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Lumberjack 100

Wow! What an amazing experience! It started months ago with "Hmmm, can I actually do 100 miles on the mountain bike?" I learned Saturday that the answer to that is "yes". I thought it would be a fabulous challenge and well suited to my endurance abilities. I kept a low profile about it after I registered. Didn't want the pressure. Wasn't reeeally sure I could do it. It was a bit like the first time I thought about running a half marathon. "Can I actually run 13.1 miles?" I learned that the answer to that was "yes" as well. It's only a true challenge if you're not really sure you can do it. And I wasn't. I trained moderately. I did a few 50 mile MTB days, but got sick and was off the bike for 3 weeks at a critical time. I was nervous. How much would it hurt? Could I work thorough the suffering? Would my body shut down? Would I start hallucinating? Would I embarrass myself? I really had no idea if it would take me 10 or 13 hours.

I looked at the previous year’s women's results and thought that maybe a time between 10 and 10:30 would be a worthy goal. With 22 women registered I just didn't want to be last. In my secret heart of hearts I thought placing in the top 10 would make me a rock star but I didn't really think that was feasible. I was really happy with a 6th place finish. Too long of a pit stop cost me a place but I wasn't racing against anyone but myself. I had passed the 5th place woman on the trail, not having any idea nor concern about what place I was in. I just knew it wasn't last. While I was laying on the ground between Laps 2 and 3 eating a PB&J, Jay said to me "You're in 5th place". At that very moment, she passed by the pits without stopping. I pointed to her and said to Jay "Nope. I'm not. I'm in 6th place now". I could have hopped up and chased her and passed her again, but I was having more fun laying on the ground eating a sandwich.

We started out at my least favorite time of day: early morning. I was half asleep and a bit nervous. Would there be a mad crazy testosterone rush to get into the woods? Would I get caught up in it? Would there be a big crash in front of me? Would I go too fast early and blow up later? The first hill about a quarter mile into the woods (after about 2 mile start on pavement) was a killer. It was steep with loose sand and a teaser turn at the top that just got worse. Everyone walked it the first lap. That’s the photo that Fabrice snapped.

The photographer stationed at the top of that first killer hill was documenting the misery and said nobody was riding it except "Eatough and the boys". The whole course was rolling single track that was full of ups and downs and little grinders that turned at the top with a piece that was just a little bit steeper and just when you thought the climbing was over, there was more. I was sure happy with my 34 tooth gear on my cassette. I was spinning up hills that most others (men) were walking up. Very good for my ego. Very bad for theirs. You've seen that t-shirt that says 53-12 on it. I want one that says 22-34.

My plan of attack was to keep it steady the whole time and keep an eye on my average speed. I consumed about 1800 calories (Accelerade, Hammer gel, PB&J and oatmeal cookies) which in retrospect may not have been enough. Jay did a great job being my pit crew! He even broke out his bike for a couple loops to have some fun.

Speaking of food, the meal that was provided by the organizers after the race was pretty darn phenomenal. It was served in the Big M lodge with free beer that I wish I'd been able to drink. Two sips and I would have fallen over. In retrospect, maybe beer would have been good. When I finally laid down and closed my eyes, my brain kept playing a moving trail in front of me and my body would tense up with the way the moving trail turned.

The first lap was excruciating mentally. Why were people going so slowly in front of me and how do I pass on single track? I mean do you REALLY have to brake on a small rolling down hill?!? Who IS that slow-poke on the front of this line and how come none of the 20 people in line are trying to pass him? I learned patience and how to pass properly. Here's what happens when you DON'T pass properly. Lap 1. Yes, those are my own front tire tracks on my arm.


I had passed a few guys and was going for another when my rear wheel ran parallel to a log on its right. Launched me off the bike to the left and on my way down to the ground the bike came at me and the front tires gouged the inside of my left arm. Yeah. Imagine that.

There were some awesome sections where you could just scream downhill and shred through the trees on the sandy trail hoping not to ping off one of them. And ping I did, on Lap 3. Hit my hand on a tree and launched over the handle bars. Pinky finger badly bruised but no real damage. Not like this guy.

My body held up pretty well until about mile 96 and then it started to not do what I wanted it to do. I was never concerned about "how many miles to go" until then. I had to force myself to not look at the odometer. There was this one super steep hill with a few miles to go that I was pedalling up in my granny gear and got to the point where my legs just wouldn't move any more so I got off and started to walk. Slower and slower and slower. There was an instant where my leg was in the air just about to set down on the sandy slope and my brain said "I could just stand here for a while and rest." and even before that thought was formed, another part of my brain screamed "NO!! Keep moving!!!"

While my legs and back and arms and hands and neck were really sore, the thing that actually hurt the most on me was my big toes. Yeah, whenever I stood on the last half of Lap 4 my toes were in EXCRUCIATING pain. I thought for sure that when I took my shoes off I'd find nothing but bloody stumps, but they looked fine. Was the pain from the constant impact of my toes hitting the inside of my shoes with every washboard vibration? Was it from being launched off the bike with my toes jamming into the shoes before clipping out? Was my femoral artery a bit pinched and blocking blood flow? Was it all in my mind like the acorns that looked like mice and the Indian that I swear was running along side of me in the woods? Dan K said the exact same thing happened to him (the toes not the Indian) so it wasn't in my mind. They hurt so much to stand, but I just had to put pressure on them on that bumpy screaming downhill section. There were yellow signs that said "Danger, Slow". They should have said "Put it in the big ring and hammer!" Never thought I'd get going this fast in the woods... What a blast!!!


I was so happy after the race I just had to find Robert. Could hardly walk, but happy. He took a picture of me and I look as happy as I felt.

The trusty steeds on the way home.
I think the best thing to put in a Lumberjack 100 glass is Fat Tire ale.
The next best thing might be a strawberry shake with fresh picked strawberries. Yum.
I'm really happy that I exceeded my expectations and performed better than I thought I would.
Now, what's next?

What time is it?

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Detroit

Facebook

Well, my computer took a long time to fix and in that several week period my online socializing morphed more into Facebook. I'm not sure if I'll post here anymore. Facebook uploads pictures easier and is rather convenient for many reasons. BTW, the screen was very easy to replace. The hassle of finding the right part number was the most difficult part.
So, if you're not on Facebook, get with the 21st century and sign up. I was resistant too at first. It's pretty cool getting constant little tidbits about what friends are doing.

Ooooo.

Pretty colors. Not sure why it's different, but it looks cool anyway.

Never, NEVER kick a pint glass at your laptop screen.

The gray screen of death.
Pretty colors in the cracks.

Absolutely freak accident. I was laying on the floor on my belly propped up on my elbows stretching my back after a run reading emails and I layed there so long I forgot a half-full pint glass of water sitting next to me. When I was ready to get up, I sat up, (I move fast) and swung my legs around in front of me to stand and projectiled the glass right into my laptop screen. I quickly turned it on its side and wiped away the water I could see, yanked out the battery and set a fan on it all night to dry out. I was uttering some choice words in the meanwhile as you can well imagine. It's funny how the brain slows down time in those instances. I watched it launch into the screen in slow motion in my brain, while thinking "SHIT!"

I plugged it in to Jay's desktop monitor and the guts seems to work, so hopefully all I need is a replacement screen.

It's funny now.........Now.

Still raining

It's been raining non-stop since yesterday. We got 1.6 inches of rain so far and another half to one inch forecast. Isn't the "formula" like 1 inch of rain = 10 inches of snow? Cold rain makes me feel yucky and lazy.

It's coming your way Detroit.

I'm one tired puppy.

Yesterday was glorious!

75 hilly miles. topped out at 60 degrees. 4.5 hours. 8 women. 1 very tired body. I haven't ridden that long or far since June.

I was so tired, all I did was take two steps in the door, slam a huge recovery drink, strip right there thinking I was headed to an epsom salt bath, but I had to lay on the floor for a while and let the recovery drink kick in enough to get enough energy back to take 10 more steps to the bathtub.

Had to icepack my neck too. I thought the shorter stem would take care of that.
Yeah. It was glorious.

Lance is racing Milan-San Remo tomorrow

I can't even THINK about riding 298 kilometers much less racing it.
I get tired DRIVING 185 miles.
I hope the winner doesn't celebrate too soon like Zabel did in 2004. Oops. Freire beat him.

BTW: Eddy Merckx won it 7 times. Wow.

What time is it?

AMSTERDAM:


DUBAI, UAE:


OMAN:


QATAR:


BAHRAIN:


LONDON:


MADISON:

Finally

Got a nice haircut today. All those short layers are finally gone!! Shew!! It's now time to think about a pony tail!! Very exciting.


Funny. Same sweater. Total coincidence.

Rode the Red Red Bike again today. In SHORTS!! Got it all muddy. Yay.

Spin To Win on Saturday at ACF Royal Oak

Another reminder that this Saturday is the *Michigan Youth Cycling/ Wolverine Junior Scholarship Spin To Win Event being held at American Cycle and Fitness in Royal Oak!

Juniors spin for free and can compete for over $350.00 in scholarship awards.

Just Added !!! All Adult Male and Female riders !!!! Come test your pre-season legs and give us your best 10 minute effort for a chance to win an I-Pod Shuffle! Stop by for details

Please come out and bring your kids between 10 am and 5 pm and show your support by spinning on a trainer. (Provided by AC&F) There will be food, music and a silent auction.

Once again there will be certified Muscle Activation Technique (MAT) specialists on hand to demonstrate a cutting edge approach to the assessment and correction of muscular imbalances in the human body. Come Check Them Out!

Also, Robert Linden from Tailwind Events and Joe Lekovish from MBRA will be around for a short time starting at 10 am to answer questions about the upcoming race season schedule for Road, Mountain Bike and Cyclocross!

Pimpalicious Red Red Bike is DONE!

A friend of Jay's - Chris Shaw, of Trek-VW Midwest Factory Team Manager fame - removed the several excess inches from the brake cables and Jay added the remaining pieces - chain and derailleur cables basically.
Dialed in the shifting.
And VOILA!!! A ride-able Red Red Bike!!!! (Yes, that wall paper is in the hallway.)

We took turns riding it back and forth down the hallway. Hee hee.

I'd say Jay did a pretty damn good job with the cable routing.
Stan's sealant is in the tires and they're ready to roll.
The shifters have a sweet reach adjustment. Super easy with infinite adjustability.

Yeah. I got talked into this one....

Red Red Bike Update

It's in the shop getting the hydraulic brake lines trimmed down. The rear cable was 8 inches too long.

I needed to order a part called an "olive". No joke on that. I got the two parts on the right except they're tiny.....duh.....they fit in the brake line. Compression fitting?

I got tires now!

Tubeless.


Funny thing is, to shorten the hydraulic brake cables, I need these parts called olives and banjos. Ha ha ha!!

Stop riding your bike so much!

Just got home from a very cool lecture on Bone Health in Cyclists.

Bottom line: Cycling does absolutely NOTHING to build bone mineral density (BMD). NOTHING. The studies show that if all you do is ride your bike your BMD decreases just like a sedentary person (that's couch potato for you Kroske).


Cycling is a poor bone building stimulus.

2/3 of masters cyclists studied had osteopenia or osteoporosis at spine and hips. TWO THIRDS!!!



Your bone mass peaks at about age 30-35. You never have more than that. Everyone has different amounts depending on their activities up to that point. (Which is very important to think about for coaching junior riders!) After 35, BMD decreases for everyone as a natural part of aging. So all we can do is slow the rate of decrease. How?

Building bone requires:
INTERNAL STRAIN
of High Magnitude (muscular force), High Rate (muscular contraction) and Irregular Distribution
or
EXTERNAL STRAIN
most importantly, GROUND REACTION FORCES like jumping, landing, running. (Shewee!)

Even if you do strength training in the off season, you need to keep it up ALL YEAR. Studies show that competitive cyclists BMD decreased during the racing season and never recovered during the off season. Sequential years of competitive cycling result in progressive bone loss.

DO STRENGTH TRAINING ALL YEAR LONG!! And don't forget about CALCIUM.
No, you'll never look like this.




I'm taking my own advice.

BTW:
BMD in Mountain bikers is greater than in Roadies.

Yummy things...

Matching water bottle cages!!
Yummy dinner by the famous chef J'Mongelo

Crazy:

Right now:
Madison = 7 degrees.
Troy = 25 degrees.

Lance Gives an AWESOME Thrashing!!!

Check out Jay's blog.....

My run today

I did an "out and back". No wonder it took me longer on the way back.
I like mapmyrun.com. Took me a while to figure this out, but how cool is it that the 5% grade is green on the downhill and red on the uphill. Cool.

Please Help a good friend get a dream job in Australia

Some of you may have heard about the dream job contest to run an island in Australia. Yes, running an Island. Living there. Exploring. Reporting. Cleaning the pool, and more. This is NOT a joke. A very good friend of mine has had his application accepted. Rich owns Divers Incorporated in Ann Arbor (http://www.diversinc.com/), has been a SCUBA instructor for a thousand years, is a super family man and all around fantastic guy. He is one of the finest individuals I know. He could use your help though.


"The Selection Panel from Tourism Queensland will review all applications and announce the 50 short-listed candidates on March 2, 2009. Eleven candidates will then proceed to the interview stage, including one Wild Card based on popular votes."

If you can, please view his 1 minute video,(link below) and give him a 5 star rating.

http://www.islandreefjob.com/#/applicants/watch/EDw7NRCySwM

By the way, you can vote (5 stars!) for this video on every computer you use. Of course that would NOT be unethical, it would just be a way of showing super duper support!!

Please, pass this on if you can.

Thank you. I love this guy and he really is perfect for this job.

Kelly

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

Looky looky!!

Notice the pink Chris King headset. Yes, it's a hand-me-down. Most of the parts on the bike are hand-me-downs. I don't mind.

Notice the 140 mm rear rotor and 160 mm front rotor.



It's coming along nicely!!

I need the steer tube cut down, derailleur cables, a bracket for the rear brake, and tires and then I can ROLL!!