Sunday, December 27, 2009

One step closer

Just before Christmas, I had a meeting with one of the tri coaches I am contemplating working with. I told her of my tri goals and by the end of it, we both thought we could work well together. Just before we departed company, I talked to her about my other cycling goals and how I had little luck getting in touch with people at Canadian Cycling via email and she asked if I had called them.....um, I never thought about that. In the electronic age, I have always relied on email.

So, when I returned to the office after lunch, I called the person that would probably be classifying me. I spoke to her for about 20 minutes and while I was on the phone with her, I sent her an email, and she sent one back and by the end of the day, we talked about my coming up in January. So, hopefully my next update will be about my quick trip up to Vancouver and have an official classification for cycling. Wish me luck.
Merry Christmas to all.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

2010 Goals, what are they?

I have been researching races for next year and trying to figure out my focus so I can have my training peak at appropriate times......hehehe, Im laughing as I write that, I can honestly say, I am not sure I have ever peaked at any time, let alone appropriate times. So, with the comic relief out of the way, I truly want to do well this year but Im not sure where I want to do all this peaking. I want to do XTerra, I want to race on the track, I want to PR at a 70.3 race, I want to PR my 20 and 40km TT's, and I would like to go to World's for ITU Olympic distance as well as XTERRA World's.

To accomplish any or all of these items, I require TOTALLY different training. Power training for the track, a maximum race time of 1:25minutes, endurance training for 70.3, a maximum race time of 7 hours (hoping for 6.5hr), a mixture of the two for XTERRA races, average race time of 4 hours, and I would like to get my TT times to around 31min for the 20km and 1:03 for the 40km.

I dont think I can do all of it.....well, I CAN do all of it but something is going to suffer. If I can get classified sometime late this year or early next year, I will have a goal time to make for the track and I will most likely just focus on that and making the paracycling team. If I cannot, I suppose I will more than likely work on the Oly distance/Xterra races, which in turn will help my TT speed (my thoughts, not one of a coach, perhaps I can be schooled on why or why not that is a good idea). The 70.3 would probably be a June race so if I choose to peak for that, there are also a couple of XTERRA races around that time that i might be able to do one as a training race. Im waiting for the XTERRA CUP schedule to come out sometime in the next thrity days to finalize my decisions.

I have been told that if I am going to be a kilo track rider, I need to focus on nothing but however I am a challenged athlete and I can do more, just need the direction first. If any of this makes sense, great, Im still confused, hasta la vista baby.
Happy American Thanksgiving to all my peeps south of Canada, gobble gobble.
DS out

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Cross Crusade at PIR

What I did on my bike today was not as much fun as looking forward to it. Like all 43 year old boys, I love play in the mud and today was a perfect day for it. It rained almost an inch over the last 24 hours so the course at Portland International Raceway was soaked and muddy. I had forgotten to pick my cross bike up at the shop yesterday and didn't think I would be able to race but thanks to Twitter, my good friend Gary from Athletes Lounge let me know he would be there early.

I picked up my bike around 820am and made my way to PIR. I got dressed, signed in, paid my money, and did a little warming up then lined up to race. Because of my number I started in the back. This suited me fine as I wasn't feeling all that great about my fitness anyway. The horn sounded and we were off. Around 55 heavy weights rumbled out of the starting chute and onto the course. Each lap was 2.5 miles and pretty flat. There were two or three run ups, depending on your bike skills, but that was it for hills.

My legs were tired quickly due to the amount of mud that made up the course. There was a nice puddle section which got deeper and deeper each successive lap. I tried to ride that section on the bank of the puddle but I ended up riding through the thick mud.

Upon starting the second lap, I began to realize that I was DFL, dead freakin last, and I wasn't even half way through that lap when I got lapped. I was having a lot of trouble getting back into my pedals when I had to remount after clipping out. I have ridden with these pedals a lot but have not raced with them until today. I also had not been on my new bike in a race yet either.

Upon trying to remount after a short run up, I tweaked my ankle again, rolling it on the soft surface. I got on again but wasn't able to clip in on the left but I did manage to swing my crank around, smacking my tibia with it. I started walking again, along the course but kept rolling my ankle.

I decided to pack it in and walked across the course in time to see the finish of the race.

On the drive home, I was thinking if I should even be doing this. I have fun, to a degree, but its no picnic. I enjoy the time on the bike but not so much the getting on/off all the time. Too bad Stacey isn't taller, i would just give her my bike and I would stick to events that I don't have to mount/dismount as part of the course.

Falling asleep, guess that means I should sign off. Not too exciting and I know I had more to say but for now, that's it.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Cross Crusade Series, Races 1 and 2

Last year, after finishing a long season of training, I hung up my bike. I really didnt want to get on it again after Ironman Canada. I did, however, continue running and I thought I might attempt a marathon (without having to swim and bike beforehand, what a concept!). After a couple of weeks of that, I decided I didnt want to continue with that either.



Sooooooooo, at the beginning of October 2008, I got this great idea of stripping my rain bike of its fenders, the bottle cages, and computer and putting cyclocross tires on it with the intention of doing some of the Cross Crusade races. Cyclocross is very popular in the NW and the kids at Cross Crusade put on a great show. I posted an email on the Oregon Bike Racing list asking what category I should race in: Beginners, Clydesdale, C, or Masters C. Various people said Beginners so I signed up for the Alpenrose race as a Beginner, took my converted steed out for a couple rides on the trail near my house, and decided I was ready to race.



My first ever race was Alpenrose, Cross Crusade #1 of the season. It was a 2.1 mile loop around the velodrome and other parts of the dairy. It was also the biggest turn out of all time at a CC race, something 12oo riders all day and over 130 beginners. I finished around 80th, had a blast but after I saw the clydesdales racing, I decided I wanted to ride with the heavy horse!



I did 3 races last year and didnt train a lick between each race. It was not a good idea but doing a 35-45 minute race at very close to my AT took a lot out of me considering how many years I had been doing road triathlon and not going much near AT.



Fast forward a year. October 4, 2009. I revisited Alpenrose Dairy for the 2009 Cross Crusade series. This time, I felt better prepared. Only two short weeks before, I had raced XTerra USA Championships and had been mountain biking most of the summer. Something a little closer to cross racing than Ironman training had been plus I wasnt burnt out from riding my TT bike for hours on end.





This time I entered the Clydesdale class. Last year we max'd out at around 40 guys, this year at Alpenrose, we ended up with 58 starters. I finished in the mid 40's, one lap down from the leaders but I felt great and was passing guys on the last lap. It was a great course for me with a lot of flats and some technical stuff but not a whole lot of climbing.



I was excited because I felt so good and of course I wanted a cross bike afterwards. I had a busy week after that and didnt get to train much. I had one road ride and one 5 km run as well as a stress test that I had to run on the treadmill.


Yesterday I paid for not training. The CC#2 was at Rainer High School and it had a few hills. I dragged Taggy out of bed at 630am and we did some racing. My race lasted 3 laps and after getting passed by the leading Clydesdale, I packed it in. I thought they would give me a DNF but they scored me as dead last (except for the one DNF) and gave me 3 laps (winner had 4).




Taggy and I waited around for his race, ate some fries, watched some racing, and talked to some peeps. He finished his fries, wiped the ketchup from his face, jumped on his bike and did some laps of the kids course. He was having trouble with the barrier given that his bike was abouut 25lb but he was dismounting and getting back on like a champ. When the time came for his race, the kids were given the choice to do a lap of the adult course or a few laps of the kiddie cross circuit. He chose to do a full lap.....



I tried to keep up with him, running alongside but I was beat from my race and I didnt have my ankle brace so I tried to cut the course and see him along the way. I got a video of him coming down a hill and then I ran over to the start/finish so I could help him through the second section of hills. I saw him coming out of the trees, he had a bit of a pout on his face and I could see him covered in dust. I asked him if he crashed, he nodded, almost crying, but then I asked him if he wanted to continue and he nodded again. So, I jogged next to him, helped him over the two barriers, and encouraged him along.



It was time to start the next wave of adults so they had us cut the course, missing the last climbing section, and turned the rest of the kids towards the finish. I gave him a big hug, told him how proud of him I was, and took his picture. One of the adults that was helping out, came over to me and said he had crashed HARD but he got up and finished off. They said he got 10/10 for his crash and that made him smile a little.



Afterwards, we went over to the area he went down and he described his crash. Apparently, a rock got in his way and he washed out his front tire. Right abouut that time, the B's came through and I could see how easy it would be for Taggy to go down right there as it was loose and rocky as well as downhill with a turn at the bottom.



He is looking forward to next week as am I. Oh, and Im getting a new Scott CX Team cross bike next week, so excited.




Tuesday, September 29, 2009

XTerra USA Championships, Sept 26, 2009

"You can quit, and nobody else will care, but you will always know"
John Collins, Ironman creator.

I read that quote about a week after I finished one of the hardest races of my life. I had thought about packing it in many times during that race but although I had never seen those words, I had the same feeling, no one would probably think less of me but I would always know that I DNF'd.

I felt prepared for the US Championships as I got into Coach Grant's SUV and settled in for the long ride to Ogden Utah. My training had gone well in the weeks leading up to the race and I felt that I would have a good showing. We stopped for the night in Boise and thanks to Dr. and Mrs Folske, we departed the next morning well rested and very well fed. My other two traveling companions were Rob Jackson and Justin Bernard, the race directors for XTerra Portland.

We got to Ogden, checked into our hotel, and I went for a short run. Ogden is a pretty cool little town and I was able to check out some restaurants for later. Dinner, TV, bed. Not all that exciting but it was a Thursday.

Friday morning, Grant and I went up to Snow Basin to ride part of the course. This was when I realized just how much climbing I would be doing on Saturday. The single track at the base of the mountain was a lot of fun but it was basically all uphill. We rode for 30 minutes, went down to the reservoir to check out the swim area, then hit this bike store for some supplies. It also had a cafe attached to it and I had an awesome lunch.

That night was the "Night of Champions" dinner and along with 158 others, Justin and I were honoured as NW Regional Champions of our respective divisions. We were lei'd and got a shirt with our new title on it. After dinner, I finished preparing my gear and nutrition bottles and watched TV til around 11pm.

As usual on race eve, I didn't sleep well but felt pretty good when I got up. I changed my tri kit 2 or 3 times. I wanted to wear my Challenged Athletes Foundation kit but having just received it, and it being a little tight, I didn't want to chance some major chafing during the swim. In hindsight, I should have worn it anyway as I chafed something fierce from my wetsuit and it was nothing to do with my choice of jersey.

We headed up to T2, left our run gear, then drove down to T1. I had not done a point to point race before and I was nervous that I had not left something that I may have wanted later. Oh well, too late. I didn't end up needing anything extra but I hate that feeling .

Race time was 9am so I went for a short warm up ride around 815am. I got back and someone had taken my spot on the bike rack. Once I pointed out that my swim stuff was right there, he left.....no one takes my spot on the rack, no one.

I got suited up and realized I left my body glide in Grant's truck. We were told we had to put all our swim gear and any other items into a bag before we left T1 so I put everything I didn't need for swimming or biking away.... another reason I am not enjoying point to point racing. I borrowed some glide and went down to have a swim warm up. I ran into a couple of the other PC athletes, Andy May and Megan, both are BK amputees. The water was cool but just fine for a short sleeve wetsuit.

At 9am, the horn blew and everyone, including the pro's, were off. All the pro women were wearing pink caps so I guess for the first time in my triathlon career, I was responsible for ripping someones goggles off. Sorry for that pro woman triathlete, I didn't mean to do it.

I was feeling great physically and after checking my time right as I got out of the water, it read 27:20. There were no timing chips in this race and they included T1 in my swim time so I officially had a 34 minute swim. We had to run up a long boat ramp and part of the parking lot to get to the TZ and that obviously took me a while. I was happy to see people I knew coming out of the water behind me and shouting encouragement because on a point to point, I wasn't likely to see them again.

I got out of the TZ, jumped on my bike, and departed on what turned out to be a very long day in the saddle. They teased me with a mile on the flats, then we entered Wheeler Canyon and began to climb, climb, climb, climb, and did I mention climb??? Holy crap, it was tough on me. I think I still hear "on your left" or some derivative of that in my sleep. I think I can honestly say I climbed for 1.5 hours before I hit the first of only two downhill sections. The first downhill was fun but my body was so tired I almost cooked a few of the turns a little too hot. After that downhill section, the course climbed up to Snow Basin Lodge parking lot and turned into a cool single track section that Grant and I had done the day before. After that, unbeknownst to me, the course went up the ski hill, following part of the chair lift. I was exhausted and I didn't want to go on especially after the previous 2 hours of hell I had just experienced.

This is where my day got longer. I hit a very steep pitch and got off and started pushing my bike up the hill all the while trying to dodge the top age groupers that were flying down the hill on their way to finishing the run. Through the haze, I spotted an Ironhead jersey steaming full speed towards me. I high five'd Matt as he ran his way to a 3rd place finish.

I pushed myself harder, still hiking uphill, and crested the steep part of the climb and I sat down, stared downhill and for the second time, I talked myself out of quitting. While I was sitting there, one of the XTerraTV guys ran up to me with his camera. "How tough is this course?" he asked to which I replied, "a lot tougher than Vegas"....WTF I said that for, I will never know. I was so exhausted, I had nothing better to tell him.

Right after I embarrassed myself on XTerraTV, I got up and pushed on. I got on my bike, granny geared up, and slowly climbed the next pitch of about 6-7% (last climb was at least 18-20%, I'm sure of it!). Justin's dad passed me on his bike, giving me words of encouragement, Rob passed me, running on his way back to the finish, asking if I was OK. I smiled, gave them big props and stopped again. I stopped again, leaned on my bike, looked down the hill towards the finish line, and slowly my vision went bright white and I felt like I was going to fall over. I closed my eyes, took some deep breaths, drank some water, and waited for my sight to return. It seemed to take forever but it came back.

I wandered slowly to the medical tent at the top of the hill and told them of my symptoms but they just told me to walk around a bit. They didn't seem to concerned. I was actually hoping they would pull me from the course for medical reasons but I'm glad they didn't.

I got on my bike again for the last bit of climbing, looking forward to going downhill again. The rest of the bike ride was uneventful. I loved the downhill except for the fact that I was so exhausted, I almost bit it on some of the switchbacks.

I rolled into T2 after about 3:10 on the bike, convinced that I was going to pack it in. I got my running gear on and walked out of transition. I stopped at the timing area and asked where the medical tent was. I was pointed in two different directions. I started up the hill towards the run course and I looked over and saw the med tent. I walked over to it and stood there for a couple of minutes before someone asked if I needed anything. I again, told them my symptoms but no one seemed concerned. If someone wandered into my med tent at a soccer tourney telling me they were dizzy, seeing stars or other visual disturbances, or any other heat injury type symptoms, I would have had them sitting down and getting some ice on them and some water or IV or other electrolytes into them. I almost had to guide them to what I thought was wrong with me. I wont bore you with details but eventually I just got up and walked out (something else i would not have let someone do).

While I was in the med tent, I heard them announce the other 3 PC athletes finishing. I walked over, congratulated them, and told them I hadn't even started the run yet. I also saw Grant, Kaytee, Matt, and Rob in the food line. I told them I wasn't sure I was going to finish and without hesitating, Grant said no one would think any less of me if I DNF'd because of the toughness of the course. That was all I needed to push me on, I knew I was NOT going to DNF after that. I saw Justin while I wandered towards the run course, he said "its not that bad". I had doubts again..... I found a shady spot, sat down, put my head in my hands, stared at the cones that marked the run course, and cried (yes, I did, call me what you will but that's the kind of day I was having). I told myself that if I didn't finish, I didn't deserve to wear the Regional Champ shirt I won the night before so after getting control of myself, I got up and walked up the hill.

Most of the course volunteers were coming down the hill. I got a couple cramps on the way up the steep section but otherwise, I must have gotten my second wind, because I felt pretty damn good. About the 5km mark, I ran out of water and food. My stomach was growling and I was wondering where the next aid station was. A volunteer on a MTB came towards me and said the aid station was only a quarter mile away. I believed him but HE LIED!!! By my calculations, it was at least a mile but it was something to look forward to.

I got to the downhill section, the way home! I walked down the steep part and I could hear Whit announcing winners from the Sport race. He said there would be a 5 minute break and then they would present the pro winners and AG winners from the USA Champs. When I heard that, I broke into a jog. I really wanted to come across the line before he started announcing again.

I came into the finishing chute and Whit spotted me and it was really cool. He had the whole crowd up and cheering for me. It was very emotional, not because of the crowd so much but for the few members of the crowd that came to the finish line to greet me. All the other PC athletes were there, Andy, Craig, and Megan, all my Portland peeps, Grant, Justin, Rob, Matt, and Phil. It was so awesome. I timed my run at 1:50, but with all the messing around in the TZ and the med tent, my official time was 2:15.

I have to say, I will never attempt that course again. Its just too much climbing for me, my size, and my weak leg. I learned from this course and will benefit from doing it. Next season, I hope to win a Maui spot in Vegas so I don't have to try and make it on points plus I can skip the USA Championships which will be in Utah again.

Almost three weeks later, I am still sporting the sunburned arm tattoo of my number so I have something else, besides pain, to remember the race by.

Cyclocross season in full effect! Having fun at that, Im wondering if I will ever grow up.


Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Apple Triathlon 2009




For starters, I almost didn't get to race but my good friend Meyrick worked his magic and got us both in (he was a late registration too). Its good to know Meyrick, not only for getting me late entry into races, but he's very good at motivating people.


Stacey, the kids, and I, spent most of the week in Salmon Arm with my parents and celebrated Taggy's 7th birthday at a fun park in Scotch Creek. I had not been there in at least 15 years and it has changed a lot. So, I trained, did a little water sliding, a little lake swimming, and had a few cold beers between Tuesday and Friday.


On Saturday AM, we got up early, sent the kids out fishing with Grandpa, and set out for Kelowna, a mere 90km away (or maybe 100km, I don't recall). After stopping in Vernon and eating at one of the worst choices for restaurants we could find (The Pantry), we made it to our destination. I had forgotten to look up the details of the check in etc and we had to wait a couple of hours before packet pick up was open. In the meantime, I rode part of the course with Meyrick, Ashley, and Chelsea, some Innovative Fitness athletes from Vancouver. About 4 km into the lap, Meyrick blew a tire. I'm talking a huge gaping hole in the sidewall of his spendy Specialized tire as well. Of course, a little flat turned out to be an ordeal as Meyrick had misplaced the extender for the valve, a very critical component for the type of rims he has. Thankfully, Ashley had a patch kit, something I haven't carried for years (but will start), and he patched the tube and the tire. It took three times but he finally got it right.



We finished the bike course, got to packet pick up, got our stuff, and Stacey and I went to our host's house. Marni was a professional cyclist for years and I worked with her team last year. She retired this season but her and her boyfriend, Corey, are part of Total Restoration Cycling. Actually, Corey is the director for the team. They usually do local BC races but have come to the Pacific NW for some as well. Their garage makes mine look empty, of bikes that is.










We got settled then went out to eat at the Pheasant and Quail, a little pub near the lake. After that, I dropped my bike off at the TZ and we went back to our house for a rest. It was very strange to have the quiet. No dogs, no kids, just us, our books, and a fan.

Had some pasta for dinner at Mama Rosa's then back to prep my bottles for race day. I tried to go to sleep at 10pm but it was hot and the fan we had in the room didn't seem to work all that well.






Alarm went off at 5am, I drank my usual 700 or so calories and ate a banana. I didn't have my usual race day GI upset which was strange. I was very relaxed for this race I guess.

Got to the TZ around 6:15am, stood in line for about 15 minutes to get body marked, then set out my gear. The TZ for the paratriathletes is separate from all the other athletes. I kind of like this and kind of don't. I like that we have so much room and we get chairs and helpers, I don't like that we stand out I suppose is the easiest way to describe it.

Anyway, our coordinator, Tabitha, met us in the TZ and she explained the Tri Canada rules to Stacey regarding what she can do for me. Mainly I wanted her there to help me on the boardwalk so I don't fall down like I did last year but she was told she could help me on the entire run and help me pull my wetsuit off, pretty sweet deal as that part can sometimes give me troubles.

We were off at 740am. The water was perfect for a short sleeve but the wind was about 20kph at least which made for a choppy swim. The course was two laps of 750m. Last year I did it in 26 and change, this year, 31 min. I didn't think I was that much slower but then again, last year i was swimming a lot more in preparation for Ironman Canada. I swallowed a lot of water and got swam over a few times after some of the age groupers caught up with us but I survived.

T1 was pretty typical except I didn't have trouble getting my wetsuit off since Stacey helped pull it off. I think it was almost exactly the same as last year, around 3 minutes.

Unlike at XTERRA the week before, I felt great when I first got on the bike. Right as I got into aero position, I passed Marni and Corey and it was great to hear them cheering for me. Around 1km into it, you hit Knox Mountain. Its not that steep but its challenging. I think its a little less than 750m long around 6-7% grade but I could be wrong. This year they had timing mats on the hill to stop cheaters I guess. I had a few people pass me on the hill but I passed my share of the sprint racers that had started around 25 minutes before us. I don't care that they were on MTB's, I passed someone dammit!!

The bike course was the same as last year and on each successive lap, the wind gradually died down and I made around the same time for each lap. I was aiming for 25 min or less and I got 25:20, 25:15, and 25:04, for a faster bike split than last year. I ave 31.2 kph, almost 1k faster/hr than last year. Marni and Corey were on Knox Mountain for my last lap, the cocky kids had ridden their cruiser bikes up the hill. I would be lucky to get half way up to where they were but anyway, it was very cool again to have someone cheer me on personally.

T2 was faster than last year and I had motivation this year. Stacey was running with me. We had talked the day before about my run strategy and discussed run/walking. I wanted to run the first 20-25 min then walk if I needed it. She pointed out all the obstacles and although I already saw most of them, I appreciated the heads up. Just before we got to the board walk where I fell the year before, there was a ramp which Stacey said she would run around it, making a joke about not wanting to be on it at the same time as me (guess it didn't look stable), and she almost bit it, catching her toe on the lip of the stair. Being a good husband, I didn't laugh...hard.

We got to the board walk and I grabbed her left arm. I guess people must have thought I was blind, they cheered our "team" a little more than the other athletes. I hope I was inspiring to them regardless. I ran around 37 minutes for that lap, felt pretty good. We ran past the transition area and back on the course for lap 2.

Around 1.5 km into it, we started walking and some guy from behind us, asked if we were both in the race. I said I was and Stacey was my helper. He said she couldn't do that and I would be disqualified. As he passed us, I said, yes she could, he said no you cant, its against the rules, and to this Stacey held up the badge she was given and yelled, "Paratriathlete Assistant, YES I CAN!!". Of course, he kept running but he turned around and very sheepishly said sorry. I wanted to run after him and call him a few names and tell him to mind his own freaking business but I was polite. It did however give me a little more energy to begin running again, sooner than I was planning.

Again on the boardwalk, I held onto her left arm, apparently I sweat all over it, and we made it to the finish area where I ran on my own across the line. Unlike last year, I didn't start to hyperventilate or become short of breath, I calmly walked straight out of the finishing chute across the the Athletes Village, and tore into a PBJ and a coke but not before giving my "handler" a big kiss and a thank you (had to do it before, shes allergic to peanut butter).

My run was almost 20 min faster than last year and I placed second behind Meyrick but since he is in a different category, I guess I won my division, Les Autre. My total time, 3:09....last year, 3:16. I'm hoping to break 3 hours next year. I couldn't stick around for awards which might have been a good thing because they couldn't find my results so I would have waited around for no medal or podium. They have the correct info now.

Its a fun race and I plan on doing it for as long as I can. I qualified again for World's in Hungary next year. Hope I can make that one. Right now, I have to concentrate on getting my MTB legs under me so the TT bike is put away until after XTERRA US Championships, Sept 26.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

XTERRA Vashon Island

Last weekend, I did my second XTERRA event on Vashon Island. Unlike the Las Vegas XTERRA, this was not part of the Cup Series so there is no automatic qualifying for Maui by winning this race, only points. I have two more XTERRA races scheduled this summer and I should get enough points to get to Maui should I be able to go. I have pictures and will try and post them later.

I had never been to Vashon Island but I do want to go back, not only for the race, but its a great place to bike around, sight see, and get eaten alive by mosquitoes....okay, that last one is not on the list of good things about the island but nonetheless, its a nice place.


I drove up in about 2.5 hours, drove right on the ferry minutes before it left the dock, and spent 15 minutes on the boat before it reached the island. I drove to the race site but the people from BuDu Racing had already packed up. After talking to a couple of people, I was a little nervous about the first part of the bike course so I parked and walked up the first 500m or so. I quickly realized that, although their description was fairly accurate about the conditions of the trail, they weren't very MTB savvy. It was steep in sections and it had some sandy sections but it was definitely ride able (except the first part with the switch back to the 26% hill).


Satisfied with my reconnaissance mission, I drove to my accommodations for the night at the AYH Ranch. I chose, poorly I might add, to sleep in one of the dorm rooms of the hostel. I was going to be sharing with 5 other guys. I dropped my overnight bag off in the room and found out only top bunks were still available, this was not good for me but I could do it.


I went back into the town, ate dinner then drove back to AYH for a late packet pick up. The people of BuDu were great. I was going to be their first PC athlete ever in one of their events so they were not sure if they needed to do much else for me but I assured them that unless something drastic happened on course, they wouldn't have to worry about me.


A hostel is a very friendly place. I was chatting with a few other racers and got cornered by one guy from Portland that was either drunk, stoned, or both but either way, he was a bit of an ass. I was rescued by another guy from Arizona that was a former Pro in Motocross. Turned out he was also in my dorm room. During that time, the rain began to fall and I was wondering about the sandy part of the race course and if it was a good or a bad thing that it was raining.


Everyone seemed to be disappearing and going to bed so I went to my room, grabbed my book and came back out to the common area to read. Another mistake as when I went back to bed, there were 4 other guys snoring very loudly. I should have gone to sleep sooner then I would have been one of those guys snoring loudly. Around 11pm I went to bed and shortly after that, our 6th room mate, the guy right under me, came in. He smelled like campfire and cigarettes. Within minutes, he was snoring even louder than anyone else in the room. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep. Its amazing how much heat 6 guys can throw off. It was probably 80-85F in that room.


I didn't need my alarm, the one I had set for 6am, as I was wide awake due to the person showering at 5am right next to our room. The walls were basically just plywood so there was no insulation from the sound. I drank my breakfast, packed my gear, and just went out to the race site. The mosquitoes seemed to be less prevalent there.


My plan was to organize my TZ, then go back and rest in the truck. My start time wasn't until 9:07am and it was 7am when I got there. I got there, set up, then chatted with my new friend from AZ. I was on the first rack, closest to the bike exit, with two others. When I got there, they were just leaving for a lap of the course. I know its only a 5 mile loop but doing a pre-ride 1.5 hr before the start of the race seemed to be a little crazy. I decided to go on a short road ride at about 8am. I rode to where the bike course comes out to a paved road and back. I was looking forward to this part of the bike course as it was all downhill and it would be a good stretch of road to spin out the legs before the run.


The race course had changed since the day before due to some pissy neighbours. Instead of two 7 mile loops, we were doing 3 laps of 5 miles. The run course had also changed but since I didn't usually get concerned about a run course, I didn't know what the first course had looked like let alone the new one.


I had my short sleeve wetsuit on and in looking around, so did a lot of others. The water was around 62F, maybe a hair warmer but not much. The course was supposed to be 800m but when the turn around point was pointed out, there was no way it was going to be 800m. I swam it in 13 minutes and change which correlates to 1:40/100m if it truly was 800m and I know I'm not that fast. I only swam twice in the month prior to this race so I was looking at 1:50/100m or slower.....anyway, the water wasn't that cold and other than the few jelly fish that I saw, it was uneventful.


The exit point for the swim was onto barnacle covered rocks but luckily only for a few meters before the stairs then the grass. My typical slow T1 ensued and I was off to the bike part, my favourite.


The first lap didn't not go as I expected. I had to walk the entire first 3/4 mile or so. It seemed that each time I tried to mount my bike, my shorts got caught up on the saddle and I was not able to get clipped in and with the lack of momentum, I couldn't get going. Once I finally got on the bike, my legs were DEAD! It took about 20 minutes of riding to get them moving at a decent pace. One section of the course was not well marked and I went off course. Three of the lead women followed me, silly girls, but the race director was already aware of the problem and he was steaming towards us on his MTB yelling to turn around. There was some cussing from the ladies (bad girls), and it was back on course. I have to say, the bike course was so much fun that I wouldn't have minded doing another couple of laps. It was almost entirely single track and just technical enough to be challenging. I'm sure the pure road tri geeks were not as happy as me but I could look at this as an area I excelled in compared to them.


I pulled over for the fast people that were lapping me and the not so fast swimmers that were faster bikers and only had one fall during that. On the last of the three laps I felt that I was going much faster. I guess my legs were finally warmed up. I hammered that lap and caught a gal that had passed me earlier. About 2/3 of the way through the lap, it began to thunder and rain. The thunder was very loud and I think the race organizers were concerned about the lightening because as I went by the rent a cops that were directing traffic, they were shouting to us that we needed to get back to the TZ, no more laps on the bike.


T2 was shorter (according to my official times) than usual for me. I used a different ankle brace than any other race I had done and apparently, it was faster to get on than my lace up.


Leaving the TZ, the course went uphill for the first 3/4 mile. I actually ran some of it before dashing into the bushes to pee, then I decided to walk the rest of the hill. After emerging from that first uphill section, you went on a paved road for 20m or so, past the aid station, then back into the bush for a rolling trail run. I surprised myself and ran most of it. When the second lap was finished, all we had to do was run back down the hill..... not so easy for me but it was a fun little trail. Would have been more fun on my MTB but I survived. I had to carefully walk down some steep stuff but otherwise, I sort of jogged down. Didn't trip once I am happy to say. Well, now that I said that, I had to sit down rapidly on the last part of the trail, just before we got back to the paved road. It was extremely steep and pretty much sand. I got ankle deep, started to fall, so I just let my knees give and sat down til I slid to the bottom. After that it was a quick run down a dirt road, then across the finish line.

All in all, it was a great race for me. I had fun and I only fell down once. Since I was the only AWAD/PC/paratriathlete, obviously I got 1st in my division but as in all my races, my goal was to finish with a secondary goal of not being last....I'm not sure that's a good goal to have but they are my goals not yours.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Track fun

Got my new track bike a couple of weeks ago. Its a KHS Flite 100 with custom built wheels (Miche hubs, two sided, and some sturdy rims, not sure the kind), Tufo S3 Pro tubular extra sticky tires, FSA carbon track hubs with a 49 tooth ring, Deda Pista track bars, Ritchey stem, Terry saddle, and Speedplay pedals. Soon, I will be getting the Speedplay track specific pedals, that is providing I am good enough on the track to justify the expense. I have been fitted to the degree that the seat height is pretty good but I am heading out to the track to have the final fit done while being watched while actually riding versus doing it on the trainer. Not only are these tires extra sticky (my opinion, not something they advertise) but they are pretty spendy too so I would rather not do the fit on the trainer anyway.

I have spent approximately 2.5 hours on the track so far. The first ride on it was a Friday night, the first "Fast Twitch Friday" of the season and we did flying 200m sprints....2 laps, then the third lap was timed for 200m. I thought I was going much quicker than my time showed,16:19, the fastest was 13:26, novice my ass ;) Oh well, I beat the fastest novice woman. My trusty mechanic, Dean, the one that built my bike for me, said he should have flipped the wheel to the smaller cog for the sprint (vs the warm up cog) but c'est la vie, next time. Normally on FTF, they have 200m sprints where you go head to head with someone else. I am a little nervous about this but I would love to try it. If you have ever seen it done, its pretty much a chess game for the 2 laps preceding the actual sprint then you can use your opponent (if you are near enough) to draft and launch around them....in theory. My nervousness is only due to my inexperience and the fact that someone else would be on the track when I am and I don't want to crash or have the opportunity to crash. I must say, it felt a whole lot different than when I went to Burnaby (wood track, shorter straights).

Last week, I went out to the track twice. On Wednesday I spent an hour out there getting used to the bike. I didn't have a clear plan when I got there and mostly it was going around and around. I warmed up for 20 minutes, timed my average lap which was not very good, around 30 seconds, then took a short break, drank some water and pondered my next moves. My coach had told me to try and do my sprint intervals on the track and see how I felt. The interval entails riding at my 40k TT speed for 1-4 minutes then sprinting all out for 30 seconds. Attempting to sprint while trying to hit the buttons on my watch was not in the cards so I just went for it after the watch hit 4 minutes and figured I could gauge where 30 seconds was in my head. Um, NOT!!! The first sprint I did 3 laps. I know my lap speed was falling off towards the end but this gave me an idea of how I need to race the kilo, when I get to that point. My HR was up around 189 (after I DL my data from my watch, I will have a better idea of the actual BPM) and I was breathing very heavy. Another thing about a fixed gear bike, you cannot really rest after the sprint, your legs have to keep going even though they might be going slower. Not to mention the fact that you need the speed to stay on the bank or go onto the apron with more speed than you might want.

I rode on the track instead of the apron and kept my speed up just enough so I didn't fall off the bank but all the while watching my HR come down. Unlike being on the road, my HR came down ever so slow because I still had to put out the effort to stay on the bank. I rode for 5 minutes like that then ramped up for the next TT/sprint interval. I decided to only do two laps for this one but that decision was made during lap 2 and I felt I didn't have the gas to do three. Again, I have no idea what my time was but again when I looked at my HRM, I was pumping 186bpm. Another cool down for 5 minutes then another sprint session, this time only 1 lap. I did that one more time but with less rest for the last one.

I noticed a scary thing that I did on a couple of the sprints. I was trying to do the "dog humping a football" thing that Jeremy told us at the Burnaby track, and in doing so, I pulled the front end off the track. At whatever speed I was already going, pulling the wheel up and slightly sideways was very dangerous. I didn't lose control at all but it really made me nervous. I talked to coach and she gave me a few pointers as well as directed me to a video showing the proper technique.

I went out again two days later without a plan again but I just wanted to get used to the track and the bike. I did a long warm up, around 30 minutes, and then some 200m sprints. The HR got up there again in the high 180's, but it came down quicker this time, not sure why.

The track thing is fun but I still have heaps to learn. Tomorrow, I hope to get all the fit items sorted out and learn some techniques from some salty veterans of the velodrome. The folks at Bike Central are cool enough to let me come out to their track time/practice and I am eager to play.

Nothing new to update on the classification side of things. I was hoping to go to Nationals and get classified but as was suspected, the French seem to have the clout with the CCA and they swiped track nats from Burnaby. What is truly interesting and almost makes me want to become a US citizen....almost, is the note I sent to USA Cycling regarding classification was replied to in 3 hours, inviting me to US Paracycling Nationals a short 3 hour drive from me and it also included an email address for one of the US team docs who is an international classifier. I emailed him and got a response from him the next day.

I know there are more athletes etc in the US but I found it sad that in all the things i have sent to people that can help me within the Canadian system have been all but ignored (one response from a classifier back in March but nothing since). I will head to the US Nats, not to race but to get classified, then I will work on the new coach/manager for the Canadian High Performance program.

I often wonder if I am putting too much effort into this classification thing. I mean, I will be 46 by the time the next Paralympics comes around, is that too late? Ciao for now.

Monday, May 4, 2009

XTERRA Las Vegas, West Cup

Saturday was my first XTERRA triathlon. I have raced MTB for years and although courses longer than 15 miles were not my favourite, I endured them. I got to Las Vegas on Thursday and headed straight to the bike store to rent my bike. It was a Santa Cruz Blur, full suspension, XT drive train and Fox shocks. Pretty sweet ride.....for a TANK!! In its defence, I have beed riding my steel hard tail that only weighs 22lb for more than 10 years so I am spoiled. I think this thing weighed in at very close to 30lb. I dropped the bike off at my mom's place then went out to the race hotel to get things finished and go to the race briefing.


I orginially signed up for the XTERRA Cup race and after the race briefing, I was still convinced that was what I was going to do. I hoped I would get one of the Hawaii spots for the World Championships in October.....not that I can afford it right now but you never know what can happen in a few months. Went home after that, had dinner, got my stuff prep'd for the following day, then had a much needed good night's sleep.


I got up early the next day and went out to the race site to pre-ride the course. There were loads of people in the parking lot and being the friendly lot that most MTB riders are, a few of us chose to ride the course together. I had orignially planned on riding about 2-3 miles of the course and skipping the hard climb and just checking out the bike and its nuances but peer pressure and all got me to ride the whole thing. I rode all the down hills and walked up some of the steep stuff. The toughest down hill was around mile 3 and it was steep and loose. I made it down 75% then locked up my front wheel when I was trying to turn, hit a big rock and over I went. I landed mostly on my right side (I know this because of the numerous scratches and abrasions on my right side). As I was getting up and moving my bike off the trail in case one of my riding partners was bold enough to ride it, I heard the air escaping from the front tire. The rock I hit caused a pinch flat but thankfully I had a spare tube and quick fill cartridges.


I had the front wheel off and was changing it when the others made it to the bottom. A long time ago, when I raced MTB, I could change a tire in under 5 minutes but it took a while longer. After I put the front wheel back on and headed down the hill, I could hear the disc brake rubbing a bit but not so much that I was worried about it.


After that little mishap, I told my cohorts I was going to head back to the car, which I could see from my crash site but once again, peer pressure and all that had me riding the course again.....the hard part was over we convinced ourselves. The course, by the way, was very wide open and you could see most of it from the transition area.


After my crash, I took it very easy and tried not to push my effort too much. There were two other hills I ended up walking up and I skipped the last portion of the single track. I had to leave my Chamois Butt'R at home because I took everything on the plane with me and I didnt want to give it up when they searched my luggage and I was beginning to regret that BIG TIME. My nether regions were sore and I knew the next day wouldnt not be happy after the race.


After the ride, I went inside to the registration area to pay for my USAT one day licence and decided that one lap would kill me and I didnt think I could do two laps and still walk the next day. It was a tough decision as I most likely would have got a spot for the World Championships in Hawaii if I could have finished (there were not many AWAD/PC/Paratriathletes entered).


I got back to my car around 11am and headed back to Mom's place. I had originally planned on stopping at REI and buying some trekking poles but since I had changed to the shorter course, I skipped that idea too. I went back to the house, put my Skin's compression pants on and fell asleep. The pre-ride really took a lot out of me.


5pm, Mom wanted to go to Red Lobster for dinner.....otay Mom, sounds good. Had some scallops, rice, and chicken, drank a lot of water and skipped desert. We went to Target on the way home to get the boys something. AFter that, went home, got stuff ready, watched a movie, then went to sleep.....


I didnt really get much sleep. I kept reviewing the downhill where I crashed and my decision to go to the Sport race instead of the Cup race. Over and over, I kept thinking about my line down that damn hill. I woke up at 4am and downed my usual 720 calorie liquid breakfast and a banana. We were out the door by 5AM and at the race site by 540AM.


The transition was about half a mile from the swim start so after dropping my bike and run gear at the TZ, Mom dropped me off at the Hotel for the swim start then went back so she could take pictures of me getting out of the water. I made my way to the swim start and chatted with a couple of people from Boise that knew one of my team mates then got in the water for a warm up. The water was probably 67-68 F but everyone was saying it was colder....they should swim somewhere other than Vegas Im thinking, it was nice enough for a short sleeve.


I didnt expect my swim to be that great considering my lack of swimming over the past 4 months but I did expect to be able to get through the 750m fairly easily. Apparently, I did OK after seeing the results but it wasnt great by any means. I think it was longer than 750m but by how much, I dont know. My time was around 19 minutes. The wind picked up and after we turned broadside to it, the chop made it hard to breathe to the right.


My T1 time was slow as the TZ was set up on dirt and running from the water along that surface made me take a couple minutes longer to clean my feet and put my socks on (road tri's I never wear socks). Because of the amount of walking I was going to have to do, I debated whether to put on my ankle brace or not but adrenaline was surging and I just wanted to get on my "tank" and ride.


The bike ride was tough, coming straight out of the TZ into a lengthy climb then a short downhill followed by the climb called "Dave's Outhouse"....not sure why. It was around 23-28% grade and even some of the pro's had to walk it I heard. At the top of that 200m section (might have been 50m but it seemed long), you got to mount your bike for a short DH section then back up a 20% grade then down another short hill, very loose, to a 110 degree turn to the right and back up another hill.


This was the section I had been up all night dreaming about. Should I ride it or shouldnt I? I got down most of the hill then saw heaps of people going SLOOOOOOOOOOOW down in front of me and I decided that I would walk the steep part which I think was around 20-22% grade.


AFter that section, the really hard part was over and I settled in for the pain of the rest of the ride. A couple of steep hills which were rideable, a river bed which I didnt ride, and some fun single track right next to the lake. I wish they would have had more of this type of riding as it is what I am best at, technical single track with some rocks and roots, but alas, we were in the desert and that wasnt an option I suppose.


T2 was slow. I changed socks, put my ankle brace on, and tied my shoes while standing ( I usually sit down but I didnt feel like sitting down in the dirt and my back was beginning to seize). I left T2 and was running but it was down hill so it was easy. I ran for less than 200m then walked up, up, and more up. The run course was pretty much up hill to the turnaround then all down hill to the finish line. It was pretty uneventful except I got to see some of the pro's and the fast age groupers descending one of the hills on the MTB course. They made it look easy. I walked from the turn around, down a steep hill, then started jogging down the less steep section, up another hill, then all down to the finish. There wasnt much fanfare at the line (at least not as much as I expected) but since there were only 350 or so competitors, I guess it was OK. I crossed the line, got my finisher medal and went back to the car. I dropped my MTB off with the place I got it from; Im happy they were a sponsor so I didnt have to get dear old mom to haul this monster back to the shop in Vegas.


The host resort let the competitors use their pool which was very nice, so I got my gear, left mom with a book sitting in the shade, and I went swimming. The water was cold but welcoming as my feet were on fire. I had some gravel rash from the day before and this gal asked if I was OK.....truth be told, I was feeling very lightheaded and a little dizzy but I just smiled and said something about falling down while playing on my bike. I sat in the water for a few then sat down on a lounge chair and the dizziness was not going away. I got up, got dressed, and went and found mom. I needed food apparently.....first time this year, racing in heat and dry weather caught up with me. I thought I had enough calories in me but it wasnt til after I ate and had no more strange feelings, did I realize I was wrong.


Things I learned from my first XTERRA: a short MTB ride can be one hell of a lot harder than a long road ride; running up hill with foot drop, not so easy, running down the same hill with foot drop and a leg that doesnt catch up very quickly, really hard; racing in the desert requires more fuel intake than you think, especially if you train in the rain forests of the Pac NW; riding a rental bike isnt so bad unless it weighs 30lb but it was lots cheaper than bringing my own bike.


I highly recommend it to all triathletes..... come on Meyrick, you know you want to try it. The only other PC athlete in the race was BK. He did the bike course twice in 1:40, I did one lap in 1:15.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Racing 105

I recently wrote, Racing 101, so in the spirit of higher learning, the next course, entitled Racing 105, is not too advanced, but another learning experience nonetheless.

Got to PIR a little later than last time and still had to get dressed. Had not even put my number on. I got geared up and went out to sign in only to find a massive line up. I finally got to the front, after one of the officials called all of the Cat 4/5's up as our race was going to start in a few minutes. I found out that the team got a pass for the season so I wont have to pay for anymore races at PIR this year.

I got my bike and was going to do a quick warm up but they were staging us so I went to the line with "cold" legs. I started out at the front but before the half way point of the first lap, I was at the back. I tried to make my way up through the group but every time I got to where I wanted to be, there would be an acceleration. I took my coach's advice and started anticipating these surges and it worked great. On the second, third, and most of the fourth lap, I stayed on the wheel of the same guy who was on his team mates wheel. They looked like they knew what they were doing. The front guy kept making sure his buddy was behind him and he wasn't letting go of that wheel for nothing. Unfortunately, this guy, and a few other Cat 4's were using this race as a warm up for the Cat 3/4 race and before I knew it, the wheel I was following pulled off and I was on my own.

Like last time, I hammered with the little gas I had left but to no avail. I looked around for others that got dropped but apparently, all the people that hung out at the back of the field with me were all Cat 4's and they were staging for their next race. I finished my second Cat 5 race of my career albeit last again but it was another learning experience. Today's lesson, follow someone you know is a Cat 5.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Racing 101

So, March 29, my first road race of the year. It was called "Piece of Cake". They should name it "Stay with the pack or have fun riding by yourself in the WIND!". It was fun and all but I probably wouldn't race with the Masters 40+ again. The category is deceiving. These are just fast guys that got old I think. I am definitely not one of those people. Race was slated for 3 laps of 17 miles. On the advice of coach, I tried to stay in the front of the group but each time there was a corner, the front people would accelerate and I couldn't hang onto a wheel so I would keep losing my place in the group. About 13 miles into the first lap, with our average speed ranging from 16-30 mph, I looked behind me and heard the guy next to me say, "yep, we're last, but don't worry, its only the first lap...." Um, OK. Then we turned right onto another road that had a short slight downhill. The group accelerated to over 40 mph and I lost the last wheel of that group and that was the end of my race. I looked behind me and saw one other guy 20 yards back but he was losing ground too. I chased by myself for 2-3km at over 50 km/h but somehow kept losing ground. I crossed the finish line for the start of lap #2 and kept putting out to try and catch the group. I waited for the one guy behind me to catch up in hopes he and I could work together, maybe get closer. I followed his wheel for about a mile then I took my turn..... no sooner did I start my pull when I looked back, he was already 100m back. I said screw it and just went out on my own.

It was a windy day, did I mention that? I was maxing out my HR and my legs were burning. I just kept going. AT one point, I could see the group but it was at the most windy spot that I saw them, maybe half a mile up the road. I also turned around once because I didn't think I was going the right direction and found the guy I lost back at the start of lap 2. He seemed to think we were going the proper direction so I turned around again. I then looked back and could see the women's field catching us. I told this guy I didn't want to be caught by the ladies before the finish of lap 2 so I took off, hoping I could stay away for 7 more miles. With about 4 miles to go, the Cat 1/2/3 women's leaders passed me. One of my friends, Lindsay Fox, was in the lead with one other gal and cheered me on. Their chase group passed me and I tried to latch onto them but realized I probably wasn't supposed to do that and even though i was going to DNF anyway (a third lap on my own wasn't going to happen), I didn't want a DQ. I stayed about 100m off the back of the group til the finish line, then I went back to my truck. I saw another one of my teammates and she DNF'd too. It was a good training experience. It proved I wasn't ready to race at that level just yet but I think I will give it another go at that race next year and with more training and more experience racing, I will do better.

Last Tuesday I did another race. It was at Portland International Raceway, our local auto race track, 1.9 miles long. This time I went with the regular Cat 5's (versus the Masters 40+ Cat 5's). Actually, it was a 4/5 race. My hope for this race was to finish with the group. The race was 6 laps and it was tough. I lined up at the start right at the front of the group. I looked back and there were maybe 40 other guys and a few women. I figured there were enough people that I could draft for the whole race and finish in the middle. Wow, was I wrong.

Right from the gun, I went from the front to mid pack in less than 100m. For the first 1K, I was just getting used to riding in a huge group and being very tentative. I tried to stay on a wheel at all times. After each corner, the group would accelerate and I would lose a few places. I had a lot of trouble with each acceleration and I struggled to get back on. My HR was spiked the whole time. I averaged 179 for 20km and it was over in 27 minutes. We were told we would get a bell to let us know we were on the last lap and I had lost track of laps and went to the front at the start/finish line when I though we were heading into lap 6.....I was wrong again.

When I got to the front of the group, I slowed right down, hoping others would follow suit and I could try and stay up there for the finish straight, 3km down the road. By the end of the front straightaway, I was already being spit out the back. I looked back and one more guy was behind me so I kept on my pace and rode the last lap and a half on my own. I finally finished a road race, learned a lot, and didn't come in last. I was going to race this week too but it wasn't in the cards.

It was fun and I am looking forward to doing much more racing at PIR over the next few months and I am having a track bike built. Even if they aren't able to give me a para cycling classification, I am still going to go balls out on the track. Speaking of classification, should CCA not get back to me soon, I'm looking into the British Cycling Federation. Maybe they can help a brother out, I am a dually you know. OK, ciao for now

Monday, March 2, 2009

Last week........ reality sets in

You ever have one of those weeks where you just want to put your bikes on Craigslist and eat bon bons instead of training? I usually don't have weeks like that but I often have days like that and I dislike the feeling.

I have lofty goals this year, the biggest one being the national para cycling team. If I can be classified, I think I can make it. The only problem with it is I cant seem to get a return call or email from the only person I know that has the information for the two classifiers in Vancouver. Sent two emails and left a voice mail but to no avail. Yesterday, I emailed the British Paracycling team to find out if I can get on their team. Haven't heard anything yet but I'm patient. I was browsing through old emails and found one from 2003. It was a response from the same guy I have been trying to get in touch with from the National Cycling Center. It too said he would be in touch with me after finding out something for me..... still waiting for that one too. I knew I heard his name before, just couldn't figure out where until the weekend.

Anyway, over a week has passed since I began writing this so I forget where I was going with the first paragraph but I'm hopeful as I keep writing, I remember......

Oh yeah, the bike thing. Last week, I only got in 108 miles over 6 hours. I felt pretty crappy about it. This week, however, started very well...... It started with a day off, HAHAHA. Well, I'm doing intervals now, unlike before when i was just riding to ride so my time on the trainer tonight wont be as boring.

Still don't remember where I was going with this post but it will come. until next time, bubye

Monday, February 23, 2009

Track junkie

I think I am officially a track junkie. Short, fast races (for para cycling anyway, 3-4k max), and its what my body was meant for. I have been doing triathlon for almost 5 years since my injury and until last year, I only competed against myself. Granted, I did okay in my age group but I always wanted to compete against other athletes with disabilities. Having said that, I have yet to find another spinal cord injured athlete that isn't in a wheelchair. Triathlon is great but I'm loving going fast, even if its just for a few minutes.

Last week, I went to Burnaby BC to ride in their velodrome with some athletes from the National Cycling Center in Calgary. All of these athletes are disabled in some way or another. We had four amputee's, one head injured, and me, spinal cord injury. Only two of us had been on a track before, me being one of them, and I had not been on a fixie for almost 7 years. I must say, the first look at the banking on this track was a bit worrisome and I was nervous. We were told, any less than 30km/h and you will fall off the track. One of our gals did just that on her first lap. Right before that they said there are two kinds of bike racers, those that have crashed and those that are going to crash.... I went over, knocked on the wood track and said, I haven't crashed yet. That's not altogether true either, I crashed a lot while racing my MTB, but so far, not on my road bike.

We had three days, two hours per day, on the track. I have to say, I haven't had that much fun in a long time. Our first day was just getting used to the track. Out of two hours, I probably only rode for a third of it not because I was tired but because we were still learning and we needed some alone time on the track. I took some time out to evaluate the knee of one of the other riders. He had fallen the week before and his "good" leg was hurting to the point where he had to come off the track. He definitely should not have been out there, he couldn't even pedal hard due to the amount of pain he was in. When I did a cursory exam and brief history of his problem, it was apparent that he had some meniscus damage and possibly some patellar injury as well. He was having an MRI, scheduled after his fall last week, today so I'm dying to find out what the official diagnosis is.

The second day was a lot more fun. The only thing was my not feeling well. I woke in the morning and felt crappy physically. My legs felt great but my GI system was not happy with whatever I ate the night before and I was going to cancel my track time. I am thankful we had until 1pm so I rested until I had to leave for the velodrome. Once I got out there, I didn't want to come off because I felt so good. Meyrick, Mark, JP, and I all got together and rode in a pace line, each of us taking one lap pulls.... at least that was the plan, JP did a few extra pulls, but that's okay, he got it eventually. He was a little squirrely as well at first and I'm just glad Meyrick was on his wheel and I was on MJ's. I quickly learned, thanks to Mark, that moving up track, slows you down rather rapidly. you don't have to move that far but if you are drafting, you catch the wind, and you go up hill slightly and according to Mark, you slow 2-3kph when you move 1-2 feet away from the draft..... that sounded kind of strange, but if you got that, you know what I'm talking about.

After our warm up of 25-30 laps, Meyrick, JP, JP, and I all did some intervals. Those were hard especially considering how ill I felt earlier in the day. I thought I was going to puke so I had Brian bring a garbage pail closer to the track. I'm happy to say, I didn't have to use it. The goal of the intervals was to be as consistent as possible. The plan was to do 3 easy laps then two hard laps. I averaged 17.4 +/- 0.3 seconds for each lap of my interval sprints. Meyrick pulled off a 16.1 first lap then fell off from there but he wanted to see what speed he could go. I was pissed (at myself, I'm very competitive) he beat me on that lap but I averaged better overall. I had done a couple of hard efforts earlier in the session so I was a little tired and I thought it would show on the last couple of my four intervals but it didn't. From there, we did about 25-30 lap warm down and then went for dinner. It was a great session and I felt pretty good about my new found passion for track racing.

Friday was our last day on the track. I got on the track as soon as I got ready. It was cold in there and I needed to warm up. I probably rode 20 laps on my own and then we did the same pace line warm up we did the day before. We didn't do any sprints but we practiced our track starts. I was using a rental bike with a huge gear, 51-16, and I had a tough time getting out of the gate but once I was rolling, it was perfect. I think for a kilo, I might use a different gear but for the pursuit, I will use something like that. Again, we did a 25-30 lap warm down to finish up our session.

Afterwards, Meyrick and I talked to Stephen. I know he is not the guy responsible for the national team but he does know the system and the way to make the team. There are three people necessary for classification for para cycling. Two of whom live in the Vancouver area. While they cannot get me officially classified, they can give me an idea whether I will be able to be classified or not. I guess, until then, I'm in limbo as far as trying to make the National team. I'm waiting to hear from Stephen to get the classifiers info so I can make plans to go to Vancouver and get this taken care of once and for all. Technically, I'm classified in triathlon, but cycling has different categories so, who knows, I might just have to race my bike in the masters category and forget about the other stuff. In the meantime, check out MJ's blog for pics and his take on the whole velodrome thing.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Week 1 on my quest to be a cyclist

My coach Melissa sent me my schedule at the end of January. I had probably been riding about 2-3 times a week on the trainer but when the weather permitted, I was out on the road.

For week one, the schedule called for 4 days of riding, some spinning, some lower RPM pushing, some hill repeats, and more spinning. Interspersed in there somewhere was core work and stretching. I gotta admit, I didn't do as much stretching as I should have done on the prescribed days but I do try and stretch certain muscle groups all the time.

My HR zone was 131-152, which I kept to for the most part. I say the for the most part because on the hill repeats/standing intervals, I could not keep the damn thing below 166. I would stand up, slowly turn the cranks, watching my HR rise. It would hover close to 152, then when I looked again, it was up past 160 so I would sit down and spin my HR down. I was amazed at how the rate would go down when I was climbing a hill but then again, I don't think I concentrated on lowering my HR before, hill or no hill.

Energy level was pretty good. I expected to be tired but I was not. My first spinning session after my rest day was awesome. 90RPM for 2 hours and HR ave 142.

Soreness. I feel no more sore than if I was training for IM. My glutes are tight and my calf has cramped a little while sitting, but overall, I'm feeling no pain.

I tried out a friend's track bike the other day but alas, it is a little too short. When the saddle is up at the proper level, the drop to the bars is quite low, like more than 10cm and that will be way too uncomfortable. I'm thinking about buying one cheap and if it doesn't work out that I am on the track very much, I can sell it for what I paid for it or more.

I'm on week two now, we go Sunday through Saturday, and so far, I have gone 33 miles in 2 hrs and change. Tonight's ride will be on the trainer but two hours on the trainer doesn't sound like much fun.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Back to training with a coach

I signed up to work with a coach again. This time I am using a cycling coach because my focus is pretty much only on cycling. I will do a few triathlons this year but probably won't do much more than an Olympic. My new coach, Melissa Sanborn, is an elite athlete I have worked with before when she was riding for Subway Express and I was a soigneur for them at Sea Otter. She is an excellent rider and someone I think I can learn a lot about racing from.

Prior to my injury, I only entered one road race, the Banana Belt, and I DNF'd. The race was in March. I got dropped in the first 6 miles of a hilly course and after one lap, I packed it in. I had only done mountain bike racing before that and I never used a coach before. I did one other road race at the Portland International Raceway a couple of years ago, finished, but I was on my own when I did so. I think I lasted for 6 of 9 laps with the group, and that was in mid summer. I was training for IM Florida at that time so I had some base but had no idea what to do as far as race tactics go and for some dumb reason, I took a few pulls out front and blew up.

Today, I started my new plan. For the most part, February will be base building. She is starting me at "base building 2" because I have been riding for a while and should be able to adapt pretty quickly to the program. I have to work on my cadence as my plan calls for 90+ RPM and almost all last year I was doing much lower. I did a 2 hour ride and I can say I did at least 90RPM for 95% of it. My HR target was 132-152 and I averaged 145 for 120 minutes. Unfortunately, I averaged 16.7 mph. I stayed in my 39 tooth ring and stayed in the 16 and 17 cogs. For some of the ride, I wished a 16.5 existed because at times, my HR went up in the high 150's in the 17 and with the 16, the cadence was up in the 100's. My butt was sore but overall it was a pretty good ride.

Tomorrow is core strengthening day, no riding, but Im excited as I think this will be a great program and I am positive I will get stronger than ever on my bike.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Eating healthy isnt that easy

So, after reading my friend Meyrick's blog about his "10 day nutrition blitz", I decided to follow his lead. I had been eating way too much and sometimes, it wasnt the best food for me. I love good tasty food and I cant leave a crumb on the plate. With two growing boys, they usually eat what is put in front of them, but if they didnt I would finish theirs as well as what Stacey didnt eat. I was always working out so it didnt matter but in the past few months, my training schedule has been intermittent to say the least. I wouldnt say I gained a lot but all the work I did in training for Ironman Canada was gone and I was back where I started last January, around 240lb.

Anyway, last week, Friday, I believe, I started my own 10 day blitz. I cut out coffee, alcohol, processed foods, pasta, and heaps of other things I cant remember. I do remember how much I miss the taste of things like burgers, pasta's, etc.

I went down the Whole Foods with my list. Its very expensive. I spent $75 on about 5 day's worth of food (I have a picture I will post later, the basket was very empty). I didnt tell Stacey what I was doing right away, not sure why, just didnt. She is such a good cook, I wish I told her sooner because after forwarding MJ's blog to her, she began making meals with all the things I was supposed to eat and nothing I wasnt and OMG, how great it tastes.

Here are the pro's. I dont feel bloated/full all the time. I have saved heaps of money on eating at restaurants and coffee places. Im pretty sure I dropped a few pounds just from eating more vegetables and fruits and cutting out any kind of bakery goods.

The con's. My GI system is working OT and although there is more about that, I wont go into it. Eating healthy is damn pricey. I want to eat some pie from the fridge.

I actually dont miss the coffee. I think its more the social aspect of the coffee thing. I did everything completely by the book Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Sunday, I had a burrito at lunch during a class downtown. It had chicken, rice, black beans, peppers, onions, and some salsa. I cant think it had much in the way of bad items in it. Most likely, the onions and peppers that were cooked in something other than olive oil, but the rest was pretty grease free. Today, I had some seafood cioppino from Trader Joe's. Other than the salt content, it looked pretty healthy on the bag. I almost ate a cookie today but I was happy with my will power.

Im hoping I can keep it up, even beyond the 10 days that MJ had for his challenge. Im pretty sure I can keep away from Starbucks and Peets and maybe just have it as a treat once a week or so. My birthday is next week.... wait, thats after 10 days, YEEHAW!! But then there is Superbowl this weekend........ wish me luck.

Friday, January 9, 2009

I did it

Went outside for the first outdoor ride of the year, only did 14 miles in an hour but in my defense, there were a few hills and Im not a hill climber but Im hell at descending, YEEEEEEEEEHAW!!

Anyway, it was a little treacherous on the descent from my house and I took it real easy. It was still chilly and there was some frost on some of the road that hadnt been hit by the sun yet.

Today was nice, there was some sun but overall, it was cloudy and I dont think there was one time where I almost got run off the road today.

My toes are still cold and numb but my core is warm and since Im sitting here nekkid writing this, I believe I will get in the shower. While Im in there, I will try to decide what my focus is going to be this year, XTERRA World's or trying to make the National paracycling team. Wish me luck, I think I can do both but its all about the Benjamins and I aint gots none, k bye.

First outdoor ride of the year

Well, I am trying to go outside for a ride but its cold, real cold, like less than 40F cold but Im going to suck it up and get out there and do my thing. Perhaps I will be riding my rain bike, recently re-equipped with fenders after a stellar performance during cyclocross or perhaps my road bike, one (maybe more than one) more time before I clean it up and try and sell it, or my beat up MTB, which could use a new front brake and a new shock. Who knows, but if I dont get my ass out there soon, I will lose interest, soooooooooo, Im out, thanks for calling, ps, have a nice day, bubye.
DS