Moab, Utah - Mountain Bike Heaven

Well I got to spend 1 morning in Moab, Utah and I loved every second of it!

I rode Klondike Bluffs Trail and did some single track on baby steps trail. Had to do some hike a bike and wiped out a couple of times but hey it was worth every scratch, dirt bath, and drop of sweat that happened!

If you have never been to Moab and you love mountain biking - then you have to visit with your bike - you will not be disappointed.

Running is coming along and now it is time to hit it hard and start preparing for Philadelphia.

Completed first XTERRA

Sunday August 17th, 2008 - I got my A** kicked by a game called XTERRA. It was my first triathlon, however it will not be my last - even though I should be checked in to a mental home based on how I fared during the event itself.

So it starts with a 1500 meter (2 750 meter laps) lake swim. I will be the first to tell you that my swimming is as poor as it can be for someone attempting a triathlon. I was not the last out of the water, pretty close but not last. There was a lot of breaststroke and the freestyle needs a lot of work. There were no wetsuits available.

I get out of the water and am feeling good about the bike. So I take a GU, drink some water, and head out after changing. My biggest mistake was not having my camelback or taking any nutrition in besides the GU. I should have had a clifbar before I headed out of the lake area, but this was a good learning experience.

The bike ride was hell on wheels. It was very technical, much more so than I was prepared for. I did a lot of falling, walking, swearing, and crying (not really but I felt like it a couple of times :) ). Tree roots running at an angle to the trail are a pain and rock gardens when you are wasted are very dangerous. Another mistake made was having my tires too pumped up. I should have dropped some of the pressure out and it would have been better (A little not much more!). So 17 miles later and I am done with the bike and still have to hit a 5 mile trail run.

I was spent by the time I got off the bike. My legs cramped up in transition while I was trying to tie my shoes so I just left the right shoe untied and ran a while to loosen up. That worked and I tied my shoe down the road. Then came the uphill section and more cramping. Sat down for a couple of minutes, did some stretching, and drank some gatorade. The funniest part was that I felt stronger at the end of the run than I had since I got on the bike (This is where the nutrition/hydration part comes in because I was replacing some stuff with gatorade at least).

All in all I was very displeased with my performance. Would I do XTERRA again - in a heartbeat! Why - to prove to myself that I am stronger than the performance that I put in this date. It was a great learning experience, a great event, well organized, and the competitors were awesome to be around. The winners are studs!!!!

Where has the time gone?

Well it is mid-august already and the last time I posted was July 1st. We finished the kitchen project up so hopefully I will be able to do some more long runs and rides to discuss in this blog of mine :)

This weekend I am doing my first triathlon - XTERRA which is a swim, mountain bike ride, and trail run. I am really looking forward to it and hope all goes well (which means finishing!). I know I will be slow out of the water, but will hopefully make up a lot of ground on the bike and running.

Other than that, I am now training for the Philadelphia Marathon. So hopefully I will be able to get some more information down on how the runs are going, but I really hate giving up bicycle time right now. I am sure I can do both and not kill myself physically.

I will post a post-XTERRA report next week just to let you know how things went!

Ride for Roswell

Well it was a rainy forecast and it was definitely a rainy day to start off!

It was pouring as we waited inside Alumni Area waiting for the start to happen and then it stopped raining so we began our 62.5 mile trek through northeast Erie county! It was a comfortable day for sure and the rest stops were well stocked so there was no chance of bonking going on!

We took a real easy pace the whole day. A couple of times I went off and did some hard riding, but it was about a low heart rate and keeping my zone in check. Around mile 45 I told Todd good thing we are heading south that storm looks pretty bad - boom!

We proceeded to get drenched for the next 5 miles or so. It was fun and actually enjoyable. Sort of like when you are a kid and you sneak outside to play in the rain. Well we had no one to yell at us for being wet so we stayed outside and got drenched!

Finished up, put the bikes up, got some good food and went home to nap. I was more tired than I thought I would be for some strange reason!

I love the aspect of the Ride for Roswell and hope to always be able to ride in it to support the cancer research center and give others hope. They always feed you great and provide a great atmosphere for a fun ride. Someday I might actually ride it hard just for a good workout as well!

Trying to be more consistent with the writing

Well I snuck out of the house early today and went for an extended commute to work. I ended up just over 21 miles but could have done more if I would have realized how early it was. Oh well, gives me something to contemplate on future commutes.

The ride home last night was a lot better than any before. Climbing up Chestnut Ridge did not wipe me out and I felt good when I finished up!

I love riding this time of the year. Not too hot, no rain, and it is refreshing to be out on the road. I cannot believe just 4 months ago I was doing 40 to 50 miles in the snow, cold, and wind! Makes these days much more peaceful and relaxing!

Saturday is the Ride for Roswell - Doing 62.5 miles and I cannot wait to see how much different I feel this year compared to last year. I know we will be slower, but who cares it is a charity ride!

Sunday is the First Quakerman Sprint Tri in OP. I might sneak out and do it just for fun. Will run that one by on the homefront first though!

Time to start planning fun for Colorado and California next month. I love traveling to these places for work and being able to play around!

Catch Up Time

Well it has been a long time since I last posted in here so I thought I would do a quick catch up blog and then become more regular at posting in the future hopefully!

I bailed on the TransIowa due to good wisdom (first time for everything in life I guess). The weather was horrible and they called it after 145 miles do to safety issues. I plan on doing this ride at some point in the future, but this year just did not seem to work out and I was glad for it when I read all the reports!

I finished the BPAC 6 Hour Ultra Event - Ran 32.5 miles in just over 6 hours so I got credit for 31.5 miles. Felt great, met a lot of great people, and will definitely do more endurance events like that in the future!

Todd, Jeff, and I finished The Buffalo Marathon. Jeff was the fastest in around 3:51, I came in at 4:00:21, and Todd was at 4:10. Jeff smoked it and that was awesome. I had some problems around mile 21 and cramped up on the way in. Todd did as well. I will work on nutrition in the future and try to increase salt intake on days like this!

My next plan is Ride for Roswell June 28th - 62.5 miles - Finger Lakes 50K July 5th.

I am currently commuting to work on the Raliegh One Way as many days as the weather allows. It has been quite challenging especially the way home - headwind and uphill!

I promise to be more regular with my posts from here on out.

Also - Good luck to the Tour Divide and Great Divide Racers out there in the west right now!

Sunday February 24th Bike Ride - 47 Miles

Well I finally got out on the Bianchi again. Have been doing a lot of roller action lately because of the weather and wanted to hit the pavement badly!

I got 47 miles in and it was windier than I would have liked it to be. Headed down into Hamburg and out to Eden and then looped back around and headed for Springville. Made it just out of Springville and headed home because of time constraints. Now the deciding point was which hill to head up and I felt pretty good so I headed up the backside of Boston-Colden and Cole Road. This is a brutal climb on my Cannondale so you can imagine what it is like on the SS mountain bike. I took it easy and just watched my heart rate and made it up the hill no problem!

I want to hit lower east hill road next after a ride like that to see how it feels heading up that road again.

I have to watch my nutrition because I got shaky half way down to Springville and stopped for a Gatorade and Fig Newtons and pigged out on those. Felt a lot better, but it was colder than I thought it would be so I put another shirt on top of my layers for the final part home.

I wonder if that helped lead to me getting sick this week or if I was overdoing it a little.

Tomorrow is an 8 mile run and if I don't feel up to it - I am going to skip it! No big deal. I definitely have a good base in and 1 easy week will not kill me!