It's Not All Fun and Games

Actually, my dad would say "It ain't all fun and games", referring to times in life when you had to do things that were, let's say, "unfun". This seems to be a time when I'm feeling this way about a lot of things... work, house/yard work, training. It's an energy low for sure, and it may have to do with listening to too much NPR, or maybe just the weather, which has been unseasonably warm. I did manage a few rides in the last week or so... climbed big mountain on Sunday, about 3300 ft, and felt pretty good. It was Tuesdays ride that about killed me. As the Iron Horse looms closer, I am starting to freak out about my preparation, as I have still not done any substantially long rides. So, on Tuesday, I determined I would go as long as possible in the time that I had (perhaps this is a source of gloominess, because I never seem to have more than 2 hrs in a row to complete anything). The day was hot and windy, and as I started out with my tunes, I soon realized that I had only one song in my low-tech ipod... . I turned back to home and re-sync-ed, and also refilled the fluids. It was hot, and I knew I was starting out a quart (or more) low.

When training time is limited, I find it difficult to spend much time spinning easy and keeping my heart rate down. I figure if I push hard when I'm able to ride, it will pay off more. But riding hard all of the time takes a toll, both mentally and physically. Add heat, and the experience is even more difficult for me. For these reasons, I have developed a training "framework" to not allow quitting or turning around unless some sort of landmark or goal is attained. I decided that I had to make it to the top of a hill that was about 15 miles away from home. As my rides progress, I set new goals along the way, so realizing I would easily attain the first goal, I decided to ride out to 23 miles in order to achieve a round trip of at least 40 miles (the math doesn't seem to make sense, but I had the little ipod loop at the start). The new goal put me into Little Cottonwood Canyon, one of my nemesis(es)/ nemeses? because of its unrelenting grade. Once in the canyon, another goal revision... go 2 miles (to achieve 23) OR until 4:00 pm (because I had to get home in time to fix dinner), whichever came first. Turns out, they occured simultaneously! (Not a big deal really, but it's amazing what you find interesting when you are trying to occupy your mind). Descending, as always, was a blast until I began to feel the awful, extremely painful foot burning.

Perhaps some of you skiers have experienced the terrible foot burning that happens when suddenly your numb feet become engorged with blood and come close to exploding. I get this feeling on my bike quite a bit, perhaps the worst case being when I did my first LOTOJA using my mountain bike pedals and too-small mountain bike shoes. Frequently, I had to stop, jump off the bike and lie down on my back with my feet in the air. Having pedals and shoes that distribute the force on the foot helps quite a bit, but when it is hot and the ride is longer, I still experience this excruciating pain. For me, it is worse than childbirth; at least contractions don't last that long... the foot burn is unrelenting. The best relief is elevating the feet, as the problem is reactive hyperemia or too much blood flow. Hopping off the bike to raise your feet is not an effective racing strategy, so I only use this option in desperate situations. Another partially useful solution is to wiggle and contract the toes and feet in order to push blood out. Last year, during LOTOJA (which was unusually hot) I tried pouring water over my feet, to get some vasoconstriction; cool relief! (for about 10 seconds). Also, shoes full of water probably adds more weight than I would like to think about. Probably the best solution is getting your mind off the pain. I have no idea how to do this, but it has worked for me, as I have had moments of awareness when I thought, "Hey, my feet don't hurt anymore" ... and then the pain returns! So, however I came to stop thinking about the pain worked!

To make a long story short, I completed my 40 miles on Tuesday, with a lot of suffering. I figure if I suffer now, maybe I won't suffer so much later. My weight the next morning was still about 3.5 lbs lower than usual, so I know that dehydration played a major role in the discomfort... working on trying to keep hydrated. It's essential to replenish fluids and calories in the first few hours after a ride, but when you feel awful, it's not always easy. So, as I tell my daughter, "keep moving in the right direction". I'll keep plugging away at work, riding, and all the rest. I know better days are ahead!

Embrace Your Inner Minivan

... A white minivan, and not even a fancy one. Ours was a manual 5-speed with windows that you actually had to roll up and down with a crank. So what does this have to do with cycling? or getting older? Whenever I drove that minivan, no matter how fast I was travelling, everyone HAD to get ahead of me. That vehicle exuded uncoolness, so anyone nearby had to get away. Again, link to cycling?

Some days out riding, I have to accept that I am that white minivan. No matter how great my kit looks, I'm still an older female; that is more than enough reason for everyone else (at least those of the male persuasion) to pass me, no matter how much energy it burns. As I was riding up the canyon today, three guys glided past me in pretty close succession. They weren't that young, and their legs definitely weren't shaved. (Technically, I should be able to stay ahead of this class of rider). My humiliation was amplified a few minutes later when another rider FLEW by as if I was standing still. (I did experience some satisfaction as I watched this guy overtake those other three). 

After a couple of minutes, it was clear that I was riding at the same pace as the third guy in the bunch; he just passed because of my uncoolness factor. I slowly crept up to his wheel, but as soon as he realized I was there, he took off again. I gave up and just maintained my pace to the top, passing a few folks on the way; a tandem (usually can pass on a steep incline) and a mountain biker (he may have a blog about pushing 70... not sure).

This is where all my theoretical riding hierarchy (nonsense) fell apart... Because of my alpine skiing background, I am usually pretty competent on descents, especially this one since I ride it regularly. But guess who passes me??? The old guy on the mountain bike! He pulls me halfway down the canyon, and I stay behind because I'm not sure I could go much faster! Finally, he briefly stretches his hip flexors and I pull ahead and hammer as hard as I can, but after about a mile, he's back again. I'm going to have to re-evaluate all of my riding stereotypes... Perhaps this fellow was just an anomaly.

All in all, great ride!

Prep Time!

Training

So, am I the last to know that it's already May?? It just dawned on me that the Iron Horse (a 47 mile, 6650 ascent to 10,867 feet) is only 3 weeks away! I find myself in a dilemma; is it time to train or taper? This is particularly difficult because the training has been lacking. I did ride Big Mountain on Sunday, a 3389 ft climb over 33 miles (round trip) that took about 2 hrs 25 min. At least I am familiar with what climbing feels like. With only two week-ends left before the race, I am going to consult Chris Carmichael's "Time-Crunched Cyclist" in a desperate attempt to prepare. The plans that are outlined in this book oriented toward busy cyclists are 12 weeks long and assume the rider has some base training. Sporadic rides interupted by a 2-week sea-kayaking vacation hardly resembles base training, but it is what it is. My strategy for the next 2 weeks will be to push hard on shorter rides during the week (when work does not permit longer rides), taking advantage of natural terrain for intervals. The canyon in my back yard is great for this, as it has both gradual and steep sections. I also hammer all the way down the sometimes rolling terrain. For the next two week-ends, I'm going to ride longer, hopefully 2+ hrs Saturdays and Sundays. This should help me get used to saddle time, as last year the Iron Horse took me about 3.5 hrs. I can use the last 5 week-days preceding the race to take it a little easier, just riding to stay loose. This is by no means an ideal training plan, but it's all that I can do at this late date. From a broader perspective, this should be fine, as my REAL goal for this year is to get a personal best at LOTOJA in September.

Philosophy

I promised I would get back to you on the topic of gauging progress by comparing yourself to others. I generally compete against myself, but it is fun to race against unsuspecting cyclist that just happen by. Reflecting on my performance, I realized I am like a wolf... preying upon the sick, the old, and the young. Translation: If you are a sick cyclist, I probably can beat you. (Usually, I don't see any sick cyclists... or at least I can't tell). If you are very young.... like less than 10 years old, I probably can pass you going up the canyon also, especially if you are wearing running shoes and a cotton t-shirt. Likewise, if your hair on your head (and legs) is really gray, I might pass you also. Very wolf-like, don't you think? (It should also be noted that I usually pass people cycling in boots or black work socks or on mountain bikes) .... usually. It's not much, but it's something!

Roles and Goals

Philosophy

It seems like when we get older, opportunities decrease. Over time, our choices create obligations that force us into roles that demand time and energy and don't allow us to pursue other interests. For example, when my husband and I chose to have a family, we gave up a lot of the activities that we used to do all of the time, like white-water kayaking, back country skiing, etc. Of course, we replaced those pursuits with equally or more rewarding activities that focused on our kids. The same is true with education and career... the further you go in one direction, the less likely you will be able to switch paths. I guess getting older has led me to reflect on these choices I've made.

When I was young, I thought I could do anything. My grandma thought I was so beautiful that I could become Miss America. I actually toyed with the idea for a while, as I had so many talents (see illustration). With my hair of spun gold and the amazing talents of skiing and saxophone playing, I was pretty sure I could place pretty high in the Miss America contest! The judges would be in awe of the fine carved turns I made while playing a jaunty tune on the sax!

Since there is no actual photo of my amazing talent, I've provided an artist's rendition of what it might have looked like.

The confidence of youth was also evident in my dreams of being an olympian in both the summer and winter olympics. I thought I could ski race for the winter olympics and for summer, it was a toss up between the hurdles or swimming. (Never mind that I never actually competed in track or swimming competitions, except for one hurdles race in 5th grade in which I creamed the competition and cleared all the hurdles by more the a foot! ... and I lived on a lake and swam quite a bit).

Fast forward to today, and my goals are a little more realistic. I just want to make a video that goes viral and be on the Today Show. More on that later....

Fitness

Since my goal for turning 50 is to be in the best shape ever, my daughter thought I should provide some cool fitness tips for people that might have similar goals. She thinks I should post things like, "Park your car far away from the entrance to the grocery store so you walk a little more each time you go". So, consider that posted.

I'd prefer to talk about more esoteric topics like "exercise urticaria" and "reactive hyperemia" because they relate to cycling, and it's likely that no one has mentioned these before. Maybe I'll do that one of these days!

So, my cycling training has begun, and I actually rode twice last week for a whopping total of 50 miles. It was actually great! Although I rode alone, it was great to be outside and to enjoy the unseasonably cool weather... perfect for cycling. In fact, I'm headed out today to attempt a longer ride to prepare for the Iron Horse later this month. Last year was my first Iron Horse, which is about a 50 mile climb from Durango to Silverton. I must still have a little of that child in me, because as I looked at my competetition at the start (a group of women who looked kind of old and not that fit) I figured I could take them all for the win. That "child" is an idiot, because at the first real incline, those women kicked my butt, and I only managed to catch a few by the end. It was at that point that I realized that I too look (am) kind of old and not that fit. So this year, I'm hoping that actual training might have an effect!

Cheers!

 

New Season

Sadly, this is the year I am going to turn 50. Perhaps it is not sad, but it is inevitable and in order to better cope with this reality, I decided in January to get into the best shape of my life to soften the blow. Like many resolutions, I immediately took no action, as there was no real plan to guide me. Knowing that fear is a powerful motivator, I signed up for a single-day bike race that crosses from Logan, Utah to Jackson, Wyoming (LOTOJA) in a single day... and I'm in. So, now that it is May, I'm seriously thinking about increasing my training on the bike. After a recent 2-week sea-kayaing trip in Baja, my arms are much stronger, my weight is slightly lower, and my legs are weak. It's a start at least, and as I say to my 18 year-old daughter, "just keep moving in the right direction."

The purpose of this blog is to document the creative (and sometimes bizarre) thoughts I have while riding. For example, yesterday, as I pedaled up the 9 mile canyon near my home, I came upon a young male rider (unshaven legs). Usually I have no problem slipping past males with unshaven legs, but the youthfullness of this rider must have offset that rule. Plus the fact that no young male wants to get passed by an old woman. We traded the lead as we progressed to the summit... I just didn't have any legs on the steeper sections.
Next time, more on the governing "rules" regarding riders I can easily pass contrasted with those that fly by like I'm standing still...