Inauguration…Just Another Day
Today was/is Inauguration Day. For many it is the best day ever. For many others it is the worst day ever. What did I do today to celebrate/mourn?
I went to work.
I got out of bed at 5:36am. Made coffee. Sent out my remaining invoices. Talked to my daughter about her essay. Then I went to work.
I cut up a fallen tree.
I met a prospective customer for a bid.
Because the bottom line that as bad as this new administration is going to be, it was already baked in. In fact, to those mourning, it is really your fault. Hillary Clinton should have never be the “presumptive” candidate. The majority of Trump voters would only have voted for him, with the alternative of Clinton.
And given all that, my only real option is to continue to block and tackle. Put in the work. Everyday. Keep it basic. Trump is not on my side. Lord knows, Hillary is not. So much theater–These people are on the same team.
Who’s going to pay my mortgage? Who’s going to fix my truck?
Just another day. You know what I doing next?
Hitting the weights.
Peace.
–Old 454
Shoulder Rehabbing
For the last two and a half years I have had problems along my left side neuromuscular chain, from neck to my shoulder, through my elbow, forearm and wrist. However, that is now turning around. I have been lifting heavy in the gym (in a programmed way) and things seems to be improving.
For a long time, I had avoided lifting heavy bench,and over head. But for the past several months, I’ve been following Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 programming, and the weights are now in territory I’ve never been. This has been challenging for my shoulder, elbow, and forearms grip strength. It is to the point sometimes that I need to buck up just to shake a man’s hand.
I have had to take a week off from shoulder work here and there–well not a week off, but a week with careful shoulder work. For instance, only the major lifts which engage my shoulder, and dropping any minor or assistance work that may challenge my shoulder.
At night I wasn’t able to sleep on my side, I’ve only been able to lay on my stomach or back without pain.
Well what about the rehab part?
This past week I’ve noticed considerably less pain at night, and have even been able to tolerate short periods on my side.
I completely believe this is due in large part to careful progression through flat barbel bench, incline dumbbell bench, strict overhead press, cleans, and clean & press. Progression to PR level weights for me in every lift. The cleans and clean & press are PR level, but I have not really pushed them and have sacrificed them on those dodgy shoulder days.
Flat bench. The key for me has been to really dial in my form, and to vary my grip width as the weights move up.
Overhead press. This can be challenging, but it is largely a form issue. Overhead press has, I feel, greatly improved my range of motion
Incline Dumbbell Press has been helpful because it is a less compromised position, and the dumbbells allow you to rotate your shoulder position to be more stable.
Clean, Clean & Press. Cleans are Push Press are an inigma in that they engage and involve the shoulder and upper body, while simultaneously the lifter tries to minimize upper body engagement in these lifts. This seemingly contradictory situation has been helpful for my shoulder rehab, as I can tell when my form is breaking down as shoulder pain sets in. Also, it has helped teach better should mechanics through minor adjustments which either hurt more, or hurt less.
There you have it–my dawning revelation and thoughts regarding my shoulder pain subsiding in recent weeks (week or two).
Thanks.
— Jalal
Back in Stride Again
Stream of consciousness. . .
It is 2105, and I am back in the saddle again. Not yet literally. The amount of energy I had put into ramping up for Ironman was quite remarkable, in hindsight. Only in retrospect can I objectively see how much energy preparing for and executing that race required. Just a few days after the race, I was T-Boned in a car accident. And then my work (that thing I do to eat, pay the mortgage) got very crazy. Subsequently, my blogging, and social networking in general has really suffered. In the vein of New Year’s resolutions, I will be devoting more effort to my online activities. I have some blog ideas that have been back-burnered for some time.
It all works for good. I’ve been in the gym getting strong. I am the strongest I’ve been in my life. Though, my cardio endurance has certainly suffered, my physical resilience has multiplied.
Topical Preview for 2015
. . . Still in stream of consciousness mode. . .
Politically, I have grown more cynical and suspicious as I see the news media and national politicians directing our focus towards distracting events, and spinning even those with thinly-veiled and misleading (at best) narratives.
My spiritual focus has been more on the mundane, than the philosophical. I continue to prioritize practice over philosophy. Though, I have worked to put a definition on my practice. In the past, I’ve argued that this is a gratuitous endeavor. Nonetheless, I have found it instructive, especially in exposing certain emotional attachments I still have to my past practices, despite the fact it no longer serves.
Certain business challenges have brought me into contact with an entire class of people whom I thought I knew, but as it turns out, really didn’t. I knew intellectually, but didn’t really know in a tangible way, the extent to which education, or the lack thereof, acts effectively like a learning disability. The post-Great-Recession labor market environment has left some very large holes in the labor market for my very hands-on, mud and dirt business. In recruiting to fill these holes, I have been introduced in a new way to an entire segment of our society (a significant segment), that I had not fully understood.
In fact, in this post-Great-Recession environment, I have come to a whole new understanding of the future economic prospects, investing, effects of currency manipulations, business direction. I have always argued that our consumer/debt based economy had a certain cannibalistic tinge to it, and that wealth and prosperity required actual production. I feel that it may be more sinister than that.
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At any rate, it’s good to be back. Talk to you soon.
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— Old454
Refocusing
I have taken some planned, and some unplanned, time off since completing (read: finishing) Ironman Florida. In that time, I have had time to reflect on what I want to explore in this blog. My focus isn’t going to change so much as it is going to narrow. Heretofore, my focus has been on Warriorship, and in the past 12-18 months or so, specifically on the training aspect of Warriorship. However, it has occurred to me that all of that really begs the question.
The question seems to be more accurately–How do we actually make things happen? or What is the mechanism of Manifestation? These seem to be the questions that go the heart of Warriorship. The Warrior’s key role is to act. The question then is, What does it mean to Act? How does one actually Act? What is it to transform a Thought, Concept, Idea to an Action? and What is involved in Action impacting the larger Reality?
Training and Warriorship remain ideal forums for exploring these questions.
Join me on this new leg of exploration.
–Jalal
Augusta Quickie: quick notes from Ironman Augusta 70.3 2012
To start, it was a great race. The weather was virtually ideal (for the race portion, at least). Had some great camaraderie on the run, and after the race. The hotel stay was decent, though sort of far. And, most importantly, I met my goals in relation to prepping for Ironman Florida.
- The weather was ideal, partly sunny to overcast for most of the race, with moderate temps. Whereas last year the temps were hot, and then it rained off and on for the run. It did rain this year, but only after the race (for most of us).
- I stayed in the Comfort Inn on the west side of town–somewhat far from the venue, and not the hotel I had hoped to get initially. But they did a good job, and it worked out well. As it turns out, the hotel I wanted, that did such a great job last year, didn’t do quite as well this year (some friends ended up in that one)
- Evidently Augusta is becoming a popular race, and all the cheap rooms were gone early.
- On the run I linked up with a football coach from the Atlanta area and we helped pace each other through the second half. In the final three miles or so, we linked up with another fellow from Florida, whose legs were still fresh, and he helped us with the final push for the finish.
- I finally linked up with my training partners, who it would seem, had put me on ignore going into the race. Ran into them on the shuttle back to get our stuff from transition. Was certainly a boon over last year, where I flew solo the entire event.
- Goals: My main goals were to practice pacing for Florida–primarily to not let the bike hurt.
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- I also was able to confirm my nutrition strategy for Florida. Nutritionally, with “Special Needs” bags, I should be good to go.
- My cardio was bullet proof this race. At no point was I sucking wind.
- The area of weakness was muscular endurance. On the bike and the run, it was my muscular endurance that was a limiter, not my cardio.
- This is a good thing (I think) as it would seem that muscular endurance is an easier fix in the weeks before Florida.
- Another piece in the nutrition/endurance aspect was my emphasis on muscular hydration. I had zero cramping issues–Success!
- Flexibility and too much plasma hydration remain limiters, especially on the bike.
Some quick thoughts on the race. I’ll sit down and pound out a more thorough race report in a few days.
No Purpose
There is no purpose to my training. There is no real end-goal to all of this. People ask why I train. Last night the question came up with one of our surrogate daughters (as I call them). This time it was in the form of “Why do you triathlons?” We were discussing Ironman. The answer was “Because it was the next step”–Which doesn’t really answer her question.
The question of Purpose implies in part a practical purpose. My training and competing does have some practical side benefits. There are several very real real-world reasons I train. However, these are not compelling enough in themselves to justify what I do. Therefore, in honesty they are not Why I Train.
I have asked this question before.
Training has many practical benefits. I have actually needed it in the real world. Survival is a huge one. General health. Improved mental functioning. Ability to keep up with my kids. Respect amongst my peers. Social outlet. Fun. Improvement in my other purposeless activities (rock climbing, camping, hiking, fishing). It is a tool on my spiritual path. But none of these, even surviving the coming apocolypse, is really compelling enough.
I’ve been reading the “E-Myth” Series of books, by Michael E. Gerber. In E-Myth Mastery he tackles this question of Purpose, Passion, and Vision (his distinctions). Gerber concludes that once something is reduced to purpose, practicality is attached, and the original vision is killed. This is something experienced in business all the time. Artists talk of how earning a living from their art, killed their art. I am going through this in my business right now. My artistic vision has been compromised by the practical needs of operating a business. Consequently, I find my passion waning.
Walking back to the soccer fields last night, approaching from above, I was able to look out over the whole complex spread out under the lights. I was struck by the sheer numbers of kids working hard at something, which, for most of them, will yield no practical results. There will be no soccer scholarships for most. Most will not play on the top state and national teams. Even for those who play on top teams, or make their competitive high school squads, the real practicality of it all is hard to define. There are much better ways to finance a college education than pouring all the time and money we do into sports. We put a massive amount of effort and resources as a society into sports. All of which only yields “practical” results for an improbably narrow slice.
Why do we do this?
I believe it is a primordial longing that compels us. Our obsession for sports embodies a longing for a Human state lost thousands of years ago. I’ve talked about how the Warrior class developed as human society became more organized. How the Warrior class is an embodiment of some of our most powerful Human evolutions. The Warrior is a link between Civilized man and Natural man. We long for this connection.
There is no Purpose to my training. I am compelled by a calling from time before Reason, a root deeper than Purpose.
Your Brain on Exercise: Brain Training
Brain Training
Neurogenesis. The process of the brain producing new brain cells. This was believed for decades to not exist–Despite case-study evidence to the contrary. At any rate, this is the first step in reprogramming your brain.
For the Warrior, neurogenesis provides a unique opportunity to reprogram the brain. Exercise contributes to neurogenesis–it induces the growth of new brain cells. This is great because we are already training and exercising. New brain cells are already being generated. However, this is not enough.
New brain cells alone will not make things different. These are raw cells that need to learn stuff. They can learn what you already know. Or you can program them with new information, habits, behaviors, reactions.
Bottom line: New brain cells need to be programmed with something–this can be negative habits or new, positive behaviors.
Your move. You’ve got these new brain cells. What are you going to program them with? You need to consciously decide what learning, what habits, what behaviors you’re going to expose these new brain cells to.
You can pick up a new book. You can take a class. You can Meditate. Meditation, with its own effects on the brain, seems like a great way to double-down. You can continue your old, bad habits.
Your move.
An Odd Benefit: Logistics of Training
Scott Herrick, talks about the necessity of keeping your supply train running smoothly during training, especially for Ironman. Here, he is referring to all the myriad activities which are necessary just so you can show up each day, ready to train. Washing training gear, washing water bottles, buying food, preparing homemade concoctions, resupplying worn gear, shopping, scheduling training, bike maintenance–the list is long–and then, doing all these things well in advance.
There is a training effect from wrestling these decidedly non-training tasks into place. Whereas, being in the best shape of my life is definitely a boon for my general health, well being, and balanced mind-state, the supporting activities are also a boon for the pure organization of my life and my mind.
Simply being forced to think about fitting all the pieces together, and the ensuing effort to fit them together, has made my life in general more organized and simplified.
This has been a progressive adaptation. Much like muscular development: I started out small, adapted, increased intensity, adapted, and progressed. Beginning years ago with a gym program, then getting increasingly back into running, then layering on triathlon, then longer distances of triathlon and more races, now Ironman, which I consider a separate category due to the unique pressures of its training.
I am more thoughtful about my commitments. I am more organized. My day-to-day activities are streamlined and simplified. I have been forced to actually abide by my MIT task-management philosophy. My mental state is clearer. Not to mention, my laundry not only gets washed, but even folded.
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–Jalal
Find me on Twitter
Notes About Scales
What are you weighing?
Confession: I weigh myself on a scale several times per week.
The scale, or more specifically, body weight, is something of a loaded subject in our modern ego-driven, hyper-sexualized, glamour driven, air-brushed, before -and-after culture. Most people associate its use singularly with weight-loss. Weight loss being about as pervasive, yet non-specific a topic as can be found in health discourse.
(Check out these guys for great discussions on this topic: What is Fit?, Olympian Sarah Robles, Also check out Behind the Lens documentary on Cheryl Haworth)
I do not weigh myself with the aim to lose any weight. A few things I am looking for:
- Significant fluctuations, and corresponding behaviors
- Ensure my nutritional intake is in line with my training volume: specifically to stay in a certain range above what I’ve determined to be my best racing (fighting) weight.
- As a figure in calculating body-fat percentage. Again monitoring body-fat for significant fluctuations, and to stay in a certain range.
- To keep my training weight a couple of pounds over my race weight. My race weight being that number I was at when I felt the strongest in a race. Not sluggish, and not depleted. This is only known by tracking weight against performance, along with some other numbers, and adjustments for other impacts on weight like detox and cleanse.
What I don’t care about is the number for its own sake. I don’t care about height weight charts. I don’t care what other guys at the gym weigh (many are bigger and weigh more, but can’t lift more). If the FDA or USDA said it, I probably don’t care about it, and will likely do the opposite, knowing how wrong they are. I don’t care what some guy in Men’s Health looks like, as he probably can’t out-lift, out-run, out-swim, out-survive me, especially once the airbrush work is done. (Wow, how’s that for some vanity)
I track body weight in correlation with several factors, and have determined what is healthy for me.
For example, after Augusta last year, I noted a significant weight loss. I also discovered I was overtrained. The low body weight began before Augusta and also accompanied an increased resting heart rate for a few months post race. My deduction from all this was that I had overtrained going into Augusta. It was likely the result of injuries a month or so ahead of the race, and then my push to compensate for the lost training time.
Lesson: Carefully monitor my training volumes against my recovery times and nutrition, using several measurements to augment my own intuitive sense.
Another use for body weight it determining my hydration levels. If my weight is low, and my body-fat numbers are screwy, despite how I feel, I’m likely dehydrated. It could be my plasma hydration is fine, but my general electrolyte levels are off, affecting my muscle hydration.
Low body weight (below my training weight), can indicate I’m not taking in enough calories, or maybe my protein intake is off. Each of which can cause training to be a negative, or can lead to overtraining.
As mentioned a couple of times above, I track body-fat composition and use that as an indicator for several things.
A pop in body weight, especially after an out-of-town trip, can indicate I was eating too much crap on the road, and am now bloated. Time to flush my system.
Almost all of these indicators are accompanied by a feeling, that if I tune into, my body will tell me what is going on. However, one of the things about being an athlete, is ignoring certain signals our body sends us, despite how loud they may be screaming.
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Jalal
Find my on Twitter. Twitter.com/Old454
Race Report: Georgia Veterans Triathlon 2012
Another great day at the Georgia Veterans Triathlon (Sprint). I managed to put up a personal best for this race, despite sucky swim and bike conditions.
My previous posts for this race:
This may be my last prep race before Augusta 70.3 and then, Ironman Florida. My main goals were to test some recent equipment changes, some transition tweaks, and nutrition strategies. From those respects, everything went very nicely.
Down and Dirty
I really enjoy this race. It was my first triathlon. This is my third time doing it. The swim, swim transition, bike course, and run course are all very friendly, and conducive to the first-timer, or the vet looking for something fun. This time around, the weather was less than friendly with recent thunderstorms creating choppy lake water, and wet bike pavement. There was a slight drizzle for the swim start, but it was gone by the time we got out of the water. The roads were wet for the bike, making navigation on the older road beds tricky. However, the roads had dried a good bit by the run start. I put up a personal best on this course, despite these issues. It was a good day.
Distances: 400 yard swim, 13.6 mile bike, 5k run. With relay team option, also
Course: Loop 400 yard swim in Lake Blackshear;
13.6 mile loop bike, no aid stations;
5k out and back run, 2 aid stations (can hit them going each way).
Registration: $55, early mail-in, USAT member. I hate online registration through those thieves at Active.com .
Host: Georgia Multisport
Weather: I could see thunderstorms in distance on the road to the race. It had clearly recently rained, and the race start was delayed 30 min, due to the delay in clearing the course from the recent thunderstorms. (good thing too, because a tree had evidently needed to be cleared from the bike course roadway). It was drizzling as we waited to start the swim, but that ended before we got out of the water. The wind did, however, create the choppiest swim conditions I’ve seen to this point. Even more difficult than Turtle Crawl. Good training though–we can’t predict what race conditions will be for any future race, and it is necessary to train and be prepared for all sorts of things. Same goes for the bike. The road was wet, and at least one guy I passed got some road rash. He stated all was good, though. My front tire was skipping on the older eroded sections of asphalt. Perhaps I could have taken a few pounds of pressure out of the front tire, but then again it was fine on the smooth sections which make up maybe three-quarters of the course. Weather for the run ended up being ideal, and I was blowing past people at a high rate of speed.
Terrain:
- Swim–Start at a sandy boat ramp. A simple out for 150 or so yards, hang a right for 100 or so, and back.
- Bike–Fairly flat. The first third to half is twisty and mildly technical. A couple of slow risers on the second half. Virtually dead flat on the last stretch.
- Run–Fairly flat also, a couple of short rollers between mile 1.5 and 2.5. Punch it after the last turn.
Competition: Mixed bag of super fast guys, and first-timers.
My results: Mid pack on swim, Mid pack on bike, and front on run. An improvement for me all things considered. My greatest opportunities still lie in the swim and bike. Need to work on muscular endurance for swim to better overcome tough swim conditions. Once warmed up on the bike, I was able to build speed and hold it. On the run, I kept my strokes short, and continued to build speed after first mile.
General Impression: I really enjoy this race. It is well organized. Safety, especially on the tricky portion of the bike is a priority. There is roadway traffic, but it is light with no jerks. Nice looking t-shirt.
Room for improvement: No complaints.
This time I made the three hour drive from home race day morning with no hotel stay. This year it is important that I control my expense with two very expensive races on the calendar. The previous two years I’ve spent the night before in a local hotel. Also, with more experience, for these shorter races, I can wake up early, make the road trip, bust a race, ride back, all in one day. Trick being, as with all races, to get a really good night’s sleep the second night before. How many races can you really get a good night’s sleep the night before anyhow?
My goals were to test some things in preparation for Florida.
- I had recently installed an new wheel set, which works beautifully, however the new gearing had some kinks to work out.
- I’ve been training in Vibrams, but don’t want to race in them for a couple of reasons, hence I recently bought some Saucony Hattoris and wanted to test them in a race scenario.
- New water bottle configuration, and homemade sports drink.
- New bungee swim goggle straps, which have been working great in the pool, also worked great in the lake.
I woke up about 3am, got packed, out the door, and on the road by 4am. Arrived at the venue right at 7am, set up transition, chilled out for a while. Got a good warm up swim. Bust the race. Ate some post race food. Saw I had no chance of medalling, and made the three hour drive to the princess’s soccer tournament. After the tournament, drove home one hour. Showered and made it to Keb Mo / Aaron Neville concert not too late.
Such is the life.
It was a good day.
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–Jalal
Find me on Twitter. Twitter.com/Old454
Sub 10–Again!
Not directly relevant, but highly apropo.
First the low down: Just came in at 9.8% body fat, at about three pounds over my fighting weight.
I have been ostensibly following the slow-carb diet–of which I have had some success, first going under 10% briefly a few months ago. I say ostensibly because in Ironman training, my calorie burn, delivery and demands are fairly high–not so easy to fulfill on Tim Ferris’s guidelines. My monthly training calorie burn had been around 15,000 for the past six months, and just spiked to 25,000 in July. I expect it to stay in the 25,000-35,000 range until I race. I have not dropped weight, but I’ve been hovering around 11% the last few months.
The main diet rules I’ve been actually adhering to are:
- Food selections very similar to my old simple diet rules
- High protein breakfast, and no fast carbs–generally 4 eggs, and often 1/2 can of black beans. Coffee is a must.
- High protein meals throughout the day.
- No fast carbs in the morning.
- I’ll increase starch consumption, if necessary, later in the day.
- Virtually no sugar throughout the week.
- Religiously observe my cheat day on Saturday–often including two dozen chocolate chip, or peanut butter cookies.
- Drink virtually nothing but water and coffee through the week. I don’t even really hit sodas on my cheat days.
- Consume massive amounts of yogurt (home made, organic)
- Make my own sports bars.
- Make my own sports drinks.
- Drink mucho agua, especially during workouts.
- Maintain my weightlifting regimen, especially olympic and heavy lifts.
- Not to mention the 6-10 additional training sessions each week.
That’s it.
Well there are some more, especially surrounding food selection, but these are the gist. Many of the points above could be technically grouped together, but I’ve separated details for clarity.
For those who’ve paid attention, there are many rules I am breaking. However, adhering to these above is working.
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— Jalal
Find me on Twitter. Twitter.com/Old454
Road to Ironman: Day 250 (trust the training?)
Wow. I’ve been on this road for 250 days. Today my hams, glutes, right knee and left achilles are bugging me. The hams and glutes are from a return to heavy deadlifts this week. The knee is from my ride last Sunday which revealed some mechanical adjustments I need to make to my set up. The achilles is a flexibility issue, radiating down into my ankle. I ran 6.8 miles yesterday at 11+ pace. Not very impressive.
Taking all this into account, it doesn’t feel like I’m making great progress. However, when I look at my training charts, I can see that I’m posting bigger everything than I ever have, even the month of 70.3 Augusta last year–particularly when I look at overall effort, which I tracked very simply as calories burned. There are a couple of outlier weeks–like the actual week of Augusta, and the week of Warner Robbins 13.1. On the other hand, weeks of other races, which used to be outliers, Olympic distances, for example, now look like normal training volumes.
The great insight in all this? I couldn’t tell you, really. I do know that according to my volumes, I’m ready for Augusta right now–8 weeks out. My prep for Augusta, is really my full Ironman plan, pushed up by 6 weeks. Thus, though it does not feel like it–I’m on track to be good for Florida.
Maybe the insight is trust the training. What do you think?
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Jalal
How I Spent My Weekend, By Kent Lassman
Nice to see a non-Kona piece.
At 23 minutes, a bit long. Heavy on the emotion. Wonderful images telling the story of the race.
60 Mile Ride, Warrior Training?
Yesterday I was scouting out a new 60 mile bicycle route for the Crew. What was supposed to be a ride punctuated with map checks, became a mini Warrior-Up session. This weekend I finished installing a new wheelset, exchanged my 8-speed Hyperglide for a 9-speed, new chain, new rear shift cable, and adjusted my bar-end shifters for the new set-up. Saturday night all seemed well.
Everything started out well enough. The route starts out the first 10-15 miles or so sharing the same roads of other routes we ride. I had to conduct a couple of map checks, to verify intersections, etc., but all was well.
Before the halfway point, my front derailleur stopped shifting to the big chain ring. I made a pit stop in Rutledge, GA, made the field adjustments, and proceded. Then the front derailleur began dropping my chain to the outside. Several roadside adjustments later, and I had that under control.
By adding time to the ride, my water began to get low.
Then, in the second half I couldn’t shift to my lowest gear.
Later in the second half, I couldn’t hit the #8 sprocket.
Then the #7 sprocket.
I stopped the check it out. Clearly a couple turns on my cable nut would square it away. I succeeded in up-shifting to my 12 tooth #1 with a completely stretched out cable, and the one nut on the whole bike I couldn’t adjust with my new onboard multi-tool.
Warrior-Up time.
I had to ride it out like that, hills and all.
There were at least two hills I considered dismounting and walking.
Eventually, the school parking lot where my truck was parked was in sight.
It didn’t kill me.
I’m glad it happened–now. We don’t want to have to Warrior-Up every training session. Once in a while, we need a little extra suck–those sessions where one thing after the other, after the other, goes wrong to really test and stretch us mentally.
Training the Vehicle
(c) Patrick Feller — http://www.flickr.com/photos/nakrnsm/
In the gym lifting yesterday, I had an epiphany. An article tweeted by @EastTriFitCrew drew the analogy of your body as a vehicle you train and prep for race day–a vehicle that it is then up to you the driver to drive for the race. I found this analogy striking at the moment, a great distinction between your body, training, and your self who must actually execute on race day, mechanical malfunctions, inadequacies and all. It is similar, but not exactly, like the guy with the $5000 bike, the bike alone won’t make him go fast. (I also appreciate the role of the self as the observer)
However, in the gym yesterday, it occurred that this analogy can be extended further, and more meaningfully to Practice and life in general. We practice for what purpose? It is not an end in itself. Nor is it for the purpose of the real side benefits–reduced heart rate, longevity, improved health, better focus–but to prepare ourselves to navigate this life, many of whom’s ultimate goal is to not rinse-and-repeat next life, but ultimate freedom from Samsara.
Practice that only aims for the side benefits, falls far short. Yoga, zazen, tai chi–whatever your practice, there are many side benefits (so readily marketed to us now), but what is the point if you don’t then use that improved vehicle to navigate this life.
You are the driver. Your body is a shell. You will eventually shed your body, your mind even. Until then, to what use will you put them?
Training is my Practice. It is what actually keeps me functional in this life. For me the vehicle and driver analogy is perfect. My truck with 316,000 miles on it–I do the maintenance so it will remain functional, and continue to help me navigate around town. I don’t do the maintenance just so it will look nice, or people will think it is cool (though some actually do think it’s cool). I practice so my mind and body will remain functional (sometimes even at peak performance), and I can use them to help me navigate this universe.
Heat Training
We’re in the midst of a heat wave. Day after day of record high temps. That’s saying a lot for Georgia in June and July.
Yesterday I rode 45 or so miles. The temps when I left were 95 degrees. The temp when I got back was 109. I could tell when I got back that I was right on the edge. I actually cut my route short a bit because I had run through my water much faster than anticipated. The Queen questioned the wisdom of me training under such conditions. Given that I did not have a heat injury, I feel it was a successful session. However, like I said, I was right on the edge. If I did have a heat injury, it could have been a bad day.
These thoughts prompted me to do some cursory research on training in the heat. A few days ago, I read an article about a Navy Lieutenant training for an ultramarathon while on ship. One of the things she would do is actually train in the sauna. She is an experienced ultramarathoner, so my assumption is she knows what she is doing. As it turns out, she does.
Training in the heat can provide some significant advantages. However, there are two extremely important preconditions. First, you must train smart. Second, you must already be fit.
Training smart begins with being meticulous with your hydration, pre-training, during training, and post-training. Being fit before the hot season is also key.
Be fit beforehand. Studies show that athletes who are fit prior to heat training show marked improvements over those who are not. Additionally, the type of training you did in the cooler conditions also matters. Intense, interval type sessions conducted in cooler weather translate to faster heat acclimatization over moderate, low intensity sessions.
Listen to your body. If a session in the heat really sucks, cut it off. It is better to cut a session short, and be able to train tomorrow, than risk a heat injury. Heat injury could mean missing several training days, or it could mean having a dangerous, even life-threatening incident on the road somewhere. Even in the gym, heat illness can become a critical situation.
To become acclimatized gradually increase training durations, as tolerated. Maintain lower intensities and volumes. End a session if it becomes too hard. Stay hydrated throughout.
Given these pre-conditions, acclimatization can occur within four to eight days.
Once acclimatized, heat training intensities and volumes should be maintained lower than the same training in cooler conditions.
Heat training sessions pay off in two ways. Acclimatization and subsequent sessions allow you to perform and compete better in hot conditions. Also, once the weather cools off, the work can translate to improved overall performance.
Training in the heat is a risky type of training. Like other forms of high intensity protocols, it requires one be diligent about safety, proper recovery, planning, and moderation. However, there are some significant benefits to be had. Additionally, the Summer is a third of the race season, thus properly preparing to train and compete in it is a virtual necessity.
Familiar Routes
The last couple of months have found me riding and running new and unfamiliar routes. In the last week I’ve revisited some of my tried and true, if somewhat recently neglected, routes. I often desire to seek out new scenery, new stimulation in my training. Along with this, time constraints force me to closer, well-worn trails–Often with a sense of drudgery.
That sense of drudgery never lasts very long though. Once on the trail, I begin to relish in the training.
Recently, I’ve run a couple of my old standbys, and found myself remarkably stronger in certain dreaded sections. Over the years, I’ve steadily improved on these hills. However, the recent improvement has been dramatic and surprising. Particularly so, given the time away.
Hence, another, more practical benefit to familiar routes is their benchmark factor.
When you’ve been away from one certain dreaded hill for several months, and return to it, never quite hitting the wall, still strong as the hills begins to top out–you now have confirmation that the training has been paying off.
Another reason to Praise Familiar Routes.
–Jalal
20 Week Ironman Training: Road to Ironman
Today will finish out Week 2 of a 20-week build to Augusta. The 20-week plan is actually a full Ironman distance plan. My objective is to build 20 weeks into Augusta, take a week off, and then repeat the last five weeks going into Panama City.
For the past several months my focus has been building muscular strength and power, as well as rebuilding my swim stroke. At some point in my final training stretch I need to cut down the heavy lifts and gym session frequency. A couple of weeks ago my right knee felt weird doing front squats, which precipitated a break from leg work in the gym. That on the heels of my back seizure incident, let’s me know the timing for this switch was right. With double sessions virtually every day, the recovery time needed from heavy lifts and three times a week frequency creates too heavy a training load.
Week one went well, and I capped it off with Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl Olympic Triathlon.
This past week, my local county pool was closed for routine maintenance going into Memorial Day, so that gave me the opportunity to get some extra gym work in. Knees are feeling better.
Right now I am as fit as I was going into Augusta last year. My specific race fitness isn’t there, particularly in the run. However, on the bike and in the water, with little race specific training, I am stronger than ever.
For the past several weeks I’ve been repeating the week one training going into the actual 20 Week build. However, my recent back incident and Life have made it slightly difficult. I have however, been able to reproduce the swim side for the past few weeks.
Additionally, those unexpected interruptions have left me feeling stronger. And if there were any doubt, today in the gym I was able to do five sets of power cleans, where my best to that point has been three.
Strength training wise, I’ll go down to twice a week in the gym, with a calisthenic & running speed session, for example Tabata protocol, or Crossfit-style “Helens”.
Given the past few races, and recent long sessions these are my emphases for this season:
- Swim–technique and endurance.
- Bike–muscular endurance.
- Run–Muscular endurance, Speed.
–Jalal
Turtle Crawl Olympic Triathlon, Jekyll Island: Race Report
This past weekend I raced in my first Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl Triathlon, Olympic distance. Jekyll is definitely a beautiful setting. I had looked at this race last year, but scheduling in May is a toughie. However, with Ironman Florida looming, and between its Gulf Coast ocean swim, and run/bike terrain, Jekyll seemed like a great prep race.
Before going further, let me say this report is tempered by the reality that a man, Christopher Petty, died during or shortly after the swim portion of the race.
We had vacationed in the area earlier in the year, swimming at St. Simons and Jekyll. I did not have great confidence being able to execute a decent stroke for any real distance in the surf. However, in the time since, my stroke in the pool has greatly improved, and a good bit has transferred to open water training (in the lake, albeit).
Down and Dirty
Once we got going, this was a fun race. The volunteers are all super friendly, the locals are great (hard to be a hard-ass living on Jekyll). There were some organizational glitches and one outright tragedy. However, I would recommend this race.
Distances: 1500 meter swim, 28 mile bike, 10k run. With relay, sprint, and 5k- & 10k- only options.
Course: Point-to-point 1500 meter swim along the Jekyll Island ocean-side coast;
28 mile loop (essentially) bike, one bottle exchange station; 10k out and back run, two water stations.
Registration: $85, 95, & 105 depending on how early you register, USAT member. There is a mail-in option. SetUp Events has an unsecured login and registration page. One lady assured me the payment processing was secured, but I don’t do unsecured logins.
Host: SetUp Events
Weather: Weather was beautiful. When I got on the island I heard the water temps were 72ish, that morning, someone said 74. Regardless, the water was an ideal temperature–Wetsuit legal. My second race in my new Xterra john suit. There was some rain the day before, but that seemed to only enhance the race conditions.
Terrain:
- Swim–A long walk down the beach to the swim start. Wave start on the beach, into the surf, hang a right and swim 1500 meters, hang another right and swim out. Slightly swimming against the current exiting the water.
- Bike–Pretty flat. Some slopes and rises, not even rollers. The issue is the cross- and head-winds. It was really a cross wind, so on the way back no tail-wind benefit. Apparently, good Florida training.
- Run–Virtually same terrain as the ride. A paved stretch with the beach to your side. Dappled shade.
Competition: Mixed bag of super fast guys, and first-timers. Given the destination angle of the race, there were a good mix of mid-packers and a more than usual dose of relayers. The relayers tend to skew your perspective on each leg of race.
My results: Back of the pack swim, mid-pack bike, mid-pack run. Giving myself a break on this one, as I still had a cold or something, and was racing after working hard all day, getting on the road late, and only catching a couple of hours sleep.
General Impression: Fun race. Idyllic setting & conditions. Some organizational flaws. Post-race recovery food was virtually non-existent. There was a food truck selling food. The Muscle Milk girls were there.
Room for improvement: I usually don’t have a long list of complaints, however, I think this list is justified. Regardless, it does not prevent me from recommending the race.
- Arriving at my hotel at 1:30am, necessitated early morning packet pick up. The packet pickup process was terrible. The volunteers were not empowered to make decisions to move the line faster, and could only process one person at a time off of a single paper registration list. This took the already stressful transition setup process, and made it far more stressful than necessary by sucking up all the time.
- There was no pre-race briefing. We were informed via email that all the info was available in an online doc, and there would be no pre-race briefing. There are several issues with this, one immediate on being that pulling up online docs while on the road is not always fool-proof. The other being that the briefing has a real purpose to inform participants of changes and new issues right before they start. The briefing is not a check-the-block kind of thing. Several niggling annoyances could have been avoided with a good pre-race brief right before the start.
- No port-a-potties. One after the race lady told me she saw one, but I saw none during the race, not at transition or anywhere else.
- Post race recovery food was utterly lacking. There was water and Gatorade at the finish line. Aside from that, I did not see any bananas, bagels or anything else. The Muscle Milk ladies were there, and that is always nice, but not quite the same.
Tragedy
There is debate about the ocean conditions and the race’s level of organization. I noticed one boat assisting a swimmer, however I did not see anyone in actual distress. I did not find the ocean to be too rough to swim, though I could see how it may have been hard for rescue kayaks to track and get to swimmers. One of my major criticisms is there were some organizational breakdowns. From my perspective during the race these were mostly annoying, not deadly. My initial reading of the reports indicate that the actual responders–the rescuers, EMTs, and State Patrol–all responded quickly and appropriately. It seems that the after-incident notification & reporting to emergency contacts and next of kin, was an issue, something I can imagine. I have noted some shortcomings, that definitely need to be addressed going forward. I don’t know to what extent, if at all, they contributed to Mr. Petty’s death, but the devil is in the details.
Triathlon is a dangerous sport, something that racers and organizers need to keep in mind, and be reminded of at all times. Many are saying the swim should have been cancelled. I don’t think so. The water was not unmanageable. It is an ocean swim after all. However, but all steps need to be in place, and taken seriously.
The Race
I mentioned earlier that May is a tough month the schedule, however, it is an important month to get in some test races. This year, on top of the usual soccer schedules, and end of the year school stuff, we are dealing with graduation stuff. I did not fully understand the impact that graduation stuff was going to have on my schedule in general. This race was no exception.
I generally, look at my schedule, consult with my wife, and try to shoehorn in personal race, training, and other stuff where I can. After doing all that, this past weekend seemed to work. Mother’s Day was the weekend before. Graduation was several day after. The regular club soccer season was over, the high school playoffs were done, and the State Cup series would be two weeks out. But of course, it didn’t work out like that.
Originally, I had planned to leave around noon Friday, get to Jekyll, pick up my packet early, set up my gear, hit the hotel, maybe watch the sunset on the beach. Actually, at one point, I envisioned making a mini-vacay with my wife out of this, but that evaporated a long time ago.
What actually happened was I was informed the day before that my son’s signing day ceremony would be at 2:30pm in the afternoon (automatic arriving in Jekyll like 10pm), worked all day, pushing to make headway on projects we are already behind on, had to address some domestic logistic issues, and didn’t get on the road until crazy late, arriving at Jekyll at 1:30am in the morning. I couldn’t fall asleep for another hour, and then started to trying to wake up at 4:45am.
I got to transition about 6am, which should have been plenty of time to get my packet, setup transition, and do everything I needed to. With the aforementioned glitches, it wasn’t. Luckily my transition set up is very straight forward, only needing about five minutes to do.
The walk to the swim start is long–be prepared.
Once in the water, I figured swimming in the breakers would be impossible, so I swam out as I could beyond the breakers, and once in the swells, the swimming was manageable. I saw people struggling in the breakers. Definitely swim out to the flatter water. It took a while, but I was able to settle down to a decent free-style. Alternating sides. Timing the swells. Sighting off of the water towers on shore. Around the last buoy and back to shore.
T1 was uneventful. I’m working out how to best deploy my homemade Lara bars. Packaging and carrying during the race is still slightly awkward. The wetsuit came off super easy this time. One fitting, one open water swim, and two races later. Breaking in is key.
The bike was also uneventful. Beautiful. A couple of inconsiderate drivers. After five miles my legs loosened up, and I was able to push my cadence for the remaining 23. There was a fairly steady cross-wind on the way out. It was more of three-quarter wind, needing to actually lean into it at times, and forcing me into aero for most of the ride. Typically, aero is a big issue for me, causing my back to seize up. However, I had recently adjusted my set up, going for a shorter, more vertical aerobar reach, and had no back issues.
One other big guy and I were hopeful for a tail wind on the way back, but no such thing. Only less of a cross wind.
In T2 a lady drug her bike through my towel and space, fortunately, not disrupting my gear too much. I helped her get her bike situated. Looking at my T2 split, it might have cost me 10 seconds. And my gear survived. No biggie.
The run went well. I kept my stride short, and maintained my form fairly well. I could feel my hamstrings on the verge of cramping during the last few miles, so I’m confident that I did not hold back.
Day 157: Road to Ironman Florida
Today is a random day. Nothing particularly remarkable relating to my, epic-sounding, Road to Ironman Florida. Of some significance is that I am recovering from another back lockup/seizure episode. Last Sunday was my first triathlon of the season, Spring Fling Sprint at West Point Lake.
After the race that afternoon, I helped my buddy fix his hot water heater, and helped my son with his AP Statistics homework (well, as I could, its been a long time since college statistics). I then promptly passed out on the couch.
The next morning, I was feeling great. Went to work, and hit the gym late morning. Finished my day. Ran practice with my girls’ team. Hit the pool that evening. Went to bed tired, but feeling good.
Perhaps that was a bit too much, because Tuesday morning, when I tried to roll out of bed, I could not stand up straight. My back was in full-scale revolt.
This happened to me in the final weeks of training going into Augusta 70.3 last year. Last year I tried to push through, and ended up on the sidelines for two weeks. A costly two weeks. What I did discover, was that my back would loosen up in the pool.
So this time I did two things. 1) I ceased all attempts to push through, or do any work thatmight cause my back to lockup. 2) I went to the pool that evening.
I actually swam more and better this week than I have ever. I have had several breakthrough moments this week in the pool. As of today, my back is still tight, but I can walk, get in and out of my truck, sit at my desk–things I could not do at this point in last year’s episode.
Perhaps, this was a forced recovery period. I have not been cycling my sessions as I know I should (an unload week every third week). In fact, I’ve been pushing for bigger strength gains in the gym, in advance of my reduced gym time in the weeks going into Ironman Florida.
In reality, this is the ghost of years past–too many hard training days without good recovery when I was younger, too many holes and ditches dug in concrete-hard, drought-dried, August-baked Georgia clay. A consequence of living a certain number of days, and doing a certain number of real things in those days. I’ll much rather take it now, rather than in the weeks going into Florida.
Spring Fling Sprint Triathlon: Race Report
I just put my first triathlon of the season in the bag (I have a few more races scheduled)–it was the Spring Fling at West Point Lake, on the border of Georgia and Alabama. (West Point, Georgia, near LaGrange). This event actually consists of two races–the West Point Triathlon, an olympic distance, and the Spring Fling Sprint.
My selection of this race was that it was the first sprint distance scheduled on a Sunday. My Saturdays are impossibilities until after soccer season. In fact my next race will be the Turtle Crawl Olympic at Jekyll, the first Saturday after soccer season!
Down and Dirty
This is a fun race. The weather was great, the water temp was a tad cool, but I always feel the lake temps are cool. The people are fun, and the volunteers super helpful.
Distances: 600 yard swim, 15 mile bike, 5k run. With relay team option, also
Course: Out and back 600 yard swim in West Point Lake;
15 mile out and back (essentially) bike, no aid stations; 5k out and back run, water at start and 1.5 mile mark.
Registration: $65, early mail-in, USAT member. I hate online registration through those thieves at Active.com .
Host: Georgia Multisport
Weather: Weather was beautiful and warm. The water was still a tad cool–Wetsuit legal. I was able to test my new Xterra john suit. Weather stayed sunny and rain-free all day. I didn’t notice the heat until after the race.
Terrain:
- Swim–Start and end on a boat ramp, which is always slightly tricky in terms of toe scrapes. A simple out for 250-300 yards, hang a left for 50 or so, and back.
- Bike–Rolling hills. Somewhere this course was called flat and fast. It is not flat. No killer climbs, but don’t look for the flats. A Pit/Staffordshire mix came charging out on one uphill. Thank you to the sheriff who chased him off.
- Run–Again, not flat. Rolling hills, no killer climbs. I’m sure I negative split on the way back.
Competition: Mixed bag of super fast guys, and first-timers. The first olympic distance guy was out of the water in 17 minutes. The last olympic people were behind me.
My results: Back of the pack swim, mid-pack bike, front pack run. Mid-pack overall, back of the pack for my age group. My biggest opportunity still lies in the swim, but I feel that getting better with every training session. My next opportunity is in the bike, getting stronger and smarter there all the time.
General Impression: Fun race. Close enough to home to get up early and drive to, race, and drive home. Well supported during all legs, with nice post race recovery food (I did not try, and cannot vouch for, the pizza though)
Room for improvement: Swag period. We got our numbers before hand, and the t-shirt. No swag at all though 😐
I woke up at 3:30am to get ready and leave for the race. I had done minimal preparation the night before (which I regret). My aim was to be on the road at 4:30. I finally got going pushing 5am. From my house it was right at 2 hours to get there. Definitely load up all your stuff once your parked, and head down to transition in one shot. the closest parking is 1/4 mile. Where I ended up parking is 1/2 mile easy. You don’t want to make that round trip unnecessarily.
Once I got parked, unloaded and down to transition, transition was technically closed. (One reason I recommend you stay the night if this is your first race.) I set up transition fairly quickly, copped a squat in someone’s chair, and squeezed into my wetsuit.
With a little time to kill, I hit the bathroom (no, not the port-a-potty). By the time that was over, the Olympic distance had already started. I slipped into my start wave and waited.
The swim was uneventful, except I need to work on my wetsuit adjustments. I had not hoisted the crotch enough, and it ended up pulling on my shoulders, chest and legs. I think this is an adjustment issue, not a sizing one. Although, I’m finding the triathlon sizing charts are made for skinner guys than I, and I’m not a bulky guy.
Bike transition went smooth. Slightly slow, as I carefully eased the wetsuit past my ankles. The bike ride was also uneventful, one Lincoln buzzed me and pushed my bike number into my wheel spokes and I had the annoyance of that flapping sound for the last six or seven miles. I passed some folks and lost them on the hills. The pit/Staffordshire mix came charging out right before the 7.5 mile marker. He had his sights set on a cyclist in front of me, but a deputy ran him off. I tested out one of my homemade Lara bars. The bar worked great, but my wrapping, and deployment needs some help. Definitely not as simple as ripping open a gel. No sports drink for this race, only water.
Run transition was super fast. Rack my bike. Take off my helmet. Slip on my running shoes. Zing my elastic laces. and I’m gone. Nothing else to it. I hit an espresso gel at the .5 mile or so. After the 1.5 mile turn around, the gel hit, I kicked it in a bit, and finished with some fast guys, making me look a lot better than I am. The finish line sneaks up on you a bit, and is in a slightly different spot than the transition area.
Muscle Milk, cookies, bananas, water and a Coke for my post recovery stuff. There was a ton of other stuff. I wasn’t really craving anything else, and those hit the spot. Talked to some local racers for a bit, and headed home.
Got home in time to help my buddy with his hot water heater, and my son with his AP Statistics homework!
It was a good day.
Trust the Training
Confession: This post is inspired by Lauren Hanna Foster’s recent post Trust the Practice. I saw a tweet/retweet with the titled and was led to read the post, mostly by its recollection of a refrain from my past “Trust your training.” The implication being, if you’ve put in the work, when you need it your training will in turn work for you. Regardless whether you intellectually understand it, or emotionally agree–you have trained, your training will carry you through. In a survival scenario, or in a grueling race, rely on your training.
Lauren’s post isn’t about life or death, but it is about Showing Up and Putting in the Work. If you show up, the Practice will carry you through.
I encountered this yesterday. After a day of barely dragging myself through, I had a soccer practice to run in the evening. The last thing I wanted to do was go out, down to the fields, and pretend to be highly motivated for my girls. Funny thing is, though the mere act of getting there was a struggle, once I hit the fields, the sluggishness disappeared. No pretending. I was highly motivated. I left practice elated and feeling good, so good in fact I didn’t remember how shitty I felt going in, until I read Lauren’s piece.
This is how it is with Training, too. It’s on the schedule. There are always other, more pressing, things coming up. There is always a crisis, some reason to not go. But once you get there (if you can manage it), all the excuses melt away, and all the terrible things which will happen, don’t. And your sense of dragging through, quickly fades. Time recedes, and before you know it, the session is coming to a close. Oftentime, the session comes to a close too soon, and we want more.
Now, for me, Training is my Practice. My monkey mind, lower self, nafs, whatever you call it, seems to try its best to throw me off track. It’s arguments are intellectually compelling, emotionally powerful. It’s too cold, you have too much to do. But the logic and emotional power never hold up in the face of simply Showing Up.
Trust the Training.
Slow Carb Update: 4 Months, 10% BF
I finished the Tour de Pike Century bike ride on Saturday. Sunday, I took some weight & body fat measurements, and was struck by the result. Hence this short update on my progress with the Slow Carb diet.
I began this slow-carb diet going into Thanksgiving, of all weird time frames. Given the one cheat day per week, I simply shifted my chosen Saturday to Thursday for that week, no biggie. The bigger hurdle was that I had to get on the road the evening of Thanksgiving. Maintaining a diet on the road is not easy. Tim Ferris has some helpful ideas.
The other immediate challenge was eliminating sugar from my coffee. I drink coffee black with sugar. Taking the sugar out was a HUGE leap for me, particularly in breakfasts meetings at restaurants with bad coffee. In the end, it wasn’t and isn’t that bad.
The three biggest changes I’ve been able to stay fairly consistent on are a high, mostly protein breakfast right after rising, eating high protein meals for most meals, and eliminating sugar. Eliminating other white carbs, though now greatly reduced, has been challenging.
The slow-carb model meshes well with my other diet protocols.
I also did a 30 day detox cleanse, which I calculate took five pounds of crud out of my intestines and cell tissues. However, my body fat readings for that period were extremely screwy. Two days later they stabilized, around 11-12 percent.
As mentioned (and perhaps revealed in the title), I took my body fat measurements this past Sunday, and registered . . . drum roll . . . 9.9 percent. All last year, I did not drop below 10, even coming out of Augusta 70.3 Half Ironman. Whereas, the sub-10 may be the result of several concurrent protocols–slow carb, ongoing nutrition, detox cleanse, training regimen–The slow carb component is the one aspect I have not done or been on previously.
At any rate, I’m down to my fighting weight (top secret), and below 10% body fat (at last measure). I’m lifting more, running better, and riding harder than I was going into Augusta last year. Take it for what it’s worth.
–Jalal
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As always, your comments are welcomed.
Tour de Pike 2012
This past Saturday was my first Tour de Pike Century cycling ride in Concord, Georgia. The bike ride actually has several mileage options from 8 miles to 10o miles. I opted for the 33 mile course. I was hoping to be ready for the century, but circumstances have hindered my training to this point. The 66 mile option was probably more in line with my training, but schedules in the Spring are super tight. Alas, 33 it was.
The ride is very nice. It is a low key start and finish. The rest stops in each town are nice, with friendly, helpful people. There is a good selection of refreshments. Some of the stops have port-a-potties, some real restrooms.
The route splits are well marked, but a decent map is provided for each distance route, just in case.
Terrain is rolling hills, with some longer climbs. Nothing too severe. However, the accumulation over miles can take it’s toll, so be prepared.
I had a good opportunity to test out some of my new nutrition strategy & my new water bottle/tool bag setup. There are a couple of things I still need to sort out, particularly placement of a spare tube & CO2 cartridges, give my new barebones tool bag.
Other Details:
Date: Saturday, 17 March 2012
Distances: 8, 18, 33, 66 & 100 miles
Times: Registration open 7am
Ride start 8:30am
Cost: $25 in advance, $30 after 9 March. walk-up registration available
Website: http://www.kiwanispike.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=115&Itemid=129
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