31 May 2012

core

Yikes…! Today was conspiring against me.

I still felt like crap when I woke up so no gym. Then when I got to work I realized I had not brought any workout clothes with me so was reduced to sitting in the sauna. Not that the sauna is bad mind you, it just isn't exercise.

I made the most of it.

And truthfully I still feel totally worked which I can't understand. The weekend should not have depleted me so much but I do feel really tired and my throat is torched. At first I thought it was from all dust I had sucked down while racing but now it feels like a genuine sore throat. Bummer.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight 1:45 PM - 183 lb.
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy 1:15 PM - 15 min sauna
Time of Day core - 5:00 AM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side w/2 30 sec leg lifts each leg
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
leg scissors 100
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
push-ups 20
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment  
Clothing  

30 May 2012

walk commute

I was not feeling so hot this morning and thus skipped the gym. I also skipped the lunch workout. At least I brought my running shoes to work so I repeated the walk home; and this time I took a longer and more scenic route.

How cool that I can do this! If I lived far enough away that I had to drive to work each day it would suck.

Sleep 5
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day 4:30 PM
Workout Type endurance
Weather mid 60s, dry, mostly sunny, calm
Course
Results
Time
Distance
Pace
Equipment Brooks Launch
Clothing shorts, sleeveless active T

29 May 2012

core | cardio | walk commute

After doing a big, fat nothing yesterday it felt good to get back to it.

I wanted some kind of active recovery but the forecast was for rain so I did not ride to work and instead hit the gym for some cardio. And then since the rain never materialized I walked home. It was really fun!

And if you're going to walk home, why not do so via the Howe Street stairs. :)

At the gym I immediately realized that active recovery was the right choice for today. My legs felt like lead. LEAD. I took it way easy and that was the right call.

Sleep 7
Waking HR
Body Weight 12:00 PM - 183 lb.
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food water
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day core - 5:45 AM
cardio - 12:00 PM
walk - 4:45 PM
Workout Type active recovery
Weather low 60s, dry, partly cloudy, light wind
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side w/30 sec leg lift each leg
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
leg scissors 100
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
push-ups 20
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
cardio - elliptical trainer, 12 incline, 12 resistance
Results
Time cardio - 30 min
Distance
Pace cardio - 140-150 rpm
Equipment walk - Brooks Launch
Clothing walk - shorts, sleeveless active T

27 May 2012

24 Hours Round the Clock - day 2/2

Did I mention yesterday that it got cold at night…? Well it did. Reports from around the camp were that the temperatures hit the upper 30s. Brr!

After completing lap #3 last night I was still in a bit of an amped up state but by the start of lap #4 the initial adrenaline-fueled enthusiasm had abated and I was now needing to pump myself up. And it was pitch black! Holy cow was it dark. On the upside the stars in the sky were amazing (the moon was insignificant) and when it's truly dark your lights work so much better.

I kept hanging around the transition zone as they had erected a 'dismount bar' so riders wouldn't go zooming into the tent at warp speed and have some massive, tragic accident. Surprisingly I never say anyone get clotheslined by this bar…

CIMG8708

Lap #4 was fun. It was dark and I slowed down perhaps more than I thought I would but it was still a blast. There were some rock gardens on the course that I was not feeling comfortable plowing through at the same speeds as I had during the day. It was also the case that the beam from my lights was reflecting off of the dust particles in the air and since there was a TON of dust at times it was like riding in super dense fog. There is a great descent right before the finish straight and on this lap I had to grab my brakes as there were three bikes in front of my throwing up dust. Damn.

Hanging out after lap #4 was the worst. It was cold, it was dark and we did not have a heat source or even a light source at our camp. That's another lesson learned. After changing out of my cycling clothes and eating something I jumped into my sleeping bag with all my clothes on and tried to nap.

At this point my brain was a bit foggy and so I had to triple check that my alarm was set properly. I kept doubting myself and wondering if I had two hours left or three. In the end I think I slept about 30 minutes and then I had to get back into my damp, COLD cycling clothes. Yuck.

As I was standing under the propane heater in the transition zone waiting for Aaron and our chip it started getting much lighter out. As 5:00 AM came and went I asked someone what time racers were allowed to remove their lights and when I heard "5" I immediately started tearing at Velcro straps and handing all my lights and batteries to Jesse. I got it all off just in time. Yes.

I rode lap #5 with a LOT of clothing. In an attempt to keep warm I put on an extra set of socks, knee and arm warmers, a heavier undershirt and my rain jacket(!). Let's just say I never got too hot and my hands got numb. Turns out lap #5 was my slowest! Even one minute slower than the one I rode in the middle of the night. I guess the cold took it out of me and I was probably getting tired.

And that bigger gear? Yep, it was getting kinda heavy on the climbs by this time. Whereas I had been able to stay in the saddle for part of every hill so far, this lap I had to stand pretty much all of every hill. Kind of a grunt.

The sun does wonders for your mood and for your body. By the time I finished lap #5 rays of light were hitting the campsite and it was warming up.

So far we had stuck to our rotation schedule which was me, Tony, Jesse and then Aaron. While Aaron was out on course on his 5th lap and I was still walking around in my non-cycling clothes Aaron rolls up and reports that one of the aid stations called in and reported that Jesse had suffered a mechanical and was walking his bike.

The rules stipulate that each rider has to finish their lap and that you can only transfer the timing chip to someone else in the transition zone. What to do? Turns out this aid station was not that far from the finish and there was a shortcut to get there so Aaron loaded up his pockets with tools and headed out while I started to get dressed. The plan was for Aaron to help Jesse with his mechanical so he could finish and then I would get on the bike earlier than normal.

It seemed like only a couple of minutes had passed when Jesse's girlfriend Lindsay walked up and said, "Jesse is waiting for you at the transition!" Shit, better hurry.

I grabbed my helmet, made sure I had something in my water bottle and swung my leg over the saddle and pedaled off to the start. Jesse handed me the chip and I was off.

119

ASIDE - I learned later that Jesse had broken his chain. Not having all the tools required to fix it he was reduced to walking down the trail. Turns out a solo rider stopped and let him use a chain tool and gave him a master link to repair his chain. How cool is that? Very, that was a rhetorical question. So Jesse was able to ride back to the start before Aaron even got out there to assist him.

Not surprisingly lap #6 was a little faster than #5. I was much warmer, in fact I took off my wind vest and arm warmers during the lap it got so nice. I was also a little inspired by Jesse's sudden appearance. Of course inspiration will only get you so far when you are beat down but still, it helped a little I think. :)

On this last lap I was blown away by the number of people that I passed. Where was all this traffic coming from? They were all so encouraging and nice and saying such positive things as I rolled by. I was duly impressed. And found myself returning all the well wishes.

Through out the race I noticed that on the flats and on the descents I would struggle to keep up or just plain get passed. But on the climbs I would reel people in, even some of the faster geared bikes. On this last lap I was using each climb as motivation to pass one or two more bikes and found myself pushing to summit just in front of others so that I could get the 'hole shot' to the next section of singletrack. It was fun.

I got to the top of that last climb just before the long descent to the finish right in front of three women and sprinted over the summit to give myself as much momentum on the descent as possible. And this time there was no one in front of me so no dust and the sun was out so I let it rip. I even got down into a tuck. :)

One woman, I think she was on the Cycle U PopCap team, did manage to catch me on the flats before the finish and came roaring past shouting, "HOP ON!" Right. Here you are in the biggest gear your bike has to offer and I'm supposed to catch your draft? I lasted maybe 50 m and then she rode away from me.

I handed off to Aaron and then I was done with lap #6!

And then we all started to look at our watches…

If Aaron was able to ride his lap in under one hour then we would be able to head out for one more lap. Jesse was toast. Tony was willing but had told me that he was totally empty after his last lap. I thought about it, thought about it some more and finally decided that we were done no matter when Aaron showed up. I think it was the right call. If we had been battling it out for a top-3 placing the motivation would have been there but as it was I would have had to put a time equal to my fastest lap just to have a chance at 12th place. Not gonna happen. And besides, our goal this weekend was just to have fun. So far that goal had been achieved so I didn't want to jeopardize it.

To his credit Aaron managed to post a sub 60-minute lap. I asked him and he said he just wanted to see if he still could. When he pulled up and we told him we were finished he was fine with the plan and we promptly posed for the group photo.

CIMG8713

And since we hadn't stuffed enough food in our faces yet we also promptly got in line for the lunch provided by the race.

CIMG8710

Good times! All of us would do this again. Huge thanks to Lindsay for coming along and helping our team fulfill the volunteer obligation. Here are some things I learned.

  • Make sure your camp has heat and light! Sounds obvious but it's stuff I never bring when I go camping but camping at a race is different. You want as many comforts and conveniences as possible. One team even had their own porta-potty!
  • Conditions really do change a lot in 24 hours so bring warmer gloves.
  • Who rides tires with inner tubes? Only idiots. Get tubeless tires and use sealant to avoid flats.
  • If you ride a single speed bike know that all courses are NOT equal and sometimes you might have need for a larger or smaller gear than what you normally use.
  • Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem makes a great recovery drink when you have to go out and ride again soon.
  • One gel just prior to every lap and one bottle on the bike was just right. Most laps I only drank half a bottle. Partly because there were only so many places where it was smooth enough to drink but also because I did not need much more. Each effort was just one hour.
  • I thought about warming up for each lap but the enthusiasm just wasn't there. And luckily I did not feel like the lack of warm-up hurt me.

Here are all the pictures.

Sleep Maybe 60 minutes total? I think I took two 30-minute naps.
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food on the bike - bottle w/1 tablet Nuun
off the bike - Perpetuem, Nuun, HEED, gel, various solid foods
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day lap #4 - 12:30 AM
lap #5 - 5:00 AM
lap #6 - 8:45 AM
Workout Type race
Weather upper 30s to mid 60s, dry, partly cloudy, calm
Course 15-mile loop, mostly flat, hard trails. A few short climbs and descents the longest climb was maybe .5 miles.
Results 13th - 4 Person Open
official results
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment Mountain Bike
Clothing at night - double socks, knee warmers, bib shorts, Craft short sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, full finger gloves, rain coat, cap
during the day - bib shorts, Craft short sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, full finger gloves, cap

26 May 2012

24 Hours Round the Clock - day 1/2

It was just a matter of time and here it finally is, my first 24-hour mountain bike race!

Tony Bravetti, Jesse Nofziger, Aaron Griffith and I signed up for the Round and Round 24 Hours Round the Clock (I know, what a mouthful!) and today was the day. The categories were roughly these.

  • Solo
  • 2-person team
  • 4-person team (that would be us)
  • 5-person team
  • 'Corporate' (I guess this is where a bunch of people show, ride one lap and then start drinking)

Yesterday Jesse, Tony and I pre-rode the course and it was a good thing. Having a clue about what is around the corner and how long each climb is really helps. Since the race did not start until noon I had some time to walk around and take pictures. One of the coolest things going was the finishing arch that was getting constructed; people were hanging all sorts of bicycle paraphernalia on a steel frame. Little did I know they were going to light this thing up at night. Flame on!

CIMG8688

Just past the transition area was where you rack your bike. Like most 12 and 24-hour events, the start is Le Mans style so all the runners had to put their bikes somewhere that would allow them to grab it at the end of the run. I got there early and positioned my bike in what I thought was a good spot - all the way at the end of the transition zone so I would not be trying to ride through a bunch of runners.

CIMG8691

Within no time at all the bike racks looked like this. FULL.

CIMG8694

After much stalling and futzing with my bike (I swapped tires and went with my light, fast ones - it was a good call), some wardrobe adjustments and last minute snacking and hydration it was time to line up. Along with 200+ other people! The starter's gun was a cannon. He had this massive revolver and there was no doubt whatsoever when this event got underway.

Go!

Madness!

Before the start my teammates kept joking that I was 'the runner' on our squad but truthfully I didn't mind going first. Sure it's a bit chaotic but it's also kind of fun. I lined up near the front just in case I had a chance of beating some other runners but as usual, my running speed was just slightly above average compared to all the other competitive teams. Oh well. Maybe someday they will have a Le Mans start that lasts 20 miles. Then everyone better watch out. :) It's also the case that some people can run like the f'ing wind for about 500 m but then put them on a bike and they go backwards at almost the same rate. WTF? Luckily none of them fell down right in front of me and I was able to navigate through most of them pronto. Especially since the bike lap started with a hill.

The run was down the start/finish straight where the transition zone was and then left up the first hill you ride while on the bike. At the top we took another left and ran down a side hill to the campground and then did a small dirt road detour back to the transition zone where we grabbed our bikes. Here I am finishing the run and getting on my bike.

Look out, here comes Martin…!

Turns out some guy had planted himself at the top of this first hill and filmed everything.

As soon as I got to the top of the first hill my fears about my gear were realized. I was pedaling faster than I ever have on this bike and people were still blowing past me. Rats. After just one or two miles Michael Brazel passed me and I tried like hell to hang onto his wheel but there was no chance because 1) he's faster than me and 2) his gear was bigger. I got passed by about four more single speed riders and each time I tried to hang to no avail. I also noticed that every single one of them were on a larger gear.

Note to self: I guess one gear is NOT appropriate for every course. Lesson learned.

So this first lap consisted of me pretty much spinning my brains out. It was sort of demoralizing to get passed not just at first but along the ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE LAP. Heck, just last week I was passing geared bikes left and right. What can you do.

I cruised into the finish straight (while getting passed by a couple of more bikes) and handed off our timing chip to Tony. Lap #1 done.

Tony had told me that the average speed of the winning team last year was something like 17 mph but  it just did not register or I didn't believe him or something. Truth be told, I did not know until today just how fast I could go (or couldn't go in this case) on my bike with this gear.

As I made my way back to our camp for refreshments I happened to pass Michael Brazel's camp. After articulating my frustration with my gear he up and offered me a bigger one. THANKS. I switched my chainring from a 34 to a 36. Then I had to add a link of chain so it would reach but rolling around it felt fine and I was psyched for lap #2.

I then proceeded with my transition protocol which pretty much ended up being the same for the entire race.

  • Change out of my damp cycling clothes.
  • Drink my recovery drink (one large bottle w/3 scoops of Perpetuem).
  • Clean and oil my chain, it was DRY and DUSTY out there… big time.
  • Get some solid food.
  • Grab my camera and stroll around taking pictures (while sipping on a big bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 1 scoop HEED).
  • Maybe head back to the van for some down time, maybe not.
  • Put my damp cycling clothes back on.
  • Roll around for a bit and then head to the transition area and wait 15 minutes or so for our team to show up.
  • Suck down a gel right before I took off again.

Lap #2 felt significantly better, thanks again Michael for the gear. I was still able to ride all the hills and suddenly I was able to pedal the flats as well. On the previous lap I was having to spin/coast/spin/coast/spin/coast. You get the idea. Lap #2 felt better than #1, I was starting to learn the course. I also did not have to spin like a gerbil on an exercise wheel.

The only bummer on lap #2 was that I suffered my one mechanical and got a pinch flat. I changed the tube pretty quick but unfortunately did not put quite enough air in it at first and had to stop again to top it off. That said, I'm really psyched with my time considering I spent about five minutes standing still, my moving time was still really consistent so obviously I did not get flustered.

By the time I started my third lap the rules stated you had to have lights on. This was a requirement as of 8:00 PM I believe. They did not have to necessarily be turned on yet but you had to have them with you. I was borrowing some lights from Justin Angle and of course I never test rode them prior to NOW. Thank goodness they worked. Like a charm actually. I kept them off for half of the lap and then turned them on for the second half. I had a 600 lumen light on my helmet which in retrospect is the minimum I would recommend and a 200 lumen light on my handlebar which was a nice compliment and plenty bright if you had the more powerful light up top. When I finished it was just getting really dark. Tony took off with lights on for sure. Lap #3 done.

After three laps with this bigger gear it still felt good, I got lucky for sure.

Upon completing lap #3 I put on my civvies and noticed that I had to put on pretty much all my clothes as it was getting chilly. The forecast was for 45 tonight! I got some cool shots walking around in the dark. Here is the finish arch that got lit up once the sun set.

CIMG8703

Looking at my Garmin files I was really consistent for the first three laps, I guess that's a good thing. I did learn some things and here they are.

  • If you want to do well in the run you need to RUN. I held back (habit from longer runs I guess) but it was just 600 m so I should have gone harder.
  • If you ride a single speed know the course and know what gear to ride.
  • Breathing all that dust sucks! My throat and lungs were paying the price for sure. I joked with someone that after three laps I felt like I had just had a pack of smokes. They laughed and concurred. And I was only half way done.

Here are all the pictures and video.

Sleep zero
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food on the bike - bottle w/1 tablet Nuun
off the bike - Nuun, HEED, Perpetuem, gel, various solid food
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day lap #1 - 12:00 PM
lap #2 - 4:00 PM
lap #3 - 8:00 PM
Workout Type race
Weather  
Course 15-mile loop, mostly flat, hard trails. A few short climbs and descents the longest climb was maybe .5 miles.
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment Mountain Bike
Clothing bib shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap, full finer gloves

25 May 2012

24 Hours Round the Clock pre-ride

Tony Bravetti, Jesse Nofziger, Aaron Griffith and I headed over to Spokane, WA for the big deal this weekend.

After setting up camp we headed out for a lap of the course and it was like no mountain bike course I have ever ridden. One word: FAST.

CIMG8668

The course is a 15-mile loop and although it has some climbs none of them are severe or long. Ditto with the descents. What you do get are a lot of are flat trails, flat roads and flat double track. Tony, Jesse and I went to check it out and even rolling around at sightseeing speeds I was worried I was going to be hopelessly spun out in my 34x20 (with 26" wheels) on race day.

Luckily there were also some really fun sections of trail. There was loads of slaloming through trees at speed, some fun rock gardens some technical bits; just enough that you could never stop paying attention.

Back at camp I went for a stroll with the camera. There is no running water at this place so they had to truck it all in.

CIMG8679

They also had a garbage receptacle that looked sufficient large for everyone's trash.

CIMG8680

Most of the evening was consumed by getting camp just right and eating. Funny how doing not much of anything prior to a big event will make you feel like you have been fasting for freaking weeks.

CIMG8678

Then we hit the hay. I felt surprisingly little stress. Maybe because the race did not start until noon?

Here are all the pictures.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food bottle w/1 tablet Nuun
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 3:00 PM
Workout Type  
Weather low 60s, mostly sunny, dry, some wind
Course  
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment Mountain Bike
Clothing  

24 May 2012

core

Made it to the gym today but that was it. Oh well, I'll just call this a rest prior to my race this weekend.

Last week (or was it two weeks ago?) core felt great, this week it sucks. Me no get it.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 5:30 AM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side w/3 x 20 sec leg lifts each leg
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
leg scissors 100
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
push-ups 21
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment  
Clothing  

23 May 2012

treadmill run | cardio

Another slooooow day. I think the rain is bringing me down.

Once I got to the gym this morning my run felt quite taxing, not sure what's up with that. It was difficult to breath at first and it took a solid 10 minutes for my body to stop freaking out about the effort and to settle down. After that I was fine. In fact, the longer I ran the better it felt. I guess 30 minutes just is not very long to figure shit out.

On the upside my right hamstring did not do anything today. Nice.

At lunch I went down to the IMA for some cardio. It was agonizing getting going but then once again I felt fine after about 10 minutes.

Not my day I guess.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight 12:30 PM - 182 lb.
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day run - 6:00 AM
cardio - 12:30 PM
Workout Type endurance
Weather  
Course run - treadmill, 1% incline
cardio - elliptical trainer, 13 incline, 13 resistance
Results  
Time run - 30 min
cardio - 30 min
Distance run - 3.9 miles
Pace run - 7:30 min/mile
cardio - 150 rpm
Equipment run - Hoka Combo XT
Clothing  

22 May 2012

treadmill run | core

I took yesterday off because I deserved it. :)

Since the forecast was for rain today I planned in advance NOT to drive down to Pacific Raceways and so hit the gym this morning for a nice, little jog. How did it feel? Like it's been too long since I ran. :( Oh well, that will come back and no doubt next year when I try to focus on running I will end up jonesing to ride my bike. Such is life.

My weight is WAY up. Damn.

Core was really hard.

Today was discouraging.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight 12:30 PM - 185 lb.
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries About 20 minutes into my run my right hamstring suddenly twinged. I was able to run through it and by the end it was almost gone but that was kind of scary… This darn thing is supposed to healing up!
Therapy  
Time of Day run - 5:30 AM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course run - treadmill, 1% incline
plank 3 min, 2 min each side w/3 x 20 sec leg lift each leg
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
leg scissors 100
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
push-ups 18
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results  
Time run - 30 min
Distance run - 3.9 miles
Pace run - 7:30 min/mile
Equipment run - Hoka Combo XT
Clothing  

20 May 2012

my own personal Rocket Ride

I met Gabe Templeton and Travis Dougan for a social outing today. The weather (and my legs!) were not as stellar as yesterday but hey, it was dry. For a short while anyway. Today we decided to ride the HSP Rocket Ride route - albeit at a less than Rocket Ride pace - as this loop is super scenic.

Here is an abbreviated (cuz I'm beat) summary of what transpired.

  • Riding to Log Boom Park I'm thinking, "Hey, it's pretty warm out! I could have left this vest at home."
  • I take my vest off.
  • As I sat down at the park to wait for Gabe and Travis I got sprinkled on. What…?!
  • We took off and after Norway Hill met Tony Bravetti who professed to be just as tired as I was from our MTB race yesterday but then proceeded to drill it up Hollywood Hill.
  • I get another nose bleed. WTF? This sucks.
  • As we climbed it started to sprinkle (mist?) again.
  • On the descent Tony turned off and went home. Whew.
  • In the Carnation Valley Gabe went to the front and pulled at about 25 mph for about five miles.
  • Gabe has a fancy rain bike with fancy fenders that I saw a lot of during this stretch.
  • Gabe imploded.
  • The mist becomes a light rain.
  • I put my vest back on.
  • Travis and I start dropping Gabe on every little incline.
  • My hands start getting cold.
  • We drop Gabe off, I drop Travis off and suddenly I'm faced with 15 miles of solo riding to get home. Did I mention that I'm wet, cold and filthy dirty?
  • I almost pull over to have a good cry.
  • There is some organized ride that goes from Redmond to Seattle and back on the trail and I am like a salmon swimming up stream heading home.
  • I manage to man up enough to not stop riding.
  • AS I get close to the UW it warms up about two degrees.
  • My spirits lift some and as the distance left to cover gets to be less than five miles I feel like I can do it.
  • I get home and can't unbuckle my helmet unless I use two fists to compress the buckle.
  • I clean my bike, wash my clothes, shower, eat some food and pass out.

That was what they call a 'tank emptier' for sure.

Sleep 5
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 6:00 AM - 2 bananas, apple sauce, 1 scoop protein powder, walnuts, coconut milk
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food 2 large bottles each w/1 tablet Nuun and 1 scoop HEED, Clif Bar, Odwalla bar, 3 Perpetuem Solids
Injuries My right shoulder is a bit sore from yesterday but no biggie.
Therapy  
Time of Day 8:00 AM
Workout Type endurance
Weather mid 50s to lower 50s, cloudy, dry at first and then steady drizzle
Course  
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment Road Bike
Neuvation R28 SL wheels
39/53, 12-25
Clothing knit shoe covers,bib shorts, Craft short sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, wind vest, cap

19 May 2012

Stottlemeyer 60 MTB Race

My season started today.

Everyone has their "A" races and for me in 2012 it's the NW Epic Series (put on by 4th Dimension Racing).

I used to mountain bike a lot. For some reason that tapered off dramatically some years ago. I guess road and track took center stage and you can only do so much on any given day that the weather is nice. But then two years ago I lost some of my enthusiasm for the track and then last year I entered these races on a whim. What a blast!

ASIDE - this series has a short course option and a long course option. Of course I opted for the long course. :)

The Stottlemeyer 60 was a bit of a rude introduction to mountain biking when I rode it last year for sure as it's quite technical (and I bit it twice!) but the rest of the series was tons of fun and today I had a MUCH better day than last year. Talk about night and day.

CIMG8654

I almost screwed the pooch this morning. I had set my alarm for nice and early and it woke me up no problem. But then I closed my eyes… the next time I opened them up I had 40 minutes to meet Tony Bravetti. And we had to catch a ferry! Shit.

Thanks goodness I had done all the vital stuff (tune bike, pack clothes and gear) the night before so all I had to do was get dressed, grab some ride food, grab some breakfast for the drive and pile everything into the van. I made it to Tony's house in record time (thank you Highway Patrol for not being out in force today!) and we made the ferry. Whew. On the ferry I had my breakfast.

The weather was gorgeous. Even when we arrived you could tell it was warming up and in the sun I knew there was no need for any warmers or extra layers. Nice. This year the finish was right by the start (bonus!) so no more riding back to the parking lot after you collapse. An added benefit of bringing the finish down the hill was lengthening the course. I guess last year it was only about 55 miles so this year they claimed to have made it a true 60. There were all kinds of jokes in the pack about whether this was good or bad…

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After signing in Tony and I got geared up.

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The contrast between our bikes could not be more stark. Tony has a spanking new 2x10 drivetrain and his bike has front and rear suspension. My bike is a single speed and is fully rigid. To each his own.

At the start I saw Ben Spencer and Peter Stocker. These guys have been regulars at the BuDu Racing West Side MTB Series and they have been doing really well. I rode the first of these races and both of these guys freaking waxed me; and good. Today Peter was expressing some doubt about the distance, last year he did the 30 mile race here and he was understandably nervous. Ben never seems to show much emotion and is just wicked fast. We lined up and the let the Open Men (read: geared bikes) take off first and then we started with the Open Women.

Go!

The first two miles are dirt road. You actually start with a descent(!) and then it more or less climbs gently to where the singletrack starts. Right away some geared bikes blow by me and one single speed too.

ANOTHER ASIDE - this single speed bike was ridden by none other than Doug Graver who seems to slay all at any MTB event he enters. Sometimes I actually wonder how a single speed can go so damn fast?!

A couple of other single speeds passed me, one was same guy in an orange jersey and one was Peter so I dug deep (deeper than I wanted to at this point to be honest) to stay in contact. Usually I come good later on in these longer races but if you give the rabbits too much rope you can never pull them back so I committed to starting faster than I wanted and hoped that I would not blow up.

As soon as you hit the trail it gets technical. Everything slows right down but you are breathing so freaking hard from the road climb that it's a bit tough to clean everything. But I was doing okay! I was more or less keeping Peter in sight and feeling pretty proud of myself seeing as this was literally my second MTB ride of the year.

Mr. Orange Jersey was riding away from me but what can you do? Peter was going plenty fast for me so I just tried to keep pace with him. Right in the mix was (I think) Nicola Mann who ended up winning the Women 40+ category. We must have passed each other about 10 times today and if she had not thrown her chain off with about five miles to go she might have beaten me. As it was she only finished about 60 measly seconds behind me. Awesome!

Lap one went pretty well with me just trying not to lose the wheels in front of me. Some of the technical stuff was slowing me down more than I wanted but hey, skillz are not my strong suit and I was just happy to feel better than last year. I stopped at every aid station as I was not carrying much at all with me. Besides, it gave me a chance to rest just a bit. Unfortunately it also gave Gary Ballas the opportunity to pass me. Rats. This guy has finished just ahead of me in the last FOUR MTB races I have entered and is much better in the skills department than I am for sure. I never even saw him go by.

During lap two I suddenly saw much more of Orange Jersey and managed to edge ahead of Peter. Incredibly I also passed Ben! Turns out he had a flat and had tried to nurse it with his pump a couple of times but finally had to resign himself to replacing the tube. After the race we were talking and he estimated that he lost roughly five minutes from the nursing and the tube swap. Since I beat him by 10 minutes I felt pretty damn good. :) Of course if he had never flatted I bet I never would have seen him. That's racing.

Just as I started lap three Orange Jersey was right in front of me as we pulled out of the aid station at exactly the same time. Within about 100 feet I could tell he was hating life and asked to pass and that was the last I saw of him.

But not Nicola! Man (that's a joke, get it?), we were just going back and forth all damn day. She is an excellent bike handler so on the technical stuff we were pretty even but of course she would pass me on the dirt road sections and then I would pass her back any time there was an extended climb. It was pretty cool really to have this carrot out there the entire race.

On lap four I thought I had finally shed myself of Nicola but as I stopped at the last aid station she blew by and I had to scramble! I grabbed my bottle back from the guy who had kindly filled it for me and took off as fast as my tired legs could go in an attempt to reel her back in. This time I managed to pull her back in some technical trail and then she threw her chain just before we got to the last road section. Knowing she was faster than me on the road, especially on the downhill bits where I had to coast, I'm not afraid to admit I was riding just a little scared those last five miles. :)

From where the race finished last year we bombed down the same dirt road we had climbed up from the start. And then after a mile or so suddenly we took a right back into the woods.

Ouch!

My legs were shot. And this trail started to go up! A couple of times I imagined I heard someone behind me but it was probably just my imagination. I did have to hike one short bit as it was just too steep to ride in my depleted state. Nervous!

Seeing the finish was SO nice. Especially with no one right on my wheel. People were cheering and I was able to coast across the line. Yeah!

Not only are all of these races really well supported with phenomenal aid stations they have some really good food at the finish! What did Martin have as his recovery meal? That's right…

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And I'm not ashamed to say that I went back for seconds.

What a great day! Here are some more highlights.

  • Logan Wetzel (of course) killed the Open Men category.
  • I experienced flow! There were times in every lap where I felt really dialed in and was able to rail some corners and was riding a bit above my normal ability most of the day. It felt pretty damn good.
  • I was able to ride every portion of the lap at least once (depending on how tired I was or how much traffic I was in) except for one darn corner. It was this downhill left-hander right at the end of a log bridge and it was pretty greasy. I felt bad fro dabbing there every lap until I told Gary and he said he dabbed there on purpose every time. Whew.
  • 1.5 laps in I had a wicked cramp in my right hamstring. I thought, "NOOOOOO…!" as I saw my chances of a good finish vanishing quickly. But I did my best to rub it out (while riding) and increased my drinking and incredibly it went away. Only to come back one lap later. Shit. From there to the end I was constantly battling this darn thing and kept eating and drinking and rubbing away but then it would come back. I got really lucky today for sure as it never stopped me from riding and I finished relatively strong. Thank you Nuun and Clif Shot Electrolyte!
  • Once again my Garmin measured the distance short, WAY short. I'm not so surprised as there were a TON of tight turns in the course. I do wish these things were a little more accurate in the dirt…
  • I felt like I was flying. Hell, I WAS flying. And I still averaged under 11 mph when you use the correct distance with my time. Sheesh. That's mountain biking for you.
  • I never fell down! I did shoulder block a tree which hurt and I got a small blister on my left hand from reefing on the bars all day. I got off my bike very little and that meant standing up quite a bit.
  • Just before the start I went to power up my Garmin and nothing happened! OH NO, NO DATA. After freaking out for some time Tony took a look and was able to start it right up. :|
  • About two laps in I went for the old farmer blow and got a gusher of a nose bleed. Damn. That's about four or five times this year I have had that happen. I tried as best as possible to keep it off of my clothes (I succeeded!) and not to ride into any trees (did that too!) and eventually it calmed down. I must have looked pretty gross there for a while.

Here are all the pictures.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 6:30 AM - 2 bananas, pear, almonds, walnuts, tea
drive to race - large bottle w/3 scoops Perpetuem
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food 15 min before race - gel
race - 2 bottles each w/1 tablet Nuun and 1 scoop HEED, about 10 gels, some orange slices, bites of banana, lots of Nuun and Clif Shot Electrolyte
Injuries My back flared up some after lap two but never too bad - I dodged another bullet there.
Therapy  
Time of Day 9:45 AM
Workout Type race
Weather mid 50s to mid 60s, dry, mostly sunny, calm
Course 15 mile loop with one aid station at the start and one half way in. Most of the singletrack is very technical but some in the second half is super fast and flowing. There were only two short climbs that I had to hike each lap.
Results 3rd - Open Single Speed
official results
Time 5:32:41 (that's about 45 minutes faster than last year and the course was almost five miles longer this year!)
Distance 60 miles
Pace 10.8 mph
Equipment Mountain Bike
34x20
Clothing bib shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap, full finger gloves

18 May 2012

BIG FAT RETRACTION

How does one even do this? Once you post something it's out there and in a very real way you can never take it back.

Tuesday I said that, "Dave threw a hissy fit" and I was straight up wrong. Turns out he was just expressing some personal frustration regarding being able to get in the type of workout he wants at Pacific Raceways and I made the bone head maneuver of taking second-hand info as gospel.

This just goes to show that:

  • Martin has a big mouth.
  • Martin is no journalist (one with ethics anyway).
  • Positive statements are good, negative statements are bad.

Dave has got to be one of the most upright people I know and does pretty much everything that he does do on principle meaning for a reason. I so admire that.

My errant comment - regardless of how it was meant - severely impacted a very important friendship and for that I am very sorry.

17 May 2012

core

Man, all I felt like riding today was a couch! I made it to the gym but that was all she wrote. No cardio, no run, no ride. I'll just call this the taper for the weekend. :)

I barely even made it to the gym! Once again I dorked around for way too long after waking up and almost ran out of time. I had to blaze through my core workout ultra fast and I was really out of breath at the end. But I did it.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food  
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 5:45 AM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side w/3 x 20 sec leg lifts each leg
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
leg scissors 100
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
push-ups 20
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment  
Clothing  

16 May 2012

(long) bike commute

This morning I turned my alarm OFF in hopes of getting some decent shut eye. It sorta worked.

It was sunny out so I wanted to ride! I also figured I would attend the Ride of Silence after work which is for a great cause. But all did not go as planned and here is what Martin learned today.
  • As fun as my Town Bike is to ride, 29 miles is a bit much and I was ready to call it quits at around 25.
  • It got kind of breezy later in the day and me in my sleeveless shirt (trying to maximize that UV exposure dontcha know) was getting cold.
  • The Ride of Silence is a great idea but lacks something in the execution. I'm not sure how a bunch of slow moving cyclists with no signage or news coverage holding up traffic will do anything to bring awareness to the issue of bicycle accidents in traffic? I had every intention of participating but then when I realized I was getting chilled and the 'ride leader' asked us all to move way over there so he could speak (which would make me even colder) I bailed and went home. Plus I was starving.

Sleep 7
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food water
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day
Workout Type fun ride
Weather upper 60s, dry, mostly sunny, some wind
Course
Results
Time
Distance
Pace
Equipment Town Bike
Clothing baggy MTB shorts, sleeveless active T
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15 May 2012

cardio | bike commute | Pacific Raceways

The last time I went for a run I got sore. Doing some zero-impact cardio the next day seemed to help so I did it again. This time I was not nearly as sore (my run yesterday was mostly on dirt and I wore my Hoka Combo XT shoes) but why mess with a successful routine?

I have NOT been sleeping enough and I suspect it will catch up to me tonight. Yikes. Of course last night was voluntary sleep deprivation because I went to the best f'ing concert I have attended in years - Rammstein were in town! One word: AMAZING. I took my lame-ass camera along and got some pictures and video but they don't do the show justice.

In other news the weather is still KICKING ASS which is just fine with me. Any time I hear someone complain about cramps or that it's too hot (it will come, trust me…) I feel like slapping them. And telling them to think back just one or two months. We NW natives need to relish the summer weather that we get. I for one am going to do that every damn day it's warm and dry.
At the gym I felt tired, both sleepy tired and physically exhausted/dragging. When I got on the elliptical trainer my cadence was S L O W for like five minutes, then I was finally able to pick it up. And, just like these loosening up workouts are supposed to feel, it got better by the end.

My ride to and from work was uneventful except that I had this totally Zen experience on the way home. I kept hitting all the lights and was weaving around pedestrians and used the street and sidewalk seamlessly. Sometimes this kind of riding feels (and looks!) dangerous/ridiculous but today it felt like absolutely the right thing to do. I was avoiding walkers by a healthy margin, no one yelled at me and I never got close to any automobiles. It was really fun.

Last Saturday at the Ravensdale Road Race I realized I was not drinking enough. So I'm going to try and change that; starting with tonight. Instead of putting some kind of powder in my bottle, I'm just going to take water or electrolytes and eat food. At Pacific Raceways you don't really need any food since it's so short so I went with Nuun only. Let the testing begin.

I had a couple of teammates in Greg Kauper and Dave Hecht so that was super. Corrie Martin was also there but honestly (and i 'm sure he'd be the first to admit it), he was there for the workout and should not be relied on for contributing. Turns out he cramped and had to quit anyway. :( Greg Michler was also there and he's coming along really well. He just needs to figure out the tactics thing because his fitness is up to this kind of race.

I had some trouble with my tires and could not get one of them inflated for quite a while so by the time I got on my bike I only had 15 minutes before the start. Just enough time to hit the head, eat a gel and pretend to get in a warm-up.

Go!

In my opinion clockwise up the escape road with the finish at the top is the hardest course. For some reason going up the switchback seems easier to me.

NOTE TO PROMOTER - I love the switchback! In both directions! Bring it back! Why are people afraid of the switchback? Why do people love the flats? I have one word to describe the switchback: EXCITING. And one word for the flats: BORING. Oh sure, you can sit in till the cows come home and not get dropped - and that's probably exactly what people like, but c'mon. Tipping your bike over and railing it around a corner is what cycling is about to me.

Anyway, so what happens on the very first lap as we get to the hill? Garage Racing drills it and suddenly I am going as fast as I possibly can just to stay in contact. Ouch. warm-up complete.

My recollection of the race is a bit fuzzy for some reason but this pretty much repeated itself for the next few laps. Throw in a couple of attacks just past the summit and even one or two just prior to the descent (I'm looking at you Mark Mirante) and the pace was animated for sure.

After a few laps there was a massive surge going up and over the hill and the pace just stayed high. Some of us rode away from the pack in what felt like a brute force move rather than a tactical attack. As I looked around I saw Dave and Greg (nice!), about six Garage riders (par for the course) and Jeff Reed (way to go!) and some JL Velo rider (Chris?). It was obvious that this train had left the station. I was just glad to be here.
We sorta kinda rotated… about half of the break was not psyched to work and so gaps kept appearing. The other half of the break closed the gaps most of the time but way too frequently we just sort of rode along doing this quasi-tactical thing and did not truly commit. Unfortunately Jeff flatted out of the break; that was too bad.

A couple of laps later I was off the front. And for the life of me I can't remember how it happened. Was it Chris who surged? And then Nikos Mills went after him and I jumped on Nikos' wheel? I honestly don't recall but three of us were away. And we worked together really well! Our gap grew quickly and everyone was pulling the same amount. Nice.

Then on the hill Chris missed a shift and his chain came off the front chainring. Damn.

ASIDE - I have started riding a bigger cassette for this very reason. Well, that and because I'm not very strong. With the 25 in back I can leave it in the big ring, never worry about missing a shift and still save my legs on the climb. And a 12-25 is not so huge that you miss cogs in the middle if your bike has 10 speeds. I love it.

I looked back and decided right away that we could not wait for Chris so Nikos and I just kept riding. I looked down at my cyclometer and based on time we had about five or six laps still to go. With both Dave and Greg behind me I had no qualms about trying to make this stick so we kept at it. And we worked together pretty well. Nikos is obviously the better climber but I was feeling like the pace sometimes picked up on the flats when I was in front so did not take such a huge blow to my self-esteem. :)

With two laps to go I saw a pair of riders chasing us. By this time we had started to relax just a little but our gap was ample so there was still time to put my hand on Nikos' back on the last descent and let him know how excited I was about getting 2nd place again. Not.

We rolled down the hill and then in true gentleman's fashion Nikos said, "So, you ready?" I nodded and then he effortlessly rode away from me in his 53x25. Oh well.

I do feel very happy about making it into the move. For sure that is more than half the battle. This year I seem to doing this pretty regularly and I'm not complaining.

The riders behind us were Aaron Lavin (3rd) and Greg (4th). Nice job guys. I heard that Dave threw a hissy fit in the pack because of the tactics employed by Garage. I do sympathize but two years ago the tables were turned. What can you do? I would never discourage anyone from showing up to race. I say come on down. One perspective you could adopt is that this is great practice for the weekend; just sayin'.

Sleep 4
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food cardio - water
drive to race - large bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 2 scoops HEED
15 min before race - gel
race - bottle w/1 tablet Nuun
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day cardio - 5:30 AM
race - 7:00 PM
Workout Type cardio - endurance
Weather 70, mostly sunny, dry, light wind
Course cardio - elliptical trainer, 13 incline, 13 resistance
race - clockwise up the escape road
Results 2nd - Masters
official results
Time cardio - 30 min
Distance
Pace cardio - 140-150 rpm, heart rate was in the low 130s at the end
Equipment commute - Town Bike
race - Road Bike
Mad Fiber wheels
39/53, 12-25
Clothing race - bib shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap

14 May 2012

core | bike commute | Ravenna Park run

Sun! That's what was out today. I love it. I exposed myself to it. It was good.

In the morning I got back on track at the gym and did my core work and then I rode to work. On an impulse this morning I took my running shoes along and then went for a little trail outing at lunch. It's pretty cool how you can piece together a route that is 90% dirt from the UW in MORE than one direction.

Sun + Warmth = Martin takes his shirt off

Yep, today I was that guy. But I was too embarrassed to walk out of the IMA with no shirt on so I wore a shirt until I got outside and then carried it in my hand during the run. People (read: me) are weird.

But what a liberating feeling. The no shirt thing that is. What was not liberating is how freaking thirsty I got in just this short amount of time! It was nuts… and I even made sure I was hydrated at the start. Not 20 minutes in I was wishing I had my hand held bottle. Acting on another impulse I weighted myself after my run and I lost two pounds! In just 40 minutes! And I do not consider myself a heavy sweater by any means. Just goes to show what this weather is capable of. And it's not even 'hot' yet. Bring it!

Another non-liberating thing was the massive Marmaduke (is that redundant?) dog I met on my way back to the IMA. He was (of course) off-leash and came bounding up to me. I kinda stuck my hand out to wave to the dog's owner and maybe deflect this moose of a dog some. This beast comes catapulting right at me, hits my palm and practically sprains my wrist as I'm running. I must have visibly winced because the owner was like, "SORRY! I'm so sorry…" I just kept on running. Why do people feel entitled to let their dogs run around off-leash? And why do people feel like it's an accident when they do something wrong deliberately and then get caught? Oops, I did not know you can't run your dog off-leash in public parks. Right. For the record I have owned three dogs and so can see it from both sides but c'mon people.
7:15 is pretty tough for me to come by these days… You can see my pace was okay at the start, slowed a bit as I ran up through the park, I then hit 7:15 on the flats while running the grass median of Ravenna and then via a conscious effort I sped up a tad at the end. Gotta have that negative split dontcha know. This pace was about all I could do!

Did I mention running felt liberating? Man, not to have all the gear was great. Just give me another day like this, a bottle or two and I'm good to go for longer.

Here is my run.

Here is my commute.

Sleep 6
Waking HR
Body Weight 12:00 PM - 181 lb.
1:00 PM - 179 lb. (that's how much water weight I lost on this short run!)
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food water
Injuries Although I can feel my right hamstring just walking around and sitting, etc. it did not bother me while running or flare up after. Yes!
Therapy
Time of Day core - 5:30 AM
run - 12:00 PM
Workout Type run - tempo-ish (for me at this point anyway)
Weather mid 70s, sunny, dry, light breeze
Course
Results
Time
Distance
Pace
Equipment commute - Town Bike
run - Hoka Combo XT
Clothing run - Brooks Infinity Short III

13 May 2012

Bicycle Sunday

I did nothing today except go for a short ride with Shelley. We took our single speed town bikes to check out our new house and see what progress has been made and then took advantage of Bicycle Sunday. Thanks you Cascade Bicycle Club for putting this on.

It was incredible outside. And everyone was out. Lake WA Blvd was so full of strollers, in-line skaters and recreational cyclists that Lycra-clad racers looked very out of place.

It was also incredibly leisurely feeling to just cruise along with NO agenda and chat with Shelley. It seems all of our rides lately have been on a tandem and this was kind of fun.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 11:00 AM
Workout Type if I had to give this a label it would be active recovery
Weather 70, sunny, dry, light wind
Course  
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment Town Bike
Clothing  

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