TotalCyclist MTB Team: Mountain Bike Training at the Beach????

TotalCyclist MTB Team: Mountain Bike Training at the Beach????: Probably an odd title might be the first reaction to this post, but if you just stick with it, I'll try and make some sense out of it.  ...

ORAMM...Endurance And The Science Of Suffering

So This is my first blog post of 2015!  Caution...its kinda long..I'm outa practice!
I could list a number of reasons why I haven't, suffice it to say I've just been lazy!  I have had a pretty good mountain biking season; I won the Super Sport category at the Charlotte Winter Short Track, managed a controversial 7th at the less than organized USA Cycling Mountain Bike Marathon National Championships, and have had a couple podium finishes in the Charlotte Mountain Bike Series.  Not long after MTB Marathon Nationals I decided to throw in for one of the more Epic endurance mountain bike races in the Southeast.  In its 16th year The Off-Road Assault on Mt Mitchell or better known as ORAMM has challenged Pro's, Elite, and everyday amateurs with one of the toughest one day challenges on a mountain bike.  The event has been hosted by Blue Ridge Adventures who put on some great events and ORAMM doesn't disappoint.  Here are the basic stats: 60 miles, 10500 ft of cumulative climbing 500 Riders.  The race takes place the last weekend in July and the weather is generally hot.  The Total Cyclist Mountain Bike Team was well represented. Mike Schafer, Jim Heckman, Andy Hilling and Myself where in the Masters 40+ Division. Mike Tam in the Open Division and Kevin Brown in Single Speed Division.  Kevin was taking on the Jerdon Mountain Challenge a shorter but still very difficult race put on by the same promoter the day before ORAMM.  The Jerdon/ORAMM double is insane! Kevin had a great race at Jerdon taking the win in single speed.

The main reason I had never considered ORAMM was it took place the same weekend as 24 Hours of Booty. I lost my mom to brain cancer and my aunt to throat cancer, so needless to say its an important ride to me.  I'm committed to 24HOB so I knew this would be a big weekend for me.  I geared up friday night July 24 for my 8th 24HOB ride.  I had to make the decision to cut my usual 300mile goal a bit short.  24HOB is an amazing experience. it begins at 7pm Friday and goes to 7PM Saturday.  I was lucky to ride the loop with some amazing people.  My friend Kaitlyn Cofty Walton and I rode into the night and then I met up with teammate Mike Tam until we decided we had to eat.

Saturday July 25.  I packed up the Sprinter van in the a.m. and headed up to Old Fort, NC the host town for ORAMM and Jerdon.  Mike Schafer his wife Kim, and friends Garret Hyer and Keith Lechleidner had set up camp at a local campground close to the race start.  Saturday afternoon was spent getting the race packet and getting my Giant XTC Advanced SL 27.5  ready for the next day.  We had most everything done by early afternoon and settled into relaxing with a few adult beverages and talking race strategy before we headed to bed.  

Now, I have a Sportsmobile Sprinter Van Conversion that is an ideal way to travel and stay for bike races.  We had a light rain as I headed off to bed..not strong enough to worry about changing tire choice but would make race day a bit more interesting.  

Sunday July 26 Race day.  I could say I woke up at 5:30 am to prep for the 8a.m start but that would not be true considering I really don't think I slept more than 2 hours.  Not the best way to start a big race. I had my customary coffee, oatmeal, 1st breakfast and then my frosted mini wheat's, beat juice and Skratch Labs Hyper Hydration Mix 2nd breakfast.  Mike, Keith and I headed out at 7:15 and rode the 2.5miles over to the race start.  Garrett, Kim and Keith's wife would be handling race day support for us(essential for fast times and ease or nutrition/hydration).  There are 4 supported rest stops but you have to organize your nutrition/hydration, leave it at race start and the volunteers shuttle it to the rest stops..the volunteers(who are awesome!)at the rest stops help you get your bags but its time consuming with 500racers.  Having your own support  makes a world of difference.

Waiting for the Start #407

Rollout form start #407

The Race:  So I had a reach goal to cover the 60 miles in 5hours.  You might ask, having never done the race how I cam up with that number.  Mike Schafer is a vet of the race and a strong rider, we are pretty close in ability and he finished last year in 5hr:12min.  Seemed like a legitimate goal to shoot for.  We where able to line up pretty much in the front row which would make the start less stressful and easier to keep up wit the super fast guys.  There is a neutral start out of town and the pace picks up after that.  My plan was to stay in the top 10-20 riders up the first climb..old U.S. 70 which is paved and leads you up to the first single track climb Kitsuma.  As we entered old 70 there where about 40 riders jockying for position, "it was a  bit chippy" Mike Schaffer would later recount..this pretty much stayed the same all the way up.  The pace was incredibly hard and I was wondering how many of these guys could hold the pace.  At the top of old 70 there is a gate that everyone has to go around single file...knowing this, I figured the pace would get crazy fast! 500meters before the gate..I made the decision to sprint it out and reached the gate about 11th.  This ended up being the right move as a group of about 15 separated form the rest after getting through the gate.  

1st Kitsuma climb and decent:  This section was mostly a blur..my heart rate was pegged from the effort on 70 and I just wanted to hang on. I focused on the wheel in front of me and didn't even care who it was.  Kitsuma climb is not long, its the short steep peak on the first climb above but it does hurt after a hard effort.  Garrett and support where at the bottom of Kitusama on Mill Creek Rd, the transition to Star gap. I took a bottle and kept going.  At this point I was with Josh Whitmoore (Green life/Organic Valley), Bob McCarty(Stradalli)multi-time national champion)), Nick Bragg (Piney Flats)  and Ross Bowden (Champion Systems), There where about 5 racers a couple min up the road.  We all worked together on the road until the entrance to Star Gap.  I lost contact with all the guys in my pack on Star Gap...it has a couple technical switchbacks and I did not navigate them well.  I knew I could make some time up on the section between Star gap and rest area 2 called Jacobs creek.  This section is gravel forest service road and features rolling climbs and fast lose gravel descents.  I made good progress was able to first catch Ross on the 3rd decent and caught Josh as we approached rest area 2 Garrett was set up just after that at the beginning of Curtis Creek.  I took 2 more bottles of NUUN and an ice pack Garret had prepared (he stuffed it down my jersey as rode by...so nice!).  I soon caught Wes Richards (last years Single Speed Winner) and not long after that Josh and Ross bridged up to us.  Curtis creek takes you from about mile 29-36 and its all climbing the steepest is the middle third and is bout 13%.  The four of us took turns setting pace on the climb till mile 32 where Wes was able to accelerate at a pace we couldn't match.  At some point Josh and I dropped Ross but we where caught by a super fast Jacob McGahey (Industry Nine) about 1.5 miles form the BRP)  Josh and Jacob dropped me but I was able to catch back up as they entered the BRP)  I knew I needed to be with some other riders on the BRP to even have a chance at 5hrs.  The three of us worked together  on the 5 mile stretch of the BRP to the Hike-A-Bike section up to Heartbreak-ridge(hike a bike after 3.5 hrs of hard racing/climbing is about the worst thing ever)  We where caught by Brad Cooper(Motor Mile Racing last years 40+winner) during that hike.

Heartbreak-Star-Gap-Mill Creek 2nd Kitsuma

Jacob and Josh got a head start on the decent of heartbreak and separated quickly..I was able to get around Brad in short order.  I was taking chances and eventually it caught up and I crashed and fell down the side of HBR about ten feet.  The rain form the previous night had made the root section of Heartbreak very challenging. I lost a bottle but was otherwise ok.  I remounted as quick as I could but Brad had passed me.  I descended solo for a while and caught Josh just before the Star Gap decent. Near the bottom of Star Gap I caught back up to Brad...Jacob was out of sight.  At the transition from Star Gap to Mill Creek I took two more bottles, 1 water 1 NUUN some beet juice and the best surprise of the day, another unexpected ice pack  down the jersey(OMG that was heaven!).  My time at this point was about 4hrs15min ( knew that the rest of the course would take about an hour give or take (the 5hr goal would be very tough).  Brad didn't stop and was able to get a gap that he never relinquished.  I climbed Mill Creek and the 2nd Kitsuma climb solo and everything started falling apart..I started to cramp but not bad but my legs felt full of concrete.  I remember repeatedlly saying "I just wanted to get to the bottom of Kitsuma"... from there it was down hill on nice pavement to the finish.  "The mind is the enemy" one of my favorite quotes from The Princess Bride. The decent down Kitsuma the 2nd time seemed to take forever!  Its not actually all decent, there are three pitchy climbs and they absolutely where soul crushing when you are just looking to get to the bottom.  After what felt like an eternity i made it to the bottom of Kitsuma at bout 5hr52min.  I gave the  last few miles to the finish everything I had left in the tank.  It was close but I finished in 5hr 6min. Never disappointed and super happy with the effort.  

The Finish! 

Stats:

5th place Masters 40+

Mike Schafer finished 6th! in 5hr12min (2 Top tens for TC athletes)

16th place Overall

10500 ft of climbing

6 bottles of NUUN

2 bottles water

2 pantyhose stuffed with ice

4500 calories burned

1 very tired dude

Mid Season Recap

Beem Awhile since I posted a bike related blog...or any for that matter.  This season I made a decision to focus on Mountain Bike racing vs road racing.  There were a few reasons why i chose to do this but mostly I just enjoy riding in the woods more.  Surprisingly, I find XC Mountain bike racing more demanding.  There is less strategy in XC Mountain biking than road racing but a bigger demand on fitness, strength and endurance.  In Road racing the fastest doesn't  always win...team tactics..drafting..etc tend to "level the playing field".  Conversely in XC Mtn Bike racing the fittest fastest usually wins.

I entered the XC season in pretty strong form.  I had a successful XC Short track season with 2 wins and never finished off the podium.  My main goals for the XC season where 1. upgrade to Cat 1, 2. podium in the North Carolina XC Championships, qualify for XC National Championships.

So far i have only achieved 1 of the goals, but I remain undeterred.  I was able to upgrade to a Cat 1 in 3 races.  I competed in 3 of the Southern Classic MTB Southern Classic Series races as a Cat 2.

Killer 3 at the Knott in Sumter, SC 2nd.

Dark Mountain XC- 1st,

 Race to The River (SC State Championships) 1st.

Unfortunately I was unable to compete in the NC State XC Championships as I had surgery to remove a Malignant skin cancer tumor on my shoulder and broken ribs suffered in a training crash.

I did some other competitive MTB races that helped round out a good busy early season.

A group of The Total Cyclist MTB Team competed in the 6 Hours of Warrior Creek.  I raced with Mike Schaffer in the 40+ duo category and we where able to pull of a  2nd place to a strong team from Boone, NC

I also competed in a fun event out at the  U.S. National White Water Center called Tuckfest, a weekend long festival of outdoor competitions from trail races, MTN Biking races, white water challenges etc.  I raced in the King of Goat Hill, K.O.G.H Challenge..a 3 lap race that incorporates all the hardest climbs at the WWC...result another win.  If you haven't been out to the USNWC you need to!  It is one of the gems in the Charlotte area.

All in all its been a very good season for me.  We all have challenges...isnt that life in general?  Mine have been mostly health related.  Its how you choose to let those challenges affect you that defines your character.  You can choose to use them as excuses or internalize them and make it motivation.  I choose persistence....its what I know and a gift from my Mom. (miss her everyday).

Peace, Luv and single track

Back To BASE-ICS

you need to build a big base to reach high

In a previous post I mentioned stepping up and hiring a coach.  If you are serious about the sport you compete in hiring a coach is one of the best performance improvements you can make and its money well spent.  There are many benefits to hiring a coach, accountability, experience, motivation to name a few.   Anyone can read a book or pay for a training plan but nothing can replace the the personal interaction, experience and motivation that a coach can provide.  For me its more about the accountability.  While I believe myself to be at the higher end of the self motivation scale, having someone to answer to is the kick in the tail I need as an athlete. So what does hiring a coach have to do with BASICS?  When I first sat down with my Total Cyclist  coach,Jackie Crowell jackiecrowell@wordpress.com and analyzed my data there was a huge glaring component missing form my training, BASE miles.  I had none!  all my riding was done at Tempo, Lactate Threshold, VO2 Max, Anaerobic Capacity and Neuromuscular Power…huh? in layman's terms too hard!  BASE miles are done in Zone 2 or Endurance.  The above terminology is used when training with a power meter. a power meter measures in watts (energy) the effort it takes you to propel the bike, it is a more accurate calculation than using heart rate.  The training zones (in the chart below) are based off of LT or FTP otherwise known as  Lactate Threshold. LT is determined with a power test.

•               Level 1 Active Recovery = < 55% of LT

•               Level 2 Endurance = 56-75% of LT

•               Level 3 Tempo = 76-90% of LT

•               Level 4 Lactate Threshold = 91-105% of LT

•               Level 5 VO2 Max = 106-120% of LT

•               Level 6 Anaerobic Capacity = 121-150% of LT

•               Level 7 Neuromuscular Power = maximum effort

Going into this off season I knew there would be a lot of BASE miles. So what is BASE.  “Base training is the foundation upon which everything else rests,” says Danny­ Suter, USA Cycling Level 2 coach and founder of the Boulder Performance ­Network. When you build endurance, eventually you can get more out of higher-­intensity riding and a heavier training load. “Riders who go straight into speed work can get fast on the bike,” says Hunter Allen, coauthor of Training and Racing with a Power Meter. “But they won’t have aerobic endurance, so their fitness lasts just a few weeks before they slow down.” 

When you ride for two or more hours (or less for new riders) at a steady pace—a typical base ride—your body responds with changes that allow you to use more oxygen and burn more fat as fuel, says coach Joe Friel, author of The Cyclist’s Training Bible. For starters, these rides build more ­capillaries, the tiny blood vessels that deliver oxygen-rich blood to your muscles. Your mitochondria—the parts of your cells that produce energy—also multiply and enlarge. And you churn out more enzymes that help turn stored fuel into energy. The result: You can ride faster and longer. 

Most of my off season riding has consisted of long slower rides with 1 or 2 harder rides mixed in each week.  Coming into the Christmas Holiday Jackie and I had discussed a BIG BASE week. The week of Christmas is slow at work and I wasn't planning on traveling so it made sense.  My Training week is Monday to Sunday so for this example it was 12/23-12/29.  My training plan for the week was 16 Hours on the bike, the majority of which was to be in Zone 2.    I totaled 17hrs 10min, 290 miles, and 8900 kilojoules for the week. For reference my biggest week for the year till then was 13hrs, 235miles and 6500kilojoules and that was in June. Last December I rode a total of 250 miles.

  

Even though it was a slower week at work it is still challenging to get that amount of riding in. Add the shorter days and an unusually cold week and its tough.  Monday is my rest day.  Long rides of 3 plus hrs where planned for Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. with harder shorter rides on Tuesday and Thursday.  Tuesday my friend and Pro Triathlete Jenny Leiser was nice enough to give me company and play mouse to my cat for the short intervals I had to complete. (Cat-N-Mouse is a fun way to get through intervals…1 or more riders ease up the rode as you ease off and when a large enough gap is created you chase em down).  It can take a bit of coordination to get the timing and distance down but it makes for a fun workout.  The ride started out chilly but warmed up by the end. The intervals where  4 short  12 sec Form Sprints starting at 5mph.  It was a nice ride and day.  Wednesday was Christmas and a small group of intrepid  friends had planned a ride followed by brunch at one of their homes.  We started out at 9 am and it was down right cold I think 23 degrees.   I had every piece of warm gear I own on and was still numb. We could only make it just over an hour.  We coldly road back and had a great brunch.  Since I still had 2 hours to get in I went back out at 2pm and finished the rest of my workout which consisted of  3X10min Tempo intervals(zone 3) with 10 min recovery in zone 2.  The rest of the ride was in Zone 1-2.  Thursday was an easy 1-1.5 hour recovery ride in zone 1/2.   Friday's ride was a bit more challenging because of work.  My plan had me doing 3 hrs, luckily work pretty much went dead after lunch so I was able to break away at around 2pm.  This was a solo ride all in zone 2.  Friday had warmed up a bit so it wasn't to uncomfortable on the bike.  Even had a nice coffee stop in Mount Holly. Saturday and Sunday where each 3.5hrs in zone 2.  I was able to ride outdoors for all but Sundays ride which was done at Total Cyclist Mid-Town training center.  It was a Real Course Video CompuTrainer  ride http://www.computrainer.com/rm_inc/IRCVideos.htm if you are unfamiliar with a CompuTrainer it is much more interactive than just sitting on a trainer (you can shift gears as the computer adjusts the resistance based on the terrain in the video you are watching, but its still really hard to get through 3.5 hours on a trainer

Getting the work done!

Hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading

Cheers Slip

Ride to not From!

  

Sunrise & Sunsets

Im a big fan of Sunrises and Sunsets.  After the previous posts Im feeling a bit exposed.  Thought I would throw up some of my pictures of sunsets and sunrises.  Sometimes pics are easier than words.

 Outer Banks NC

 Outer Banks NC

 Outer Banks NC

Outer Banks NC 

Outer Banks NC

 The Farm Whittingham VT

 Fontana Lake NN

 Beaufort SC waterfront

 Selfie Beaufort SC watefront

 My Townhouse Charlotte NC

 Bull Point, SC

 My Townhouse

 Sunrise from my Townhouse

 Litchfield, CT

 Litchfield CT

Sugarloaf Mtn, ME 

Sugarloaf Mtn, ME

The Most Interesting Man in The….Part 3

Life got a little crazy between my last post..Holidays, birthdays, work, etc blah blah blah.  So for those of you that have been waiting (assumption on my part) here is the rest of the story

Rather than blab on about all the different things I've done I figured I would bullet point the rest:

• I spent the 2 years in "reform school"
• I learned to SCUBA dive when I was 16 and became a certified Rescue Diver and Dive Master by the time I was 18
• I backpacked through Australia when I was 17
• I worked for the CIA for 2 years
• I lived and skied (mostly skied) in Jackson WY for 3 years
• I moved to Charlotte NC in 1996

 As I mentioned in one my previous posts: I had a hard time fitting in, always being the new kid, being different.  Most would think that upon returning to the "States" would be a a good thing.  Maybe for some but for me and many other Third Culture Kids http://tckid.com returning to the country of your parents birth is not any easier and in many cases more difficult for a kid that hasn't grown up there.  For one, your the new kid again but now you look the same (except of the out of date wardrobe, maybe talk the same but you have no reference for what is going on socially, music, tv shows, sports, movies, food nothing is familiar (all this makes you an easy target to get teased).  I was 10 when we returned to the U.S..  It was more difficult to fit in back here than it was overseas.  There was no one that could relate to what you had gone through.  I also had an accent.  On top of that I have learning disabiltities.  There was a mountain of differences.  Is it any wonder that I was insecure and self conscious.  Because of my learning disabilities I struggled in school and was eventually place in RESOURCE class.  For those of you that grew up in the late 70's and early 80's RESOURCE class was a catch all for anyone that had "special needs".  Like I really needed another reason to be labeled different.  RESOURCE class was comprised of severely metal and physically handicapped kids to those that had mild learning disabilities.  I learned a great deal about compassion from those classes, there were some amazing kids in that class, but for someone in my case, it was extremely demoralizing to have to go to or from that class back to the general school population.  I, like many others in that situation where branded…ill let you imagine what we where called.  My parents tried to understand and get me help but I was not very accepting of it.  I became angry and isolated.  Because I felt isolated it was easy for me to gravitate towards others that where outsiders.  

Cheers Slip

The Most Interesting Man in the…Part2

Over the years the bike has come and gone.  I have raced bikes at different points throughout the years, BMX as a kid, some Mountain bike racing out west in the early 90's but it wasn't until a friend dared me to do a Triathlon in 2006 that I reconnected with the bike.  That Tri was pretty much a FAIL!  At that time I was strictly a runner.

I was really fit and was fairly fast 17:305k, 36-37:00 10k, 1:23 Half.  The Tri was a sprint at Lake Lure.  If I recall it was a 750 meter swim, 25k bike and 5k run.  I did ZERO bike or swim training, and I rented a bike as I didn't own one at the time.  This is what I was thinking...I was a good swimmer as a kid and I know I can ride a bike and so Ill kill the run.  Ha! can't believe how naive that thinking was.  I don't really remember how I placed just that I buried myself on the swim and bike and could barley run the run…I was so Humbled! and Pissed!  I bought a bike started riding and swimming and competing in tri's.  I had no idea what I was doing on the bike and swim,  my training was totally unstructured unlike my running.  I got faster and results got better.  I was pretty decent as an age grouper, always in the top ten…I often think back and wonder what I could have accomplished if I understood how to train! but I have no regrets.

My Triathlon career ended after shoulder surgery in the fall of  2010 old lacrosse injuries finally caught up with me.  After surgery I got on the bike asap.  I didn't do much racing in 2011 and 2012, my Mom was pretty sick, she was in a fight for life. She was diagnosed with stage 3 inoperable Lung Cancer (She beat it ) and was in remission when the cancer metastasized as Brain Cancer (terminal diagnosis)..she lost that battle but never gave up and never complained, and always carried a smile.  She is my inspiration! (I will blog about that experience later).

I made a decision in January of 2013 that I would take my bike racing to a different level.  I had decent results as a weekend warrior but I did not want to look back and wonder what could have been.  Mom was my biggest fan.  I couldn't imagine not putting it all out there given what she went through fighting Cancer.  I talked to my good friend Chad Andrews with Total Cyclist and told him of my plans.  Chad was pumped! I think Chad knew the potential I had even if I didn't.  Chad put me together with one of his coaches Jackie Crowell.  Jackie is an amazing cyclist, coach and a great person.  We hit it off right from the beginning.  I began working with Jackie in March.  I had a great season! I quickly moved up to a Cat3 on the road.  I had a lot of success this year, lots of podiums top fives and top tens even as the competition got stiffer.  Jackie pushed me all along the way and made me realize I had a lot more ability that I thought.  For example I never thought I was a sprinter…Jackie changed that…I'm actually pretty quick in a sprint.   When It comes to racing I'm kinda of a jack of all trades.  On the road I race Crits, Road Race, TT. I do some track racing on the velodrome and plan to race Mountain bikes in 2014 for the Total Cyclist Mountain Bike Team.

End Part 2…Part 3 coming…more unique randomness