Back in 2004 when I was training for the Triple Bypass in Colorado, I employed the services of Carmichael Training Systems. I asked my coach about various activities and how they might benefit my cycling. He said, point blank, the best way to improve your road cycling skills is to do lots of road riding. In many ways, I agree with what he said. On the surface it makes sense. But if you dig deeper, or spend much time on the bike, it becomes apparent that other factors must be developed OFF the bike in order to make you better ON the bike. Strength training, tricep, ab, & back exercises especially, are very beneficial. The point here is that other activities can strengthen your road cycling abilities. Mtb increases power output, for example.
The key is to examine your weaknesses as a cyclist or athlete. In my case, there is one clear factor that hinders my performance: weight. And the best way to lose weight is NOT on the bicycle, or even in the gym. Many studies are emerging and a consensus is growing that exercise does not help you lose weight, it only helps you to maintain weight. Yes, there are examples to this rule, and there was a time when I was one of them. In 2009-2010 I exercised 20-30hrs/wk AND followed the Weight Watchers diet. I worked my way from 303# to the lower 220's. But again, this is the exception to the rule. Most people don't have the time or the willpower to exercise so many hours. Even I didn't have the will power to exercise so much and NOT indulge in Dairy Queen or whatever. And did I keep the weight off? After meeting Anne & breaking my wrist, I ballooned up to 279...so no, I didn't keep it off. Regardless of the temporary success I had then, my life is different now. While I do have plenty of time to exercise if I chose to prioritize that over spending time with Anne or working, it's still not the best way to lose weight.
So now, today, is the beginning of my diet. Technically the prior two days have been loading days, but today begins the Very Low Calorie Diet. The gist of it is this: you take HCG, a natural hormone that the body produces on it's own, but you take a higher dose of it. The HCG, once absorbed into your fat cells, releases those fat cells into the bloodstream making them available for metabolism. Fat is coursing through the body just waiting to be burned, so your diet, the food you actually eat, can be very low in calories. You avoid fat at all costs and eat only minimal sugars. Yes, the diet is very restrictive. You eat a fruit, 8oz protein, a veggie, another fruit, another 8oz protein, and another veggie. That's it. That's your daily intake. 500-800 calories, and the rest of what the body needs it takes from fat.
I was very skeptical at first. I first did HCG last year and it worked extremely well. I dropped 30-40# in two months. But I started to go crazy from boredom! I didn't exercise as much as I should have--you're allowed 1hr a day. But I guess I figured it wasn't even worth it to only do 1hr/day. Another source of boredom was the food. You can only eat so many salads, so many filets of tilapia, before you go kinda bonkers. So in a sense, I got in my own way of losing weight by not exercising regularly enough &, when I did exercise, I did way too much, and also by cheating with the foods I ate later on in the diet.
So how can I improve this time? Well, I've got a little extra motivation to help me. I get married on March 19, which is only just over 2 months from now. Hopefully that will help me to keep on track. From there, I need to plan for success. My goal is to break 200 by time I get married. With HCG that IS a realistic goal. So how am I going to achieve it?
1. Don't cheat with the foods. Plan a VARIETY of acceptable foods in order avoid boredom.
2. Exercise more! Lift weights, hike, swim, play tennis (if the knee allows). Just stay moving, stay busy!
3. TRACK everything. That's what I did during my first cycle, which was my most successful cycle.
4. Remember your goals and why you're doing this. Yes, I want to look good for my wedding and for Anne. I also want to become a rocket on the bicycle. I want to be proud of how I look, feel, and perform. Say that again...
I WANT TO BE PROUD OF HOW I LOOK, FEEL, AND PERFORM.
I'd say that sums it up. Now get to work!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Casa Grande Ruins 200k Brevet Report
My official time was a mere 1 minute longer than I wanted. I finished in 9:12, but I'm going to blame getting stopped by a train for that minute! It certainly cost me that much, but there were many other factors that stole away my time.
The race, er, brevet began with a small hiccup. Because of John's debacle before (and extending well after) the start, I'd forgotten to eat/drink my EFS flask. So I reached into my jersey pocket & grabbed the EFS, peeled the plastic open with my teeth (duh, always prepare/pre-open thing like this), and was holding the flask in my hand along with the handlebar. I had on some thick, slippery glove liners over my cycling gloves, which caused the flask to go flying when I hit a bump! I would've let it go, but I was still riding in a group & people behind me politely reminded me that I'd dropped something. So I let the group pass, turned around, rode back, & picked up the flask. Tick, tock, tick, tock. This maybe only cost me a minute, but it also cost me riding with the front pack. On the other hand, I'm glad I got to taste the EFS because that stuff is awesome.
After such early excitement I settled in & got back into race mode. I was passing everyone with authority. After a while I sat in with a couple from El Paso because I realized that not only had my flask gone flying, my cue sheet was gone with the wind, as well. So I needed a guide! But this was also a good chance to let my HR recover. After a while they gave me one of their cue sheets (very nice of them) and I took off on my own. By this time a group had formed behind them and my "breakaway" was caught just before the second checkpoint. I made sure my stop at the Ruins was very short, and I jumped back on the bike & sped down the exit road to catch a group that was leaving. I sat in with the BullShifters from checkpoint 2 all the way just shy of checkpoint 3. After sitting in & enjoying the draft, I realized their paceline was working backwards. Instead of the leader pulling off & dropping back, the next person in line attacked to the front & then pulled. I pulled a bit early, but I was feeling good--great--and wanted to keep the pace up. So I pulled for about 4 miles, until we got into town, so that someone else who knew the route could lead us in, as I was constantly having to ask for directions. But that wasn't the only reason I fell back. During my pull my left knee developed the very pain I was afraid of. It went from totally fine to totally fucked almost immediately. It was so bad, even just 50 miles in, that I couldn't keep up with the group I had just pulled at 18-20mph. I couldn't even stand on it in the pedals. I got to the third checkpoint a minute or two behind the BullShifters, which is a lot of time to lose in just a mile or two.
Even though I made it a good stop, using the bathroom, eating, and drinking a Java Monster, I still kept this stop to a minimum. Good choice. I caught up to the BullShifters on the outskirts of town and then passed them. Quickly they disappeared, which had me wondering if I'd made a wrong turn. Checked the cue sheet; nope, still on route. I think they'd stopped for one of their members to catch up, because 20 minutes later they came flying by. Damn if I could only sit with them, but my knee would have none of that. I was only able to ride at the speed my right leg, gravity, and the wind allowed. I couldn't stand up to stretch, change saddle position, or put a little power into a climb. I was limp and helpless. And the route to checkpoint 4 was a bad place for this. It was slightly uphill with some 3% grades (nothing if your knees are working!), and it was against a strengthening wind. This leg of the brevet was 37m, and it seemed to take forever. I had to stop twice just to get my ass off the bike seat and to stretch. The first time I stopped for 5m, the second time I stopped for 4m. So I gave up 9 minutes right there, but I do have to admit that I rode stronger for the 10-15 minutes after stretching. I used every psychological trick in the book to push through the pain. It was excruciating. I finally reached checkpoint 4, 89 miles in, dying from the pain. But I did notice something, because my knee was limiting my power output, my leg muscles and heart were hardly working. This brevet was shaping up to be the hardest, easiest ride ever.
I took way too long at checkpoint 4. I took a stroll to some trees for relief. I choked down 2 Cokes and 2 Cookies. I learned that my brother started 30 minutes late. I dallied. I shouldn't have!!! When I finally got on the bike, the tailwind was amazing. I was flying at 20mph with virtually no effort. Was this ride going to end on an up note? Would the wind be my savior? It was only 2pm, and the weather report called for a wind shift from S to N at 4pm. At the rate I was going, I'd be well finished by then. But when has the weather report ever been reliable? After 10 miles of zipping with the wind, it did a 180 in what seemed to be a split second. And the uphills I'd fought on the way out were leveled by a wicked wind. There was no downhill or coasting on the way back (oh yeah, the weather also reported that the strongest winds would be 5-6mph...it was easily a steady 15 with gusts of 20-25). So I faced another 27 or so miles against a strong headwind with no downhill/coasting relief. Pretty soon all the people I'd passed earlier were passing me. It was ugly and painful. The pain was excruciating and fighting through it for so long was something I'd never faced before. At mile 103 my split was still at 17.6mph. That deteriorated quickly to the lower teens and by mile 118 I was in the 12's. Soon it was 11 & my two lowest splits were 10.4 and I finally bottomed out at mile 124 with a 10.3 avs. My heart was fine, my legs were tired but fine, I just had not ability to transfer the power.
In terms of diet & hydration, I could have done better. I slipped when I joined the BullShifters for the second leg. Riding in such a tight paceline I wasn't about to eat and I know I drank less than I should have. I anticipated this but figured that it was only for 20ish miles, 1 hour, and that I could make up for it at the next check point. I probably did. But then on the 3rd & especially on the 4th leg of the trip, the pain just took over and I couldn't, or at least didn't, eat or drink nearly enough. How much of an effect did this have? Perhaps my time would have been a few minutes better with proper nutrition. More importantly, perhaps my psychological state wouldn't been a bit more positive, and this may have resulted in a better time.
In sum, it was the knee that ruled this brevet. That was on Saturday. It's now Thursday and there's been very little recovery. Is this "just" tendonitis or is something actually wrong? Did I manage to tear something? Thankfully I have a physical with the doc next Friday. By then I'll know if it's improving or not, and I'll have him take a look. Hopefully it just needs rest, but if I need surgery, I'd rather get that done & out of the way sooner rather than later. But let's not put the cart before the horse.
Everything else that was sore from the ride has healed up by now. My crotch was pretty torn up because I couldn't ever stand or reposition myself. My right hand showed some numbness from Guyan's Canal Syndrome, but that lasted only a day or two. And my left lower back was sore, again from not being able to change positions on the bike, but like everything else, it's fine now. My left knee is the one holdout that doesn't seem to be improving at all. Hmm.
I'm not pleased with the way this brevet went, but only because of my knee. I know that if that had stayed strong I would've killed 9 hours by a lot! Had I sat with BullShifters the whole way, I may have broken 8 hours. But let's not dwell on what might have been. I fought against pain that would sideline almost anyone, and I won. I finished in 9:12 officially, but 9:10 by my gps (which doesn't include the time running into the shop at the final checkpoint). Overall I am pleased with my performance, given the extreme circumstances.
Now it's time to focus on recovery and ensuring that my next event is not plagued by this particular problem.
The race, er, brevet began with a small hiccup. Because of John's debacle before (and extending well after) the start, I'd forgotten to eat/drink my EFS flask. So I reached into my jersey pocket & grabbed the EFS, peeled the plastic open with my teeth (duh, always prepare/pre-open thing like this), and was holding the flask in my hand along with the handlebar. I had on some thick, slippery glove liners over my cycling gloves, which caused the flask to go flying when I hit a bump! I would've let it go, but I was still riding in a group & people behind me politely reminded me that I'd dropped something. So I let the group pass, turned around, rode back, & picked up the flask. Tick, tock, tick, tock. This maybe only cost me a minute, but it also cost me riding with the front pack. On the other hand, I'm glad I got to taste the EFS because that stuff is awesome.
After such early excitement I settled in & got back into race mode. I was passing everyone with authority. After a while I sat in with a couple from El Paso because I realized that not only had my flask gone flying, my cue sheet was gone with the wind, as well. So I needed a guide! But this was also a good chance to let my HR recover. After a while they gave me one of their cue sheets (very nice of them) and I took off on my own. By this time a group had formed behind them and my "breakaway" was caught just before the second checkpoint. I made sure my stop at the Ruins was very short, and I jumped back on the bike & sped down the exit road to catch a group that was leaving. I sat in with the BullShifters from checkpoint 2 all the way just shy of checkpoint 3. After sitting in & enjoying the draft, I realized their paceline was working backwards. Instead of the leader pulling off & dropping back, the next person in line attacked to the front & then pulled. I pulled a bit early, but I was feeling good--great--and wanted to keep the pace up. So I pulled for about 4 miles, until we got into town, so that someone else who knew the route could lead us in, as I was constantly having to ask for directions. But that wasn't the only reason I fell back. During my pull my left knee developed the very pain I was afraid of. It went from totally fine to totally fucked almost immediately. It was so bad, even just 50 miles in, that I couldn't keep up with the group I had just pulled at 18-20mph. I couldn't even stand on it in the pedals. I got to the third checkpoint a minute or two behind the BullShifters, which is a lot of time to lose in just a mile or two.
Even though I made it a good stop, using the bathroom, eating, and drinking a Java Monster, I still kept this stop to a minimum. Good choice. I caught up to the BullShifters on the outskirts of town and then passed them. Quickly they disappeared, which had me wondering if I'd made a wrong turn. Checked the cue sheet; nope, still on route. I think they'd stopped for one of their members to catch up, because 20 minutes later they came flying by. Damn if I could only sit with them, but my knee would have none of that. I was only able to ride at the speed my right leg, gravity, and the wind allowed. I couldn't stand up to stretch, change saddle position, or put a little power into a climb. I was limp and helpless. And the route to checkpoint 4 was a bad place for this. It was slightly uphill with some 3% grades (nothing if your knees are working!), and it was against a strengthening wind. This leg of the brevet was 37m, and it seemed to take forever. I had to stop twice just to get my ass off the bike seat and to stretch. The first time I stopped for 5m, the second time I stopped for 4m. So I gave up 9 minutes right there, but I do have to admit that I rode stronger for the 10-15 minutes after stretching. I used every psychological trick in the book to push through the pain. It was excruciating. I finally reached checkpoint 4, 89 miles in, dying from the pain. But I did notice something, because my knee was limiting my power output, my leg muscles and heart were hardly working. This brevet was shaping up to be the hardest, easiest ride ever.
I took way too long at checkpoint 4. I took a stroll to some trees for relief. I choked down 2 Cokes and 2 Cookies. I learned that my brother started 30 minutes late. I dallied. I shouldn't have!!! When I finally got on the bike, the tailwind was amazing. I was flying at 20mph with virtually no effort. Was this ride going to end on an up note? Would the wind be my savior? It was only 2pm, and the weather report called for a wind shift from S to N at 4pm. At the rate I was going, I'd be well finished by then. But when has the weather report ever been reliable? After 10 miles of zipping with the wind, it did a 180 in what seemed to be a split second. And the uphills I'd fought on the way out were leveled by a wicked wind. There was no downhill or coasting on the way back (oh yeah, the weather also reported that the strongest winds would be 5-6mph...it was easily a steady 15 with gusts of 20-25). So I faced another 27 or so miles against a strong headwind with no downhill/coasting relief. Pretty soon all the people I'd passed earlier were passing me. It was ugly and painful. The pain was excruciating and fighting through it for so long was something I'd never faced before. At mile 103 my split was still at 17.6mph. That deteriorated quickly to the lower teens and by mile 118 I was in the 12's. Soon it was 11 & my two lowest splits were 10.4 and I finally bottomed out at mile 124 with a 10.3 avs. My heart was fine, my legs were tired but fine, I just had not ability to transfer the power.
In terms of diet & hydration, I could have done better. I slipped when I joined the BullShifters for the second leg. Riding in such a tight paceline I wasn't about to eat and I know I drank less than I should have. I anticipated this but figured that it was only for 20ish miles, 1 hour, and that I could make up for it at the next check point. I probably did. But then on the 3rd & especially on the 4th leg of the trip, the pain just took over and I couldn't, or at least didn't, eat or drink nearly enough. How much of an effect did this have? Perhaps my time would have been a few minutes better with proper nutrition. More importantly, perhaps my psychological state wouldn't been a bit more positive, and this may have resulted in a better time.
In sum, it was the knee that ruled this brevet. That was on Saturday. It's now Thursday and there's been very little recovery. Is this "just" tendonitis or is something actually wrong? Did I manage to tear something? Thankfully I have a physical with the doc next Friday. By then I'll know if it's improving or not, and I'll have him take a look. Hopefully it just needs rest, but if I need surgery, I'd rather get that done & out of the way sooner rather than later. But let's not put the cart before the horse.
Everything else that was sore from the ride has healed up by now. My crotch was pretty torn up because I couldn't ever stand or reposition myself. My right hand showed some numbness from Guyan's Canal Syndrome, but that lasted only a day or two. And my left lower back was sore, again from not being able to change positions on the bike, but like everything else, it's fine now. My left knee is the one holdout that doesn't seem to be improving at all. Hmm.
I'm not pleased with the way this brevet went, but only because of my knee. I know that if that had stayed strong I would've killed 9 hours by a lot! Had I sat with BullShifters the whole way, I may have broken 8 hours. But let's not dwell on what might have been. I fought against pain that would sideline almost anyone, and I won. I finished in 9:12 officially, but 9:10 by my gps (which doesn't include the time running into the shop at the final checkpoint). Overall I am pleased with my performance, given the extreme circumstances.
Now it's time to focus on recovery and ensuring that my next event is not plagued by this particular problem.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Casa Grande Ruins Prep
I've ridden 2 centuries since my last post, one of them yesterday. My first ride of 2012 was 100.82 miles. That's a good start, except for the pain I forced myself to suffer through. On the 1st we hiked in Sabino. Nothing crazy, but it was a bit of a workout for my legs. Then on the 2nd we hiked in Madera Canyon, climbing 1132ft in only 1.4m, & then the even harder descent of 1132ft. Wisely enough, I decided that I HAD to ride a century on the 3rd. My logic was sound, but lesson learned. Do NOT ride the day after hiking. Give the legs some time to recover.
I HAD to hike on the 2nd because A wanted to do something nice together. She'd been on break for 2 weeks and between hosting company & life in general, we hadn't gotten around to spending quality time together. So a nice hike seemed like just the thing, and it was! We had a great time & Madera Canyon will quickly cure you of nature deficit disorder.
But then I also HAD to ride on the 3rd because I have a 200k brevet on the 7th. I knew that I was going to need 3 days to recover and be ready for the brevet, so I couldn't have ridden any later than the 3rd. My only option was to just not ride, but that wasn't an option, either. With my brother being here, my recent rides had been fairly short, 53m & 80m. So I definitely needed a longer ride to keep my fitness up. And I'll stand by that decision despite what it did to my knees.
The inside upper part of my knees where the knee meets the quad/tendon area began hurting fairly early on, maybe 30m in. I did abandon my goal of also climbing 5280ft, but I wasn't going to ditch the century, especially not being the first ride of the year. So I trudged onward and by mile 80 I would call the pain in my left knee excruciating, with twinges of something worse from time to time. It was a good experience in fighting through pain, but I think it was a bad experience for my knees! Today, 24h later, they are still pretty messed up. They've got Thursday & Friday to recover, so I'm trying to think of what foods will promote recovery. Protein & antioxidants I suppose, plus vitamins & perhaps some creatine mix. And lots of Advil to keep the swelling down.
Assuming my knees straighten out & that the weather behaves, I'm hoping to finish the 125m Casa Grande Ruins brevet in under 9:11. Why? Because that was John's time last year. I believe that's keeping an overall total average speed (including stops) of 13.7mph. I managed 13.9 through the pain yesterday, but the course was not very similar to the brevet (which generally should work to my advantage). I did over 3k ft of climbing yesterday, so there were periods of climbing--hard work, and descending--no or easy work, and then the last 20 miles were mostly flat. The brevet is just mostly flat, with only just over 1000ft of climbing over 125m. In general, my flat ride average speeds are higher than my climb/descend average speeds, so I'm hoping for at least 13.7. However, I could break the 9hr mark by holding a 14mph avs. If my knees are strong & the wind cooperates, I definitely could do this. The trick is nutrition & planning. Carry as little as possible on the 2 sections.
1. Minimize Weight.
Starting at 7:30, I'll only need 2 water bottle for the first loop, especially since I can get water @ the Ruins. Dress warmly enough but don't overdo it. Carry only 1 tiny head & tail light to be legal. Carry only the food I'll need & have it ready to go, cut open & such. Make everything easy & accessible. Have nutrition ready to go at the car for both a short break & for the second section, the out & back. Being longer & having no services, carry 3 water bottles & a little more food. Also, in case of being out after dark (which let's hope doesn't happen!), carry one larger headlight (but ditch the smaller one).
2. Maximize Aerodynamics.
Remove space bar, lower computer, run only 1 small knog headlight on the lower fork, & remove the light mount from the rear rack to allow air to leave as smoothly as possible. Wear a tight fitting jersey to avoid being a sail!
3. Minimize stops.
Have all food, drink, & supplies ready to change-over at the car at the end of the first section. Perhaps wear shorts instead of bibs so I can use the restroom quicker (no need to remove shirt). Those bibs are fitting pretty loose anyway, but I haven't ridden in shorts for a while. The shorts may be super loose, too??? Better check this out before the brevet.
4. Don't get lost or off route!
Print out a small map/cue sheet, laminate it & mount to handlebars or something. And try staying with the pack. This also falls under maximizing aerodynamics.
The iPod is a ?. It adds minimal weight & can offer some motivation over a long day in the saddle. But if I manage to ride with others, I won't need it. And it IS a weight penalty, even if small, which also adds complexity...messing with the wires or changing playlists takes up time & energy & removes focus from the ride. But maybe it's worth it for the motivation??? A few ounces to keep me pumped up isn't a bad tradeoff.
Well, more to come on the ride. Err...maybe. Brother gets back tomorrow so I may just be IN race prep mode instead of writing about race prep.
#1 factor here is going to be the condition of my knees. Go to the gym & soak in the hot tub tonight! Stretch over the next few days. Advil. Ice the knees when sitting. Eat the right things for recovery & preparation. Well, get to it!
I HAD to hike on the 2nd because A wanted to do something nice together. She'd been on break for 2 weeks and between hosting company & life in general, we hadn't gotten around to spending quality time together. So a nice hike seemed like just the thing, and it was! We had a great time & Madera Canyon will quickly cure you of nature deficit disorder.
But then I also HAD to ride on the 3rd because I have a 200k brevet on the 7th. I knew that I was going to need 3 days to recover and be ready for the brevet, so I couldn't have ridden any later than the 3rd. My only option was to just not ride, but that wasn't an option, either. With my brother being here, my recent rides had been fairly short, 53m & 80m. So I definitely needed a longer ride to keep my fitness up. And I'll stand by that decision despite what it did to my knees.
The inside upper part of my knees where the knee meets the quad/tendon area began hurting fairly early on, maybe 30m in. I did abandon my goal of also climbing 5280ft, but I wasn't going to ditch the century, especially not being the first ride of the year. So I trudged onward and by mile 80 I would call the pain in my left knee excruciating, with twinges of something worse from time to time. It was a good experience in fighting through pain, but I think it was a bad experience for my knees! Today, 24h later, they are still pretty messed up. They've got Thursday & Friday to recover, so I'm trying to think of what foods will promote recovery. Protein & antioxidants I suppose, plus vitamins & perhaps some creatine mix. And lots of Advil to keep the swelling down.
Assuming my knees straighten out & that the weather behaves, I'm hoping to finish the 125m Casa Grande Ruins brevet in under 9:11. Why? Because that was John's time last year. I believe that's keeping an overall total average speed (including stops) of 13.7mph. I managed 13.9 through the pain yesterday, but the course was not very similar to the brevet (which generally should work to my advantage). I did over 3k ft of climbing yesterday, so there were periods of climbing--hard work, and descending--no or easy work, and then the last 20 miles were mostly flat. The brevet is just mostly flat, with only just over 1000ft of climbing over 125m. In general, my flat ride average speeds are higher than my climb/descend average speeds, so I'm hoping for at least 13.7. However, I could break the 9hr mark by holding a 14mph avs. If my knees are strong & the wind cooperates, I definitely could do this. The trick is nutrition & planning. Carry as little as possible on the 2 sections.
1. Minimize Weight.
Starting at 7:30, I'll only need 2 water bottle for the first loop, especially since I can get water @ the Ruins. Dress warmly enough but don't overdo it. Carry only 1 tiny head & tail light to be legal. Carry only the food I'll need & have it ready to go, cut open & such. Make everything easy & accessible. Have nutrition ready to go at the car for both a short break & for the second section, the out & back. Being longer & having no services, carry 3 water bottles & a little more food. Also, in case of being out after dark (which let's hope doesn't happen!), carry one larger headlight (but ditch the smaller one).
2. Maximize Aerodynamics.
Remove space bar, lower computer, run only 1 small knog headlight on the lower fork, & remove the light mount from the rear rack to allow air to leave as smoothly as possible. Wear a tight fitting jersey to avoid being a sail!
3. Minimize stops.
Have all food, drink, & supplies ready to change-over at the car at the end of the first section. Perhaps wear shorts instead of bibs so I can use the restroom quicker (no need to remove shirt). Those bibs are fitting pretty loose anyway, but I haven't ridden in shorts for a while. The shorts may be super loose, too??? Better check this out before the brevet.
4. Don't get lost or off route!
Print out a small map/cue sheet, laminate it & mount to handlebars or something. And try staying with the pack. This also falls under maximizing aerodynamics.
The iPod is a ?. It adds minimal weight & can offer some motivation over a long day in the saddle. But if I manage to ride with others, I won't need it. And it IS a weight penalty, even if small, which also adds complexity...messing with the wires or changing playlists takes up time & energy & removes focus from the ride. But maybe it's worth it for the motivation??? A few ounces to keep me pumped up isn't a bad tradeoff.
Well, more to come on the ride. Err...maybe. Brother gets back tomorrow so I may just be IN race prep mode instead of writing about race prep.
#1 factor here is going to be the condition of my knees. Go to the gym & soak in the hot tub tonight! Stretch over the next few days. Advil. Ice the knees when sitting. Eat the right things for recovery & preparation. Well, get to it!
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