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What's it all matter anyway?

Did You Call Me A Jackass???

I really enjoyed the conversation during breakfast before we left to race "Le Tour De Tick" in Neosho this past weekend. The conversation was about natural born athletes being referred to as Thoroughbreds. Lyle commented on how you can make a Jackass out of Thoroughbred but you can't make a Thoroughbred out of a Jackass, some people will just be a fast Jackass.

We didn't get to pre ride the course due to rain on Saturday so we took a short ride Sunday before the race mainly to try and get warm as it was very cool outside. I was surprised that there wasn't more marathon racers than there was but I think the rain had kept many people home. There was only 12 in the marathon class but the beginners, who were starting after us, had a very large amount of racers. Chillicothe was well represented with Coach, James, Denny, and myself (we were all racing the marathon class). We had a short sprint before we hit the single track and I think I was in the 6th position when we dropped in. It was a fast pace on the fun somewhat rocky trail, JP Brocket was out of sight very quickly with another racer close behind him. About a mile in James went around Coach and I was quickly on Coach's wheel. I knew that Coach was riding a slower pace for him and I knew it was strategical but I also knew that I had several riders on my tail that would get around at the first chance. I had a first in this race, I yelled "Can I come around on your left?", it wasn't the first time I had said that but it was the first time I had said it to Coach. I went around (man did that feel weird), I knew it wouldn't last but Coach Lair always told me I would never run a sub 5 minute mile with a slow first lap so I used that same logic for the start.

When we hit the first service road Denny and 2 other guys shot passed me like I was standing still. I held Coach off for just a little longer but I kept him and Denny in sight for almost the whole first lap. I was pushing pretty hard but feeling good, I was trying to focus on not riding comfortable (it is easy to get into a groove....a slow groove). Not very far into the second lap I came screaming into a right hand turn and was pedaling into the turn and clipped something (it must have been a stump) with my right foot, since I was in a right turn my right arm was bent and pulled toward me while my left arm was extended and steering the turn. When I hit the "thing" it must have slowed my bike a lot while my body continued at the same speed. My arm got jammed into my shoulder and I had instant extreme pain and wasn't able to grab the handlebar with my left hand. I shot thru the turn and was grabbing as much brake as I could with my right hand but wasn't slowing very fast. I was heading straight into a brush pile and even though it only lasted a couple seconds I think I said in my head "Oh shit, I'm going to eat it" about 10 times. I slowed enough that I bounced off some brush and came to a stop. When I got both feet down my left arm was locked out and I could not lift or lower it, I was freaking out and it hurt like hell, turns out I dislocated my shoulder. I was moving around and lowered my shoulder and twisted my body and my shoulder went back into it's socket, it was a weird sensation because it hurt like a mother and felt good all at the same time. I feel weird telling this story because I know it doesn't sound true but it is what it is.

It took me a minute to figure out if I could continue but then I was back on the bike but my bike wouldn't roll. I had a big stick down thru my rotor and spokes, as I was removing it I had a racer get past me. He didn't know what was going on but he did ask if I was okay or needed anything but I told him I was good to go. The pain wasn't too bad until I would have reach back into my jersey pocket to get my gel flask and put it back, a Thoroughbred would have put it in the other jersey pocket, EAAAAAA!!!! Also hammering down some of the downhills was sending shock waves up my arm into my shoulder and it was very uncomfortable and when I was getting aggressive on some climbs I must have been tightening my shoulder in the process.

I fell off the pace a bit and had to focus on staying after it, I continued to push and after 4 laps I knew it was going to be tough to make it back in time from my 5th lap to get on a 6th lap but I gave it hell anyway. I switched my computer from mileage to elapsed time so I would have a better feel for where I was at, I finished at 3:06 10. I was very disappointed that I missed getting 6 laps but I felt like I rode very well. Coach placed 2nd, James took 4th, and Denny rode awesome and placed 5th, I ended up 8th.

My Kind Of Math!!!

I don't think that I weighed myself when I was at my heaviest, maybe I did but just didn't realize it but the highest number I can remember when got on my scale was 249 lbs.....yep, I was fat. I can remember eating as much as I wanted and I would burn it off with no problem, I was very active being involved in wrestling and track. I have to say that one of my favorite things about wrestling was conditioning, because I was pretty good at it. The only reason I went out for track is Coach Long caught me in the hall the week that track season started and asked me what I was running, I probably had the deer in the headlights look and responded...uh, nothing. He said I should be doing long distance so I said....uh, okay. Wow was I surprised to be a 4 year Varsity runner. I was lucky back then to train with Matt Akers, man did he know how to suffer (this is a concept I didn't fully realize until I started getting serious about cycling). My Senior year in track was tough for me because I was catching up as far as growing, I got taller, my shoulders got broader and I got heavier (not fat but just was filling out). I went from a 5' 9" 135 lb 2 mile runner to a nearly 6' 165-170 lb 2 mile finisher, let's just say my times got a bit slower.

When I got into college I continued to run but not very often, usually when I couldn't sleep (I always loved to run at night). I remember one night in Maryville I went to run at the track about midnight and ended up running 10 miles, that was a boring 40 laps. After college I got married and my somewhat active life got not so active, I'm not blaming marriage for that because it was my choice to not be active. I always had the thought of I will get back in shape but never really did anything about it.

I could always look in the mirror and see my chubby face and my big belly but I saw it everyday and it didn't have the same impact as looking at a picture and thinking "Oh my god, who is that fatty?" that will give you some real perspective. I got active to lose weight and dropped from my 249 down to 206 and felt great but would creep back up to 235-240. When I moved back to Chillicothe I bought a bike, not to lose weight but to get fit enough to do a triathlon, I figured I would lose some weight but that was not my main goal.

Low and behold I got involved with the Green Hills gang and my first Monday night ride I thought I was going to die, I was actually looking forward to it. Even though it was painful it was just natural for weight to start coming off after I started riding, I got down to 210 and did my first duathlon at Clinton Lake (after I got the 4 ribs put back in place I could breath much better). My second year of riding I finally got down to 195 and stayed there for awhile. The next year I got to 185 and stayed there for a very long time, I thought I might be there forever. I still eat way too much too often but I make an effort to do better, I do my best when I have a race coming up. I decided to weigh this morning (I don't like to weigh very often) and I was 167.0 that is 82 lbs less than the heaviest that I saw on a scale, bring on the hills!!!

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE!!!

I had not raced my mountain bike since October until yesterday, training has been going very well after a pretty rough start this year. I feel strong for this early in the year but I still have a long ways to go, so doing the marathon class at the Levee Trails race in Lawrence, KS was going to be a good test of where I am at. The Levee Trails are a very beginner friendly trail, I would have no problem taking Molly on a ride there, I can only think of a couple short steeps that might give her problems if she didn't carry enough speed. I guess what I am getting at is that this trail is a lot easier than some of the other trails that we have raced. This is a big ring course that you can really fly on, rip the tight twisty turns, and a couple drop ins that will have you smiling big time. I am glad that I prerode a short bit of the course because I had forgotten about a little surprise. There was a sharp right hand drop in that banked hard left halfway through and your speed shot down the rest of the hill and up the next short up, my speed shot me to the left hand line and over and down the next drop. I had forgotten that the left hand side of that drop had exposed roots with a slight drop, it really isn't that tough to ride but when you aren't expecting it and next thing you know you are halfway down it.....it can really get your attention. It wasn't very far into the lap so we were running a long train of riders and if someone faltered there it was going to be a mess for everyone.

I really enjoy endurance racing but for me a 3 hr race isn't the endurance I am used to, I prefer a 6 hr race over a 3 hr. It might not make since to some but in the 3 hr race there is not time for anything other than ride fast, and then keep riding fast. I did ride fast some!!!! I was in the third row at the start and when we took off it was a mad dash for the single track, I fought my way around some riders before we hit the woods and was in 7th when we made it in, I was still in 7th when we exited the trail toward the turnaround. I made my way around a rider and into 6th place but as we were heading back out 3 or 4 riders got around me. I tried to keep track the best I could as to what place I was in and I could have sworn I finished in 11th or 12th place but Tim told me I was 15th. I didn't stick around to check my place because Molly, the kids, and my inlaws had come to cheer me on and I know they had been out in the sun for quite some time and didn't want to hold them up too long. It was a lot harder to keep track of riders after the expert and sport riders joined in on the course. It was easy on their first laps because I was over 2 hrs in and that is where I started to really slow down, there would be nobody in sight behind me and then 10 seconds later I would here "On your left".....dang, where did they come from.

I have to admit that I didn't ride quite as well as I had hoped. 3 plus hours is a long time to be pushing your big ring, especially at race pace and it took it's toll on my legs. For some reason my lower back started hurting less than an hour into the race, my lower back will sometimes bother me in an endurance race I have never had it hurt that early and I was in some severe pain by the time we finished. I also went through a lot more water than I had planned on, at first I figured 2 bottles but took a third just in case (then took a large bottle for after the race), I went through all 3 bottles and had Molly fill and empty bottle from my post race bottle in between laps. I think that I underestimated the course because I knew it was a fast course but on a fast course like that there really is no place to recover. Plus there are several places where you can see other racers heading the other direction so you can guage how far ahead or behind your are. My final lap (I think I did 9 laps but I totally lost count) I was a hurting unit, I really struggled to get through it (it was a little discouraging). My legs were fried and my back was putting me through some serious pain, I was glad to be finished.

That Could Have Been Bad

I was getting myself all ready for the first official Monday night ride and since we were meeting at Royal Inn and having our GHTA meeting afterwards I loaded my bike up in the van. I was very fortunate that my bike was positioned just right and I just happened to see my back tire at the perfect angle and realized that my tire had a hernia.

I had to hurry to get my road bike out of the van and get my cross bike ready to go, I had everything switched out pretty quick and was on my way. I got to Royal Inn and Tim, Mark, and Brennan were there ready to ride. The three Lumberjacks had not gotten to ride together yet this year so we rolled out of town. In leaving the house in a hurry I had grabbed a cross tube but didn't put it in my jersey, instead I put a road tube since I had been planning on riding that bike. I didn't need a tube but I realized my mistake a short distance into the ride. The ride was windy, much like the rides I have been having lately. It sure was fun to ride in a group, I can't wait for more Monday nights!!!