From Knee surgery to the Podium

The long day

2009-08-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

"I like pleasure spiked with pain, and music is my aeroplane."
-RHCP

The day started with the alarm going off at 3am, set from the day before so I could drive her to the airport at 4am and I forgot to reset the time. After attempting to go back to sleep and another couple hours of tossing and turning it was time to wake. Finally pouring myself out of bed like molasses on an autumn day and into the shower to get all synapses firing again, at last the day has begun.

The first joy of the day will be spent at the dentist laying on my back with drills in my mouth digging away at a neglected tooth which is now plagued with decay. The dentist and assistant laugh and converse and even try to include me in the cnversation to which my reply is usually, mmpphhhffpgphfff! At least this time she let the novicaine start to take effect before drilling away.

Lucky for me I got to head back to work before going over to Boulder Ortho Sport for some physical therapy on my left Hamstring/knee. Since I had ACL reconstructive surgery my hamstring has been tight and I have not fully regained flexion because of this they are going to be working my hammy for a few weeks, with the Graston technique. For those unfamiliar this is where they take a piece of smooth metal and 'massage' your leg and knee. It burns. But it does stretch it out and warm it up so overall it feels good.

Back in the office for the rest of the day after a nice lunch break. Ok most of the day is over now all I have to look forward to is doing bike delivery from 5-10 all around east central Boulder.

Close up shop and home by 11. Ahhh time to relax a few beers later and it's lights out by 1. The next 3 days will consist of working half day in the office bike riding camping and picking her up at the airport. I guess these long days once in a while aren't so bad.

CU STX Race Report

2009-08-08T11:00:00.001-07:00

Race 4 for me and the second to last of the season for the Short Track (STX) series. The race is about 20 minutes of all out sprinting with lots of technical sections to climb, descend and negotiate over and around. It is a burner but it's also a blast, from the crowded hectic start to the lung searing finish this race is all out and extremely competitive.

This weeks track was the longest I had ever raced on and had lots of technical switch backs and bmx style features. I figured this favored me as I was more of a technical mountain biker than just a sit-n-spinner. I got a few warm-up laps in and was feeling strong. I made sure to get my self to the start in time to get a spot on the front line as with these races you can't win it on the start but you can sure lose it. So with 24 racers lined up and less than 50 yards to the first turn and the single track the announcer counted down.

Into turn one I managed to get myself in 6th place but the rider in front of my on a cyclocross bike made a wrong turn and went straight into the pit-high weeds as the track took a hard left up and over the toilet bowl. Ok so I'm 5th heading into the backstretch with the leaders setting a blazing pace. I shift down and mash trying to keep the gap what it is between myself and the leaders, another rider in a Boulder Cycle Sport kit passes me on the long straight towards the start/finish, ok 6th after 1. I get passed by 3 more riders over the next 3 laps but I keep them within a few bike lengths and try to conserve my energy for the last 2 laps. On lap 5 coming out of the bmx section and a quick double switch-back then steep climb a rider loses it into the bushes (the boulder cycle sport guy that passed earlier) and doesn't get back in it. Now at the end of lap 5 and getting close to a single speeder who passed earlier, then going to the sharp left turn leading up the long straight he loses it, His front tire washes out and I drop a gear and mash down the straight to make sure he can't even think of catching me. Last lap with one rider in sight, every time I get close he opens it up on the straight. We finish like this with me chasing him down the straight for a respectable 7th place finish. I notice The leaders were not too far out in front and after the single speeder we had opened a huge gap on the rest of the field.

Last race of the season next week, time for a top 5!

*Sidenote this was the first week of racing for Jimmy Johns/Ripstoke, they will be paying my entry fees and hooked up a nice jersey to rock for the races/training.

Of flat tires and lost chains

2009-07-15T09:32:00.001-07:00

Not being properly prepared is what it all comes down to.

Story of my life, or so it seams. All the problems I have had recently have been of my own doing. Some out of laziness, some out of shear stupidity but most of all just flat out being unprepared for the situations I am forcing myself into.

If 6 was 9

2009-05-22T10:08:00.000-07:00

Finally got my carbon 29er fork from ebay(3 weeks later!) and got a new cane creek headset as the old one was pieced together from my slavaged trek 4300(picture loose ball bearings shooting all over the place). This idea was orinally put on the table after finishing my first project bike(HT Gary Fisher Race-ready), alas that bike was stolen just a few weeks later and I now needed a race bike for the Boulder STX series and thus some urgency was injected into the life of the SS 69'er project.

I got a deal on the frame from a friend it's a Small Santa Cruz Chameleon that came with Salsa cranks(36t). The Cockpit came from Jensonusa.com on sale, the fork from ebay(as noted above), the wheels came from University and Blue Sky Velo respectively. I am using a Surly Tuggnut chain tensioner and some SPD M545 pedals.

The first ride I took was up the Boulder Canyon Link trail, very steep technical but not too long, took 17mins to climb and it felt like the fastest I had ever done it. I have it geard 36/18 or 2:1 right now which makes some if the steep climbs here very difficult but it felt very fast on the flats. The bigger front tire is awesome it allows me to just plow over small obstacles without getting hung up like with a 26'er front wheel. All in all this bike climbed like a champ but how would it descend?

I knew I was going to get rattled coming down the trail but to my surprise it was much softer than I could have expected, the carbon fork really doesn an amazing job of damping the bumps and smoothing the trail out. So far I am happy with my fork choice. And it wasn't all that much slower than my FS rig.

This bike is freiggin sweet and will be seeing alot more miles over the next few weeks, First Boulder STX in the books, with Race 2 tomorrow and a Race report to follow, I swear.

Walker Ranch ride report

2009-05-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

"How was it?"

"Dry, loose, dusty."

"Sounds like Walker"

Burns and I headed up to Walker Ranch for a short ride post-work yesterday, a 7.4 mile loop with 900ft of elevation gain. After battling a brutal headwind on my commute home I suited up for an MTB ride and we headed up flagstaff to the TH. The above exchange took place while gearing up and then we were off. We decided to do the loop clockwise so that mean we would be hiking up the stairs. The ride starts off with a short(3/4mi) slight uphill that takes you into some North-facing(shaded) steep switch backs that are a blast to rip through at speed. After that it opens up a bit into some double track with lots of loose rocks and many different lines to take. This is where having the full squish really comes in handy as you can just float over the rocks with out getting bucked off. And just like that the down is done and we are at the bottle of this valley next to a stream and it's time to hike up the steps to get on top of this steep ridge. Once at the top you begin some decieving climbs, I say deceiving because just as it seems like it might be over you round a corner to find more of the same loose, not too steep but steep enough to burn, climbing. Finally we got to some more double track and steep decending, unfortunately there were some other bikers who slowed us down enough to where I couldnt launch it over the steep rocks and had to billy goat my way through, which led to nosing into a loarge boulder and getting bucked. From here it was just a long grind out ~1.6mi back to the parking lot.

All in all a hiller ride, next time maybe two laps?

Training for Buff Creek

2009-05-12T08:26:00.000-07:00

Well it's only 38 days away which mean I have 4 weeks of hard training and a week of taper/carb loading until I find myself at the start line for my 3rd triathlon, 2nd at Buff Creek(124 out of 154 in 07). My goals are to demolish my previous efforts time as well as JAK's time set. I don't think it will be realistic to podium at this race as it is the 2nd biggest XTERRA this summer next to nationals. 3rd in the 25-29 AG took 18th overall last year so as I will be trying to crack to top 75(or top 50%) those guys will be out of sight.

More on training later.

Stolen Bikes

2009-05-04T07:35:00.000-07:00

So I took a while to post the race report mostly due to the fact that the biuke I raced got stolen. This bike meant a lot to me, I built it up over the duration of rehabbing my knee then it became a true project/race bike. I sanded and painted the frame, started with the drivetrain, Race-face Evolve XC X-type Crankset and BB, SRAM 990 9spd casssetter and 9Spd pwerchain. Next came the wheels and tires, Sun Rhyno lite rims and Panaracer Fire XC Pro's, got a sick deal on craigslist(also may have jinxed the bike with stolen parts...I'll never know). Then I threw on some Avid BB7 mechanical disc's on the front and BB5's on the rear(with an adapter for the Gary Fisher frame). I picked up and LX rear de-raileur online and an SLX front derailuer at university cycles, along with all necessary cables and housing. I used the stem and handlebars of my old Jamis and threw on some new Oury grips. Seat Post and saddle also came of the old Jamis and this thing was ready to go(see pics in post below). and alas it was taken from me while moving, I left it outside on teh 3rd floor outside the front door and bam, gone. Should have never left it out of my sight, that's the lesson learned but man does it feel shitty.

Race Report

2009-04-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

It has now been about 4 weeks(ed-thats when I started the write, man im a slacker) since crossing the finish line and about time to sum up the experience as I have now had time to let the feelings and settings and happenings of that weekend to sink in completely.

Got up early a bit nervous and mostly anxious. Had some Oatmeal, a gatorade and powergel, only carbs right now as I loaded up with protein and lots of carbs over the past few days I am just trying to squeeze in the last few now before the race.

As I setup my area in the transition space I see others put there shoes locked into the snowshoes prior so when in the transistion you can just slip the shoes on and run away, so I decided to do this as well.

In the pre-race meeting last years winner advised of tire pressure between 10-15 psi, now based on what the course maintenance supervisor said the course should be hard therefore I opted to go with a much higher psi, that turned out to be a mistake...

The race starts off downhill and I used this as an opportunity to get ahead of some off the riders who I knew would be stronger on the climbs than I would. It was crazy, people were sliding all over I saw a person go over the bars and I saw another chick go straight into a tree when the trail got off camber, man biking in snow was so much more challenging than I imagined, picture biking through deep sand except its cold and wet. Needless to say I posted a much slower time than I expected.

Next was the 5k snowshoe and it was actually a lot easier/faster than I anticipated, running through the woods in snowshoes ona beautiful day is fun by itself but mix in the competitive atmostphere and the backdrop of Snowbasin and I was having a blast.

By the time I got to the run my feet were soaked and since I didn't bring extra running shoes I was just going to have to deal with the 5k with soggy feet. The run covered some of the same track as the bike but then broke off into 2mi out and back. So remember how I said biking on hardpack was like deep sand, well the running was too and the fact that it was a little later and a little warmer the snow had gotten even softer. I never would have predicted that my snowshoe was going to be so much faster than my run but thats what happened.

Finally the ski mountaineering leg, I had been practicing taking my skins on and off while still locked in and it paid off. There was only one person in my view when I left the transition area and I was determined to catch him. Once I rounded the first corner I saw a few more competitors. I had no idea if there were in my age group or not but I was gonna catch 'em. I encountered one problem at the tope of the first and longest hike, my left hip flexor was in pain and each step seamed to hurt a little bit more. But once I got to the top and ripped the skins off and bolted down, I had gained on the next guy infront of me and the adrenaline from flying down the mtn alleviated some of the pain. On the 2nd hike I smoked the guy near me and it turned out he was in my age group. At the next transistion area I ripped the skins off again while still strapped in and passed another guy who also turned out to be in my AG and sped down through the gates. On the last climb there was 2 guys in front of me(they both turned out to be in the 30-39 AG) and I almost caught them on the climb, but one of the guys had cross counrty skis and I flew by him on the final down crossing the finish line at 3:58:36 and in 3rd place in my AG!

Worked, is probably the best word I can use to describe how i felt after the race, but due to proper fueling and preparation i did not run into the same problems I had at my first XTERRA almost 2 years ago. Now it's time to turn up the prep for Buff Creek!

3rd place in 20-29 AG!

2009-03-10T08:37:00.000-07:00

And I made it in under 4 hours(3:58:24) so I hit both my goals for the day, sweet.

Compelled

2009-02-13T07:47:00.000-08:00

What is it that drives man to explore uncharted territories, take on incredible burdens and risk life and limb just for adventure? Is there an equal and opposite reaction for everyone of these people who yearn to get out and explore there is someone content to sit on the couch and turn off their brain and become a part of the scenery?

Is it the American Dream? Is that what each one of us is purseing in our own devious way? Does the man on the couch have the same shot at the dream as the one out on the road? Who's to say.

It may still be out there, or it may have died along with Hunter Thompson, the last great true American...

Less than a month...

2009-02-12T12:59:00.000-08:00

...until the XTERRA Winter World Chamionships...

The bike is finally together, the snowshoes are ready, the skins still need to be re-glued and I should probably get some new running shoes. I've been doing lots of biking and not nearly enough running. I know this yet I still find excuses to get on the bike instead of run, oh well I guess I will be suffering in the race and maybe then I will learn to train right to meet my goals.

10k Mtn bike, no prob I am set. 5k snowshoe, will be interesting as I haven't gotten to do too much snowshoe training due to lack of snow in Boulder. 5k run, no problem. 10k Ski mountaineering, the downhill will be fine its the up thats gonna get me...

Surrounded by Madmen

2009-02-10T08:39:00.000-08:00

The trip to the Eisman hut was interesting. Tiring, smile inducing, whiskey sluggin, powder sloughing and interesting. The hut was perched at 11,180ft above sea level and 9.5mi from the Redsandstone Creek trailhead. Now with snowmobiles we were able to get within 1/2mi of the hut and the hike was short but intense, hiking through powder with a loaded pack is less than fun.

The weather was amazing, bright blue skies and snow capped peaks as far as the eye can see. But with Temps hovering above the 40's the area was primed for avalanches. We could already see a few natural slides had broken off by the time we got to the hut just after 10 in the am. We decided to stick to the Northeast facing faces to avoid any slides, natural or skier triggered. Got some great turns in and built a few jumps just playing around in our winterwonderland.

When we got back to the hut we met a few other skiers and boards touring in the BC, we also met 3 guys who got caught in an avy that day, all 3 guys were buried or partially buried and one guy was 9ft deep in a tree well. I am glad they survived but man were they in the wrong area. I am not the most experienced but even I know better than to go near where they were. I understand the desire to get out and schralp the untracked pow pow but its not worth risking life and limb when there is pow in much safer areas...

http://avalanche.state.co.us/pub/accidents_co.php?accident=20090116

Week 2 Phase II

2009-01-14T10:14:00.000-08:00

After another great weekend Hiking and skiing powder its time to get back to the grind of working in a cubicle and getting back to running. I haven't done any snowshoe training yet and since there is still some snow on the ground today will be the day, a 5k on snowshoes for time. Yesterday was shoulders and core in the gym with a 18k of biking before and after.

Eismann hut this weekend, stoked for this trip gonna be a lot of trudging around with huge packs on but the snow should be bottomless and the whiskey flowin'.

A season like no other

2009-01-07T13:57:00.001-08:00

This year has seen a ton of snow dropped on the Rocky Mountains, especially in December, yet to the dismay of many this happens to have fallen on a fairly unstable base layer and with temps staying below freezing the snowpack has not had much chance to bind together causing large slides that have resulted in 18 fatalities already this season and numerous inbounds avalanches at many big name resorts.

This is a just a reminder for myself and anyone else out there that being prepared and having the correct safety equipment, as well as knowing how to use it, is the only way to cut down the risk of injury or death while out enjoying the sport we love so much.

I have spent the last few weekends in the BC and will be going out on Vail Pass again this weekend to search for those safe, steep stashes left from all the snow we are getting this week and staying away from the steep open faces that are prone to sliding no matter how inviting they look.

On a training note I have been biking all week and will be doing bike delivery tonight, last time I covered 50mi in 10hrs probably won't be as busy tonight but still a good training routine all the same.

Be safe!

Vail Pass and begin Phase II

2009-01-05T08:46:00.000-08:00

9 of the past 17 days have been spent skiing or hiking but mostly both with only one day just hiking and two just skiing, I have been taking bike rides on the off days with not much running(ED. slacker...) I don't have a pair of skins yet so the hiking has been the base training that is equivalent to skinning up a mountain.

More training updates and recaps of previous adventures to come.

Cherry Cherry Pow Pow

2008-12-22T11:01:00.000-08:00

3 of the past 4 days have been spent surfing the frozen curl as I like to call it. Thursday was 2'+ at Beaver Creek, Saturday was Copper with some EC friends, mostly in the trees searching for the goods and Sunday was spent at A-basin. With the pass being closed for Haz-Mat cleanup everyone was at Keystone and when we got to the Basin there was hardly anyone there, we spent the day mostly in the land of the giants avoiding rocks and jumping off the unavoidable ones. Registration is open and today marks the start of week 3 of the 12 week high-intensity part of the 25 week training program.

Avalanche Death Shocks the Ski Community

2008-12-17T11:20:00.000-08:00

After the latest series of storms pounded the West, the ski community was hit with tragedy on Sunday when two people died in separate avalanches: Heather Gross, a 27-year-old grad student at the University of Utah, was buried while skiing High Baldy at Snowbird, Utah; and Cory Brettman, a 52-year-old father and former ski patrolman at Aspen, was killed in a slide just out of bounds at Aspen Mountain, Colorado. The deaths were a sobering reminder that the euphoria of skiing deep powder can quickly turn to tragedy—and that such accidents can happen to anyone at anytime. The following account was sent to Powder.com from Jake Kirshner, a friend of Heather Gross. The report was first posted on Jakecast.com.

Every time I read a story about a skier who has died doing what they love it makes me think about what I'm doing everyday and with my life. Today, like yesterday and tomorrow will be spent in a cubicle with some biking and running to look forward to at the end of the day, when all is said and done is this what I always wanted?

Heather Gross was a grad student working towards loftier goals than harvesting fresh pow lines everyday but when she got the chance to do it she went. And she died doing presumably what she loved, if you got hit by a truck on the way home did you die doing what you loved? Did you at least take the risks inherent in going for it all? They say the only people who have found the edge are those who have crossed it, well there is a reason so many go looking for it, and tomorrow when i tell my boss I am 'working from home' I will double check my avy safety equipment, take a moment to appreciate where I am and who I'm with and go searching for the ever elusive 'edge'.

Back in the saddle

2008-12-03T11:33:00.000-08:00

Got back on the tele skis for the first time since surgery and they felt good, got 2 days in this past weekend for #4 on the season. Prett weak start to the season snow wise but we got around 2ft over the weekend with more coming this week. Training kicks into high gear next week and now with my nutrion plan in place I am set to attack.

I only got an hour of biking and about 5 miles of running over the last week and half, traveling to Charlotte for Thanksgiving can do that to ya. So far this week its been biking and weights, a nice long run will come tomorrow morning.

The final pieces to the Frankenbike will be arriving Thursday and I will have everything ready to go before then. A quick breakdown of what went into the Frankenbike:

17.5" Gary Fisher Marlin Frame
80mm Rox Shox Judy TT front fork
Race Face Evolve XC X-type crankset w/ external BB
Shimano Dual Control BRK/SHFT levers
Avid BB7 front disc brake
Avid BB5 rear disc brake
XT front deraileur
LX rear deraileur
SRAM 990 9SPD rear cassette
SRAM PC-971 chain
Rhynelite disc rims
Panaracer 2.1 tires
Oury grips
Handle bar and riser off Jamis Dakar XC sport

This project has taken a while to come to fruitition by once I get my first test ride in this weekend I will know a lot more about what goes into a sweet bike build and whether I was succesful or not.

End of the week training wrap on Friday.

...And we're back!

2008-11-17T10:52:00.001-08:00

After a short hiatus to allow the swelling to go down and to reasses my goals it's time to step it up a notch. Week 8 is the new week 1, I received my meal plan from Casey the trainer and I got support from Schmess(she bought me the remaining parts needed for the Franken bike).

Going to start incorporating some of the Crossfit techniques into my routine, todays crossfit:
"Twenty-One"
Complete the following for time:
20 push-ups/1 sit-up
19 push-ups/2 sit-ups
18 push-ups/3 sit-ups
17 push-ups/4 sit-ups
16 push-ups/5 sit-ups
15 push-ups/6 sit-ups
14 push-ups/7 sit-ups
13 push-ups/8 sit-ups
12 push-ups/9 sit-ups
11 push-ups/10 sit-ups
10 push-ups/11 sit-ups
9 push-ups/12 sit-ups
8 push-ups/13 sit-ups
7 push-ups/14 sit-ups
6 push-ups/15 sit-ups
5 push-ups/16 sit-ups
4 push-ups/17 sit-ups
3 push-ups/18 sit-ups
2 push-ups/19 sit-ups
1 push-up/20 sit-ups
Push-up standards: Body stays planked whether you are on your toes or your knees. Chest touches the deck. Arms to full lockout.

Sit-ups on an Abmat with feet unsecured

I will report back tomorrow how it feels and some more planning on this weeks training.

Suicidal Squirrels

2008-11-11T09:20:00.000-08:00

So the knee is feeling a little better and I have been biking to work to keep it loose, I will be back in the gym tomorrow but no running this week. But as I was riding along yesterday a squirrel popped out of a bush and ran into my back tire. Luckily I didn't run the little fella over he coulda would up like this guy had I been going faster and if I had disc brakes perhaps.

#'s from last week and possible setback...

2008-11-10T07:28:00.000-08:00

Bike = 3hrs
Run = 1hr
Ski = 4hrs

While on the skis saturday I came to a hard stop and I think the pressure to the outside of my knee caused me to strain it a bit. It's a little sore and swollen and I'm not gonna push it too hard this week. It feels ok on the bike and I have the ace neoprene brace on my knee for now. We'll see how it goes and possibly get back in the gym by the end of teh week.

Lesson learned, lift more and be in more control, don't go to hard to fast yet, your knee is not ready...

And there was celebration in the streets!

2008-11-05T09:51:00.000-08:00

Even here in Boulder, I could hear the shouting from my window. At approximately 8:45 PM MST it was announced that Barack Hussein Obama would be the 44Th president of the United States of America.

There was plenty of whooping and hollering from the locals in my neighborhood, people were even setting of fireworks and dancing in the streets. I never expected quite that reaction but then again it is a momentous occasion.

"Yes We Can"
-Barack Obama

502

2008-11-04T07:56:00.000-08:00

That's what the mileage read on the cyclometer this morning as I locked my bike to the rack out in front of the building I work in. That's a pretty good feeling knowing I have put that many miles down, almost all commuting. I bought it about 8 weeks ago so that mean I am getting roughly 63mi of commuting per week. Not bad but I expect that number to increase as I lengthen my commuting trips for training purposes.

Surrounded by Apes

2008-10-28T13:57:00.000-07:00

Picture yourself surrounded by 700 Mountain Gorrilas. That's where I was saturday morning. Now these weren't your average gorillas, they drank, smoked and generally acting like a bunch of people. It was of course the Denver Gorilla Run. My roomate, a few coworkers and myself signed up at the last minute to get some sweet gorilla suits and run a 6k through Denver.

In the past I had heard that the temperature was pretty cool, considering it's the end of October and all. Well it was 75 and sunny, not a cloud in the sky, great for pics, bad for staying dry. Those suits were roasting, I had to take the mask off a few times to breath.

We decided running wasn't going to be fun enough in gorilla suits so we brought skateboards, the one problem being we had 3 and there was 4 of us. Clown boy solved that by finding a bench 150 yds after we started, took a nap for 45 minutes and then got up and ran back to the finish. It takes a special kind of person to do something like that.

All in all it was fun doing the people slolom on the long board and then boxing CB across the finish in a gorilla suit with boxing gloves.

Man my groin is sore from all the skatin.

JPEG Magazine

2008-10-28T10:02:00.001-07:00

Cold this morning

2008-10-27T07:56:00.000-07:00

But that means it's even colder in the high country! Hopin to make it to A-basin this weekend to see how the knee is gonna react to the first turns since surgery. I am nervously excited about testing it out, I feel that I have rehabbed it well and the uncomfortableness is all a mental issue.

Hmmm, most of my problems are mental issues...

Back from Amsterdam

2008-10-24T12:15:00.000-07:00

What a trip, exhausted from the traveling but an what a trip.

It's not going to be easy getting back into the swing of things but considering there is snow on the ground in the high counrty and I can still Mtn bike here in Boulder it shouldn't take very long.

Coolest thing about Amsterdam, everyone bikes everywhere. People are aware of bikers, cars are aware, other bikers are aware(save for a few oblivious tourists who I saw almost get run over multiple times). I could see enjoying the simpler life in a place like that.

Back on Monday with an update on how the training went this weekend...

www.denvergorillarun.com

Walker Ranch and Choppin Brocoli

2008-10-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

"Whoo, I'm throwing rocks tonight!
-Donny, The Big Lebowski

Walker Ranch is an 8-mile loop at the top of Flagstaff mountain in Boulder. The loop begins with a long technical downhill to the valley floor. From there you hike up a large set of steep stairs leading to some more downhill before beginning the first of 2 large ascents. The decent between the two climbs is very technical and I was blasting through it, so much so that my thumb trigger for the rear de-raileur came loose and fell off, now my bike is basically a 3 speed, that made the last climb out brutal, legs are still sore from that one.

Thursday is normally a yoga day but instead last night it was a log day, Burns and I hauled two loads of wood outta the forest and into his truck, we finish choppin and then sell on saturday morning.

There are few things more satisfying than the sound and feeling of a good clean CHOP through a large round where the split pices go flying in opposite directions, SNAP!

Not Stolen...

2008-10-06T10:24:00.000-07:00

Phew! After a great ride thursday, up the Link trail 2laps around betasso and down the Link, I woke up friday morning to my bike missing and the lock just sitting on the ground near where the bike had been. I was devasted, not only do I commute to work everyday on that bike but I had my tires and rims from my Franken-bike project on the commuter so I could start going off road. As I was headed for the police station to file a report I get a phone call from my roomate, Clownboy, and he tells me he is the one who stole the bike. He took it to work, even though he has his own bike, and then got drunk and left it inside the bar he works at and got a ride home. Now I don't know what could have compelled him to take my bike or what would have led him to believe it was ok to leave it downtown but either way he had a barrage of tennis balls awaiting him upon return friday afternoon and one his cars may or may not go missing for a few days in the future.

At least the bike didn't get stolen, I'm thinkin of getting one of those locks pee-wee Herman used on his bike in the Big Adventure just in case...

Headin to Betasso again

2008-10-02T12:35:00.000-07:00

The above is a pretty nice video of someone on Betasso, some cool angles and fast shots making it look more challenging than it truely is, still it's a lot of fun to train on and is great for me just getting back in the saddle.

Another round of Yoga scheduled for post ride, we'll see how that goes...

No Weights this week

2008-10-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

Knee is sore and I don't want to re-injure anything. Just biking a short run and more biking for this week. Training plan almost finished, still working on phase II which is the 12 weeks leading up to the race. The first 12 are set and those weeks are to prepare your body for the coming 12 weeks in which you will learn the limits of what you can handle. For now enjoy this video from last years inaugural XTERRA Winter Worlds...

Guess Who's back? Back again..

2008-09-29T10:04:00.001-07:00

..Stevies back, Mountain bikin'.

Finally got back onto some singletrack for the first time since my knee surgery(basically 1 year since I wasn't mtn biking in the winter). It felt great! I was a little rusty on some of the downhill spots but for the most part I felt really good. Burns and I went up to the Betasso Preserve at the top of Magnolia Road in Boulder. It is a 2.3mi loop with the bikers currently going counter clock-wise(every other month they switch it up), it's not too challenging with lots of fast dry single track and a few technical spots.

Today is going to be a run day after I bike home from work this afternoon as I continue with my training and Goal of finishing 3rd in my AG at the XTERRA Winter World Championships!

Ooohhhhhmmmmm

2008-09-26T12:38:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to try Yoga for a while now and with the Ski season fast approaching, my training plan in full swing and my knee still not at 100% but getting close, I figured it was time to try.

Note to self, do not do an upper body workout just prior to your Yoga session. This was a rookie mistake that just meant the muscles in my upperbody would be fatigued while trying to hold my body up in certain positions.

Yesterday's class was called Flow Yoga so you are constantly moving from one position to another with little holding or resting. It was hard to get my breathing synced up but I have heard that will come with time and practice.

All in all it was a good experieince and I look forward to making it a part of my regular routine. I am a little sore today but that means it worked(at least that's what I tell myself).

Long Road Ahead

2008-09-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was an easy day. Roughly 20k of biking(mostly to and from work) then a few beers and chillin. Today is my weights/Yoga day and following that I'll be ready to sleep about 12 hours. This week has been dragging on and on...

Numbness

2008-09-24T09:18:00.000-07:00

Been getting a numb(pins and needles) feeling on my left shin just below the knee. Most likely this has to do with the surgery, possibly some nerve damage near the repaired area. It doesn't hurt and is not too uncomfortable, it may just be something I have to deal with the rest of my life...

A little background...

2008-09-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

...on why I started this blog, what I'm doing with it, my goals and my previous experiences.

Around February/March of last year a friend of mine got the idea to sign up for and start training for an XTERRA off-road triathlon. I ran cross country in high school, and had recently gotten into XC mountain biking, so this definitely piqued my interest. We signed up and trained for 16 weeks leading up to the competition in June. When it came to training I made a plan but had a hard time sticking to it, and when race time came around it showed in the swimming event. It was a 1k open water swim(water was 56 deg) and I struggled. The mountain bike was next and I actually did OK, had a better time than my buddy. 20 miles of trail riding at 9000 in Buffalo Creek, CO is no cake walk, the best(worst) part is the 3 mile climb up a logging rode back to the transition area. The 5 mile trail run that was the final leg of the tri was brutal, I had lost my water bottle without realizing during the mountain bike race and was becoming seriously dehydrated. I felt like they made the course as tough as possible, literally running up and down the side of a mountain, and by the time I was coming down the home stretch my hamstrings were refusing to move as I asked them too. I limped across the finish line and collapsed. time = 3:50:21, 114Th out of 149 overall and 8Th of 10 in my AG.

Not bad, not great, most importantly, not last. Lots of lessons to take away from that race and decided I would train harder and come back next year and demolish my pathetic time. On February 27Th, 2008 that changed. While skiing at Big Sky in Bozeman, MT with some friends from back east I decided it would be a good idea to throw a backflip over a 25-30 drop. I had my landing picked out, the lip was perfect, perfect rotation, tight knees, then, uh oh, overrotated-thought I could ride it out-then the skis took a different direction without releasing and POP! There goes my ACL. We were on the backside of Loan Peak, this means it would take forever for Ski Patrol to get out there, and me being me, I said I could ride back down. Needless to say it popped again on the way down and I had to push my self on one ski all the way back to the front side of the mountain, that sucked.

4/7/2008 - ACL reconstruction surgery, using a new procedure, Dr. Seng removed part of my ITB(middle hamstring, back of the knee area) and put it in place of the damaged ACL. He drilled a hole in my Tibia and screwed down the new ligament, reattached my separated medial meniscus and shaved my MCL as that was sprained as well. This is a fairly new procedure and the worst part was recovering from the harvesting of my own hamstring that was used to replace the ACL. Doc says the knee will be stronger that ever will the right training and a little dedication.

9/7/2008 - 5 months out of surgery, itching to get back into something. Road biking to work everyday and rides on the weekends are not enough, then I find www.xterraplanet.com/winter/events.html and I am pumped. Training has begun and I will post a schedule soon, still making lots of changes to tailor the training specifically to this race.

So there ya have it, a brief overview with many more details to come in the future as we lead up to the Race, and of course photos and results afterwards. Let me know what your think, am I crazy? Is this something you might be thinking of? Do you have any training tips or suggestions? I'm all ears.

I am not going to get up today!

2008-09-23T09:32:00.000-07:00

Hard time getting moving this morning.

Yesterday was a bike/run day, I did ~16km on the bike on the road and then ran ~4k. After doing roughly 95km on the bike over the weekend the knee was definitely feeling a little sore. During the run I noticed a feeling of numbness below my left knee, kinda like pins and needles, not painful but odd and a bit disconcerting. I have an appointment with Dr. Seng in two weeks and if this persists I can speak with about it.

Two more weeks until I 'should' be cleared for plant and pivot movements, about time. I can finally start mountain biking again and play some basketball and , the big one, SKIING!

Today is a bike/gym day, biked to work this morning, 8k, and then bike to the gym after work for a leg/knee routine and then 30sec on/off sprints home. Pasta dinner and pass out.

Ah ha! I've got it! Brain, how can I ever thank you?

2008-09-22T12:33:00.000-07:00

Did 95km on the bike this weekend riding around Boulder. Sunday was a rest day and today was a bike in the morning then bike home from work followed by a 5k run then MNF.

Entering week 3 I have seen a slight improvement in my riding and overall physical shape. I am going on a nutrition plan beginning this week, I will post the complete plan once finalized but for now it includes oatmeal, fruit and juice in the am (~700 cal), then rice bean and some meat, chicken or steak, for lunch(~1000 cal). For dinner I will be focusing on pasta, rice, beans, veggies, fish and chicken(~1000+ cal). Initially I will be aiming for roughly 3000 calories a day and increasing that number as my workouts increase in intensity.

Counting this week I have 3 more of training before going to Amsterdam and setting myself back a bit, it'll be worth it.

Wrapping up week 2 and Welcome to my blog

2008-09-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

This is where I plan to share the pains and triumphs, trials and tribulations of training for The XTERRA Winter World Championships. I had reconstructive ACL surgery on April 7Th(left knee), and after nearly 6 months of rehab I am ready to get back on track.

I have 24 weeks from the first week of training(9/8-9/14) until the competition (3/7/09). Eventually I will publish my training and nutrition plan but for now I am honing it and making changes daily.

The first week of training contained 81km on my bike(all on road) and 6k worth of running. This was the first distance running(I know not very far) since my surgery and it was a bit painful, knee was sore after each run. Also some weights at the gym(one leg hamstring curls, one leg presses, calf raises, one leg balance on elliptical ball then sprints-30sec on off-home on the bike) to round out my training routine.

So far week 2 has been very similar to week one, all told I will have about 86km on the bike(on road) and 6-8km running. Weights at the gym twice this week and still haven't started doing Yoga but either Saturday or next week I will begin to incorporate that into my routine.