Day 108...Sleet Anyone?

I am racing in my second 'training race' this weekend in Prescott, Arizona.  My racing partner Paul and I decided to head up north and pre-ride the course ahead of time.  The course is 4.96 miles in length, and is relatively easy in terms of climbing.  The elevation however, turns this moderately easy course into something much more difficult.

The elevation at the start of the course is just over 6100-feet above sea-level...slightly higher than the 1152-feet at which I live, and have become quite acclimated to over the past 46 years.  Needless to say, I was sucking wind during this ride!  

We headed out early...about 6:30 am...and arrived in Prescott just after 8:00 am.  When I got up this morning, I looked outside and saw rain clouds...and it was cold!  I packed some warm riding gear just in case.  When we rolled into Prescott, it was 42-degrees (F) and very wintery with dark, low clouds that looked as though they wanted to belch out some snow!  We arrived at the trail-head, stepped out of the car, and immediately thought about getting back in and heading south...home.  As I was taking my bike off of the roof mounted rack, I noticed small, slushy little BB's bouncing off of the roof of my Honda Element...that's right...sleet!  It was just 97 degrees in Phoenix last week...now sleet?

I was thankful that I had grabbed some warm clothes, as the temperature seemed to drop rapidly, and the clouds continued to roll in.  I didn't check, but I am sure the temp dipped into the 30's before we headed out onto the trails.  It was COLD!

As we headed out, I immediately noticed how much more labored my breathing was, compared to normal.  I was not looking forward to this ride, and couldn't help but think ahead to the weekend, where I would need to step up the pace considerably...it's going to be painful to say the least.  Now I know why the name of the weekend's race is The Prescott Punisher!  

The course wasn't too difficult, technically speaking, but it is filled with decomposed granite, making it thick, loose, and slippery...three conditions that often lead to painful crashes.  Fortunately, I didn't get in any crash-practice today, and made it through the course successfully...no blood loss!  Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer or two for me when I race this weekend! 

The trail wasn't what I prefer to ride on, but the scenery was beautiful!  Riding in the pines is certainly more enjoyable than riding among the spines...cactus spines that is :)  Check out this short video of today's high altitude ride.

Day 105...Athletes' Performance

One of the links within my Favorite Links section on this page, is Athletes' Performance (AP).  AP is a world-class facility that specializes in training elite athletes from around the world.  This year, AP had a total of 54 athletes taken in the 2011 NFL draft...14 of which, were first-round picks.  So you see, this place doesn't take performance training lightly...they are THE place to train when it comes to improving athletic performance!

Why am I telling you this?  Because, I have been fortunate enough to have had a working relationship with this team of amazing coaches over the years.  Some time ago, AP began offering training programs for firefighters.  The concept was that firefighters are industrial athletes and would benefit from training in a similar manner as athletes.  Amazingly, that is what I had been preaching for years...so it was meant to be that I would somehow find myself working with them, in some capacity, at some point.

That time came about 5 years ago when a great friend of mine helped to open the door for me at AP.  Since then, I have had the amazing opportunity to assist their team in the development of course content, as well as work side-by-side with AP coaches during the Firefighter Mentorship training programs.  The experience has been incredible, and I have learned so much from this relationship.

Again...why am I telling you all of this?  Because AP stepped up to assist our Olympic Team by supporting us with cash and nutritional support.  On Friday morning, we met with Danielle LaFata, a sports nutritionist from AP who had prepared a detailed nutrition plan for each of us, based on information that we had supplied her.  She basically laid out what we should be doing (nutrition wise) from now until our competition.  In addition to detailing our nutrition plans, AP will be supplying us with our supplement needs, i.e. protein, creatine, etc. for the remainder of our training!  What a great gift!  Thank you Mark Verstegen (AP Owner) for your continued support!

Check out this video which highlights what goes on at Athletes' Performance!

Day 104...A great ride!

I worked yesterday, which meant that I didn't get too much sleep last night.  We only ran two calls after midnight, but like usual, when I got back to the station, I couldn't sleep so I watched a couple of episodes of Son's of Anarchy on Netflix...goodbye two hours!  I knew I had to ride this morning so I tried to eat a healthy breakfast before I left the station, hoping to top off my fuel stores so that I wouldn't bonk on my ride.

What is bonking you ask?  Believe it or not, it is sometimes used as a reference to having sex.  Believe me...I DID NOT have sex out on the trail! :)  For athletes, especially endurance athletes, the term bonking is used to describe an immediate loss of energy caused by a lack of glycogen stores.  Another common term used to describe this situation is hitting the wall.  Well folks...let me tell you, today I bonked...and bonked hard!

Everything started out good, except for the fact that I forgot my socks today.  Something I didn't find out until I had parked at the trail head, and began getting ready to ride.  I grabbed for my shoes and reached inside one of them, expecting to find the clean pair of socks that I had taken out of the drawer just minutes before.  Guess what...no socks!  As tired as I was, I knew that if I drove home to grab those socks, I would not return to ride.  So, I did what any dedicated weekend-warrior would do...I went without.

I felt good when I started riding, but when I reached the two- or three-mile point, my hands started shaking and I immediately felt as though I had no more energy.  In just three miles!  Apparently my breakfast was no where near as sufficient as I had thought.  That was pretty disappointing, as I had recently met with a sports nutritionist from Athletes' Performance.  More on that later.

Fortunately, I had packed a couple gel packets, a Clif bar, and a bottle of sports drink.  I pulled over, sat down under the shade of a tree (no rattlers!) and proceeded to have another breakfast.  I sat there for about 10-minutes before I began to feel better.  I was almost ready to turn around and head back when I felt the surge of sugar running through my veins.  If had not packed the Clif bar, I would have had to turn back, as the gel packets provide a relatively short blast of energy.  The two together created a good glycemic load (remember that term?) and I felt comfortable that I could continue my ride.

I decided to take a trail that, in seven years of riding this area, I had never taken before.  I'm glad I did, as I was able to ride on some new trails, that eventually led to a very challenging climb.  The picture below was taken at the bottom of the climb.  It's funny, but whenever I take a picture of something that I think looks pretty difficult and intimidating...it never really looks that way in the picture.  I'm sure most of you look at these pictures and videos on here and think "That really doesn't look all that hard!"  

Believe me...it's was tougher than it looks!

Feeling full of energy, I geared down and hammered into the climb...and made it about five feet before slipping into a deep rut.  I dismounted my bike, turned around and walked back to the bottom, ready to give it another go.  This time, I knew what line I had to take, and I was confident I could make it.  On my second attempt, I cruised right past my previous point of failure...I was making it.  To make a long story (about a really brief event) short...I only made it halfway!  I had to hike the remainder of the trail.  If you look closely at the picture, you can see a cactus just to the right of the fence...that was halfway.  I hiked the majority of the rest, and came upon something that I felt was calling out to me...challenging me to try it.

Once again this picture does not do justice to the degree of difficulty found along this little traverse.  Looking closely, you can see the remnants of a trail, just to the left of center, in the photo.  I stood there for nearly ten minutes trying to determine if it was worth it to attempt this highly technical section, that has a high degree of fall exposure just to the left of the photo's edge.  The next picture should give you a greater sense of the fall exposure...not straight down, but very steep and full of nice sharp rocks!

The question is..."Did I attempt it?"  You will have to tune in for my next post to find that out!  Thanks for reading!

Day 102...Workout of the Day

Today's workout...a 16 mile ride.  I woke up early, ate a light breakfast, and headed out to hit the trails.  The weather was great this morning, except for the fact that our windy streak is still in tact.  I gotta tell you, I am really getting tired of fighting this wind!  I cannot remember a season when it was this windy, for this long.  It has been over two weeks now, with wind every day...and not just in the afternoon, but ALL day long.

I can remember a time when I used to get up, look outside, and say to myself "Windy...no riding today."  Now I say, "Windy...time to suck it up, and go ride!"  I liked it better before!

Today's ride was very good in spite of the steady wind.  My riding skills felt good, I made some very tough climbs, and felt very confident throughout the ride.  I did have a couple little mishaps however...

The first occurred while I was descending a very steep, tight, twisty, loose, and rutted-out trail, that was lined with cholla cactus.  It looked as though there had been a small explosion, causing chunks of cactus to fly off and land on the trail.  No kidding...it was like a mine field!  About one-third of the way down, I managed to pick up one of the cholla chunks with my rear tire...just enough to fling it into the back of my calf as the tire rotated around...ouch!  The worst part was that I had to finish the descent with the cactus in my leg because I couldn't stop on the steep, rocky hill.  Once I got to the bottom of the hill, I was able to knock it off easily with a stick.  No harm...no foul.

The second little mishap occurred less than a mile from the finish.  I lost the pickup sensor for my cycle computer again...only this time, I couldn't find it.  I'll be buying another one for about $50!  That made today's ride kind of expensive.  Oh well, at least I didn't end up like this guy!

Ouch!

Day 101...Silence Broken

Yes you are right...I have been quiet for a while.  It's been seven days since my last post, and that is way too long.  Things have been very busy lately, and I am having trouble finding time to put together posts that I think people would like to read.  Blogging takes time...and I am finding less and less of it that I can spare these days.  

My athlete training schedule is getting busier, and so is my own training schedule...not to mention the fact that I am now back in physical therapy three times per week.  Oh yeah...it seems as though I have plateaued in my ability to lose body fat, so that is taking a mental toll on my outlook on training.  Fortunately, I will be meeting with a sports nutritionist at Athletes' Performance Institute this Friday, to help with my eating plan for the remainder of my training.  This consultation is part of a sponsorship package from Athlete's Performance, that I feel very blessed to have been offered.  Please take a look at their website at www.athletesperformance.com for more information about what they do.  They also have a great membership based website...www.coreperformance.com that I would highly recommend to anyone trying to get back in shape or increase their performance. 

Whew...!  That was some good venting huh?  Thanks for listening!  And thank you to a devoted follower for doing what this blog was originally designed to do...hold me accountable.  After six days of silence, this faithful friend and follower sent me a little message, making sure everything was okay, and if there was anything he could do to help me.  Wow!  That was awesome...thank you!  It means alot.

Alright, I know I owe you all one or two more blogs on carbohydrates, but that is going to have to wait.  You see, it takes a fair amount of time to prepare my nutrition blogs due to the amount of research that goes into making sure that what I am putting out there is backed by research...and not just Wikipedia's content...but real, peer reviewed and evidence based research.  Sorry, I promise to finish up those CHO posts ASAP.

Today however, I wanted to share another video with you.  This one is a little longer than the last, but I thought you might like to take a ride with me on a downhill section that covers approximately two miles.  The camera really doesn't do justice to the experience, but it should give you a pretty good idea of what downhill riding (the type that I do) is all about...FUN!  

Okay, so let me set the stage for the video, with a couple of still shots of the area.  The first shot was taken on a ride last week, north of the area in the video...does that make sense?  Ok, good.  Hopefully you can click on the photo and look at it in a full screen mode, so that what I am saying makes sense.  The mountain range in the distance,  contains the trail system that the video was taken on.  This shot was taken from roughly 3-4 miles north of the area. 

The Deem Hills Mountain in the background...looking south.

Some pretty nasty, technical climbing...The Gravity Tax.

The second picture provides you with an example of how difficult the climbing is on the way up the mountain.  I call it "The Gravity Tax".  The Gravity Tax refers to the amount of work required to climb up to the top of a mountain.  What's the payoff you ask?  Pure adrenaline pumping, wide-eyed, bombing of the downhill section!  

The next picture was taken about halfway up the mountain, and shows you just how much more I had to climb to get to the top.  Two interesting things to mention about this photo.  First, look at the nest some little critter made way up high and safe in the arm of the Saguaro cactus...looks like a pack-rat nest to me...the first I've ever seen above ground.  Pretty smart little critter huh?  Second, the saddle in the mountain, just to the right of the cactus (if you enlarge it you can see a white dot...that is a person on the trail) is pretty close to the point at which the video was taken.

The descent begins on the north side of the mountain, and ends up swinging around to the south side, ultimately ending up at the parking lot where the climb began.  So, without further adieu...

I hope you enjoyed the ride!  Oh...sorry Scott...I didn't crash this time either!  Thank God!

Day 94...Workout of the Day

Today I had my annual medical physical at the Fire Department Health Center.  The evaluation that I had a week or two ago was my annual fitness evaluation...done in house, by members of our department's fitness team...which I oversee.  Today's physical however, was conducted by a physician, and is more comprehensive (from a medical standpoint) than our fitness evals.

For the past 20+ years, we have had our bodyfat measured by skinfold pinch...the same as we use for fitness testing, and the same as that which I use on my clients.  This year however, the Health Center decided to implement bioelectrical impedance testing to determine body composition.  This method is relatively inaccurate, and very inconsistent.  When I was weighed this morning, the Dr. noted that I had lost nearly 11 pounds since my physical last year.  He then proceeded to test my bodyfat with the new device...19.9% bodyfat!  He looked at me, then looked back at the machine, and shook his head. Then he documented that I was 19.9%.  I immediately said, "Doc, you realize that I am nowhere near 19.9% right?"  He then told me that these machines were somewhat inconsistent, and that if I wasn't well hydrated, the results would be high.  I asked him if was still going to record that value, and his answer was "Of course".  I said, "Excuse me, but you guys are using these numbers to determine the physical readiness of firefighters, and potentially declare them unfit or duty...don't you think you should use a method that is much more reliable, and rreproducible?" He shrugged his shoulders and responded "I guess you have point there".  He still didnt change my score.

No big deal I suppose...I still passed my test, and everything looks good.

Today's workout was a good one.  I am on duty today, so I prayed that I could get in a complete workout without any calls, and to my surprise, it worked out great.  I did some circuit training this evening, using the TRX and the battling ropes.  By the time I finished, I had used up roughly 600kcal, and cranked my hear rte up to a high of 184 beats per minute.  Good stuff!

Day 93...How Much Carbohydrate?

So what do we have left to discuss in terms of carbohydrates...I think the best way to wrap this up is to talk about how much CHO, and when.

I have mentioned in previous posts, that those who are desiring to lose weight should modify their carbohydrate intake.  While there are many different thoughts out there regarding the intake of CHO, the basic, fundamental truth, proven in countless studies and diet programs over the years, is that to lose weight, one must create a caloric deficit.  I am living proof of this. 

Let me lay down this disclaimer before I go any further...

I am not using this opportunity to do anything but simply point out the effectiveness of the simple dieting strategy mentioned above (caloric deficit).  So, if any of you reading this post are currently on, or have been on any fad diets, or medical weight loss programs...this is not directed at you.  Got it?  Good!

Here's my point...I did not take any medications, completely cut out any foods, or anything else like that.  I simply created a daily caloric deficit through the combination of food intake and exercise.  At my last measurement, I had reduced my total weight by roughly ten pounds, dropped over 6% bodyfat, and gained over two-pounds of lean muscle.

So where was I going with all this?  Oh yeah...how much CHO.

There are a couple of different methods used to determine the appropriate amount of CHO intake.  First, percentage of total calories.  As in the example above, there are recommended ranges of CHO intake.  The AMDR (acceptable macronutrient distribution range) for both males and females, above the age of 9-years, is 45-65% of daily kcal.  Using this method, an individual who consumed 2000kcal daily, would want to ingest 900-1300 kcal per day of CHO.  Those who wish to lose fat weight should use the lower end of the scale, modifying as necessary to sustain optimal performance levels during exercise and daily activities.

The next method is to consume a specific amount, relative to body weight.  It is recommended that CHO intake be somewhere within the 6-10 grams per kilogram of bodyweight range.  For example, a 200lb man (90.9 kg) should consume between 545-909 grams per day of CHO.  Oh, BTW...one gram of CHO is equal to 4 kcal.  Using this method, the individual would consume between 2180-3636 kcal per day.

There is a pretty large discrepancy between the two methods, isn't there?  So how do we fix this, or know what to use?  

Here's what I have found...

If you are an individual who is looking to lose weight, exercising at a low to moderate intensity 2-3 times per week, the  percentage of total daily calories method method often works well to achieve healthy weight loss goals.

If you are an athlete, training for and competing in a particular sport (amateur or professional), and looking to shed a few pounds of unhealthy fat...the body-weight method works well, as it provides greater levels of CHO, thereby allowing for higher training volumes and intensities to be maintained.  Keep in mind that athletes typically require greater amounts of CHO than non-athletes, and that FAT BURNS IN A CARBOHYDRATE FLAME. 

In my next post I will discuss CHO timing.