Surprise and Reprieve

Back in April of this year I read that a very talented ultra racer had delayed some dental work until he had completed the Race Across America (RAAM) in June.  He didn't go into his reasons but I made the practical assumption that the impact of the dental work would reduce his readiness for such a manifest physical demand as RAAM.  And I remarked to myself `me too.'

Briefly, I had some health issues when I was a kid that required a great deal of dental work.  Over the course of my life I've had to be vigilant and very attentive to maintaining good dental health.  I had a good deal of the `dental engineering' performed and hardware installed and it was beginning to wear out.  It became time to overhaul my entire `dental system.'  A big investment of time, energy and money. 

I put off the `overhaul' until the end of the cycling season this year (Nov 3rd).  I cleared the decks of any physically demanding activity and resigned myself to about two months of exhaustive and draining dental work and recuperation.  I girded myself and became very stoic, expressing to my dentist "I'm up for numerous sequential 10 hour days in the chair so just consider me your sole source of income for that time." 

It hasn't turned out that way. 

My memories of the major dental work done a few decades ago were not repeated these past few weeks.  Dental technology has improved dramatically.  I wince at the recollection of the countless 3 hour torture sessions in the dental chair, with rubber dams, noisy, slow and smelly grinding, use of painful picks and frequent `refreshing' of injected anesthetics.  Close to 4 months of twice weekly suffer fests in 1980. 

Not these days, though.  A 3 hour root canal in 1980 (performed using crude `mining' tools) took a total of 20 painless minutes in the chair two weeks ago.  Yesterday's one hour forty minute dental appointment would have taken 4 weeks of grim gore in 1980.  Instead, when it was over yesterday I was amazed that it was completely painless.  The dentist and his assistant and I were cracking jokes the entire time. 

I am now on the `down slope' of the dreaded dental experience.  The hard and scary work is over -- without it being hard.  I'm almost disappointed!  I had girded myself for so much suffering. 

There remains significant dental work to be completed but it is really not much more than `wrap-up' and `housekeeping.'  Let some time pass.  The next one is scheduled to take ten (10 - count'em - 10) minutes!

This is a `reprieve' for me.  My cycling training plan has to be revised to recognize that "I'm back!" 

Cycling, Ultra cycling, Ultra racing, Motives and Wisdom

I've only considered myself involved with `ultra cycling' since 2008, when I first bought the Bacchetta Ti Aero recumbent bike.  The Ti Aero allowed me to ride without all the pain and suffering associated with DFs (`traditional,' upright bikes).  This excited me and I  began to push the limit on time and distance.  Ultra cycling was an obvious `open door' for me.

However, after setting a few UMCA state crossing records and participating extensively in too many ultra events to count (24 hour races, 200 mile races, RAW racer, RAAM Official, RAAM Crew Chief) I've learned quite a bit. 

The two most important learnings I've gained from ultra cycling have to do with:

1. the psychological component (`Why am I doing this?  What is my motive?'); 
2. the risk v. benefit component.

Having been raised in family whose religious tenets required `suffering' as payment for entrance into an eternity of bliss ... and survived both that family and those religious tenets ... I'm alert to delusional thinking. 

It took me some time, a lot of angst and even more money, but I am wiser and more informed as to the `why' aspect of ultra cycling.  And that has caused me to step back from it significantly, to appreciate my capacity for objective evaluation of ultra cycling events, and to be productively and constructively appreciative and critical of the ultra cycling events.

RAAM and RAW, in my opinion, is a repository of person's efforts to work through their mortality and gain self-respect.  Both admirable factors in the development of wisdom and a healthy personality. That's a `good' thing about ultra cycling.

What is the definition of a fanatic?  A fanatic is a person who redoubles his efforts as soon as he loses sight of the objective.  Much of this permeates RAAM/RAW.  As well, much of this permeates a good deal of our lives (religion, politics, sports, jobs). That's a `bad' thing about ultra cycling.

I'm personally drawn to ultra cyclists because they do no harm to others in the pursuit of their extreme goals.  Drawn both emotionally and intellectually.  And, these days, the `intellectual' element dominates.  I've seen good people doing hard work with the best of intentions.  And I see how sometimes that crosses the threshold of healthy expression to an irrational obsession.

Withdrawing as Maria Parker's RAAM Crew Chief last June after the near tragic accident (RAAM - 2013 Close Call) I concluded that I was not going to be the one to tell her parents (or her sister with terminal cancer for whom she was doing RAAM solo) that she was killed or critically injured by a texting or impaired driver.  To continue the race, in my opinion, bordered on the fanatical.

The turf skirmishes (bent v DF, sleep v no sleep, etc) that currently occupy the politics of the world of RAAM/RAW amount to moving the deck chairs on a vessel too small to have deck chairs.

I love cycling.  It is one of the most complex and rewarding and `harmless' endeavors I've ever done.  It has been a release for me at times.  And it has been a form of exquisite existential expression.  But my cycling is not fanatical.  And I am committed to pointing out the benefits, dangers, risks and, frankly, exploitation when I see it. 

Why Is That?

I have slips of paper with my scribblings on them on every surface and in every corner of the house.

• "What did the dentist mean when he said `... some goopy stuff'?"
• "What is it about wool that makes it so good in cold weather cycling?"
• "Really! Why is it so hard to get my heart rate higher on a recumbent?  What is involved?"
• "When is the last time I ate due to real hunger?  Why do I eat?"
• "Should I train with weight or just try to reach a heart rate threshold?"
• "Edgy when off the bike for more than a few days.  Why?"
• "Moods.  When I'm exhausted from training or a cycling event is that a good thing?"
• "Get a mountain bike so I can ride off-road to some of the remote old mining sites."

I wish my intelligence matched my curiosity.  Or maybe it's just that I need more discipline.  But I doubt that!

If you have lingering questions about cycling related things that you need `researched' shoot me a few.  I'll see if I can scratch that itch.

I Need Something Hard To Do.

The active cycling season closed out for me on November 3rd with a 52 mile race.  Literally, the next day I began what will be a 6 week dental repair process.  Some things just have to get taken care of or they will have bad outcomes.

I really didn't mind sitting in the dentist's chair for 6 hours over 3 days this past week.  And I'm not dreading the rest.  Frankly, at this point, I'd be fine if it were compressed into consecutive 10 hour days.  Get it over with.

Here's the problem: I have nothing to be tired from!

Sleep is less deep and fulfilling.  My appetite remains but it is clear that I'm taking in more calories than I'm using.  I'm experiencing a sense of `anxiousness' that is quite uncomfortable.  But my mood and temperament are good. 

I have made `to do' lists and completed many of the tasks long delayed, neglected and deferred.  Although the tasks I've identified are meaningful and important (and in some cases challenging) they don't really get my full attention.  Why is that?

"Compared to what?"  Compared to cycling. 

Cycling has become something of a `major process' for me over the past few years.

To say that I have learned from my cycling is an emphatic understatement.  To say that cycling engages me physically, athletically, intellectually and emotionally is, as well, an emphatic understatement. 

At this point I recognize that this blog post could become unwieldy and boring to read.  So I'll `suspend' this monologue for a while. 

Analysis: Skull Valley Loop Performances

THIS is the Skull Valley Loop.  Ridewithgps overestimates the climbing by about 1,000 feet. 

Every year the Prescott Alternative Transportation organization sponsors the Skull Valley Loop `Challenge' as an invitational `ride.' 

In September of '12 I `raced' this course, completing it in 2 hours and 49 minutes.  I `raced' it again in September of '13 and completed it in 3 hours and 10 minutes.  Over the past six weeks I've trained with greater intensity and `raced' it solo again this morning, completing it in 3 hours and 17 minutes. 

Why the difference in times?  I've completed a very detailed set of analyses and these are my conclusions. 

• I trained harder, with more racing intensity in '12 than in '13. 
• I weighed about 12-15 lbs less in '12.

That about sums it up. 


Today's performance isn't apples to apples with the previous two performances, as follows: 

• it was 40 degrees colder (cold air is more dense than hot air) [source];
• there was a 12-15 mph wind this time, whereas the previous times the wind was negligible: 
• it was never a tailwind, and only for about 10 miles was it a headwind;
• on the descents and climbing the wind was either quartering or just swirling on the switchbacks;
• racing against others motivates me.

I was very pleased, in fact, with today's performance. 

• Absent the `weather burden' of today's race I probably knocked off about ten minutes from my performance last September;
• I've been doing indoor intervals for the past six weeks.  Not long enough to really make much of a difference but I realize already how important they are. 

I think (not `feel') I know what to do to make significant improvements.

• reduce the `tour' pace of my training, i.e., I've been too lazy;
• continue and build on the interval training;
• incorporate more and more frequent racing sessions into my training;
• lose weight;
• continue to analyze the data and make adjustments;
• be alert to `overtraining.'