The Race

I'd like to thank all who contributed, supported, and followed my journey this year.

I only wish I could have posted a better result for you all...

I think the best way to sum it up is that I most likely had no business being out on the mountain on Saturday!  Under-trained and over-confident, I went out too fast and got a spanking for it.  The good news is that I did recover a bit on the ride.... enough to have a strong finish. Which leaves me with a desire to try again next year.

1:37:45; 59th out of 77 in my age group. 

Beautiful day... maybe a little too hot in the beginning, but I really can't complain.

I'll post a better play by play sometime in the next few days.

Here's the Garmin link.

The Night Before

Well, here it is; the last post before the event.

The bike is all set. New saddle, tubular wheel set installed. The rider is filed and hydrated. Just need to find some sleep now.

The weather looks favorable tomorrow. I am relieved.

Race report to follow.

Today's Run

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/208864391

check it out!

Getting psyched for next Saturday!!

:)

Mountain Greylock

Rode Mt. Greylock with Paul yesterday.  I think we both thought we'd be riding it twice, but once we got soaked to the bone with the heavy showers that were promised us... we decided to just pack it in after one climb and save it the rest for the race.

I had a great time riding yesterday!  Fueled up well and had fun playing around in "The Zone".  I figure 157bpm is the magic number for this year.  Anything past that and I'll be flirting with disaster.

Here's the Garmin page link.

Unfortunately, I forgot to stop my watch at the end of the ride. So only pay attention to the info for the first split.  (1:06:59.1).

oops!    :)

The Update

My apologies for not being a better blogger!

Here's what's been happening:

I didn't make it up for the practice ride.  Family obligations and a general lack of fitness kept me from making the trek up on 7/15.  In my mind, it's all good.  A crummy outing wouldn't have done much to raise my spirits and may have set me in panic mode. Which usually isn't a good thing for me, generally speaking!  Plus it was good to get a visit in with the Aunties.

I've been enjoying way too much ice cream this summer.  3 weeks until the event...  yikes!

The good news is that I have remained injury free. (Knock on wood!!)  My right Achilles remains tight, but manageable.  The running is not as consistent as I'd like, but I am able to go out and run 9 without thinking it's the end of the world.  For me, that's a benchmark of how far off I am from where I'd like to be.  Lately it's not too far off...

And so where am I with the biking?  I have a wheel set that I want to prep for the race. I need to clean off some old glue and install new tubulars.  That should be a fun and messy morning.

We are riding Mt. Greylock this Sunday. The last real ride before the event.  ....nervous much?!

I hope to ride today. Kind of crummy this morning.  Who knows what it'll be like this afternoon.  Hot probably.  It's been way too hot for me this summer.  I tend to bonk.  That's never fun, or productive.

Not much of an update.  Garmin links to follow.

10k Run

Here's another fun one.  A personal time trial, straight out of the box.

http://connect.garmin.com/splits/196077858#

c.

Today's Ride

Here's a link:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/193004564

enjoy!

Local Road Race

I was handed a great gift yesterday.  3rd place overall in the "4 for the Library" road race in Barre, Ma.

I still can't believe it.  Map My Run came up with a 3.86 distance (and that may be a little generous).

My time was 26:08. 3rd overall, second male, first in my age group.  58 runners.   wheeee!!!!

Making Progress, Not Posts

While the time has been going by steadily I have not been posting.  Why is this?  I have been doing things.  The works has been satisfactory.  I have even gotten a few donations!

Lazy?  Probably to some extent.  Busy?  To be sure!

Fear not!  Here is the post you have been looking for...

I have been making good progress in my reclaim of my hill climbing skills.  Paul B. and I have ridden Mt. Wachussett a few times together now.  The last time out I wore my heart rate monitor for the first time this season.  Still have some work to do in the strength department, but it was great to have a workout that didn't put me in the red zone too often.

Running continues to improve.  My Achilles is still tight and sometimes tender, while my calves finally seem to have found their groove.  I have done a rockin' 9 miler and lived to tell the tale.  The five mile distance is not a worry on any day now!  Thank goodness.

Down to 185lbs.  Working hard to eat right and cutting out the sweets has really helped not only with the weight loss, but also with my mindset.  Go figure!

Garmin links to follow...

Thanks all.  Make sure to get out and enjoy the world everyday, it's great!!

When To Not Give Up

On Saturday I did something that I hadn't done in a long time; I earned my shirt.

I had been doing very well taking care of my fragile calves and my tender Achilles. Stretching, drinking water, paying attention. All seemed to be going quite nicely.  Friday I rode Mt. Wachussett with Paul and had a good time doing it. Lots of work for sure, and a little behind where I should be in my training, but nothing to be too frantic about.

Looking back I see that 1.) I didn't drink nearly enough water during or afterwards; and 2.) that I probably should have done the ride on Thursday and then had a day of recovery before attempting to run in a race (but that actually is only speculation since my problems came in the warm up...not the race).

.   .   .

Saturday was the Rabbit Run. A 10K race in New Salem which helps to raise money for the town's playground. A great event and a super challenging course!  I want to go back and run it again as a training run just to actually run the uphill.

It was during my warm up that my left calf cramped up. I had time before the start to give it a good massage and try to get the darn thing to relax, which it almost did. Almost. And so I was faced with a decision; do I race or do I hand my shirt back in and sit it out. But I knew my answer before I even asked it. I wanted the shirt and so, for me, that meant that I was going to run in the race.

Play the hand your dealt. Do your best. Leave it all out on the course. Don't reach the end and find that you've been caught wanting.

And so race I did. The course is such that the first quarter is downhill, the second is flat along the Quabbin on cart paths, the third is back up (also paths), and finally the fast flat finish back into town center. And thank goodness for that downhill! I was able to relax and let my knots bounce around and try to work themselves out so that when I reached the bottom I could actually shuffle along quite nicely.  Then came the first uphill! And I knew it was going to be a real test of my willpower.

For the little rollers I could manage ok. But, when it came to the big climb I had to power walk it. The knots in my calf meant that I had zero push-off with my toes. This meant that I couldn't run the steep stuff, try as I might. I did think about running up the hill backwards but the uneven surfaces made me think that I would just wind up on my ass and I wasn't sure if I would want to actually get back up if I could! So I trudged.

The happy news is that I wasn't alone. It's a BIG hill. And it's VERY STEEP. And I mean no disrespect to mid-field runners when I say this, but I was far enough back in the standings that walking isn't an uncommon practice in a race for the folks who were around me. Richard Bachman's story The Long Walk came to mind.

It also reminded me of the saying that goes something like:

Run if you can
Walk if you have to
Crawl if you must
But Finish.

Once I reached the top and started the cruise back into town center I was able to find my stride a little, which was a nice gift because what happened after I finished was my just reward.

Pain.

Just all out pain. It hurt just to sit there. I was able to get a brief massage from a therapist who was putting in her free hours to get her licence renewed. She was pretty rough with me (I'm sure she had no idea)... but I probably deserved it! And it only got worse. I spent the rest of the day immobile and laying on my side. Stairs were impossible! It hurts just to think about it.

But as any old sage will tell you; time heals all wounds. 24 hours later and I was able to walk around again. After all it's just muscle trauma. I'll live. And come back better prepared next year!

Meanwhile I have a new shirt I can wear with pride. Hell, I earned it.

Find That!

Back in the day, it was a go-kart track.  I never knew it then.  I only stumbled upon it when I was checking out new found trails behind the old high school.  On my mountain bike at the time, it was a bonus to find the old track cleared off and willing to accept me as a time trialist.  Lap after lap I rode, grinning from ear to ear.

I came back with friends. Fools that they were, they did not see the same promise that I saw.  Such is the difference in people;  One sees and the other also sees, but differently.

The last time I visited the sacred place was 15 years ago.  Trees had been dropped across the asphalt.  The land owners had enough of trespassers.  (Was I the cause? Hard to know for sure. Others surly knew of the spot!) 

Yesterday morning the spark was ignited! The quest was made to find the track again and learn of it's condition. A lengthy Bike/Hike ensued and at last I did find the track again.  Fairly cleared off, I did ride a few laps.  The asphalt is very old now.  Thick grass mounds cross it in sections. While stones underneath try to poke through in other spots; making small, deadly volcanoes.

Hope and promise still thrive there... just with a higher price tag, now.

A Nice 7 or 8 or Something; A Nice Run

Yea!!!  New Shoes!  And I even like the colors!

Out here in the boonies, when you raise responsible children, you can say to them, "I'm going for a run and should be back in a half an hour to 45 minutes." and they won't even bat an eye.  "Ok, have a nice run Daddy."  How nice. 

And when you get out there and decide that your new shoes are just what the doctor ordered, then you can stretch that run out to an hour and not even worry about it.

The kids are fine, the rail trail is fine, I am fine, You are fine; every thing's dandy.

Come home and they say, "Boy you must have been having a fun time out there to be gone so long!"

These are the times to remember... alright?

A Sunday 8 and 5 fingers...

Sunday mornings have been 'the secret runner's other training run' with Quabbin X-C luminaries (new and old) and other guests of some importance (myself included!).  We have been ramping up the miles little by little each week; the majority of the runners are getting ready to run 13.1 miles on Memorial Day weekend.

This past Sunday we ran 8 miles.  And I played the part of the good soldier.  I was not in the mood, not prepared, and not feeling very well.  I started out cold and tight at the  back of the pack.  Everything hurt and joints were popping and snapping with every step it seemed. 

On I trudged.

After a few miles I was running taller, things started to loosen up, and I found my stride for the first time in weeks.  The knee pain which had been dogging me never really reared it's ugly head, save one brief incline just before the turnaround point.  The run back was a major (!) negative split with the last two miles run at a good clip... I'm guessing 7:30s. 

A nice development overall.  Too bad I felt sick for the rest of the day... and sore... and tired... and dehydrated...  hahahahaha!

And so then my right Achilles was sore the next morning.  Nothing new, but I refused to not run because of it.  I just needed to train smart.

Here's where I talk about the five fingers;

A couple years ago I was hit by the barefoot running craze.  Didn't it all make sense! You're born without shoes, people roamed the earth for a long time without shoes and we never heard of them having any problems (which could lead to a big tangential argument about what those cave drawings were really all about anyway... maybe those cave people with long spears were just mad that they kept stepping in Mammoth poop with their bare feet!? ...but I won't go there...), running in sneakers just seems to cause a lot of problems for our joints, muscles, and heads. Getting back to our roots just makes sense.

Well maybe for some.

I just kept getting calf cramps on any run over three miles.  And running downhill "barefoot"... forget about it!  No way.  I could jog lightly, but that was about it.  So I gave it up and went back to sneakers, and I found out something really neat:  I was a better runner!  I was stronger, smoother, swifter.  The five fingers had done something really positive.  They allowed me to become a better runner by teaching me to be smooth and training me to run efficiently.  They had also made me stronger.

I could use them as a training tool.  I didn't need to be barefoot all the time... just some of it. 

And then I promptly forgot all of that!

Until Sunday.  When I heard myself say, "I think it's time for me to pull out my five fingers again and strengthen myself back up. I bet it'll cure these aches and pains that keep cropping up."  What an epiphany.

So I did just that.  And I walked/ran 3.6 miles yesterday and the local rail trail.  Nothing fast, nothing pretty.  But not just sitting around either.  I stopped every so often and did burpies (what the heck are "burpies"?), and sit-ups, and pushups. And when it was over I was fatigued but not hurt.  My Achilles is still tender this morning, and that's ok.  It's not to the point where I won't exercise... I may even get a short run in.  I just notice it's there, is all. 

A step in the right direction... I think.  Time will tell, it always does.

Ode to Curling

Curling, oh curling!
My heart pines for thee.
Between the lines that mark
    out of boundaries,
Your pebbled ice beckons me.
Alas!  It pains me so, and
    twists me up in knots;
So much that my life suffers
too much, and so:
I must leave you be;
and save me.
Fare~thee~well, oh curling.
We were not meant to be.

Looking back over the past two winters, I think I have made a strong case for myself that curling is a detriment to all my other activities.  There's just something about moving around on ice in bad shoes that doesn't jive with my body.  Maybe it's that too many tiny muscles become fatigued leaving me prone to injury?  Or that the lack of sleep due to the late night draw times and early bus schedules has me teetering on the edge of exhaustion far too often?  I think that taking away the non-linear act of constantly coming out of the hack from one side combined with the twisting motion of sweeping the stone (I realize now I never did write that primmer on what curling is! ...um, google it?!?!) will allow my body to stay straighter and thus less prone to injury when I do go out for a run. Also, if I can get back on top of my sleep needs I will be in better shape to go out for a quality run.

In any case, I feel it's time to give it up for a while and see where my body settles to.  If I can run with out injury after excluding curling from my life, then the point will be valid. 

This decision comes almost at the right time.... the regular season is ending now. I wish it had truly ended last week (when I gave up), but there's nothing really left that won't be too painful for me to not take part in.  Curling was there before me, and shall remain after me.  Viva Curling!

Weight Training

...or resistance training...

Whichever way you prefer, pedaling a big heavy bike around these rolling hills is either going to kill me or make me STRONG!

Nothing like the ride of a 1978 Raleigh World Tourist.  If you can get your hands on one, I strongly suggest taking one for a spin... it'll change your life.

Come try out mine!

Here We Go!

Sick of waiting I cried, "Damn the torpedoes!" and just started working at it again.

Sit-ups, push-ups, hanging from the monkey bars.  Running and biking.  Wrenching in the garage on anything that will stand still long enough. I figured it has been enough recovery time and now it is time to just start moving.

...and don't stop...

The cabinets are all up (and looking great!), a few runs in and a great bike ride on Saturday.  Looking forward to another today.  Plus a small smattering of curling just to keep it exciting.  Although, I will admit I am very excited about the end of the curling season being here. I'll do the final games that I'm contractually bound to; but that's it! No special events or one offs.  Just show me the end.

Curling does make the winter fly by.  It seems like only yesterday it was October.  Not much of a winter weather wise. A little cold at times, but no snow to speak of.  Which puts me ready for spring; some shade from the sun would be nice... yet I could do without the insects!!  anyway...

 Off to charge the Garmin, run some very important errands, and then beat it back to try to get some exercising in before the afternoon driving session.

Men's League playoff game tonight... early.  Thank goodness.

Nice to be back in action again.

I'm Back In The Saddle Again (Gingerly)

"Ouch" and "Oof" are still my two favorite words.  I can't seem to shake off the straining that muscles have suffered.  Water, rest, light work, stretching, time... getting better, failing.  Round and round.

It will come right in the end I know, but meanwhile my curling season has all but been canceled and I haven't found the right time to take a first step back into serious training.  Getting antsy.  Feeling bad about all the time I'm missing on the bike and miles I'm not doing on the road.

Be proactive!

Be the ball.

Act, don't re-act.

Ok.  Done. I signed up for a yoga class.  That should do something.  Anything is better than just waiting, right?

And I will get a therapeutic massage.  Got a tip on someone local who is very good.  I've never been a big fan of massages, but it is sounding like just the thing to hopefully work out the kinks I've been coping (unsuccessfully?) with.

In other news:  I'm trying really hard to open a bicycle repair shop.  Our immediate area really doesn't have one to speak of.. I think it's time we did.  I keep waiting for it to appear... it hasn't. 

I found a place, I've got a plan, people are excited.  Just need to turn the corner and achieve the official word "Go!" and move the tools and the stand inside and unlock the damn door!  Heck, the repair jobs are piling up in my garage already! 

Never thought I'd run my own shop.

Never say never.  Just don't do it, ok?!?!

Snap, Crackle, Pop! (the good kind)

God bless Doreen!  She merely hinted that I should put my leg here and hold my arm there and my back did exactly what it was supposed to do... align!

I'm still nursing sore muscles, don't get me wrong.  But at least I can stand tall again.

Now is the tricky and challenging point: I feel so much better, so I want to do things!

So I will sit here at the computer for a few moments and work on some work that needs working on and then I will do something... I will rest.  Purposeful rest.

Not move stuff around, not vacuum, not work in the garage, not play that heavy, heavy electric bass, not go for a long run; ride; walk; hike.  Just rest.  And try hard to not eat the nutter-butters I found in the cupboard!

On the mend, and smiling.

On the Mend?

Took a BIG step backwards by trying to curl on Thursday night. (Probably need to explain curling a little; soon, I'll devote a post to it.) More physical pain than I have had in a while. I think I'm almost back to where I was before I curled...  I'm seeing the chiropractor in the morning, I am so excited!  Doreen has this one maneuver where she folds me in half and then gives me a quick twist and then everything is right with the world again!  Bliss.
Off to bed nice and early so I can be at my best for the occasion.
I expect to be back on the bike by Wednesday.  Gently, of course!

On the D.L.

I managed to tweak my back yesterday while installing some cabinets in the garage. Just muscle strains it seems. (I have a habbit of popping my sacrum out of alignment... I really don't think that happened this time)  A little better today compared to last night; still, not able to do much other than wince when I move around.

But boy don't those cabinets look good!!

Icky Day

34 degrees and misty. Obviously it's time to break out the flatlander!

Shameless Self-Promotion

I figure some people might be more inclined to look at this (enter adjective here) blog if they had an easy way to do it.  I think in this dot-com world our short term memory might be going out the window a little, and if your site isn't named "Bang me over the head!", or "Doh!", no one is going to remember what the heck you called it and really never be able to find it until Google (or whomever) picks it up on their radar and can direct one to it after typing in a search query of; "Head, ouch, something, awesome?"

How's that for a rant?

My solution for the moment was to put on my artist and layout and printers caps for my three heads (me, myself, and I) and make up my own Business (Blog-ness?) cards.  It'll save me asking the cute waitress at Friendly's for her pen and then writing down the wrong address on the inside of a crayon box! (Did you find the site??  I googled the incorrect address I gave you and found that I still came in at number three on the list...)  Anyway, a polished card is way better than any hand scribbled thing any day... unless you have awesome handwriting; which I don't.

Ok, ok. Enough. YOU'RE at the site, you don't need the card! So I'll let it go, for now.

Collectors just need to ask.  I love sharing.

Intervals

First one of the year!

50 some-odd-degrees out. Light westerly wind. Mostly sunny. Very un-February like! There is no snow around here at all!  none...

No time like the present to get some real hill time in.  Too short of a warmup, since it's all downhill from the New Braintree house to the base of the hill up into Hardwick. The bike is geared so low that I really can't do any effective pedaling, save two spots, along the route.  Next time I think I'll cruise the flats along Rt. 32 for a few minutes to get my legs a little more warmed up.

Up and down, and up down, and up and down, and home again.

A nice workout overall.  Great to get the heart rate up again and do some real work.

Here's the link:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/151718975


Please note that the heart rate monitor wasn't reading properly for one reason or another after the last descent; I think if my heart actually went 182 BPM it would blow out my ribcage and splatter blood all over the countryside.  (nice, eh?)  cheers!

Monday Was Weight Day

As usual, the title has a double meaning (at least!).

Rode the rollers for 30 minutes; ran for 30 minutes; one circuit of weights with the barbell (which consisted of curls, upright row, and military press behind the neck. It couldn't have been more than 25 pounds, 15 reps each, all from the standing position.)

OK, so that's not much with the weights. But I don't want to be Charlie Atlas!  And I haven't worked with the weights in a while, so I figured it was wiser to make sure I didn't over do it. I'll add more as the weeks roll on, don't worry! I also did 20 push ups, 25 crunches, and 25 leg scissors.

And then came the hardest part... weighing in.  When I did Mt. Washington last year I was some where around 167lbs.  Yesterday...

189.

ouch!

I guess it really was a Big Thanksgiving, a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.  (not to mention Valentine's Day... although I really didn't have much candy for that one)

It is what it is. And now the race before the race can begin. Carrots, anyone?

Run, Bike, Run

(or should that read; See Bike run. Run bike. Run!)

A nice day at about 50 degrees this afternoon. I decided to mix it up a little with a 2 mile run, followed by 25 minutes on the rollers, finishing with another 2 mile run.  Fantastic!

Lost a bunch of water from sweat.  I must work hard to replace these!! Hope to get a nice long run in tomorrow, and maybe a little mountain biking for fun.

Coming soon, the dreaded weigh in!  Set a 165lb goal weight for Memorial Day weekend when I run the Vermont City Marathon.  Yeow!

No more cookies for me please...

This was an attempted mobile post from yesterday.

A Half Hour Spent On The Bike Is A Half Hour Not Spent Sitting Around

I think the one thing that motivates me most is my memory of a PBS science show in which there was a great point made that humans most resembled pigs in both their biological and habitual profile.

Lumpy, fat, and lazy. But also able to turn it around. The pigs were able to show us that by exercising and eating the right foods they could be more fit and lead a "healthy" lifestyle and live longer, "better" lives. (I put quotes around the word 'better' because these were domestic pigs, bred to be food for humans in the end; unlike a wild pig which I would think would have different motivations cast upon it and therefore might not be so apt to just wallow in the yard all day waiting for the food to arrive...) We humans can do the same.  It's a matter of choice.

I love the Big Mac.  The folks over there got it right with their test kitchens and their focus groups.  It appeals to me visually, aromatically, and tastefully.  They go down so nicely!  It's what happens to me afterwards that keeps me from feeding on them daily, or even monthly!  There is so much sugar and salt in them I feel so hypertensive afterwards, and that's just the immediate effect.  For days afterwards I crave them, and if I gave in to that craving I would just be feeling worse and worse at baseline. Not to mention that I would be packing on the pounds very quickly, Making my clothes too tight and my self esteem plummet. So I always keep this in mind when I drive past those Golden Arches.  Yes, it tasted good going down, but that's only a small part of the real experience.

More Fruits and Veggies!  Less bread.  More Water!!  I already drink very little soda, perhaps only 6-8 ounces in any given week.  But I do drink a fair amount of coffee... a diuretic.  Subtle changes over a course of time is the way to make a change that will stick.  I'm good at buying the right foods. Time to become better at EATING them!! Fewer sweets, too.  Need to work on that one.

Half hour on the rollers.  Half hour run.  Base work. Weights start next Monday; curls, butterflies, presses. High reps, medium-light weight.  No need to bulk up.  Just need to tone stuff.  Little by little.

c.

Transportation

Light workout today.  I think I spent more energy pulling on my clothes, prepping my bike, and digging my rollers out of the downstairs bathroom than actually riding.  But now the stuff is out and the ice has been broken; the dust has been shaken off; yes, the wheels are in motion!

The fantastic thing is that it could be 1988 when I am training on this rig.  The same Cinelli rollers I grew up with. Ok, so it has a new band connecting the front and rear rollers; and the pedals and shoes are modern clipless ones.  But otherwise everything is the same as when I was 18.  crazy.

Thinking up funny shots to take, but this one is a standard photo:

Rock and Roll, People!

Fund Raising

You may have been linked over to this blog because of your gift, or in combination with the following link asking for your donation. There is the possibility that you found this blog by chance, or only received a link inviting you to check it out... in which case I will shamelessly flaunt the link to my fundraising efforts for the good folks at Tin Mountain:


http://www.pledgereg.com/27850



As I always say, give only if you are able.

And that's the end of my plea...

Beautiful sunny day, 48 degrees in the sun, with a steady breeze. Heading out in a few miuntes for a light spin. mmmmm!

2011 Pictures

2011 Pictures, a set on Flickr.

Once Again

Here we are, staring at a screen.

Post one (1) for the 2012 attempt at reaching the summit of Mt Washington via my bicycle. Join me on my training for this endeavour...

I did hit the hill leading up to the center of Hardwick on New Year's Day. (An insanely warm winter, there should be no excuses for not getting out on the bike!) I also did a 10 mile ride last Thursday, and have started running again.

Links to come, posts to follow.

To the future!