Take care of yourself

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

This guy, now 24, was once the next big thing in American cycling. He may never get back to the level he was, but he's entered in the national championships in a couple of months and then will move to Europe to rejoin his team.

A couple of days ago, he went on a 75 mile ride with nearly 11,000 feet of climbing up two of Utah's best and toughest canyons. His bike computer showed he averaged nearl 17 MPH over the ride. He's a tiny little guy, too. Only about 150 lbs but he's all lungs, heart and legs.

His internal gyro is off a tad and mental processing skills are still a little slow. But he's making progress and said he expects to be in the TdF if all goes well in the next couple of years.

The race we are both in next weekend is a simple climb. So he feels safe about it and timed himself a week ago. He was 10 minutes faster than last year's winner who is also a pro cyclist.

He invited me to join him for a ride in the morning and I'll slip into the spandex and try to keep up with him for a mile or two before he's long gone. Actually, he's riding with his dad and a few other less experienced cyclists up one of the easier canyons in the area so it should be a fun 30-40 miles.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

That was one of the most enjoyable rides I've had. Chatting with Saul Raisin (google him if you need to know who he is) about bikes, his recovery, his training, steroids, dopers, dirty docs in europe, floyd landis, etc., etc. was a blast. Doing it at 30 mph was even better. Pushing the speed up to 42 MPH and then seeing him laugh as he pulled away going at least 50 mph was amazing.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Sometimes the job is kind to you, eh, Ides? Sounds like the cycling heads among us might have someone new to root for.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

He's an easy one to root for, especialy considering his injury and recovery.

I think I might add that the 42 and 50 mph figures I mentioned were on a downhill. He said a week or so ago he was cruising down a canyon toward Park City when a semi truck passed him going 70 mph. He slipped into the draft and sailed along at 70 mph with the truck for 5-10 miles until his turnoff was approaching.

He pulled out and a few cars of mountain bikers pulled off behind him to express their amazement, admiration and awe.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Brass ones. Big, big brass ones.


This time next week I'll officially be a triathlete, provided everything goes as planned. The triathlon I'm competing in held a pre-race workshop this morning. Transitions, swim clinic, bike clinic etc. The whole course was open. It was great to see just how one should look at laying out their transition.

I should rock the swim and bike then try my best to outlast the run. Looking forward to it.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

G, in advance, best of luck. You will become addicted; fair warning. Any questions you got, shoot me a PM.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Good luck. Are we talking a half or a full? I covered a full about a month ago, and I was awed to see the top finishers cross the line, pause to take a few deep sighs and then have a seat and just sort of shoot the breeze. I expected them all to collapse at the finish line.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Are there any joggers who have tried jogging on the beach? I tried it this weekend sans footwear. I only went about 1/2 mile. But I really enjoyed it. I even ran through a bit of the surf when I hit dips in the beach sand. I

had the idea last month, but I wasn't sure whether I'd be thought a fool to run without shoes. But I saw a couple running, and the guy went without shoes. So I guess it's a matter of choice. Either way, it's a beautiful way to jog if you can get that kind of scenery.

Does anyone have tips to share on beach exercise?

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Beach jogger here as well, and agreed that it's a beautiful way to go. My knees take a lot less pounding and I find that after several runs on the beach, my times on land/road improve and I'm less tired afterward.

Float back and forth between shoes and no shoes, but prefer the shoes most of the time. I almost always time my runs with low tide to stay on the slightly more packed sand, but if I want a really good workout out i'll run a little higher up the beach in the fluffy stuff (this is usually my no-shoe day).

One caveat: put some band-aids where your shoes hit your heels. I tend to let the waves splash up on me as well, and when that gets wet, it will rub and leave a nasty little blister that hurts for days. Oh, and my beach running shoes are my previous set of running shoes, so if they get messed up a little I'm not ruining my good shoes.

Hope this helps.

P.S. If there's anyone out there willing to endure a one-on-one Q&A considering eating/when to eat to improve fat loss, please PM me. I've read so much contradictory about when/what I should eat (including on this thread), that I'm terribly confused. I WILL lose these love handles by Labor Day, dammit!

Muchas gracias in advance to everyone; I've been reading this thread like a hawk, but it's my first post on here. Thanks for all the motivation, past present and future.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Thanks for the feedback.

I hope you lose those love handles.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Every time I run on the beach without shoes I end up with HUGE blisters on each third toe after about 20 minutes. Of course, I blister easily, anyway; great trait for an endurance athlete. Feels good to run unfettered, though.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

HM-

It's a sprint...500m swim, 17.6 mile bike, 3.1 mile run.

I was getting bored in my training for a longer one this fall so I opted for the sprint next week to break up the monotony. I won't attempt a Half-IM until next year this time...and then maybe a full IM next Dec. in Fla.