training 2-28-07

I pigged out yesterday, AGAIN! Okay, since my body refuses to be a svelte Euro-pro I'm going to opt for another plan. If my body wants to eat then it's going to have to convert that food into something constructive so today I went out for four hours on Tubby and did 67.5 miles with a 16.8 average speed.

I used an electrolyte/carb solution. The solution consisted of 300 calories of maltodextrin with 300mg sodium per liter of water. Also, I added three packets of Splenda for sweetness and lemon juice concentrate. I drank a total of two liters during the ride. I didn't drink for the first half-hour and stopped drinking at 3 1/2 hours when I started feeling the first signs of an upset stomach. That feeling eased up during the last half-hour of the ride and completely went away afterwards. I didn't drink anything until an hour after the ride. For breakfast I had a can of tuna and another one as soon as I finished the ride.

I drank the two liters during the middle three hours of the ride. I guess with the cold air that was a bit too much. Nevertheless, I felt stronger as the ride progressed. The only chink was that my left hamstring tendon was getting irritated. That is my shorter leg and I had removed the shim I used to use a while back. This may not be a problem on the Fogcom with its open position, due to the fact that the hamstings aren't stretched like they are on Tubby, but I use more extension on the Fogcom so I need to keep a close eye on this. The smartest thing to do is to put the shim back on. I don't want to find out there is a problem at mile 100 during the Davis Challenge.

The bottom line is that I feel great. I felt like I could go on forever. As I am writing this I don't feel the least bit depleted. After my semi-bonk training sessions this is a real morale and confidence booster.

My totals for February are 29.12 hours and 472.1 miles for fourteen rides compared to 26.85 hours and 430 miles for fifteen rides in January. Even I have to admit that is pretty pathetic. I wouldn't be surprised if that isn't a world record for someone training for an endurance event. I'll ramp it up in March and taper for the last two weeks before April 7th. Actually, it's all working out real well. I have made substantial increases in volume and fitness in a short time in the past but since I can't maintain that level of work for too long it's good that I've been laying low. Too many times I've started out with grand plans months in advance only to end up burned out a month before the event. My body knows what it wants to do. It's not subject to the enticements that my brain is. That's why I let my body call the shots even though it seems to suffer from bi-polar disorder, as evidenced by this blog. Oh well, what are you gonna do? It's all part of the challenge (and the fun).

training 2-26-07

Man, what a soakfest today. 34.7 miles on Tubby with a 14.1mph average speed. I actually like riding in the rain. It sure helps to have good fenders. I don't get any spray from the tires or front-wheel drivetrain. I guess that's one advantage of having front-wheel-drive. It was windy too so of course it was much more pleasant riding in the rain with the wind than being stung in the face.

I was feeling in a funk yesterday. There's been a bug going around and I feel like I've been carrying it for about a week but it can't get a stronghold. I had no energy so I decided to treat myself to a dietary splurge. I ate a boatload of calories and immediately felt better. Oh well, sometimes the best thing for long-term forward progress is taking a step back every now and then. I'm back on the wagon today so I don't hate myself too much.

I do need to wise-up in my preparations for the Davis Challenge though. As much as I would like to buck conventional wisdom my gut is telling me to conform. As a result I will start taking fuel with me on my Fogcom training sessions and practice race-pace consumption. My last two sessions on the Fogcom left me light-headed afterwards, almost blacking out due to low blood pressure every time I stood up. If I insist on keeping this up I will be crossing the line between hard-headedness and all-out stupidity. As long as I'm selling out I may as well extend the length of those rides as well. Those 4mph nasties in the Sierras are calling me. If I get used to those the Davis course will be a walk in the park.

It looks like the rainy season is finally here to stay for a while. I hope it isn't too bad because I'd rather not take the Fogcom out in the rain. I guess I'll just have to suck it up. I don't know what I'm worried about, except for the chain the newest component is ten years-old. I've got a coat of epoxy on the frame and it and the seat are monocoque so there is no place for water and grit to hide. There's a good chance I'll see rain on the Davis course anyway.

training 2-24-07

Took the Fogcom out for 50.8 miles for a 20.5(18)mph average. It was quite windy and I got pushed around a bit thanks in part to the disks. The steering wasn't affected but the whole bike would get pushed over. If it were any windier I wouldn't use them for an event.

I added a layer of padding to the rear of the seat and it secures me to the bike much better. I can feel the difference when taking off form a stop and climbing. I also added a roll of foam for a higher headrest so my head will be oriented better for climbing.

I made a hydration vest that holds a 2-liter bottle. That should be adequate for the distances between checkpoints and will allow for quick changes. I tested it today and it works fine.

My bodyweight is now below 180lbs. I'm shooting for 170 by the end of March. Maybe I'll eventually get down to 165 later in the year. As you can tell from the picture my legs are empty sacks, completey devoid of stored glycogen. Oh well, that's the price you pay when you have to lose weight. Considering I only had a can of tuna for breakfast and I didn't eat on the bike my average speed was pretty good for not pushing it. I drank about 3/4 liter of plain water but still came home with a little stomach upset. I notice that fluids go down much better when I have some carbohydrate (and sodium?) mixed in. Like I said, that's the price I pay. I hope that doesn't come back to bite me during the Davis Challenge. I figure since I don't train hard or long enough to simulate race conditions training my stomach would be not as effective anyway. It will be a learning process for sure.

On the to-do list I need to look at cleaning up my coroplast panniers. It looks like they can catch some air in their current shape. Perhaps I'll make a lycra cover.

training 2-22-07

Another 34.2 miles on Tubby in the wind and rain for a 15.4mph average.

I cut my salt intake yesterday and ever since I can taste salt in my mouth. Until 2005 I never added salt to my diet unless it was in a homemade sports drink. When I was doing my base training back then I developed the same salty taste in my mouth. At first I thought it was the result of having too much salt but I checked the amounts in the foods I ate and found that I was well under 1000mgs. The RDA is 1100-3300mgs and considering the amount of water I lose on my rides I should be really low.

If I wasn't consuming too much salt then maybe what I was tasting is potassium, salts antogonist and taste-alike. My reasoning is that, maybe, in order to maintain a certain balance my body's cells ejected the potassium where it normally resides inside the cell to the outside of the cell walls for elimination from the body. When I added salt to my diet the salty tasty did, indeed, go away. I also felt better. I'll add the salt back and see if that rectifies things.

The orginal intent of cutting my salt intake is that I was hoping to teach my body to hold on to it so I wouldn't lose so much during the Davis Challenge and wouldn't have to consume more than I could process during the race. I don't want to make matters worse so I will listen to what my body is telling me now and consume more salt. Anyway, even with the additional salt I'm still well within the RDA. I've read that people typically consume much more than that, something like the 7-10gram range. Damn!

training 2-20-07

I did another 32.4 miles on Tubby with an average speed of 15.7mph. It was windier and colder today so I lost a little speed.

I need to start strategizing for the Davis Challenge. I don't plan on upping my mileage too much. I'll probably add to my "performance" route to make it a 40 or 50 mile ride. I may ride up into the Sierras one more time to reduce the shock factor of the steep hills.

Even with their modest altitude claim that's about equivalent to 31 miles worth of climbing on a 6% grade. I'm definitely going to be losing ground in the beginning. Luckily almost all of the climbing is over at about 105 miles, then it's lowracer time; that is if I dont have a meltdown before then.

My main concern is intake, especially fluids and electrolytes. I'm going to use the modest approach that Steve Born suggests. Looking back on my limited experience I think that will work best. Just in case, though, I'll be sure to carry extra sodium and homemade goo.

My longest ride on a recumbent is six hours and 133 miles. I drank about a liter per hour but I can't remember how many calories and sodium I mixed in. At the time I was experimenting with varying quantities that ranged from 400-600 calories per liter and about 1/4 tsp of salt (590mg sodium). I did okay on these training rides but they did leave something to be desired. I was probably taking in too much. I was peeing too much too. The calories came in the form of straight table sugar. I remember trying to add food on top of this a couple of times but I could hardly get myself to chew let alone swallow.

I did the Marin Century a couple of times which is 105 miles with steeper climbs than the Davis Challenge, or so I've read. I used this sugar-sodium-water concoction both times with the addition of pancakes. The pancakes are definitely out. What a joke. The last time I had a pancake breakfast a couple of hours before and this put me in a foul mood before the start and I really suffered up the first climb. I'm not using sugar anymore either as it starts getting to feel real funky in my stomach. I'm sure if those rides went longer I'd be spewing out both ends.

My best century was my first and only century on a DF in 1993. I did 123 miles with two crossings of the Santa Cruz mountains. I gave no thought to nutrition then. I started off with two bottles of water and a loaf of white bread made into strawberry jam sandwiches. On the way I bought a quart of Gatorade and a total of four little boxes of mini donuts that you can buy at convenience stores along with four cans of diet Pepsi. Other than a couple more bottles of water that was it. After all of that climbing and the last 30 miles into a killer headwind I got home in the dark at 8pm (I rode from and to my house), showered, ate, and went to bed. At 4am the next morning I was on the road again commuting to work like nothing had happened. I started the ride at 10 in the morning but spent a huge amount of time waiting for my riding partner. It was an all-day affair so the calorie consumption doesn't seem so high.

Anyway, now I plan on using maltodextrin. I'll probably go with 300 calories per liter and 1/8th tsp of salt though I probably won't drink that much per hour. If I drank only when I wanted to I probably wouldn't drink much at all. I'll try and find the proper midle ground.

As far as intensity goes I'm hoping to be able to crank out 90% of my 20k TT effort for the entire twelve hours. Of course this will be a live-and-learn process as this is uncharted territory and I have no idea what's going to happen. I don't expect my 90% effort to result in a 90% yield. That'll depend on how things pan out nutritionally.

Even though by conventional standards I'm approaching this event foolhardily regarding preparation I still expect good results and in my mind I'm going for record mileage. This is where being delusional is an asset. I'm also too stupid to know that I can't do it.

One thing I'm going to do is get a major league carbload on. I always carbload before short races so I'm definitely going to for this one. Speaking of carbloading, I once gained 24lbs in three days after a bodybuilding contest. I spent seventeen weeks dieting from 218lbs to 198lbs. Three days after the contest a weighed 222lbs. I usually gain at least five pounds for races but I'll push for ten this time. Of course most of that is water retention but that's fine with me. It'll just give me that much more time to develop a deficit.

faux wheel discs

I used some leftover coroplast and made wheel fillers for my road wheels. This is the wheel setup I used at Fiesta Island. I also went over the bike with some flat black. It's ready for action now. I've got my registration form for the Davis Challenge. Barring unforeseen circumstances, that will be my first race this year.

ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

I took Tubby out for 34.9 miles with a 16.3mph average speed. That's the same average speed as last ride and feels about right.

Here's a picture of the FogCom with the triple setup.

I feel a change is taking place in my body. I first felt it after my first ride on Tubby. I felt better after the ride than usual. I'm not sure what to attribute this too.

I had added eggs to my diet just prior but I continued to eat popcorn until the day after. Maybe it was the eggs. Like I said before, I've shaken my body out of a funk by changing my diet numerous times before. I did it last summer/fall by switching from eating a dozen eggs fried in butter a day to three cans of tuna with olive oil as my primary protein source. Now I'm on the exact same diet that I was in 2005 and I feel exactly the same as then, which is good.

I'm also on a substantially calorie-deficient diet. I did today's ride on no food whatsoever and I feel fine. One of the changes I feel is the lack of anxiety that drives me to eat sweets even though I'm depriving myself of food (again, just like 2005) so I should be able to reach my weight-loss goals (I hope I'm not jinxing myself again).

Another similarity to 2005 is the position on Tubby compared to the bike I trained on for my base mileage back then. Perhaps, as I alluded to before, their is some muscle/joint-sparing component to that closed position.

My neck feels different too. The glands in my neck have become somewhat of a barometer for me lately and I've definitely experienced a change. It feels different when I swallow and the left side swelling is almost completely gone.

I'm not sure what is responsible for the improvement but I believe it boils down to something on the hormonal/inflammatory level. It could be my diet. Maybe it's the mix of fats. I've done some reading on how that effects inflammation. I usually take everything I read or hear about diet (and training) with a grain of salt because there is so much bullshit flying around out there, but who knows. What I do know is that my legs have that same good feeling again.

The longer ride I did with the climbing had a positive effect as well. My legs were a bit beat but it was the good kind of beating; the kind that I know I will recover from relatively quickly rather than the kind where they, along with my endocrine system, feel bathed in poison.

One thing I notice about steep climbing is, one, I can't limit myself to 70%, at least as far as my heart is concerned and two, it doesn't matter because the force I can apply to the pedals feels tiny even though I'm developing good speed (relatively). I used to notice that when I road a DF exclusively. Doing threshold work in the hills is WAY easier than doing it on the flats. For me it's a completely different experience on the muscular level.

I suspect at the root of my woes is that I have lowish levels of testosterone. It may not appear that way on the surface but that's because I've been lifting weights since I was fourteen. For someone who has lifted for so long I'm not very muscular. Even when I focused on lifting I was never able to develop the muscle size others could even though my strength was good. The fact that I'm not excessively driven primally or ambitious is another indicator.

That brings up another change. I stopped lifting weights in favor of doing pushups and modified (easier) pullups. Even though I was lifting only light weights for my upperbody that weren't any harder than what I'm doing now it seems that my body perceives the stress differently. I have never failed to improve my level of well-being whenever I stopped lifting weights. The first time I ever stopped was in my early forties. Hmmm, that makes me wonder how my life would have been different had I never lifted at all. If I do have lowish testosterone levels then that would explain the excessive cortisol effect since the anabolic hormones counter the catabolic ones. That would explain my aversion to all things anaerobic as my aging body reduces its testosterone output. On the bright side, maybe this way I'll live longer. After all, living longer is another way to stick it to the man, and I'm all about that :-)

welcome back to the 90's

What's a FogCom without a little coroplast? I replaced the panniers I was using with these made from the coroplast I found on the side of the road. They carry everything I did in the others and are less bulky; just what the prospective self-supported endurance racer needs.

It also doubles as a fender and headrest. Also, no support structure is needed so they are lighter. I painted them fluorescent orange so I can be seen better. Hmmm, I better paint the rest of it too

headin' for the hills

I put a triple on the Fogcom and took it out for hill tests today. This required that I do additional mileage since the real hills start about 25 miles from here. The hills I usually train on are of the girly-man variety. To add to the excitement I decided not to take any food and just one liter of water. On top of that, I started out on fumes since I have gotten into the dieting groove and had nothing for breakfast except a can of tuna.

The first somewhat steep hill went fine but when I got to the first real steep hill and wanted to shift to the granny I found that I had my derailleur stop mis-adjusted and it wouldn't shift. I didn't want to use much muscle today so I stopped mid-hill and pushed the chain over by hand, or so I thought. I'm sure everyone knows the joy of starting up on a steep hill so I'll spare you the details except to say that the chain hopped back on to the middle ring which didn't make it easier. I finally got it shifted properly and was good to go.

Even with the newer, more laidback position it climbed fine. It was no slower than my carbon highracer that weighed ten pounds less and this was while I was on fumes. I'll say this again, if extra weight is in the frame and that extra weight results in a stiffer frame then there is no climbing penalty. This probably applies mostly for monotubes than for triangulated frames. Anyway, the power transfer was very noticeable. I doubt I was generating very many watts since my muscles are in such a state that they would quickly go anaerobic if I applied much pressure. That's partially due to recovery and partially do to not having much glycogen available. Nevertheless, the speed, compared to my other attempts, was there. In the past I've done those hills on nothing but carbon bikes and the slowest one was my DF. Had I consumed a carb/electrolyte solution today it would have been a wipeout for the Fogcom.

I ended up with a total of 60.5 miles with a 19.1 average speed. I was definitely feeling the effects of depletion by the end of the ride. I could feel my blood pressure dropping. Oh well, it's good training for my future as an endurance racer. It'll train my body to get by with less and be more efficient. Besides, I didn't want to go fast anyway and starvation works very well as a governer.

why?

"Why" seems to be a common theme of recumbent blogs lately so I'll add my take. It's a question I ask myself often, especially when I'm on the losing end of a battle to improve my fitness. Why put myself through it? I think the primary driving forces are a need for struggle and a desire to be entertained.

I think one of the drawbacks of society becoming more efficient is that life can get too easy. I'm sure many would scoff at that statement believing that their life is harder than they would like. I think they mistake hard for tedious and unsatisfying. As society advances our jobs become more and more specialized, hence, for a large number of us, simpler and easier. Our jobs become so easy that we are able to perform them mindlessly. It's like standing with your nose to a wall for eight hours a day. That's a very simple task to perform but it's very unsatisfying. Some of us have become so proficient at our jobs that we can spend who knows how much time perusing the Internet while doing them. Without some kind of outlet life would be simply going through the motions each day.

So why racing (or any other physically or mentally challenging endeavor)? I think it boils down to the fact that every living thing is genetically programmed to fight for it's existence. If you don't have that quality then you don't exist...until now. Now we have somebody to do just about everything for us. We have soldiers to fight our wars, farmers to produce our food, construction workers to build our shelters, etc. It's to the point that if you have a brain stem (like me), you're existing. So where does that leave us? We've been engineered for millions of years to fight for our place on earth and all of a sudden the battle, on our individual scale, has all but been elimated. What do we do when the struggle has been eliminated?

What we do is create wars; create struggle. We wage these wars against like-minded individuals or ourselves and call them sports, challenges, and goals. Others create different challenges. It may come in the form of sexual conquest, making more money, or the purchase of some material object that sends a message to the rest of the world that "I'm better than you". Some just give up and use drugs and alcohol or resort to food, television, or video games.

A desire to be entertained ties into this as well. Racing, for example, is a form of personal entertainment. Some do it virtually with a video game and others do it for real. If I'm not doing it for real then I satisfy myself with reading about others who are. It's all entertainment.

But what is entertainment really? Isn't it just a distraction from ourselves; our thoughts. How come I don't just sit by myself in a quiet room and imagine that I'm doing the things I'm doing. What's the difference? It occured to me a long time ago that there isn't much. The memory of my honeymoon in Hawaii seems as real as an imagined trip to Jamaica in my mind. Why not cut out the middle man?

I guess that must be what the Zen Buddhists and hippies are referring to. There's a part of me that is there but there is the other, un-evolved part, that needs physical punishment; that needs a war to fight. Unfortunately, I have a very limited time on this earth and I don't have the luxury of waiting for evolution to take place. That's why I race my bike.

As much as I realize the pointlessness of it all, how none of it really matters in the grand scheme of things and how, when all is said and done, every word or deed by man will be erased in the end, I'm going to race my bike (or whatever) and appreciate the awesome gift of having a concsious existence.

Hope to see you on the battlefield.

Okay, if you made it this far (if anyone is actually reading this blog) I feel a need to apologize. I always feel a bit of guilt and embarrassment when I post. I'm not very educated or smart but in the same way that fat girls need love too, the stupid sometimes need to express themselves. Please forgive me. Now I'm off to train.

and more Tubby

Tubby got back

One time I was stopped in a dedicated left-turn lane and a guy drives up on my right and says nobody can see you. I didn't tell him what I was thinking.

more Tubby

the return of Tubby

I decided to bring Tubby out of hibernation. Rather than mimic the lowracer position on the DF I'm going to cross-train a bit with the closed position on Tubby. This will relieve the pressure on my quads and knees and place it more on my hamstrings and hips.

I did 34.5 miles on my usual, flat DF course for an average speed of 16.3mph. I forgot how enjoyable that bike was to ride. It's so much less systemically stressful than the DF. Maybe this will allow more of my recuperative capacity to be spent on developing speed.

dietary considerations

I'm going to manipulate my diet a little to see if I can jump start my body to a higher level. I guess I can't complain too much since even though I'm not able to perform as frequently as I would like I'm still able to put out a quality effort every now and then. Still, I'm always looking for a way to improve.

I started eating plain popcorn a few weeks ago. I was looking for more variety in my diet but I'm going to drop it. I noticed a change in my body composition as soon as I started eating it. I found the same thing when I tried corn a few years ago. One upside to eating a simple diet is that when you introduce something new you can notice the effects more easily. Anyway, one tell-tale sign for me is increase stomach fat. My stomach is one of the last places that I gain fat so when that changes I know something is up. Usually, along with increased stomach fat, I experience increased water retention all over my body as well.

A few months back I switched from using Coffee-mate to half&half but have decided go back to Coffee-mate. Milk products are another no-no for me. Yesterday I started adding eggs back into my diet. It looks like my diet is reverting back to its 2005 self.

The diet I ate in 2005 to lose thirty pounds ( alot of it muscle) consisted of:

2-cans of tuna with 1 oz. olive oil each

3-4 eggs fried in butter

2-cups(dry) oatmeal

coffee w/coffee mate sweetened with Slenda (as was the oatmeal)

That's it. No fruit, no vegetables, no flesh from warm-blooded animals.

I know nutritional experts will say that is an unhealthy diet but I've been eating "unhealthy" for decades. I just don't like vegetables and would no more eat them than graze on the front lawn. As a kid they would make me gag. I like fruit but it's too expensive on a per-calorie basis. As far as meat goes, I think it's one of the healthiest things a person can eat. Unfortunately, I'm a wuss and I couldn't harm an animal unless my life depended on it. Since that is the case, I don't feel I deserve to eat meat. I've compromised and allow myself to eat fish. I draw the line at warm-blooded animals. Actually, I've drawn the line at an ability to feel emotional pain or love. I believe all warm-blooded animals possess that ability so they're off the list. Fish? They're out of luck.

Anyway, once I got my weight down I would supplement with various concoctions of junk food usually in the form of something sweet. Lately my diet has remained somewhat based on what I was eating in 2005 except for more oatmeal which occasionally I sweetened with real sugar when I was feeling depleted. Another exception has been walnuts.

So, with popcorn and half&half out and eggs back in I'll see what happens. I'm still on the fence regarding bodyweight. I'm not going to suffer, possibly ruining my fitness, to lose weight, especially when I'm not certain that it's going to help me on the bike. If it happens though, I won't fight it either. In reality, the weight is more a vanity issue than a performance one. It's nice having ripped up abs but the truth is the extra weight is better for all-around health and fitness. When I was really lean for a bodybuilding competition I was in very poor shape compared to my fatter self. The weights in the gym didn't lie. Of course, aerobic activity is different but even so, based on my cycling performances at different weights, the jury is still out.

I forgot to mention supplements. I take a multi-vitamin along with 1000mg of calcium, 1000mg vitamin C, and 400 IUs of vitamin E. I also add salt to my oatmeal. I usually use about 1/4 tspn per cup of dry oatmeal and altenate between regular salt and sea salt. Sometimes I'll add Lite salt for extra potassium.

training 2-12-07

My legs weren't quite up to par today so I cut it back a notch on the ol' relax-o-meter and ended up with a 21.2(19.7)mph average. Not bad at all for such an easy effort. It's been six days since my last recumbent ride??? I guess last Thursday's ride wasn't easy enough.

There's a possibility I may never get back to where I was able to alternate 70 and 50% efforts every other day. Even when I was firing on all cylinders in 2005 I considered the possibility that maybe training at just 50% would be best. Another thing that might be a sign that a physical change has taken place is the swollen glands in my neck. I developed them just before the Hellyer race last year and they haven't gone away. They are not tender anymore and have hardened to the size of about a half walnut on each side. They do get touchy at times when I push myself too hard though. Even so, last October I was able to work up to 70 miles every other day without trouble. Another thing I can try is changing my diet. Numerous times in the past I've shaken myself out of physical staleness by changing my diet. It may be due to the fact that I eat an extremely simple diet so over time I develop a deficiency.

My new position definitely feels faster, especially at the higher speeds. I do a coastdown test every time I do my performance course. Interestingly, the new position doesn't coast faster. I believe the reason is that I do my coastdowns without pedaling. When I pedal down the other hills on the couse I achieve certain speeds with less effort and so far it seems that I'm equalling speeds that I achieved on tailfaired Woody. I think the combination of not pedaling and the low hand position creates a big dam where before there was a sizeable hole for the air to run under my hands and arms. When I pedal the air isn't funneled up the middle, instead more likely going around or over.

I don't know if it's the same for everybody else (I suspect to a certain degree it is) but training for athletic competition has always been a double-edged sword for me. As much as it has given it's done its share of taking too and that has always been my dilemma. It's a constant battle between doing enough to improve and not so much that I overtrain and open the door to that nasty world and all it has to offer. For me the nastiness comes in the form of depression. I read an article by some endurance cyclist that was linked to one of the ultracycling sites that stated this is common. He claims that a lot of cyclist get involved with long-distance cycling to deal with depression. As someone who has a family history of depression, to the degree that many members of my family, including my father and sister, have succumbed to it by taking their lives, and who has dealt with it personally since puberty, this subject interests me a great deal.

Having dealt with depression for so many years has taught me that the best way to deal with it is not to fight it but embrace it. Like all other forms of pain it is a survival mechanism. Like the proverbial hand over the flame, it let's you know that you are doing something that is not in the best interest of your well-being. It has become a valuable diagnostic tool for me no different than joint pain or muscle soreness.

The most important thing for me has been to understand its cause. When I realize it's exercise-induced I know to back off in training (or quit altogether if I have pushed too far) instead of trying to push through like so many of the sour-faced DFers you see on the road. That's where embracing your weaknesses become a strength. Unlike the angry DFer who has allowed his manhood to be defined by his cycling ability I accept the fact that I'm just a frail, feeble, and pathetic sadsack who lacks ambition. This enables me to just lay low and laugh at myself.

The worst thing I could do, I have found, is to think that I need to fix it immediately. This is so common in contemporary society. Have a pain? Medicate it. We have no tolerance for pain, it's not acceptable. We either drug ourselves (legally, or illegally), drink, shop (buy another bike), eat, engage in affairs, or other such destructive behavior. The problem with these quick fixes, these "highs", is that they wear off and are soon followed by a low that leaves you worse off than when you started. My drugs of choice have been primarily food and, in the past, allowing myself to wallow in a 'woe is me' funk. Unfortunately, too much food makes you fat and self pity just feeds on itself and puts you in a deeper hole.

Luckily, I been able to limit the damage I do with food. I guess I have enough of an ego to prevent me from going too far down that path. The other, though, has been a hellish battle at times. I can completely sympathize with those that have chosen more destructive paths. I don't look down on them as I was lucky enough to have a front-row seat to see the full effects of those choices. There was a lot of dumb luck involved for me as well. I've been practicing survival tactics without even knowing it.

The primary tactic I used without knowing it was being a slacker. I wasn't a typical slacker. I did well in school and always performed above and beyond the call of duty at any job I had. No, I was a junior college dropout who opted to work with metal. Anyone who has ever heard Adam Corolla rant knows just how low that is. When numerous opportunities to move into a management position and make much more money presented themselves I always turned them down. I chose to be a grunt and would routinely kick myself for doing so.

Initially, I didn't understand what it was that was making me keep myself down and developed an underlying case of self-loathing. Eventually, though, I came to realize that I was just catering to my weakest link. I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew during those low times. I didn't want to put myself in a more stressful place than I can handle. The fact that I was competing in one sport or another and was physically always in varied states of disrepair made my choice that much more crucial. When I finally realized this it was like a huge weight had been lifted off of me. I allowed myself not to be my own worst enemy. Now, looking back, I can see the logic behind every life choice, unorthodox or not, I have made.

The ultimate result of this is that I have adopted a very spartan lifestyle. This has also resulted in a very low stress lifestyle. It's low stress save for the abuse I put my body through to pursue my goal of choice. This is where I am now, walking the fine line between improving my cycling performance and feeling fit and healthy or feeling like a pile o'crap.

The line between success and failure is a mighty fine one. It reminds me of the crawdad fishing I used to do as a kid. In the beginning I fished with nothing more than a piece of bacon tied to a string. When I would feel the crawdad tugging I would slowly pull it to the surface and just before he got to the surface I would give the string a quick yank and pull him out of the water before he let go. If I pulled too hard initially I would lose him. If I tried to yank him out too soon or too late I would lose him. It's the same with race training. I have to know when to lay low and when and how intensely to "pull" hard. Just like each crawdad is different so is my body as it goes through its natural cycles. I have to adjust as neccesary. This requires my being super aware. It hasn't been easy as I have failed as often as not. With each failure though, I become a little more tuned in. Unfortunately, the clock keeps ticking but that's okay. There's always something for a FOG to pursue. I don't NEED to go anywhere fast. This is the attitude that allows me to have my cake AND stick it to the man :-)

Oh well, this all may fall under the category of "too much information" but hey, it's all part of what goes into trying to be a successful FOG. Anyway, I've got nothing to hide.

training 2-10-07

Last Thrsday I did two hours on Sluggy(df) at a jogging pace of 13.7mph. For some reason this left me pretty tired the next couple of days. I was probably still feeling the effects of the last recumbent ride which was pushing my 70% rule.

Today, since it was windy and raining I decided to take Sluggy out again. I did a walking pace for two hours and twenty-five minutes with a 10.5mph average speed. It was a pleasant ride. I enjoy riding in the rain and even the wind isn't so bad if you are not trying to get somewhere in a hurry. There were periods where I was riding into the wind in my lowest gear at 6mph. I stayed close to home and rode through a lot of the semi-rural, residential areas. These houses around here are quite a $ight.

I got chased by a pitbull. He charged out of his yard and crossed the road to intercept me. I stopped pedaling and coasted. He ran up to me and put his muzzle next to my foot waiting for me to move it but I was on to his game and told him to go home, so he did. I never met a dog, or any animal, I didn't like so they don't bother me.

Back when I lived in San Jose and used to commute to work there was this stretch of road that was unlit. It was the only unlit portion on the entire trip and it was as dark as could be. Everyday this dog would chase me. I never did see him but I could hear him. I could hear his breathing and heavy weight as his feet pounded the ground. It was pretty eerie.

Speaking of commuting and rain, I commuted the entire El Nino winter of 1997-8 (I think). I used to start off about 4am. One morning I went out and noticed tiny spots of mud that filled the pits in the road's tar surface. When I got to the end of the block I had ridden into a patch that was about two inches thick and went down before I knew what was what. My cleat was knocked out of alignment so I had to go home and trade my Frogs for Looks and rinse off the caked on mud with a hose.

I started out again and within a couple of miles I saw that the roads were completey under water. All of the local creeks had clogged with fallen timber and spilled out onto the roads. It was hard to tell where the road were so I just rode down the middle all the while dodging floating limbs and other debris. It wasn't long before I got a flat tire. I found a suitable island and replaced the tube.

A few miles later in a section that wasn't underwater I came across a car that was stopped in the middle of the road that a huge tree had fallen on. The entire front end was smashed into the ground. It must have just happened because no one was around. I was so shell-shocked by what I had been through previously that I didn't even stop. That's not usually like me but I was in survival mode. Anyway, karma paid me back a couple of miles later with another flat tire.

Eventually I made it to work but I was so fried that I went home a couple of hours later since my work was finished. This time, in the light of day, I could see what a disaster area the roads were. There was carnage everywhere. It was a sea of police, firemen, and wrecked cars. That's a day I'll never forget.

Back to racing. Hans Wessels's latest result sure puts things in perspective. 40 minutes of a 379 watt, 55.34kph average is out there. Now you see why I'm not champing at the bit to try and break the unfaired, hour-record for recumbents?

That brings up why I find endurance racing so appealing. There are more aspects to it than pure speed. Even if you don't have the proper genetics for high aerobic capacities you can still be successful by developing the other components of the sport. With the short TT's it's go fast or lose.

On the next nice day for recumbent riding I think I will do my hill-climbing test. I've got a secret weapon for the climbs. I've got a piece of high-density foam that I'm going to place between me and the rear of the seat that will raise my shoulders. This will give me a better base to push off of. If I do the Davis event I will switch back and forth as neccesary. When not in use I will slip the pad in a coroplast pocket behind the seat out of the airflow. Another technique I have that makes climbing easier is that I pull myself up by the tiller and ride sitting up. I notice that when I do this pedaling up a hill feels much easier. The problem is that this takes a lot of upperbody effort to hold this position. I think mostly it's because the handle is so small which requires me to squeeze very hard. I'm thinking about trying an auxillary handle mounted vertically from the tiller. I've only tested this position for a few seconds at a time so I don't know how effective it will be for long climbs. I suspect it will be akin to climbing out of the saddle. At the very least it will allow the use of different muscles for relief.

training 2-6-07

Another good day today. 22.1(20.8)mph average. Hopefully I'll settle into a nice routine of a 21.5-22.5mph recumbent ride alternating with an easy bike walk on the DF. The only other training variable to be concerned with is duration. If I decide to do a short TT, which is most likely, I'm good where I'm at.

It's less than eight weeks to the April 1st Piru TT. I don't expect the conditions to be real good but it will be good for the experience. On the last one I took off too hard. Being that it was a downhill start I had a hard time metering my effort and ended up in oxygen debt right off the bat. It was a lot easier at Fiesta Island. When I started off at 30mph and couldn't feel the pedals I asked myself what should I do. Should I pedal harder or is this a trick? I opted to stay at 30 and sure enough, I settled into a nice TT effort.

Before the Piru TT I was concerned about taking the downhills too easy since in my normal training I have a tendency to push harder uphill and slack off downhill. I found out the hard way how much little there is to gain by pushing harder on high-speed downhills. I suffered the rest of the race because of it.

If the weather is exceptionally good down south I may even make an attempt in March, if I feel good. I don't expect the conditions to be really good until June. At least based on past results. I've got to figure out how to knock off two minutes off last November's time. I figure calm air will take care of one minute of that. I'll use wheel covers this time plus I have the new, lower upperbody and handlebar position. I'm going to use a smaller gear range this time. Last time I used a 44x11-32 8spd and this time I'm going to use a 44x12-26 7spd. My rear disk has a thread-on hub so I have to resort to using a freewheel. Oh yeah, I'll have my secret weapon too. My aerodynamified helmet combined with a much lower position should reduce a good amount of drag. My training volume will be less than half of pre-November. I suspect I will see a performance increase because of that.

One thing I'm mulling over is the use of shoe covers or shoe boats ala Helmet Lechner. Given the frayed condition of my shoes I should at least go with shoe covers. I've got this idea for some kick-ass shoe fairings though; one that integrates a nice trailing edge. This kind of goes against my simplified, hillbilly approach to recumbent racing but it just might be too slick not to try. Given the number of projects I have done that have ended up in the trash heap I have developed a gun-shyness, aka laziness, when it comes to taking on new projects. I'll probably wait to the last minute to decide and let urgency fuel my effort.

bonking 101

I started riding in 1992 and a few months after I started I decided to do my first long ride to visit my daughter who lived, it turns out, about 35 miles away. This isn't acually very far but it seemed that way at the time.

So, early Thanksgiving morning I take off fully loaded. Unfortunately, the only thing I packed was a whole lot of stupidity. I didn't carry any food or water, nor did I bother to eat breakfast (do you see where this is going?). To my credit I did eat two pints of Hagen Daaz(I've eaten so much of it that I should know how to spell it by now) the night before. Score one for a sound nutritional plan.

Anyway, it's a nice ride down and I make it just fine. I visit my daughter for a while and manage to see my way to drinking three small glasses of water. Afterwards it's off to my mother's for Thanksgiving dinner. I was doing fine until the last ten miles or so until the pain started setting in. It felt like my muscles were swimming in a bath of acid and to make matters worse (or maybe not) my crotch went numb. Interestingly, I never did lose speed.

When I reached my final destination I gave a half-assed attempt at pulling my shoe off the pedal which was a no-go and I fell like a tree in my mother's driveway. I got up and looked around prepared to tell any amused witnesses that I had, indeed, meant to do that. Luckily, no one saw this assault on my dignity.

I spent the next couple of hours traumatized in front of the television then enjoyed a nice turkey dinner. Five days later the feeling in my crotch returned. Oh, I managed to average 18.2mph for 66.8 miles.

That was nothing compared to what I did to myself last summer. After my pitiful display at the Hellyer races I decided to punish myself (aka, conduct an experiment). I theorize that bonking, at least in my case, is more rooted in electrolyte depletion than glycogen so, after eating a breakfast consisting of nothing but four fried eggs I took off on a ride of undetermined length and destination. I carried with me five liters of plain water and an emergency ration of raisins (see how much more intelligent I am fifteen years later. The rate at which I can adapt to my environment is staggering).

Eventually I made my way north and decided to check out the American River Bike Trail. According to Bicycling magazine one of the two fastest training rides in the U.S. takes place there regularly. Maybe I can have some fun. After all, I have quit racing (again) so what do I care if I destroy my fitness. At about mile 35 I pull up on and pass a couple of racer-types and they hop on my tail. Mind you, I'm riding Tubby so along with the more upright seat and below-the-seat tub I'm punching a pretty big hole through the air.

I'm cruising along at 25mph and thinking that I dropped them when one pulls up beside me and comments on the speed of my bike (think full-blown tourer as opposed to a tailfaired Razz Fazz). He then pulls in front of me so I, thinking if I knew he was still back there I would have went faster, bump it up to 28mph which, for that bike which is about 3-4mph slower than my race bike, is no easy task. Eventually, a detour forces us to slow down and he pulls up next to me and tells me he is done since he has to wait for his friend. Anyway, the point is, this was not just a walk-in-the-park ride. I was depleting some serious glycogen.

I decide to turn around and head home. At about mile 70 I pull over and sit on a picnic bench for a few minutes. I reached up and rubbed my head and it felt like 80-grit sandpaper. I had an unbelievable amount of salt on my skin. WTF? Could this be the result of what I would later find out to be 104 degree weather (there's that intelligence again)? I have never experienced that before. I thought about jumping in the river to rinse off but decided to pour one of my water bottles over me. Hmmm, I guess my body doesn't need that salt if it's willing to give it up so easily, heh, heh???heh, heh. Right.

Anyhow, it's mile 80 and I'm feeling fine. Actually, I'm feeling better than fine, I'm feeling smug. By the time I get home I will have logged 100 miles with no carbohydrates to speak of. Those puny "experts" with their claims of 90-120 minutes of glycogen storage capacity. By mile 87 smugness was being replaced by a queasy stomach and a need to pee. I was starting to feel a little funky and had to wait until mile 92 until I found a tree so I could answer nature's call in the shade. Did I mention it was bloody hot?

After I did my business I felt faint and had to drop to the ground before I passed out. I laid there in the brush for a couple of minutes while I tried to recover. Eventually I crawled to the road where I parked Tubby and retrieved my emergency raisins. While laying on my back on the shoulder of the road I ate a small handfull of raisins as traffic whizzed by. I finally managed to stand up, mount the bike and start pedalling again. I didn't feel any boost from the raisins but I was still able to pedal relatively well. As a matter of fact I had enough juice to chase down one last DFer that had pulled onto the road in front of me. I managed the last five miles at over 20 mph which for that bike is pretty good for being bonked.

When I finally get home at mile 97 I managed to get the bike put away and make it into the house. That is when the real fun started. I collapsed on the kitchen floor and started wondering if I was done for. I thought if I ate I might feel better. It was a Herculean task to reach the bowl of oatmeal that I had pre-made and was sitting on the counter above me. I managed to get it to the floor but there was no way I could eat it. I didn't need food. I wasn't thirsty either so I decided to hop in the shower. I still couldn't stand up so I crawled into the bathroom, turned on the shower and rolled into the tub. Afterwards I crawled into bed for about an hour.

Eventually I was able to eat and restore my electrolyte levels. The next morning I felt so good that I went out for a 35-mile ride. This confirms my belief that my bonk was not glycogen related. I've learned from my bodybuilding days that a full glycogen depletion requires a minimum of 48 hours to feel normal again.

While on my ride the next day I encounted a guy in a truck who seemed really excited/surprised to see me. I couldn't help but wonder if he was one of the people who drove by as I was laying in the road thinking that I must have been dead.

Anyway, the moral of the story is, if you want to determine the cause of a bonk, just eliminate one factor. Otherwise, you just might give yourself the Darwin Award.

training 1-4-07

Did a puny 20.5 miles at a 13.1 avg today. I almost didn't even do that. Yesterday I did six hours of lumberjacking after eating nothing but a can of tuna with olive oil for breakfast. I didn't drink or eat during the entire time. That was not a problem. What I did after was the problem. I ate 1-1/3 half gallons of ice cream to the tune of about 3500 calories (that's nothing, my record is three half-gallons in one day and I'm not talking about the lightweight stuff, it was full-fat, premium).

Anyway, stupid me, knowing that that volume of ice cream always results in some form of headache, I ate it anyway (that's called the Homer Simpson syndrome, of which I'm seriously afflicted). That night I woke up with a doozy and it persisted into the next day and was soon followed by nausea and some disconcerting rumblings on the other end. I was feeling very bad but I figured if I forced myself out on the bike I would feel better. Just in case though, I stayed close to home. Sure enough, when I was done I felt much better with nothing left but a residual hangover. People who suffer migraines know what I'm talking about.

Speaking of migraines (this wasn't one), I started getting them when I was twenty-six. That was the same time I started welding. It was also the same time I got married. A strong case can be made for each possible cause but I like to blame the (ex) wife since I still weld and don't get full-blown migraines anymore. I still get them but I don't get the headache portion. I get the blurry vision followed by the flashing "aura" but it just goes away. I have a very slight hangover afterwards but it isn't debilitating. Boy, did I luck out. They were terrifying.

There was mention of a 6-hour attempt at the Nissan track. I would sure like to have gotten in on that action but it doesn't look like that's going to be possible. One thing I would like to achieve in cycling is 300 miles in twelve hours unfaired on a velodrome. I think I can do it. I've done a six-hour version of it on the road after hills have been factored in without really pushing it and that was on a slower bike than I'm currently using. I figure if I can do the first six hours at a high enough pace I can leave enough room for the inevitable melt down during the latter six. I think one thing I have going for me is that my body does well using fat for fuel. Sometimes I feel that introducing carbs into the mix actually disrupts the energy flow. This is something I will experiment with when I commit to endurance racing full time. There have been many occasions when I'm scooting along on fumes just fine only to experience pain as soon as I take in carbohydrates. It feels like cramps at the microscopic level. I'll figure that one out down the road.

training 1-2-07

I had a change of plans today. Last night, after being in a bit of a funk all day, I decided to eat. So I did. What a difference, I feel like a new man. Dieting sucks. I guess I was just meant to be husky. I guess I should take the Helmut Lechner approach and just throw mass at the speed problem. Anyway, I felt so good that I didn't feel like loafing around on the DF so I took the recumbent.

Today's ride was a 21.7(20.4)mph average. I'm happy with that as it's about equivalent to 25mph on the flats. It was a pleasure cruise. Even so, I could feel the damage from my harder ride nine days ago. It seems like it's stemming from the tendons. When I got home I felt like I didn't even go on a ride so I hopped on the DF and rode into town for another ten miles.

I need to figure out what I'm going to do for a race in April. In addition to the Davis 12/24hr Challenge and the Nissan race there is the Piru TT the weekend before. I can only do one of these events and each has its merits.

The downside of the Nissan event is it would be expensive and there are a lot of unknowns. I don't know how suitable the track is and the weather conditions could be bad as well. That would be a lot of money to spend for nothing. Very risky. Another thing is that the event seems to be catered more towards streamliners. That could result in my not getting a choice spot. But, If I read about how fast the track was and how nice the weather was I know I'm going to be kicking myself.

The Davis Challenge is right here in my own backyard. I believe endurance racing is my true calling in cycling and I know that is what I will eventually be focusing on in the future but with my limited capacity I can't spread myself too thin. My thoughts were that I would do the more intense events when I was younger and then switch to the longer stuff. I'm pretty sure it's not the wisest thing for me to throw in a 12-hour race out of nowhere. I mean, just how long would it take me to recover form something like that? I know I said I wouldn't put any mental pressure on myself to perform buts lets be real, it's going to be a 12-hr, near TT pace war and in the heat of battle I will drive myself into the ground like there is no tomorrow.

Another problem, is there is a boatload of climbing. They claim 7000 feet, almost all of which is in the first 100 miles of the 160-mile day-loop. I've read reports from people that have ridden the course with an altimeter that the actual amount of climbing is much more. This year, because of road construction, they've detoured and added five miles and even more climbing. I don't mind the climbing but it's not the greatest idea to attempt it without training. I've been avoiding steep climbs to stay within my intensity limits. I'm not even sure how my new position on the bike will be for climbing. If I do the Davis event I need to get out there and test. The steep hills of the Sierras are 25 miles from my house so would require longer rides just to reach them. That's probably a good thing since it would be wise to have at least a couple higher mileage days. I did take the Fogcom up the first steep hills when it was setup the way I had it for the Piru race in November and it climbed extremely well. One thing about having a heavy frame is superior power transfer. I climbed those first couple of hills faster than I ever did on a carbon bike, recumbent of DF.

I guess my main concern is how is that going to affect future TT's. I want to do Piru in June and probably a couple of times after that. I don't want to have put all of this work into my bike, helmet, wheel covers, etc. only to not use it because I fried myself beforehand. I'm not getting any younger so I have to give priority to TT's.

One reason I'm so wary is past experience. Back in early 2003 I planned on doing the Indy HPRA race followed a week later by the Calvin's Challenge. I started ramping up my mileage and by early March I did a 6-hour, 133-mile ride and a 300-mile week. I followed this up with a few centuries and by the end of March I was pretty much toast. My weekly mileage dwindled and so did my fitness leading up to Indy.

Needless to say, this affected my Indy results negatively and worse yet, the Indy race completely fried me. I drove to NewYork (this was after driving to Indy from Sacramento)afterwards and licked my wounds in preparation for Calvin's. By the time I drove back to Ohio it was all I could do to find the will to live. I got there two days before the event and rented a motel room. I then drove the 50-mile course which resulted in my cancelling my reservation (I had to pay for one day anyway) and high-tailing it out of there. I got greedy and came away empty handed.

So, considering this, what would be the wisest choice for April? I think a sane person would say Piru. Though the weather conditions may not be ideal that time of the year it doesn't really matter since everybody will be racing under the same conditions. Still, Davis and Nissan are powerful draws.

recovery and overtraining

Another sign that I might have overdone it is the fact that I posted pictures of a non-racing interest. This indicates a shift of interest. Being that I have such a one-track mind this is something that I'd be wise not to ignore. Past experience has taught me that waning interest will soon lead to a change of focus. This change, I believe, is my body's way of protecting itself from further damage.

After being in the best shape of my life in the summer of 2005 using the training plan that I have described earlier I decided to do the Marin Century. There was a lot of climbing during that ride and it was hot. It was a much harder effort than I was used to but I made it in relatively good shape. I felt good enough, in fact, that I went riding the next day on my 32-mile flat loop. This was no recovery ride as I encountered DFers which resulted in extended 28mph efforts (this was on my dual-20, semi-lowracer). The point is, I was feeling pretty good. I felt as my body had made a shift to a higher fitness level, at least regarding frequency and volume.

As a result I shifted from riding every other day to five days per week but still using the 70% intensity limit. For about two weeks this went great. This went so great that I decided to cheat one day and up the intensity which resulted in a 25mph average speed instead of the usual 20.5-22.5mph. About five days later I did it again (interspersed with easier efforts), still feeling fine. After that I did a couple of rides at the lower intensity with no sign of trouble. On the third ride though, I hit a major snag. On my way home, not only did I completely lose interest in racing, I didn't even want to ride a bike anymore.

I didn't ride a bike for the next five months. I reverted back to powerlifting instead. I did so with enthusiam and this puzzled me. It would have made more sense to me if I would have opted for the couch and television and eschewed physical outlets. Nope, I shifted from one physical stress to another. The fact that they are completely different types of physical stress might give me an indication where my weak link lies (please don't comment that my weakness obviously lies in my brain). Cycling is more of a systemic, metabolic stress where powerlifting is a more mechanical one. Damage is damage though, and damage results in the formation of all kinds of nasty catabolic agents which cross over the mechanical/metabolic line eventually.

With that said, where does that leave me today? I'm trying to determine what is the limiting factor. My legs don't get the soreness that is typically associated with strenuous effort but they do get a distinct feeling. It feels more like a strain at the ends of the muscles, near/in the joints, as opposed to the belly of the muscle. I can't be sure if this is due to mechanical damage because excess cortisone production creates the same feeling in my joints. If it is caused by the over-production of that catabolic hormone then I still haven't pinned down the source of what ails me since I believe the cortical response can be triggered by excessive metabolic stress as easily as physical. Since it's impossible for me to pin it down it's sort of like being concerned with the type of fuel used that feeds the fire that burns my hand instead of just pulling my hand away when the flame gets too hot.

With this in mind, I'm going into Sunday's ride with extreme prejudice. There is still a chance that I will completely recover by then but my gut feeling is that I won't. The last thing I want is to end up where I did in the summer of 2005. Anyway, if I do no further damage I should be good to go. I did say previosly that it takes me a couple of months to recover from a race so that last hard ride could be considered a semi-race.

Boy, it's too bad hard riding feels so good. It seems like it's such a right thing to do, both during and immediately after, only to eventually realize what a big mistake was made. I guess a lot of things in life are like that. Alas.