Catching My Breath

Wow!  This past month has been a whirlwind of activity.  Here is a synopsis of my acitivity.

I am almost 6 weeks post Morton's Neuroma surgery on my left foot.  Walking barefoot is almost completely bearable; every now and then I get a little electrical jolt if I slam it down too hard.  I think it will still be a while before I am back to running and doing jumping jacks on the hard wood floors.  But ... I can ride the trails again!

No nerve pain, but soft tissues still healing.

A couple weeks ago I participated in Mulberry Gap's Turkey Shuffle.  After 4 hours of riding trail and gravel, my feet were happy and I even won a raffle!  I got a cool little item from Topeak!

Only 48 grams and small enough to stuff in a hydration pack.

Last month my Avalanche got really really sick  (the transmission died).  After a heart-breaking mind- wrenching session with Charlie (and an all-day head-to-head battle with the dealership), we traded her in for this:

Lil' A

No, we are not rich, just back in the land of monthly payments and working an extra shift or two per month.  But with a 5-Star crash rating and close to twice the fuel economy, it is worth it.

Finally, I am not just gluten intolerant, I have celiac disease.  It has taken me almost 2 1/2 years to determine the cause of my ill health and confirm it.   It sucks!  But at least I know now.  And I can take the necessary steps to avoid getting sick.  I even happen to be in the 10% of celiacs that cannot tolerate oatmeal.  Avenin, the protein in oatmeal, is very similar molecularly to gluten, and unfortunately my immune system sees it as gluten.  Only took me 9 months to figure that one out!

The only good thing that has come out of this is that I have one of the best diets ever!  Lean meats, fruits, vegetables, and chocolate!   I am staying the heck away from restaurants and most processed foods.  That being said, it does make it difficult to eat away from home.  I basically have to pack all my food with me ... and the stuff to cook it with when I go on my mountain bike adventures and vacation. 

I have been enjoying laying down a base for next year.  Long rides and Core Performance, baby!  This Tennessee weather has me longing for this.  It is not even winter yet and I am so over the cold and wet and cycling layers and hand/foot warmers and Reynaud's rearing its ugly head!

16 Days Post Op

On Friday, October 28 I had surgery to excise a Morton's neuroma.  The first week about killed me, as I could do very little.  But this past week, I have been back on the bike, slowly building up time in the saddle and assessing how my foot performed afterwards.

No foot model future for me.

I started off with an easy 45 minute spin 7 days post op.  No problems.  Then on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week, I rode for  2, 4 1/2, and 3 1/2 hours.  I had no issues while on the bike.  I was even able to stand and pedal up some of the more steeper climbs; no pain whatsoever. 

I did experience a weird feeling immediately off the bike on the two longer rides.  With each placement of my foot on a hard surface, I had a mild electrical jolt shoot through my surgical area.  Not really painful, but not pleasant either.

Today, I was planning on riding for 2 1/2 hours, but after the first hour, I began to feel a slight bit of pain in the foot on the down stroke.  So I decided to end it early at 1:45.  Upon walking after this ride, there was no electrical jolt or pain ... small victories.

This week while off the bike, I still have a small limp.  The surgical site is tender and thickened = inflammation still present.  Walking barefoot on hard surfaces is still uncomfortable.  I wear my Keen sandals a lot; they keep my foot happy. 

But with almost 12 hours in the saddle, I feel confident that my recovery is going as expected.  Now I know that this is the experience of only one person.  I tend to push the envelope when it comes to proper recovery.  But I am hopeful that my surgical outcome will be as I wanted ... to ride for hours on end, pain free.  And to be able to run down my daughter ... while I still have the chance!

I Can Ride Better Than I Can Walk

It is now 9 days post-op and I went out for my second road ride since surgery.  Kitting up took a bit longer as I gingerly put my left foot into my cycling shoe and adjusted the straps so that there was no tension across the top of my foot.  I hobbled over to my bike, pushed it out the garage door, and stepped aboard.  The most painful part was clipping in as it takes quite some pressure to engage the pedal.

But once in, a transformation happened.  No longer was I a cripple; the bike freed me from the pain of walking.  Pedaling was effortless and pain free; I only felt pressure at the surgery site during the down stroke.  My trusty steed carried me away from the doldrums of the past week and allowed me 100 minutes of pure bliss!

Upon returning from the ride, I unclipped and hobbled up the stairs to stretch and take a shower; oh well, it was fantastic while it lasted.  And it should only get better from here.

6 Days Post Op

My podiatrist said that the neuroma was 1.6 cm long and 0.4 cm wide.  Pretty average for a Morton's neuroma, he commented, but that the widest part of the "little bastard" was right where my 3rd and 4th metatarsal heads touched.  From his description, I imagine it probable looked like a Mezcal worm, you know, that icky little creature in the bottom of certain bottles of Tequila.

My "little bastard."

The hardest part of the healing process is not going hard on the bike.  I have energy to burn and want to stand and hammer.  But I am following doctor's orders ... there will be plenty of single speed sessions soon enough.  As luck would have it, I sustained a mild right hamstring injury at the Berryman Epic.  This has helped to keep a governor on my engine.

At this point, I am not sure if I will have surgery on my right foot.  I will just see how the left goes, get a lot of training under my belt for next year, do a few races, and then make a decision.

Coach, This One's For You

I am going into my fourth year of being coached by Lynda Wallenfels.  I, as well as she, still sees the potential in extracting a few more watts out of my body for the 2012 season.  I can honestly say that I would not be where I am today, fitness-wise, without her help.

The start of the 2010 Cohutta 100 ... would have been a contender for the win had she not been struck by lightning!

My relationship began with Lynda in September 2008.  What prompted my decision to hire a coach was a combination of increased workload with my job and motherhood and what I suspected was over training.  I had been self-coaching with this:

But as I had less and less free time, my coaching became sloppy and soon led to lots of riding with no real structure.  My hard training days turned into long days at moderate intensity and my easy training days turned into long days at moderate intensity.

The "straw ..."  happened at the Mohican 100 in June 2008.  I suffered miserably for 100 miles.  Too stubborn to DNF, I pushed on through to the end watching one lady after another pass me like I was standing still.  By mile 60 I was in tears, begging sticks to jump into my derailleur and end my misery.  When I rolled across the finish line in 7th place, almost an hour off my winning time in 2007, I vowed that I would hire a coach.

And I did.  Enter Coach Lynda.  Based on recommendations by Krista Park, Danielle Musto, and Jeff Kerkove, I hired Lynda.  I also chose her because she was a working Mom who was able to kick ass in the endurance scene.  I met her face to face at the 2008 TransRockies.  Any reservation I had about her as a coach was dismissed as she rode past me on a long, steep climb like I was standing still.  Oh yeah, she was also on a single speed!

We got to work right away.  The hardest part for me was "letting go" and entrusting her with the task of creating my training schedule.  At first it looked and perhaps felt too easy.  It was like she had put a governor on my engine.  But soon enough, I began noticing changes, especially in how I felt.  Less overall fatigue and stronger on the bike.

Showing Lynda and Dave a little Southern hospitality at Mulberry Gap.

 
I would say my biggest accomplishment with Lynda was winning the Cowbell Challenge in June 2009 and in the process beating Rebecca Rusch, an awesome and very well respected ultra endurance racer.  That day I felt like I had no chain on the bike.  Despite temps in the high 90's, I rode the perfect race.  That credit goes to Lynda's coaching abilities.  Within 9 months, she was able to understand my physiology and tweak my fitness to an all new level.

The hardest part of being coached by her is the distance between us.  She lives in Utah, I in Tennessee.  At first, I was worried about her getting to really "know" me.  Thank goodness for cell phones, power files, emails and internet.  Never fear, her knowledge of power, acute/chronic training loads, training stress scores, and other analyses that are over my head allow her to "know" and fine tune me.

She was also the one who figured out my gluten intolerance.  For that, I am forever in her debt.  Although she is not a nutritionist, her knowledge of it has been invaluable to me.  I am in the best physical condition than I have ever been in. 

Is a coach what you need?  Perhaps.  If you have hit a plateau in your training/racing, if your life is so hectic, you don't have time to plan/analyze, or if you are new to the sport and have no idea where to start, I suggest you check into it. 

Coach Lynda offers many levels of coaching, from coaching programs to training plans.  What I really like about her is her ability to take in all the variables and fit a successful plan to my life style.  I think it is easier to train a professional athlete who has nothing else to do but train and race.  Where a great coach shines is in her ability to successfully train working people who have jobs and families (tons of variables!)

Thanks, Coach for a great 3 years.  Hopefully, you can help me to crank out another 3 wonderful years!

ProGold Product Review

A few months back, Bruce Dickman sent me a box of goodies.  I feel that I am at a point where I can honestly assess them.

Otherwise known as their Xtreme Lube.

Fortunately for me, this year has been a dry one.  I have had very little mud on my bikes.  Where this has excelled has been on long, dry and dusty fire road training sessions.  My chain has been noise free in these conditions.  Last month I spent 3 days in Pisgah.  Although it did not rain, there were multitudes of creek crossings.  The only chain maintenance I did was to wipe the chain each night.  I did not have to apply any more lube.

This product makes bike washing fun.

It is insane how well it cleans and shines your bike.  I am uber picky about how my bikes look.  Any amount of dust, dirt, or mud causes a facial twitch that will not go away until my steeds are sparkly clean.  This product definitely decreases my work load.  My Avalanche is jealous!

NOT FOR HIRE.

The shop towels clean well, yet are non irritating to sensitive hands.  Ladies especially, if the only thing keeping you from being a grease monkey is, well, the grease, fear no more.  Purchase a tub of these and you can wrench on your bike in the morning and then enjoy an evening out on the town.

Pro Gold rocks!

Berryman Epic Race Report

A little known piece of single track heaven in the wilds of Missouri.

I had to put this on the back burner in order to get things done prior to foot surgery.  Not that I am laid up for awhile, I have time to blog away.

This one was my last hoorah for the season.  Seeing as how I was going to be out of commission for at least a month, I was going to leave everything out on the trail.  The pre-ride went well and my legs felt rested.  Coach had me doing some threshold work leading up to this race and I felt that I was ready to ride 5 hours at intensity.

Race day was brrrr! cold.  I woke to temps in the low 30's; quite a shock to my system.  I dressed lightly as I knew it would warm up and the start was a gravel road climb.  I warmed up briefly and then jumped in line as close to the front as politely possible (I was still several rows back).

The start was fast like last year.  I settled in and although my legs did not feel the best, I thought they would come around soon enough.  It was hard to tell how many ladies were ahead of me.  No worries though; my race was with the trail.  As I hit the steeper pitch going up the gravel, I felt a twinge in my right hamstring.  It lasted maybe 5 seconds; I did not think too much of it, but later it would be a premonition of what was to come.

I hit the single track with no ladies in sight.  I was locked in to a train of about 15 riders.  I settled realizing that soon enough the trail would open up.  When it did, I tried to kick it up a notch, but nothing happened.  My legs had that "achy lactic acid build up" feeling.  Really?!?  I was only 8 miles in and my legs acted like they had already pedaled 40 miles.

Hoping that my legs would come around, I focused on nutrition and momentum.  I attacked the downhills, trying to gain precious seconds.  It seemed to work as I caught up to two ladies on the descent leading to Brazil Creek.  There was a bottle neck at the creek crossing.  I guess they were afraid to get their feet wet.  It reminded me of the Planet Earth series where the herd of wildebeest were getting ready to cross the croc infested river and no one wanted to be the first to take the plunge!

As I was waited to cross, I glanced at my watch.  I was 5 minutes off last year's pace.  I grabbed my zip tie on the other side of the creek, hit the pavement for a short section, and then dove back into the woods on the Berryman Trail, just behind a lady in a Trek racing kit.  I happily let her pace me up the climb.  Even though I was in the Ozarks, these mountains are old and eroded so the climbs are neither steep nor long.  But today it felt like every climb was like Pinhoti #3.

I passed her when she stopped at a gravel road crossing.  I was now in my own little bubble.  I then used my HR to pace me.  At around mile 16, I caught up to another lady in a black/red kit (later found out this was Laura).  I struggled to stay with her on the climbs, but was able to catch back up on the descents.  As I rolled into the Berryman campground, I once again looked at my watch ... 8 minutes off last year's pace.  That was demoralizing, but then I realized I had caught up to a lady in a Sheclismo racing kit.  This gave me a much needed burst of positive energy.  I refilled my Camelbak, grabbed a gel flask, and set off on the next section of trail.  I lost track of Laura during this transition.

I hit the next bit of single track with renewed hope.  Even though I was off my game, having made contact with two ladies gave me renewed hope.  I was able to hammer this 10 mile section of single track.  I kept expecting to see Ms Sheclismo at any time, but did not make contact with her until we picked up our 3rd zip-tie at about mile 32.  It was here that we exchanged names.  Ms. Sheclismo was Sydney Brown.  I knew that name!  She was one powerful roadie who loved to hit the mountain bike scene every now and again.  We took it relatively easy on the double track climb leading to the gravel road.

Sydney thought that we were #1 and #2.  We decided to work together on the 6 miles of gravel back to the campground and aid station.  I took the first pull.  Sydney came around me and began her pull.  Within 10 seconds, I knew I this wasn't going to end well.  She dropped me like a bad habit.  I tried to keep her in sight, but slowly watched her get smaller and smaller until she was gone.

That was an ego buster.  Luckily, my ego is not that big.  Once again, it seemed to take forever to reach the campground.  Last year I reached this point in 3:27; this year it took me 3:48!  But when I finally arrived, there was Sydney!  The game was back on!  She pulled out as I was reaching into my drop bag for my little bottle of happiness ... a Red Bull shot!  I grabbed a water bottle and began the chase.

I knew I could best her in the single track.  I had ridden the last section the day before and was familiar with its sketchiness.  I had to attack and attack HARD!  The last 6 1/2 miles were on gravel and Sydney definitely had the upper hand there.  I was amazed that my legs responded!  I felt none of that achiness that I had the first 40 miles.  I caught her within the first mile, made the pass, and put the hammer down.  At first she was able to hang on, but soon I could not hear her squeaky brakes any more.  I figured I needed at least 2 minutes advantage in order to have a fighting chance. 

The first 5 miles flew by and all was going well ... until I hit this short, root-filled climb.  As I cranked down to get over the obstacles, my hamstrings locked up!  I felt as if I had been tazed!  Not wanting to fall off my bike, I grannied down and attempted to spin.  I was able to coax my cramped hamstrings to cooperate and after a couple minutes, the cramps subsided.  However, whenever I tried to amp it back up, my hamstrings began cramping. 

My race was done.  I suppose that was my body's way of keeping my heart from exploding!  Normally at the end of a race of this distance, my HR is in the low 160's.  But when I was putting the hammer down, my HR had jumped up to the mid 170's!  I cannot remember the last time my HR was that high that late in a race ... probably 10 years ago.

As I was limping along, Sydney caught back up to me.  I let her pass and encouraged her to reel in as many guys as she could.  I thought that I was in the lead; neither one of us realized that Laura was in first.

Once again, I limped to the finish.  Last year it was on a shredded tire; this year it was on shredded legs.  I managed to stay on the podium with a time of 5:21.  Sydney ended up catching Laura on the gravel and won with a time of 5:17:50.


Kudos to Sydney and Laura for having great races.  They were both so strong this year!  I was definitely out-gunned.

I must say that Zeke had an awesome race as well.  He finished mid-pack in the SS class ... but, if he had raced his age division, he would have won by 13 minutes!  Ursula had a good race as well, despite her cramps.  She finished 5th; not bad for an old lady ;).  Zeke and I are hoping that she will get bit by the endurance bug!  Both Mary and Travis succumbed to the sharp Ozark rocks and got in plenty of tire-changing practice.

Enjoyed getting to know the Fowler's.  Both are super strong racers!

Will I be back next year?  Probably, but perhaps on a SS.

Season Finale

Sweet single track!

 
This weekend is the Berryman Epic, a 55 mile romp through the woods of Missouri.  Last year was my first time and aside from a mechanical that cost me first place, I had an absolute blast.  Super fun flowy trail with a few technical bits thrown in to keep you on your toes.  This would be the perfect race for someone's first foray into the endurance XC scene.  Spots still available! 

This will be my last race for the year.  On October 28, I will be having surgery to remove the bastard neuromas in both my feet.  I was hoping it was not going to come to this, but after 7 weeks of conservative therapy, the pain is still there.  Granted, it is at a tolerable level, but I cannot enjoy epic rides, short runs, or just playing with my daughter without that constant nagging pain of every footstep. Nervous, but optimistic.  Down time will be around 1 month per the doc. Time to focus on weight and core training anyway.

I was planning on ripping the trails off the map at the Berryman, but I got "glutened" by Charlie's mom last Saturday.  Carly and I went up to spend the weekend with his parents.  I was very specific and diligent about my gluten intolerance with his mom, but apparently she forgot to read a label.  She prepared chili, but instead of using spices out of spice jars, she chose a chili seasoning (unbeknownst to me).  Care to guess what the first ingredient on that label was?!? 

About 2 hours after dinner, I knew I was screwed.  After interrogating her again about the ingredients, I discovered her (and my) error.  So now Buddha is back; probably for about a week.  I do hope I can ditch him by this Saturday.  Stomach pain, abdominal distension, difficulty with deep breathing, insomnia AND racing at intensity for 5 hours DO NOT MIX!

From my previous "glutened" experience, it takes about a week for me to feel normal again.  I will be cutting it close.  Oh well, that will be my handicap, I guess.