Monthly Archives: August 2015
10 Things Roadies Do that Piss Tri-Geeks Off
1. Declare a set of ‘rules’ to be part of their cult
Seriously, they need an entire website to keep track of their inane ‘Rules’. (Velominati.com)[http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/]
2. Talk about the Century they did over the weekend
Isn’t that cute. They rode 100 miles. or maybe it was a metric at 63 miles. That’s nice. Did you run after it? how long did you hang out at that SAG stop with the really yummy home made cookies?
3. Exclude other bikes from their rides
No tri bikes, because they are ‘dangerous’ (and triathletes are poor bike handlers). No hybrids, because they are too slow. No mountain bikes, well because. Reality check time. Yeah, riding in aero in a group can have issues ( on the front during a pull? well off the back? rock it ). But here is the important bit to keep in mind, until the ride average 18+, there are plenty of riders that can hold that pace on non-road bikes, but that might hurt an ego or two. Can’t have that.
4. Worry constantly about KOM/QOM on Strava Segments
So much so, that many of them will cheat to get them (and keep them). They will bury themselves for a 90 second sprint for a single KOM and then have to soft pedal the next 30 miles to finish the ride. Let’s not even discuss the ‘forgot to turn off Strava’ segments. Seriously, 47mph up a .25 mile 6% grade. Seems legit.
5. Fail to give runners/joggers space on MUPs
Every triathlete that has ever done a post ride run on a MUP, or a long run on a MUP knows this one well. Full cycle kit roadie, blitzing the MUP at 25mph for a KOM (because seriously, EVERY MUP in the world MUST have a Strava Segment). They can’t be bothered with an ‘on your left’ because they are so buried there is not O@ to sacrifice. This applies far less to triathletes, because they run these paths, they behave quite different towards runners and joggers, people on road bikes? not so much.
6. Spend more time cleaning the bike than riding it
Apparently among the ‘serious cyclist’ crowd a dirty bike is a crime. Poorly maintained is a crime against the bike, but dirty? If you take the bike out for a 60 minute ride on a dry sunday and then spend 2 hours cleaning it, what’s the point. Ride it like you stole it. Tri bikes are filthy because when the ride is done, it’s time to run. When the run is done, it is time to eat and sleep, because tomorrow is a swim/bike day! Rest days are for laundry.
7. Judge another rider by the cost of kit and bike
The true sign of a roadie? they can give a cost estimate of a bike and kit at a glance. Even more so, this glance also provides enough information to determine if the cyclist is serious, and what category they should race. Best thing ever. Guy shows up to a group ride on a 20 year old Bianchi in serviceable shape. Cheap shorts, baggy jersey, old school strap clips. Everyone judges him to be a weak rider. 2 hours later, he held pace with the B1 group, and then RIDES home. Humility? served in spades.
8. Buy Race Bikes, Ride them in Charity Rides
Show up to a charity century. Look around the pre-race area. Lots of race bikes, lots of expensive kits, to be ridden 100 miles at an average pace of 16 mph, and never ridden in a race. They sure are pretty though. Pinarello Dogma P8 with Di2 in a full Team Sky replica kit from Rapha. Yep, race ready.
9. Wear Excessive Padding
Padded socks (long, because short is so uncool), padded shorts with pads so plush you could sleep on them, usually in bibs so they don’t move or wiggle. Padded gloves to protect the delicate hands. For every ride.
Harden up folks. Triathletes, no socks, ‘padded’ shorts? only in the most minimal sense, gloves are for wimps. Don’t forget the ladies, many of these lovely badasses are out there throwing down 40km bike legs at 20+ mph in swim suits. They are so badass, that if that suit rides up into the wedgie zone they’ll keep riding and deal with it later.
10. Bitch about Tri-Geeks
But seriously, the number one thing tri-geeks hate about cyclists? the incessant whining about tri-geeks. You feel inadequate. We get it, you have two choices. Harden up, or don’t, but if you choose don’t, you give up any right to bitch about the tri-geeks. We’d rather you come over to the fun side though. We don’t take ourselves nearly as seriously as you do.
Bonus: Shaved Legs, Shaved Arms, Grizzly Adams Facial Hair
Seriously, WTF. Applies euqally to all cyclists, road, mtn, hybrid, tri.
3 Gaps on Sunday
This coming weekend, Aug. 15-16 the Sunday OGRE ride will be without its slightly crazy ride leader. This weekend, OGRE Dru is helping move a daughter into an apartment and headed to Chattanooga to do a lap on the bike course. Sunday, will instead be a ride in the North Georgia Mountains, lovingly known as 3 Gaps. This is an Olde Blind Dog ride, with a group of riders that do the regular Thursday night ride out of the Olde Blind Dog parking lot. The pace won’t be all that tough if anyone wants to tag along and see the gaps up close and personal.
3 Gaps
I’ve done this route a few times, and honestly, I love the ride. Hard climbs, fast descents and fabulous views. It really doesn’t get any better. Basically the ride is a loop across three mountains. In the direction we will do the route, they are Neals Gap, Wolfpen Gap, and Woody Gap. None are the tallest, or the hardest in the area, but together, they make for a spectacular day of riding.
Neals Gap
The first climb of the day, Neals Gap is the climb up US-129 from Turner’s Corner to the hiker’s station at the top of Blood Mountain. So what kind of a climb are we talking about? 7.75 miles. Starting at 1517 feet above sea level, the road rises over the course of that 7.75 miles to an altitude of 3097 feet with a short flat about 3 miles into the climb. The grade doesn’t sustain more than 8% for any significant distance. All in all, yes, it is a tough category 2 climb, but not a climb that should scare anyone from riding it.
This will be my third trip to the gaps in 2015. The first ride was on New Years Eve, so while it was technically 2014, it marked the start of my 2015 season. That trip up Neals Gap took a little under 42 minutes, at an average of 9.5 mi/h. By the time June rolled around, I went back and hit the gaps again, and did Neals Gap in 38 minutes at an average of 10.4 mi/h. As anyone that has ridden with me around home, they know I tend to go up short hills very quickly, but I approach these hills with a different style. Steady, easy, spin to the top. 9.5 mi/h is a middle of the pack pace, with 6-7 mi/h being a perfectly reasonable, and a solid effort.
Once at the top, the group will regroup and refuel at the hiker’s station before a short, fast descent to the GA-180 at Vogel State Park.
Wolfpen Gap
Wolfpen Gap Road, or GA-180 is just about a perfect climb, starting at 2201 feet and climbing to 3316 feet over a distance of just under 3 miles there are two obvious difference between this and the prior climb. It is shorter, and steeper. 3 or 4 mi/h is a perfectly fine speed for these 3 miles. Most of us will go up this at closer to 6 mi/h and that is just fine.
In the two prior trips this season, I did this the first time at 6.8 mi/h in a time of 27 minutes. The second time was at 7.4 mi/h in 25 minutes. However, in both instances, I was not riding at my pace. In both cases, I was sitting back chatting with another rider who was struggling a bit. That I took away from both of those rides is that the time to sit up, spin and enjoy the view is winding up through the woods to the top of Wolf Pen Gap.
Once at the top, and the group pulls back together the descent isn’t all that steep, but it leads in about 6 miles of mountain valley rollers until everyone gets to the corner store at Suches, GA for a refuel, potty and rest break before turning left onto GA 60 for the final climb of the day.
Woody Gap
Though this is the third gap, it is, without question, the easiest, and the one where most of the groups seem to go up fairly close together. Why? Well, it is far less steep and oh, well it is also a mere 2 miles long. How much shallower is that climb? 2781 feet to 3170. Not quite 400 feet, over 2 miles.
Some perspective to the North Fulton based cyclists.
Three Gaps (from Walmart) is 50 miles with 4100 feet of climbing.
OBD long loop is 24 miles with 1850 feet of climbing.
Big Sister = 921 to 1120 in .5 miles, that is 200 feet in
Freemanville Rd = 935 to 1170 in 3.1 miles, that is 250 feet in 3 miles, with some losses in the middle to make it harder than it measures.
The Take Away
If you are worried about doing a ride like 3 Gaps, take a look at the rides you are already doing. Most of us are doing more climbing in our regular rides than we think.
OGRE Scott’s Lake Logan 70.3 – Race Report
OGRE Scott crossing the finish at the Lake Logan 70.3 in 2015
I expect more from myself than I will ever deliver. My best is not nearly good enough and I like it that way. That is not to say that I am not satisfied with my performance, I just always know that more diligent training, better planning, and a calm heart would have created better results. I am capable of more, but I am a product of my choices. That being said, I finished a freaking half Ironman Distance. I am damned proud.
Something in you or your life sets the strange path that few take. Endurance sports are about “before”. Before the race you train. Before the race you establish possible failure by setting expectations. Before the race, you pack and prep. Before the race you get nervous. Before the race you think of everything that can go wrong during the race. During the race you execute the course or you don’t. After the race you start the “before” of the next race. If you want a race report about the race, return to Google and search again. Over here, it is story time.
Sunday before the race, during my ride, something at the top of my calf/back of my knee felt twingy. I decided to take it very easy during the week to avoid screwing up the race. Taking it easy ended up being nothing. Yes, my taper was zilch. 5 days of no exercise at all. I would like to blame work or family; but in truth, I have lost too many weeks of running by pushing through injury. With 8 weeks to IM Chatt, I am petrified of injury. Since I don’t know what will be too much, I choose nothing to allow healing. Decision – 5 day sloth. Bad decision
Tuesday before the race, I spent my lunch reading a few race reports from the 2014 iteration. A 67 degree lake in Augus?. In the South? WTH? Reading these sent me Amazon to buy a cheap wet suit, just in case. Reports also told me that there is A HILL. The organizers talk of a course with wonderful down hills for 27 miles. But since this is not a point to point, one must remember that what goes down will eventually go up. The course profile looks like a cereal bowl, with a striking irregularity. Mile 42 contains a 350 foot climb over less than a mile. Not a novice’s hill and I am not a great cyclist. When reading these reports on Tuesday, I called my brother Dru in near panic. Dru is a very strong cyclist and he agreed that it would suck for me. I realized that I can try it, walk it or quit. Decision – I will be quick to decide to walk the wall. (I decided to quit on the hill I have never seen) Mediocre decision
The night before the race, I arrived about 5:30 PM to hear the pre race meeting at 6. The meeting essentially mimicked every other USTA pre-race meeting you have ever heard. It did get me to packet pick-up and a site review in the daylight hours, rather than waiting until the morning of the race. More importantly, the lake and I would meet. The beauty of the Lake Logan Half Ironman distance is undeniable. Nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, just west of Asheville, NC, Lake Logan is a thin lake fed by a mountain stream (we will meet this mountain stream, again). So, on Friday before the race, I stare at a 75 degree lake and wonder about the wetsuit in my car, with the tags still on it. “Never try new things on race day.” The day before is better, right? I donned my wetsuit (a little bit too large) and went for a 200m swim. It was too warm and pulled in the crotch. However, the buoyancy was nice. Another 200m without the suit reminded me that I am comfortable in the water and 75 degrees is fine. Decision – No wetsuit. Good decision.
The awakening before the race was scheduled for 4:10 AM, but my nervous mind was done pretending to sleep at 3:55 AM. Shower, coffee and a slathering of body glide (trust me, that is not a product you want to borrow from another). TMI alert – Regularity is a great thing, but no amount of coffee was going to move my body off of a 6:45 – 7 AM schedule. A port-o-line was in my future, but starting 30 minutes after the first swim group left me safe on time. 5:10 AM departure from the motel gave me 35 minutes to drive 8 miles. A 5:40 arrival put me deep in the airstrip parking lot. Arrive on time – Check
The part before the swim is the prepping and waiting. 5:45 AM is dark in the mountains. I forget how much ambient light my suburban life has. A head lamp for getting my stuff out of the car would have been a good idea. Using my cell as a flashlight, I got my tire pumped. I was ready to go. I took one last look at my wetsuit in the car and congratulated myself on yesterday’s swim decision. My brother or my father would have talked to every soul on the 1 mile walk to transition; I was stuck in my head. I did notice a random port-o-potty in the parking lot. Friday’s recon meant that I knew exactly where my spot was and I was not sweating packet pick up. I set up my transition, got my timing chip and body marking. Water temperature report for race start – 72 degrees, wetsuit legal. Apparently the icy waters of the mountain stream allow for significant variations to the temperature at this end of Lake Logan. Yesterday’s swim was warm, so 3 degrees did not change my mind. I grabbed my goggles and headed to the secret port-o-let in the parking lot. Set-up and void – check
“During” was about to begin, “before” was coming to an end. At 6:45, everyone was headed to swim start and everyone was wearing or carrying a wetsuit. WTH? Even the super awesome, what does it take to make that body dude was wearing his wetsuit. Crap. Since I had 45 extra minutes until my wave, I got my car keys from transition and made another trip to the parking lot and got my wetsuit. I jogged back to transition to drop off my car keys and shoes before heading to the swim start. I had chosen the Novice Masters group which put me in the last group out with the Relay and Aquabikers. 30 minutes later wetsuit Scott was in the water. I will admit that the life preserver effect of the wetsuit was nice, but it was a good 700 meters before I settled into a rhythm. The wetsuit was hot and my goggles were foggy (Baby shampoo for next swim), but in the last 200 meters I loved the wetsuit. Holy crow it got cold quick. The swim is a rectangle out and back. It starts from one swim platform and ends at a dock in the mountain stream. The temperature drops about 10 degrees in the stream. Maybe I would have just swum faster, but it is nice to rationalize the wetsuit. I am fine with my swim time. Even a great swim gains me less than 10 minutes. Official Swim time – 38:19 (282 of 374 male swimmers).
The path in and out of transition is very long here. The math game across 6-7 hours means that I see very little reason to sprint through transition. T1 went well. I gobbled 2 Stinger waffles to get the nutrition game under way. 3 of 4 bottles on the bike were Gatorade with Endurance powder; the other plain water. I knew the bike was a net downhill for 26 miles or so. The problem is that I don’t like bombing the downhills at 40+ mph, thus I lost some early mph gains burning the brakes to keep a comfortable speed. If you are thinking about doing this race, I recommend slowing for the Railroad crossings (2). Someone is going to make a killing on Craiglist with bottles and bottle racks in that area. I tried to remember to enjoy a GU and bottle of Gatorade Endurance (aka salt water) every hour. My legs did not feel good for 20 miles or so; the price of 5 days inactivity. The “twinge” did not return (although it hinted a couple times). Since I was using real bottles, I stopped at both water hand offs to refill a bottle. I also watered a tree along the side of the road. An equipment adjustment for IM Chatt should pull the water stops. The bathroom stops will remain, peeing myself is not an option.
For 40 miles, I kept thinking about that big damned hill. Once we finally hit it, I was off the bike and walking before I was even standing on the pedals. Folks passed me, grunting and straining. I told myself that this day was about covering 70.3 miles under my own power. I took the opportunity to eat a little extra, drink a little extra and let my heart rate settle. A number of others waited until they were burning and then moved into a walk. Am I a little ashamed that I quit the hill? Sure, but I passed every single person that passed me on that hill and quite a few more. In truth, I finished the ride feeling good, including the long hill back into the lake. As I crested that hill, my brother Dru was standing at the top, camera in hand. I felt the smile on my face fill me to my toes. It feels good have a cheering section. I have ridden faster on local training rides for longer distances. The hills were more than I expected, but done is done. Official ride time – 3:28:52 (16 mph) (303 out of 374 male riders)
T2 was smoother than T1 with less stuff to change out. My one man cheering section saw me onto the road and up the hill. The run is 3 miles out and back done twice. The organizers tell you that it is a 1%-2% grade up and downhill back. The slow uphill is daunting, but I like the running. When I made the turn around at th=op of the hill I thought, “cool, just one more uphill and I am done.” With 10 miles to go, I honestly saw an easy path to the finish. I held a 9:40 – 10:00 pace, only walking through the aid stations, drinking water only. I had some GU and Clif Blocks during the run but my methodical nutrition plan from the bike was ad hoc on the run. The first loop literally runs you to the chute of the finish line and then sends you back for an encore with the mountain. Dru cheered me through the turn around and I readied for one last dance with the mountain. About mile 8, I was dry mouthed, nothing sounded good and my stomach started cramping. They had Heed on the course which is, I think, a blend of salt and urine. While I cannot rave about the flavor, it was the salt I needed to break the cramps. As I headed down the hill with 2 miles to go I actually thought to myself that I could do another 13 miles. I also wondered how in the world I will do 140.6 in a few weeks. Official Run time – 2:10:42 (183 out of 338 male runners)
Total 6:26:29 for 1.2 miles swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run.
Done is done. I won first place for the Novice Masters. I was also second to last, but I got my award. The design is cool and I love the medal. This accomplishment is really something special. Every person out there, from first to last spent hours training. There is simply no way to wake and decide to do this tomorrow unless you are already committed to miles of training. For some, it represents a culmination. For me, it is a step. 11 months ago, my brother said he was doing a full IronMan.
The end of “during” was just the start of “before” the Full IronMan. We signed up together and will finish on the same day on September 27. After that, I’ll return to marathons and start thinking about an Ultra. We will do Ragnar Tennessee together. We will enjoy Rock and Roll Savannah with our wives. Slow and steady is easier on foot. If you read this far, I will say “I love you, mom and I love you, Dru.” The rest of you should have gone for a run 10 minutes ago.
Secret Map to a Happy Place
Normally this space is reserved for topics that are focused on the triathlon life and training process, or the associated sports. Today, we get to chat about a completely different aspect of life, on a more general level, but still closely related to the triathlon life, the mental-emotional state that goes into finding our happy place.
An old acquaintance of mine recently wrote a magnificent piece You Seem So Happy on Facebook that provoked some thought. It is a difficult conversation for me, because I no longer appear to suffer depression in the same manner as most. Like every other person on the planet, life is messy and has it’s rough spots, but that as they say is life. For me depression is something that is very short lived, as in measured in hours, a day at most. This wasn’t always true, somewhere along the road of life, I had something that flipped a switch in my brain. It was a ‘life changing event’ that happened to me in middle school. I don’t know that anyone outside a select few people understood then the dark places and the emotional minefield that time was, but I know that I came out the other side a very different person.
When I look at things objectively, I wouldn’t say that my life is any better or worse than those around me. We share the same hurdles, kids, money, taxes, marriage, work. Sometimes those things get the better of us, sometimes we get the better of them. But the objective lesson and take away of that examination is that no matter how bad it is, it could be worse. As a parting shot, she asked a question that is half in jest, but I suspect half in honest hope that there is indeed a map to a happy place.
The bad news is there is no Secret Map that will work for everyone. If there was, and I knew how to package it, I promise, it would not be a secret. I would give it to every person I know as a gift, because in life, there is nothing more enjoyable than spending time with truly happy people. It doesn’t happen often, and there are some that fake it well enough that you don’t know. But that is part of my not so secret path, I don’t bother with faking it. If I’m not in a good place, you will probably know it. What I want to share are the keys to my happiness, and some of the strategies I use to get/stay/regain that spot.
Don’t Panic
It seems silly, but Douglas Adams got this completely right all those years ago. No matter what is happening in your life, you are not alone. There are others out there walking the same path. You can reach out and find them, or you can blaze your own path, but there is an equilibrium in knowing that you are not alone. Moreover, I can’t speak for others, but I make really bad decisions when I am in panic mode. Learning not panic is hard, and it is deeply rooted in the very core of the things that are both catalyst and result of depression.
Love Yourself
This one was hard for me, and I’ve had to do it twice. Anyone that knew me in my youth knows that I was a bookish, skinny, nerdy, unathletic, uncoordinated and completely unsure of myself guy that spent more time alone and with a book hiding from people than was healthy. I had absolutely no idea how to deal with people. Socially awkward, and simply didn’t ‘get’ my peers. After life changing event back in middle school, perception changed. I went from timid, afraid of ‘getting hurt’ to fearless to the point of stupidity. I wish I was kidding with that last statement. If anything, I am being nice. What I learned was that I had to be comfortable with who I was and how I looked because if I wasn’t, no one else would. We become what we project.
The second time I dealt with this, was at 40 years old standing on a scale and wanting to find a corner and cry. Asking myself how I let this happen, and seeing the hard road to travel to undo the damage done. This was made easier because of the person standing beside me, but it remained a tough road.
Love Others
But the truth is, we don’t live in a vacuum. In order to truly find happiness, we have to feed the happiness of those around us. Part of this is building others up. Learning to love them, strengths and weaknesses. To focus on the strengths, to encourage, and mostly to learn to show them you love them. Love is an interesting word in the modern world. There is an association with sexual love that is problematic for many. That confusion makes it a difficult concept and word for many, particularly men, to wrap their heads around. It is the right word though. Loving others does not mean that we give so much that we forget about ourselves. This is an important point for all of the parents. So often we become so invested in our children that for 20 years we fail to truly invest in ourselves and our spouses. By the time the kids are moving out and on, we’ve lost touch with who we are, and who our spouses are. Sometimes it doesn’t take until the kids move on. So take special care in learning and keeping that love in place. It isn’t all sexual, though that can help, but finding the love of the person and keeping that is the root that keeps it grounded.
Not What Others Think
Keeping the love of others and listening to their thoughts and opinions is so very important, but there is a dark line that has to be drawn in the sand. Listening, and respecting is one thing, but allowing other peoples opinions color how you see yourself is the first step onto a slippery slope to a very dark place. That slippery slopes starts with the vocalized opinions, but the next and terribly destructive step on the slope is the imagined things of what people don’t say. What we start to tell ourselves other people are thinking. When we start seeing judgement and criticism in the every day actions of others, and use those things to further destroy our own self image and worth.
This is the single hardest thing I have ever had to learn in my life. It is a lesson I battle every single day. ( Even worse for me is when people do things that make my job harder. I know it is not their intent, but dammit it FEELS personal )
Learn to See the “Good Things”
This is the classic glass is half empty argument, with a nasty twist. For the longest time, I was certain that half full people actually existed in nature. Over the last few years, I have decided that no, we, the glass half full people do not exist in nature. We are created through experience and discipline. It took that young trauma to flip that around and teach me to look at things differently. Keep in mind, that there is a truly selfish side to the half empty perspective. Because it isn’t the glass that is half empty. It is MY glass that is half empty. Yours is half full. Once you understand that, the whole picture is easier to grasp.
We take in that there are half full glasses around us, but we fail to see ours as half full. That is where the learning and discipline come in. Learning to not only take in these facts, but to apply them equally to others and ours. To remove our self defeating internal struggles from these everyday facets of life.
As a thought exercise, next time you are driving in your car, and someone triggers your emotional anger response, look at the situation and laugh at yourself. Why did you get so angry? Did they really intentionally do that to piss you off, or were they simply so involved in their own issues that it never registered that there actions might have an adverse effect on anyone else? It is enlightening, and a great tool for learning to SEE things at a less personal level.
Get Moving
Others have addressed this, but I just want to reiterate this. Get up. Get moving. What you activity is, doesn’t matter. There are few certainties in finding a happy place, but this one I promise. No one is finding their happy place sitting on the sofa watching television all of the time. The occasional evening couch potato session is not going to break you, but when the couch is your second home, you aren’t finding your happy place, you are accepting the status quo, and that, simply will not do.
Doing something, anything physical, will help eventually. The first few times when you are starting from a place of weakness are hard, daunting and perhaps even overwhelming. If you can get past them though. If you can get a routine, you will feel the difference.
Along the way, you will also learn the lesson that every born again athlete learns. In the world of athletics, we honor the natural athletes. We revere the self made ones. No one is more respected in the athletic world than the ones that don’t look the part, and yet they are out there every workout, gritting through the crap towards their goals.
In the world of Ironman distance triathlons, there is a tradition that demonstrates this best. The first athletes across the finish line are at that finish line at midnight when the finish line closes to greet the last finishers. IF you ever get a chance to see an Ironman finish, wait until the sun sets to head to the finish line. That is when the greatest stories, the greatest triumphs happen. These are the self made athletes. They have proven themselves worthy of something more than just the humble respect of the workouts. They have pushed themselves to complete a truly daunting task.
Accept Things You Cannot/Should Not Change
This, I learned from my lovely and incredibly supportive spouse. It was her that made the conscious choice to not fight to change my bad habits through force. She accomplished the result by deciding to accept the things that she couldn’t change. It was a valuable lesson early in our marriage, and one that has come to apply to all aspects of my life. Driving, once that guy cuts in front of me, there is nothing I can do about, I accept that. Life is short, I will die, these are things that I also accept. But even the little things. My son is just like me, I can’t change that, and like me, he will have to learn these lessons the hard way, on his own terms. These are the lessons we learn.
We can make ourselves miserable trying to change these things, or we can accept that they aren’t things we can change and get on to the things we can impact. Making the choice to move on has removed an enormous amount of unhappiness from my life.
Smile
And finally, what might be the simplest and easiest, yet most powerful tool we have. A smile is something that has a direct impact on our emotional state, but also on those around us. Tell a joke, enjoy a laugh, and smile.
What does this have to do with triathlon? A lot more than you would think. You see, I have met more people that have found their happy places in the sport of triathlon than in any other place in my life. These are people that have challenged themselves physically and mentally. The longer I have been around this sport the more I have come to understand that the mental adaptations we make to compete in this sport will far outlast the physical ones. The self image things that we have had to set aside on race day. The confidence we have gained through these activities. All of these things are waypoints on the map to that big red X on the map that is your happy place.
Happenings
A busy week is ahead of the OGRE’s. OGRE Scott is racing the 70.3 race at Lake Logan, NC on Saturday. OGRE Dru will be riding 60 miles from Endurance House on Sunday (7:30AM if you want to ride along), with an hour or so brick off the bike. Then next Thursday night, OGRE Dru will be doing a Bike 101 Clinic for roadside repairs at Endurance House Alpharetta (6:30PM).
Feel free to come and join us at any of these.
On a side note, it looks like the Sunday OGRE ride for 08/16 is going to relocate and ride with the Olde Blind Dog crew on a tour of 3 gaps from Dahlonega. Should be a good day of climbing and fun.
Loving the Run
Over the last few years, I have met a lot of runners. I enjoy chatting with them. So many runners talk about the runners high, and their love for running. I admit that I have struggled with this. The run, for me has several distinct phases.
- Pre-run: Uggh. Run Day. Maybe lightning will hit me and I can take the day off.
- The first 8 minutes: Uggh. It’s hot, my legs hurt, my lungs hate me, running sucks.
- The next 8 minutes: Oh fine, I’m out here, let’s get this shit done.
- Somewhere around 15-20 minutes in: Lalalalalala, I’m thinking and thinking and singing along to the tunes, oh hi other runner. How far am I going today? Aw screw it, I’ll go till I’m tired.
- Somewhere around the time I’m supposed to turn around: I still feel alright, but the plan says only do x.
- About halfway back from the turn around: Hmm, still feeling good, maybe I can push the pace a little.
- About 8 minutes later: Holy crap, that hurt, WTH was I thinking.
- The last .25 mile: finish strong you big dufus.
- Post Run: That wasn’t so bad, I guess. I want ice cream. Cookies and Cream Ice Cream. It’ll spoil my appetite, but dammit I want ice cream.
Notice, nowhere in that is the famed runners high. For me, the run is something I have always had to motivate myself to do. Here we are, 4 years into this whole, getting fit and living a healthy lifestyle, and I keep telling myself how much I don’t like the run.
Then I take a few days off for some reason or another and I discover something.
I don’t hate the run anymore. Far from it in fact. Turns out, I really miss the running when I don’t do them. I feel guilty when I skip runs. I struggle to get motivated to DO the runs, but once done, I am satisfied.
Does this mean that I’ve found the love? Perhaps it does. At least it means that I value the work over the guilt of not doing the work. Perhaps, just perhaps, that is the real secret to learning to love the run.
Valuing the results over the actions. The fitness of getting that run done, and being better prepared for the next run with each one. Maybe that will get me over the hump to a point where I am excited about run days like I am for bike days.
Shopping – Road Holland
We here at the OGRE HQ ( otherwise known as the Swamp ), have a strong bias towards shopping local, shopping small, and shopping made in USA. It is hard to do all of the above these days, but with care, you can usually hit 1 or 2 out of the 3. In addition, we like to add a 4th category, and that is shop with quality people.
Today we are profiling a small apparel vendor from the Palm Beach area of Florida. They are sorta local, though they do not currently have any retail dealers in the Atlanta area (though they do have a small collection of dealers around the world). In addition, they hit the Made in USA category pretty well, with their fabrication being done in the US. Keep in mind, sourcing the fabrics is mostly likely from overseas, the assembly is on shore, so they earn the Made in America badge.
What makes them different is a philosophy. Road Holland is trying to create cycling gear that is not overly loud and garish, while hitting the high points that serious cyclists want and need. The mission is to create cycling kits that didn’t look absurd. Looking at the product on the website, they certainly hit the sweet spot on creating something that looks nice.
We decided to give them a try, despite knowing no one who had done so yet. Ordered a Carolina Blue Hilversum, a lightweight full zip jersey with a club fit with the idea that it would be a great commuter and club ride jersey for the summer and early fall rides. The online ordering process was pretty generic, but worked well. The email confirmation is a little on the simple but effective side, which I for one love. Spend the money and time on the products. Shipping was prompt and the product arrived in just a couple of days.
Keep in mind, this is not a cheap jersey at $100+, so we had certain expectations.
Upon arrival, the jersey came out of the packaging and looked exactly as represented, which is a great start. The fabric itself has an interesting feel. It is not like so many of the current jerseys with a super tight weave of elastane and lycra moisture wicking fabrics. In terms of texture, it actually feels more like a high end polo shirt than a cycling jersey. This is not a bad thing, and when you put it on, it looks sharp, and fits very true to size, with a slightly athletic cut. If you carry a little weight around the middle, you might want to size up. The real test though, is getting out on the bike with it.
We wanted to hold off on writing about the product until we had several rides in the hot and damp summer heat. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t terribly cooperative the first couple of weeks so it took longer than expected to get some weather appropriate for testing out new gear. While I am happy to get out and ride in the rain, I generally prefer not to test out new gear in the rain until I’ve seen how it holds up in good conditions.
Riding in the Hilversum proved to be an interesting experience, for unexpected reasons. First, for as heavy as the fabric feels, it is far from warm. During a 65 degree morning commute, it can get a little chilly at speeds over 25 mph. The fabric does a great job of leaving just enough moisture on the skin to cool in a hurry. The afternoon rides in 95+ degrees offered another interesting experience. The runners in the crowd will understand this one. The fabric itself has a slightly abrasive and gritty texture to it. This is fine most of the time, but when you get into the 95+ temperatures and you start sweating faster than the air is evaporating it, the wet fabric turns to sandpaper. This doesn’t bother some people, but for others, like myself, nipple chafing can become an issue. For running, I often use compression tops as a base layer for this very reason.
This is not a deal breaker, and honestly with the excellent design, best pockets in the business and hitting so many of my other criteria, the one negative really doesn’t create a huge challenge on the bike. The reason? Bib shorts. The first couple of rides just happen to be days when I wore traditional shorts. Subsequent rides with bibs and the chafing issues simply go away, as the bibs protect the sensitive areas. In addition, I suspect that a slight tighter fit would ease the problem as well.
Are there things I would like to see improved? sure, but understanding the size of the company and the costs associated with them, well, I think that Road Holland has a product that is a good value for the price, and a service level that exceeds expectations.
So at the end of the day, I can see adding a fall and winter jersey to the collection from Road Holland, and I have enough confidence in the brand that I will look to pick up a pair of their excellent looking bib shorts in the coming months.
Article form Lower Extremity Review
The whole article is worth a read, but it supports what the minimal runners have talked about for a long time. Too much padding can produce injury just as quickly as not enough.
Personal opinion? too many of us think we know how to run, but we don’t really know how to run to protect our bodies. Running with good, safe, form is really hard. Most of us have spent so much of our lives in shoes with heel to toe drops and right to left support that our bodies have forgotten how to absorb the impacts through our feet.
That means, you cannot just ‘switch’ shoes, you have to work towards less padding slowly. Apply a method, and most importantly, listen to your body. If something hurts, figure out why.
Cycling Explained to Non-Cyclists
Lycra
Nothing hurts more than unknown chafing in the shower after a ride. Nothing.
Group Rides
Safety in numbers. Provides plausible deniability while drinking at the pub after the ride
Stop Signs
When pedaling a bike at 4 miles an hour, we are effectively stopped.
Filtering through Traffic
Who wants to suck down the fumes of your poorly tuned exhaust. You are only pissed off because you can’t do it too.
Bike Lanes
Poorly planned space at the side of the road that includes drain grates, man hole covers, gaping pits to the netherworld and accumulates all the crap from the cars on the roads. Glass, sand, gravel, nails, screws, used condoms, shoes, gloves, ladders, discarded car parts, etc.
Multi Use Paths
Instant death. Leashed animals, wild children, runners with noise cancelling earbuds that couldn’t here a nuclear explosion, angry mom’s, distracted dads, groups walking 10 wide in a space designed for 4, 2 in each direction. Enter at your own risk. Any accident will be blamed on all cyclists, every where.
Stop Lights
Infernal devices that fail to detect many cars, much less a 15lb carbon fiber bike. 12 second light cycles that barely offer enough time for one car.
Cell Phones
Distraction Devices of Doom. Drivers, walkers, other cyclists, basically anyone looking or talking to a cell phone is an imminent threat, and probably destroyer of worlds.
Helmets
Survival device, not safety equipment. Does not make anything safer, only improves survival rates once safety has gone the way of the dodo bird.
Bike Lights
See that flashing light? DON’T HIT ME BRO! It does not mean, fixate on the flashing sparkly thing and aim for it. Seriously, that the only reason we use those things. A solid light of for seeing by. A flashing light is for being seen.
Cars
The enemy. They are out to kill us, assuming they even see us. When they do, it’s our fault for being on the roads.