cruel this time of year, so that's the way it goes.
The good news this week is that I've scheduled my time to go to the Human Performance Lab here in Raleigh to get my pre-season/post race one baseline. I'm looking forward to meeting the team there and getting a better sense of where I am now and what they think is possible. The staff at the HPL are all athletes themselves so they can relate not just test.
The best thing to look forward to this weekend other than the weather, is daylight savings returns! A full hour more of training time no matter what. Another thing to look forward to is the Spring Classics kick off with the race to the sun-Paris-Nice. It should be a good test to see how the big teams and best riders are going to fair this season. It's also been a barometer of who could be on track to win the Tour in July. It should be fun to watch!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Rain rides prior to March's Lion-like Start
Weather in eastern North Carolina can be unstable and volatile to say the least. Earlier in the last week of February saw temperatures in the low to mid 60's. Today, Sunday March 1st we're expecting 2-4 inches of snow, sleet and ice. I think every parent in the area is expecting to have kids at home tomorrow. What about next week? Monday should be in the 30's and the temperatures should rise about 10 degrees a day through next weekend. In like a lion, progressing like a lamb.
I started the weekend looking forward to being alone for 48 hours with the kids being away and Deborah taking our oldest to Myrtle Beach for a soccer tournament. I even planned a 90 mile plus ride for the occasion. I knew I would have to mount a stuffed animal rescue trip to Greensboro, and I had Girl Scout cookie booth duty on Sunday, but I couldn't wait! Make plans and God laughs. I gave Him plenty to chuckle at this weekend.
Friday was in the mid 50's and I watched all afternoon as a wall of water move from west to east. I went home for lunch to fill my Rocket Bottles (love these things!) lay out my clothes, and top off my tires. I was ready! All I would need to do is get home change and roll. With all that preparation, I was determined to go regardless of the rain. The rain broke until about half way through my ride the rain came back. I didn't care!
My replacement Garmin had arrived, but I decided to roll rather than diddle with the settings. That would wait. It was a great ride. My pedal strokes seemed to be effortlessly transferring power to the bike. As the sun set and the light was disappearing, I returned home feeling great. My clothes were damp, but my legs felt great!
I got up on Saturday to the sound of a steady rain. There was a chance that it would let up. At least that's what the weather geniuses had said. It was 55 degrees outside, but heavily raining.
Ok time to mount the teddy bear (Beary) and penquin (Penny) rescue and recovery effort. The trip to Greensboro was 2 1/2 hours round trip including the stop at the hotel to get the animals. Normally, I wouldn't blow a tank of gas to get any stuffed animal, but Beary was special. He's the animal that made it ok for my youngest daughter to come stay with me when I separated from her mother. Kendall said she missed Beary with a tone of saddness at something special that was missing. That was enough for me. I was going to go get Beary if at all possible.
I got back at 3:30 and the rain had let up a decent amount, but the temperature dropped 10 degrees. I said to heck with it, I'm going. I geared up with my my Windstopper gear and the rain jacket my wife got me for Christmas. I wanted to go at least 20 miles so I knew I would be cold and soaked at the end, but I wanted to hold it off as long as I could.
The first 5 miles or so were easy. The wind was whipping and the rain stung, but the rest of my body was in good shape. The rain started seeping into my shoes slowly, but noticeably. Hmm, why was that happening. I had neoprene shoe covers. Damn, I forgot to put some plastic on the inside of my shoes to cover the vents. Note to self: next year get winter shoes for riding. For the next several miles the warmth of my feet kept up with the water coming in, so it wasn't too bad.
I noticed my shins were the next to be soaked and get cold. I was trying to stay out of puddles, but the water was being flipped up everywhere. Now I understood why the rain jacket had a flap that dropped off the back and below the saddle. Detachable fenders might be a good investment too.
I made a concious effort to drink at stop lights. I noticed my speed and comfort actually got better into the ride. My legs were warm and my speed picked up. Then the next weak link started to be a problem-my hands. I had Windstopper gloves and liners that kept them warm, but they weren't waterproof. Third note to self: Warm waterproof gloves would be another good investment.
I made a decision to turn back at the 10 mile mark. I stopped for a drink and to put something in my stomach. I noticed that my index and middle fingers were the coldest probably because they were the ones in the wind the most. The gloves weren't soaked through yet, but they were close.
Ok, it wasn't getting any warmer, so I headed back. My hands were completely frozen by the 14 mile mark and my thighs where wet to the skin too. I started watching the Garmin more often to check the distance ridden and picked up speed towards home.
I walked in the door and all I wanted to do was get all my wet clothes off. I got most of the clothes off and my hands in my warmest gloves to warm them up naturally and slowly. I waited on a shower until my hands and feet were nearly normal.
I felt great about going out in the wet and cold to do a decent ride-19.75 miles at about 15 miles an hour. It wasn't like stages in the Tour of California where riding in conditions worse than that for over a 100 miles seem to happen every year. The next two days are going to be icy with snow, so it looks like it will be time on the trainer.
I started the weekend looking forward to being alone for 48 hours with the kids being away and Deborah taking our oldest to Myrtle Beach for a soccer tournament. I even planned a 90 mile plus ride for the occasion. I knew I would have to mount a stuffed animal rescue trip to Greensboro, and I had Girl Scout cookie booth duty on Sunday, but I couldn't wait! Make plans and God laughs. I gave Him plenty to chuckle at this weekend.
Friday was in the mid 50's and I watched all afternoon as a wall of water move from west to east. I went home for lunch to fill my Rocket Bottles (love these things!) lay out my clothes, and top off my tires. I was ready! All I would need to do is get home change and roll. With all that preparation, I was determined to go regardless of the rain. The rain broke until about half way through my ride the rain came back. I didn't care!
My replacement Garmin had arrived, but I decided to roll rather than diddle with the settings. That would wait. It was a great ride. My pedal strokes seemed to be effortlessly transferring power to the bike. As the sun set and the light was disappearing, I returned home feeling great. My clothes were damp, but my legs felt great!
I got up on Saturday to the sound of a steady rain. There was a chance that it would let up. At least that's what the weather geniuses had said. It was 55 degrees outside, but heavily raining.
Ok time to mount the teddy bear (Beary) and penquin (Penny) rescue and recovery effort. The trip to Greensboro was 2 1/2 hours round trip including the stop at the hotel to get the animals. Normally, I wouldn't blow a tank of gas to get any stuffed animal, but Beary was special. He's the animal that made it ok for my youngest daughter to come stay with me when I separated from her mother. Kendall said she missed Beary with a tone of saddness at something special that was missing. That was enough for me. I was going to go get Beary if at all possible.
I got back at 3:30 and the rain had let up a decent amount, but the temperature dropped 10 degrees. I said to heck with it, I'm going. I geared up with my my Windstopper gear and the rain jacket my wife got me for Christmas. I wanted to go at least 20 miles so I knew I would be cold and soaked at the end, but I wanted to hold it off as long as I could.
The first 5 miles or so were easy. The wind was whipping and the rain stung, but the rest of my body was in good shape. The rain started seeping into my shoes slowly, but noticeably. Hmm, why was that happening. I had neoprene shoe covers. Damn, I forgot to put some plastic on the inside of my shoes to cover the vents. Note to self: next year get winter shoes for riding. For the next several miles the warmth of my feet kept up with the water coming in, so it wasn't too bad.
I noticed my shins were the next to be soaked and get cold. I was trying to stay out of puddles, but the water was being flipped up everywhere. Now I understood why the rain jacket had a flap that dropped off the back and below the saddle. Detachable fenders might be a good investment too.
I made a concious effort to drink at stop lights. I noticed my speed and comfort actually got better into the ride. My legs were warm and my speed picked up. Then the next weak link started to be a problem-my hands. I had Windstopper gloves and liners that kept them warm, but they weren't waterproof. Third note to self: Warm waterproof gloves would be another good investment.
I made a decision to turn back at the 10 mile mark. I stopped for a drink and to put something in my stomach. I noticed that my index and middle fingers were the coldest probably because they were the ones in the wind the most. The gloves weren't soaked through yet, but they were close.
Ok, it wasn't getting any warmer, so I headed back. My hands were completely frozen by the 14 mile mark and my thighs where wet to the skin too. I started watching the Garmin more often to check the distance ridden and picked up speed towards home.
I walked in the door and all I wanted to do was get all my wet clothes off. I got most of the clothes off and my hands in my warmest gloves to warm them up naturally and slowly. I waited on a shower until my hands and feet were nearly normal.
I felt great about going out in the wet and cold to do a decent ride-19.75 miles at about 15 miles an hour. It wasn't like stages in the Tour of California where riding in conditions worse than that for over a 100 miles seem to happen every year. The next two days are going to be icy with snow, so it looks like it will be time on the trainer.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Race 1 Plus 10 Days Now What?
So why was there such a long gap between posting my race write up? There are a few sorry excuses and some cycling fan excuses, which are much more acceptable-sort of I suppose, but not really. Let's start with the sorriest reasons and what I learned from them.
I rode the Wolfpack road race with no exotic nutrition supplements before or after. That was mostly the plan, but not to the exclusion of taking care of my engine. A bad idea on retrospect. I loaded the Jeep and headed home as the rain really set in. The college kids where going to have interesting race conditions, a little bit of Belgium in North Carolina.
I was smart enough to put aside a bottle with some sports drink a protein bar and a couple of bagels. I guess that wasn't too bad, but I had some recovery drinks at home. However, I spaced on packing any. I turned on the seat warmer on, which felt good on my legs and headed out. I intellectually felt good about my first effort, but I could feel the ride and the rotten weather settling into my legs and oddly enough my triceps. Did I stretch much after the ride? No. Was that a mistake? Oh yeah definitely-more on that later.
I got a long hot shower after the hour ride home and still forgot to put much of anything back. The rest of the day was spent helping out around the house and enjoying Valentine's Day with my lovely and amazingly tolerant wife. I felt pretty good the rest of the day after my shower. I could tell I had ridden very hard, but I wasn't destroyed. My very smart wife prepared a great post race dinner of grilled salmon, sweet potatoes, green beans and some pasta. Tomorrow, I felt pretty rough in spite of the great dinner.
I got up the next morning to find my legs were very stiff and sore. Now I remembered I should have stretched. My triceps were almost as sore as my legs. Now I remembered I didn't drink anything for recovery. I'd kick my own ass if my legs weren't so sore.
I stretched and got out and rode a short distance at a moderate pace, which helped my legs. Why the heck were my arms so sore? I talked with a cyclist friend who is also a life science guy who asked if I was pulling up hard on the handlebars on the hills for leverage. Yeah I definitely did more than I normally did. Well that mystery was now solved, because that's what I did out of frustration at being dropped and in trying to get back in the race.
I've gotten back into training mode, but I haven't been able to ride as much as I would like because the weather has been pretty bad-cold (cold for a southerner), my Garmin bit the dust without any explanation and the Tour of California was on. A quick side note. The Garmin guys are the best I've encountered in a long time with regard to customer service. It's obvious they care, really care, and back their products to the maximum. I have a total man crush on them! I will never ride with any other bike computer-ever. They've earned my loyalty and fandom.
I enjoyed watching the Tour of California even though Leipheimer pretty much had it put away after the second stage. Given the choice to watch the ToC or ride, I watched. Bad decision, but the weather didn't help. I could have ridden my trainer, and did a couple of times, but not enough. I also spent some time working with my editor on planning the column. I also spent some time working on a sponsorship strategy. Good excuses? Not really. Do I need to try harder to train more. To quote Yoda, "do or do not there is no try."
So now what? It's time to get back in the saddle where I need to be. I need to more proactively schedule training with my wife based on kid schedules. The weather is going to get better, but that's not going to matter.
This weekend is a very odd occurrence. The kids are with the "ex's" and my wife is taking our oldest daughter to a soccer tournament. I'll be alone! Yeah I will miss my wife and kids, but I'm going to get a little under 48 hours of limited responsibilities and loads of time to ride. The plan is to do two LSD rides-longer slower distance. I'd like to see if I can stay in the saddle 6 hours and see how far I can go. I will be smarter about nutrition on these rides before, during and after.
I am jealous of the pros who blithely Twitter they are heading out on an 5-6 hour training ride with "the boys". I wish I was one of "the boys"! I know I can't be, but I can ride to be the best I can be this year. That's the goal!
I rode the Wolfpack road race with no exotic nutrition supplements before or after. That was mostly the plan, but not to the exclusion of taking care of my engine. A bad idea on retrospect. I loaded the Jeep and headed home as the rain really set in. The college kids where going to have interesting race conditions, a little bit of Belgium in North Carolina.
I was smart enough to put aside a bottle with some sports drink a protein bar and a couple of bagels. I guess that wasn't too bad, but I had some recovery drinks at home. However, I spaced on packing any. I turned on the seat warmer on, which felt good on my legs and headed out. I intellectually felt good about my first effort, but I could feel the ride and the rotten weather settling into my legs and oddly enough my triceps. Did I stretch much after the ride? No. Was that a mistake? Oh yeah definitely-more on that later.
I got a long hot shower after the hour ride home and still forgot to put much of anything back. The rest of the day was spent helping out around the house and enjoying Valentine's Day with my lovely and amazingly tolerant wife. I felt pretty good the rest of the day after my shower. I could tell I had ridden very hard, but I wasn't destroyed. My very smart wife prepared a great post race dinner of grilled salmon, sweet potatoes, green beans and some pasta. Tomorrow, I felt pretty rough in spite of the great dinner.
I got up the next morning to find my legs were very stiff and sore. Now I remembered I should have stretched. My triceps were almost as sore as my legs. Now I remembered I didn't drink anything for recovery. I'd kick my own ass if my legs weren't so sore.
I stretched and got out and rode a short distance at a moderate pace, which helped my legs. Why the heck were my arms so sore? I talked with a cyclist friend who is also a life science guy who asked if I was pulling up hard on the handlebars on the hills for leverage. Yeah I definitely did more than I normally did. Well that mystery was now solved, because that's what I did out of frustration at being dropped and in trying to get back in the race.
I've gotten back into training mode, but I haven't been able to ride as much as I would like because the weather has been pretty bad-cold (cold for a southerner), my Garmin bit the dust without any explanation and the Tour of California was on. A quick side note. The Garmin guys are the best I've encountered in a long time with regard to customer service. It's obvious they care, really care, and back their products to the maximum. I have a total man crush on them! I will never ride with any other bike computer-ever. They've earned my loyalty and fandom.
I enjoyed watching the Tour of California even though Leipheimer pretty much had it put away after the second stage. Given the choice to watch the ToC or ride, I watched. Bad decision, but the weather didn't help. I could have ridden my trainer, and did a couple of times, but not enough. I also spent some time working with my editor on planning the column. I also spent some time working on a sponsorship strategy. Good excuses? Not really. Do I need to try harder to train more. To quote Yoda, "do or do not there is no try."
So now what? It's time to get back in the saddle where I need to be. I need to more proactively schedule training with my wife based on kid schedules. The weather is going to get better, but that's not going to matter.
This weekend is a very odd occurrence. The kids are with the "ex's" and my wife is taking our oldest daughter to a soccer tournament. I'll be alone! Yeah I will miss my wife and kids, but I'm going to get a little under 48 hours of limited responsibilities and loads of time to ride. The plan is to do two LSD rides-longer slower distance. I'd like to see if I can stay in the saddle 6 hours and see how far I can go. I will be smarter about nutrition on these rides before, during and after.
I am jealous of the pros who blithely Twitter they are heading out on an 5-6 hour training ride with "the boys". I wish I was one of "the boys"! I know I can't be, but I can ride to be the best I can be this year. That's the goal!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
The first race and instant anerobia
I packed my gear the Friday night after getting a little time to ride on the road for the first time in days. It made since to get myself organized the night before. The drive was going to be at least a hour south of Raleigh and I wanted to leave time to get registered in time to warm up my legs.
Maybe it was excitement or worry over the race, but I didn't sleep well and was up at 5:00. I loaded all of my gear except my bike and clothes in the Jeep the night before. I made a quick breakfast of a couple of eggs and cheese. Next I got dressed, checked the weather one more time, and loaded my bike to head out. The weather looked like it was going to be warmer than anticipated by a few degrees with the rain possibly holding off until after my race.
I got to the race site with an hour to go. There were "kids" every where from colleges all over the southeast for their races in addition to the USACF races. That started to work on my head. I parked and found my way to registration. I had pre-registered so that was easy , but I did notice I had years on everyone in line except a few guys.
Race number in hand, I went back to the Jeep to unload my bike and trainer to warm my legs up. I didn't bring the pad to set up on, so I never really got the trainer settled, but I did warm up on it about 10 minutes before I gave up and decided to ride to finish warming up. It was 42 degrees, but no rain at that point.
I headed over to the start line about 5 minutes before and positioned myself in the middle of the pack. I made small talk with some of the guys enough to find a couple who also had never raced before. The race was late getting started by about 15-20 minutes. I looked down at my Garmin and noticed my heart rate was 150 beats per minute when it should have been closer to 100. Nerves and adreniline no doubt. I tried to calm myself down while the race organizer gave us some final instructions.
"Don't cross the yellow lines or you will be disqualified," she said. "I have no desire for any of you to die today. Also, you will NOT raise your hands in air when you cross the line. You are NOT Lance Armstrong." There was polite chuckles from the crowd. A few more instructions and then we're off. My heart rate was down to 137 bpm as I pushed off, which was calmer but I was still keyed up.
I promised myself that I wouldn't try to chase down the pack if it got away. I was going to ride my race and my race plan. The plan was to not wreck, finish stronger than I started and not finish last. The group took off and I tried to keep up and looked down at my Garmin at the top of the second hill, 180 beats per minute. Ok, I couldn't sustain that pace, so I dialed it back.
I tried to keep the pack in sight for as long as I could. I lost sight of them about the 10 mile mark. I settled down to ride "my race". An interesting thing happened at that point. I felt better and my heart rate slowed. I was last at that point, but I could see other riders up the road. So I picked up my pace and passed the first rider I met at about 10.5 miles. Man that felt good! I felt myself getting stronger, which was probably mostly mental, but it helped me push on. The rain started at that point. It continued intermitently until the end.
Between 11 and 12 mile mark I met the second rider and pushed on past him up the hill. Fourteen miles in I met the third rider, and I blew past him, but pulled up. "Hey you want to work together to try to catch up?," I called back. "Sure!", he yelled. So we worked together for the rest of the first lap. It was my turn to pull heading into the first hill so I took the lead, but he seemed to pull up and slow down. I looked back to see if he was going to keep up. He shrugged and motioned for me to take off. So I did
I felt my strength building because my legs were fully warmed up and my heart rate slowed down. I put my head down and picked up speed. I past my fourth and fifth riders as I got further into the lap. I yelled to one of the race officials to ask how far the group was ahead. "Over 5 minutes," he yelled back. That was really disheartening, but I pushed harder. The next turn cam and I asked again how far ahead they were and the answer was "4 or 5 minutes." Was I pulling some time back? Maybe, but maybe not. The answer gave me a little more energy to pull harder.
I past the the 1 KM sign and I heard "your left!" from behind me about 200-250 meters beyond it. DAMN! The women's CAT 4 group had caught me. They were scheduled to start 5 minutes after my CAT 5 race, but I don't know if that's what happened. Getting caught by them was a little disappointing, but I noticed 90 percent of the group were college women who would also be racing later that day in the collegiate races.
Recapping the goals of my first race, I realized I met my moddest goals. The first and most important goal was not to crash. That was easier since I wasn't riding in the pack for very long and the roads weren't too bad. Second, run faster than 18 mph, which I achieved by runnind 18.9 mph. I was very happy about that because the elevation of the course was more rolling than I thought and that Mapmyride.com had indicated. There were 3 ten percent grade hills and averal five percent or more. Third, I didn't want to finish last. I actually past 5 other riders, but didn't finish near the main group of riders. There's an area to improve on.
My average heart rate, 172 bpm, was significantly higher than a normal ride. That's another area to improve on. I got more comfortable and stable as the race went on, but there is a signifcant improvement that could be made in conditioning and weight. How much better would I have ridden if my weight was closer to 150 than 170 pounds? Professional riders my height are all 150 pounds or less. What if I had better equipment, coaching and nutritional advice? I hope to find out!
Maybe it was excitement or worry over the race, but I didn't sleep well and was up at 5:00. I loaded all of my gear except my bike and clothes in the Jeep the night before. I made a quick breakfast of a couple of eggs and cheese. Next I got dressed, checked the weather one more time, and loaded my bike to head out. The weather looked like it was going to be warmer than anticipated by a few degrees with the rain possibly holding off until after my race.
I got to the race site with an hour to go. There were "kids" every where from colleges all over the southeast for their races in addition to the USACF races. That started to work on my head. I parked and found my way to registration. I had pre-registered so that was easy , but I did notice I had years on everyone in line except a few guys.
Race number in hand, I went back to the Jeep to unload my bike and trainer to warm my legs up. I didn't bring the pad to set up on, so I never really got the trainer settled, but I did warm up on it about 10 minutes before I gave up and decided to ride to finish warming up. It was 42 degrees, but no rain at that point.
I headed over to the start line about 5 minutes before and positioned myself in the middle of the pack. I made small talk with some of the guys enough to find a couple who also had never raced before. The race was late getting started by about 15-20 minutes. I looked down at my Garmin and noticed my heart rate was 150 beats per minute when it should have been closer to 100. Nerves and adreniline no doubt. I tried to calm myself down while the race organizer gave us some final instructions.
"Don't cross the yellow lines or you will be disqualified," she said. "I have no desire for any of you to die today. Also, you will NOT raise your hands in air when you cross the line. You are NOT Lance Armstrong." There was polite chuckles from the crowd. A few more instructions and then we're off. My heart rate was down to 137 bpm as I pushed off, which was calmer but I was still keyed up.
I promised myself that I wouldn't try to chase down the pack if it got away. I was going to ride my race and my race plan. The plan was to not wreck, finish stronger than I started and not finish last. The group took off and I tried to keep up and looked down at my Garmin at the top of the second hill, 180 beats per minute. Ok, I couldn't sustain that pace, so I dialed it back.
I tried to keep the pack in sight for as long as I could. I lost sight of them about the 10 mile mark. I settled down to ride "my race". An interesting thing happened at that point. I felt better and my heart rate slowed. I was last at that point, but I could see other riders up the road. So I picked up my pace and passed the first rider I met at about 10.5 miles. Man that felt good! I felt myself getting stronger, which was probably mostly mental, but it helped me push on. The rain started at that point. It continued intermitently until the end.
Between 11 and 12 mile mark I met the second rider and pushed on past him up the hill. Fourteen miles in I met the third rider, and I blew past him, but pulled up. "Hey you want to work together to try to catch up?," I called back. "Sure!", he yelled. So we worked together for the rest of the first lap. It was my turn to pull heading into the first hill so I took the lead, but he seemed to pull up and slow down. I looked back to see if he was going to keep up. He shrugged and motioned for me to take off. So I did
I felt my strength building because my legs were fully warmed up and my heart rate slowed down. I put my head down and picked up speed. I past my fourth and fifth riders as I got further into the lap. I yelled to one of the race officials to ask how far the group was ahead. "Over 5 minutes," he yelled back. That was really disheartening, but I pushed harder. The next turn cam and I asked again how far ahead they were and the answer was "4 or 5 minutes." Was I pulling some time back? Maybe, but maybe not. The answer gave me a little more energy to pull harder.
I past the the 1 KM sign and I heard "your left!" from behind me about 200-250 meters beyond it. DAMN! The women's CAT 4 group had caught me. They were scheduled to start 5 minutes after my CAT 5 race, but I don't know if that's what happened. Getting caught by them was a little disappointing, but I noticed 90 percent of the group were college women who would also be racing later that day in the collegiate races.
Recapping the goals of my first race, I realized I met my moddest goals. The first and most important goal was not to crash. That was easier since I wasn't riding in the pack for very long and the roads weren't too bad. Second, run faster than 18 mph, which I achieved by runnind 18.9 mph. I was very happy about that because the elevation of the course was more rolling than I thought and that Mapmyride.com had indicated. There were 3 ten percent grade hills and averal five percent or more. Third, I didn't want to finish last. I actually past 5 other riders, but didn't finish near the main group of riders. There's an area to improve on.
My average heart rate, 172 bpm, was significantly higher than a normal ride. That's another area to improve on. I got more comfortable and stable as the race went on, but there is a signifcant improvement that could be made in conditioning and weight. How much better would I have ridden if my weight was closer to 150 than 170 pounds? Professional riders my height are all 150 pounds or less. What if I had better equipment, coaching and nutritional advice? I hope to find out!
Friday, February 13, 2009
The Power of Frustration and the Lessons of Scheduling
This has been a massively frustrating week. Sure there have been the usual work frustrations, and kid stuff, but that's normal. Nether of those are the cause of my frustrations. This week's frustration has centered around the weather and lack of training time.
The weather in Carolina has been amazing for mid February. The temps have been in the high 60's to mid 70's with blue sky. The only blemish on the amazing weather has been the wind, but even that would add to the challenge of training. It would have been something fun to manage on the bike.
How much have I trained since Monday? Forty-five minutes of a recovery ride and 20 minute of riding on my bike for pictures to be taken in conjunction with my column in Endurance Magazine. I haven't even been able to torture myself on my trainer this week. I guess this is a tapering of activities in getting ready to race tomorrow. That's what I'm telling or kidding myself with today.
The weather for race time at 8:00 AM is expected to be in the low 40's with wind and rain! Just like the boys deal with in the Belgium and France spring classics or the Tour of California last year. I'm going to get everything ready tonight and packed so I can get over early to try to warm my legs up on my trainer-under the hatchback of the Jeep, hopefully.
This week has been about more lessons learned. There seems to be a theme or trend here on learning lessons. First, medicine labeled with "Take with Food" is labeled that way for a reaons! I just about hurled yesterday morning when, on an empty stomach, I took the last antibiotic pill for my sinus infection. I think in the final analysis, I wish I had hurled, because I didn't feel right the rest of the day.
The other lesson is I should schedule my training a week ahead and communicate that to everyone relevant. I can get objections upfront and adjust as opposed to trying to shoe horn my way into saddle time. That will also give me the leverage to say, "remember, I scheduled this training time?".
I'll post again tomorrow when I get back from my race and have had a chance to thaw out. I have the gear to probably last two hours in the rain if that's what the conditions are. However, I'm pretty sure I will get to experience more of the legendary suffering cyclists go through for the love of our sport. I've set a goal of a sub 18 mph pace or less than 2 hours on the road. We'll see if I can make it.
The weather in Carolina has been amazing for mid February. The temps have been in the high 60's to mid 70's with blue sky. The only blemish on the amazing weather has been the wind, but even that would add to the challenge of training. It would have been something fun to manage on the bike.
How much have I trained since Monday? Forty-five minutes of a recovery ride and 20 minute of riding on my bike for pictures to be taken in conjunction with my column in Endurance Magazine. I haven't even been able to torture myself on my trainer this week. I guess this is a tapering of activities in getting ready to race tomorrow. That's what I'm telling or kidding myself with today.
The weather for race time at 8:00 AM is expected to be in the low 40's with wind and rain! Just like the boys deal with in the Belgium and France spring classics or the Tour of California last year. I'm going to get everything ready tonight and packed so I can get over early to try to warm my legs up on my trainer-under the hatchback of the Jeep, hopefully.
This week has been about more lessons learned. There seems to be a theme or trend here on learning lessons. First, medicine labeled with "Take with Food" is labeled that way for a reaons! I just about hurled yesterday morning when, on an empty stomach, I took the last antibiotic pill for my sinus infection. I think in the final analysis, I wish I had hurled, because I didn't feel right the rest of the day.
The other lesson is I should schedule my training a week ahead and communicate that to everyone relevant. I can get objections upfront and adjust as opposed to trying to shoe horn my way into saddle time. That will also give me the leverage to say, "remember, I scheduled this training time?".
I'll post again tomorrow when I get back from my race and have had a chance to thaw out. I have the gear to probably last two hours in the rain if that's what the conditions are. However, I'm pretty sure I will get to experience more of the legendary suffering cyclists go through for the love of our sport. I've set a goal of a sub 18 mph pace or less than 2 hours on the road. We'll see if I can make it.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Getting my legs working well again
Yesterday I took a day off riding, which was probably not a good idea. There wasn't time to get out and ride in spite of the amazing weather. Today my legs were still feeling a little rough, but not as bad as Monday. I got out for an pretty easy ride and focused on riding at a lower cadence and heart rate on a fairly flat route from downtown Raleigh, through NC State's campus and Dix Hospital.
I got stronger as the ride went on as my legs loosened up. I rode a steady average pace of 17.3 mph and 152 bpm heart rate. My climbing got stronger as the ride went on, which was good considering the climbs were mostly at the end of the ride. Maybe I actually rode a recovery ride without letting my need for speed to get the better of me. I hope I can get coaching to give me some real feedback on stuff like this.
Tomorrow is going to be in the mid 70's and I'm hoping I can get over to the Saturday race route to know what I'm facing going into the race.
I got stronger as the ride went on as my legs loosened up. I rode a steady average pace of 17.3 mph and 152 bpm heart rate. My climbing got stronger as the ride went on, which was good considering the climbs were mostly at the end of the ride. Maybe I actually rode a recovery ride without letting my need for speed to get the better of me. I hope I can get coaching to give me some real feedback on stuff like this.
Tomorrow is going to be in the mid 70's and I'm hoping I can get over to the Saturday race route to know what I'm facing going into the race.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Training Mistakes, Wind and Family Guilt
There were some clear lessons I learned this weekend none of them good. I'll break it down by training mistakes and then add the others. I rode a little over 80 miles this weekend in a 36 mile Saturday and a 45 mile Sunday. Saturday's weather was nearly perfect. Sunday was warmer, but the wind was a beast. I rode 4-6 degrees leaning into the wind at points and every direction on the compass seemed to be into a headwind. I lost time and energy in the wind. Wind like we get sometimes here can make a 40 mile ride feel like a 60 mile or more ride when you're done.
Saturday I took off way too fast in the beginning and I never got my heart rate under control. I ended up running 36 miles at 18.3 mph, but my average heart rate was 165 or at least 10-maybe 15 beats per minute too fast. My main problem was pace and control. I took off fast with no warm up and my body felt pretty good, but my lungs felt over used and abused when I was done and I know I lost power and speed toward the end when I was near empty. The reason possibly came from getting a later start than I wanted for my 36 mile route and wanting to beat the sun home. Dumb! I should have adjusted my route length and rode smarter.
Luckily, I felt pretty good Sunday and slept pretty well. I ate smart and got an earlier start thanks to my lovely and tolerant wife. I packed my bike in the Jeep to leave from my son's soccer tournament. Coming off the field he asked me for a drink off one of my water bottles and promptly drained half of a 24 oz bottle. I didn't think about it at the time and took off. I packed a decent amount of ride nutrition and a bit to spare since I was going longer so I was good there. Normally I take $5-$6 with me to refuel if needed while I'm out. I forgot this time, which is something I won't do again anytime soon. I was nearly bone dry at the 34-35 mile mark and completely dry at the 40 mile mark. I rode past my in-laws house to see if my mother in law would take pity on her boneheaded son in-law. Neither she nor my father in-law were home. That was at the 32 mile mark. By then I had already checked my jersey pocket and discovered no money there.
I took the most direct route home, but that was 13-14 miles from their house. I had a phone and could have called my wife to come bail me out, but I didn't want to do that, not because she would heckle me about it. I didn't want to admit I had been so dumb. Male ego strikes again! I limped home crawling up hills and trying to take advantage of the descents. My average speed on the ride when I was fueled was 19.4, that was awesome considering I was averaging 155 bpm on my heart rate. I felt good-right before the bottom fell out. I landed on my door step, very tired from the ride and the wind as well as completely empty. I crushed water bottles until I got a brain freeze and tried to get back something with a recovery drink. Both helped a little.
My wife then announced that I was cooking dinner since she had done the mom taxi thing and given me over 4 1/2 hours of ride time for the weekend. I could have whined, but I didn't. Instead I decided to make a great dinner and suck it up. The family was happy with the dinner. I announced I was dropping into the couch and the kids could get the dishes. I slept like I was in a coma and I'm sore today, if not wiser.
Now for the family guilt. I felt bad leaving my son's second game on Saturday to go ride, so I probably let that into my head as I took off. My wife was perfectly ok with me riding after both games on Sunday because she had run earlier in the day, but I didn't want to have her stop her mom time to come rescue me. My son didn't mind me riding because he thinks my training and racing is "cool". He understands training time too since he's an awesome little soccer player. I wouldn't use the "little" in front of him since he's 12 and clearly not little.
My wife would have lovingly come scrape me off the road without anything other than a smile and a knowing look that her husband had let testosterone and ego do him in as well as his legendary lack of memory. Both love me regardless and I am lucky, but I think I still feel a bit of guilty along with some sore legs and shoulders. All of that will heal with time. It was a good weekend with family that love and support me sometimes in spite of myself.
Saturday I took off way too fast in the beginning and I never got my heart rate under control. I ended up running 36 miles at 18.3 mph, but my average heart rate was 165 or at least 10-maybe 15 beats per minute too fast. My main problem was pace and control. I took off fast with no warm up and my body felt pretty good, but my lungs felt over used and abused when I was done and I know I lost power and speed toward the end when I was near empty. The reason possibly came from getting a later start than I wanted for my 36 mile route and wanting to beat the sun home. Dumb! I should have adjusted my route length and rode smarter.
Luckily, I felt pretty good Sunday and slept pretty well. I ate smart and got an earlier start thanks to my lovely and tolerant wife. I packed my bike in the Jeep to leave from my son's soccer tournament. Coming off the field he asked me for a drink off one of my water bottles and promptly drained half of a 24 oz bottle. I didn't think about it at the time and took off. I packed a decent amount of ride nutrition and a bit to spare since I was going longer so I was good there. Normally I take $5-$6 with me to refuel if needed while I'm out. I forgot this time, which is something I won't do again anytime soon. I was nearly bone dry at the 34-35 mile mark and completely dry at the 40 mile mark. I rode past my in-laws house to see if my mother in law would take pity on her boneheaded son in-law. Neither she nor my father in-law were home. That was at the 32 mile mark. By then I had already checked my jersey pocket and discovered no money there.
I took the most direct route home, but that was 13-14 miles from their house. I had a phone and could have called my wife to come bail me out, but I didn't want to do that, not because she would heckle me about it. I didn't want to admit I had been so dumb. Male ego strikes again! I limped home crawling up hills and trying to take advantage of the descents. My average speed on the ride when I was fueled was 19.4, that was awesome considering I was averaging 155 bpm on my heart rate. I felt good-right before the bottom fell out. I landed on my door step, very tired from the ride and the wind as well as completely empty. I crushed water bottles until I got a brain freeze and tried to get back something with a recovery drink. Both helped a little.
My wife then announced that I was cooking dinner since she had done the mom taxi thing and given me over 4 1/2 hours of ride time for the weekend. I could have whined, but I didn't. Instead I decided to make a great dinner and suck it up. The family was happy with the dinner. I announced I was dropping into the couch and the kids could get the dishes. I slept like I was in a coma and I'm sore today, if not wiser.
Now for the family guilt. I felt bad leaving my son's second game on Saturday to go ride, so I probably let that into my head as I took off. My wife was perfectly ok with me riding after both games on Sunday because she had run earlier in the day, but I didn't want to have her stop her mom time to come rescue me. My son didn't mind me riding because he thinks my training and racing is "cool". He understands training time too since he's an awesome little soccer player. I wouldn't use the "little" in front of him since he's 12 and clearly not little.
My wife would have lovingly come scrape me off the road without anything other than a smile and a knowing look that her husband had let testosterone and ego do him in as well as his legendary lack of memory. Both love me regardless and I am lucky, but I think I still feel a bit of guilty along with some sore legs and shoulders. All of that will heal with time. It was a good weekend with family that love and support me sometimes in spite of myself.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Life and Weather are the Enemies of Training
I had two great rides last weekend and one great ride Monday. And the rest of the week? A little bit of trainer time to practice pedal strokes and heart rate management. That's it. Maybe 10-20 miles the rest of the week. Hugely disappointing.
The reasons on retrospect are clear. First, was the weather that was not just cold, but it was damn cold. This was the kind of cold that damages exposed skin or induces things to fall off. Well it does to those of us in the South. I'm a cold weather wimp. I'm ok admitting it. I'd rather ride hours in 105 degrees than 2 hours in 35 degrees.
The second reason was life schedules that collide and the early onset of darkness this time of year. January and February are my least favorite months because of weather and light, but they are also busy times for large families. I use Google Calendar to keep up with it all. I have 5 individual calendars: 1) my work calendar, 2) my wife's work calendar, 3) my three kid's calendar, 4) her two kids calendar, and finally the new calendar-my training and race calendar. We as parents have demanding schedules, but add in two elite soccer player schedules, a basketball player, a competitive cheerleader, and our youngest that is a girl scout and wants to do gymnastics and you have the swirling vortex of chaos. This means my wife and I are frequently horse trading time for her to work out and run and I can ride. I'll admit that I probably come out ahead on total time to train.
What's the lesson of the week? PLANNING. I need to plan my training time ahead of time based on the projected weather and adjust to inside if needed. I probably also need to try to train early in the morning some. I've not been good at getting that done. On the plus side, the weather in eastern North Carolina is supposed to be spectacular this weekend. However, my sons have games 4 soccer games and one basketball game. Looks like there will be more juggling.
The reasons on retrospect are clear. First, was the weather that was not just cold, but it was damn cold. This was the kind of cold that damages exposed skin or induces things to fall off. Well it does to those of us in the South. I'm a cold weather wimp. I'm ok admitting it. I'd rather ride hours in 105 degrees than 2 hours in 35 degrees.
The second reason was life schedules that collide and the early onset of darkness this time of year. January and February are my least favorite months because of weather and light, but they are also busy times for large families. I use Google Calendar to keep up with it all. I have 5 individual calendars: 1) my work calendar, 2) my wife's work calendar, 3) my three kid's calendar, 4) her two kids calendar, and finally the new calendar-my training and race calendar. We as parents have demanding schedules, but add in two elite soccer player schedules, a basketball player, a competitive cheerleader, and our youngest that is a girl scout and wants to do gymnastics and you have the swirling vortex of chaos. This means my wife and I are frequently horse trading time for her to work out and run and I can ride. I'll admit that I probably come out ahead on total time to train.
What's the lesson of the week? PLANNING. I need to plan my training time ahead of time based on the projected weather and adjust to inside if needed. I probably also need to try to train early in the morning some. I've not been good at getting that done. On the plus side, the weather in eastern North Carolina is supposed to be spectacular this weekend. However, my sons have games 4 soccer games and one basketball game. Looks like there will be more juggling.
Monday, February 2, 2009
A Frustrating Day, so Drop the Hammer
I'm usually a easy going guy. I mostly live up to Deborah's nickname for me: "Tigger". But today sucked. I'm not going to give you the whole drawn out swamp of a day though.
I slept badly getting 3-4 hours. We went to bed about 11:15-11:30, but I couldn't turn things off. Did I have something with caffeine late in the day? I couldn't remember and that was more frustrating. Most mornings, I have the parent taxi duty which is dropping 5 kids at 4 schools. Today I had just Marrah and Bobby, but that meant getting up at in time to get her to school at 7:00. I felt rough getting up, so I got a long hot shower when I got back, which made me feel a little better. Next I got ready for work and got Bobby to school, which was easy. Bobby's my Ace and usually easy to get going.
The work day was frustrating trying to focus and get things done. I'm in charge of the IT and phone systems of our office move, which can be just loads of fun. Meanwhile there were "distractions" raging over email with one of my daughters, Deborah and "the ex". All was settled eventually, but it did nothing for my mood. I made a decision about 2:00 I was going to get out on a ride if at all possible and I was going to ride like I stole something, which would probably help me sleep at the very least.
I got home said hellos and checked on the status of homework. Thing seemed to be humming along with Jess our nanny in control. I headed upstairs to get dressed and get out. I installed a Google weather bug widget today, which might not have been a good idea. I watched the temperature rise all day and peak at 62 degrees about 4:00. I filled one water bottle, snapped in my Garmin and left the earlier part of the day behind.
One more frustration slapped me. I started out and my heart rate monitor wouldn't work right. I fiddled with it for about 5 minutes, gave up and pushed off. After a mile and a half in it worked fine. I was just going to ride away from the house into eastern Wake county for half an hour and then turn it around. I've ridden in the big ring for most of the last week and I was determined to stay there today. True to my commitment, I took off at a very fast pace of more than 20 mph, which I doubted I could sustain.
The route was pretty hilly for this part of the county with some pretty sharp climbs of 6-10 percent grades. I tried to save something on descents to have something to left for the climbs. I felt really good on the climbs and seemed to carry a lot of my momentum forward. I checked my numbers at the 30 minute mark . I had a 19 mph pace with more climbing than descending. Both were a surprise. The route felt more downhill than not. I took a big pull off my water bottle and headed back. The sun was setting, so I needed to head back.
Along the way back, I kept checking the Garmin to see where I was. I dipped below 19 mph for a good amount of the ride back, which honestly pissed me off. I started calculating what time per mile I needed to get to get back to 19 mph or north of there. The turn came at 9.7 miles, so I was assuming about 19.5 miles for the ride, which was good since it wasn't quite that much. At the 16 mile mark give or take, I calculated that I needed 3 minute miles the rest of the way back to hit the 19 mph mark for the whole ride. That's 20 mph average pace over road that was up and down, which meant it would be a stretch. If I caught too many speed and momentum killing lights, I wouldn't make it.
I fought the bike the rest of the way back only catching one light. I could see I was redlining my heart rate (170-180 beats per minute) and my legs were starting to bitch at me. I could tell I was pulling the bike and fighting up the hills, because I could feel my arms starting to complain too.
I topped the hill, pushed the button to stop the Garmin's time. I slowed and stopped feeling my pulse all over my body. 19:12 miles at 1:00:17! Finally I accomplished some thing positive on the day. I could feel sweat dripping everywhere including into and down my ears. That felt odd. I was scortched and I went home to get a shower. I finally felt like I acomplished something on the day. I know that pace might not be a lot for riders in better shape or with more experience, but it was a big thing for me. I think I'll sleep well tonight, or I hope I will.
It looks like the rest of the work week was going to be a trainer week since snow and colder weather is rolling in. I hate winter.
I slept badly getting 3-4 hours. We went to bed about 11:15-11:30, but I couldn't turn things off. Did I have something with caffeine late in the day? I couldn't remember and that was more frustrating. Most mornings, I have the parent taxi duty which is dropping 5 kids at 4 schools. Today I had just Marrah and Bobby, but that meant getting up at in time to get her to school at 7:00. I felt rough getting up, so I got a long hot shower when I got back, which made me feel a little better. Next I got ready for work and got Bobby to school, which was easy. Bobby's my Ace and usually easy to get going.
The work day was frustrating trying to focus and get things done. I'm in charge of the IT and phone systems of our office move, which can be just loads of fun. Meanwhile there were "distractions" raging over email with one of my daughters, Deborah and "the ex". All was settled eventually, but it did nothing for my mood. I made a decision about 2:00 I was going to get out on a ride if at all possible and I was going to ride like I stole something, which would probably help me sleep at the very least.
I got home said hellos and checked on the status of homework. Thing seemed to be humming along with Jess our nanny in control. I headed upstairs to get dressed and get out. I installed a Google weather bug widget today, which might not have been a good idea. I watched the temperature rise all day and peak at 62 degrees about 4:00. I filled one water bottle, snapped in my Garmin and left the earlier part of the day behind.
One more frustration slapped me. I started out and my heart rate monitor wouldn't work right. I fiddled with it for about 5 minutes, gave up and pushed off. After a mile and a half in it worked fine. I was just going to ride away from the house into eastern Wake county for half an hour and then turn it around. I've ridden in the big ring for most of the last week and I was determined to stay there today. True to my commitment, I took off at a very fast pace of more than 20 mph, which I doubted I could sustain.
The route was pretty hilly for this part of the county with some pretty sharp climbs of 6-10 percent grades. I tried to save something on descents to have something to left for the climbs. I felt really good on the climbs and seemed to carry a lot of my momentum forward. I checked my numbers at the 30 minute mark . I had a 19 mph pace with more climbing than descending. Both were a surprise. The route felt more downhill than not. I took a big pull off my water bottle and headed back. The sun was setting, so I needed to head back.
Along the way back, I kept checking the Garmin to see where I was. I dipped below 19 mph for a good amount of the ride back, which honestly pissed me off. I started calculating what time per mile I needed to get to get back to 19 mph or north of there. The turn came at 9.7 miles, so I was assuming about 19.5 miles for the ride, which was good since it wasn't quite that much. At the 16 mile mark give or take, I calculated that I needed 3 minute miles the rest of the way back to hit the 19 mph mark for the whole ride. That's 20 mph average pace over road that was up and down, which meant it would be a stretch. If I caught too many speed and momentum killing lights, I wouldn't make it.
I fought the bike the rest of the way back only catching one light. I could see I was redlining my heart rate (170-180 beats per minute) and my legs were starting to bitch at me. I could tell I was pulling the bike and fighting up the hills, because I could feel my arms starting to complain too.
I topped the hill, pushed the button to stop the Garmin's time. I slowed and stopped feeling my pulse all over my body. 19:12 miles at 1:00:17! Finally I accomplished some thing positive on the day. I could feel sweat dripping everywhere including into and down my ears. That felt odd. I was scortched and I went home to get a shower. I finally felt like I acomplished something on the day. I know that pace might not be a lot for riders in better shape or with more experience, but it was a big thing for me. I think I'll sleep well tonight, or I hope I will.
It looks like the rest of the work week was going to be a trainer week since snow and colder weather is rolling in. I hate winter.
Orange County Group Ride
Well here I go blogging my training and riding. I'm sure this will evolve over time, but I'm just going to get started.
Yesterday the weather in Eastern North Carolina as unbelieveable for February. The ride started at 2:30 with a group of guys I haven't ridden with before, but they were guys that ride with my cycling buddy Don. I met Don at his house and we road about 4.5 miles to meet the group. I didn't know quite what to expect. I didn't even know what route we were riding since there was no cue sheet. Don told me we were going to ride 25 miles "or so". There was a lot of "or so" since we rolled 34.5 miles. I was an hour late getting back to the house for watching the Super Bowl with friends and my family.
The group took off at a very comfortable pace, and slid into the group about two bikes back on the inside. The first fairly large hill broke up the group and I took off with the front group. There was a lot of testosterone flowing with a couple of guys trying to control the pace. I basically sat back. Don took off on one of the hills so I decided to chase him down and it was fun passing him on the way up.
Things slowed down after everyone calmed down a bit. I felt good that I held my own in the group. I've had my butt handed to me on more than one group ride. Orange county has much steeper hills than Wake county where I live. On an average ride, I'll have about 1100 feet in elevation change. The ride yesterday was over 2000 feet. That's nothing for guys that ride in the western part of North Carolina out west, but more than I was used to.
The ride pace was 17 mph and I felt pretty good after the ride.I didn't eat my self into oblivion when I got back. Fairly decent meal, no wine or beer-well a couple of root beers (that's one of my indulgences that I'm sure a nutritionist would stop) and lots of water. My legs were feeling a little sore later in the evening.
Yesterday the weather in Eastern North Carolina as unbelieveable for February. The ride started at 2:30 with a group of guys I haven't ridden with before, but they were guys that ride with my cycling buddy Don. I met Don at his house and we road about 4.5 miles to meet the group. I didn't know quite what to expect. I didn't even know what route we were riding since there was no cue sheet. Don told me we were going to ride 25 miles "or so". There was a lot of "or so" since we rolled 34.5 miles. I was an hour late getting back to the house for watching the Super Bowl with friends and my family.
The group took off at a very comfortable pace, and slid into the group about two bikes back on the inside. The first fairly large hill broke up the group and I took off with the front group. There was a lot of testosterone flowing with a couple of guys trying to control the pace. I basically sat back. Don took off on one of the hills so I decided to chase him down and it was fun passing him on the way up.
Things slowed down after everyone calmed down a bit. I felt good that I held my own in the group. I've had my butt handed to me on more than one group ride. Orange county has much steeper hills than Wake county where I live. On an average ride, I'll have about 1100 feet in elevation change. The ride yesterday was over 2000 feet. That's nothing for guys that ride in the western part of North Carolina out west, but more than I was used to.
The ride pace was 17 mph and I felt pretty good after the ride.I didn't eat my self into oblivion when I got back. Fairly decent meal, no wine or beer-well a couple of root beers (that's one of my indulgences that I'm sure a nutritionist would stop) and lots of water. My legs were feeling a little sore later in the evening.
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