Am I in Shape or Not?

As some of you know, Melissa and I have been doing P90X for the last couple of weeks. I think we are doing pretty well all things considered. We even managed to wake up early one day to get the Plyometrics workout out of the way before work so we could go to a great documentary later that night after work. The movie was "Sick, Fat, and Nearly Dead. " I will talk more about the film in a later posting.

As far as P90X is concerned we are mid way through week 3 and so far have been bringing it hard. We are still sore although maybe not quite as much as during the first week. The workouts are pretty intense and require some serious self motivation to push through. But I am certain we will see results that will help us in many aspects of our lives so I continue to bring it. There is research suggesting that resistance training is not only good for the mind but can also ward off dementia. The way things are going for me, I need all the help I can get in that department.

In addition to doing P90X everyday, we are also doing small amounts of running mostly on the weekends and I did manage a 3.5 hour mile bike ride on Sunday in addition to a 2 mile barefoot run on the gravel track plus our 1 hour of StretchX. It is a lot for sure and so far I have enjoyed all the workouts and feel like I am in great shape. That is, I felt like I was in great shape - until this morning.

This morning, I threw a new workout into the mix. I woke up at 5Am to go to my first ever coached swim class. The class was tough-very tough. I thought I was in decent shape but clearly I am not. The other swimmers in the class were graceful, fast, strong, near perfect. I on the other hand was the opposite. The coach has me doing "Catch Up" which is a particular swimming drill. I feel so uncoordinated and 1 gulp of water away from drowning. And my heart rate races and my lungs heave as I make my way through the water. Picture Michael Phelps who I believe is pictured above. Now picture the opposite. That is me. Twenty minutes into the workout I questioned what I had gotten myself into. Here are some of the thoughts that went through my head.

"Do I really want to be a swimmer?"

"This is too hard."

"Forget this!"

"No way can I do this."

But at the end of the training session, I gave the coach my $130 dollars so now I am in. She is a great coach and gave me immediate feedback and corrected my mistakes. One thing is for sure. I am going to have to practice if I want to make it through these swim sessions. People in the class told me it would all seem easy soon enough. And the coach said I would see big improvements with each class. And finally my lovely wife gave me some very encouraging words later in the day when I told her about what I was thinking about the workout.

She was in the same position I was in when she started swimming with this coach. And I must say, seeing her all suited up with her swim cap and goggles, getting ready for the 7AM session was also nice encouragement. I probably would have been more down about the workout but seeing her and getting her words of encouragement later in the day were a huge help.

The best part of the swim was the effect it has on my knees. They felt great afterwards and have felt great all day. Strange how a certain type of exercise benefits my knees. Of course, that is one big reason I decided to swim in the first place.

After swimming and working all day, Melissa and I came home and did our P90X Shoulders and Arms workout followed by Ab Ripper X. We are now thoroughly pooped.

If you think you are in shape, go swimming and find out if you really are.

Barefooting in the Park

In my last post, I mentioned that I was interested in becoming a barefoot runner. Since that post, I have done some more research on barefoot running and have found out that my notions about how to transition from running in shoes to running barefoot did not quite match the recommendations of other barefoot runners. I have been running in what some call "transitional shoes" -my Vibram Five Fingers. However, all of the barefooting blogs and magazine articles I have read suggest not using "transitional shoes" at all. They recommend going pure, that is, totally barefoot. Also it is recommended that one starts out on hard surfaces rather than soft surfaces. In fact, one particular article I read suggested starting out by standing and walking on sharp gravel. The idea is that even transitional shoes will mask the feedback that your feet are trying to give to the rest of the body and mind. Running on grass also deprives your body of feedback from the feet. It is suggested that running barefoot on hard surfaces will better teach your body how to run with proper form.

Of course running on hard surfaces will make the transition from shoes to barefoot take a little longer but in the end should yield better results. In case you were not sure what my goals are here, let me tell you. My goal with running barefoot is to improve my form, decrease injuries, and also make it more fun. It actually is fun to run barefoot!

After reading all of this, I decided that I would go ahead and take the plunge and follow the advice of accomplished barefoot runners. I started last Saturday with a run around a gravel track at a nearby middle school. The gravel was pretty soft as far as gravel goes with pretty small stones. Melissa and I walked about half a lap-me barefoot, her with shoes. Then we went ahead and starting running. Right away, I noticed a difference from running totally barefoot and running in my VFFs. My form was different. I had faster turnover and better posture. We ran at a relatively slow pace and ended up running one mile with a 400 meter cool down walk. My feet held up pretty well. They were a little tender especially on the balls of my feet but no blood or cuts or anything like that.

After this initial barefoot run, I took a couple of days off. Then today, at lunch I went out again. I went to Dorey Park and started my run on the pavement. I ran about half a mile until I got to a gravel path and then made my way down the path. This gravel was different than the gravel from the middle school track. It was sharper and had bigger rocks. I only ran about 25 yards before I had to walk. But that's ok. It is a gradual process. I walked on the sharp rocks for about 10 minutes before returning to pavement and running the rest of the way back to the car.

When I got back to the office, my feet felt pretty tender. And after examining them, I noticed that the ball of my left foot was pretty tender. In fact, it was just shy of becoming one big blister. But again, that is ok, it is a gradual process. I will let it heal and try again in a couple of days.

Also for the record, the picture above is not my foot. It is Melissa's foot about mid way through our 125 mile, 7 and half day backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail a few years ago. Her shoes were old and it was wet everyday and the blisters just kept coming and coming. One thing about running barefoot is that over time, blisters are no longer a problem. Also if I do get to the point where I can run ultras, I won't have to worry about another problem that ultra runners face. Black Toe is a common problem many ultra runners have. Here is a gross picture for you showing a mild case of Black Toe.

So that about brings you up to speed on one of my new projects. It will be a gradual undertaking but with time and patience, I think I will benefit. Thanks for reading.

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.