Race Across America - June 9, 2010

More Difficult than the Tour de France

There are two versions of the `World’s Toughest Bicycle Race.’ Both versions are considered more difficult and taxing than the Tour de France.

Lance Armstrong said of RAAM: ”Maybe I'll do RAAM one of these years. Am I crazy? Anyone know how many miles a day they avg?” 6:04 AM Aug 2nd, 2009 via Twitter.

The Race Across America (RAAM) starts Oceanside, California, a few miles north of San Diego, Oceanside, California, and ends 3,005 miles and 100,000 feet of climbing later in Annapolis, Maryland. Solo racers finish in 9 to 12 days, averaging 250 to 350 miles per day.

• http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/

The Race Across the West (RAW) is the most difficult part of RAAM, starting in Oceanside, California, and ending 860 miles of burning desert, freezing mountains, and 50,000 feet of climbing later in Durango, Colorado. Solo racers finish in 2.5 to 3 days, averaging 250 to 350 miles per day.

• http://www.raceacrossthewest.org/

RAW is a Race of Truth

This is a Race. Unlike other well-known road races, like the Tour de France, RAW is not a stage race. RAW is a single stage. Once the clock starts in Oceanside, it doesn't stop until the racer reaches the finish line in Durango.
RAW is the second longest endurance cycling race in the United States. The race is essentially a time trial - a race against the clock, sometimes referred to as the race of truth. Unlike the Tour de France, solo racers are not allowed to draft or take shelter from the wind.

Hot, dry, cold, windy, constant climbing, day and night

A series of moderate climbs takes the Racers from the ocean into the shadow of Palomar Mountain near the crest of the Laguna Mountains. Then, not unlike a blast furnace, the temperatures rapidly climb into triple digits during the steep, dizzying, twisty, 3500-foot descent of the “Glass Elevator” into the Anza Borrego Desert.

Desert conditions get even more difficult below sea level along the southern shore of the Salton Sea as rising humidity levels make a mockery of the “at least it’s a dry heat” West Coast mantra.

Brawley, California, is the first oasis with a Time Station and full services between two hot 90-mile sections. These sections take Racers over sand dunes and through Colorado River Valley agricultural communities to Blythe and Parker, then into Arizona.

Three hundred and ninety-two (392) miles into the race the dizzyingly steep Yarnell Grade challenges sleep-deprived and dehydrated Racers with over 2,000 feet of hairpin turn climbing in just under 7 miles. Dead air and 3-digit temperatures accompany the Racers up Yarnell Grade.

The race then follows the mountain route from Prescott through Jerome, Cottonwood, and Sedona to Flagstaff. From there Racers navigate the desert plateaus another 350 miles to the finish line Durango, Colorado, elevation 7,000 feet.

RAW and the Racer – Dan Fallon

Dan Fallon holds several speed and distance records:

• In March of 2009 he rode from Illinois to Ohio, traversing the State of Indiana (151.5 miles), in 7:11:00 (21.04 mph) [Official time: 7:24; 20.57 mph]. (Ultra Marathon Cycling Association)
• http://www.ultracycling.com/records/records2009.html
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE5HJFYSOcc
• In April of 2009 he rode from Missouri to Indiana, traversing the State of Illinois (153.1 miles), in 7:50:00 (19.54 mph). (Ultra Marathon Cycling Association)
•  http://www.ultracycling.com/records/records2009.html
• In May of 2009 he was the first person to ever complete the challenging Balltown Classic on a recumbent bicycle: 201.3 miles, over 10,000 feet of climbing, in 12:43:00.
• http://www.ultramidwest.net/UM/balltown/UM/baltownw/balltown/baltownw/baltownw/halto

Dan is 64 years old, a husband, father of two sons, grandfather of two granddaughters, and has a fulltime practice as a Clinical Psychologist in Chicago. http://www.licensed-psychologists.com/

POWERFUL NEW TRAINING TIP THAT WILL MAKE YOU FASTER, STRONGER, BETTER LOOKING, IMPROVE YOUR DANCING AND ENHANCE YOUR SEXUAL PROWESS!!!

The next time you train with the brain box (a bag that attaches to the back of the carbon fiber hard shell seat) make sure that it is slung low behind you so that it makes contact with the rear wheel, thus generating resistance that cannot be otherwise accounted for.  

The mystifying rubbing and dragging of the rear tire on the bottom of the brain box will humble you to such an extent that you will either be terribly better or terribly worse for it. 

Sunday I made some changes on the bike just because I'm `itching' for the warm weather (6 weeks and counting, at least). I switched out the front big (55 tooth) ring for a Shimano Dura Ace 56, I lowered the carbon hard shell seat so that it is `way low' ( I haven't got a clue as to how to measure the angle and I hated my geometry teacher, so there!).

Sunday I decided to do an indoor century. I'm crankin' away and finding it much, much harder to pedal. Then I'm smelling something burning. I get off the bike, look around to see what may be burning in my basement.  Nothing.  Then I tried to remember what I had for dinner the night before (methane emissions from an escape valve situated on my backside).  I looked at the bike to see if that was the source of the smell.  Then I realized it: because I reclined the angle of the seat the brain box was sagging on the rear tire ... a `whole lot.' I put my Camelbak 100 oz bladder in the brain box and that seemed to be just enough weight to cause it to sag on the tire.

I got an old tire tube and lashed the bottom of the brain box to my head rest. Got on the bike and pedaled.

Surprise!!! My watts jumped 25% and my HR was about the same.

• Now I know why I was getting flat tires indoors.
• Now I know why my watts were dismally low no matter what I was doing.
• Now I know why it took me 5 years to get through high school!!

Oh! And an added benefit, of course: this STUNNING NEW TRAINING TIP will improve your sex life.  (Not really, but I'm trying to be funny ... and not just embarassed for being so stupid).

I went on to complete a 100 mile indoor training session in very good time and with very good power.  At the end I felt strong, steady and FINALLY like the training is beginning to have the desired effect. 

- d

 

 

 

Too Little Result for Too Much Effort?

" I set a pancake flat course. Mentally, I broke up the training into 3 hour segments. For the first 3 hours I completed 35 miles at an 67 avg watts and 90 bpm heart rate; second 3 hours 37 miles at 76 avg watts at 94 bpm heart rate; third 3 hours 40.21 miles at 89 avg watts at 101 avg watts.

My power and effort increased throughout the training event. At the end I felt I had `plenty left.' This tells me that I have achieved the goal of the foundation phase, i.e., endurance at an aerobic pace. "

The above quote is from a 9 hour indoor session last November. Lately my 4 - 5 hour indoor training sessions have been on a steady incline of between .2% to 2.12%. The incline sessions of that duration have left me very, very exhausted afterwords. It has been `bothering' me that I have been so exhausted, wondering "how can I expect to do 49,000 feet of climbing if I am overcome by 4 hours on a steady climb?"

Well, I think I've found out why I'm so beat: my latest training of steady inclines are unprecedented. And, they don't allow any time for resting, coasting or drafting.

Checking other ultraracer's charts I notice that, while they can put up a 160 - 260 wattage figure in spikes they always drop back down to few or no watts produced.

Fuel, hydration, electrolytes and cramp control

It may change once the weather turns and I can get out of the dang cellar, but ...

On the DF I never had a problem with handling what I ate or drank on long rides. On the recumbent I have to be careful or I experience a real sense of dis-ease.

I used to use a conservative mix of Perpetuem for fuel and an even more diluted mix of Gatorade Endurance powder for water. Doing long, intense (for me), spells of effort on the C'trainer I find a mild nausea coming on after about the 3rd or 4th hour.

I've stopped `spiking' my water with any kind of electrolyte mix and now just drink it straight and pure. I use Hammer Endurolyte pills as needed.

I've begun using just plain maltodextrin in the `fuel' bottle. I mix it for about a two hour need (600 - 650 cals). The maltodextrin I use is tasteless, dilutes to almost the same consistency of water.

Here is the formula for a 16 oz bottle:

2 cups of Maltodextrin*
1 33cc scoop of whey/soy protein
1 Tums pill
8 `pinches' of sea salt

I'll probably eat solids for protein and potassium.

Though my goal was not cost savings I seem to be saving a lot of money for the fuel and water mix that doesn't sicken me and still gives me what I need in the way of fuel, hydration, electrolyte balance and cramp prevention.

* MALTRINQD 500
J.M. Swank Company, Inc.
520 W Penn Street
North Liberty, Iowa 52317
www.jmswank.com

Slow learner

It was 3.6 F this morning at the site of my favorite outdoor loop in Hampshire, Il. Been that way for a while. Supposed to be that way for several more weeks.

Came home Thursday around midnight and got on the C'trainer with the plan of doing 7 hours (doing what I can as early on in the season to become familiar with pushing into the sleep deficit area).

As I posted earlier I've reduced the stages of RAW to C'trainer courses. The DeLorme software calculates the total feet of climbing/descending between two points. I then used another formula to calculate the average percentage grade incline for each RAW Stage.

That is, for example, Stage 1 would be 2.12% grade up for 54.6 miles, Stage 2 would be .68% incline up for 88.6 miles, etc.... Of course, this `smooths' out the peaks and valley gradients. That is, NO RESTING and NO FLAT SECTIONS and NO DOWNHILL SECTIONS. Just a constant, steady climb up for however many miles of each stage.

On Wednesday and Thursday mornings I completed 42 miles of Stage 1 (at a 2.12% constant incline). Took it nice and easy bc I had to go to work afterwords.

Plan was to finish up Stage 1 and start and complete Stage 2 during the wee hours of Friday morning.

Conclusion: It is harder to ride a constant upgrade than it is to ride the actual rolling or spikey real course. Which, I am concluding, makes this an even more valuable training activity.

Unfortunately, yesterday (Friday) morning I felt very good starting out the 7 hour training session. I wound up rachetting up my pace (watts and heart rate), moving quickly into the deep anaerobic zone. After 45 minutes of this I realized it might be wise to back off a bit. Unfortunately, that was too late.

I was totally fried by the end of the second hour of training, despite the fact that I finished TS#1 in 1:12:00. TS#2 has an avg gradient of .68% for 88.6 miles. It took me 2 hours and 48 minutes to cover 38 miles, for a total of only 4 hours indoor work.

Disappointing in that I didn't complete the 7 hours of planned training, hoping, as well, for a hundred miles of indoor work. But, another lesson that I've been taught dozens of times before but never quite learned: pacing.

I was exhausted after 4 hours. Spent. Wasted. Pissed off and down on myself (again).

But I'd rather learn these lessons beforehand than during RAW.

Down now, again, on the C'trainer for 3 or 4 hours. Nice and sedate, this time.

- Dan

Indoor Training Induced Psychosis EXPLAINED!!!

So the Race Across the West (RAW) has 15 stages over 860 miles. All but two stages are around 50 miles each. If you took the road from one stage to the next stage, pulled it out straight and tilted it up to equal the change in elevation you'd get an `average percentage grade incline.'

Following me so far?

This average percentage grade incline includeS the uppy downy changes in between point A and point B, except that it `smoothes' them out. That is, for example, Stage 1 would be 2.12% grade up for 54.6 miles, Stage 2 would be .68% incline up for 88.6 miles, etc.... Of course, in between point A and point B there might be a few stretches of 4% up and 2% down.

Fuggedaboudit!!!

I went to the `navel' academy. That is, like, in `belly-button' navel. Meaning, I find as much meaning in twirling a loop of my hair with my finger while I'm picking my teeth with a ballpoint pen, digging the wax from my ears out with a paperclip and reaching halfway to my sinus cavity to liberate the latest booger, as I stare blankly at the universal `nothing' in my field of vision --- as I do in fighting for world peace.

Alfred E Neuman and J. Alfred Prufrock are my closet heroes.

So --- are you staying with me, reader? --- what I did was ... I did this.

I did the entire RAW route, stage by stage, in average grade inclines.

Then I programmed each stage into the Computrainer.

Starting today I'm going to do every stage of RAW on the C'trainer according to this chart.

Here's the advantage.

First, the C'trainer doesn't have intersections. And it doesn't have weather, altitude, traffic or guys in pickups with rifle racks throwing beer cans at me. No sunlight. No sound. A breeding ground for delusions, hallucinations, messages from Mars, and direct communication from God about the meaning of life.

Second, by programming each stage to have a set grade incline (e.g., stage 7, Prescott, 2.25% upgrade for 50.2 miles I will climb a total of 6,000 feet) I don't have to do any gear shifting. That means I can get some sleep while on my basement trainer.

Third, there are no declines, or downgrades, allowing me to coast. This means that I can achieve the primary goal of indoor training, i.e., exquisite boredom laced with lethal doses of torture, agony and psychological misery.

I'm starting today.

HAH!! You probably think I'm kidding.

- Dan

Whining v. Complaining: the difference

I'm whining. I expect nothing to change because of it ... but just feel better going `wah! wah! wah!' It's pointless, yes. But justified by how it makes me feel. Like scratching an itch.

Complaining is a good thing, though. We complain about problems so that we can make things change for the better.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wah! Wah! Wah!

I was super psyched earlier in the week because the local weather wasn't bad enough that made outside riding impossible. So I planned all week to leave work thursday night and drive about 60 miles west in the rural Illinois farmland. I have a 25 mile loop of almost barren and traffic-free roads. Three or 4 places along the way that I can access for food or emergency if I need it.

Plan was to leave the job around 10:30pm, drive to the 25 mile loop, be on the road around midnight and ride for 9 - 12 hours. Riding in the still dark night is nothing less than ethereal.

Around Wednesday the weather started to change. I was feeling pissy and sorry for myself. Wednesday night the forecast was for 70% chance of snow with 1 - 3 inches of accumulation. Thursday morning it was worse. I had to crap out on the whole plan. Riding in those conditions is a death wish.

BUT ... I liked the idea of training right through the night after a full day of work. Introduces me to what some folks describe as the `sleep monster.' So I changed the plan so that I would come home after work Thursday night and get on the bike -- in the basement -- on the CompuTrainer and train until 9 or 12 noon Friday morning.

This Race Across the West thing. It's going to be as much psychological as it will be physical and logistical.

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Things go on in our head during these intense and bizarre events that are nothing like `normal' life. Someday I'll say more about it but, clearly, my thoughts, experience of awareness and physical sense of my surroundings are very different. Like being alone in space and there is no time, no relationships, every second is different from the last ... and may in fact roll us directly into a reality that, if not strange, is certainly ... like you're the only living speck, sweating and breathing in a vast, dark emptiness.

So I rode in the basement this morning. Did a hundred miles. Got a flat tire, had to change it out. A few other mechanical things that interrupted the straight-on riding. Wet, sweaty. I commonly feel like a slug of mold on the bike. Somewhere around 8:30am I felt the difference between stress and strain creeping up on me (physically) so I capped it off.

I'm gonna do this every Friday, I think. Good training. A way to `use' time without taking it from my wife, kids or work.

So what do you say to someone who says: "Oh, you ride a bike."

- Dan
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http://raw2010.blogspot.com/