Great Olympic moment...Billy Mills wins the 10K

Saturday, July 28, 2012
In 1964, when I was nine years old, I watched my first Olympic games that I can remember.  It was the Olympics of Billy Mills, the Native American Lakota runner who became the first, and to this day, the only American to win the 10,000 meter race.  He did it by upsetting the world record holder, Ron Clarke of Australia and by running 50 seconds faster than he ever had before.  I watched as he received his gold medal and when they played the National Anthem and raised the stars and stripes over the stadium, I cried.  It was the first time in my life that I’d ever cried emotionally and it was a surreal experience.  The feeling of patriotism I experienced made me decide that there was nothing more special I could possibly do than to win a gold medal for my country and stand on that podium with my hand on my chest and sing the National Anthem with tears streaming down my cheeks.  I never came close to having that happen, but I never stopped getting choked up every time I watched it happen to someone else.

My back continued to hurt throughout the day.  I switched from ice to heat mid-afternoon and it seemed to make a difference…so much so that I suggested to Holly we hit some garage sales and then grab a meal from Heinen’s and take it down to the Chagrin River in the Metroparks to eat.  They have quite a salad bar there and charge by the pound.  I managed to get several pounds squished into my plastic container, which I figured was a good thing.  I mean…total Paleo, which is always good even if it weighs in like a bowling ball.

We weren’t able to have a picnic table right on the river since there was a group in the ‘Reserved’ area…the bastards…but we were close and it was a perfect evening to be sitting out and eating.  We returned home to some rather loud music coming from a house on the next street over and behind us.  They were having a graduation party and had forgotten to include us.  The music went on until about 2 a.m., but no other neighbors were complaining since they’d probably been invited.  I figured it was a one-night thing and elected not to sneak Ninja style through the night and take out their speakers with rifle fire.  Besides, we’ll be having one for Jack next summer and I’ll be able to return the favor.

Trying to work out the back pain with a workout...

Friday, July 27, 2012
I spent most of the day lying around hoping my low back pain would begin to subside.  It never did.  Finally, I decided since inactivity was having no effect, I should do something.  I’d planned to meet Marla, editor of Ohio Sports and Fitness, and a friend of hers in the park for a Survival Workout.  I texted her to say I’d meet her and put them through the paces.

I arrived at the park to find them waiting, which was not my plan.  I’d hoped to arrive early and try doing some stretching and walking to try and loosen things up.  Instead, they got to see what appeared to be an 80-year old man trying to get himself out of his car.  Once I was on my feet and no longer moaning from the effort, I explained the situation.

“I’ll try to do what my back and elbow allow me to do.  You guys, on the other hand, will get my undivided attention to making your workout a living hell,” I said through gritted teeth.  I’m really no fun to be around when I’m not feeling well…as they were about to discover.
We started with push-ups and dips and moved to the pull-up branch where neither lady could manage one.  I demonstrated a way of ‘walking up the tree’ by grasping the branch and pulling up while suing their feet and walking up the trunk.  They could get their heads above the branch in this fashion and were using those lifting muscles in the back, arms and shoulders in ways they weren’t used to.  I think they thought it was fun, too.

They high-skipped across golf ball field and into the woods where we began lifting rocks.  I took them on an Indian Run through the underbrush, ill advised for someone suffering low back pain, but someone had to lead the way.  It would be the last thing I did that involved the lower body. 

They laughed and talked along the way…enjoying the experience way too much.  I wanted to put them through a little more pain, but since I wasn’t able to demonstrate and do a lot of the lower body moves myself, they escaped.  Honestly though, I really don’t like to have people working so hard that they don’t feel well…and they had both wanted to hurl after kareoking up the steepest hill in the park.  I’d backed off after that and the net positive experience would have them both returning.  There was a party at the pavilion, so we steered around it and thus missed the chance to climb the pole.  I did have them climb up the rugged hill behind the pavilion and discovered a Marla weakness as we descended down a steep incline through the woods.  She was extremely concerned about slipping and falling, using a caution that normally led to slipping and falling.

“Lean backwards and use fast, short steps.  Quick feet will keep you from falling, but if you do, you’ll land on your butt and slide a little.  No big deal and you’ll hardly feel a thing,” I said.

I don’t know if she bought it…we’ll find out the next time.  I managed to break a decent sweat and my back felt marginally better by the end of the workout.  Once home and after I cooled down, the back tightened up again and the pain returned with renewed vigor.  I can only hope that I’ll gain some relief from a good night’s sleep.

Survival Workout: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100-150.
Calories burned:  600.

Sidelined again...

Thursday, July 26, 2012
I woke this morning with a sore, lower back.  It’s been giving me trouble over the previous four weeks while riding…particularly when climbing hills out of the saddle.  I thought the two days off would make it better, but yesterday’s three hours seemed to really enflame the situation.  I spent the workday hobbling around, hoping that it would loosen up before the day’s end since I was scheduled to meet Kim in the park for a Survival Workout and wanted to follow that with a bike ride.  She texted late afternoon though to say she couldn’t make the workout and I breathed a sigh of relief.  I hate to wimp out of anything, so she did me a favor. 


I went home hoping still that I might be riding and laid down for a short nap on my ice wrap.  An hour later if felt marginally better, but now something unusual was happening.  The skies were grey and rumbling and suddenly there was a ferocious downpour.  It lasted a little over 15 minutes, but I was glad I hadn’t been on the bike when it cut loose. 


At least I ate well.  Holly baked salmon and steamed some broccoli, which we ate while watching a terrible movie with Matt Damon, “We Bought a Zoo”.  I suppose terrible is too harsh.  Boring and dull, though.  Tomorrow…the beginning of the Summer Olympics.  I spent a lot of years thinking I’d like nothing more than to represent the Stars and Stripes and stand on the podium listening to the Star Spangled Banner with my hand on my chest as the flag was raised.  I still get misty every time I see it happen.

"Let's buy the farm"

Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Here’s the business plan in a nutshell.  There’s this farm for sale on Mulberry Road just south of County Line Road with 65 acres, a sweet barn, small lake, pavilion big enough for 10 picnic tables, wonderful wrap-around porch on a beautiful, old farm house and plenty of open range for animals and gardens.  So I’m thinking I’ll use the barn, which is probably 30 feet high, to create my workout facility.  It’ll have all the things in the barn you’d expect to find for a Survival Workout...a calf to lift, a rope climb, wood chopping, bailing hay, rock holds up the side of the barn for climbing, a pull-up bar, logs and rocks to lift, wagons to pull...that kind of stuff.  There’d be running/hiking/mountain biking trails on the grounds with more Survival Workout stations.  Oh...and there’s a small lake where we’d swim and kayak, too.  Naturally, we’d be able to take great bike rides on some of my favorite routes by simply hanging a left out the driveway.  I’d run weekend retreats for individuals and families trying to change and improve their lifestyles to be more fit and well.  Cooking classes with a nutritionist, food from our gardens, and how to eat healthier would be part of the program.  Assessing fitness levels and creating programs to take home would be part of it, as well.  Kind of a ‘bed and breakfast’ fitness retreat.  Some folks would just come to work out...like a gym membership...but it would be a barn membership instead.  I also envision a ‘Leave No Trace’ camping program...teach folks the outdoor skills to become good backcountry stewards and then condition and plan for trips to the Adirondacks or other wilderness destinations.
Anyway...with the right lottery ticket, I’m buying it.  I’ve ridden by it with Kim and Marie and told them the plan and we’ve all agreed it’s a good one...including the financing.  I can dream if I want to.


Speaking of riding, I took Kim out for our first ride together in a couple of years.  I remember our last ride distinctly.  She hammered from the moment we started and never let up.  It was all I could do to stay with her then, though I was 20 pounds heavier at the time and I hadn’t been riding 250 miles a week.  I didn’t have ‘The Rocket’ under me, either.  Still...she’s an amazing cardiovascular machine and 30+ years my junior.  She claimed she wasn’t in cycling shape, but a year ago she’d ridden about 3,000 miles across the country.  I was leery, to say the least.  I decided we’d do my favorite course through Waite Hill, hoping the lack of any huge climbs would keep her from obliterating me, but after 30 minutes of riding and a couple of modest climbs, it became evident that my current cycling conditioning was ahead of hers...thank God.


“You’re in good shape and my legs are killing me,” she said as we climbed towards Hobart Road in Waite Hill.


“Well...you rode yesterday and you haven’t been riding.  I, on the other hand, have been riding too much...according to my surgeon.  I don’t think I’ve been in this good of riding shape since my triathlon days twenty years ago,” I said.


We rolled past ‘the farm’ as I told her my plan and then screamed down Wilson Mills at close to 60 mph.  We entered the park to climb our final hill and as we neared the top, I mentioned that this was the second time today I’d done this hill.


“Seriously?  You rode this already?” she said, incredulously.


“Rode 20 miles before I picked you up,” I said.  It nice at my age to be able to impress a true stud.

Bike Duration: 3 hours.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 2550.

Return to the woods...

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

I keep forgetting to ice and stretch my elbow.  It doesn’t hurt and if it doesn’t hurt I don’t think about it.  If I don’t think about it, I don’t stretch and ice it.  Anyway, the surgeon had said I could do push-ups since that motion does not irritate the problem.  I wanted to wait until I was pain-free to start any kind of lifting and since I was, I drove to the park planning an abbreviated Survival Workout to be followed by a bike ride.

I started with 70 reverse plank push-ups.  I was happy to not have lost much since I’d done very little in the previous three weeks.  I followed with dips but avoided pull-ups.  Any motion that had me pulling weight towards me or involved the shortening of the biceps muscle would lead to irritation and pain and needed to be avoided.  Anything I did where I actually pushed weight away...push-ups, dips, and overhead presses did not cause any pain.

Somewhere during the workout I decided since I had to skip some moves, I’d just do twice as many of the ones I could do.  It was sound thinking...for a psycho.  I did extra push-ups and dips, overhead presses and extensive core work so by the time I made my way back to the car, my arms were shaking from the effort.  It’s a good feeling, but one that will certainly bring next day soreness and probably pretty extreme.  At least I broke a good sweat, hiked a couple of miles including climbing the steep, challenging hill behind the pavilion and ended up with arms and chest swollen from the effort.

I returned home a little late to fit in a ride, but that was probably a good thing.  I’d be riding long with Kim...home from Florida for a couple of weeks...the next evening and my knee needed that break.  I did return to the park just before dark to hike for an hour with Holly, though.  During that hike, I felt some soreness in my knee and when I returned home again, grabbed my ice wrap, put it around my knee and watched a little TV.  After 10 minutes of this numbing cold, it dawned on me that I’d wrapped my right knee...surgery had been done on the left.  My lack of exercise is affecting my mind.

Survival Workout: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100-150.
Calories burned:  600.

Eat spaghetti and ice cream cake when you can't work out...

Monday, July 23, 2012

I wanted to ride…but I didn’t.  I’d agreed with the surgeon that I’d cut back to 3-4 days a week of riding.  To do that it occurred to me that there would need to be days in the week where I didn’t ride.  I suppose I wasn’t thinking clearly when I agreed to this, but if I must…

I had spaghetti for the second night in a row.  Holly had made way too much food for Jack’s birthday and I was on a mission to see that none of it was wasted.  She’d also made him an ice cream cake…something there was absolutely no danger of going to waste…but with that, I wanted to see if I could eat more of, and bigger pieces than Jack could eat.  We have three different freezers and the only hope I have of keeping it from him is to move it around.  He’ll think he ate it all and stop looking I hope.

Interval workout on the bike

Sunday, July 20, 2012

I rode over to meet Marie for her first interval bike workout.  She’d had a good run the day before and was feeling healthy.  I asked her how she was feeling.

“Well...good...but nervous.  You’re going to hurt me, aren’t you?”

That wasn’t my intention, but what we were about to do was going to be painful.  I’d brought along my heart rate monitor and had her put it on.  I was going to base the difficulty of the workout on how high we drove her heart during the pickups.  She was 20 years old and her age-predicted maximum was 200 bpm.  It is not unusual for highly conditioned athletes to be able to push beyond these maximums since their pain threshold exceeds the normal person.  I’d likely be trying to hold her back and having the heart rate monitor on her would help me keep her in check.

We rode out through the park heading for some rolling hills on which I wanted to do the workout.  I was going to put her through 10 pick-ups with a heart rate of 180 to 190.  As we rode easily, she registered a heart rate in the 150’s.

“You beat like a little canary.  I’m betting you’ll be exceeding 200 before this is over,” I said as we approached our first hill and her first challenge.

I had her get up out of the saddle for the half-mile hill.  She pushed hard and reached a heart rate of 195.  It was only the second pick-up and I could detect distress in her body and knew we’d have to ratchet the effort down if she was to survive with her guts intact.  The next two pick-ups generated heart rates above 190 and by the sixth, she was turning green. 

“Marie...easier.  No more than 180 on the next pick-up,” I admonished. 

I don’t know if she heard me since she was likely delirious at this point.  The pick-ups were averaging two minutes with recoveries running about the same time.  I lengthened the recovery on the next two and by the final repeat, she was looking strong again.  We finished the tenth and she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Wow...that was REALLY hard,” she said when she could speak again.

“We’ll do that three more times before you go back to Purdue.  I think your body will feel ready for some hard running after that,” I said.

It was also Jack’s birthday and he’d requested two different dinners...and Holly made them both.  An hour before company was scheduled to arrive, he asked me to make him three grilled cheese sandwiches. 

“Jack...really?  You’ve got two dinners to eat here in an hour,” I said.

“Really?  Mom made the spaghetti and the chicken, noodles, potatoes and gravy?” he asked.  “Maybe you should just make me two.”

And he was serious.  I miss those days. 

I didn’t eat like I was 18 but did feel the need for a hike after eating.  Holly and I put in an hour in the hot, humid conditions of the metroparks.  It wasn’t a hard double, but it was the first time in a month that I’d done something resembling two workouts in the same day.   

Bike Duration: 2 hours.  Hike duration:60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1700 cycling and 300 walking.

Taking it 'easy'

Saturday, July 21, 2012

The surgeon had suggested I cut back on the intensity and number of my rides and I was determined to cooperate.  I spent the first three weeks after the surgery riding my bike as far and as hard as I’d wanted and with no repercussions.  I’d thought I was completely cured...and then I tried running.  Since that day, I’ve had almost constant knee pain and although it’s not bad, if it could be better, I want it to be.  Since yesterday’s ride turned out to be a hard one, today’s needed to be easy.

I struggle with ‘easy’.  I coach all my athletes on the value of the hard/easy principle; allowing time for the body to recover and improve, but for some reason, I’ve never been able to practice what I preach.  Well...I must if I’m going to get healthy again.  I took the same course I’d ridden the day before, but didn’t look at my watch.  Not knowing how fast I was riding does wonders for keeping me from overdoing. 

I did know when I’d left, so when I arrived home 10 minutes slower than I had on the previous day, I knew I’d accomplished the task of riding easy.

The cortisone shot to the elbow was doing its job.  My pain was gone and once it is, it’s easy to do things I shouldn’t.  I’d gone to Home Depot to buy some lumber and while loading a 4x8 sheet of plywood onto my cart, was quickly reminded that things weren’t right.  I shifted the lift to my left arm and proceeded, but knew I’d have to be more careful.  As much as I like to sit and ice an injury, I’d forgotten the previous evening and would have to make a mental note to complete that, as well.

I really want to get better, but am easily my own worst enemy.  And I don’t always do it on purpose.  When you’re active all the time, it’s easy to forget. Not a good excuse, but I’m sticking to it.

Holly and I walked to Outback for dinner later that night.  It’s a little over a mile one way, but hardly offset the calories I consumed.  You can’t go to Outback and not order a Bloomin’ Onion...it’s kind of a law in Northeast Ohio...so I ordered and quickly ate one.  I had a large burger for dinner, but substituted broccoli for the fries it came with.  I did that much, at least.

Bike Duration: 2 hours.  Hike duration: 45 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1700 cycling and 75 walking.

Another PR for 'The Rocket'

Friday, July 20, 2012

The wind was blowing out of the north and pushing me in the face over the first half of my bike ride.  I’d decided that my first day back after seeing the doc should be an easier one.  I needed to cut back on the mileage and how hard I worked when I did ride if I was to let the inflammation calm.  I was riding the Waite Hill course, one on which I had many checkpoints and always know how I’m doing.  I reached my first check point a couple of minutes behind, which I attributed to a fierce wind and an indifference to speed.  As I climbed up Eagle Road and turned on Sperry heading for my 1-hour mark, I felt I was moving pretty well.  When I crested the hill on Sperry and found I was there in 56 minutes, I knew I could break the course pr if I pushed the rest of the way home.  So I pushed.

Knowing you’re going to be going all out for 45 minutes tends to numb my mind.  It’s so much easier to just ride...but now I was pitting myself against the clock.  I charged up every incline, riding out of the saddle as I climbed.  When I reached the base of Wilson Mills Hill and had to climb from there back to Highland Heights, I knew my thighs would be screaming against the effort.  Well...Lance could handle it without whining.

I hit the final miles easily ahead of schedule, but wondering by just how much I’d crack my old pr.  I pulled in the driveway 6 minutes faster on a 32-mile course, which is about 6% faster than I’ve done it before.  Again, the credit goes to The Rocket.  The bike simply rocks and I’m along for the ride...so to speak.  After the ride, I headed down to the metropark for a short hike with Dakota.  We did some golf ball searching in the rough just off the open field at the bottom of Ox Lane and set a second pr for the day, finding 22 balls.  I now have a plastic, four-gallon milk crate brimming with golf balls.  I have no idea what I’m going to do with them, but I’ll keep adding until the golfers stop losing them.

Bike Duration: 2 hours.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1700.

Cortisone in the elbow...

Thursday, July 19, 2012

I sat in the surgeon’s office waiting my turn.  Here I was again.  I’d just had knee surgery and now my elbow was so problematic that I couldn’t do much of anything.  Should people wonder about exercise and the damage it does?  Maybe it’s not worth it.

Then I started to take inventory of the 30 or so people also in the waiting room.  I don’t know why any of them were there, but one thing was abundantly clear...they weren’t there because they’d hurt themselves working out.  I’ve measured body fat for the last 25 years and think I’m qualified to judge that about 90% of the people in the room were obese.  If the medical care statistics I’d been reading lately were accurate, most of these people were here because their poor nutrition and lack of exercise had led them to obesity and it’s side effects...high blood pressure, type II diabetes, high cholesterol and other issues related to their cardiovascular systems.  More importantly to me...they were ‘out of the game’...there was little chance they could be active participants in fitness related activities because they were simply too out of shape.

When I met with the surgeon I asked about my observations.  “You are so right, John.  Keep working out.  These little hiccups are nothing compared to what so many of them are going through,” he said.

He looked over my knee first and determined that there was no fluid in it.  “You’ve ridden 1,000 miles in four weeks on an arthritic knee which just underwent surgery.  Do you suppose you could cut back just a little?"

He mentioned that he could inject a fluid/cushion into my knee to help with the arthritis, but didn’t want to do that until I’d tried cutting back to four days a week of riding and a little less mileage.  I kind of agreed to that.  Then he began examining the elbow.  He prodded and probed and when he found the really sensitive spot, I rose a foot off the examining table.

“A bit sensitive there?” he said, grinning.  “I think we’ll shoot some cortisone in there and see if that won’t calm it down.  You’ll have to lay off all pulling and lifting exercises for at least three weeks,” he concluded.

“Doc...you’re killin’ me here.  I can’t run or lift for three weeks and I have to cut back on the cycling.  Kayaking and swimming are out, too since I can’t pull with my right arm.  But if you think it’ll make a difference in the long run...shoot that cortisone in me and I’ll be good,” I said.

I’d had a cortisone injection in my knee the previous summer and was amazed at how quickly it had alleviated the symptoms.  I was expecting a similar experience.  I would be sorely disappointed.  He laid me on the table and grabbed my arm firmly.  When he jammed the needle into my elbow, I fought the urge to scream out loud.  He seemed to be moving it around...searching for the spot where he could cause me the greatest amount of pain and succeeding more than once.  I gritted my teeth and winced.   Finally, it ended.

“That bastard really hurt,” I said.

“Yeah...they tend to,” he said.

And it kept hurting for the rest of the day and throughout the night.  I iced and stretched, as directed, but with no relief.  Cortisone was once my friend.  Not anymore.

Marie's got a new program...

Wednesday, July 19, 2012
Marie has been struggling with her hip and her running, in general.  She is without a coach at Purdue and we agreed that I’d take over for the remainder of the summer and try to have her ready to go for fall cross country.  I stopped by her place on my bike to take her out on a long ride and to find out more about her injury status and mental health.  I could tell from the conversation that she was discouraged with her running, physical therapy and the coaching situation.  In her head, she was not ready to run at the highly competitive level of NCAA Division I cross country...which began in four weeks.  We rode for almost two hours and after she cleaned up, stopped at my place to write up something I hoped would buoy her spirits and have her somewhat ready.

“I want to be able to run six days in a row by the time I leave for Purdue,” she said. 

I had a blank schedule in front of me and was filling in the days of the next four weeks with what I wanted her to do on each and every day.  I was mixing some strength runs...1,000 meter repeats at cruise pace (a formula of pace based on her 5K speed at that moment)...with easy, but progressively longer, trail runs.  Mixed in were days of cycling with one interval workout on the bike with me.  When we had finished, we’d put together a solid plan of gradual progression that should have her stronger and healthy by the beginning of the season.  She would need most of the regular season to get into racing shape...something I’d normally prepare her for over the course of the summer, but that was out of the question in her case.  Running successfully at this level is all about making adjustments to meet the demands of the individual.  If you’re not ready to make those adjustments, you won’t succeed.

I warned Marie that the cycling intervals would not be easy.  She wasn’t used to them and hadn’t been doing that much cycling.  I was going to have her doing 2-2.5 minute repeats on gradual uphills and trying to drive her heart rate to about 90% of her maximum.  These are the bread and butter workouts that, when running, prepares the athlete to run faster, longer.  We needed to duplicate that feeling on the bike...where her hip wouldn’t have to sustain the extra pounding but her energy system would garner the benefit.

“You’re going to want to puke when we’re doing them, but if you get through four weeks of it, I think you’ll be much better for it when you arrive at Purdue,” I said.

She’s hard as nails so she’ll handle the pain.  She’s driven to be good and by the time we’d finished our planning, I believe her head was back in the game.  Believing that what you’re doing will make a difference is the key to your training plan succeeding.

Bike Duration: 1 hour 50 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 2300.

Power outages can be a good thing...

Tuesday, July 17, 2012
I was in the middle of posting my blog when the power went out.  My first concern was whether or not I’d need to be rewriting the thing since I didn’t think I’d saved it.  It was 9:30 and almost completely dark.  Since I was in my office where I store all my camping gear…including my headlights…I knew I’d have the light I needed to find my way around.  Not so for the rest of the people in the house.


Both Holly and Savannah were on their computers at the time of the outage.  I made my way outside to see if it was just us or the entire neighborhood.  I could see houses on the street behind us and theirs were out, as well.  It seemed to be city wide and probably the result of everyone and his mother running their air conditioners on a the hottest day of the year.  My next door neighbor walked out into his drive and yelled over that he thought it was time for a pool party.  I agreed.


Ten minutes later, the pool was full of adults and their teen-aged kids.  Lawn chairs, chips and beverages gathered around the pool and we all started laughing and sharing stories of what electic device we’d been using when the lights went out and how none of us were interacting with others of our species.  I commented on how I thought sometimes life was just a lot better when we didn’t have electricity and did the kind of things we were doing right now.  The outage lasted for two hours and we stayed together the entire time.  I think it will be a night we’ll remember for many years to come…something that could not be said if the electricity had never gone out.


I’d gone to the park earlier and run 10 minutes after doing 70 push-ups and some dips.  I did a second set of each since they didn’t seem to hurt my elbow, though I would feel it later.  I was curious what I could still do with the injury and needed to be able to communicate that to the surgeon.  Now I knew.  The knee felt fine during and after the run.  Maybe the pain I’d been having following the last couple of rides was a figment of my imagination…I don’t know.  I’d do a hard ride tommorrow, which should piss it off and give me something to share with the doctor.


Run Duration: 10 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 130 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 150.

Second day off...

Monday, July 16, 2012
My knee was still sore and I decided to take a second day off.  I called the surgeon and scheduled a visit for Thursday and told the appointment person that I’d need to have him look at my elbow, as well.  That pain hasn’t subsided in three weeks and since I can’t towel off without pain, I think it’s time.


I continued to eat strictly Paleo, having both apple and banana pie after dinner.  It seems that the times I eat the worst are when I’m injured and not exercising.  Well…I can’t see it going to waste and no one here is eating it, so it’s kind of a public service.  I also decided that I’d run tomorrow and ride on Wednesday so that my knee would be nice and inflamed when I went to my appointment.  I’d hate to get in there and be symptom free.  When I shared this decision with my friend Linda in Seattle, she wrote back that she thought I was quite sensible in my decision but that when I did visit the doctor to have him check my head for a brain.  I’m pretty sure this was sarcasm.

Rugby Sevens is a great workout...

Sunday, July 15, 2012
I’d been sitting at Jason’s rugby tournament in the sweltering heat of an afternoon sun when my phone began to vibrate.  I looked down to see it was Mark Mendeszoon, the Podiatrist who’d lined me up for my knee surgery.  He’d spent the last two weeks in Portland, Oregon watching the Olympic Track and Field trials.


“How were the trials,” I said as a form of greeting.


“Oh my God.  Too good to describe…and three athletes I’m working with are going to London,” he said.


He describe the paths these athletes had taken…one was Bridget Franek from Crestwood high and the second place finisher in the steeple chase.  Her mother worked for Mark as a Massage Therapist. 
“Her goal is to make it to the finals and I’m trying to get tickets to see it.  Finals tickets for any event are going for between $3-5,000, though,” he said.


“Holy shit,” I holy shitted.


“Yeah…that’s what I said.  Anyway…got a room for a couple hundred dollars, which is a steal.  It’ll be something,” he said.


We made some plans for going to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympics and then got around to my knee and elbow.  “Sounds like you have some fluid build up on that knee and Kraig can look at your elbow, too.  Make an appointment for next week and get in there, man,” he concluded and I assured him I would.


I have to say I was impressed with the tournament play.  It was called a ‘Sevens’ tournament because they played with seven men on a side and two seven-minute halves.  Normally 15 players take the field and they were using the regulation field, which meant that less than half the players had to cover the entire area…and that meant a lot of running.  It was unbearably hot, but the playing was so fast and the games over quickly, that it didn’t seem to matter.  Conditioning, execution and speed were the keys.  The big guys that were important in a regular game seemed to be more of a liability as the faster guys just ran around them.  Tackling was a little more violent since they were running at higher speeds, but I didn’t see an injury in three hours of competition.  I know rugby receives a lot of bad press from people who don’t understand the game, but I think I get the attraction.  Yes…there is a greater chance of injury than in a non-contact sport, but good conditioning goes a long way to alleviate this.  More people find themselves in the doctor’s office as a result of doing nothing and suffering the results of a sedentary lifestyle than if they get out and do something…so I’m for rugby and doing something.


We celebrated Savannah’s 21^st birthday with lasagna, apple and banana cream pie.  I ate it all and wished I hadn’t…after I finished.  My knee had been extremely painful after yesterday’s ride and I’d decided it was time to rest it so the calories would be sticking.  Well…there were apples and bananas in the pies, at least.

Fresh meat on the bike...

Saturday, July 14, 2012
Jim Harris exited his Jeep and walked towards me with a noticeable limp.   Jim is an old friend, a state competitive high school runner from the late 80’s and someone who never stopped loving the sport.  He’d gotten a recent diagnosis about arthritis in his hip and had been told that his competitive running days were over.  I’d seen a post he’d written on facebook about this and knew how devastated he was.  I’d written to him at the time suggesting that it may be time to get on the bike.  He’d written back that he needed something and was willing to give it a try.  He’d waited a couple of months before contacting me again with serious intent and so we’d scheduled our first ride.


“Okay...none of the fancy equipment, John,” he commented as he began to unload his hybrid cycle from the rack on the back of his vehicle.  He was wearing running shorts, a cotton t-shirt and was without riding gloves, shoes or a cycling water bottle.  At least he had a helmet.


“Well...some of the fancy stuff is quite helpful...like the shorts and a decent water bottle.  I’ll lecture you more on that once we’re riding,” I said.


He’d written that he was thinking of riding between 20-30 miles and I’d replied that I typically double such requests and add 10 miles.  If he was worried, he didn’t show it.  I suppose he didn’t know enough to realize that I wasn’t kidding.  I had him suck my wheel since I had the superior bike and conditioning on my side though he had fantastic genetic gifts, good conditioning, youth and a competitive nature.
I took him on my Waite Hill course, determined to show him the beauty of the countryside, but with some challenging riding.  He’d appreciate the workout...he’s cut that way...and everyone likes scenery on their rides.


He was on my wheel for the first hour of the ride, but when we went down a steep hill shortly after and I opened a gap on him, I decided to surge up the hill on the other side.  As I gained the crest, I looked over my shoulder to see him far below.  I slowed and waited for him to close the distance.


“Man...I slowed coming down that hill and when I turned the corner, you were gone,” he said.


“I’ve been riding a little longer than you, Jim, and with The Rocket under me…I can climb,” I said.


We reached Wilson Mills hill and I offered some advice on how to ride it.  “It’s steep and you’ll be flying, but there’s plenty of room to stay in your lane because the curves are gradual.  Don’t touch your brakes.  See you at the bottom,” I said as a sprinted away.


I flew down the hill over 550 mph and he was but a dot in my rearview mirror.  I waited for him to catch me. 


“That…was…awesome!” he said.  And it was.


We finished the ride and talked about what he needed to do next.  I had him try John’s bike to compare the difference between a road and a hybrid.  He could see what I was talking about simply from a quick ride to the corner and back. 
“It won’t seem like a good substitute for running right away, Jim, but give it time.  You ride three to four weeks consistantly, and you’ll not only have that same good, exhausted feeling you get from running, but you’ll also be hooked.  I won’t say you won’t miss running…you will…but you’ll be in great shape and be looking for new challenges for your riding.  They’re out there so give it a chance.”
Bike Duration: 1 hour 50 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 2300.

"That's a BIG apple fritter!"

Friday, July 13, 2012
I’d decided that the only way I was going to get the new tires on the Jeep was to take a day off and spend some time there waiting.  Juggling cars is too difficult with everyone working and besides, it would be a good excuse to get in a long ride…something my knee really needed.


Savannah had gone to work before 6 a.m. and was leaving from work to go right to Columbus to see her boyfriend.  She loves Patterson’s Dutch Apple Pie and I normally get one for her on any special occasion, but it would be impractical considering the circumstances.  Instead, I decided to do the next best thing and went to Spudnuts where I picked out an apple fritter the size of my head…which is big.  I drove it over to Parker and called her from the parking lot.


“Hey Savannah.  I’m in the parking lot and I’ve got something for you,” I said.


“You’re here?” she said, a little perplexed.


She came out the door to the parking lot with a look of trepidation on her face.  I’m not sure what she thought I was going to do to her…she must have known that I knew it was her birthday and she’s clever enough to figure out that I might have gotten her something, but you couldn’t tell it by her face.  I held up the bag.


“Holy cow!  This thing is the size of your head…which is abnormally large!” she said when she pulled it from the bag.


“Yes.  I know.  It’s a gift…my large head, that is.  But so is the fritter.  Happy birthday,” I said as I hugged her.  My little girl…twenty-one and all growed up.


I arrived at Kolson’s Tires at the appointed time with my bike in the back of the Jeep.  Jimmy, one of the laborers, was trying to keep things together.  When I’d called the previous evening to schedule a time to have the tires mounted that I’d paid for two weeks ago, he informed me that Ken…the owner… was in the hospital and would be out for a month.  He assured me he’d take care of me though.
“Hey John…um…I don’t have your tires here right now.  I called the truck though and they’ll drop them off by two.  I’m really sorry,” he said.  It was 1 p.m.


“No big deal.  I’ve got my bike and I’ll go for a ride.  When do you suppose you’ll have it done?” I asked.


He promised that it’d be ready no later than four.  “4:30 at the latest…and I’m real sorry.”
I told him I’d ride the whole time so not to worry.  He looked at his watch and figured only a fool would ride in the mid-day heat for over three hours so he knew he’d have to have it done sooner.  He didn’t know just how much of a fool he was dealing with.  Well…I’d show him.


The shop is on the corner of Route 306 and Sherman Road in Chesterland, which is good since as soon as I got my bike on the road, I was in the middle of nowhere fast.  I rode east until I started passing Amish folk in their buggies before turning around and heading back for the Jeep.  I was about 5 miles from the shop when my knee began to act up.  I had sharp twinges of pain on the outside of my knee which radiated up through my thigh and into my hip.  I immediately backed off the pace and pedaled easily the remaining distance.


The Jeep was done when I arrived.  I was subdued as I packed the bike into the Jeep though.  Things were getting worse.  My knee was going and I couldn’t lift anything with my bum elbow.  I was starting to feel like my buddy John.  One surgery after another.  Well…whatever it takes, I’ll do because the sidelines are just not an option.


Bike Duration: 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 2300.

Checking out bikes for Savannah...

Thursday, July 12, 2012
I’ve been looking for a new bike for Savannah for her birthday, which is tomorrow.  I’d already alerted her of this fact…that I was looking, not that it was her birthday because she knew that.  Anyway, I’d told her I wanted to look at stuff on Craig’s list in hopes that I’d find someone dumping something really good for a reasonable price.  So far…no luck. 


“Why don’t we go up to Performance Bikes and see what they’re dealing on,” I said.  I wanted to find what she liked even though I thought I had an idea.


She needs something to ride around the Ohio State campus, but I want it to be something sleek enough that if she decides she’d like to start some distance riding, she’ll have the right equipment.  For her, that means a hybrid, which also means something between a moutain bike and a true road bike.  Hybrids have tires that are smoother and thinner than mountain bikes, but not the super thin tires of a road bike.  They’re a little more comfortable to ride…straight handlebars keep the rider more upright and tires with less pressure absorb more of the road shock.  Down side is they’re slower…but not by much.


I walked into the store and went immediately to the ‘sale’ bikes.  It’s mid-summer and not a lot of folks are buying right now, so there are deals to be had.  They had something decent for $350…marked down from $600 (shouldn’t have been that high in the first place) and she liked it.  She was ready to take it for a test ride in the parking lot, but stopped her when I didn’t have a driver’s license and credit card for them to hold during the 3 minutes she’d be outside the store.


“You can hold me hostage until she gets back,” I said thinking that would do it but I think they thought the bike, even on sale, had more value.  I’ve done a lot of business with this store and I would think taking a low end bike out in the parking lot for a little spin wouldn’t have been such a big deal, but rules are rules.  I’d have broken it…I’m such a Rebel.


I rode a couple of hours afterwards and felt some twinges in my knee towards the end of the ride.  I suppose I could take a couple of days off and give it some time off, but I’m just in such a groove that I hate to miss a day.  As for Savannah’s bike…at least I have a backup plan.


Bike Duration: 1 hour and 50 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1550.

New 1-hour PR...

Wednesday, July 11, 2012


“Window’s in.  Hop on that bike and come and get it,” Dan called to tell me.


It was around 6 p.m. and I knew I had plenty of time to get in a longer ride on my way to Chardon.  I was trying to decide what route I would take and whether to challenge myself or not.  I preach a ‘hard/easy’ philosopy to the people I coach, but sometimes lose track of that basic premise when it comes to my own training.  I’d been riding long and hard for the last seven days and by rights, I should be going easier.  That’s the theory anyway as I boarded The Rocket and rolled down the drive.


I headed out on my Pekin Road course.  It’s my favorite and the only one where I’ve established a one-hour time trial mark.  I’ve been riding the course for the last several years and continued to push the point I can reach in 60 minutes further out.  I normally move it in small increments…maybe 100 yards…something I’ve done twice this summer.  I decided I’d ride with that in mind and see where I was on earlier check points before committing totally to breaking it.  If my legs were feeling good…I’d push.


The first big test is Old Mill Road or what I like to call it…the Iron Lung.  I reach the bottom about 20 minutes into my ride and have a check-point about a quarter mile past the top at County Line Road and Cedar.  I like to be there under 30 minutes and on a good day will make it there somewhere between 29-30. 


I climbed the Lung well and checked my watch.  I was at the top in 23 minutes and reached Cedar in 27!  I was facing a headwind for more than half of the ride to my hour mark, but was feeling very strong at this point and decided to attack the course.


For me attacking means I get out of the saddle on every incline and try to power up and over the top.  Once there, I settle back to my cruising pace as quickly as I can.  I did this as I approached my old hour pr mark and could see I would be crushing it.  I arrived there in 56 minutes and pushed my new pr point out about a mile and a quarter…not bad for something I can usually move a hundred yards or less!
So again…equipment matters.  I know I’m getting stronger from all the riding but that doesn’t come close to explaining such a big improvement.  The Rocket gets the credit.


Bike Duration: 1 hour and 35 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1300.

"I told that glass guy he better get the hell out of here"

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

We were short a car because I’d left the van with Dan so he could install a new window motor.  I’d dropped Holly off at one of her clients in the morning, but she would need a ride home sometime during the evening and I wanted to ride.  Simple solution.  I loaded the bike in the Jeep, drove to her location in Willoughby, left the Jeep with her and began riding to Dan’s place in Chardon to pick up the van he said would be completed by the time I arrived.  Except it wasn’t.

I rode John’s bike again and decided to make life tough on myself by riding one of the area’s steeper climbs from Daniels Park into Waite Hill.  I followed that with the longer climb on Kirtland-Chardon Road up to Route 6.  I pushed hard throughout the hour plus ride to Dan’s place and was pulling into his driveway as another customer was leaving.  I was drenched in sweat and my legs were screaming.  I’d ridden particularly hard because I’d planned on driving from his place back home.

“That was the glass guy pulling out the drive as you came down the road.  I pointed you out to him as you were riding down the road and suggested he get out of here fast.  Told him you’d just ridden 30 miles from Highland Heights…and now you’d have to ride back since he’d screwed up and the car wasn’t ready,” he said.

Dan explained how he’d tried to install the window only to find that a key part that fit into the motor was missing from the old window.  The glass guy had stopped by to show Dan that he was mistaken…but Dan is never wrong about repairs…and this was no exception.

“I can throw the bike in the truck and drive you home,” he offered.

“Hey…I don’t mind the extra miles.  I just don’t want to be the one to tell Holly she’s got another day without wheels.  Maybe I’ll just bunk here tonight,” I said.

I did the ride home in 54 minutes…a 3minutes faster than I’d ever done it before.  The Rocket…my name for John’s bike…continues to crush all my course pr’s.  I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to return to the old machine…but if I do, I’ll throw away my stop watch.

Bike Duration: 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1900.

The bike makes a difference...

Monday, July 9, 2012

I remember years ago going to my local bike shop and trying out the latest in road bikes.  I was riding a steel-framed something or other at the time and he put me on an austro-daimler, light weight racing model with an excellent component group and sent me for a test ride.  I came back to the shop extremely impressed.

“Riding that bike is like cheating,” I said…and then I bought it.

It had seemed so much faster and more responsive at the time and I didn’t like that I was losing precious time in my triathlon races to people who I could beat otherwise because they had better equipment than me.  I would buy three more bikes since that time, but in each case, never had the feeling that the equipment made that big a difference.  Then I tried out John’s carbon fiber road racing bike.

The first thing I noticed was the weight.  It ran around 15 pounds without the bag and profile bars, which was 8 pounds lighter than the aluminum Trek I had been riding.  As I got into the ride and came to small rises in the road, I couldn’t help but notice how quickly I could get back to my cruising speed once cresting the rise.  I was hitting all the same cracks and bumps I’d normally hit on the course I was following, but somewhere from the road to me, the shocks and bumps were lost in the frame.  I simply wasn’t feeling them as much…and if you’ve ridden 100,000 miles or more in your lifetime, you notice these things.  Finally, I found myself climbing a long, steep hill.  I’ve time it before and know that it takes me around 10 minutes from bottom to top.  On this day, I was up in 8.

Does equipment make a difference?  Absolutely.  If I was racing again, I think I’d be sacrificing about 2 mph to people with bikes like John’s…an unacceptable level that I’d have to correct.  I really don’t care so much about the speed anymore, but comfort is everything when riding over two hours as I regularly do.  I’ll continue to experiment with his bike and find out if it alleviates some of the discomfort I’ve been experiencing in my neck and shoulders and if it does…carbon fiber is a must.  He claims I can use it for the remainder of the summer, but by then I may just disappear with it.  Nice bike, John…thanks.

Bike Duration: 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 2100.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

My right elbow continues to give me trouble.  I can’t take the top of a jar or squeeze a water bottle without discomfort, so clearly it’s not healing and not ready for another Survival Workout.  I know I need to head back to the doctor, but I haven’t even gotten the bill for my knee surgery yet.  At least I’m getting into fantastic cycling shape.

John stopped over to drop off his high-priced, carbon fiber bike.  I think it was making him crazy to see it sitting in his basement when it should be out on the roads, under someone who could appreciate it.  I am just such a person and was now anxious to find out if it could make some difference in my riding comfort.   Unfortunately, his pedal clips are slightly different than mine and I would either need new clips or a change of pedals to ride it.  I opted to change out the pedals.  His came off easily, but the pedals on the Trek were frozen from 18 years of sweat and corrosion.  I needed to get to Dan’s with the van and decided to load both bikes and see if he could free the pedals.

“Nice bike,” Dan said as I unloaded it from the van.

“I’m riding it if you can get the pedals off this Trek and mount them on it,” I said.

“I’ll get them off,” he said with confidence.

Only he couldn’t.  He had the tools and the torque, but was afraid he’d snap them, so I left John’s high-priced bike in the van and rode home on the Trek.  While I was riding, I decided that I needed to get the clips from the bottom of John’s shoes and that Jack could get in some driving time taking me to his place.

I told him so when I reached home and we drove out to Twinsburg.  Jack hadn’t been driving in the last three weeks, but did really well.  However, he was confused as we approached a flashing red light over an intersection with a stop sign.

“Do I need to look after stopping there?” he asked.

I had to think about a response.  I didn’t want to be too much of a smart ass…but I didn’t want to pass up the opening, either.  “You don’t think it’s like a rest stop…do you?”

“Then I should look?” he said.

“Every direction,” I answered.

We arrived at John’s place and I grabbed his clips.  His bike was not equipped with an air pump for emergency flats…the frame was to unusually shaped to hold my traditional one…but I forgot to grab whatever he used, which would turn out to be small, compressed air cartridges.  Jack decided he was too sore to drive back…he feels cramped in my Honda Civic…and allowed me the honor.  I would never have passed up the opportunity to get closer to my driver’s license.  He’s such a strange kid.

Bike Duration: 90 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1250.

Dan Dunlap Memorial Run

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Eric had called me to ask if I’d like to go to the Dan Dunlap Memorial 5K Run being held in Andover that morning.  Dan had been one of the premier runners in Ohio during his high school career, going head to head with Eric at numerous state meets.  He’d gone on to become an All-American while running for Ohio University in the early 90’s and like so many good runners, never stopped.  He and Eric had remained close over the years, getting together for trail runs on numerous occasions.  He was killed tragically and accidentally while working for a company owned by his best friend and another fellow runner that felled trees.  A tree they were taking down ricocheted off another tree, struck and killed him.

“I can’t even run 10 minutes yet, but how about I ride out there and watch you guys.  I’m not up for a century (it was 60 miles away), so you’ll have to give me a ride back,” I said.

He agreed and I’d made my plans.  As I was going to bed Friday night, I decided I needed to be on the road by 5:30 a.m. if I was to be sure of being there by the start of the race at 9 a.m.  That would mean riding in the dark for close to an hour…something that appealed to me since it was supposed to be in the high nineties that day.

I was up at 4:45 a.m. and on the road by 5:20 a.m.  It reminded me of my childhood…riding through the empty streets with a newspaper bag hanging from my shoulder in total darkness.  It was cool and there was hardly a car in sight.  I headed east for the Metropark, cut through to Route 6, which would be my last route adjustment for the next 55 miles.  Route 6 is the same interstate route that stretches from San Francisco to Providence Town, Cape Cod.  It passes through my home town in Bristol, Ct. as well as Buchanan, N.Y. where my grandparents lived and was the road I’d taken with Todd Miller at the conclusion of my senior year of high school when we’d traveled 1,100 miles to visit my grandparents.  I’d ridden out to the Pa. border on it on several training rides since that time, but hadn’t been out there in twenty years.  As I passed through Chardon and began moving into rural Ohio, I noted that not much had changed in the 40 years since I’d first ridden this course.

It’s pretty hilly and quite challenging for the first 20 miles, but once you clear Chardon, it’s almost entirely flat.  That can be good and bad.  It’s good if you want to just put your head down, get in one gear and ride hard and fast.  It’s bad because since you never have to change positions, you tend to stiffen up and get sore in certain places.  By the 40-mile mark, I was feeling every bump in the road and my shoulders and neck were looking for some relief.  I moved around constantly on the handlebars, but relief wouldn’t truly come until I stopped and dismounted.  I averaged 18 mph…good for me…and made Andover a little after 8 a.m.  The run, however, was five miles further across a road that had been grooved for repaving and was a bitch to ride.  Fortunately, the race started at Birch’s Landing…a boat put-in on Pymatuning Lake…which meant I’d have a place to cool off and clean up.

I found Eric and his sister Leanne…she was in from North Carolina and I hadn’t seen her in 25 years.  She owns and operates a cycling/kayak store there and I knew we’d have some things to talk about after the race.  Like Eric, she was a former standout runner for Chagrin Falls, but running was buried in her past.

“I’ll be happy if I come within 10 minutes of Eric’s finish time,” she said as they lined up. 

Eric had chosen to run with Dan’s twin brother Tom, who would make a moving, but short speech at the beginning of the run.  I was very happy I was spectating…it was in the 90’s by now and there was plenty of sun on the course as approximately 200 people lined up for the start.  The gun went off and I felt some of the adrenalin rush I used to get at that moment when I raced.  It’s a good feeling and always had me running my first mile faster than I should have no matter how I tried to control it. 

Eric finished with Tom and Dan’s son, a high school runner, in around 21 minutes…about 6 minutes slower than Eric would have run the distance during his collegiate career with Indiana University.  Leanne, as predicted, followed 10 minutes later.  On the drive home, we discussed my neck and shoulder issues and how, on my tour of Ohio ride, I felt I would need a different bike that might offer some comfort while riding.

“Carbon frame, John.  It’s expensive, but it absorbs the road shock and you’ll feel so much better.  That, and getting you upright with a recreational road bike.  It’s slower than you’re used to…but you be lots more comfortable,” she said.

We talked about kayaking on the lake and once at my place, I showed her my sea kayak and she felt it was perfect for what I would be trying to do.  She assured me she would stay in touch and we’d come up with a bike that would work for the trip. 

“I need to try something out…a couple of long rides on a bike to see if it works.  Bike shops aren’t going to let me do that,” I said. 

Eric offered me a chance to try out his hybrid and John was still pushing me to ride his carbon frame since he couldn’t.  I figured I needed to take both of them up on their offers.  I needed to find some comfort on a bike.  I’d just ridden 60 miles and it hadn’t been pleasant.  My attitude was if it wasn’t fun, it wasn’t worth doing.  It was the only way to keep me…or most people…interested. 

Bike Duration: 3 hours and 20 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 2950.