So what is next?

After playing hundreds if not thousands of soccer games, completing several 10ks, a few half marathons, a full marathon, several duathlons, a couple of off-road triathlons, completing several mountain bike races, including a few 24 hour races, and attempting the Shenandoah Mountain 100 I have to ask myself, what is next?

I think my second passion behind soccer is mountain running but my body may not be up to the challenge. Specifically my knees. They have certainly taken a beating and while challenging athletic endeavors are still well within my ability, I am not sure I will ever be able to put in the mileage it would take to compete in a serious mountain ultra. And as far as soccer goes, I miss it very much. On the soccer field, I would disappear into the game. I did not think about anything and just played as hard as I could all the time. And I was a decent player that definitely had an impact on the game. But soccer is not in the cards for me now.

As I deal with the reality of what my body can handle, I have to decide where I want to go next? I have already committed to next year's Shenandoah Mountain 100. That is my A race for 2011. The biking is really great for my knees and the race is such an epic event to participate in that I just have to complete the race. As I said already, I want to CRUSH IT!

So what do I really want to do now? I have been wrestling with this for some time. I am leaning towards taking up Triathlon more seriously including getting some professional coaching. In a week or two, Melissa's swim coach will be starting up a new session and I am planning to give it a go. It will be hard to get up so early to workout at the pool but I know that once I go a few times, I will get used to it. Swimming is another activity that can only help my knees so even if I don't take to it, it will be good for me.

In addition to triathlon, I want to become a barefoot runner. With that in mind, I have started training my feet in anticipation of the next Gobble Wobble 5K in Pennsylvania. A few years ago Melissa's family started another Thanksgiving tradition. We all go to Melissa's sister's house for Thanksgiving. While there, we run or walk in the Gobble Wobble and afterwards feast on the best homemade breakfast from Chef Scott. It is always great fun! This year, I plan to run it in my Vibram Five Fingers. Running barefoot or near barefoot is something that one has to work up to gradually. After a 6 hour hike in my Vibrams, another 3.5 hour hike in them, and two 2 mile runs on the road, I am on my way.

Ok so I have set a few goals: run the Gobble Wobble in my Five Fingers this November, start swim training with a coach, and finish next years SM100. For me, that is not enough. I need more. So I am also throwing in the goal of getting in great shape and adding muscle mass to my skinny body. And how am I planning to do that. Why P90X of course. You knew it was coming didn't you?

Yes, Melissa and I are going to start P90X this coming Monday. I have spent the last several days planning. We got some new equipment. I copied all the DVDs to my computer. I read through the guide book. And last night we went through the pre-test and took all of our before measurements and pictures. I will spare you those pictures as they are pretty much the most unflattering pictures ever.

Our plan is to do the 90 days but also still work in our swims and runs. It is going to be hard. Besides doing all the actual workouts, getting all the proper nutrition into our bodies will also be hard work. We eat pretty healthy right now. But we are going to have step up our efforts to properly fuel our bodies. Plus we will need to get the proper rest each night. Luckily we got rid of the television time bandit. Plus with the Fall weather coming, it will be dark by the time we get home for dinner so we won't be doing much outside.

I am very excited about doing P90X and all the benefits it can bring to Melissa and myself. Besides the obvious benefits of shedding fat and gaining muscle, getting the heart and lungs healthier, improving our memory and general well being, there is also the benefits that such a workout program can bring to our other sports. Hopefully if all goes well, we will be ready come January 1st to take on the spring training season with new and improved bodies. I guess we will see.

I will try to keep my blog updated with our progress. Wish us luck! And if you have not already, check out http://quackenblogger.blogspot.com. Dave is a great writer and his description of his foray into P90x is quite a fun read. Besides the P90X topic, he has a wide range of other topics that he discusses from silly to serious.

Until next time.

Old Rag Hike

Just as my legs started feeling better after my trail run, we decided to take up some friends on an invite to hike Old Rag. My quads still were a tad sore but the weather for the Saturday hike was supposed to be superb and we had not done a good hike since our April hike in Damascus so we opted to meet up with some friends and hike Old Rag.

Old Rag is the most strenuous hike in the Shenandoah National Park according to the nps.gov/shen web site. It is really unlike any other hike in the park. The hike starts at the lower parking lot for Old Rag where it is necessary to pay the fee. We have a park pass that covers the fee.

We parked at the parking lot, everyone paid their fees, and we started up the road for about a half mile to the trail head. Then the hike turns into the woods for a climb up the mountain. The first part of the hike is like most hikes that climb a mountain. There are woods all around and there are several switchbacks to traverse as you go up the mountain. On this particular day, we were hiking with some young 20 somethings who appeared to be out for a leisurely stroll but who were walking pretty fast. I broke a sweat pretty soon into the hike and was breathing fairly hard as we made our way up the mountain. We kept up them with some work. They did not seem to be laboring at all. Ah, growing older and slowing down.

What makes Old Rag so much fun and different is the second part of the hike. After going up the switch backs, we arrived at the beginning of the rock scramble. The rock scramble is challenging and fun. We jumped from boulder to boulder, lowered ourselves down into crevasses, wedged ourselves between rocks, lifted ourselves up through little chimneys of rocks, did some little climbs, and all the other stuff that goes along with a good rock scramble.

One thing worth mentioning is that I decided to do this hike in my Vibram Five Fingers. It was really great! I had virtually no weight on my feet and I could really connect with the rocks with my feet. It was the closest thing to climbing a mountain in bare feet as you can get without actually being barefoot.

Once we got to the top, we rested and ate and enjoyed the 360 degree views of the surrounding area. I had first done this hike when I was about 12 and I remember that it seemed like we could see forever up there on the summit. Nowadays, the view is still great but there is a haze on the neighboring mountains and nothing is quite a crisp as I remember it 30 years ago.

After lunch we descended the mountain on the other side. The descent is less exciting as it does not involve a rock scramble. After going down some switchbacks for a while, the trail comes out onto a fire road that leads back to the road and parking lot. I must admit that going down was a little harder on my feet than going up. I had to go a little slower and the balls of my feet did start to ache slightly. By the time we got back to the car, my feet did hurt a little but but all in all it was a great experience hiking in the Five Fingers. I plan to do it again as soon as possible. In fact, I think hiking in the Five Fingers is great training for my feet and calves. These kinds of hikes will help build up my feet and calves so I can do more barefoot running. I am hoping anyway.

So that, in a nutshell, is the story of our Old Rag Hike. I was a little late in posting this but finally got around to it. Below are some of the pictures we took a long the way. A few pics show the people we were hiking with. Don't they look young?

Clay and Rachel

Clay and Rachel Taking in the View

Looking back down at some of the rock scramble we had completed.

Taking pictures of each other.

The rest of our group. Young Right?

Another shot of the group. This is not the summit by the way.

Interesting Tree

If you look carefully at this picture, you will see all the people climbing up the rocks down below. We had already done that section and were looking down at them. Look closely.

I used the Zoom on this one. Do you see the people?

The classic picture where I hold the camera and take our picture.

My feet at the summit.

Post Race Reflections

The morning after my race, I spent a little time on the Hammer Nutrition website. Hammer makes products for endurance athletes. In fact, the guy who set up camp next to us at the race used Perpetuem as his main source of calories at the race and he has completed Leadville several times. Aid stations at the SM100 were stocked with Hammer Gel, Heed, and Endurolytes. I knew about some of these products before the race but had really not embraced them as much as I probably should have. More on this a later.

I have a neat little iPod app that allows you to track caloric intake as well as how many calories are burned during exercise which it also tracks. Just about any food you eat can be entered in the app and it will tell you how many calories are in that food, including Hammer products. I entered in all the food that I ate before and during the race and also added in the 12 hours of mountain biking in the exercise part of the app. I came up with a 6000 calorie deficit. I should have consumed way more calories than I did. And honestly, I think that was my downfall.

Since the race, I have not really done much exercising. I think I had the post race blues or something. I did a couple of easy rides and one more intense but short ride. One thing I have decided is I am going to start figuring out my nutrition now. And I have decided that I am going to embrace the Hammer products fully and deeply. In fact, a coworker of mine had given me some Perpetuem to try out. So last Sunday, I mixed myself a bottle and went for a ride. Mostly I was just trying it out. I was not going out for more than 2 hours which is what Perpetuem is made for but I thought I would try it out to see how my stomach liked it.

I did pretty well with it and I think I will be able to learn to use this and even learn to love it. I have already found that the Hammer Gels are good and I have started to get used to the taste of Heed. Next I will try some Endurolytes which are electrolyte replacements in pill form. I am thinking that the combination of Perpetuem and Hammer Gel for calories and energy, Heed and good old fashion water for hydration, and Endurolytes for electrolyte replacement is going to be my winning combination of endurance foods. There are some Ironman athletes who swear by them. In case you did not know, the Ironman athlete trains and competes in a triathlon that consists of a 2.4 mile swim, usually in the ocean or at least some other open water, followed by a 112 mile road bike ride, followed by a 26.2 mile run which is a marathon. If Hammer is good enough for these guys, it is good enough for me. This fall and winter is going to be nutrition experimentation time. My plan is to have it all dialed in for the spring.

In addition to the riding and nutrition experimentation, I would also like to do some running to see how the old knees are holding up. There is a race at the end of the month that sounds really fun. It is an 8 miler that traverses the downtown Richmond trail system that I am very familiar with. It should be challenging but also very fun. With this race in mind, I went for a trail run Tuesday night after work with my friend Mario. Mario is on the MTT which is the Richmond Sportsbackers Marathon Training Team. He has been running a great deal. In face, MTT starts up in May or June and goes all the way up until the November Richmond Marathon.

Mario and I met up at the river and took off or an "easy run." Was it easy? Well, we did not go all that fast but we did end up with 7.5 miles of trail running which included the roots and rocks of Buttermilk and the up and downs of Forest Hill Park. We ran for about an hour and a half. Towards the end, my quads were starting to ache a bit but we finished strong. And now 2 days later, I am still paying for it. I had not run since May and then went out and did way too much. My quads hurt and it is difficult to go down the stairs. I knew this would happen but it is not the end of the world. I figure I will feel better by this weekend and will likely do some biking, hiking, or both. Then I can get back out there on the trails some more. Plus I plan to get to the track to do some speed work. I have also started doing my core workout again which is something I had let go by the wayside.

Also it is my plan to get a coach. I am going to start with a swim coach. Melissa has been going to a coached swim practice with a coach who won Ironman Canada in 2005. Melissa's swimming has improved a great deal and Melissa has really been enjoying it. So my plan is to start swimming and continue working out on my own and then at some point, perhaps look into getting a coach who can work with me on my goals. My main goal is to get in really great shape but also I know that I want to do the SM100 again next year but this time, I want to crush it! On the way to achieving that goal, I may try to do some triathlons. Although that would entail getting a road bike and I really could use a new mountain bike too. So for now, I will stick with just the swimming and see how that goes. If I take to the swimming, then I will consider some triathlons.

For now, I have to nurse my quads. After I post this, I am firing up the massager. I hope it helps. That's all for now!

SM100 Recap

As I pushed my bike up the narrow, steep, and rocky single track, I glanced down at my watch. I had been on my bike for about 3 hours now and I had been walking up this climb for almost an hour. My right ankle was starting to bother me. Hiking my bike up the technical single track was taking it's toll on my body. Bike shoes are actually not the best for hiking and with each step onto the loose rock, my ankle would twist slightly one way or the other. Occasionally my shins would bank into my pedals or I would lose my footing and almost drop my bike off the side of the trail where it just might have rolled away from me down the mountain. This section of the trail was not rideable by me or the other riders around me. Sometimes a biker would come by riding at a slightly faster pace then us walkers and we would do our best to get out of the way although most of the time, there was really no where to go. Invariably, I would see said biker up ahead also walking his or her bike. One rider said he should have done more hike-a-bike training. I was thinking the same thing. This was a brutal climb. In fact if I had to use one word to describe this race, it would be BRUTAL!

Before I recap the rest of the race, let me start at the beginning. On Saturday, we left Richmond about 9AM and met up with some friends around 9:30 before making our way to the Stokesville Campground which is about 25 minutes west of Verona, Virginia in the George Washington National Forest. I like to call Verona a suburb of Staunton, Virginia.

We arrived around noonish and setup our tents and scoped out the place. We ate sandwiches and relaxed up until it was time to pick up our race packets which consisted of a shirt, a race number for the bike, and a flask of Hammer Gel. After getting our race pack and chilling for a little longer, we went to the pavilion to eat the provided dinner. The dinner was ok but if I did it again, I would bring my own food and cook it there at the campsite.

After dinner, it was time to get our gear together and try to get some sleep. Unfortunately, it was pretty loud in the campsite until about midnight. There was lots of beer drinking and carrying on which I sort of anticipated. So after a measly 5 hours of sleep, my alarm went off and I got up and made my way to the porta potties. I am glad I went when I did because the lines got pretty long. After taking care of business I got back to our campsite and started prepping my bike. Somehow I had a totally flat front tire. So I scurried to change the flat and get the bike ready.

We made our way down to the starting line and lined up in the 11 hour group towards the back of the pack although 11 hours seemed ambitious to me. At 6:30 on the dot, the race started. It was a pretty fast and fun mass start. We made our way out of the campground onto a road and then down to a forest road to start our first set of up and downs. The ups were not too steep and the downs were just steep enough to get some good momentum for the ups. After a little while, I decided to dial it back a little and bid my fiends farewell as they were riding at a faster pace than I was capable of riding at this point.

And on it went for a while, up and down, up and down until we reached the first real climb. I rode the climb for a while but then it was just too much. I heard there were 4 switchbacks that we would have to traverse until we got to the top and that there was a sweet downhill on the other side. Funny how some people characterized the downhill as sweet. It was downhill, that much is for sure. But sweet? I am not sure. Kitchel or Sidewinder -trails in Vermont-those are sweet. This was just painful. My arms and hands really started hurting from steering my bike, braking heavily and hurtling down through the rocks, roots, and turns. Eventually I made it down safely with no bike damage and no bodily harm. Others were not so fortunate. I passed many people on the side of the trail, in the woods, fixing wheels, changing tubes, etc.

After 4 hours of riding, I made it to aid station 2 for my first break and refueling. I had 33 miles under my belt which was about 1 third of the race. I was on track for a 12 hour finish and was happy to realize that. The volunteers filled up my Camel Bak with water and my water bottle with Heed. I ate some bananas, oranges, and chips, used the bathroom and then headed out from Aid Station 2 towards the next challenge which of course was another climb.

Now at this point in the race, I am starting to mentally fade so I don't really remember specific climbs or downhills. They are all kind of running together in my mind. I had another long climb that seemed never ending. I do know that much. It was one of those climbs where as soon as I was certain I was at the top, I would go around the corner and have to climb some more. And of course, what goes up, must go down. After that long climb, there was a nice gradual downhill on a gravel road. It was a nice break and I actually passed a bunch of people on this section and eventually make it to Aid Station 3.

Aid Station 3 had Hammer Gel but I had not started using mine yet. I had the bananas, oranges, chips and what not and after a short 10 minute break, headed back out onto the bike for the next climb. I was starting to fade a bit. My legs felt ok but I was losing energy and motivation pretty fast. I started to do more walking and less riding.

Again, the details are kind of fuzzy and the order of the climbs and descents as I recount them here are not necessarily accurate. I do know that as I made my way to Aid Station 4, I was unsure I would make it by the 4PM cutoff. But I did. I made it there at 3:15. I ate and used the bathroom and headed out at 3:30.

After leaving Aid Station 4, we had to ride some road for while. As I was riding, my knee started acting up. It was having some spasms in the knee that were a little worrying. I stopped on the side of the road and did a little stretching and massaging of the knee. After getting back on the bike, I decided to eat a Hammer Bar to take my mind of things. And that actually worked. Biking on the road seemed long to me. If I had been with a group, it would have gone much faster but I left Aid Station 4 pretty much by myself so I was alone on the road.

After turning off the road and onto a forest road, I made my way towards what race organizers call "the main death climb." At this point, the forest road was more of a slight roller coaster terrain but I was having trouble with the smallest of climbs and had to walk my bike. I knew I was in trouble at this point. I was tired, dirty, lacking motivation and unable to keep riding. I had to get off and walk several times. And I had not even reached the death climb yet.

I finally made it to the base of the climb. The terrain was actually quite forgiving and had I had energy, this climb was totally rideable. But energy was something that can't always be manufactured out of thin air. I did a lot of walking and some riding. I was in danger of not making it to Aid Station 5 before the 6:30 cutoff. Melissa was at Aid Station 5 waiting for me. She was volunteering which is really the only way spectators are allowed to view the race, as volunteers. After a while, I had trouble even walking my bike. Like I said the terrain was easy so it was not like the hike-a-bike sections I had already completed. But I had to take breaks from walking. At one point, I decided to use a tactic that some people employ when running a marathon. I would walk for 5 minutes and then rest for 1 minute. I was thinking that maybe if I made it to the aid station, I could refuel, rest and continue on. So I took a few steps and then stopped. Instead of walking for 5 minutes, I walked for about 5 steps. I leaned over on the bike and rested my head on the handle bars. I felt strange, almost a shortness of breath. Even breathing had become tiresome. I had been taking my pulse throughout the race which is something I do quite often during workouts so I can tell how hard I am working. My pulse was slightly elevated but strong so that was a good thing. And I was very well hydrated as evidenced by the 10 times I had to stop to water the trees. Finally I decided I would just sit down and rest for a few minutes. While sitting there, a lady rode by and told me the Sweeper Van was about 10 minutes back.

It was then that I realized I was not going to finish the race. Once the Sweeper Van catches up with you, that is it. I got up and started walking again and was eventually overtaken by the van. We put my bike in the van with two other riders and started driving towards Aid Station 5. I was about 1.5 miles from the Aid Station. So I had completed about 73 miles. When we got to the aid station, we unloaded the bike and I put it on our vehicle and Melissa drove us back to the campground.

On the ride back to the campground, I had many thoughts about the race. I asked myself if I was really cut out for this kind of race. I wondered if there was something I could have done differently. Once we got back to the campground, I changed my clothes and then we waited for my friends to finish in the dark. They finished in 15 hours and 15 minutes. They persevered where I could not. I was very proud of them. It was the first ever mountain bike race for both of them and they finished. Quite an accomplishment!

After they finished we pretty much went to bed. The next day we bugged out pretty early and headed for home. I was exhausted but had some chores to do. We went to the store, got groceries, made dinner and hit the sack.

The next day I went to work and contemplated my weekend. The more I thought about the race, the more I realized all my mistakes. I made nutrition mistakes as well as tactical and training mistakes. I learned a lot by competing in this race and as the day went on that Tuesday after the race, I came to the conclusion that I would try again next year. I have already written too much so I will go into more details later about what I did wrong and how I plan to correct those mistakes for next year.

And now for a few pictures from the race.

Training for the SM100

It is the week leading up to the big race. I have done a fair amount of training but really don't know if it is enough. There is not much more I can do really other than eat right, hydrate well and try to get as much rest as possible. I will probably do some spinning on the trainer a little bit and do one more easy Poor Farm ride to make sure the bike is good to go. I recently had a brake adjustment and need to give it a little test ride before heading to the mountains for the big adventure.

While my attempt to ride from my house to VA Beach may not have worked out the way I wanted it to, I did get 70 miles or so of training in. And it was also good heat training. Over the years, I have found it much easier psychologically to go for a long ride if I have a destination. The idea of doing laps or just riding around the area is not very compelling to me. But if I have a destination with some purpose, I find it easier to get out there and ride. In fact, once it cools off some, I am going to try to ride my bike to and from work a few times. It is only 13 miles or so one way and once I figure out the logistics of clothing, getting cleaned up, hauling my food, etc., I will probably give it a try. But for now, I am focusing on this Sunday.

Before I talk more about this Sunday, I want to briefly describe a few rides I have done since my ride from Richmond to Ivor which is where I threw in the towel on the way to VA Beach.

After getting back from the beach, I did manage a few rides on the trainer that week. But my big ride was planned for Saturday. A friend who is doing the race, Clay, and I planned a trip up to Skyline drive to ride for 6 to 8 hours. Our plan was to ride from Rockfish Gap to Swift Run Gap which was about 80 miles. There would be lots of climbing but also some coasting. When we got up to Rockfish Gap, we encountered very foggy conditions. Here are some pictures from where we parked.

We got geared up and took off into the park. When we got the fee station, the fee taker told us she could not let us into the park with out the proper lights. I had a red blinking light on the back of my bike and a headlight inside my Camel Bak but Clay did not have lights. Fortunately, Clay did have a small light back at the car and I had duct tape. We rode back to the car, taped the light to the bike and then headed back up to the fee station. The fee taker let us in and in fact we did not have to pay because it was one of the fee free weekends at all the National Parks.

So off we went. After about 11 miles into our ride we stopped to eat some food and use the outdoor facilities. While we were sitting there munching on our bars and gels, the Park Police drove up. The officer rolled down his window and started asking us some questions. He was just doing his job but I thought his approach was odd. Here is the basic transcript.

Park Police (let's call him Ranger Joe): Where did you all come into the park today?

Me: Rockfish Gap.

Ranger Joe: Why?

Me: (not really understanding his question). We are training for a race.

Ranger Joe: Don't you think your safety is more important than any race?

Me: We have lights.

Ranger Joe: Do you have them on the front and the back?

Me: No.

Ranger Joe: Well, where are you headed?

Me: Swift Run Gap and back.

Ranger Joe: So you have a car parked at Rockfish Gap?

Me: Yes

Ranger Joe: Well I am not going to write you a ticket but I think you should head south. You are not allowed to bike in the park when there is low visibility without the proper lights.

Me: Well the lady at the fee station let us in.

Ranger: Well, she is not law enforcement.

After that I decided to just keep quiet. I could have argued a bit I suppose. After all, what is the definition of low visibility? How are we supposed to know this rule if it is not posted, etc. But I could see that he was going to kick us out the park so I just made one more comment.

Me: Sure puts a damper on things.

Then he took our license information and ran us for warrants. After all, two mountain bikers in spandex bike shorts are pretty dangerous looking. After that, he actually got the rule book out and read us the rules and explained how he actually thought the rules should be worded differently.

At this point, we were starting to shiver as it was getting cold. We had just done this pretty long climb and sweat a lot but now we were standing there starting to get a little chilly. Ranger Joe noticed and apologized and sent us on our way. When we got back to the car, we were a little bummed out. We packed up and headed for home. Of course as soon as we got off the mountain it was gorgeous weather. We ended up with about 22 miles or so that day. Not exactly what we had hoped for.

The next day I did a 3 hour ride from my house to the river and rode the trails downtown. The trails downtown are challenging but there are sometimes lots of people that you have to avoid and I am always on guard because there are some loonies down there. You never know what you are going to see.

The following Friday was my last day off for the summer. I had originally planned to do a day-trip to the beach with a friend but he ended up having to work. I was still going to go by myself but instead decided to go back to Skyline Drive and try another ride. So Friday morning, I drove up and parked in the same spot as before. This time around, the weather was different. It was not foggy and it was quite hot. I thought it would be cooler in the mountains and while it probably was hotter in Richmond, it was certainly hot enough on the mountain.

I rode from Rockfish Gap to the Loft Mountain Wayside which was about 25 miles with a fair amount of climbing but also some flat portions and little bit of downhill. When I got to the wayside, I used the bathroom and sat out on the deck and ate my PB&J and other snacks. I also bought some nice cold Gatorade which was really tasty at that point. I was drenched in sweat. I had some nice conversations with some tourists including some asian people who were asking me about the park. They told me they were tourists. They also said that they had not seen much wildlife. I explained that there was lots of wildlife around and if they got off the beaten path, they would see some. I told them that I have seen many black bears in the park. One woman's reaction to that statement was, "And you still alive!" Too funny.

After my lunch, I turned around and headed back to the car. I had wanted to go all the way to Swift Run Gap which was another 15 miles but I had already been on the road a long time and I was pretty hot. I did not want to get cooked again. Plus, as happens quite often on my adventures, I start to miss Melissa and want to go home and spend time with her. In fact, I often cut things short because I don't like to be away from her too long. For about 45 to 50 hours a week, we are apart because of work. When I have these long adventures away from home, I tend to think about her and what she is doing and decide to rush home. So after I turned around and headed home, I stopped by the grocery store, picked up dinner and some groceries and arrived home in time to have dinner at a decent hour and spend some time with my honey.

The next day I did a 3 hour ride down to the river. I did not leave until noon and guess what. It was hot again. Very hot! I did not feel all that great because of the heat. I did the standard river ride and then rode back. After that, I was pretty zapped.

I had one more weekend before the race to train. After consulting with my co-worker who is one of the top amateur cyclist in the region, I decided to go ahead and to another big ride on the Saturday before the race. I rode from my house to Poor Farm park in Ashland. It was a nice destination ride because the Patrick Henry Half Marathon was starting and ending at Poor Farm that day. I got a 6 AM start and took the long way to the park so I could avoid being on the run course. It was a pretty nice ride out in the country and since I got an early start, it was not blazing hot.

When I got to Poor Farm, I ate my PB&J and watched the leaders finish the half marathon. Later I would see some friends come across the finish line and even got a few good pictures of my friends and my boss who was running the race with his wife. By the time the race ended, it was hot again. After my boss came across and I congratulated him, I took off on the bike and headed for home. I took a more direct route home and crunched it pretty hard. I ended up with 47 miles which felt pretty good.

After the ride, Melissa and I had some lunch and went to a movie for a little change of pace. On Sunday, it was time to do the chores which included cutting the lawn and doing the trimming. It was so hot! I am really ready for Fall.

Well that about wraps up my summary of my latest training leading up to race week. Earlier tonight, I made a smoothy and put it in a bottle and then into the cooler with ice to see how it will stand up overnight. I want to be able to have my smoothy before the race and am hoping this little experiment works out.

I have made a list of things to do yet and things to buy but I am almost ready. My gear is hanging dry after a nice washing and my bike is totally dialed in. I have all my bike gear in a pile and will start packing up the car Thursday evening. Tomorrow I am going to a special showing being put on by Richmond Pro Cycling. They are screening "Ride the Divide" which is about a 2700 mile mountain bike race from Banff, Canada to the Mexican border. The amount of climbing in this race is equal to climbing Mount Everest 4 times. I figure this should be an inspirational movie and is just what I need before my adventure.

Happy Trails.

Crazy Idea?

If you have been keeping up with my blog postings, you know that we recently had a wonderful trip to Vermont where we did lots of mountain biking. As soon as I got home, I went ahead and signed up for the Shenandoah Mountain 100. I had been planning to do the race but had yet to spend the $200 to sign up. I had some great rides in Vermont and decided that now was the time and went ahead and laid down the cash and signed up.

The weekend following our Vermont trip we had plans for a Quackenbos weekend at VA Beach. All of Melissa's family would be there and the trip would include some time on the beach. I like going to the beach a lot but in this case, I was worried about missing out on a weekend of training. I can do short rides during the week but the weekend is when I get most of my mileage in. On our way home from Philly, I had a crazy idea. I thought maybe I could bike from our house to the beach. Could that be possible? I had Friday off but we were not planning to head down to the beach until Saturday morning after Melissa's swim. If I rode my bike down on Friday, she would then follow on Saturday with the car for the Sunday trip home. Melissa thought it was too far and said as much. I wondered though.

When I got to work Monday, I got caught up on a few things and got some tasks running before doing a little research on the trip. I started where all good research projects start-Google. Google Maps has a new Beta service that will actually plot a bicycle route for you. Presumably this route would be on roads hospitable to bikes. When I first googled the route, I came up with a distance that was too far. But then I realized I had not done it correctly. When I Googled the route from my house to Melissa's parent's house, I came up with 126 miles. I have ridden 100 miles on my mountain bike in one day in the past and I did 150 miles over two days one time. But 126 miles would be the farthest I have ever gone in 1 day. Could I do it?

After thinking about it for a day or two, I decided I was going to try. I had to buy some extra gear including a waterproof map holder thingy that attaches to the bike, some lights, and a few extra tubes. It took me a couple of days to get everything sorted out with the directions, etc. And I was even up until 1AM Thursday night putting everything together. Please note, this is not recommended before a big ride. It is best to get plenty of rest.

On Friday morning, I got a later start then initially planned because I was up so late the night before. I started the morning with my pitcher of fruit smoothie, another banana and a granola bar. I loaded up my pack which was stuffed to the hilt and actually quite heavy. I had emergency gear, bike lock, food, water, extra Gatorade, Blackberry, bathing suit (Melissa was going to meet us at the beach on Saturday), lights, duct tape, wallet, extra tubes, patch kit, tools, extra batteries for lights and Blackberry, and probably a few other things.

I headed out with my load on my back and started to make my way towards downtown Richmond. I felt sluggish and seemed to be laboring more than usual. Turns out my back tire was low. I stopped once and pumped it up some but as I rode it slowly lost some air. When I got to Brown's Island, I stopped again and this time changed the tube. It actually did not take too long. Now I was ready. I continued on my route and crossed the James River and zig zagged my way through town. There were lots of turns on my route and that slowed me down quite a bit as I had to find my way through town.

Without going into too much detail, I made it through Richmond and then through Hopewell and made my way down to route 460. My plan was to take a break when I hit 460 and get more water and rest a bit as the trip down 460 would be long, hot and there would be lots of traffic. I have driven 460 a few times and I had recalled that there were places to stop along the way. However, when I got to 460, there was nothing. Just road, some farms, some industrial areas and lots of trucks. I had also run out of water although I did have a bottle of Gatorade that I was nursing. As I made my way down the road, the 18 wheelers were zooming by. I had to concentrate on staying just to the right of the white line so I was in the small shoulder. But sometimes there was debris or road kill that I had to dodge. One thing that really started to bother me besides the heat and sun was my rear end. It was really starting to hurt after the many hours on the bike.

At one point, I saw a sign that said "VA Beach-85 miles." That was a bit demoralizing as I realized that I still had a very long way to go. It was going to take me a lot longer than the 12 hours that I thought. As I made my way down 460 I was wondering where I would be able to stop and refuel and rest. I had a few Hammer Nutrition Bars while riding but I really needed more water. I saw a sign that for the Virginia Diner in 12 miles. Well I guess that was something but it was farther than I really wanted to go before getting more water. Oh well. I just kept pedaling.

Finally I saw a sign for McDonalds in 1 mile. Hurray! I stopped at the McDonalds, locked up my bike and went in and bought a bottle of water. I sat there and drank my water and got on my Blackberry to send a few emails. I had made it to Waverly, Virginia so I sent that update out to Melissa and a few other friends and family. I must say I was getting some strange looks from other patrons in the McDonalds. They probably did not see too many people with spandex bike pants, bike jersey, etc. Plus, I really reeked. I could smell myself so I know that others probably could too. After cooling off for about 30 minutes in the AC, I went to the nearby gas station and bought more water. They did not have the Gatorade that I liked but at least my Camel Bak was now full of nice cold water. After getting the water, I went and found a shady spot and ate my PB&J, an orange, a Hammer Gel, and a Luna Bar. I noticed there was a 7-Eleven a few blocks down. After I was done eating, I went down to the 7-Eleven and got my Gatorade, checked my route and then I was off again.

After a little while on the road, I came to another 7-Eleven and ran into a trail fairy. My friend Rachel works in the area and she knew I was making my way down 460. I stopped and sat in her car to cool off some more and she went into the store and bought me some chips. I sat with her and talked for a while with her AC blasting in my face. That really helped and I felt pretty energized. So off I went on down the road.

However, after another 20 minutes or so, I started to get a bad headache and started to feel pretty weak. I knew that the heat was getting to me. I also recognized the early signs of heat exhaustion and decided I probably should give up my quest. I came to a gas station in Ivor, Virginia and called it quits there. I was a little more than half way there. I called Melissa and gave her the address of where I was and she was able to punch the address into the navigation system and come get me. While I was waiting for her to get there, I sent some emails, drank some Gatorade, sat, stood, paced a little and watched people come and go into the gas station/truck stop. I got some funny looks for sure. One person asked me if I was taking a break and I told her that I was done and had called in the Calvary. In fact, I was cooked.

Melissa arrived and I changed into some dry clothes. I ate some chips and drank some cold water that she had brought to me. It was a nice enough drive home and on the way to our house we happened to pass right by our favorite Thai place so we called in some carry out and picked it up and took it home. When we got home, I devoured my food, took a shower and went to bed. My adventure had been cut short but I did get about 70 miles of riding in which was good training for the SM100. Also I got some good heat training in.

I did end up with some sunburned legs but overall I recovered pretty quickly. Thai food and chocolate milk can do wonders. The next morning, we got up at 6AM, loaded up the car with our weekend stuff and headed to the pool. I did not swim but I did time Melissa after she warmed up so I was good for something. And then we drove to the beach and had a great weekend with the Quackenbos family. It was great to see everyone and see how the children have grown.

When I got home, I looked at the proposed Google route some more and realized that the proposed route would have taken me on some very busy roads. I have researched the route some more and it looks like there is a way to get to the beach by bike that is safer than the Google route but it would require even more mileage in order to stay off the major highways. Looking back, it is probably good I stopped because the route would have been too dangerous.

Vermont Trip-Part 3

On Tuesday morning, we got up early and headed down for our breakfast. I usually don't eat all that much for breakfast. In fact, I usually have a banana, a yogurt (with no HFCS of course), and a granola bar. However, I was getting used to having a big breakfast already. You can't beat fresh cut fruit, fresh granola mixed in yogurt and blueberry pancakes.

After breakfast we drove about 45 minutes to a place where we rented two kayaks for our float trip on the Clyde river. The float trip was part of our pedal and paddle package and consisted of a lazy kayak trip down a very calm river. In fact, it was really more like a big stream rather than a river. We took our time and slowly kayaked down the river. The water was kind of low and there were some fallen trees that we had to maneuver around carefully. But we managed to stay dry for the whole trip. It was very quiet at times and we felt like we were out in the middle of nowhere. Floating down a river can be very peaceful and a great way to see wildlife. We did not see much on this trip until the very end when we saw some loons on the lake that the river dumped into. It was neat because at first we thought they were strange looking ducks. It was not until later when we past by their nesting areas that we saw the signs and realized what we had seen.

Here are a couple of pictures from the float trip.

After our float trip, we had a light lunch at the restaurant at the Inn and then got cleaned up and ready for our first afternoon at the spa. Melissa had the 90 minute hot stone massage while I had the traditional 60 minute full body massage. My massage was pretty good. I give the masseuse an A. He really opened up my tight areas including my legs which still don't have full range of motion.

After our massages, we had another wonderful dinner at the Inn followed by some leisurely walks around the area. We scoped out some of the trail heads on the other side of the road and watched the sun go down from on top of the hill overlooking the Inn. Below you can see a couple of photos from our walk. In one picture, you can see the Church that we came across the day before on our bikes. We tried to do one of those silly pictures like people do with the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It did not quite turn out but it is still a neat view.

On Wednesday morning, Melissa took a break from riding and decided to chill out and also go for a swim while I went on a ride on my own. I started out across the street on "Bob Magill" and did a whole bunch of trails including some good climbs. I was taking the opportunity to really push myself and do as much climbing as possible. In fact, I ended up riding lots of what Melissa and I did the other day except in the reverse direction so that I did lots of climbing, some of it pretty steep.

After my ride, we had lunch and chilled out for a while before heading back out on the bikes for another afternoon ride. The weather was perfect again. We did some nice trails with some technical climbs and tricky descents. We took our time and picked our way over the roots carefully. Again, Melissa did really great. These trails were more challenging than anything else we had ridden in Richmond and Melissa really stepped up to the challenge.

Again, after our ride, we dinned on fresh and yummy food followed by another walk around the area. I was really getting used to leisurely walks through the pastures after dinner rather than watching TV. It got me thinking about getting rid of our FIOS TV and just getting free broadcast television. That is another topic for another day and is a project I am working on.

Thursday morning I went on another solo ride while Melissa took a break from riding. She did some site seeing around the area, visiting a nearby village and then we had lunch followed by our second afternoon of spa treatments. This time, Melissa had foot reflexology which I would later find out was a bust as her therapist really did not know what she was doing in the feet department. My treatment on the other hand was excellent. I had neuromuscular therapy which turned out to be so good that I am going to see if there are any other people in our area trained in that particular discipline. The therapist was able to find all my problem areas and release the tension that I did not even know I was carrying. At one point I had mentioned that my ankles have always been tight from a lifetime of soccer. She had me on my stomach holding my ankle with my knee bent back towards my rear. She pressed with her other hand on a particular place on my hip and I could feel my ankle release all this tension and loosen up. It was amazing. If I could afford it, I would go once a week to someone with this skill. But alas, my money tree that I planted in the back yard has yet to be fruitful.

Can you guess what we did on Friday? More mountain biking of course. Melissa and I did a shorter ride in the morning and then I went on one last epic ride. The lady at the Kingdom Trails association gave me some routes that would prove to be challenging. When I told her what I had ridden thus far and how I had ridden it all up hill, she pointed me in the direction of a trail called Burnham Down. Of course instead of doing what she suggested, I front loaded the ride with a bunch of other trails and climbs just to maximize the workout. When I got to the Burnham Down trail which was a double-black diamond trail, I noticed the trail sign said Burnham Up. So there was a little sense of humor here. The climb was long and challenging but lots of fun too. There were all kinds of neat obstacles, bridge work, holes, roots, and hills. It was long but the payoff in the end was a very long downhill on Moose Alley and then some great riding through some meadows and fields of corn. It was a truly epic ride and a great way to end the week. Below are a few pictures I took along the way.

After all that riding, we went back to the River Garden for dinner and had some more delicious food. We went with the specials again and were not disappointed. It was all so very good.

After dinner we walked around a little again before starting to get packed up and prepared for our early morning departure. On Saturday, we bugged out after breakfast and headed south towards Philly where we would be staying the night again at Melissa's sister's house. We had a pleasant drive through Vermont but when we hit NY, we picked up a fair amount of traffic. Back to reality it seems. But we made good time and got to the Redilla's house in time for dinner and had a nice evening visiting. We even showed them some of our pictures on their Wii. We were pretty tired and still had another 5 hours to drive the next day so after picture and tv we went to bed and slept quite well.

On Sunday, we took off early in the morning and had a relatively uneventful trip back. In fact we were making really excellent time until we rounded the DC beltway to get on I95 south. This is what we faced.

Finally after about an hour in bumper to bumper traffic, it let up and we made it home without any more hiccups.

All in all, the trip was superb and it got us thinking about a summer home in Vermont. We will have to wait for the money tree to sprout but maybe someday.

Finally, I wanted to include a link to this video from the Kingdom Trails website that gives you some idea of where we were and the trails that we got to ride.