Another long ride in perfect conditions.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Someone remind me when I start complaining about all the rain…or the heat…or whatever I’m whining about regarding weather in the future that early March was the most amazing Spring month I’ve ever experienced since moving to Ohio.  Again…the temperature hit the 70’s and the sun was shining.  Though it continues to rain and the ground is saturated to the point that flooding is inevitable, it seems to be decent enough to do it mostly in the evenings

I climbed aboard the bike for what I hoped to make my longest ride of the year.  I headed through Waite Hill and up Kirtland/Chardon Road, but instead of following Mulberry back, I kept on going towards Chardon.  I kept an eye on the setting sun, but was alone for most of the ride on Pekin Road as I headed back towards home and made it just as the lights were coming on.  I’d managed close to three hours and the longest ride of 2012.  If I can get my calf healthy, I’ll be in good shape for the birthday triathlon in a month.

Long rides lend themselves to smoothies and I made sure to jam the blender full using two bananas, 3 Clementine’s,  blueberries, yogurt, frozen fruit and cider.  It was amazing and kept me from wanting to eat and with my cousin Donnie due in tomorrow night to surely be followed by some bad eating decisions, I needed a dinner like that.

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

The 'Grizzly Man'

Monday, March 12, 2012
It was less than three weeks ago that I first hooked my feet on a fence rail and did my push-ups in that fashion.  I’d managed 31 at that time and figured it would be months before I was able to work my way to 100.  And then I did 50 three days ago and 60 today.  I suppose the primary muscles doing the work…those of the chest and triceps…are still actively involved and even though I’m at such a different angle and effectively adding weight…I’m moving up quickly because I’m in shape for that exercise.  I still think it’ll take some time to make it the rest of the way…but less than several months.

The trails were under water again.  I’ve been reading about ground saturation from the record rainfalls of last year and how that could lead to flooding this spring.  I can’t remember the last time we had 3-4 days without precipitation…or when the trails were really dry…but I think it’ll be two years this summer.  I’m so used to splashing through the mud that I hardly try to go around it any more.  What’s the point?  I couldn’t get across Clear Creek without submersing, so I altered my workout course and found other rocks and logs to lift.

I returned home and hopped on the trainer watching ‘Grizzly Man’ – the Tim Treadwell story as I rode.  John and I had gone to the theatre to see the movie when it came out a few years back and I remember thinking and discussing with John that the guy had a death wish and was extremely unbalanced.  My opinion changed little in the rewatching. 

For those of you unfamiliar with the story, Tim Treadwell was a self-professed protector of the Grizzly Bears of Katmai National Park for 13 years.  He spent his summers camping amongst the bears and studied them as an amateur biologist while claiming to be protecting them from…well…no one knows for sure.  He clearly crossed the line by habituating the animals to humans, going so far as to touch them during his observations.  He admitted to wanting to be one of them and in the last few years, made numerous comments that led people to believe he thought he had connected on some higher level with the animals and was accepted by them...having left the human race, which he seemed to despise…far behind.   As a Leave No Trace Master Educator, back country back packer and amateur nature photographer, I completely concur with the ‘see…but don’t be seen’ philosophy of animal encounters.  As much as possible, humans should never interfere with normal animal behavior…don’t feed, disturb, or increase their already heightened sense of tension.  Tim paid no mind to these basic principles, feeling it would seem that he knew better than the collective world with regards to animal behavior.  In any event, the show is definitely worth a watch.

Survival Workout: 60 minutes.  Bike duration: 72 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100-150 for SW and 120 for the hike.
Calories burned:  600 for SW, 1000 for the bike.

Perfect riding day

Sunday, March 11, 2012
I started the morning with a quick hike into the marsh hoping for a photo op with my eagle friends.  After spending about 10 minutes searching the tree tops and seeing nothing, I was forced to return and begin the rest of my day.  I know from experience that diligence will pay off, so I’ll keep visiting.

I had to pick up Heidi and drove to her place in Akron to find she wasn’t there.  I’d called her on the phone about 10 minutes earlier to tell her I was getting off the freeway and to expect me soon.  I rang her bell and called her again, but without success.  Finally she called and asked where I was.

“I’m sitting on the step in front of your door waiting for you to let me in,” I said.

“Why aren’t those animals barking?” she asked.

“Because you have a cat and a chinchilla and I’ve never heard either of them bark,” I replied.

And then she reminded me she wasn’t at her place...but at Jason’s where she’d been dog sitting...in Kent.

“Remember?  I told you a couple of weeks ago that I’d be dog sitting for Jason this weekend.”

Seriously?  She thought because she’d mentioned something to me two weeks ago in passing that I’d put that together with her request to pick her up I’d received the day before with no reference to her new location?  My computer doesn’t remember stuff for two weeks.  I’m happy when I remember to zip up my fly.

I made the extra drive, but realized it was cutting into riding time.  It was perfect weather for the bike...60’s, sunny and only a light wind.  Damn...I needed to get home.  I didn’t give her a hard time, but as soon as we arrived back in Highland Heights, I was out the door and on the bike. 

The ride was perfect and the weather could not have been better.  If the family wasn’t coming for dinner, I’d have ridden for three hours.  As it was, I had to settle for half that.  Holly was making pancakes and bacon for dinner...not exactly Paleo...so I made a giant smoothie after the ride and skipped the bacon. 

Somewhere in the middle of that day, I received a call from John that he was heading to the ER...again.

“Dude...seriously...don’t leave once you get there.  It’ll save you lots of time,” I said after he described the agony he was experiencing in the area of his rotator cuff.  He thought he might have fallen when he was suffering with the intestinal blockage the week before...but had been in such agony at the time that he didn’t remember falling.  I called him later to find that yes...it was likely torn...but to deal with it until the surgery for his neck scheduled for Wednesday.  I’m wondering if this guy is ever going to train with me again.  And John...Donnie is bringing you a bag of lollipops.

Bike Duration: One hour and 35 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1330.

"I'm not angel...but I'm not a crook," Jimmy Dimora found guilty.

Saturday, March 10, 2012
Dimora Guilty!

As Gomer would say, “surprise…surprise…surprise.”  Except, maybe not.

I mean sure, everyone’s entitled to their day in court, but really Jimmy…did you think anyone was really going to buy that defense strategy?  Yeah…all those contractors, politicians, business people, and just plain folks were giving you gifts, picking up your dinner tabs, flying you to Vegas and getting you hookers because they liked you?  You were gambling a 20-plus sentence in the slammer that a jury of your peers was going to buy that story when you had 65 witnesses ready to testify what a totally corrupt MF’er you were?  And what a defense team you picked.  I mean…how does your attorney, in his closing argument to the jury say “I’m sure you’ll find my client guilty of all charges”…needing to be corrected by his co-counsel for his Freudian slip.  You picked them.

“I’m not angel, but I’m not a crook either.  I haven’t done anything that any other public official hasn’t done,” you were quoted as saying.  Well…you may be right but I’m hoping you’re wrong.  Convicted on 33 counts including racketeering.  You’ve cost this county’s tax payers a millions, tremendous embarrassment and the need to completely revamp the way the government is structured.  Congratulations…quite a legacy.

I started the run the way I’ve started everything lately…with a sore left calf.  It was okay for about 19 minutes, but then the pain started radiating…and I stopped running.  I walked for five minutes before beginning again…at a much slower rate.  I limp-ran back to the car and drove home for time on the trainer.  Even there it was giving me trouble and that means one week off running and a slow return. 

Later that afternoon Dakota and I made our way through soggy woods to the marsh.  We were standing close to the water, hidden amongst the cottontails when the immature eagle I spotted a week ago dove in front and away from me.  I managed a couple of pictures before the mother headed from a similar spot but in another direction.  I was lucky enough to capture her on film, as well.  I could see that both had only flown a short distance and found another perch where they could observe me and continue their hunt.  I hunkered down and waited, figuring I had about 30 minutes of light.  I used every minute of the sun’s last rays listening to a cacophony of red-winged black birds, geese, ducks and the scree of a large red tail hawk and waiting for another photo op…but it never came.  I could see the younger eagle 300 yards across the marsh on his perch, but he knew how badly I wanted a picture and wasn’t moving.  Dakota spooked a beaver during our wait…which spooked her and sent her scrambling back towards the woods.   I followed her out, but felt exhilarated over the time we’d spent watching and listening.

Run duration: 30 minutes.  Bike duration: 42 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 130 running and 120 for the bike.
Calories burned:  500 running, 575 for the bike.

Keep the car in the garage...

Friday, March 9, 2012
My legs were still sore and I was debating taking a second day off, but it was so sunny and pretty in the park that I just had to do something. 

It was a Survival Workout day, but I knew I’d be doing no lower body activities, which mean ratchet up the upper body.  I started with my new style push-ups…feet hooked on top of a fence rail…and crushed my old pr by 11 by reaching 50.  I guess I’ll keep up this style until I hit 100, though that may take some time…something I hope I have in abundance.  I followed the push-ups with a set of dips and pull-ups, but I’m finding that my dip totals are way down since starting the new push-up.  Still…I’m going to exhaustion, which means I’m getting the full benefit to the muscle group regardless of the amount I can perform.

I went home after the workout thinking about getting on the trainer, but as is often the case, once I get home and get into the flow of what’s happening there, exercise is done.  Holly and I decided on pizza and a movie from Red Box, which is when the guilt of only doing the Survival Workout set in.

“How about we hold off on ordering that pizza right away,” I said.  “I’m going to walk up to Red Box to pick up the movie instead of driving and then hike over to the grocery store to get some more bananas.”

It’s only a mile and a half to the Walgreen where I pick up the movies and the grocery store is across the street.  It wasn’t strenuous walking…but it was better than driving the car and I needed something if I was going to eat that fatty pizza again.  I slung my daypack over my shoulder and started out the door to see how quickly I could make the round trip.

It took around 45 minutes to walk the three miles to and from my shopping destinations.  It felt pretty good to load my purchases into a daypack and walk out of the grocery store knowing that I was burning calories instead of fossil fuels.  I do it all the time…climb in my car for trips under two miles.  What a waste of an opportunity.  With the way Jack and I are going through smoothie ingredients, I need to make this a regular practice.  I’ve always known that regular trips to the fresh food sections of the grocery store would help me cut calories…but walking to get them cuts even more and does something good for me in the process.  I really need to practice what I preach…whenever I can.  It really adds up.

Survival Workout: 60 minutes.  Hike duration: 45 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100-150 for SW and 80 for the hike.
Calories burned:  600 for SW,  350 for the hike.

Centurion establishes one-hour cycling record...

Thursday, March 8, 2012
I suppose as I get older, I’ll notice stories like the one concerning a 100-year old Frenchman, Robert Marchand more often.  He recently established a world one hour record for cycling by covering a hair over 15 miles in that time.  He was timed on a track in a velodrome riding a fixed gear bike but without aero bars.  Since it says he ‘established’ the world’s record, I’m guessing he may be the first centurion to attempt the feat. 

Mr. Marchand’s feat is amazing.  He’s 100 for crying out loud and should be hardly able to get up out of a chair…and he’s riding fixed gear bike on a banked track 15 mph?  You know I’ve read ‘Younger Next Year’ and believe completely in being able to keep so much of our physical fitness well into our 80’s…but this guy is another 20 years past that!  He commented that, for the past five years, he’s no longer taking rides over 62 miles.  Okay…I’m reading that to mean that at age 100, he’s still able to ride over sixty miles at a crack.  And if we can assume he’s riding slower than his world record pace for an hour, that means he’s out on a bike for probably 5 hours at a crack, on occasion. 

"Basically, I am like everybody. I am lucky that I haven’t had any major health problems. My advice to anyone, young or old, is to keep moving. I do ‘physical culture’ every day. It works out my whole body and keeps me supple. Some people when they reach 80 years old, start playing cards and they stay immobile. Not me.   I’ve never been able to keep still,” he said.  Truly…there is hope for anyone…at any age.  It’s never too late.

Unless you’re me and tuckered out from a simple 42-mile ride.  My legs were all kinds of sore and I don’t think it was from yesterday’s ride.  I’ve been having issues over the past three weeks, particularly in the muscles of my right glut and hamstring.  My left calf has been sore on the previous two runs, as well.  I felt them all…and not in a good way…during the ride and decided it was time for a ‘zero’ day. 

Yes…some guy who’s 100 would think I’m a candy-ass…but I know to listen to my body.  If I do, I’m hoping I’ll keep going and maybe be like him someday.

A very tough, windy ride...

Wednesday, March 07, 2012
I visited John in the hospital again and found him playing with his internet connection through the wide screen TV mounted on the wall at the end of his bed.  He was struggling because the remote was acting nothing like a mouse.

“You try it,” he said, handing it off.

Well…I went right to my blog.  I wanted to see it on the big screen and it would give him the chance to read about himself since I’d immortalized him twice in two days.  I found it and watched as ‘Back to Basics’ came to life on his huge monitor.  He began reading…and contradicting.

“I’ve told you before but I suppose it bears repeating…it’s my blog and I write whatever I want to.  You want an opportunity to rebut…write your own,” I said.

When I arrived home after work, I was still trying to decide which course I would take on my bike ride.  The winds were blowing steady and gusting over 40 mph…normally a signal for all cyclists to take a day off…but it was 60 degrees in early March.  I was riding.

I headed south and east for my Pekin Road ride hoping to get in 40 miles or more before dark.  The wind was out of the south…the direction I was traveling… and progress was difficult over the first 30 minutes.  I did what all cyclists do at this point…I cursed the wind.  This has the effect of making it turn direction…following the path of your bike…and regardless of the turns you make, it will always be in – your – face.  Lovely.

I pushed hard to try and reach a turn-around point that would get the miles I wanted and have me home before dark settled in.  I made it out past Butternut on Pekin and kept going east…beyond my turn-around time.  I’ve ridden the final miles in the dark before and knew plenty of safe side streets I could ride over the final miles to avoid trouble…so what the hell.  At 21 miles, I turned…into the wind again…and headed for home.

At the 30 mile mark fatigue overtook my efforts.  The backs of my legs were aching from the effort of climbing up Berkshire Hill and the final miles home were filled with cursing and pain.  I kept reminding myself how great it should be to be out riding instead of locked to a trainer…but my brain and body were having none of it.  When I finally pulled into the driveway about a half an hour past dark, I was shot.  I ached everywhere but this was a perfect example of “good pain”.  It was nothing more than fatigue from a tough effort and would likely be unnoticeable tomorrow…at least that’s what I was hoping.

I made a dinner of green beans, mushrooms and onions and chased it with a huge fruit smoothie.  I’d burned a lot of calories and didn’t want to put them back too quickly.  A good day.

Bike Duration: Two hours and 35 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 2150.