Rather than jump into the latest controversy about Lance, I want to focus on some things that he definitely did better than anyone else which helped him to win 7 straight Tours.
Heard recently from an unverified source that Lance Armstrong had only 1 flat tire during his 7 years of winning the Tour. If so, think about what that means: over 15K miles of racing over sometimes brutal roads and weather conditions with just one flat. Was it luck? Or did Lance have something that us age groupers can learn from?
In short, what did Lance do to reduce his chances of a flat?
1. He paid attention to detail. Most triathletes are Type-A personalities; we are EXCELLENT at the big stuff… doing the workouts: putting time in on the bike, running and swimming. But, how many of us took note of what we ate before that ride on Monday, that later caused GI distress? How many of us really perform the dynamic warm-up that coach suggests you do before running, or a proper cool-down? Do you wipe down you bike after your rides? Do you check the brakes and wheels to make sure they are functioning properly before every ride? The list is can go on forever; but it is continuous attention to the small details the separates the top-performing athletes.
2. He kept good people around him. We all need a good support system to be successful. Local bike shop; Coach; Physical Therapist; Massage Therapist; Friends; Teammates; Nutritionist. We may not need all of these persons or maybe need more than are listed. The support system takes time to grow and nurture. It may change over time, but the important thing is make sure you have that core group of people that you can call for guidance. (On a personal note, I am going through this all over since I moved; fortunately, I have many friends that remained constant and a blessing.)
3. He did have a little luck. Sometimes Lady Luck is on your side, but remember Stage 3 of the Tour in 2010? We all have to face bad luck eventually.
So, how can this lesson help a time-crunched age grouper? Most of us do not have the time or the finances to focus on every detail of our training and equipment, nor should we obsess over every bite of food. But I learned the hard way in my first couple of years in this sport; specifically, not maintaining the bike as I should. After much pain and expense as a result of sweat-corroded bolts, cables and housings, I now take care of the bike every time I ride, before and after. When I arrive at a race site, I am confident that my equipment is also ready to race, even if my personality still requires me to check my tires 10 times. And yes, I have finally welcomed the warm-up and cool-down into my workout regimen.
And don’t forget, your strongest support is built on the relationships that are formed when you are out on a 100 mile bike ride. These are the friends who are truly going to make your race day a success.
As you head into your 2011 season; what and whom do you need to invest in to help guarantee success?
Friday, January 21, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
No More Running Naked
Now that I have your attention... time to start running with my Garmin again. Since Ironman Florida I have run with NO electronics to give my mind a break, look at the homes, enjoy the landscapes and Christmas decorations, plus have entire conversations. I believe that it is good to spend time training for the love, the lifestyle; the enjoyment and happiness of sport. But the simplicity must come to an end (does not mean I loose the love; just different)... I made a decision to run a marathon this spring; so it is time to start training instead of just working out. I am excited and ready to push my training in 2011!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Year's Eve Mountain Biking
2010 last day was fabulous day of mountain biking and running; sadly is probably the last before Kris goes into a cast. It was the first time MTB that I was controlling the bike instead of it controlling me. I steered the bike were I wanted it to go; held speed through the corners and reduced breaking on the downhills. The ride was a breakthrough; I held faster speeds on the downhills so it was not as frustrating with other riders who I catch uphill to be passed on downhills. For the entire ride, my foot was down no more than 5 times and most of those came in the last mile where I do not like bridges and will not do the river crossing.
For New Year's Kris and I visited with some friends for a completely relaxing night to end 2010 and look ahead to 2011 including a wedding in April!
Happy New Year! ~~ "Do what you love, love what you do, and deliver more than you promise." - Harvey Mackay
For New Year's Kris and I visited with some friends for a completely relaxing night to end 2010 and look ahead to 2011 including a wedding in April!
Happy New Year! ~~ "Do what you love, love what you do, and deliver more than you promise." - Harvey Mackay
Monday, November 22, 2010
Off-season Weekend!
Swimming, Mountain Biking, Food, Surprise Birthday, Adult Beverages, Trail Running, More Food
Kris and I love to be outside; so as we move from the triathlon season into “rebuilding” not much has changed other than the surface. We are remaining active by hitting the trails and playing in the dirt. Kris spends so a lot of time with me on the roads; it is his turn to do what he enjoys. Saturday was blast with Allen and Sarah; her first time on a MTB in many years. It was great fun and confirmed I am not a beginner anymore; I moved up a very small step. YIPPEE! Sarah did great of course; being the amazing cyclist that she is on the road the trails were no problem. We even let the boys go play in the more advanced area while we just hung out in the woods. Only crash was me, big surprise, we hit a large rocky stream crossing; and person in front hit their brakes; I hit my brakes but of course I go down HARD. My knee pads, elbow pads and helmet are worth every penny. That was the only fall of the weekend! The only lingering effects is some whiplash from my head hitting the rock. OUCH! Sunday was up ready for more; this time to Chicopee! Some awesome trails; except 2 straight days on a hard tail makes for a sore back. The last couple miles, I was having discussion with every root jostling me all over the place. At the end, a blast was had and ready for the next ride. For everyone out there who had a long season; stay active but keep it fun!
A picture of me getting all my gear on with a comment from a guy, “Hey your the girl with the pink pads at Yargo yesterday!” Yes that is me, and I will wear as much protection as possible to keep me safe. I am way to klutzy not to have protection.
Kris and I love to be outside; so as we move from the triathlon season into “rebuilding” not much has changed other than the surface. We are remaining active by hitting the trails and playing in the dirt. Kris spends so a lot of time with me on the roads; it is his turn to do what he enjoys. Saturday was blast with Allen and Sarah; her first time on a MTB in many years. It was great fun and confirmed I am not a beginner anymore; I moved up a very small step. YIPPEE! Sarah did great of course; being the amazing cyclist that she is on the road the trails were no problem. We even let the boys go play in the more advanced area while we just hung out in the woods. Only crash was me, big surprise, we hit a large rocky stream crossing; and person in front hit their brakes; I hit my brakes but of course I go down HARD. My knee pads, elbow pads and helmet are worth every penny. That was the only fall of the weekend! The only lingering effects is some whiplash from my head hitting the rock. OUCH! Sunday was up ready for more; this time to Chicopee! Some awesome trails; except 2 straight days on a hard tail makes for a sore back. The last couple miles, I was having discussion with every root jostling me all over the place. At the end, a blast was had and ready for the next ride. For everyone out there who had a long season; stay active but keep it fun!
A picture of me getting all my gear on with a comment from a guy, “Hey your the girl with the pink pads at Yargo yesterday!” Yes that is me, and I will wear as much protection as possible to keep me safe. I am way to klutzy not to have protection.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Miss you....
I am back; as most engineers I have a problem with writing and posting something unless it is perfect. Trying to let that go; I will blog again. I have met so many people the past year and move this is a great way to keep friends and family up on my new adventure in Atlanta, GA with Kris.
The Florida race report is coming... but I have to say thanks again to Erin Baker's for all the awesome support this crazy season; Kestrel, awesome bike that feels as an extension of my body; Todd for getting me setup on it; Speedfil, safest way for me to get fluids; Blueseventy, a wetsuit that allows me to swim as a swimmer; Nuun, I live on these in the summer; Sugoi, love the tri outfit. Last my coach deserves a huge shutout for putting up with the obstacles I encounter and helping me find a detour to get to a destination. It was a great year and being on a team is a wonderful experience to meet new people and cheer for throughout the year!
The Florida race report is coming... but I have to say thanks again to Erin Baker's for all the awesome support this crazy season; Kestrel, awesome bike that feels as an extension of my body; Todd for getting me setup on it; Speedfil, safest way for me to get fluids; Blueseventy, a wetsuit that allows me to swim as a swimmer; Nuun, I live on these in the summer; Sugoi, love the tri outfit. Last my coach deserves a huge shutout for putting up with the obstacles I encounter and helping me find a detour to get to a destination. It was a great year and being on a team is a wonderful experience to meet new people and cheer for throughout the year!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
3 Gap in Dahlonega, Georgia
For my last long weekend before taper, I was privileged enough to ride in North Georgia gaps. I love riding the gaps, this is where I learned to ride longer hills; training for Lake Placid. Not only did I learn how to go up the hill but also down the hills; which now I am able to decend the hills hitting 50+ mph. I love this 2 gap loop, we start at about mile 5 and start to climb. It is a great route and we did the loop twice on Saturday. After a short swim, heading up to Dahlonega, GA it was apparent we had a perfect day for the ride; the trees, flowers had signs of spring everywhere and many allergins but that is another issue. I was just enjoying the drive; as we got closer I started to get butterflies in my stomach for the excitemetn of this type of ride. I know how hard of a ride it is and my hill climbing is not where I was last year.
We get there and the weather was cool but warm to be comfortable with arm warmers for the fast decents but pulled down for the climbs... perfect. We start out, uphill the long... Within 3 miles, a group of 4 guys pass me; I hate that and want to stay with them but Kris drops a bottle so we get the bottle and lose the boys. Hinesight, that was probably the right thing to do, i was not even warmed up. So we climb
Neals as a warm-up, then the fast desent. My legs had started to wake-up, left turn time for hog pen. My last memory of wolf pen had a few choice words flowing from me for a few miles. (It was the 7th of 8 gaps of a 105 mile ride that day, legs hated me.) I hoped we could mend the friendship; and we did. I started the climb and Kris told me to stay out of my granie gear and suck it up. Arrgghh... This is the first lap; I need to do it twice, his did not listen to me and encouraged me to push up the hill. So i did, it was not that bad. The top came much quicker and did not seem as steep. I think excellent, but lets see the 2nd time. After wolf pen, are a bunch of rollers which i love ;but they could really cook you if you are not careful. Felt great through the rollers and up Woody's... now for the fun decent... can i see 50? no not quite but still I think i used the breaks only a handful of times. Improvement... Ah down the hill and over to Turner's corner, more rollers nothing terrible but do take something out of you.
Back at car...I think we did that lap 10 minutes faster than any time last year.
Great, more water and go for round 2. The long ~8 mile climb up Neal's goes well, starting to feel fatigue and practicing standing and sitting on the climb. Legs are talking back; i am not listening. Just keep on peddling. Wolf pen, can i do it without having a fight with the hill. We start up the hill, humm do i feel a few rain drops. It looks like rain... there is a chance. Just keep going, no rain but we round a corner and head wind. So not only do i have a tough climb but a strong head wind. Oh well, it will make me stronger, legs disagree but i tell them to go. so i sprint for the sign with what i have left. One more gap. The rollers where brutel but the amazing thing is my legs recovered and i was having fun on them and the last gap was done before i knew it and we were desending. I did great this time; the only scary part was I was down the hill looked back no Kris. Crap what happen, so I wait a few minutes then turn to start climbing to find out if something happen. Then I see him flying down the hill; he lost a bottle and went back for it. Scared me, but all is well. The last rollers were fun but my legs were not excited about the 6 mile run.
The run... not many places to run so I run out and back where we bike, not easy run at all. The first mile, Kris is saying he is counting every 10th mile... The leg come around, hip is loosening up but where do we turnaround our watches are off by .4 mile. hum not sure how that happens so we split the difference for the turnaround. On the last 3 miles, I hear Kris breathing hard means I am making him work a little... my legs running legs felt great and after that tough ride. Yippee!
The final for the day we sprint for the county sign... Darn you Kris and your fast twitch muscles.
There are a few smart things that we did the night before knowing we would be tired, made a small picknic for right after the training since we have a long drive home and we had dinner that needed just heat up for a fast easy meal before crashing.
MapMyRide.com | View 3 Gap in Dahlonega, Georgia
Posted using ShareThis
We get there and the weather was cool but warm to be comfortable with arm warmers for the fast decents but pulled down for the climbs... perfect. We start out, uphill the long... Within 3 miles, a group of 4 guys pass me; I hate that and want to stay with them but Kris drops a bottle so we get the bottle and lose the boys. Hinesight, that was probably the right thing to do, i was not even warmed up. So we climb
Neals as a warm-up, then the fast desent. My legs had started to wake-up, left turn time for hog pen. My last memory of wolf pen had a few choice words flowing from me for a few miles. (It was the 7th of 8 gaps of a 105 mile ride that day, legs hated me.) I hoped we could mend the friendship; and we did. I started the climb and Kris told me to stay out of my granie gear and suck it up. Arrgghh... This is the first lap; I need to do it twice, his did not listen to me and encouraged me to push up the hill. So i did, it was not that bad. The top came much quicker and did not seem as steep. I think excellent, but lets see the 2nd time. After wolf pen, are a bunch of rollers which i love ;but they could really cook you if you are not careful. Felt great through the rollers and up Woody's... now for the fun decent... can i see 50? no not quite but still I think i used the breaks only a handful of times. Improvement... Ah down the hill and over to Turner's corner, more rollers nothing terrible but do take something out of you.
Back at car...I think we did that lap 10 minutes faster than any time last year.
Great, more water and go for round 2. The long ~8 mile climb up Neal's goes well, starting to feel fatigue and practicing standing and sitting on the climb. Legs are talking back; i am not listening. Just keep on peddling. Wolf pen, can i do it without having a fight with the hill. We start up the hill, humm do i feel a few rain drops. It looks like rain... there is a chance. Just keep going, no rain but we round a corner and head wind. So not only do i have a tough climb but a strong head wind. Oh well, it will make me stronger, legs disagree but i tell them to go. so i sprint for the sign with what i have left. One more gap. The rollers where brutel but the amazing thing is my legs recovered and i was having fun on them and the last gap was done before i knew it and we were desending. I did great this time; the only scary part was I was down the hill looked back no Kris. Crap what happen, so I wait a few minutes then turn to start climbing to find out if something happen. Then I see him flying down the hill; he lost a bottle and went back for it. Scared me, but all is well. The last rollers were fun but my legs were not excited about the 6 mile run.
The final for the day we sprint for the county sign... Darn you Kris and your fast twitch muscles.
There are a few smart things that we did the night before knowing we would be tired, made a small picknic for right after the training since we have a long drive home and we had dinner that needed just heat up for a fast easy meal before crashing.
MapMyRide.com | View 3 Gap in Dahlonega, Georgia
Posted using ShareThis
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Powerman Alabama Race Weekend
The weekend was great to race again. It was a great combination for Kris and I; since he is happier on a mountain bike and trails and I am dangerous on the trails when I try to go fast. I had my road race and he had his Xterra. Yippee!
Saturday morning, we woke up about 6:30 AM and at a relaxing pace readied ourselves for the day at the park. (Kris's race was not until 1:00 PM) We had breakfast, of course, I had all my food prepared for the weekend that I brought from home. Yes, I prepared 2 - dinners, 2 - breakfast, lunch and snacks for the weekend to assure that I do not ingest MSG, BHT or gluten before a race. We leave for the park planning that we will be away the entire day at the park.
We get to the part and prepare the mountain bikes for Kris to do his preride on the trail. The only other time he has ridden the course was 2 years ago and it was the other direction. So we road about an hour on the course, so he knew the first part of the trail. I wanted to do the race; I was so close to signing up to do the race but decided it was best for me to just volunteer like i had planned. We finished up that ride and I did my ride on Connie for one lap of the bike course and some running. Then off to my volunteer spot on the MTB course keeping a crossing safe. Standing for 3.5 hours; hum maybe not the best thing to do prerace but it is import to give back to the sport. It was great because I was able to see Kris on the course; he was 3rd overall at this point and held that position for the remaining of the race. Congrats Kris.
He was pretty tired after the race so I helped with getting his stuff together and getting the bikes on the car. We were both pretty tired; he obviously more but I was feeling pretty tired. I made dinner that night with the food I had brought and we were in bed by 9:30. Just as I am failing asleep my phone rings; work is having issues. AUGH, why does this always happen. So I am able to provide guidance and ask if there is no progress to call be back in an hour. Anyway, I was called multiple times during the night so a good night rest was not possible.
Race morning, 5:30 AM alarm, eat, dress, load gear get to park at 7:00, when transition opens. It is raining and winding and cold. I go to get my transition setup and complete. At 8:00, I begin my warm-up 50 minutes before the race start. I get back to transition/start line from my warm-up at about 8:40 and I am told the race started. What?!?! So no prerace gel, just remove warm-up and go. So I ran my first 10K pissed. I am certain that I ran a PR 10K on that course, caught and passed many people; into T1... time to laugh... I started my transition with my bike shoes but for some reason; I realized I always do my helmet first. so i removed my shoes and started again. I do not know why, just did it. But on to my bike, hilly course, and windy but everyone has the same conditions so go. I knew I was catching the front girls because it was 3 laps with out and backs. On the 3rd lap, i just caught the 1st place girl and I dropped my chain. D*$#, that was about mile 28 of the 36 miles. Well this put me in a funk, and struggled the rest of the race getting back into the race. About mile 32, it started to rain hard felt like hail... I was already cold and that just added to the chill... off the bike. OUCH my knee, Okay do i call it a day or continue but stay controlled because of the knee. Okay, i know i am in 2nd i will continue and stay controlled. It is puring down rain, out of T2 and up a hill, as I am going down a hill after about 1 mile, my shoe is really loose and ready to come off. I stop and look down my yanks broke. So, calm relax and figure out how to resolve it. Good thing I am an engineer. Do i just go back to and stop??? No continue, you are still in 2nd place. So after that hurdle I run very controlled. not to hard because the knee is sore and I do not want any more damage to an existing injury. About 2 miles the rain slows and eventually stops...great! I am starting to warmup. About mile 4, i feel like i can run. so I run harder the last 2 miles. I want this race to be over, my legs are tired and my breathing is more labored than normal (allergies) and I feel frustrated. I finish and never caught the 1st girl again; then I find out I was out of first by 23 seconds... I did not stop but I know the few mishaps, impacted my attitude during the race.
What did I learn...
1. I can drop a chain and not have a crash! Progress
2. Never give up, no mater what happens you do not know what is going on in front or behind you.
3. Must work on the transitions.
4. Need more outside training, trainer is great but nothing can substitute riding outside.
5. I love to racing and always learn something from every race.
6. Need my speedfill, I am not good at getting my water bottles from my cages.
7. Can run fast on the first segment and still ride strong felt better the long i was out there on the bike. (I was riding strong but lost about 2.5 minutes on the chain.)
8. I have a great friends out there cheering for me. I could not do this without Kris and Kathleen!
Thanks to Team Magic for a great race, but need to get the communication out better to the competitors if you are going to start early. I am the type that plans everything; my plan was based on an 8:50 start not 8:40 start.
Time for 2010 season!
Saturday morning, we woke up about 6:30 AM and at a relaxing pace readied ourselves for the day at the park. (Kris's race was not until 1:00 PM) We had breakfast, of course, I had all my food prepared for the weekend that I brought from home. Yes, I prepared 2 - dinners, 2 - breakfast, lunch and snacks for the weekend to assure that I do not ingest MSG, BHT or gluten before a race. We leave for the park planning that we will be away the entire day at the park.
We get to the part and prepare the mountain bikes for Kris to do his preride on the trail. The only other time he has ridden the course was 2 years ago and it was the other direction. So we road about an hour on the course, so he knew the first part of the trail. I wanted to do the race; I was so close to signing up to do the race but decided it was best for me to just volunteer like i had planned. We finished up that ride and I did my ride on Connie for one lap of the bike course and some running. Then off to my volunteer spot on the MTB course keeping a crossing safe. Standing for 3.5 hours; hum maybe not the best thing to do prerace but it is import to give back to the sport. It was great because I was able to see Kris on the course; he was 3rd overall at this point and held that position for the remaining of the race. Congrats Kris.
He was pretty tired after the race so I helped with getting his stuff together and getting the bikes on the car. We were both pretty tired; he obviously more but I was feeling pretty tired. I made dinner that night with the food I had brought and we were in bed by 9:30. Just as I am failing asleep my phone rings; work is having issues. AUGH, why does this always happen. So I am able to provide guidance and ask if there is no progress to call be back in an hour. Anyway, I was called multiple times during the night so a good night rest was not possible.
Race morning, 5:30 AM alarm, eat, dress, load gear get to park at 7:00, when transition opens. It is raining and winding and cold. I go to get my transition setup and complete. At 8:00, I begin my warm-up 50 minutes before the race start. I get back to transition/start line from my warm-up at about 8:40 and I am told the race started. What?!?! So no prerace gel, just remove warm-up and go. So I ran my first 10K pissed. I am certain that I ran a PR 10K on that course, caught and passed many people; into T1... time to laugh... I started my transition with my bike shoes but for some reason; I realized I always do my helmet first. so i removed my shoes and started again. I do not know why, just did it. But on to my bike, hilly course, and windy but everyone has the same conditions so go. I knew I was catching the front girls because it was 3 laps with out and backs. On the 3rd lap, i just caught the 1st place girl and I dropped my chain. D*$#, that was about mile 28 of the 36 miles. Well this put me in a funk, and struggled the rest of the race getting back into the race. About mile 32, it started to rain hard felt like hail... I was already cold and that just added to the chill... off the bike. OUCH my knee, Okay do i call it a day or continue but stay controlled because of the knee. Okay, i know i am in 2nd i will continue and stay controlled. It is puring down rain, out of T2 and up a hill, as I am going down a hill after about 1 mile, my shoe is really loose and ready to come off. I stop and look down my yanks broke. So, calm relax and figure out how to resolve it. Good thing I am an engineer. Do i just go back to and stop??? No continue, you are still in 2nd place. So after that hurdle I run very controlled. not to hard because the knee is sore and I do not want any more damage to an existing injury. About 2 miles the rain slows and eventually stops...great! I am starting to warmup. About mile 4, i feel like i can run. so I run harder the last 2 miles. I want this race to be over, my legs are tired and my breathing is more labored than normal (allergies) and I feel frustrated. I finish and never caught the 1st girl again; then I find out I was out of first by 23 seconds... I did not stop but I know the few mishaps, impacted my attitude during the race.
What did I learn...
1. I can drop a chain and not have a crash! Progress
2. Never give up, no mater what happens you do not know what is going on in front or behind you.
3. Must work on the transitions.
4. Need more outside training, trainer is great but nothing can substitute riding outside.
5. I love to racing and always learn something from every race.
6. Need my speedfill, I am not good at getting my water bottles from my cages.
7. Can run fast on the first segment and still ride strong felt better the long i was out there on the bike. (I was riding strong but lost about 2.5 minutes on the chain.)
8. I have a great friends out there cheering for me. I could not do this without Kris and Kathleen!
Thanks to Team Magic for a great race, but need to get the communication out better to the competitors if you are going to start early. I am the type that plans everything; my plan was based on an 8:50 start not 8:40 start.
Time for 2010 season!
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