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Cabin Fever

It has rained non-stop for the past three days and it is finally getting to me. It is so nasty outside I do not even want to walk to my mailbox.

My first endurance race is seven days away, and I do not feel physically prepared. I've only managed a couple of moderate rides over the past week and hoped to get in some easy road miles this weekend before I have to taper off my activity level. The weather forecast calls for more rain until midweek, so I can forget squeezing in a ride. I tried riding my trainer today but gave up after 30 minutes because it just bored me to the point of mental torture.

Chemical Warfare

I think something bit me while I was napping on the sofa last night. It was probably a spider, which really freaks me out a little. Shortly after getting up, I noticed two red spots on my legs, one on the back of my left leg and another on the side of my right leg. The spots started itching a little after I discovered them. I just don’t like the thought of something crawling on me while I’m asleep. Whatever it was is in for some serious payback, though. I’m going to bring on some heavy chemical warfare when I get back from the store.

I need a "plan-B"

"The best-laid plans of mice and men/often go awry."
Robert Burns

As much as I tend to plan and organize every aspect of the things I do, a monkey wrench inevitably is tossed into the machinery and the gears of progress come to a halt. My plan for the Syllamo’s Revenge endurance race is to camp at the Blanchard Springs Recreation Area where the race starts. This accomplished two things: (1) It saves me some money in a down economy. (2) It saves precious pre-race time so I don’t have to rush to the race site at the crack of dawn.

The potential wrench dangling over my plan is the limited number of campsites available at Blanchard Springs. There are 350 participants registered for the race and only 31 campsites on a first come first serve basis. The chance of securing a place to camp is slim at best.

This forces me to adopt a “plan B” which will likely be driving 15-miles down to Mountain View and looking for a hotel room.

Boring

I haven't posted in a while, but nothing of any real consequence has happened in my little corner of the universe worth posting about. Things have quite literally been rather boring these past few weeks. I suppose the only thing worth mentioning is I have finally worked out my race plan and fueling regimen for the Syllamo's Revenge endurance race. ... Okay, so things are more boring than I actually realized.

Tooling Around in Running Shoes.

After 40-miles of single-track endurance training yesterday, I slept late today and decided to go for a moderate recovery ride shortly after noon. My road bike just didn't appeal to me, and I certainly didn't want to ride the mountain bike. This left my cyclocross bike as the only logical option. I'm using the 'Cross bike as my commuter, so it has flat pedals on it. Being too damn lazy to change the pedals out, I decided to just go with the flow and ride with the flat pedals on it. Note the running shoes in the photo above.

I tooled around on some gravel road routes north of town, eventually working my way to the Abbeville loop.

Along the way, I crossed a nice little stream with a small rapids rolling over some tree stumps. I’m not sure why, but I find the sound of moving water very relaxing.

I saw this interesting phone booth at an abandoned gas station in Abbeville.

I don’t know what kind of flowers these are, but I could smell them from a rather long distance away.

Syllamo Practice

I went out to Clear Creek today to “train” for the upcoming Syllamo’s Revenge endurance race. My plan was to do a full 50 miles (5 loops), but figured 40 to be more realistic given how drained I felt before going out there. This time around, I decided to use my heart rate monitor to keep my pulse within a reasonable range, 130bpm to 160bpm. According a study on endurance performance I recently read, it is best to keep the heart rate below 75% of your VO2max because the gastric emptying rate is efficient and unimpeded up to 75%. In addition, Glycogen expense is also most efficient at 75% of VO2 Max. (Misner, 1998).

I also experimented a little with various fueling options for the race. I think going with Hammer Perpetium will be my best option. However, I’ll be limited to using it from a bottle since it tends to settle. I figure there will be an aid station every 16 miles, but I’d like to skip at least one of them to save time. I still need to work out the details on fueling.

The Numbers:
Distance: 41.17 miles
Time: 4:46.09
Average Speed: 8.63mph
Max Speed: 21.28mph

It was clean and shiny when I started.