Monday, June 25, 2012

Tour de Trails 2012


Last year I wrote about some baseballs fans try to visit every baseball park in their lifetime. I thought it might be fun to see all the local trails in one year.

KY:
Fort Duffield, not yet.
Cherokee Park, not yet.
Waverly Park, not yet.
AJ Jolly Park, not yet, it's nearby too.
Tower Park, Haven't ridden since the race in 2009!
General Butler, Raced last year. Fun Old School trails

Capitol View, rode almost 11 hours and 10 lap here during 12 Hour race. Very fun course. Ouch.
England-Idlewild, Check! I've trained there a couple times this year, hopefully racing there soon.
Devou Trails, I hit'em this week. Nice loop I can bike commute to!

OH:
Paint Creek, Never been there!
Huffman MetroPark, Never been there!
Caesar Creek, Not in a couple years...
Mount Mitchell, Near my in-laws. The old-section is very fast and flowy. The new section is pretty bad-ass and technical (for me). Cool local 8 miles of trails!
Keehner Park, Been twice this year. Cool little trail system if you live nearby.
Hueston Woods, Raced there last year, didn't hit all the trails.
Landon-Deerfield, We take Kona there from time to time, nice lil loop.
John Bryan, always ride the 6 Hour race, we just went up recently. Very fun!
East Fork, My home court.
South 80 Trails, kind of a flat little short loop. Might make a nice short track course. These are still being developed. Since this is right out my front door in Mariemont I hit'em a lot. HOwever, they are being mowed by a Kubota tractor — which means the trails are double-track and not very technical.

IN:
Muskatatuck, not yet. Maybe AMBC race?
French Lick, not yet.
Brown County, Epic, but haven't been there in 2 years! Need to get back.
Versailles, Check! This was often dry when Cincy trails were wet this spring. Great Trails!

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Desiging a Paint Job for my IndieFab!

Coming up with some options for my paint job. Gotta see what the cats at IF can do, this is pretty fun. I want to do it for a living!





Wednesday, June 13, 2012

BioMetrics 2012

I had my weight, blood pressure, and blood checked at the health fair at work. I like to use these screenings as mile posts on my journey through a healthy, active life.

6/13/2012
Weight: 147 lb
Height: 68 in
Waist: 30 inBMI: 22 kg/m2

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Blood Pressure: 114 systolic / 60 diastolic mmHg
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Total Cholesterol: 168 mg/dl
HDL: 84 mg/dl (good cholesterol)
LDL: 70 mg/dl (bad cholesterol)
Triglycerides: 72 mg/dl
TC/HDL Ratio: 2.0% (should be under 3.5%)


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Blood Glucose: 90 mg/dl

A little less "healthy" than last year! Better hit more veggies!



Since I got an irregular reading last winter I have been kind of obsessed with my blood pressure and biometric readings. I've been monitoring this whenever I go to Krogers, they have a cool machine thing.



- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

I went to the dentist in January and she freaked me out about my "high" blood pressure (she said I was over 130 which is pre-hypertension) so I've been testing myself at local pharmacies. I've been experimenting with diet. But I also feel like work/life stress and sleep (or lack of 7-8 hours per night) is my main barrier to a lower blood pressure.


1/22/2012
113/78 pulse 58
Wt 154 (with clothes on, I'm at Kroger people!)
Lean mass: 130.8/85%
Fat mass: 23.1/15%
bmi: 24.1

**In February I made drastic diet shifts — which I hope to blog about soon**

2/11/2012
115/81 pulse 54
(hours after a 3 hour run)

2/13/2012
116/60 pulse 48
(hours after a 74 mile ride with BioHomies, must be tired)

2/22/2012
107/69 pulse 59
Wt 148
Lean mass: 128.8/87.3%
Fat mass: 18.7/12.7%
bmi: 23.1
*i've been getting more sleep and I have less stress at work.

3/6/2012
135/76 pulse 53
Wt: 146.7
Fat % 12.4
BMI: 23

3/21/2012
114/70 pulse 80
Wt 145
Lean mass: 128/88.2%
Fat mass: 17/11.8%
bmi: 22.7
*Reading taken just after riding trails, riding dirt to get to my local Krogers


4/07/2012
107/69 pulse 76
Wt 147
Lean mass: 128.7/87.3%
Fat mass: 18.7/12.7%
bmi: 23.1

4/10/2012
108/71 pulse 74
Wt 146
Lean mass: 128.4/87.7%
Fat mass: 17.9/12.3%
bmi: 22.9

4/17/2012
110/66 pulse 72
Wt 149
Lean mass: 129.2/86.7%
Fat mass: 19.8/13.3%
bmi: 23.3

I'm wondering if my blood pressure was higher at the dentist because I just came from work, probably had to jog to get to my appointment, and she tested my right arm and not my left arm.,,



8/03/2012 
122/60 pulse 44
Reading taken at Dentist, after a stressful day and a night with only a few hours of sleep due to workload.

8/04/2012 
Reading at Kroger
119/59 pulse 53
Wt 145.8 
Lean mass: 128.2 lb/88%
Fat mass: 17.5 lb/12%
Hydration 6.09bmi: 22.83

9/15/2012 
122/71 pulse 48
Wt 139.8

9/22/2012 
127/72 pulse 58
Wt 140.8


Monday, June 11, 2012

Race #125: Longest race of my Life!

Photo by

More like 12 Hours of Capitol Punishment!
Write ups on this and Mohican coming soon...

Here are the approximate splits I recorded during the race:
Lap 1 (11.2mi + Le Mans start run around a baseball field): 0:56:36
Lap 2 (22.4): 0:56:09
Lap 3 (33.6): 0:56:31
Pit Stop: 0:00:58 — quick swap of 50ml CamelBacks
Lap 4 (44.8): 0:59:40
Lap 5 (56.0): 1:01:36
Pit Stop: 0:02:51 — Extra water, lubed chain, switched to bottles of Infinit, washed up with cold water and re-applied sunscreen
Lap 6 (67.2): 1:04:24
Pit Stop: 0:01:10 — Extra water in drained bottle, used to drink and pour over head on climb
Lap 7 (78.4): 1:11:35
Pit Stop: 0:06:07 —  Extra water, lubed chain, switched bottles of Infinit, washed up with cold water
Lap 8 (89.6): 1:08:21
Pit Stop: 0:01:14 — Extra water in drained bottle, used to pour over head on climb
Lap 9 (100.8): 1:12:14
Pit Stop: 0:04:12 — Extra water, switched bottle, washed up with cold water
Lap 10 (112): 1:03:59 — Really tried to fly through it, feeling like I was being chased!

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Race #124: The One-Two Punch!

Photo by Julie Lewis-Sroka

Wow! I had a stellar race at Mohican this year!

My rolling time was about 8:25, and my overall time was 8:37:09. Compare that with last years result of 9:20 of rolling time and an overall time of 10:35:51. That means I was almost an hour faster riding and I cut 2 hours off my overall time! Holy shit!


First, I would like to thank Mitch and Nate at BioWheels for fixing some last minute mechanicals. I also want to thank Sophie, Rick and Lydia at Norwood Chiropractic--they helped all my muscles recover after the Flying Pig marathon.

Bjet and I didn't get up to Loudenville until 8ish in Friday. We were waiting in an order of Infinit to arrive, plus I was trying to finish some design projects. All that sitting made my legs feel like bloated sausages. We only got in a short spin before getting ready for the race.

We got up about 5:15am. I downed some Infinit Mud, a coffee protein shake. I did forget to take my Hammer Anti-Fatigue caps, full of potassium and magnesium to prevent cramping.

The race started and I did not feel awesome... I felt a wee bit sick and my legs were still heavy. The race starts out on the main street of Loudenville and you go straight up a hill. I was do far back, and I saw all my teammates hitting it hard, they looked great. For some reason I could not climb as well as usual, all day. It got to be demoralizing early on.

Once into the single track I kept it chill for about 15 minutes. Then we hit some double track sections. People where still riding single file, but the CXer in me woke up and I conservatively gained spots. Back to some more single track. The pace line was semi-slow, but too much intensity too early can ruin your day. One guys didn't get the memo, he kept trying to pass and then would crash like a total loser. After about 3 or 4 crashes and some yelling amongst the riders the guy finally settled down.

So I've been trying to cut back on chain slap my shifting into the big ring. Then to keep it easy I would gift into the granny gear. I was using all 27 gears! Well, I think I forgot what gear I was in. We hit some downhill double track. I went to shift into my big ring and hammer it but my chain made a bunch of noise. So I pulled over. I think I was Already I the big ring, and I was cross-chaining. The chain was forced off and it wrapped a figure 8 around my crank. Damn! So I muscled it backwards and got it going again. That's when I saw my teammate Mark Rucker.

Mark Rucker is a beast, with powder legs for quads and calves that devour cyclists -- he sits on the front and holds 28 mph, typically on some bike that's 5 lbs heavier than yours! We both mentioned taking the start easy. It's mostly trail to the first aid station, and it can really take the piss out of ya!

Mark and I mentioned riding together. I took a quick break at Aid Station 1 to refill bottles--Mark kept riding, rocking a sweet CamelBack. So I had some incentive to crush the next section, I needed to make up my 3-4 minute deficit on Mark! I finally caught him, but once again grabbed some water for insurance from Aid Station 2. Once again I had to chase down Mark!

Some advice. The first 47 miles of Mohican are tough, tons of trail and climbing. But don't quit at Aid Station 3, it only gets easier. So I roll into Aid Station 3 fast and furious and Mark is waiting for me. I fill up quickly and we set out together.

It was a great choice to ride together. Mark and I were nearly equally matched (Mark had suffered from bronchitis all Spring and wasn't destroying me). He would still kick my ass on the hills. I would lose time, but would TT to regain the 10 - 30 seconds I would lose. It was great to ride with someone you could trust, you could talk and keep your morale boosted while the miles flew past. On all the downhills and flats we would trade pulls to keep the pace high. We destroyed the bike path section


Here are my approximate splits:
To Aid Station 1 (20mi): 1:57/10.26mph split/10.26 avg, took about 3 min: A lot of trail
To Aid Station 2 (34mi): 1:32/9.13mph/9.5 avg, took 4 min messing with Infinit, more trail than I remembered
To Aid Station 3 (46mi): 1:04/11.25mph/9.82 avg, took 4 min, Rucker waited, we tackled the climb together!
To Aid Station 4 (72mi): 1:52/13.33 mph/10.96 avg, last fill up, about 3 minutes
To Aid Station 5 (88mi-ish): 1:29/10.79 mph/10.67 avg, Caught Collier, we blew through it into the woods.
To Finish (93mi-ish): :32/9.33/10.79 avg, yes, we bested all expectations!

The times were really fast this year because I think they shortened the course a tad. But even if there was the extra 2 miles I had to race the year before, and we covered it at an average of 11 mph, we still would have achieved my goal of 9 hours. I'm very happy with that!





WWBD: What would the Badger do if they closed a bridge during a race?

Friday, June 1, 2012

Gearing up for Goal Number 2: Mohican

Photo by Jen Farmer




I'm feeling pretty good this year. The last two years I went into Mohican a little over trained. So this year I really backed off and spent the last two weeks doing shorter, more intense rides. Well, not this week, I've kept it fairly chill.


So I got 3 goals this year: 1. Marathon, 2 Having a Mohican 200 miler I am proud of, 3 Race with the Big Boys in Cross.


Within the Mohican race I would love to pull off a 9-hour ride. However the conditions may be muddy now. So I just have to hope to try and beat last year's time of 10:35. And, most importantly, have fun and enjoy the ride!


Nutrition:
Using mainly Infinit. I'm going to mix up a secret weapon "syrup" bottle that I keep in my jersey pocket.


What I'm packin:
2 Bottles of Infinit (Infinit is like Gatorade but with more calories, it has electrolytes PLUS my personal custom blend of carbs and protein and caffeine, very cool stuff!)
1 Syrup bottle of Infinit with 8 more servings
1 flask containing Gel (I prefer the chocolate GUs, a tasty treat while I am suffering)
Small container of Anti-Fatigue caps


All this stuff is small and in containers I can keep within reach in my pockets.


What my current formulation of Infinit looks like. High carbs, from protein and amino acids (with the hope of diminishing muscle deterioration during event, but science proves protein probably has no effect). Check out www.infinitnutrition.us

Pre-race breakfast of Infinit Mud — a protein shake with coffee in it. Post-race recovery drink will be ready in the fridge (expecting to be a zombie after).


Put it in your f@nny!:
I like to call my saddle bag my fanny pack... I got that loaded up with some emergency gear:
1 multi-tool with chain tool
1 extra tube
1 patch kit
2 tire levers
1 SRAM quick link
2 CO2 cartridges
Some emergency duct tape to repair side wall tears
First Aid (Remember last year!)



What my pre-measured dose bottle of Infinit "syrup" looks like.

Pit Stops!
What I should do within 3-4 minutes:
1. Have bottles filled with water
2. Light stretching
3. Squirt dose of Infinit into bottles
4. Take Anti-Fatigue cap
5. Check chain lube
6. Drink extra plain water (noticed last year feeling a tad thirsty, but it was hot)


Do it on the Bike!
I'm going to try to stretch, fuel and urinate while I am riding! This way save some time.





Clothing
– I'm going to wear a regular race kit with the 3 pockets in back. keeping my bottle and gel flask in the pockets.
– I bought new gloves, need new gel pads
– Seriously thinking about wearing Balaga running socks, they have a padded footbed for extra comfort. Not "cool," but maybe necessary.
– Switched to Superfeet footbeds this year. I place these in my race shoes and they make my pedal stroke more efficient by supporting my arches and pronation issues.


Tires
We're doing Maxxis Ignitors on front and CrossMarks on back. We use this as an all-rounder set up and race it dry and wet.



Aid Station Times for Target Time of 9 Hours:

Last year I finished in a total time of 10:35:51, with a moving time of 9:20ish and average moving speed of 10.24 mph. So this year I wanted to target 9hour-ish — meaning with pit stops that I need to average 11.5 mph. For any ride I feel like this is a laughable average speed, but with all the trails and hills of Mohican this is like running a 3:15 Marathon.


First 20mi: 1:50:00 (avg 10.9 mph)
Aid Station 1 (20mi): 0:04:00
2nd 14 miles: 3:05:00 (avg 11.03 mph — target 12ish for the leg)Aid Station 2 (34mi): 0:03:00
3rd 12 miles: 4:08:00 (avg 11.13 mph — target 11.5ish for the leg)Aid Station 3 (46mi): 0:04:00 
4th 26 miles: 6:15:00 (avg 11.5 mph — target 12.3ish for the leg)Aid Station 4 (72mi): 0:03:00
5th 8 miles: 6:55:00 (avg 11.5 mph — target 12ish for the leg)Aid Station 3 again (80mi): maybe skip or 0:02:00
6th 12 miles: 7:55:00 (avg 11.6 mph — target 12ish for the leg)Aid Station 5 (92mi): hopefully skip 
Finish 8 miles: 9:00:00 (avg 11.5 mph — target 7.5ish for the leg)


But if it's muddy, I'm just going to have to slog through it!