Monday Update

The Monday Update:

1) Don't forget (how could you with that GIANT RED sharpie circle) around this Sunday, April, 15 at 1000. It's TOE JAM 32. Thirty Two consecutive years we have been running this monster half-marathon and we aren't about to stop just because there is no "official" event for us to run counter to. Although truth be known I always liked the idea of running under the radar as bandits!!! Start and finish is Bethany Lutheran Church on Finch Rd. If you plan on showing please use the comment feature below so I know how many trophies I would have had to buy.

2) We are under way with our FTP testing for the Spring Stage Knock-Out Indoor Cycling Tournament @ BAC. This just in: Tom at BI Cycles has generously agreed to provide a special tune-up service AND awards for this prestigious event. If you plan on participating you MUST go to the FB page and select one of the seven test dates. We did two this morning, with another pair this evening. Just click on the CT club jersey at left for instant transport to the FB site.

3) We have one spot reaming for the Tour of California trip, May 13-21. We have also added a couple of rides, the first being 40 miles from South of San Francisco to Aptos (the finish for ToC Stage Two) and the 33 mile loop around Crater Lake on the ride home Monday May 20. All it costs is your share of gas, food and lodging.

4) I made some serious progress on the PO (pizza oven) over the long sunny weekend. Today the cladding gets installed along with some dome finish bricks. We have hit the home stretch folks, it won't be long before we do the inaugural ride/run brick to celebrate. That's amore!

All for today, I simply cannot allow this ideal workout/workon weather to pass without progress. As mentioned this morning, we have worked hard, diligently and consistently all winter. The time has come to take it to the streets!

Ciao

Today's Circle

One of my favorite sayings:

It is more important to me to be happy than to be right.

I do not have a compelling need or compulsive desire to be right about everything. Matter of fact, there are precious few things I am 100% right about. This is somewhat akin to the suffering idea. We know that life contains generous amounts of suffering. Once we accept that truth it gets easier. It makes it more palatable if we know what it is. When we train with intensity, or add duration, we know that, at one point or another, it is going to hurt a little. Maybe hurt a lot. We also know that the effect from this will cause growth. We will get better at it by repeating it.

Back to the track and more of the same.

Embrace what once induced fear. Accept the truth. Adaptation requires effort. Effort insinuates 'out of comfort zone' levels. Big gains come from big pains. There is no other way.

Further, I am NOT here to tell you that this is the only way. There are many paths. You can run like Forest Gump, swim like Tarzan, or ride like Lance. You can practice yoga, lift weights, swing kettlebells, zoo-zoo Zumba or split cinder blocks with your Chi. Do what you like. Do it with passion and awareness. Do it with grace and joy. And do it often.

It makes me happy to know that in this specific regard, I am 100% right. It may be the ONLY thing I am 100% right about. I have deep questions, big doubts and serious issues with just about everything else, making my take from all of this two-fold:

One: I need to have the patience and presence to allow others the freedom to choose, to practice and to live their lives as they see best, without judgement.

Two: I will dance to the beat of my own drummer. I will NOT be forced into something in which I am a conscientious objector. This is all-inclusive and self-evident. I gotta be me. It may not always be pretty, but to my own self, I will be true.

Sometimes I wonder if it would be easier to just give up and follow. Just shut up and go shopping, watch TV and complain about the gays, or liberals, or blacks, or the cost of super unleaded. Be a NASCAR fan and justify my sloth somehow. Stay numb.

And then I think, sorry pal, you can't do that. Why not? And I hear another of my favorite sayings:

Once begun, better finish. You have things to do, missions to accomplish, goals to achieve. You took that first step. More steps may be painful but they are of great value. There is additional work to be done and nobody is gonna knock on your door and ask if they can do it for you. It is ALL you Bubba. Do or die. Whatsay?

And on that I am pleased to be 100% right. Which of course makes me very happy, completing today's full circle.

A Long Way

Had an rare hour of free time downtown yesterday before the evening class. With specialty shopping done, I was drawn to the library like a moth to a flame. They were staging the semi-quarterly book sale and I wandered down to the lower level for a look. I love buying used books. For whatever reason to see Twain, Hemingway, Thurber, Elliott, Fitzgerald and Stein at a buck each, to me seems to put some balance back in a world gone soundly off axis. I also play a little game with the book sale because I have gotten carried away in the past and have ended up needing a U-Haul to tote my literary findings home. I set a budget. Yesterday's was $5. That's it. Five bucks. And the hunt was on.

I passed on MaCarthy, Kingsolver, Oates and Rushdie. Considered upping the budget over a beautiful coffee table collection of Japanese prints, and turned an arrogant lip to Joyce, Homer and The Bard. Time was getting tight and I was holding but a single tome under arm. Come on, you can do it; Best value, a didactic component, relative, utilitarian, compelling. Four dollars left.

Cooking is too easy. DIY too redundant. The classics too musty. I headed over to the sports category and was appalled by the dearth of contemporary cycling reads. Back to fiction with ten minutes to go and the former presidents screaming from my pocket.

And then I found the vein. A gold-leaf section of exactly what I was after. Literary paydirt with nary a Suess in sight.

Umberto Eco. Italo Calvino, David Korten, Elmore Leonard and Jane S. Peters.

Jane S. Peters?

Yes, THAT Jane S. Peters, author of The Indoor Bicycling Fitness Program, published in 1985 by McGraw-Hill. That was it. I was scurrying towards check-out with what I was confident was a priceless collection of printed words for what I anticipated would be a steal, and under budget.

$4.50 please said the librarian turned cashier, as she eyeballed the collection.

"I love Eco and Calvino", she said, "and you know Mr. Korten speaks here often…and this, is….what…..Indoor Bicycling Fitness?….reading is way easier….but you enjoy it."

I will thanks.

Pix: My $4.50 bounty including Ms Peters seminal work on indoor cycling. Chapter Five has a few pages on the original RacerMate turbo trainer, the predecessor of today's CompuTrainer. There is also a picture of a Neiman-Marcus LaserTour Lifecycle rig that played video while you ride. Imagine that. For $20,000 you could have had one in 1985. We have come a long way.

Meet the Moment

I turned quickly to watch the pearl's parabola. I knew it was tagged simply by the sound created at contact. From the confines of the coaches box my left arm began twirling like a windmill sending our boys home. The ball field at O'Dea High School that spring afternoon twenty-eight years ago also housed their soccer field and track. On the far side was an ivy covered embankment that must have been 700 feet from home plate. That is where the ball rolled to a stop.

Mopping up after another 2-4-1 session last night I was asked by one of the gals a simple question.

"What keeps you going?"

She had framed the question with a preface of motivation and dedication, commenting that it was something she struggled with and thought I might have a solution, comment or inspirational quote with which to close our spirited session on a positive note.

Well, yes, I have some thoughts on the subject, I began, trying to hone-in one the one or two primary motivational factors that I find useful. After a few minutes it became apparent that we were deeply engaged in something important, the sharing of secrets, a verbal rite of passage, one of those key moments, the wisdom of which is for emergency use only.

I said that there comes a moment in every endeavor, especially endurance events, (in which your life and mine are categorized), that we are offered a decision. The choice to continue or cease. The option of paths, the right to persevere, the left to quit. That is the moment of definition as if defines who we are. It measures your courage as well as your awareness and presence. The funny thing, I continued, is when you choose to endure, to push past, to grow, a powerful series of actions take place in your mind, throughout your body and in your soul. You are given, as a result of your courage and wisdom to prevail, additional tools to make it happen. An attitude, a second wind, new meaning, hope. Everything changes. For the better.

It is one of the things that we practice every time we go out for training. GETTING TO THAT POINT. Because as we practice it we get better at it. The decision becomes easier, eventually to the point that quitting is no longer an option. WE DO NOT QUIT. WE FIGHT. WE ENDURE. WE GROW.

And that is my motivation. I want to push my body to the point of failure to see how I respond. Under what condition will I throw in the towel today? Because these are the answers I will face when the heat is seriously high, in battle, the marathon, Ironman, or in life. I do not want to be experiencing this wonderful phenomena for the first time with all the chips on the table. I want to get there, be aware of its arrival (and it WILL arrive) and then through my diligence and dedication to practice (training) deal with it in a positive, joyful and victorious manner.

I think she got the idea and in turning to leave said hello to a young gentleman who was waiting patiently to talk.

When he introduced himself I mentioned that the last time I saw him he was rounding third, heading home after a grand salami at O'Dea.

"You remember that?"

A couple of quick takes to get your Mojo workin:

While My Guitar Gently Weeps like no other.

Bike racing jargon explained in full.

Meet the Moment from Clif Bar.

People are Awesome.

Pic is of the 1984 Bainbridge JV Baseball team. I am at far left, Rob at center, back row. That ball was TAGGED!

XL Playbook

After class this morning morning one of our regulars said to me that I have either a fertile imagination or a large playbook. I think this was in response to the new protocol that was unleashed upon the unsuspecting group. After all, as I have admitted on many an occasion, there is only so much you can legitimately do on a stationary bike. Before it becomes drudgery, boring and stagnant. There needs to be change. We need to adapt. We must move away from the zone of comfort if we are to improve and use our valuable time wisely. Specifically the reasons why we mix it up. To keep it fresh, exciting and challenging. And please let be be perfectly clear one this point as well, THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MUSIC. Matter of fact, the worse the tunage, the more ridiculous the beat, rhythm, groove (or lack thereof), the more obnoxious, grating, earsplittenloudenboomer the better because that forces you into focus mode. Eliminate the distractions. The song you hate will end. Just like the wind or rain outside. These too shall pass.

What remains is a better, stronger, more tolerant, healthier, more complex you. You made it through. We are on the other side, the tunnel is now in the past. We have transcended. We rose to the occasion and rode through the valley of death. Every little victory, every battle successfully executed, every session adds to your acumen. Gets you closer to winning the war. Gives you another chance at survival. Another day. Another opportunity. Another hill.

The mental toughness aspect of all that we do if more often than not, overlooked. Because, I suspect, it is so hard to quantify. We spoke of the three pain and suffering stories this morning and how they all shared a commonality. The common thread was that of awareness. I feel pain as a result of hard effort. That was the hardest thing I have ever done. I realize now that I don't like to suffer long. All come from introspection and awareness. From focus and our dedication to the art of the measurement of a complex system in need of continual assessment, management and adjustment. When all these dynamics come together it is one of the most beautiful sensations known to man. Fluid and efficient production of power. Sustainable and teachable. Rewarding in a myriad of real and metaphoric ways.

In Joe Friel's article he talks about the elements that comprise mental toughness. One must have: Motivation, discipline, confidence and patience. For starters. One must also be a servant to routine. This is the basis. You have to show up and do the work. Then your positive habits shape your persona. You are what you repeatedly do. We want to make our efforts, sessions, and training so filled with quality that the only outcome possible is, well, whatever you want it to be. We can create new habits.

You can be a champion.

You can be a winner.

You can be a hero.

A role model, a guide, a mentor.

You can be happy now.

You can inspire others.

You can do anything.

Just add a reason, a routine, a dash of ego and some patience. Of course it helps also to dream in technicolor and have an extra-large playbook (Volume One is shown above)

Bread on Table

Bread on the table.

Doing homework to determine the best product upgrades available to enhance our video capture and post production work-flow. In the six years since the RCV concept was born a lot has changed. Video technologies have given us the use of palm-sized HD cameras, such as the GoPro and Contour, both which provide outstanding video. Each, however have their limitations. The GoPro uses a fish eye lens with non adjustable internal image stabilization, making it a real challenge to manipulate in post, and the Contour has a very temperamental GPS function and cannot be used with a DC power source. Both cameras, while they capture stunning full 1920x1080 video, are hit or miss, providing sometimes spectacular highlight shots, but iffy for our continuous capture methodology. It seems that the the gadget containing all our requirements has yet to be devised. Leaving us to seek an alternate tool synergy to accomplish the objective, which sometimes (like for the IMNYC shoot in August), means a one-take shot lasting almost six hours!!!!

Something not even JJ Abrams or Michael Mann would attempt. Six hours? One shot? Are you serious?

Yes, yes and we are.

The solution du jour consists of the following. You are free to try this on your own but it might be easier to simply wait until our products are released and buy one for $99. That approach will save you money, time and a barge-load of headaches.

For moto use, the mobile battery pack fits in my back pack. At 16 pounds it will get heavy, but nobody said this was gonna be easy. Power for up to eight hours. The seamless capture issue which has been plaguing the post process since inception, has always been limited by battery life and tape length. We solved the power issue and thanks to chip technology and video compression, we can now fit all 112 miles of an Ironman bike leg on one 32GB card. What FCP does with the MPEG-4-AVC h.264 codec is to be determined and tested next week and in California. My hunch is that it will be OK especially if capture is with a Canon HA-10 mounted to the Fig-Rig as my legs and torso act as shock absorbers when shooting off the moto. Fixed to a car I will have to cushion as best I can because typically MPEG4 doesn't play well in post with FCP.

If I can bring home a one-shot take of 56 or 112 miles, the merging of GPS data should be much quicker, resulting in us getting more product to market faster.

Which should please our over 40,000 current CompuTrainer users, which doesn't include Multi-Rider users. And that, dear friends, is how bread gets to my table.

Happy Feet II

Speaking of feet…I did the monthly foot maintenance routine Saturday night (did I mention I am a cheap date?). Here is the hot-foot protocol:

1) Clip toenails (this is a must for runners)

2) Use the HD emery board to remove dead skin

3) Soak in Epsom salted tub of hot water for 30 minutes

4) Rub with peach scrub

5) Insert into soft cotton socks and elevate

After a week of ramp-up run training, that climaxed yesterday with an 18 miler, this treatment feels almost as good as a foot massage. For those of you enjoying the benefits of partnership, or having disposable income (you don't hear THAT much anymore) to afford professional treatment, number six on the protocol list would include a foot massage. This is guaranteed to elicit some deep relaxation, the adulation of your partner and/or a negative split in your next event.

Which just so happens to be….Toe Jam 32! Our celebration of thirty-two consecutive years of running 13.1 of the hilliest miles this side of Pike's Peak. We have done it the last four years under the radar of the "official" TJ Half Marathon because they bastardized the course (and overall event) so badly that it is now defunct. One of the most difficult halves in the country (and 'most difficult' defaults to one of the best), gone TU. Shameful.

BUT WE WILL ENDURE!!! We will carry the torch forward again this year on Sunday, April 15. Forget about your deductions and come run a taxing and testing 13.1 starting at 1000 from the old start/finish at Bethany Lutheran Church on Finch Rd. Take the money you'll save from the entry fee (our event is free) and send it to your Uncle Sam. There is one water station, a marked course, and a T-shirt exchange at the finish. What you eat and drink afterwards will be determined by what you, or your compassionate peers, bring. Does this sound too good to be true? OK, not yet? How's this: Anyone beating my 1:41:23 time of last year gets a gift cert for 30 min foot massage at the BAC*.

Thank me now because at the moment the grade changes at the left off of South Beach to 15% and you head up the course namesake, you probably won't be thanking anybody for anything.

So make sure your feet are ready. You can thank yourself for that.

*If more than one (as should be) a random drawing will determine winner.

Pic: Feet go here.