30 June 2012

Leavenworth ditch run

Today I did one of my favorite things. I went for a trail run, with great people, on a new route and it was SO scenic.

My sister and two of her running friends invited me along on a run and we headed out from the Lodge at Copper Notch and followed the Icicle River for a bit. Then we went up a steep hill to an aqueduct that flows along the hillside.

At first the aqueduct was in a metal 'shell' and since the hill was so steep it was supported by a latticed framework. On top of this framework about two feet above the water was a wood plank walkway for workers. We ran along this walkway and it was amazing to be 1) just a couple of feet above all this rushing water and 2) cruising along this steep hillside with amazing views staring you in the face. If I ever needed a GoPro on a run today was the day.

The walkway ended and then there was a dirt path next to the aqueduct so we ran along that for a few miles and turned around. The return trip along the wood walkway was just as spectacular the second time round.

Sleep  
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 8:00 AM
Workout Type easy run with friends
Weather 70, sunny, dry, calm
Course  
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment Brooks Cascadia
Clothing Brooks Infinity Short III

29 June 2012

core

Plans change!

Today I thought I would at least hit the gym for some cardio but meetings at work and the fact that I was bushed meant that by noon I was NOT thinking about doing anything physical so bagged out. Done.

My calves are sore from yesterday's pavement run but otherwise my body help up very well. I'm mostly tried from a shite night's sleep.

Oh yeah, my core routine felt pretty hard today. :( Especially the side plank.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries My calves are sore from yesterday but it's debilitating.
Therapy  
Time of Day 6:00 AM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side w/2 x 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  

28 June 2012

bike commute | Lake Union run

I had such a good time running yesterday I thought I'd give it another try today. But I had to be at work by 7:00 AM today so no opportunity to duplicate yesterday's big athletic trifecta meaning I had to miss the gym this time round. Oh well.

Yesterday I weighed myself on the IMA locker room scale before and after my run and discovered that on a warm day I lost two pounds of water weight in just 40 minutes. Today I repeated the scale test and was blown away to discover that I lost FOUR pounds of water weight in 1:10. I feel like I've been living under a rock as most athletes probably already know this…? I guess I did in theory but seeing the numbers is really making it hit home. Hydration will be a priority from now on.

I felt yesterday's run when I started today but after a mile or so I got warmed up. I also felt slower but my pace was pretty similar. That was a nice surprise considering it was almost twice as long. After I was done my calves were tight (too much pavement…) but otherwise I was okay.

I'm reading Eat & Run by Scott Jurek and one thing he emphasizes is cadence. He recommends 85-90 so that is what I have been focusing on.
Here is my run.

Here is my commute.

Sleep 6
Waking HR
Body Weight 12:00 PM - 179.1 lb.
1:15 PM - 175 lb.
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food water
Injuries I got the beginnings of a blister on my left big toe during my run but finished in time to prevent it from becoming a problem.
Therapy
Time of Day
Workout Type endurance
Weather low 70s, mostly sunny, dry, light breeze
Course
Results
Time
Distance
Pace
Equipment run - Brooks Launch
commute - Town Bike
Clothing shorts
Technorati Tags: ,

27 June 2012

Ceramic bearings? No thanks.

Every so often a disease infects cycling and it spreads like an epidemic. Of course by 'disease' I mean fad and by 'spreading like an epidemic' I mean people seem insistent on shelling out tons of cash for no reason (or just because of effective marketing).

Ceramic bearings was (is?) one of those fads.

On the one hand I am a huge fan of anything that gets people out on bicycles and that pumps up the cycling industry in general but really, how bad do we need things like ceramic bearings? That's rhetorical, we don't.

My own personal experience with ceramic bearings goes something like this.

Some time ago I purchased a new set of wheels. The upcharge for ceramic bearings was minimal so I figured why the hell not! Right? I mean if everything I was reading about these miracle balls was right I was going to be saving some serious watts.

In the shopping process I discovered that cartridge bearings with ceramic balls seem to come in two flavors for the most part.

  1. ceramic balls with steel bearing races
  2. ceramic balls with ceramic bearing races

The former was reasonably priced - and it's what I got - the later was outrageously expensive.

After only a handful of rides on my new wheels the bearings went from smooth as the proverbial baby's bottom to utter shit. I replaced them with traditional steel bearing cartridges and did some research to find out what the heck happened to my dream wheels. What I discovered is the following.

  • The ceramic material in the bearings is MUCH harder than the steel bearing races. Of there is any amount of incorrect load on the bearing cartridge or if the cartridge gets contaminated with even the least bit of dirt the bearings (which are practically indestructible) will grind the races into dust. Figuratively that is. What happened in my case is they wore a grove around the entire race. Not so smooth…
  • The seals on these ceramic bearing cartridges did not keep out the water and dirt nearly as well as the seals on the steel bearing cartridges.

One of my favorite newsletters of late is from Neuvation Cycling. John Neugent has been in the cycling industry for ages and in addition to being a talented sourcer of products he has recently discovered some writing aplomb. He always has a 'deal of the day' and it's accompanied by some wit or tech tidbit industry insider news. I love reading it. Here is his newsletter from today and guess what… he agrees with me when it comes to ceramic bearings.

I get asked about ceramic bearings all the time and at one time sold them.  They are still one of the buzz words although the buzz is dying pretty fast.

Ceramic bearings in bikes came about when some Northern Europeans started putting them in pro’s bikes.  Virtually all sealed cartridge bicycle bearings are stock bearings.  I don’t know of any that were created specifically for bikes.

Contrary to popular belief, ceramic bearings gain their performance advantage not from being rounder or harder, their advantage comes because they use a thin grease or oil instead of standard grease and a contact seal that has less contact.  If you take a stock cartridge bearing and change the grease to oil and use the same low contact seal you would have essentially the same performance.

Because of this, we just switched our contact seals to have less contact in all of our wheels..
Steve Hed, of HEAD wheels said it perfectly and I paraphrase “We could find no measureable performance advantage in ceramic bearing wheels in the real world, but we do notice that if you take a wheel and spin it with your fingers that the ceramic wheels will spin better.”  I guess what he’s saying is that if you spin wheels rather than ride them buy ceramics.

Now I know about half of my newsletter readers have ceramic bearings and are not that thrilled with me right now.  All I can tell you is that I sold them too and that there is a lot of advertising out there saying they are better. And yes, the pros do use them but they also take off all of the seals on the TT bikes to gain every single possible advantage.

Thanks for reading – John Neugent

neuvation_newsletter

The only bummer now is that it appears ALL of the wheels from Neuvation Cycling will come with what I think are inadequate contact seals. Bummer. Especially if you live in the Pacific NW like I do. Or go mountain biking.

core | Ravenna run | bike commute

Apparently I was inspired while at the gym this morning and managed to hold the plank for four minutes. Nice. And not bad considering I was up since 3:00 AM… What's with that? I hate not being able to sleep.
Then at lunch I went for a run. OUTSIDE. I know, I know… I'm crazy like that. Seriously, it was 70 degrees and sunny. As I left the IMA I smiled looking at all the folks on the treadmills because I was not one of them.

And my run was great! And then I got invited to ride some mountain passes down by Mt. Rainier! It was turning into a banner day.

My ride home was awesome. Awesome because it was still super nice out and because my chain came off but I did not hurt myself very badly. Whew. Sure looks tough though. It cracks me up that I took the time to stop, get out my phone and twist around to try and take a picture… :)

The dangers (and the badassness) of platform pedals.
Did I mention that my run was great!? It sure was. I felt rested, happy and fast. And by 'fast' I of course meant that I felt pretty good considering I have not been running much and not outdoors at all. And it was fabulous out.

I just went nice and steady and for some reason this pace did not feel too taxing. So I just enjoyed myself and the weather. Shirts off baby.

Here is my commute. The weather was still fabulous and I hardly felt the run at all. Throw in an iPod with great music, throw in tons of tourists at the Ballard Locks which made for some great people watching and I had a super ride home. And when my chain came off while climbing through Discovery Park I did not fall down and just ran my platform pedal into my calf. At first I did not even know I had broken the skin so just put the chain back on and kept riding. It wasn't until I went to scratch my calf with my hand and it came away red that I figured out what happened. Obviously I was not hurt.

On a whim I weighted myself before and after my run and I lost nearly two pounds of water weight! In just 40 minutes! That kinda drives home how much you need to hydrate when it gets toasty out.
Sleep 5
Waking HR
Body Weight 12:00 PM - 179.5 lb.
12:50 PM - 177.6 lb.
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food water
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day core - 5:45 AM
run - 12:00 PM
Workout Type endurance
Weather 70, sunny, dry, light breeze
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side w/2 x 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 22
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results
Time
Distance
Pace
Equipment run - Brooks Launch
commute - Town Bike
Clothing
Technorati Tags: ,

25 June 2012

core | treadmill run | bike commute

Core felt okay and my run felt pretty good, that was nice. I really have the urge to go hit the woods on foot but I know it will be a pretty big shock to the system when I finally do give it a go again. :)

My last bike race is at the end of August, then I'll focus on running.

I'm also really pumped to ride my new mountain bike... more on that soon.

Sleep 7
Waking HR
Body Weight 12:00 PM - 178 lb.
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food water
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day core - 5:30 AM
run - 12:00 PM
Workout Type endurance
Weather mid 60s, dry, mostly cloudy, pretty calm
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side w/2 x 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 24
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
treadmill run - 1% incline for 25 min, 2.5% for 5 min
Results
Time run - 30 min
Distance run - 4.1 miles
Pace run - 7:30 for 5 min, 7:00 for 25 min
Equipment commute - Town Bike
run - Brooks Launch
Clothing

23 June 2012

WA State Masters Championship Road Race (Longbranch)

I was thinking yesterday that I feel better prepared to race my mountain bike for 100 miles/10 hours than I do to race my road bike for 50 miles/2 hours…

The Longbranch Road Race is a classic. It's hard without being ridiculous and if you can get into a break the hills are a bit easier than when you are in the pack. The only problem is that at the Masters Championship race there are no pretenders in attendance and getting into the break is more difficult than usual.

I was here with Ryan Dean and Greg Kauper for the 40-49 Category 1-3 race, it's been pretty much the three of us all year long so I figured the team was in good hands.

11

As we drove south the rain started and by the time we got to the race it was freaking dumping. I had checked the forecast and knew this is what we were in for but it's still tough to wrap my head around racing in the rain from the start to the finish. AT least it was not cold! In fact, I could have swapped my rain jacket for a vest and been fine.

With the wet I only got in a meager warm up… complete with seatpost fender. In retrospect this was not ideal but I just did not have the Eye Of The Tiger today.

Go!

Right from the gun a Fanatik Bike Co. Racing Team rider takes off up the hill and I figured it would be a good warm up to chase him so I did. We caught him and there were a few more surges but nothing significant.

We went up the first hill pretty hard! For me anyway… it was my max heart rate for the race. I was in that place where I knew I would have felt a little better if I had warmed up more but I also knew that this pace was beyond my fitness in general so it did not really matter that my warm up had not been ideal. :(

On the first hill we also had our first of three(!) crashes. Someone was not paying attention and ran into a rear wheel while climbing and about three riders were down. I happened right in front of and I had to slow down but did not need to unclip. Accelerating from that was not fun.

Lap #1 and #2 were fast. Someone would push it over each summit and there were loads of attacks on the flatter sections. Greg and Ryan were both getting in a bunch of moves but nothing was sticking. I was able to stay in the front half of the pack but that was about it. On every hard hill I would try to start the climb at the front, fade back during the ascent but not get dropped by the top. So far it was working.

As we finished lap #2 Jason Bethel (Garage Racing) was just up the road with one other rider. I'm not exactly sure about the order of events but it went something like this. Greg was struggling just behind them. As we started up the hill just past the start/finish line Todd Herriott (Herriott Sports Performance) took off in pursuit. Ryan and one other guy went after him. I knew Todd was going to blow past Greg so I put my head down and tried to bridge.

Surprisingly I got away from the pack pretty clean and I was not blowing up but Todd is just much faster than I am. I caught and passed Greg and was making progress toward Ryan and the guy he was with but Todd went right past them and managed to hook up with Jason.

I finally caught the Ryan group but was pretty winded by that point. I put in one meager pull and by this time these guys were only pulling at about 80% so shortly thereafter we got caught. At least Greg was in this group. I could see the gap to the leaders slowly growing…

The pace calmed down some for lap #3. I guess no one felt capable of making the bridge and two strong teams were already represented. By now my goal was just to finish. I know, kind of defeatist. :( The hills on lap #3 were not excruciating but I could feel that my legs were not going to be able to do this much longer.

A mile or two after crossing the finish line on our last lap there was another crash. Also right in front of me! Another three guys went down and Ryan almost piled into them. Thank good ness we all got through that clean and the pack waited for Ryan and I to catch up.

As we rounded the first corner Greg went in a little hot and slid out for the third crash in our race. The only consolation was that he fell without taking anyone else out. He tried to get back up and finish but his bike was worse for wear so he had to roll back to the start and DNF.

I got right up to the front of the pack for our last time up the hard hill on lap #4 but it did not help. As we approached the top I looked back and saw I was the last rider in the bunch! Shit. And then someone twisted the throttle just a little and there was a 10' gap in front of me. Across the false flat I still thought I might be able to close it but the speed of the bunch did not let up and then the gap started to grow. My race was over.

I glanced back and saw a couple of riders so just slotted into a tempo that I could maintain to the finish. One of the guys (and HSP rider) caught me and we finished up more or less together. Looking at the results we lost quite a few folks out there and it also appears that this HSP rider was not in my field.

Looking back at my 'training' for the last month I should not be so surprised by my result or lack thereof. For quite some time now I have been doing zero intensity (read: short, fast races or efforts) and have just been doing endurance workouts and long mountain bike races where I have to pace myself for the duration. It's okay, I am really enjoying riding in the dirt and had a fairly good early season on the road; as a team we had pretty good early season on the road considering our size and our competition. So it's all good.

Today was a hard day. At least one person agreed with me; as we were approaching the hard hill for the last time they said, "So much for the easy Master's race…"

Congratulations to Dave Hecht who won the 50+ race! And to Jeff Reed for continuing to edge close to that breakout performance. And to Garage for adding two victories/yet another day to what has been nothing short of a phenomenal season for them.

Here are all the pictures.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 7:00 AM - Smoothie 2.0
11:00 AM - large bottle w/3 scoops Perpetuem
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food 20 min before the race - gel
race - 2 bottles each w/1 tablet Nuun and 1 scoop HEED, 2 gels
Injuries My back acted up a little but it has been much better this year than in any previous year.
Therapy  
Time of Day 1:05 PM
Workout Type race
Weather mid 50s, rain, wind
Course 10 ish-mile loop with one steep .5 mile climb, one less steep stair-step climb and a gradual climb just past the start/finish line.
Results 16th - Men 40-49 Cat 1-3
official results
Time  
Distance 49 miles
Pace  
Equipment Road Bike
Mad Fiber wheels
39/53, 12-25
Clothing Sugoi shoe covers, bib shorts, Craft short sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, clear rain jacket, cap, think full finger gloves

22 June 2012

core | cardio

Rain was in the forecast so I went to the gym. And then I did it again at lunch.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight 12:30 PM - 180 lb.
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day core - 5:30 AM
cardio - 12:30 PM
Workout Type endurance
Weather  
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side w/2 x 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 23
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
cardio - elliptical trainer, 13 incline, 13 resistance
Results  
Time cardio - 30 min
Distance  
Pace cardio - heart rate in the upper 130s
Equipment  
Clothing  

21 June 2012

cardio | bike commute

My motivation to do any kind of structured workout is hitting rock bottom again… I think life stresses are getting the better of me.

I got to the gym and really was not sure what I should do so hopped on the elliptical trainer. The first few minutes felt like utter garbage but then my legs warmed up and the last 20 minutes felt pretty good. Whew.
I had a great/peaceful/productive day at work which helped lift my spirits some and then the ride back was super. I was cruising up all the hills with very little perceived effort and made it to my massage therapist in record time.

ASIDE - Jenny Dailey (one of my favorite massage therapists) is fantastic. she really knows what a runner/cyclist/whatever needs.

That massage felt SO good. It has been way too long since I got one.

Sleep 7
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food water
Injuries
Therapy 5:00 PM - 60 min massage
Time of Day cardio - 5:30 AM
Workout Type endurance
Weather 75, partly sunny, dry, some wind
Course cardio - elliptical trainer, 13 incline, 13 resistance
Results
Time cardio - 30 min
Distance
Pace cardio - 150 rpm, heart rate was in the upper 130s when I finished
Equipment Town Bike
Clothing

how to use photobucket to host images on your website

This has been bugging me for MONTHS.

I have been wanting to display a bunch of thumbnail images in a footer on my blog and just was not able to do it. It was of course easy to insert images into the body of a post on my blog but the footer is just a code snippet that gets loaded at the bottom of every page so when you create it there is no way to insert images via the GUI.

No problem I thought, I’ll just upload the thumbnail images to Google Docs (now Google Drive) and reference them. And it worked… but only for a few minutes.

Turns out the URL for a Google Drive file is something like this here:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/UsMcbj2QLRo0hCCJokKE2-tyzan_64s63imheFoxpSXIAJlUBrcAFCbClVhbX1xRLEtrNveBx53tTcHILaDNKi4ePfBNnaDf8vUD3-fkZFRZ

Note that it does not end in .JPG or .PNG or whatever your image happens to be. That should have been my first clue. As it turns out the location of your image (or any other file you store in your Google Drive for that matter) changes from time to time and when it does, the referenced image of course ends up being a broken link on your site.

What do do?

I have a Flickr account so figured I would try that. Flickr is a fantastic picture hosting service that lets you share images in tons of ways. As it turns out, direct links is not one of those ways. :( Oh sure you can embed images (which is what I do with most of the pictures on my blog) and you can share pictures with any number of social networks but that doesn't help me out any. I just wanted a place to host images for free that I could reference in the HTML of my site.

Then a co-worker came to the rescue. He suggested I use photobucket as this service was designed to provide exactly what I was looking for. And you know what? He was right.

Not only can you share images you upload to photobucket in pretty much all same ways you can on Flicker, you can ALSO get a permanent, direct link to the file. Like this here:

http://i1256.photobucket.com/albums/ii490/itsnitram/Twitter.png

Note that this URL does end in .PNG which is exactly what I wanted. Mission accomplished.

Technorati Tags: ,

20 June 2012

core | bike commute

I got to the gym this morning and just was not feeling it. So I figured I would mix it up and try some different exercises. It didn't really help. I ended up doing mostly ab exercises instead of core exercises but oh well.
It was beautiful out and I took the long way home, that made up for it. Until I got this flat anyway.

If you're going to flat, do it up proper.
It always blows my mind how a nail can go straight through your tire…! Wouldn't it get deflected somehow? Obviously not. I do carry a tube so I put that in but as I was inflating it I realized the valve was separating from the rubber so had to pull it out and patch the one that got pierced. Thank goodness I carry a patch kit too.

The rest of the ride was much better.

Sleep 7
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food water
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day core - 5:45 AM
Workout Type endurance
Weather 70, mostly cloudy, dry, some wind
Course
ball leg lifts 3 x 20 each leg
back extensions 2 x 20
leg scissors 100
push-ups 20
twisters 50 each side - 10 lb.
leg extensions 50
ab machine 50 - 80 lb.
back machine 50 - 180 lb.
Results
Time
Distance
Pace
Equipment Town Bike
Clothing

the best spam subject line ever

At work we get a TON of junk email. I usually just select it all and hit delete but this morning we got an exceptionally entertaining message.

Subject: CONFIDENTIAL LETTER OF BEQUEST Do not treat as spam.... [No virus] OPEN ATTACHED FILE,Call me for more clarification

Body: Open attached file for full details...Paul Alexander

I've got to hand it to 'Paul', not only did he claim this email was not spam AND that it did not contain a virus, he was even so pro-active as to tell you to open the attachment. Nice. Paul gets an A for effort that's for sure. The only way to earn an A+ would have been to actually include a phone number.

Technorati Tags: ,,

19 June 2012

cardio | treadmill run

I felt much better today! My hands are still a little sore from Saturday but my legs are coming back to life.

Since I was not heading down to Pacific Raceways today to race I got in a little cardio in the morning and then a run at lunch. Both felt refreshingly good although I was breathing pretty hard while running. I guess I'm just not doing it often enough these days for it to feel super relaxed. And that's okay.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight 12:00 PM - 181 lb.
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day cardio - 5:15 AM
run - 12:00 PM
Workout Type endurance
Weather  
Course cardio - elliptical trainer, 13 incline, 13 resistance
run - treadmill, 1% incline
Results  
Time cardio - 30 min
run - 30 min
Distance run - 4 miles
Pace cardio - heart rate 130-150
run - 7:30 to start and then a little faster every 5 min finishing with a few min at 7:00
Equipment run - Hoka Combo XT
Clothing  

18 June 2012

core

Oi… After riding my brains out on Saturday and then driving home that same evening I did not feel bad at all about taking Sunday off. But I wanted to at least get in some active recovery type of activity today and work prevented it. Rats.

At least I got to the gym this morning for my core routine. And yes, it was pretty tough. My body is sore in all kinds of places.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 5:15 AM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side w/2 x 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 20 - 100 lb.
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment  
Clothing  

16 June 2012

Test of Endurance 100 MTB race

I ran out of descriptors for the hills after finishing the Test of Endurance 100. Here are a few that I can remember.

  • soul-sucking
  • leg-breaking
  • mind-numbing
  • 17,000'
  • really, really hard

This race was four laps of a 25-mile loop and after just one lap I was not sure how I was going to finish this thing. But I made it. And obviously perseverance pays off.

CIMG8788

This race was put on by Mudslinger Events and I gotta say, these guys have their shit together in a big way. Phenomenal sponsors (Specialized bikes, Hammer Nutrition, Deschutes Brewery, etc.), fantastic aid stations, food and drink at the finish, massive prizes (a Garmin GPS, lots of cash, even more beer) and tons of raffles (more beer, gobs of bike stuff and a complete Specialized bicycle). Oh yeah, and results got posted ASAP. It was impressive.

Since this race was five hours from home I drove down and camped a the Fir Ridge Campground just west of Blodgett. Here is all I have to say about Fir Ridge.

As usual this 100 mile race started at the crack of dawn (read: 6:00 AM) so I had to wake up at 4 (that's two hours before the crack in case you're curious) to ensure my body could assimilate some breakfast. Since I'm a pretty regular early riser this was not so bad but it does feel weird pulling up to the start line in the dark. At the camp some regular told us, "It's going to get really cold tonight!" but luckily it never did. By the time I had to head over for the pre-race meeting it was warm enough for just a jersey and with the forecast predicting at least upper 70s I did not want to carry any more clothing than I absolutely needed. Nice.

This was the first year for the 100-mile distance at this event and a grand total of 15 people showed up to take advantage. At first I was mystified but after doing this race I understand a little better. This is a TOUGH course. At the start was a pro, a bunch of skinny elite racers, one woman (I recognized her from Stottlemeyer), me and only a couple of 'mortals'. Looks like I had my work cut out for me.

ASIDE - yes, I was the only single speed rider signed up for the 100… I suppose this tempers my result somewhat but hey, you have to show up to win.

Go!

In retrospect I'm not sure how I rode the entire first lap. I was most certainly not on a super day but I guess I had something to prove? What I proved is that if you go all out on lap #1 in a wicked hard 4-lap race you pay the price on each successive lap. You can take that to the bank.

The race started down a dirt descent and then we rode about three miles of flat and gradually descending dirt road to the first hill. In short order the elite pack of geared bikes was distancing me and I found myself riding next to the only female entrant. I dropped her on the first climb and suddenly it began to dawn on my that I might be riding by myself for 100 freaking miles…! Thank goodness that was not to be.

How can I describe the hills? They go up. Then you round a corner and they go up some more. And then they get steeper. I was getting in the bonus upper body workout for sure as I muscled my bike up each one. The trails were fun but most were also bumpy and several were steep meaning you had to use lots of brakes. Needless to say I was not getting much rest.

Finishers of the 50-mile race got a pint glass. Finishers of the 100-mile race got a shot glass. I guess the promoter thought we might need something slightly more potent to recover from the effort.

CIMG8786

Here are some highlights (lowlights?).

  • I blew by the first aid station without stopping. This act of heroics was not to be repeated.
  • I have never consumed this many Endurolytes in a cycling event. Ever. Some of the climbs were exposed (read:hot) and I was sweating more than I have on any day in 2012 so far. Every time I felt the slightest hint of a cramp I gulped two or three more. That a boat load of fluids managed to hold the cramps at bay.
  • Thank GOD for riders that are slower than me. The 50-mile racers started at 10:00 AM and so on my third lap I started passing people. I had literally been alone until this point.
  • I also passed at least five single speed riders! This was a small concession for my snail-like pace by the end but at this point I was taking anything I could get to lift my spirits.
  • The volunteers at the aid stations were amazing. I would pull up, give my bottle to one person with a request, "Heed with one Fizz please!" and hand my bike to a mechanic for some chain oil. I would grab some snacks, drink a LOT and then retrieve my bike (usually with the bottle already in the cage!) and roll out. Any dicking around was solely my doing.
  • The singletrack sections had funny names like 'Super Tree' and 'Movie' and 'Panama Canal'. Super Tree always gave me a super big ass kicking as it was through this fresh clear cut and just slightly uphill so the surface was soft, rooty and you had to keep the power on constantly. What a massive effort; it felt so power-robbing to ride through that.
  • The first time I rode 'Side Hill' which was the most wooded trail I had glasses on. DUMB. I almost crashed at least three times because I was practically blind. Once I finished lap #1 the glasses came off.
  • The first two laps there were hardly any bike tracks in front of me. On lap three there were TWO HUNDRED MORE bike tracks in front of me. Amazing how 200 people can clear the trail.
  • Everyone I met (riders and volunteers at aid stations) were giving me tons of props which was very kind. "Look, it's that guy on the single speed who is doing 100 miles!" I am not above needing to feel special and it helped push me along for sure.
  • When I had to get off and walk my first hill on lap #2 I thought it was over. When I walked (what felt like half the lap!) on lap #4 I realized 'over' depends on your perspective.
  • I never crashed!
  • This pro from OR won the overall by clocking 1:55 laps consistently and was the only person to break eight hours. Unreal. I also noticed he did not bother to wear a jersey or anything tat resembled his kit on the podium and never bothered to give the promoter or OBRA his team name. Not so pro.
  • At the finish each racer got a massive burrito. Then as I was leaving the promoter said there were extras so I got one for the drive home. Yes.
  • This is the kind of prize I can get behind.
CIMG8790

Here are all the pictures.

And here is my Garmin file. Note the steady decline in my heart rate after the first two laps.

Sleep 5
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 4:00 AM - 2 bananas, applesauce, 1 scoop protein powder, water
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food LOTS of Hammer Gel, HEED, water, a whole tube of Endurolytes, peanut butter and jam sandwich, 2 bananas, Coke, potato chips, Nuun
Injuries My hands got sore, but that's to be expected when you ride a rigid bike down such steep descents I guess…
Therapy  
Time of Day 6:00 AM
Workout Type race
Weather low 50s to 80, mostly sunny, dry, calm
Course 4 x 25-mile loop, 17,000' total climbing, almost all the climbing is on forest service road, some fun sections of singletrack but this course is all about going UP s fast as you can
Results 1st - Open Singlespeed
official results
Time 10:08:12
Distance 100 miles? The denser the woods and the tighter the turns the less accurate my Garmin GPS is.
Pace I did lap #1 (which included 2 miles of approach on dirt road) and #2 (amazingly!) in about 2:20, #3 was about 2:35 which means #4 was about 3:00, then I had to ride the two miles back to the finish.
Equipment Mountain Bike
34 x 20
26 x 2.0 Hutchinson Python tires
29 psi
Clothing bib shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, full-finger gloves, cap

15 June 2012

core

After doing nothing yesterday other than 30 minutes of stretching (I SO needed that) today I just had time to hit the gym before taking off to my big race tomorrow.

Once again someone had hidden the 12 lb. workout ball so I used the 10 lb. one for my twisters. And I opted to trim the hip abductors from my routine today, just no interest…

At least I'll be well rested.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 6:00 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 - 10 lb.
push-ups 22
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment  
Clothing  

13 June 2012

core | bike commute

After lots of rest my legs were supposed to feel good and they did. Nice.

I didn't have time for any kind of extensive ride to take advantage of this feeling but I did head up Belmont Ave E on my way home which is about the steepest hill I can ride on my town bike without needing to paperboy (read: zig zag). I went up it as hard as I could and paced myself so I did not blow after the step section and kept the power on across the false flat and then up the last two risers.

ASIDE - there should be a Strava segment for this hill that is restricted to single speed bikes with platform pedals (ridden by 48 year old men who are over 6' tall and carrying a messenger bag). I would so own that segment. :)

Sleep 6
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food water
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day core - 5:30 AM
Workout Type fun ride, one hard hill
Weather low 60s, mostly cloudy, dry, calm
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 - 10 lb.
push-ups 21
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results
Time
Distance
Pace
Equipment Town Bike
Clothing

How to transfer your Google Voice number to your Google Apps account

Finally…

Ever since I started using My Google Apps account exclusively for my email I have been searching for a way to do this. I looked for months and in the past all the documentation I found led to dead links or terse statements that Google was not supporting a transfer at this time. But it appears that is no longer the case.

Go here to transfer your Google Voice account to your Google Apps account:

http://www.google.com/support/voice/bin/static.py?page=ts.cs&ts=1378061

Google Voice is an amazing service. I have been using it for years now but acquired my number before I acquired my Google Apps account. It was always a drag to have to sign in to everything (except Google Voice) with one account and Google Voice with another.

As of this writing I just clicked the final button to confirm the transfer and the disclaimer says it could take 'up to five days' so here's hoping it works. I will post an update once it has transferred to confirm this works.

UPDATE - that didn't take long, just a couple of hours after clicking the transfer button it's done and my Google Voice number has been transferred from my Gmail account to my Google Apps account.

NOTE - the transfer dialogue never seemed to stop (see below) but it worked.

transfer

12 June 2012

treadmill run | bike commute

Surprisingly running felt okay today. On the bike my legs still feel heavy but not so much doing something else. I'm glad I tried something else.

I took a water bottle to the gym and I was VERY glad I did. I ended up just carrying it for most of my run.

Sleep 6
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food water
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day run - 5:30 AM
Workout Type endurance
Weather
Course run - treadmill, 1% incline
Results
Time run - 30 min
Distance run - 4 miles
Pace run - 7:30 for the most part and then finished with a few minutes at 7:00
Equipment run - Hoka Combo XT
commute - Town Bike
Clothing

11 June 2012

core | bike commute

Since yesterday was easy I did not take today totally off. In fact, I took the long way home since the weather was still great.

Yes I was tired, so I just took it slow. Still worth it to get out and about.

Sleep 6
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food water
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day core - 5:30 AM
Workout Type active recovery
Weather mid 60s, mostly sunny, dry, some wind
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side w 2 x 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 21
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results
Time
Distance
Pace
Equipment Town Bike
Clothing

10 June 2012

Echo Valley MTB tandem ride

Since Shelley and I were making a weekend of it, after yesterday's race we took the tandem out for one lap of the Echo Valley race course.

One word: fun!

  • We slept in.
  • The weather was perfect.
  • These trails are very tandem friendly.

Did I mention that my legs were totally shot? Oh yes they were…

I wish I had some pictures of us riding.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 10:30 AM
Workout Type  
Weather 70, sunny, dry, light wind
Course  
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment Ellsworth Witness
Clothing bib shorts, sleeveless undershirt, sleeveless jersey, cap

09 June 2012

Echo Valley 60 MTB Race

14 seconds.

In some situations it can seem like the blink of an eye and in others it's like an impossibly high mountain of time. I'm happy to say that today it was more like the former and less like the later.

I had what might have been my best mountain bike race to-date today and it netted me 2nd place at the Echo Valley 60 which is the second race in the NW Epic Series. In the end I finished just 14 seconds behind 1st place.

CIMG8734

Last year Shelley and I opted to camp. I am SO glad we did not do that again this year as it rained Friday day and night. HARD. This time I had the foresight to book a cabin up at Uncle Tim's well in advance and it was quite nice. Not only was the cabin very adequate, it was a dream sleeping right at the start of the race! With a 9:40 start I did not get out of bed until 7. I can't remember the last time I was able to do that for a morning race.

These events have been amazing in that they start right on time and today was no exception. I was dorking around oiling my chain or adjusting tire pressure or some such thing (there is not a lot of maintenance to do on a single speed bike) when I suddenly realized I better change my clothes and hit the pre-race meeting pronto. By the time I rolled up Roger Michel was half done and I just barely heard that this year the finish was at the bottom and we would be directed which way to go at the turn off. Whew! That was some pretty important information for sure.

I looked around and saw all the usual single speed folks. There was Peter Stocker, Ben Spencer, Doug Graver and Gary Ballas. Sheesh. Then we're already at the countdown… 3, 2, 1.

Go!

And for once no one was busting ass up the hill! What a relief. Last year they started the single speed riders with the open men (read: young/fast guys on geared bikes) and it was a hellish pace right from the gun. This time I had the chance to warm up and ride into the effort.

There was this kid with an Idaho cycling jersey on and shortly after we started climbing he started to push the pace just a little. I found myself on his wheel and figured that although this was a tad fast it did not feel too uncomfortable and so I kept it up. I kept thinking back to last year at this race when I 1) had serious trouble on the descents and 2) was kind of blowing up towards the end of the race so priority one today was keeping up on the hydration and nutrition. After the Stottlemeyer race I knew my bike handling had improved but it was still not up to the standards of guys like Doug and Gary by a long shot.

I did not look back until maybe 1.5 miles later and lo and behold the two of us were off the front… After checking in one more time the pace did not feel insane so I just kept on going.

This kid was chatting EVERYONE up. We would pass some recreational rider and he'd be all like, "How's it going bro?" or, "Good job!" He also would say stuff to me like, "What gear are you riding?" and "I recognize your bike…" Sometimes you can just tell whether or not someone is going to last and today I knew this kid would not. As we hit the trail the two of us were still off the front by a little bit but within a couple of miles we were caught by first one rider and then at the end of lap one Doug showed up as well.

I was getting dropped big time on the descents and the flats… With the exception of Doug it looked like everyone was riding a bigger gear than I was. Every time we got to a climb I would claw my way back to this lead group. At this point I was not predicting a good result for myself.

ASIDE - of course no one stopped at the aid station after one lap so neither did I. Rats. No crisis yet but I knew I was only going to be able to last one more lap with no support.

On the first hill after lap one the kid disappeared.

At some point during lap two the other guy we were riding with also vanished. I was told after the race that he got a stick stuck in his wheel and it took a few minutes to fix that mechanical. And then he slowed down a bit as well.

So with 2.5 laps still to go it was just Doug and I. Nice.

Doug was letting me ride in front. Since I didn't think it really mattered who was leading this was fine with me. We went around a few riders and each time we passed people we both did it at pretty much the same time. As we approached the end of lap two where the aid station was Doug said, "I'm going to grab some water." Hell yes you are I thought as I was needing to stop too.

I handed my bottle to a volunteer and asked for some Nuun. While they filled it up I gulped some gel from one of the flasks I had in my jersey. And then Doug took off! Damn. Those last few seconds waiting for my bottle seemed to take years! When I rode away from the aid station I had a little surge of adrenaline but it was pretty short lived as you can only go so fast on a single speed. :)

10

I seem to recall that it took me a few miles to catch him. When your cadence is almost exactly the same it takes a while to make up ground… By the time we got to the back loop I was right behind him and we started to climb where the traffic was going both directions on the same trail I felt like passing would be a good idea. We both passed a couple of riders and then after rounding the first left hand corner there was open tail in front of me so went by. Doug said, "Go get 'em tiger." to which I replied with some kind of unintelligible noise that was probably supposed to imply that I thought he would surely catch me in pretty short order.

I put as much time into him as I could by the top without digging myself a huge hole. It was enough that each time I looked back after the top of the hill Doug was out of sight.

By the time I pulled into the aid station for the last time with one lap to go Doug was not far behind and this time after getting my bottle filled when I rolled away he was still in the aid station. For a few seconds anyway. As I was leaving I heard him say something to the affect of him needing a food bar as he was not sure his stomach could tolerate a sandwich. I think this is when I started to count my chickens

Oh man did I try to make hay. Knowing that my only real opportunity to put distance between Doug and I was on the climbs that's where I tried to push it. One chicken, two chickens… Ever since about 1.5 laps to go I had felt some cramping coming on but I not only got a new bottle at the last aid station I also drank two big cups of Nuun and it was starting to kick in and the twinge relented. Three chickens, four chickens… On the climb where I passed Doug on the previous lap I went as hard as I could and by the top he was out of sight once again. Five chickens, six chickens…

For sure I kept looking back and each time Doug was nowhere to be found. Seven chickens, eight chickens…

After you descend the section of trail where traffic is going both ways three volunteers were directing us to the new route which would take us down to the finish. I knew this would be single track but now I figured I was golden; Doug was still out of sight. Nine chickens...

And then I started down the trail.

Crap. This was slow going!

There were tons of tight turns and worse, there were loads of whoops and dips and many were in the apex of corners. I just KNEW I was slowing down too much for some of these dips but what could I do? I figured better to not crash and risk getting caught than to let fly and take a digger.

I managed to look back once on this descent and still did not see Doug. TEN CHICKENS!

And then there was Doug, right behind me. "Can I get by?" he said. Of course you can, what was I going to do? I pulled to the right and he rolled past.

I tried my best to keep up but it just was not happening. By the time we hit a short dirt road section he had about 100' on me. As we turned off the road and climbed a short hill I gave it everything but the hill was too short and Doug had been resting before we got there. The last bit of trail was downhill and then a really cool "S" turn on a grassy slope into the finish.

Congratulations Doug, you sure earned this one. And I'm pretty happy to have been able to make it such a close race. This would have been a cool event to have my heart rate monitor on for (not sure why I didn't wear it) and a cadence sensor (which I just ordered). Doug was using both and here is his Garmin file. At least our max speed is very similar. :)

Here are all the pictures.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 7:00 AM - 2 bananas, applesauce, 1 scoop protein powder, walnuts, water
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food I started with two bottles each w/1 tablet Nuun, 1 scoop HEED and 1 Endurolytes and 2 flasks of gel. From the aid stations I got 2 more bottles of Nuun and 1 gel.
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 9:40 AM
Workout Type race
Weather low 50s to 60, mostly cloudy, dry, windy
Course 2.5 mile dirt road climb to the loop, 15 mile rolling loop that's mostly doubletrack, singletrack descent down to the finish
Results 2nd - Open Single Speed
official results
Time 4:47:08
Distance 60 ish miles
Pace  
Equipment Mountain Bike
34 x 20
28-29 psi
Hutchinson Python 26 x 2.0 folding tires
Clothing bib shorts, Craft short sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap, full finger gloves

08 June 2012

core | cardio

OH MY GOD, I AM NOT GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP. I woke up countless times, read a book from 2:30-3:00 and then managed to sleep a little again thank goodness.

Not a lot of time today so I tried to squeeze two things into my morning gym session. It sorta worked.

Tomorrow is another big race and I have done squat all week so I figured it was important to try and get the legs moving just a little… especially since I have felt so freaking tired and lazy all week long. Elliptical trainer to the rescue!

Whatever. If you can't ride your bike you do what you can. I trimmed the hip abductors from my core routine and trimmed 10 minutes off of my usual cardio time. But at least I did something.

Sleep 4
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day core - 5:15 AM
cardio - 5:45 AM
Workout Type endurance with a 'pick-up'
Weather  
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side w/2 x 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 21
cardio - elliptical trainer, 13 incline, 13 resistance
Results  
Time cardio - 20 min
Distance  
Pace 150-160 rpm, 170-180 for the last 2 min, heart rate mid 130s mostly and mid 140s by the end
Equipment  
Clothing  

Popular Posts