Mountain Bikes, Bass Guitar, and other stuff I like

Went with Renee to the 10.2 River Gorge trail race at Prentice Cooper State Forest near Signal Mtn, Tennessee.  Renee had done the race last year and loved it so this year I decided to jump in.  We were promised a rainy race but luckily the rain had moved out by the time the race started.  Trail conditions were muddy however and treacherous in places.  For some reason, I decided to wear my new Merrell shoes, which are more suitable for less technical trails and road running.  I wish I had brought my Roclites today since they would've served me better on an extremely technical trail.  The only trail I can liken it to is Snake Creek Gap near Dalton,GA.  There was so much slick, leafy downhill that I felt like the trail was all downhill I was actually looking forward to the climbs because that is where I could make most of my time.  I rolled my ankle 2 weeks ago and am still treating it gingerly. I am not the strongest downhiller and today really emp...

I ramped up to Pine Mtn. over about 5 weeks. For the prior 3 months I had done a strength training routine.   While this had its benefits, I wish I had ramped up about 8 weeks to the race instead with more running.   I felt a little sluggish starting out the race.  I had rested 3 days leading up to the race. Maybe only 2 days rest next time. My knees and feet were really tweaky during race week so I figured more rest was better. My attitude about this race was "I'm just training through" and I had it listed as a B priority.   I could've been more excited. I wanted to podium again but I didn't think I could top my 1:20 time last year since I was putting in 1:30 times during training.  I had a real goober drafting me at last year's race so that gave me an extra boost.  I did a lot more hill work before last year's race during my lunch breaks so that was missing this year.  The 5-week ramp just wasn't enough. I remember having a somewhat positive menta...

I recently had the chance to discover a silent film gem called Lonesome courtesy of the Criterion Collection .  I’m always amazed at how the fine folks at Criterion keep unearthing these lost classics, from even as far back as 1928.  That the film’s celluloid has even survived the ravages of time is a miracle in the first place. Criterion's fabulous artwork Lonesome ’s story is simple: middle-class working man and woman (Jim and Mary) feel a sense of isolation among teeming masses living in New York then happen to meet at a Coney Island carnival.  Jim is played by Glenn Tryon and Mary played by Barbara Kent. Both are masterful and conveying emotions and ideas using only facial expressions and body language.  Their meeting, after much coercion from Jim and resistance from Mary, leads to a blossoming love. Too quickly over the course of one afternoon at the carnival? Perhaps, but it’s the movies after all and magic does happen. Silent films are a visual treat pr...

The photo to the right is before a mountain bike race. Photos after that same race about 8 hours later and after covering nearly 61 miles on bicycle: Yes, that would be exhaustion friends. Extreme satisfaction too. Also,a 3rd place medal for my toils.

Another good ride at White today. Lisa Randall was kind enough to give me another tour, this time of the 45-mile route. I was worried about my left knee which had tendinitis all last week from a poor bike fit and probably too much mileage too soon on the new road bike.  I finally had the bike fit a few days ago and wow did it make a difference today!  No knee pain, shoulder tightness, neck tightness.  Only a little bit of lower back stiffness toward the end of the ride. Had a banana, peanut butter, and peppermint mocha for breakfast then rolled in to White around 9:45 with a pretty high stoke level. I think this road riding is just what I need to break up the rough and tumble of trail riding.  Geared up and rolled out at 10am. It was about 50 degrees, overcast. I didn't need my jacket though packed it in my rear pocket anyway. Had my booties on and heavy duty gloves. Felt comfortable. Wind began to cut through me some so I was wishing I had my jacket on in a few spo...

These laws are not meant to put myself on a pedestal or demean the reader in any way. They are simply meant to help the would-be fitness and health enthusiast with insight gleaned from my own observations and experiences from the past 4 years. If you are using a smartphone or are otherwise distracted by a smartphone during your workout, you  aren't getting the most from your workout and are wasting your time. Anyone that is walking on a treadmill in a gym is wasting their time and limiting themselves. Get outdoors and see some new scenery and take in some fresh air. Rain and cold only matter in the first 15 minutes of an outdoor workout. After that, you are in the moment and forget about the elements or at least, don't mind them. Signs that proclaim " Lose 10 lbs. for your reunion, wedding, New Year's etc ." are a lie.  This is to imply that you will temporarily lose the weight and then gain that same weight, or more, back . This not only wrecks your metabo...

It's been a long year of hard training and racing, both on the bike and trail running.  Mentally I feel like a need a break at this point although I trained 39 hours in November, my 2nd highest total of the year and most of those hours were of high quality. Physically, I feel pretty fresh still.  I feel as though I could just train year around but know that I need some sort of rest period for next year's race season.  My training has remained fresh in part because I attained a road bike, which I've ridden about 12 hours so far.  It's been a huge boon to my training although I still need to get a proper bike fit done to alleviate neck and knee pain. The training book I'm reading recommends to take a 2-4 week Transition period to let my body and mind recover before moving on to next year's Base phase.  Question I'm pondering is when do I begin my Transition period...I feel like I'm in a great groove right now and I'd like to build up my Lactate thresh...