Michael: The Maple Syrup Experiment

The sliver of a
Waterfall gleans like silver
Strands of precious light.

Friday, January 25, 2019

Because Tailwind worked so well for both nutrition and hydration at the San Diego 50 I didn’t experiment with maple syrup under race conditions. I plan to change that at the Sycamore 100k.

Why?

For one, I just believe it’s a sound policy to mix it up. You just never know what, where or when you’re stomach might decide to become a bit queasy with your go to product, so it’s always comforting to have a few alternatives ready.

Also, I’m still a bit dubious about relying on all in one products like Tailwind. I wrote them and asked what they recommend to do in warm weather races where you might want to take in more fluids and electrolytes than sugar, and they responded by suggesting to just drink a bit more Tailwind. In other words; keep your fingers crossed that you can process the extra sugar you’re not use to taking if you drink more than 24 oz. of fluids in an hour.

So I’m going to give the maple syrup a go. What I like about it is it’s easy to find (Trader Joe’s), it’s all natural, it’s economical (relative to most gels), and it comes in reasonably environmentally friendly packaging (I can by a large bottle and use a refillable flask.).

Under race conditions, I’m going to be a little naughty and use maple syrup from REI that comes packaged as a gel as opposed to using a flask.

I figure I can start the race using Tailwind and maple syrup, then at some point I’ll switch over to Skratch Lab electrolytes and chews, Gu gels and waffles and some type of bar.

I haven’t used a bar in quite a while, but I never liked Power bars and got sick of Cliff bars. But at least in the good old days there weren’t that many choices so experimenting and researching wasn’t all that difficult. Outside of limiting myself to what REI has on-line and going with a salty/dark chocolate taste, I’m not sure how I’m going to refine my selection with so many products from which to choose now.

Michael: The Third Shoe

The world is spinning
And if I don’t close my eyes
I’m going to fall.

Thursday, January 24, 2019

My feet and legs recovered surprisingly well from the San Diego 50. So much so that you’d think I’d be content to stick to whatever plan I was using and just tweak it a bit for next month’s 60 miler. Yes and no on that.

I am planning on using the same shoes for about the same distance next month. I used Hoka Torrents, my favorite trail shoes to date, for 30 miles and New Balance Summits for 20 miles. But next month’s race is going to be about a third longer as far as time goes as I expect it to take about 12 hours as opposed to the 8:17 San Diego took. I’ll also have the opportunity to change gear every 12 miles as opposed to just once at San Diego. For those reasons I’m going to throw a third pair of shoes into the rotation.

But what shoes?

Damn, there are a lot of shoes out there.

Initially, I was drawn to the super light shoes like the new Arcteryx Norvan SLs because I picture myself as a fast gazelle like runner and they just look so cool. However they’re damned expensive, and in a 60 miler that’s going to average around 5 mph, that’s not exactly at gazelle tempo, so maybe something with a bit more cushioning would be a better option.

But still, damn, there are a lot of max cushion shoes out there. After all the research, I have settled on the Brooks Caldera 2s if they’re still available from REI in the color scheme I want when I get paid next month. At the $100 price point in the color I find acceptable (topo map green), they appear to be a bargain. If my size 10 is gone, I’ll go with the new Topo Ultraventures in the grey and orange for $130. Not a price I want to pay, but I just can’t bring myself to wearing the Brooks in that ugly blue/green stripe style that’s on sale everywhere.

I know, for such a significant event as a 100k, style and color should be secondary to function, and to some extent it is. The two shoes get very comparable reviews and I haven’t worn either brand in quite a while, so I can’t use recent experience as a tie breaker. So as silly as it is, I’m going to let my preferences for color and style decide if it comes to that.

Michael: Back to the Future

She’s called a pit bull
yet she’s nothing but warm fur,
Love and loyalty.

January, 22, 2019

Regardless of how well or poorly I do, I always seem to fall into a bit of the blahs after a race. This last race, the San Diego 50 miler, was certainly no different.

As always, there’s the reflection of hits, misses and revelations.

The hits; It’s over. Runs over 6 hours for me require forced smiles to get me through. I can actually almost always greet runs up to 6 hours with both a sense of pleasure and accomplishment. After that, I’ve got to lean hard on the accomplishment side of the ledger to keep myself going. That’s even though I wasn’t in nearly as much pain at the end of this 50 as I’ve been at the end of some 50ks.

The misses; I missed my goal of 8 hours. Yes, the mud and getting over a cold were contributing factors, but it still gets me down a bit that I missed what will probably be my best opportunity to achieve that particular goal.

The revelations; I have at least, I hope, at least one 6 hour plus race in me. That’s the upcoming Sycamore 100k. Shortly after the San Diego event I was leaning toward dropping out of that event, but after a few days without any lingering aches or pains, I’d like to stick to the plan of competing in a 60 miler at the age of 60. After that, all bets are off.

In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s it for me for races over 50k. I just enjoy and feel best suited for events of that length or shorter. If I’m going to stay out on my feet for over 6 hours it’ll more than likely be for a fast pack adventure where I can jog or walk where I see fit and don’t have to deal with the stresses of a race.

From a pure health perspective ultra ultra’s just don’t fit in and I can’t dig deep enough from an ego gratification standpoint to get myself enthused about grinding out a hundred miler. In some ways I wish I could. But the thought of that distance under race conditions has even less appeal to me than a road marathon, though I can see getting up for one of those one of these days.

I’m sure there are many other interesting aspects to running a 100 miler that might justify the jeopardy to one’s physical health, but I can’t see how those revelations can’t be gleaned from a more enjoyable and healthier fast pack trip.

I may never know where my limits were, but I’m pretty happy with knowing where I want them to be. I’ll give this upcoming 100k my best shot, then back to 50ks and under for me.

Michael: Top of the Line

The tick was attached
To her more firmly than I
And for far longer.

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

My mom didn’t buy a top of the line product until last year at 84 years of age. She indulged in a Dyson vacuum cleaner. I promised myself that if Competitive Cyclist didn’t offer me an upgrade after their sending me used shoes for Christmas, I’d Indulge in a pair of $400 Suplest Edge 3s. They didn’t and yet I still couldn’t pull the trigger. I won’t blame my mother, damned I’m 60 years old. But I find it both irritating and relieving that I settled for slightly less (maybe).

After sending back the Garneau Air Lytes to C.C. I was torn between the Suplest in yellow and the 2019 Shimano S-Phyres in green. Both get great reviews and both are eye catching shoes. But RA Cyclists had a pair of 2018 Shimano S-Phyres in bright yellow for a $100 less. How could I justify spending an extra $100 on something I shouldn’t be looking at while I’m riding? So I opted for the 2018s.

Now, if the unimaginable happens and RA screws up the order, then what choice do I have? Suplest Edge 3s, from yet another vendor, here we come.

I realize spending $300 on a pair of road shoes as compared to $400 doesn’t put me in the Mother Teresa category, but from what I understand she wasn’t much of a cyclist and would’ve had a hard time grasping just how much panache has to do with cycling enjoyment.

Michael: The Nuts and Bolts

The stars are hidden
Yet their tears fall through a veil
Of unending clouds.

Tuesday, January 15, 2018

When my plan worked flawlessly but failed anyway, maybe it’s time to re-evaluate the plausibility of the goals I set for myself.

Fortunately, that wasn’t completely the case at the San Diego 50, so I don’t feel it’s necessary to do a complete overhaul of my lofty goals going into next month’s Sycamore 100k. In fact, even though I fell short, I’m very optimistic of reaching my slightly modified goals for next month’s race. Even better, because my plans worked so well, I don’t feel I’m going to have to put nearly as much time, effort and stress into planning for this race.

I couldn’t have been happier, with one minor exception, about my equipment, hydration, and nutrition choices. Little of that is going to change for the additional 10 miles of next month’s race. The minor exception is my choice of rain gear. The Adidas water/wind repellent jacket I picked up on sale wasn’t as water resistant as needed. I need a waterproof shell. That’s not Adidas’s fault. It’s a great shell and I plan on getting a lot of use out of it. I just need to make sure I have a waterproof shell in the arsenal as well.

I’m hoping that the weather will be better next month. I also don’t expect that I’ll have just finished fighting off a nasty lingering cold.

But even if those obstacles aren’t in the way, it’s a longer, hillier run and will require some pacing adjustments. I’d still like to believe this past weekend’s performance indicates I can attain my goal of finishing in the light and under 12 hours, but I’ll need to be prepared psychologically, physically, and equipment wise to handle the possibility of working through some dark - literally and figuratively - moments.

Fortunately, if I’m still on my feet after 5p.m. I’ll have an experienced friend there with me to help out. A pacer is something I’ve never been in the situation to utilize before. I sure hope he knows what he’s doing because after 11 hours on my feet, I doubt I will.

Michael: It Begins and Ends at the Car

Shoes slide in the mud
So we all come to a stop
And stood like cattle.

Monday, January 14, 2019

50 mile trail races have various facets that make them indelible experiences. Saturday’s San Diego 50, being my first 50 in over 5 years, had numerous highs and lows I’ll at least hang on to until I attempt a 100k next month.

The irony of spending over 8 hours on my feet was that two of the most memorable experiences of the day involved my rental car.

To begin with it was a cold, wet and rainy morning, so I decided not to leave the comfort of the car until the last possible moment. I had already tested a key hiding place the night before; I could slide the plastic rental I.D. tag attached to the keys under some plastic in the rear passenger wheel well. In practice that worked great, but in the nervousness of the cold dark race morning the keys fell. Not a problem if they would’ve dropped to the ground, but they didn’t. They fell somewhere near the shocks. I should’ve just left them and worried about it after the race, but that’s not the way I’m built.

 I did fish them out and just stick them on the ground under the rear passenger tire and made a mental note of where they were and what I was driving; a silver Elentra with a license plate that began with an 8.

 But that caused me to make it to the race start just in time to catch the back of the pack as they slowly slogged under the starting banner. This caused me to get off to a very slow start as I didn’t want to waste energy fighting through the crowd. In a way I felt it may have been a blessing as it took me at least a good mile to get clear enough of the back of the packers to begin a decent trot. Just breathe, relax, smile about it and enjoy a slow and long warm up.

At the end of the day when I was able to retrieve my drop bag and leave, I went to the silver Elentra and reached for the keys. But they weren’t there. What the hell? Why would any take the keys and not the car? The dude next to me thought maybe someone had spotted them and turned them into the race director. I thought maybe they just took my phone, so I looked inside and saw two coffee mugs. Confused I took a few steps back and looked around a bit. This car was a dark silver Elentra with a license plate that began with an 8. Two cars down was a light silver Elantra with a plate that began with an 8. Mystery solved and mind relieved. I was on my way to my sister’s for a very luxurious, long and well deserved hot shower.

Michael: An Overzealous Taper

Ridiculous style;
A ridiculous color;
But that’s what matters.

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Outside of my hikes at work, I’ve barely moved a muscle these past two weeks. Was this an ingenious plan for the perfect taper? No. It was the combination of going back to work, catching a cold, and pushing it just one workout more than I should’ve.

As usual, it seems right when I first begin catching a cold, I believe I’m too strong to be taken down then do a hard enough workout to prove, once again, I’m not even close to the man of steel I thought I was.

Fortunately, I seem to be over it with a few days to spare before a 50 miler on Saturday. Now whether I should’ve tested the effects of this extra long taper pre-race with a decently hard bike ride may be questionable. Physically, it may have been better not to risk it. But psychologically, I feel it was very beneficial. I need the confidence I haven’t lost any conditioning and still have the ganas to work through some moments of frustrations.

I will say though, even if this taper works, I don’t plan on implementing it again. I just hope I have the brains to overcome my ego and rest.

Michael: Resolutions

The dog sleeps soundly
While the crazy human world
Spins out of control.

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Without all the humbug that rightly accompanies resolutions; lets just get to them.

1. I resolve to volunteer for at least two races this year.

2. I’m not even going to pretend to limit shoe purchases but instead resolve to keep track of my spending and donate an equal sum to whatever I spend on equipment for myself to charity. That’s probably going to start off with a decent size sum in the kitty as my Christmas shoe purchase had to be returned, and now I’m thinking “what the hell” I’m never going to spend money on a top dollar marquee bike, but maybe I’ll go in on some very stylish shoes. At least cycling shoes can, and should, last longer than a few years.

3. I resolve to be as excited about going outside and moving around in the heat or cold as our dog is every morning.

This last one will definitely be the hardest to keep.