Running at altitude

By altitude, I mean in Boulder, CO. A full 3000' higher than where I live. I usually try to bring a bike out here when I visit the mother ship, but it's going to be busy with this conference, so I packed the running gear. I have run once this year... last week for 3 miles on a tread mill. Before that the only running that I have done was during cross season, and we are talking short distances, over barriers shouldering a bike... 20m sprints.

I ran 4.8 miles today. The pace wasn't fast, ~8min miles, but it felt good. I could run and hold a conversation, so I didn't think anything of it. So lets lay some things out and see if I should be worried. I am 40, my peak HR should be in the high 180's for my age and fitness level. So approaching the halfway point, I look at my Garmin Edge 500, scroll to the HR and see that I am holding 180. We are talking 95% of max. Now I know I am in good shape, and I know from my bike data that I can run high for long periods of time, and I have not been stress tested to find out exactly what my max is. I felt fine, I was holding a conversation. The guys that I was running with said a couple of things. One - elevation, I just got here, my body was working a little harder to process oxygen. Two - my actual max is higher, which is entirely possible, I can still pull into the mid to high 190s before I feel like I am redlining.

So should I be worried? Should I just roll with it? There was never any discomfort, or any pain, and I never felt winded. And I felt pretty damn good after the fact.
I am gonna run again tomorrow for sure. And Wednesday. Then I am going to tear the shit out of that race course on Sunday.

Back to racing...

So I did a full year of Cross with the MFG series, racing Cat4 Masters, as well as singlespeed. Threw a few other races in there. Went straight from there (pictures and more shit later as I find it) into winter training, lots of trainer and roller time, some swimming, some running, some other cross training. Maybe a 2 month break from racing, and MTB season is on us. Road season as well, but lets not get ahead. I am registered for the entire BUDU spring series, Sport Masters. First race was Feb 12 and finished a respectable 13th despite inhaling a part of the course, and having to stop to cough it up. Next one is March 4th.

I have some team mates road racing as well, and as soon as I grab my license I will be joining them in that as well. It should be a busy spring summer, but I hope to roll into cross season next September on a tear. My legs are already feeling good for a February

Really its been a year... maybe 3

Not a year since I last posted here, but getting close. Things change, and I seem to be a non stop freight train of bad decisions. So here goes, judge me if you want. It's life, it is what it is at this point. 2 months ago I was still married. 5 months ago divorce was filed for. 6 months ago, no one really knew what was up. 2 years ago things changed. 3 years ago, life looked good. So what happened? I happened. I happened to myself, to a lot of people. I happened to destroy a lot in that amount of time. Call it a mid life crisis, call it a melt down, call it what ever. I did it, I fundamentally altered everything, I changed, caused changes, wrecked havoc, destroyed people.

So here I am looking back on all of this. Here I am trying to purge to re center myself, to get this out of me. I used to like to sit and write. Here about random shit in my life, the occasional poem, technical papers and reports for work. So sitting here trying to figure out what happened. Well I know what happened, but why. I am a changed person, not who I was 3 years ago, have done things I never thought I was capable of. But anyway.

3 years ago I was some other person. Busy as hell, son playing baseball, traveling like a mad man for work. I took on a new project, hired more help to do it, started traveling more, planning, away from home. A lot. I met someone else. Oh it started innocent enough fun banter, etc. And it snowballed. And I hid it, or I thought I did. I hid the actual relationship, but the effects were there, the alienation the changes. Totally oblivious too it. New years a year ago, I walked out. And came home again. No one knew the truth. Last April, I was asked to move out for a month. At the end of that time, I ended it with the gf. I moved back home, all was good. Except we couldn’t stay away. End of July, we get back together. August I fully commited too it. September everyone found out, divorce was filed. Oct. I found out she cheated on me, go figure, it’s what I was doing, wasn’t it. December everything seemed better, divorce was final.

Everything was not better, even though I projected it even though I wanted to believe. It was not. It still isn’t. I am not the person I was. I take, I use, I destroy. I don’t know what happened, but it is where I am at. A mess. I destroyed lives, I destroyed my son’s life, I destroyed my former wife’s life, I may have destroyed my life. I did not think I was capable of doing what I have done. I have alienated friends and family, I have made everything strained, strange and uncomfortable. And I still do.

So we find ourselves in a toxic mess, with no clear way out. I have taken from and used loved ones and friends and people that I care about, all for my own selfish needs and desires. Where do I go from here? I try to find myself again. I try to find that trust in myself, try to find my soul. I have to try to regain the trust of people that I have betrayed, and hurt in the last few years. I try to move on with my life and learn, and build and find something positive and good in all of this. I try to love. I am sorry to everyone that has felt hurt and betrayed over any of my actions over the last two years.

So there I have that out. I will tell more if you ask me in person, otherwise, back to cycling, back to GPS, back to what this place was about.

Ok sorted that account info all out, maybe... but anyway, here we go, it's that time of year, CX racing is just around the corner, 3 days to be exact to the MFG Cyclocross Cycle U Kick-Off Cross.  Well there was some racing earlier... We did this little event at the Suncadia resort in Cle Elum with MFG and Raleigh cycles in July. Placed 2nd in the masters, and a DFL in the singlespeed, but hey it was fun.  

2 new bikes to roll on this year, thanks to the ReCycle Shop here in Ellensburg.  A not so stock Specialized Crux running 1x10 for the geared races, and an obnoxiously hot pink Crux frame-set built into a SingleSpeed for that little torture fest. 

Why both races?  Well the short of it is I want to win the Cat 4 masters... and the SS, well i just love single speeding, and I am a glutton for punishment.  I know the SS fields are stacked and have elite riders, and I am fully prepared to get lapped, though my goal is to stay on that lead lap, have fun and take as many beer hand-ups as I can.  So there it is, watch for updates and pictures, they will come.

woo racing

Two whole mtb races so far this year, its been a busy schedule outside of biking. Lots of training rides, though, and a duathalon. What was i thinking there? I havent run in years. Seriously run since my junior year of high school, say 22 years. I have done a few runs here and there this year, 2,3,4 miles. So this duathalon comes up and a buddy of mine has a hip injury and can't run. I just take his number on a whim, figuring whats the worst that can happen. 3k run 25k bike 6k run. The first run was ok. The bike rocked, i was fast fast fast. But that last run, ouch. That hurt. My IT bands tightened up on the bike and I was tight and in pain for the whole run. 9+ min/mile pace, snail pace, everyone i passed on the bike passed me.

So have i learned my lesson? I was in Austin TX last week for a conference. We went for a run, 5 miles, felt really good, pretty fast pace. I went for a run on Monday, 6.1 miles, pretty decent pace. And what am i doing now? A duathalon next monday. Stupid is as stupid does. 5k run 16k bike 5k run. Should be a good send off before I spend two weeks in Alaska doing heli work.

What has been seen cannot be unseen

I am not usually one to get particularly upset about anything or show any emotion, but watching the Giro this morning shook me to the core. I love bike racing. I have re-found my joy and ability in the last year to compete again, and have always loved watching professional racing. The Giro started this weekend, and with it live feeds that mean logging on at 6am or so with a hot cup of coffee to watch the excitement, the tactics, and the sheer spectacle of a grand tour event. We have 3 weeks of this to look forward to. It takes one split second to cast a shadow over the whole thing. The rest of it will be exciting, i know, but this will be there lurking in the background for the rest of the race.

Weylandt Dies In Giro Crash

Giro d’Italia Stage 3: Tragedy | This Just In | Bicycling.com

Weylandt’s death leaves Giro in state of shock

Normally a serious injury or rider death is a little easier to deal with, in years past you heard about it later, the races were delayed, the cameras weren't there.

Today the camera was there. It was brief, but it was there, and it was horrific, and unfortunately live. I truly wish at the moment that I had not seen the shot of them cutting Wouter's helmet away, his face swollen, and what looked to be a pool of blood behind his head. I knew then, and it was just a waiting game to hear the news. And i was still completely crushed when they announced it.

Within a few minutes Wouter Weylandt was a major trending topic on twitter. Cycling is usually never a major trending topic especially in the US. Its sad that it took an event like this to have it be so.

I will have some more light hearted racing posts from my end soon. Have done a few in the last few months and neglected this.

15 or so

Plus 1100' of elevation.  Met up with Mike, Erik, and Jeremy on the Manashtash Ridge top to ride Durr road down to Umptanum creek, back out and up Umptanum road.  Managed to have the only mechanical for the second week in a row.  Blew out the rear tube with a bang.  The rear wheel locked up right before, as i think i sucked a rock up and jammed it.  Fast ride down on the CX rig, fun climb out and another quick climb/descent.  Need to take a good day off, and let the legs rest.  My second participation in this cycling study is Monday.  Time for another 40k TT.

Gravel + Cross Bikes + double rainbow = this weekend?

That was the subject of an email last night. While technically correct, the unicorn exponent was left out.

(Gravel + Cross Bikes + double rainbow)^unicorns = this weekend

This would be the most basic form. You can then account for all kinds of variables, divide by weather, add friends, multiply by breasts or beer or whiskey or what ever else gets you off.

But anyway it sounds like a fabulous plan. The crux has had only one ride in the dirt and a handfull on the trainer, so miles of gravel could lighten the soul. There is however the weather. Just in time for the weekend:

Saturday: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. West wind between 10 and 17 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%

So while it may make riding more interesting, or maybe more mountain bike able, riding will happen. As it will tonight, though confined to a trainer with a group of miscreants that meet twice a week to spin our asses off and drink beer after.

I will run tomorrow, as sick as that sounds.

The whole thing though is canceled out by clowns - those fuckers ruin everything.