27 August 2011

Capitol Forest 100

Oh man… I will be the first to admit that 'epic' is WAY overused and extremely tired. And I won't use it here either especially since the series name - NW Epic Series - already has it in the title but this was an amazing race.

Just the other day I was reminiscing about 100 mile mountain bike races and getting a little worried but since Capitol Forest is such a blast to ride in I was hoping the Capitol Forest 100 was going to be a big adventure instead of a chore.

And mostly it was. Good times were definitely had.

Because the start was at 6:00 AM (yikes!) I drove out there the night before and slept in the van. It was really comfy and I just kept one of the back doors open and enjoyed the cool but not too cold night breeze.

Getting up at 4:15 to try and eat was tough but luckily I am usually hungry the minute I wake. Man was it dark. And all the stars… incredible.

ASIDE - pumping up my tires was tricky. By the time I got around to it Friday night the sun had set. I did it by car dome light in the evening so that was one less item to worry about in the morning when it was just as pitch black. I hate tires that are too soft or too firm.

We lined up for the pre-race meeting at 5:50 and were told the start would be delayed about 15 minutes to give the fog time to lift and the sun time to come out. That meant I had time for one more visit to the toilet which was handy because my efforts to hydrate were proving successful.

It was a Le Mans-style start. We put our bikes on the ground at the entrance to the grass parking lot and walked about 100 m back to the start banner. Then Roger said GO.

Nothing like a paved start to separate the single speed riders from the geared riders I always say. :) But today the lead pack was not murdering the pace like they usually do so after the pavement and a bit of gravel road I was probably in 25th spot as we hit the single track.

When who should I see futzing with his bike but Logan W. What rotten luck! Turns out he broke or bent his chain and had to ride back to the start, get a new one installed and then set out again. He caught me at mile 33 and went on to finish in 2nd place overall. Holy crap. Oh yeah, he also told me, "Good Job!" as he blazed past, that was nice.

Once on the trail I gut stuck in behind this boy/girl couple in matching kits that were cruising along at a pretty good clip so I hung out for a while. But then we started to climb. And boy/girl shifted to the small chainring and I was struggling to ride that speed. Finally I asked to pass and I never saw them again. Amazingly I was also passing other riders from time to time…

Before the start I told myself to keep the pace steady and not go out too hard. This kind of event can bite you if you dip into the red because then it's usually impossible to recover 100%. At the very least I wanted to enjoy a full day of mountain biking on some of the best trails in the NW. But damn I was feeling good.

I had also resolved to hit up all the aid stations and managed to do this except for one. It helped. They were SO well stocked and the staff was SO helpful even offering to hand you up a bottle so you didn't have to stop pedaling. Just amazing.

After lots of climbing and lots of ripping fast single track through a flatish section and then a descent we got dumped out onto a gravel road that was eight miles long and took us up to Capitol Peak. Even here on the road I was passing geared bikes! I had to pedal like crazy to do so as the grade was not very steep but those carrots sure were nice.

And here I first connected with Walter C. He was on a geared bike and knew a mutual acquaintance (Vince H) so we chatted some, as much as our labored breathing allowed anyway. Walter and I would swap place numerous times throughout the race and it was really nice having him along for company. I was faster on the ups and he was faster on the downs (full suspension probably helped that some…) and the end he finished four minutes in front of me. Way to go Walter!

Even the biggest, bumpiest downhill section was fun today on my rigid bike. I started the ride pretty tense but relaxed more and more the longer I rode. And other than two switchbacks, one dab and one climb I rode the entire first lap.

My glasses were a mess. The trail was super dusty so riding through all that dirt and mist from the fog and the steam from my body meant that I was practically blind zooming through the first bit of woods when I was behind boy/girl. Not to mention the sun had not fully risen yet. I put my glasses in my pocket around mile 10 and never looked back. There was no significant mud to speak of so the risk of getting a big blob in my eye never materialized. Even on the second lap there were some very dark (as in not much sun light) sections of trail in the woods.

As I cruised through the finish for the first time I took a detour to my van and dropped off the glasses and my two large bottles that I had started with. By this time I had one empty in my jersey pocket and a neutral bottle in my cage. Then I headed back out.

I crested the gravel road and started flying through some dry, dusty trail. One minute I'm enjoying the view (probably too much!) and the next minute I'm lying on the ground. I think I hit something small and stuffed my front wheel and went over the bars.

I'm on  my back with one foot still clipped in thinking I must have broken something… I hit the ground so hard. I began the process of picking myself up and checking my body and bike. The bike was fine! My cyclometer was even still attached to the bars. Standing up was slow and painful but nothing felt broken and for some reason turning around never even occurred to me so I slowly started pedaling again. Boy, climbing/pulling on the bars really hurt. So did descending when it was bumpy. My left hand hurt and so did my right shoulder and I had a few - luckily not significant - nicks and scratches.

At the next aid station I ate and drank and even had the mechanic (there were TWO aid stations with mechanics!) oil my chain which was WAY dusty and dry by now. And then I passed two more geared bikes?! Kinda puts things in perspective I guess. I was feeling like dirt but these folks were obviously feeling worse. Might seem strange but this actually helped cheer me up a bit.

I got to the gravel road and connected with Walter one more time and was even able to ride away from him but my advantage was not enough and shortly thereafter he caught me on a bumpy descent, passed me and I wouldn't see him again. I also got to see what must have been the leaders in the 50 mile event scream by ON THE SAME TRAIL GOING RIGHT AT ME. There were two or three short sections (.25 miles each?) of trail where there was traffic in both directions. Exciting stuff for sure. Good thing we could all handle our bikes though.

My legs started to cramp some around mile 60 or 65? I don't recall exactly. It forced me to walk a few additional climbs and to throttle back the pace a little' more.

ANOTHER ASIDE - I gotta say that I am pretty happy about my time. In spite of falling and cramping and slowing down my second lap was still only about 26 minutes slower than my first. Just when you think your training has been totally inadequate your experience kicks in and you have a good day.

About 2/3 of the way through the lap I recall riding in some clear-cut where the trail splits. One way was labeled "hard" and the other way was labeled "easy". The hard way took you up and over this mound of rocks and dirt and the easy way went around the mound. The official course went the easy way and on lap one I laughed when I saw the sign and wondered if I could make it up that short, steep climb on my single. On lap two I didn't even crack a smile.

The last big hill in the course finished me off. Up until then I was still riding okay but by the time I got there my shoulder and hand/wrist were torched and anything more than 10 pedal revolutions out of the saddle brought on a cramp so I had to hike a fare bit here.

There was just one single speed in front of me and I never saw him. He must have snuck ahead at the very beginning or gone by at an aid station when I was not looking around. Until the very end I was holding out hope that I might win this thing but after I crossed the line and saw him I knew the best I could hope for was 2nd. It was Gary B and he rode a 29" wheel bike with a 33x20 and a suspension fork. Sounded kind of big to me but it obviously worked for him. Congratulations Gary!

YET ANOTHER ASIDE - it probably comes as no surprise that everyone (except me) was using a suspension fork…

The support didn't stop when you finished, the organizers had pizza, burgers, fruit, free pint glasses and three kegs of beer to fill them with! Nice. Especially when you realize that the 100 mile riders are finishing about three or four hours AFTER the 50 mile riders. I had some watermelon, this newfangled Darigold Refuel (of which they had cases and cases) and then hit the pizza and beer. To top it all off there were showers at the camp site. Nothing feels quite as bad as driving home from a hot and dusty MTB race with no shower so I was absolutely stoked to get clean.

I'm writing this two days post-ride and after coming home from the doctor just now where I got some X-Rays of my left wrist and right shoulder. Turns out nothing is broken but I do have a slight separation of my shoulder meaning the tendons that hold the joint in place have been stretched and now my right Clavicle sits up above the Acromion, about 1/4" higher than my left.

shoulder_anatomy_bones01

How do you treat this? Ibuprofen and rest. I guess it could be worse. I told some friends that I fell hard and one of them replied, "How hard could it be if you rode another 45 miles…?" Still not sure how I did that myself honestly. Sitting here typing I am sore as hell. My doctor just told me to take two weeks off the bike and I almost believe him as I can't put on/take off shirts by myself. Rats. Maybe it was adrenaline? Endorphins? Stupidity? Some combo thereof no doubt.

On the up side this course was fun. And I mean FUN. Top it off with perfect weather, awesome support, free bottles, free camping, free showers, tons of free food and beer (in a free pint glass) after and suddenly the $200 entry fee is extremely reasonable. Did I mention that Roger M from 4th Dimension Racing and numerous volunteers spent countless days (NOT HOURS) clearing the brush from these trails? It was buffed. That guy is incredible.

If you check out the route below you will see that my GPS listed the loop as a little under 50 miles. All the people I spoke with that had traditional cyclometers got readings that were pretty much bang on 100 miles so I'm guessing the canopy and tight corners made this come up short. And although I felt like lots of the course was flatish, we gained over 10,000'. Not too shabby. I guess those hills add up.

Here are all the pictures.

Sleep 5
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 4:30 AM - banana, HEED, whole grain tortilla, peach, water
Lunch  
Dinner 5:00 PM - watermelon, Darigold Refuel, 2 pieces pizza, beer, water
Workout Food 2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Perpetuem, 5(?) small bottles w/Nuun, about 10 gels (half of them w/caffeine), some pieces of bagel w/peanut butter and Nutella, handful of Shot Bloks, potato chips
Injuries fell around mile 55 and badly bruised my left palm, wrist and right shoulder
Therapy  
Time of Day 6:15 AM
Workout Type race
Weather mid 50s at the start w/some fog, mid 70s shortly thereafter and at the finish, sun, calm
Course (Capitol Forest 50) x 2
Results Single Speed - 2nd (10:16)
Overall - 13th
official results
Equipment Mountain Bike
Clothing bib shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap, Fox full finger gloves

26 August 2011

one man, one dream, one speed, 100 miles

Occasionally one feels the need to strike out and try new things. in 2011 that new 'thing' I wanted to try was racing my single speed mountain bike. I've ridden a single speed and fixed gear road bike for years but in the dirt…? That was totally new.

I was originally inspired by my friend Tom L who I met when we both competed in TransPortugal. This guy shows up on a 3-speed, fully rigid mountain bike and does very well! Since then I met others that rode single speeds in the woods and even a single speed mountain bike tandem(!) so obviously I was not going to breaking any new ground here.

But it was so damn exciting! One of the appeals about riding a single speed on the road is the huge mental relief. You never need to worry about what gear you should be in because you only have one. With that incentive in mind I built my bike and headed out for a ride with friends.

My first outing was a 25-30 mile north of Lake Wenatchee. We started out with a significant climb and ended with a significant and rocky descent. And to my surprise I did just fine… Oh sure, the pace was pretty social but even when it hotted up some on occasion I was able to hang.

Next up I tried Tiger Mountain which is NW staple. Again I did okay. So let's raise the bar shall we?

This summer I have been competing in the NW Epic Series and it has been 1) fun, 2) a learning experience and 3) hard because I chose the long course for each event. The final in the series is tomorrow; it's the Capitol Forest 100 and I don't mind admitting that I am just a little nervous.

Back in the day I competed in a couple of 100-mile mountain bike races in OR but that was then (read: a LONG time ago when I was young and foolish) and it was never on a single speed bike much less a fully rigid bike.

This series is unique in that the races are extremely well supported. There are food/drink stops every 10 ish miles and after almost literally not needing my CamelBak for the first two events I am going to leave it at home for this finale. That's right, think light and fast.

I was looking over the finishing times from last year and the fastest geared bikes were coming in in around 9-9.5 hours. A guy I know that is a little faster than me did it in 9:47. Single speed bikes were 10.5-11 hours. My stated goal is to go under 11. Hopefully if I eat and drink intelligently that's attainable. There has been one single speeder that has been absolutely killing it in the series this year and I know he's out of reach. But on a good day I think I can compete for 2nd? At the last race I got 3rd by not so much. Then again, it might be a totally different field for this much longer event and if all the genetic freaks come out all bets are off.

Another stated goal is to have fun and not let the race mentality take over. 11 hours is way too long to be stranded in the forest hating life on some death march so I need to remember to have fun, enjoy the view, the trail and remember why I ride a bike in the first place. Because I like it.

Nothing like going big. Here's hoping I don't have to go home prematurely.

25 August 2011

cyclocross practice | stairs

This morning I met Jeff W, Ryan D, Nelson J, Lane S and Dean J at Woodland Park for a bit of skills practice and then 20 minutes of riding a circuit. It sure was a wakeup call for me…

To fill you in on some history, the last two years my back has not tolerated cyclocross well at all. I think I was able to do two races each year and then had to throw in the towel as I was in too much pain.

Having been more diligent about my core work I am hoping that this fall will be the year I can participate in a semi-full cross season. Here's hoping anyway.
I got there a little early and good thing too! My mount has a stutter step in it that I HATE and it took me about six laps back and forth across the grass just to get rid of it. Then everyone showed up.

And my bike handling sucks! We did this tight figure eight and I was slowing down SO much for each corner… it was kind of disheartening to tell you the truth. But riding in the dirt was also a ton of fun! Hopefully the fun factor won't wear off when folks lap me on race day. :)

After work Shelley and I hit the stairs for a quickie and I managed to squeeze in a few flights. Boy, I felt pretty tired by that time. In fact, I felt pretty tired in the morning too now that I think about it. Time to rest up for the big mountain bike race this weekend.
Sleep
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day cross - 7:00 AM
stairs - 6:30 PM
Workout Type
Weather low 70s, sunny, dry
Course cross - Woodland Park
stairs - Howe Street
Distance stairs - 5 flights, 20 min
Equipment Cyclocross Bike
Clothing

Technorati Tags: ,

24 August 2011

I like beer

For many reasons.

  • It tastes good.
  • It's refreshing.
  • Although you can certainly be a beer snob connoisseur, there are so many great types and good brands available why bother.
  • You can get it in small, normal, large, XL and ridiculous size containers.
  • Loads of beer commercials are funny as hell.
  • It comes in cans AND bottles. Some of which are so cool looking you hardly want to crack the seal. Almost.

I also like companies that can make fun of themselves.

Just today good friend Ryan D sent me a link to a site that combines beer and this ability. Bonus.

It seems that people have been finding spelling errors on the site of the Lagunitas Brewing Company. Here is their response.


It has been broughten to our attrition that they're have been numberous spelling errors on hour various lables. From the cureous (as in 'steet') too the sublime (as in 'redempetion'). As a soulution to this problem we have retrained an imminent linguist from Stanford and have invested in a spel checker computter utilitiy. For now however, the thing I want to know is: Who are these werd police? Anyway? Who is the boss, ewe or the words? Huh? And besides, what dew words, let alone speling, have to do with beer anyway. I mean, who ever herd of some namby pamby pale lexiphile curling up buy a warm fire with a good book and a cold beer. This hole bussiness has gone plenty far enouph, don't you think?

core | run | commute

Made it to the gym, hit the treadmill and took the long way home. And really, this did not cramp my style too much and turned into what most any active day could be like.

Assuming you have this gorgeous weather.

Sleep  
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day  
Workout Type  
Weather mid 70s, sunny, dry
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
roman chair knee lifts 3 x 40
push-ups 20
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
run - treadmill, 5 min at 7:30 min/mile, 25 min at 7 min/mile
Distance run - 4+ miles
commute - 20 miles
Equipment Town Bike
Clothing  

23 August 2011

commute | Pacific Raceways

Sometimes it takes a village. Or a team. Whatever.

Tonight at Pacific Raceways Dave H and I managed to lock up the series by doing exactly what we had to.

Mark M from Starbucks is really fast. On the flats there really isn't anyone that can beat him so the best you can hope for (unless he eats a ton of pizza right before the race) is second. Dave had a reasonable lead in the points going into this race but if we did nothing and Mark won everything it would come down to the last race and that is always a crap shoot. In other words not what we wanted.

So the goal was to try and get as many second places as possible. Which is exactly what we did.

Tonight was a points race which is always a good time.

The plan was to either take points away from Mark or to help Dave do as well as possible in the sprints. Mostly the later. After a few laps I took off and went solo for one lap. As I crossed the finish line they rang the bell for the first prime but I was not up for the sustained effort so had to sit up and the pack caught me at the north end of the drag strip.

I led Dave out for the prime and then tried to go again and this time got away with three other riders but only one of them was working… I always find it entertaining how people will kill themselves to get into the break but then they can't or won't work to ensure its success. Oh well.

For the rest of the race I just led Dave out. Again and again and again.

I'd like to give myself a little pat on the back here and say that for the second prime my leadout was so strong that Dave had to tell me to slow down so he could come around for the point! That time we got 1st instead of second. :)

We also had to contend with Garage Racing (read: Matt H) working for Mark. Luckily for us that did not always go as planned.

The finish was a big gallop to the line and I think Dave was 3rd but that's still one point.

At the end of the night Dave had an eight point lead over Mark and it was only possible to win seven points at the last race. Whew.

Sleep  
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food gel at the start, water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day race - 7:00 PM
Workout Type  
Weather 70, mostly sunny, dry
Distance commute - 9 miles
Results We got Dave the series win!
Equipment Road Bike
Mad Fiber wheels
Clothing bib shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap

22 August 2011

ride

Knowing that we had to pack up kind of early today and that my foot/toe would probably not survive another run Shelley and I squeezed in a quick ride on the Discovery Trail again.

This time we went just past where the trail turns inland and saw lots of frogs and slugs on the ground! Nature is cool! We had to ride carefully so as not to squish anything. The frogs were multicolored; I'm always amazed by how far they can jump.

Sleep  
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food  
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 9:00 AM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course  
Distance 9 miles
Equipment Town Bike
Clothing  

Technorati Tags: ,

21 August 2011

run | ride

In spite of 'injuring' myself yesterday I did not want to sit around and so decided to try another run - with shoes this time - just to see if it would work. Luckily it worked okay.

The wind had swapped directions so I did likewise and headed south to start.

This direction seems somewhat less touristy but still very pretty as you can see hills with trees behind the beach. The wind was also a little stronger so the surf was fun to watch. As were all the birds! Tons of seagulls and some that looked sort of like pelicans… obviously I have no idea what I'm talking about but they were fun to observe regardless.

Later in the day I rode the Discovery Trail to the end which was a blast!

As a concession to my blister (that was still as big as ever) I wore shoes and socks today and also wrapped an adhesive bandage around my toe. That seemed to do the job and I was pain-free although I could feel that something was not quite right. Not enough to stop me luckily.

I headed down the beach thinking that I would do the same thing as yesterday which was run 30 minutes and then turn around. Except I ran out of beach in about 25 minutes.

I was at a spot where the rock met the ocean and there was no way around; probably not even at low tide. Instead of cutting my run short, I decided to hit the Discovery Trail that runs back to the hotel. After struggling through some very deep and soft sand I finally got up to the grass, would my way through some trees and found the trail.

And you know what? It was pretty fun coming back this way. Sure it was asphalt but the trail winds around and around and has little rises and descents and it was a little longer than coming straight back on the beach which was a bonus. I ran past loads of cyclists, people walking their dogs and although it was not as warm as Saturday I was very comfortable.

And my toe survived! Yeah for my toe.

Later that day I got on my bike and headed south.

I was on my town bike which was perfect for the most part until I got the inland portion of the trail and it turned to gravel. And went up a steep hill. Slick tires and one speed won't handle that so I was walking.

Still, it's a beautiful little ride.

Our hotel was on Sid Snyder Dr. so I rode from there to Il Waco and back. In Il Waco I lost the route but it was probably just surface streets so no biggie.

As you ride south the trail twists and turns and dips and rises through some surprisingly tall dune grass; so tall that at times you can only see a few dozen feet in front of you. Where the trail turns inland/east it looks like there is no way to pass and suddenly an opening in the rocks appears and through that you go. Very cool.

After turning in the trail goes up and down some bigger hills and still twists and turns and you even get to cross some bridges. Good times.

Sleep  
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food run - water, gel
ride - water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day run - 9:00 AM
ride - late afternoon
Workout Type  
Weather  
Distance run - ?
ride - 12 miles?
Time run - 55 min
Equipment Town Bike
Clothing run - shorts, long sleeve active T, hand-held bottle

20 August 2011

run

Shelley and I packed up the van and drove out to Long Beach with her sister Shannon for a bit of a family reunion.

This place bills itself as some sort of house of fun but in reality the weather is not that nice much of the year and if there isn't an event like a kite fair, etc. going on it's kind of a ghost town in my opinion…

Still, when you are sleeping right next to a fabulous beach what could make more sense than a barefoot beach run. Nothing, that was rhetorical.

Was I worried that the sand might hurt my feet? Not really. I figured worst case I would feel something and just walk back to the hotel.

I WAS WRONG.

But let me backtrack a bit. The run was a blast! It was just me, a pair of shorts and a hand-held bottle. I felt like a total nature boy. The wind was out of the north so I headed north to start. The first 10 minutes were not so fun then gradually I warmed up and things felt more gooderer. I was actually feeling pretty good by the time I turned around which was when my watch said 30 minutes had elapsed.

The sand was nice. Right next to the water it was quite firm and up by the dunes and plants it was really soft so I opted for the tire tracks near the water where vehicles had churned it up a bit and things were a little more comfy.

When I stopped to turn around I ate my gel, washed it down with some water and immediately was rewarded with a tailwind. Nice. Without even trying I went about three minutes faster on the way back.

I started to feel a little something the last few minutes of my run but didn't feel like I needed to pay it much mind. By the time I walked off the sand and across the asphalt hotel parking lot I was limping. When I got back to the hotel room and looked at my foot I had the biggest blood blister I have ever seen on the bottom of my right big toe! Insane how this can happen. I'm just thankful it did not burst.

The rest of the day was spent favoring my left foot for sure.

Sleep  
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water, gel
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 8:30 AM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course  
Time 58 min
Equipment  
Clothing shorts

Technorati Tags:

18 August 2011

ride | run

Got in the morning hot lap around Mercer Island again.

I think many people forget what a great route/resource/place to ride Mercer Island really is! If you take your time and open your eyes the scenery is amazing, the views are even better and the road is smooth, twisty and a ton of fun. I guess I felt that needed to be said. :)

I hit the Seward Park trails for real after work.

I started by going half way around the park on the road and then up into the woods on yet another new route. At the top I took another new turn to explore and this time I was on genuine singletrack. I had to hop over logs and came to a full stop at least twice to negotiate a turn.

Sleep  
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day ride - 6:30 AM
run - 6:30 PM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course  
Time run - 34 min
Equipment Road Bike
Clothing  

Technorati Tags:

16 August 2011

ride | Pacific Raceways

Tried to do the double today and was NOT feeling it in the morning…

I just followed wheels and only pulled once if my memory serves me correctly. Still, this morning group is great to hang with.

At Pacific Raceways I tried my best to animate things and also was not able to do anything. Sometimes that 'hill' really kicks my butt. I guess if you don't train you can't expect to race…? Stay tuned for more universal truths by Martin.

I did get in a couple of moves but no one else felt like committing themselves so they were doomed from the start. On the last lap I had planned to attack at the top of the hill since the finish was on the flats at the start but Garage Racing ramped up the pace so much all I could do was follow. Once on the flats I finally managed to up the pace for Dave H but it was a pretty lame showing on my part. Dave still got some points but he could have done better so we need to rethink for next week. It has been a tight series this year!

Sleep
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food water
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day ride - 6:30 AM
race - 7:00 PM
Workout Type
Weather
Course
Results
Equipment Road Bike
race - Mad Fiber wheels
Clothing

15 August 2011

core | run | run

I know… you're saying to yourself, "Martin ran twice in one day?" For realz, yo.

All self-aggrandizement aside, it felt good to try and run a little faster and to facilitate this I hit the treadmill at the gym in the AM. I just don't have a good sense of pace on the road so if I dial in a 7:30 or 7 minutes/mile pace often enough here then my body remembers and I can duplicate it outside.

At Seward Park I again ran half way around on the road and then hit the trails and this time went up a new way. Good times.

Sleep  
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day gym - 5:30 AM
PM run - 6:30 PM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
roman chair knee lifts 3 x 40
push-ups 21
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
AM run - treadmill
PM run - Seward Park
Distance AM run - 4 miles
PM run - ?
Time AM run - 30 min
PM run - 23:28
Clothing  

Technorati Tags: ,

14 August 2011

ride

Nice!

It seems like it has been ages since I actually rode for real so it was super fun to head out today and do just that. I met Jeff D, Greg K, RC R (out for his first ride after breaking his collar bone!) and we did a moderate north end loop.

Pretty social, we regrouped at the top of all the hills and got good and caught up with each other. I felt okay and of course Jeff was riding super strong in spite of having just raced his brains out in Portland, OR and f'ing winning the Portland Criterium. Nice.

After the ride I was able to talk everyone into checking out the progress on our new house. I sure love going by the lot.

Sleep  
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food  
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day  
Workout Type 7:00 AM
Weather upper 50s to start, 70 by the finish, sunny, dry, calm
Course  
Results  
Equipment Road Bike
Clothing bib shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, cap

13 August 2011

errands

Just ran some errands on my bike today… can you call that training? I just did. :)

Went down to Recycled Cycles with a fork in my messenger bag (yes, I felt totally hip while doing so) and had them remove a crown race from a carbon fork I just got for my new cyclocross bike. Sometimes you just need the fancy tools.

Sleep  
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food  
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day  
Workout Type  
Weather mid 70s, sunny, dry, calm
Course  
Distance 12 miles
Equipment Town Bike
Clothing  

11 August 2011

run | stairs

Ran down to the Howe Street stairs, walked five flights and got a ride home.

I like that last part. Thanks Shelley (who did the stairs with me).

Walking the stairs was not as brutal as I thought it might be, then again I was ready to pack it in after just a few. And… I was only walking.

Sleep  
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day  
Workout Type  
Weather mid 70s, sunny, dry, calm
Course Howe Street stairs
Distance run - 2 miles
stairs - 5 flights
Time run - 17 min
stairs - 20 min
Clothing  

Technorati Tags:

10 August 2011

core | run

Made it to the gym again… I am a superstar. Or something much less.

I also went running on the trail in Seward Park for the first time. Just a heads up, these are pretty fun and I suspect there are more miles of trail in that little peninsula than you might imagine.

Today I took what must be the main trail through the park and I could see several smaller trails that went left and right. Must explore more!

Sleep  
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day  
Workout Type  
Weather low 70s, sunny, dry, light wind
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
roman chair knee lifts 3 x 40
push-ups 21
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Distance 3.1 miles
Time 25:40
Pace 8:17 min/mile

Technorati Tags: ,

09 August 2011

ride

Just another Mercer Island hot lap!

With no race at Pacific Raceways this evening (I guess dragsters bring in more revenue) I tried to go hard in the AM instead. It sorta worked… Just not feeling it.

08 August 2011

core | commute | run

Managed to get to the gym, rode my bike to work and then hit the bricks after. Nice.

I believe this is my first run with a hill. And by 'hill' I of course mean I went up one.

Sleep  
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy massage
Time of Day gym - 5:30 AM
run - 6:00 PM
Workout Type  
Weather 70, sun, dry, calm
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
roman chair knee lifts 3 x 40
push-ups 20
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Distance commute - 9 miles
run - 3.4 miles
Time run - 27:36
Pace 8:13 min/mile
Equipment Town Bike

07 August 2011

Sunshine Coast MTB Trail Challenge day 2

Day 2 of this ride dawned clear and cool so since I tend to wake early I headed down to the beach and took some pictures.

CIMG7618

Quite the contrast to what we were in store for later in the day which was this.

CIMG7633

That's right, adventure racing here we go. Day 1 of this ride it seems was just the warm up.

We started out on some easy trail which then turned to dirt road and soon we were descending down a valley parallel to a river. Every few hundred meters there was a water bar (read: huge ditch) and luckily we were able to ride them all. A couple of times the tandem would high-center as we struggled to clear the mound of dirt on the far side of the ditch but we powered through them and it was actually a good time judging from the laughter right behind me.

At the bottom of the road was the river. Turns out the bridge had been somewhat unstable for ages and so just last summer the Parks Department had decided to remove it. Undaunted, the ride organizer hired some zip-line aficionado to show up and ferry bikes across. We had to climb down one side, our bikes got zipped across while we waded across and then we had to climb up the other side. I gotta say, this was fun to watch and to do. Enjoy.

CIMG7620

CIMG7623

CIMG7624

CIMG7626

CIMG7627

CIMG7631

CIMG7632

Of course once we were reunited with our bike on the other side we were in the freaking jungle! This section of trail had not been cleared much less ridden since the bridge got removed so the brush was HEAVY. I am always amazed by the speed nature reclaims things and this trail was no exception. We were getting slapped by branches, there were overhanging limbs, stuff was grabbing our legs, it was kind of crazy.

After working our way through this wilderness for a while we finally popped out onto dryer terrain and our lunch stop.

CIMG7634

We took a bit of a break here because right out of lunch the road went up. And I mean UP.

CIMG7636

Pictures never do justice to the speed or slope but trust me, this was a grunt with the top being WELL beyond what you can see in this picture. And we made it!

It was here that the route turned into the woods and slowly, almost imperceptibly, the trail got tighter, twistier and narrower until suddenly we were walking the bike. For a while it was super fun. We were cruising through this dark, dense forest on earthy doubletrack with awesome traction and the ups and downs were very manageable. Then came a tight corner. And then a steep uphill. And the the bridges started.

BC/North Shore riding is nothing if not famous for man-made trails and teeter-totters and the like and that's super cool. But a tandem can't ride most of that stuff. The sheer length of the bike prohibits it from negotiating the turns even if you had the skills to balance on the ramps. Bummer. As we hiked more and more and rode less and less I was dying a thousand deaths. Each section of trail looked more spectacular than the last and I SO wanted to ride it all. Needless to say Shelley was not having the best time either. She had signed up for a ride and here we were hiking through the woods in our cycling shoes. It was a bit of a drag to say the least.

We finally got to the top and started descending toward the ferry and still we could not ride.

I'm not sure at what point we finally were able to get back on the bike but it was not soon enough. I didn't have many opportunities to take pictures during this section but here is one example of what we encountered.

CIMG7637

And here I am walking the bike across this same bridge.

Eventually we made it out of the trees and coasted down to the ferry dock where the organizers had decided to give away all the remaining beers. That worked for me.

CIMG7639

While I hydrated Shelley needed a little solo time. And I don't blame her.

CIMG7640

Here is proof that we went through hell; note massive scratch on my right cheek.

CIMG7641

Whew. I would love to do this ride again; on a single. Not on a tandem. It seems interesting to me (probably frustrating to Shelley) that practically every cycling trip or vacation I suggest ends up being this huge ordeal where we struggle arduously and encounter hardship after hardship. It's not my intention… If anyone knows of a nice, tame, scenic tandem trip they would recommend please let me know. We both deserve it.

Here are all the pictures.

06 August 2011

Sunshine Coast MTB Trail Challenge day 1

This event is something I have been looking forward to doing for quite some time.

I first heard about it from a friend and so I asked him a couple of years ago if he thought it would be suitable for a tandem. He said, "Sure, I think that would work…" That's pretty much proof positive that people don't have a clue about where you can ride a tandem unless they have actually ridden a tandem. Here is ours.

CIMG7566

Why is it so hard to ride there you might ask? Well, for anyone that has not heard about North Shore riding up in BC, our trip had sections of trail that were exactly like this.

Shelley and I took off Friday afternoon and drove to Horseshoe Bay where we parked and walked on the ferry to Langdale. From there the event organizers shuttled us up to the start where we camped.

Easy enough, right? Wrong. We were dropped off at a grassy field and some people are setting up tents pronto only to have the organizers pop out of the woods and tell us the field we were supposed to camp at was, "A couple of 100 m down that trail…"

Here is the 'bike truck' freaking packed to the gills…

CIMG7575

Here is where everyone thought we were camping.

CIMG7576

Here we are walking down to the real camping field.

CIMG7579

Although dinner was technically provided the organizers did have cheese, crackers, fruit, cookies (for free) and beer and wine (for a modest fee). Nice. Shelley had the wherewithal to buy a sandwich at the ferry dock.

CIMG7582

Breakfast was at 7:00 AM and you could roll out pretty much any time you wanted. We ate, hit the head, packed up our tent and gear and started riding. Only to get off the bike in about 100'! The trail that rose up from the baseball field quickly got super narrow, went up a steep hill while getting very rooty. Sign of things to come?

Yes it was.

At the pre-ride meeting we were told that today there would be several sections where you could opt for the easy trail or the intermediate trail. Of course I turned onto the intermediate trail at the first opportunity… and we had to walk.

I learned my lesson quickly but that first hike was not insignificant. A shame too as it was outstanding trail! The problem was just that the longer tandem can't make it around tight corners and across little bridges that turn; the rear wheel just falls off.

There was one time where I thought Shelley's patience was running low (and I don't blame her) but we managed. And we also rode some really fun sections of trail too. Like when we approached the lunch stop. The route took us into a park and we followed a hiking trail around and around and around that was just perfect for the tandem.

All the food stops were fantastic.

CIMG7584

And by lunch we had made up.

CIMG7586

After lunch the trail stayed interesting.

Camping after day 1 was near the beach. We had all the amenities including live music! The organizers even brought along beer and wine and sold it for a reasonable price. We dined on salmon, potatoes, corn, salad, way too many desserts and I forget what all else. Good times for sure.

CIMG7604

Here are all the pictures.

04 August 2011

ride | stand up paddle

Training…?! Oh yeah, it's what real racers do.

I met Greg K and Tim F at the Dawg this morning and we hit Lake WA Blvd for some six minute intervals. Good times.

After I got home Shelley and tried Stand Up Paddle boarding for the first time. And you say 'multi-sport'? Oh yeah.

I put in a lot of miles (for me anyway) last week hence the slacking off in the first part of this week. And at the risk of TMI, all that riding - especially in the hotter weather - gave me a saddle sore so I was not too upset about taking a few days off the bike. But there are still races to do and I'd like to do well so time to train.

ASIDE - if you could guarantee that there would be no adverse side effects from your activity of choice like saddle sores if you cycle or lost toenails if you run I bet athletics would be an entirely different kind of thing. All you would have to do is train and rest.

Turns out if you go roughly 25 mph it takes almost exactly six minutes from Mt Baker Beach to Seward Park so that is what we did. The idea was to hold a steady tempo and not start out too fast and if possible, pick it up a tad toward the end of each effort. The last time I tried these I felt pretty good. This time not so much.

You can always tell after the second interval if you are warming up or gassing. My third one was tough and apparently it was the same for Greg who was still recovering from his trip to France where he did not ride for one week so we spun down to Seward and then did our last/fourth interval. Four felt okay but I was not up for more so we checked out the brand new pavement on Madrona and called it good.

Shelley has been talking about stand up paddling for ages so when I got the Living Social coupon from Amazon for half off I jumped at it. We booked our lesson with Surf Ballard and headed down.

I think we lucked out. Some of the guys hanging around the shop looked like your typical surfer wannabes/stoners but we got this new guy who had moved here from Oahu just two months ago and was very professional and nice. There were two instructors for 11 of us, we put all the boards in this huge cart and headed across the street.

sup_wagon

Here we put in at a 'hidden' beach that was actually pretty crowded. We shoved off and started out on our knees. As people felt comfortable they stood up.

Shelley fell in almost right away but then seconds later so did I. And then so did a couple of other clients. The bay we were practicing in was not that calm so after a few minutes the instructor suggested we paddle out, around a corner and into the Shilshole Bay Marina. It was MUCH calmer here… We paddled under ramps and walkways and all the way up to the north end and then let the breeze push us back to where we started. All that took about 1.5 hours!

There was this one slightly pompous Asian-American woman that started standing and seemed to have no trouble at all the entire time. She kept saying things like, "This isn't so hard!" and, "I don't have any trouble standing up!" As we paddled back to the beach a big wake hit her broadside and she endoed into the water in spectacular fashion. I suspect more than one person was secretly happy she finally got dunked. Oh yeah, it also flattened her very styled and henna'd hair. Another bonus.

When we landed the tide had come up a bit and all of our sandals had started to float but some kind citizens had rescued them and tossed them all onto higher ground. Thanks kind people!

I started to help carry boards back up to the cart when suddenly something did not feel right. I did this slow motion head turn glancing down to my left hand and sure enough, my wedding ring was gone. Shit.

I took a few minutes and sifted through the sand but quickly realized how fruitless this was and gave up. I'm pretty sure it came off after I landed and while I was carrying boards but in the sand? No way was I going to find that. What a massive bummer.

In spite of this both Shelley and would like to try SUP one more time.

Sleep  
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 5:00 AM - cereal
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food large bottle w/2 scoops HEED and 1 tablet Nuun
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 6:00 AM
Workout Type intervals
Weather 60, partly cloudy, dry, light breeze out of the north
Course  
Results  
Equipment Road Bike
Clothing bib shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap

Popular Posts