Wouldn't It Be Cool If ...

Endurance sports can be a lonely endeavor.  There are very few people I can call and say, "Hey, I just rode Gold Hill in under 15 minutes," and have it mean something to them.

Of course the internet has made it less lonely, and I could share with internet friends, "Hey, I had a PR or KOM."  But, unless they're ridden Gold Hill, they don't really understand.

This is a view from Gold Hill

Lately I've been riding with a friend of mine who is new to the sport, but eager to get into it.  I've been showing him my favorite local routes and when he pauses to appreciate some view or vista, it makes me see it all over again.  And living where I live, one of the biggest pluses in the cycling category is the stuff you get to see!

Last night I bought a bottle of wine, to celebrate and reward myself for a monster week.  I put in over 230 miles on the old bicycle this week and am feeling very great.  As wine often does to me, I woke about 3 AM.  I wasn't sick or hung over, just not sleeping.  Ugh.  I started on of my favorite hobbies under such conditions, imagining different routes and courses.  I got to thinking, what about a Tour?

You know ... a tour, like several days, covering the challenging and scenic routes in the county.  Maybe it could be a week long, maybe spread over a few weekends.  I started thinking and planning, how would it work, wondering if it would work, wondering if I really cared that it would work, it might be awesome to do alone anyway (though company would be better).  It would be a come one-come all type of thing, amateurs would really be the focus.  I remembered reading in a magazine how people were getting very tired of spending $120 to run or ride a race ... yeah, it goes to charity, supposedly, but whatever.  The article was showing how there was a trend of small groups getting together and running their own events at the actual cost of the support for the event.  Applying that idea, here's what I came up with:

• The Santa Cruz County Cycling Tour would take place over four weekends, including seven total rides and a party.
• Minor support would be provided, but each rider is essentially responsible for themselves. 
• Riders could participate in any portion of the rides, but a point system will be assigned.

While it would be a Santa Cruz County Tour, not all rides would be 100% contained inside the county.  After all, this is the smallest county in the state!  Here's how it would work:

Weekend 1:  Date:  TBD
Ride 1:  Pena Blanca to Kino Springs to Josefina to Pena Blanca  (90 miles)

This ride obviously needs a better name!  This ride contains some incredibly scenery and challenging terrain and quite a bit of climbing.  The ride begins at Pena Blanca Lake, which includes a Cat 4 climb, that is way harder than any Cat 4 I know of!  After the Cat 4, it's a fast and smooth downhill for about 7 miles, before hitting some rolling hills and then Gold Hill, which is a Cat 4 climb as well.  This would undoubtedly be a much higher category if it weren't for an incredibly steep quarter-mile down hill right in the middle of the whole thing!

After Gold Hill, there's a fast downhill for another 5 miles or so before the winding Cat 4 climb heading past Kino Springs Golf Course to the village.  Then the ride shoots down the very fast and smooth River Road before entering the Rio Rico area where the ride hits a Cat 3 and a Cat 2 climbing on Camino Josefina.  The ride finishes by returning to the starting point at the lake.

Elevation Profile, Categorized Climbs Inaccurate Here

Weekend 1, Ride 2:  Patagonia - Elgin (50 miles)

90

Day 2's ride is shorter and easier than the first day's ride.  The ride starts in beautiful and historic Patagonia, Arizona, loops through and around Sonoita and Elgin and then back to Patagonia.  There are no categorized climbs on the day, though the scenery is stunning.  Sonoita and Elgin are rich in agriculture including livestock and vineyards.  On a lucky day one may spot prong horn!

Weekend 2, Ride 1 (3rd total):  Whipple Visitor's Center to Madera Canyon (63 miles)

The second weekend of riding will begin at the Whipple Observatory Visitor's center, as pictured above.  The ride will begin very fast as the course will drop down to the valley below some 300 feet in about 7 miles.  Then the ride will make it's way up the most significant climb of the entire tour as it winds up Madera Canyon (category 1 climb).  It's common to see wild turkey and sometimes coatamundi in the canyon.

The route will descend from the canyon and return back up to the observatory's visitor's center, which is a category 2 climb.

Weekend 2, Ride 2 (4th total):  Tumacacori to Tubac Loop (22 miles)

Time trial!  Flat, fast and beautiful!  Tumacacori and Tubac are beautiful and very interesting.  After the short ride there's plenty to see and do. 

Weekend 3, Ride 1 (5th total):  Amado to Arivaca (46 miles)

This out and back begins in Amado, goes to Arivaca and returns.  This ride weaves in and out of Santa Cruz and Pima counties.  The route is full of winding road, rolling hills, interesting properties and majestic views.  The ride is challenging but fast.  There's one significant climb, though it is uncategorized.

Weekend 3, Ride 2 (6th total): Parker Canyon Lake (60 miles)

 This is the only ride I've not personally done, on a bicycle.  I've ridden it on a motorcycle several times, as well as in cars.  It's a beautiful ride.  There's quite a bit of climbing, several categorized climbs.  The software MapMyRide uses to calculate elevation is highly inaccurate, so I'm not sure exactly the nature of the climbs, but it's a hilly ride.  Certainly not as tough as some of the other rides in the tour though.

Weekend 4, Ride 1 (7th total):  The Santa Rita Mountains Loop (115 miles)

This route loops around the Santa Rita Mountains.  It is by far the longest ride on the tour.  It's a beautiful route, lots of rolling hills and scenery, including two very prolonged downhill segments!

By the time it's all said and done, the tour will have covered about 450 miles in seven rides

My Old Friend

I put a good face on it.  I smiled and talked, and did my best to enjoy the morning.  I did have a good time. But on this morning's 5K, GEA Feeling Fit, I met my old friend, Disappointment.

I woke and my legs felt fine, my head was clear.  I decided to run, which hadn't been a sure thing.  I really wanted to break 20 minutes today.  It was my third 5K and, third time's a charm.  That's how goals should be, a bit beyond reasonable.

Here was my plan.  Mile one, 6:30.  I ran it in 6:08, tried slowing down, but it was down hill!  Had I known that the rest of the race save the last tenth were steadily uphill, I would've run the first mile faster and not pushed through those hills in the middle of the run.

Mile two I planned on running a bit faster, around 6:25.  I ran it in 7:01, yikes.  I knew, because of my garmin, that I was going too slow, but was dying to maintain that pace.  Ugh.

Something weird happened on mile two, I learned something about myself:  I want to win.

There were two people in front of me and I didn't care, I was trying to race against my plan.  Somewhere in the middle of mile two it became apparent I wasn't going to be able to execute the plan.  Around that time those two in front slowed.  I caught them.  I ran behind the lead runner for a while thinking if I should race him, follow and conserve energy, or pass and try to catch up to my planned speed.

I decided to try to stick to the plan.  I passed him and ran alone for the next three-quarters of a mile.  Of course on mile three, which I had hoped to run fastest, I was dead.  I ran it in 7:21.  That's almost my half marathon pace!  I was dogging it a bit. Don't get me wrong, I was tired and pushing hard, but my motivation was waning.  I was coughing up nasty stuff and laboring.  I was a full minute behind my goal and the guy a passed and someone else were about to pass me.

I ended up finishing 28 seconds behind the winner in 21:28.  My slowest by far.  Funny thing is, everybody said they ran surprisingly slow today.  So it probably wasn't my remaining congestion from my Christmas bug.

Anyhow, I finished 3rd over all, first in my age group.  My wife and father were there to support me, which is always awesome.  After the race we met one of my daughter's elementary school teachers, one I really like.  I won a free car wash in the raffle and a first place medallion. 

Now don't get me wrong.  I'm not distraught or upset.  I just wanted a different outcome.  Nothing I can do about it now except to accept this and learn and improve.  On a perfect day, in my current condition I don't think I could break 20 on this course (click here for the garmin report, check out the player tab especially). 

But here's what I learned.

1.  By looking at some pictures, I heel strike when tired if I'm wearing shoes.  (I usually wear toe shoes, you don't heel strike in those!)

2.  I don't think I started out too fast, but the second mile is where I lost it.  I should've listened to the my body instead of the watch, I would've had a faster time.  I think I might've won the race.

3.  I am more motivated than ever to drop my remaining weight.  The two men that beat me were my height, but weigh at least 50 pounds less than me.  In the picture below, where I'm crossing the finish line, I'm 208.4 pounds.

   

All said, even with the disappointment, I had a great time and am so loving my new life-style.  

I'm Gonna Break 20 This Time

I have a 5k on Saturday.  I'm stoked.  It's just a 5k, I know, but I'm pumped.  I've not trained for it and I won't be resting up for it either.  But, it'll be my third and I'm going to break through the 20 minute mark this time, I know it.  Well, I really believe it anyway.

Actually, I've been a little nervous about injury lately.  I've been fairly liberal with days off of running, even when they've not been planned, if things didn't feel quite right.  In addition, I've got structure, each run has a purpose.  I feel good, very sore today, but good.

Then today at work I was talking with two friends who are both runners, more so than I.  They're both injured.  One is walking, the other just took a solid month off.  I'm standing between them feeling like...I'm next.  It's as if I'm a soldier in the Revolutionary War and my compatriots on each side have just gone down.

Boom.

Down on the left.

Boom.

Down on the right. 

I'm exposed.  I'm next?

If and when injury occurs, I know it's just part of the whole experience.  A strained hamstring now might help prevent an enlarged heart at 55.  I think I've learned to listen to my body and see signs of over-use before they become injuries, at least some of the signs.  But I'll continue my planned rest, ice, compress, stretch, use the foam roller and keep the structure and focus.  Throw in smart decisions while running and that's all I can do, right?  That sounds like patience to me.  I suck at patience.  It's something I have to work on daily.

Patience...on Saturday trying to break 20.  I'm going to be patient the first two miles this time and then slam through the third.  First two miles I'm going to try and be 6:40, then let it loose a bit on mile 3 and 0.1. 

But what I really want to share is just some of the experience of being a runner while not running.

Chaotic Schedule and running

I haven't posted for a few days, but not because nothing has been happening. This past weekend was the county fair and my kids were showing some animals in the fair. We were there from Thursday afternoon until Sunday evening. They spent the night out there with some friends one night, but otherwise we'd take them home at 7 and have them out there at 7. Not too bad until you realize it's an hour's drive each way!

Anyhow, I ran Wednesday but not Thursday. When I got home on Friday night I went for a two mile run on a new route. I was proud of myself for running even though I was truly beat!

Since then I hadn't run until this morning, Wednesday. I was gone all day Saturday, returning home at 1:30 on Sunday morning (I went to the UA game against then 9th ranked Iowa). Monday morning I planned to take off, knowing I'd be drained. Tuesday morning, when I rolled out of bed my back cramped up.

So today was only my second run since last Wednesday! I feel kind of like a slug! However, I put in a hard run and think my legs benefited from the long rest (well, lack of running). I also bought a heavy punching bag, gloves and jump rope. That stuff provides world class exercise, second to none!

I'm still at it, still working on zeroing in on a sustainable diet and the marathon goal is here to stay.

This morning was a fight.

I didn't run yesterday even though I was scheduled to run. My knee was swollen and my hip was sore. So I took the day off. Mondays (yesterday) and Wednesdays I work from about 6:30 am until 8 pm with a dinner break in the middle. So naturally I'm tired on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

This morning I didn't want to get out of bed. I did. I didn't want to warm up. I did. I didn't want to run, but I did. The run was a battle. I kept having to motivate myself to move forward, keep picking up my feet.

After about a half mile or so I forgot I was running and started thinking about stuff. So, I wasn't running hard, but I was running and that's OK. The run took me significantly longer than usual, but I finished it strong and ran really hard the last quarter mile.

Anyhow, here's to fighting!