Aconcagua 2009 Expedition

Well, I didn’t make the summt, but I had a wonderful trip…  if you’d like to follow my next adventure, you can read my triathlon blog at http://www.season1racing.com/blog

That is really it…  Fantastic day.  Not much else to say.  Averaged over 18 mph including a 5 minute rest at calero.

62 mile ride - San Jose to Almaden to Gilroy and back.

Unexpectedly, my training for Aconcagua over the last few months that included “Brick” training every Tuesday and Thursday has caused me to discover a new love…  the bicycle.

I have always been a runner, not a cyclist, and never had more than a BMX bike until the last 5 years, and got my first mountain bike (other than the one I borrowed during college to get to class and back) about a year ago.

Starting with the Bricks every T/Th on the spinbike, I started to really enjoy cycling…  I would take the dog for a run on the bike a couple times a week, and even went about 10 miles a couple times for a “ride”.

Well, the last month has made me realize I REALLY enjoy being on the bike… I even went and replaced my stock pedals with clip-ins so i can get more out of the mountain bike I have.  I took this to the next level two weekends ago when I decided to go for a ride on a Saturday…  I posted on facebook on Friday night a question – “I mapped out several possible routes for a ride – 25, 30, 40, or 60 miles”…  I had two people immediately say 60.

I thought about it for a bit, went to bed, and when I got up the next morning, I thought… sure, why not…  So I got dressed, told my neighbor where I was going, and set out with a 1L camelback of water, 1/2 liter bottle of EFS, honey stinger chews and a bonk breaker bar for my trip.  I turned on the headphones and pedaled away… down Almaden Expressway, through Almade Valley, past Calero reservior, past Uvas, turned towards Watsonville, down to highway 152… on and on I went… wind in my face, legs just pedaling away.  I was elated.

I took the 152 to Monterrey Hyw in Gilroy, and turned towards home… now pedaling into a good 10-15 mph headwind, I hit the WALL big time.  I pulled over, finished off my EFS (water was already gone), had a couple energy chews and stood in the shade behind a tree for a few…  about 5 minutes went by, and I got back in the saddle and felt much better pedaling again…

It was at that time, that I looked down and saw a squishy front tire… oh crap!  I am in the middle of nowhere with a flat tire and no repair kit – brilliant.

I got off the bike, and in my oh so comfortable bike shoes begin walking down the road, I stopped and quickly took out my iPhone, pulled up Yelp, and searched on “bike” near my “Current Location”  Sunshine Bikes – 3.2 miles north on Monterrey.  Sweet!

I continued walking, and decided I might not make it in time, so I raised my thumb… I have never hitchiked in my life, but at 34, why not start now.  I walked about a mile and a half with every “fancy” pickup truck that passed not even slowing down… lame.

Finally, a car pulled over.  and started honking… I hobbled in my bike shoes as I ran over the bridge to the car stopped ahead.  A nice woman had a pig trailer on the back of her SUV, and she helped me put the bike in and gave me a lift the remaining 2+ miles.

I offered her the $8 in cash I had and she refused… a real nice lady, and I thank her for helping me out.  The guys at Sunshine Bikes pulled out the thorn, gave me a new tube and pointed me to the nearest 7-11 on the way out of town (now in Morgan Hill).

I stopped and picked up 1.5 L water, and 2 16-oz bottles of gatorade.  I refilled the camelbak with water, downed one of the gatorade’s and poured the other into my bike bottle… drank what I could of the remaining water and poured the rest over my head… and with that I was back on the road.

I ground-out the remaining 18 or so miles – Monterey to Blossom Hill, to Snell, to Branham…  I pulled in, dropped the bike in the driveway, let my neighbor know I was fine, and went to take a shower.

I felt surprisingly well, though had trouble concentrating… I uploaded my HR data, and found that I had burned over 4700 calories…  it was time for food and quick.

I downed a glass of First Endurance Ultragen, then went and picked up a medium pizza, jalapeno poppers, and potato skins…  I ate about 1/2 of everything and felt much better in the morning (except for my sore feet from running in bike shoes).

All in all, it was a really enjoyable experience… now all I need is a road bike so I can enjoy it much more comfortably, and with less nerve pinches (numb ring & pinkie finger from the position on a mountain bike for 5 hours)

Data  Value  Unit�
Duration 5:36:35  �
Sampling Rate 5 s�
     �
Energy Expenditure 4699 kcal�
Number of Heart Beats 50163 beats�
Recovery -63 beats�
Minimum Heart Rate 89 bpm�
Average Heart Rate 149 bpm�
Maximum Heart Rate 179 bpm�
Standard Deviation 14.1 bpm�
     �
Minimum Speed 0.6 mph�
Average Speed 13.5 mph�
Maximum Speed 48.7 mph�
Distance  63.1 miles�
     �
Minimum Altitude  217 ft�
Average Altitude  413 ft�
Maximum Altitude  810 ft�
Ascent 1138 ft�
Descent 741 ft�
Slopes 2  �
VAM 203 ft/h�
      

Notice the super-fast speed about 2/3rds through my ride... that is when I was sitting in the car

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve updated my blog and training  log.  The last few weeks have been much of the same training-wise, so detailing day by day won’t really say much.  In essence, you can look at training over the past few months and that’s pretty much what the last couple weeks has been…  It has been tough lately with some personal items going on at home, and work stress to-boot, so despite hitting some big accomplishments trainin-wise (below), I know I am not yet reaching my potential.

I haven’t had a training hike in 4 weeks now, which is unfortunate, but the physical training has continued to get more intense…  I am now hoping to have 2 big training hikes – Shasta in mid-October, and Mt. Whitney again the 1st week in November.  I have several maybe’s for the trip, and am really hoping I will get at least one confirmed climbing partner for each trip.

The intensity as I said of my workouts continues to increase.  I read a book called “Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes” by Monique Ryan (http://www.amazon.com/Sports-Nutrition-Endurance-Athletes-Monique/dp/1931382964/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252611058&sr=8-1) and have found several items in the book incredibly effective at helping me step my work up a notch.

The key takeaways for me from the book were pre and post exercise nutrition…  Making sure I have the fuel and hydration going into a training session, and how to refuel for the quickest recovery to be ready for the next round are becoming more and more important for me to maximize my effort and training effectiveness.  By following some simple steps around carbohydrate and water timing before training, I have been able to see really incredible results, and so far have been able to get my peak heart rate during cycling exercises from 169 bpm (91% of max) to 181 bpm (97.8% of max) sustained for 15 seconds.

Through my training, I have also really begun to fall in love with cycling…  now, all I have to do is really start to like swimming again, and I’ll be mentally ready to start preparing for triathalons after the 1st of the year , which is when I am also hoping to purchase a road bike…  Until then, I have bought a pair of Shimano M324 SPD pedals for my Canondale F5, and a pair of Sidi Giau MTB shoes so I can clip-in and really push myself on the bike.

August has almost come and gone in the blink of an eye.  This month’s training had some big accomplishments, and also some much needed rest.

4th – Brick

5th – Trainer

6th – Off

7th – circuit

8th – training hike

9th – swim

10th – trainer

11th- brick

12th – trainer

13th – off

14th-16th off

17th – trainer

18th – brick

19th – trainer

20th-22nd – off

23rd - swim

24th – trainer

Last weekend, I decided to mix-up my training hikes, and went to Big Basin to try something different than Black Mountain and Mission Peak for a change…

Big Basin Hike - 7/25/2009 (note the wrong-turn detour on the lower right)

I loaded up the car at around 8am, make a couple breakfast burritos, filled all the water bottles and headed out at around 8:30…

The drive to Big Basin took about an hour and 20 minutes, and I arrived at the parking lot at around 9:45…  As I pulled into the parking lot, I had a rush of panic… uh oh… I took the superfeet out of my hiking boots and had them in my La Sportiva Spantik’s for training…  and the original insoles I left in the truck… oh CRAP!!!

I pulled into a parking spot, and peeked into my boots that were sitting on the passenger seat and sure enough…  no insoles.  double CRAP!  I sat in deep thought for a couple minutes:  If I drive home, I’m done for the day; If I hike… what about my feet – Are insoles absolutely necessary?

Well, I decided to give it a shot… I might as well get a couple miles in, so I put liner socks and smartwool mountaineering socks on, slide on the boots which definitely had extra room, and went and paid for parking.

I got back to the car, and loaded up my pack -
    1 puffy jacket in the sleeping bag space�
    2 - 8 lb dumbells
    1 – 3 liter dromedary bag
    3 – 1 liter bottles
    1  – 1/2  liter bottle
    2 – 1 liter camelbaks
    1 – 1 liter bottles (w/ drinking water)
    1 – 1 liter REI thermos
    1 – 2 liter insulated camelbak (for drinking)
    1 – 1/2 liter sports bottle w/ EFS

I set off from the parking lot and within the first mile was mildly concerned… I already had a little tingling in my right foot, and my feet felt weird…  I kept going, figuring I would turn around as soon as it became a problem.

A short detour because the skyline to the sea trail was closed, and I’m heading up the hill on the Sunset trail.  I followed the trail up and over the hill, and then started down the long and gentle decline towards the berry creek falls trail.

I reached the berry creek falls trail, and my feet were feeling surprisingly well, so I took the sharp left turn and went down to check out the falls…

Berry Creek Falls, Big Basin, CA 7/25/2009

The falls were really nice, but with every step down, I wondered how much fun I was going to have going back up…  I stopped for about 3 minutes, had a peach and a couple honey stinger energy chews, adjusted the weight in the pack, and kept going…  down, down, down all the way to the bottom…

I decided I wanted to make a loop, and take the skyline trail back to where the sunset and skyline to the sea trail almost meet, so I headed up the valley, as my feet started to ache…  uphill with no insoles is definitely much worse than downhill.

After a while, I reached the connection with the sunset trail again… and my feet were on FIRE…  my heart rate was moving up with every step, and I was taking frequent stops just to readjust the weight in the pack, which had all settled to the bottom back of the pack.

I made the connection, and up over the hill… I was almost home!  I walked down the hill towards the parking lot, met the dool trail, and wass now in pain but happily ignoring it as I knew I was .3 miles from the headquarters…  I reached the road and walked towards my car… looking forward to getting my boots off, which I now felt a sharp burning in the bottom of my left foot. 

I walked, and walked, and walked, and walked… what the hell!!??  I stopped and looked at the map by one of the day use bathrooms, and realized I had made the wrong turn at the road and had now walked a mile in the opposite direction from my car.  Now my feet really started to hurt.

Slogging my way back, each step on the asphalt hurting more than the one before, I made my way back to the car… what a relief it was once I finally made it back.  I dropped the pack in the trunk, and sat down in the front seat to take off my boots.  I got out of the car after examining the silver dollar sized blister on the bottom of the ball of my left foot, and found it quite difficult to walk… plenty of pain, a little swelling, and some sore muscles that were screaming at me…

I grabbed my wallet and phone out of the pack, and got in the car and headed home… a good 11 mile long hike without insoles had taught me a lesson I won’t soon forget.  I stopped at chipotle on my way back, got a chicken bowl for lunch (at around 4:30 pm), and went home to rest…

All in all, it was a good hike, and I’m sure helped me with my pain threshold.  I have always known that insoles add comfort, and the superfeet really help support your weight, and now I know they are not optional…  I know I could make it a good distance without them, but I’d pay the price later (my feet consequently hurt for several days once I had insoles, and my feet readjusted to having some shape).  I’ve added “insole check” to my regular checks now before I leave for a hike!

Here is my workout data:

July 7th – Brick

July 8th – Trainer

July 9th-11th – off

July 12th – 10.4 mile hike (black mountain) w/ 65 lbs

July 13th – Trainer

July 14th – Brick

July 15th – Trainer

July 16th – off

July 17th – Ladder & Circuit

July 18th – 9.2 mile hike w/ 65 lbs

July 19th – 20 minute spin & 12 lung busters in the pool

July 20th – trainer

July 21st – off

July 22nd – Trainer

July 23rd – off

July 24th – circuit and Ladder

July 25th – 11.7 mile hike w/ 65 lbs

July 26th – off

July 27th - trainer

July 28th – off

July 29th – trainer

July 30th – August 2nd – off

August 3rd – trainer:
     incline pushups, pullups w/ swiss ball between legs, TRX pullups, straight arm lat pulldowns, incline pushups w/ feet on ball

Sunday I kept to my commitment for a nice long training hike.  I loaded up my pack with about 30 lbs of water in various 1-3 liter jugs plus other stuff to the tune of 45+lbs total including the pack and headed for Rancho San Antonio park & Black Mountain.  Unfortunately, I ended up getting stung by a honey bee on the way there (bounced off the car side mirror and landed stinger first right on my arm).  It’s still a bit swollen and itchy, but since I didn’t seem to be having a dangerous reaction I decided to tough it out and continue with going on my hike.  I parked along Moody road in Los Altos hills and started walking around 12:00 pm.

I also made the mistake of watching stage 9 of the Tour in the morning, and thus paid for it with 93+ heat for the entire hike…  a good portion of the trail was in shade, but it was still hot, and much worse in the exposed areas of the hike. 

Black Mountain trail overview with mile markers

I completed the 10.4 mile round trip in just under 4.5 hours (2400′ elevation increase), stopping only twice for maybe 2-3 minutes to refill my camelbak from water bottles and to grab some honey stinger energy chews (the BEST!!!).  My legs felt good on the way up, but I was most happy with my knees and how good they seemed on the way down.  My training and workouts seem to be really helping both with my endurance and joint tolerance (not to mention overall strength).

Overall, it was a great hike… glutes and shin muscles are still a bit sore, and one blister on a toe (not to mention the bee sting), but otherwise great!  Having myPolar RS800CX Multi on, made it a great exercise in monitoring my breathing and effort versus heartrate, and distance and pace.  I am hoping to get another hike in the next two weeks, with some extra weight up past 50 lbs and a total of 5-6 hours of hiking.

Well, it’s been just over a week since I updated my training records, and it’s been a bit chaotic with a holiday and a two day back-to-back rest due to shin pain…  I am tracking now with a Polar RS800CX Multi.  I am still having some challenges with recording – having the wrong accessories turned on or off while working out, but by and large I’m getting the hang of it and it’s providing a wealth of information… now all I need is someone to help me understand the value of a lot of the data I am getting such as VLF, HF/LF, minimum R-R, etc…  I haven’t included the R-R data as it would make my post rediculously long… I have included just the Friday July 3rd data below.

June 25th – Brick
June 26th – circuit
June 27th – 5K run
June 28th – 3 mile bike, 2miles on the track (cadence sensor training)
June 29th – circuit
June 30th – rest: shin pain
July 1st – rest: shin pain
July 2nd – Brick
  Cycle:
     average heart rate – 153
     max heart rate – 167�
     Duration 0:50:10  �
     Sampling Rate 5 s �
     Energy Expenditure 688 kcal�
     Number of Heart Beats 7688 beats�
     Recovery -31 beats�
     Minimum Heart Rate 113 bpm�
     Average Heart Rate 153 bpm�
     Maximum Heart Rate 167 bpm�
     Standard Deviation 12.3 bpm�
     Minimum Altitude  167 ft�
     Average Altitude  184 ft�
     Maximum Altitude  190 ft�
     Ascent 20 ft�
     VAM 24 ft/h�
   Run:
     Duration 0:21:25  �
     Sampling Rate 5 s�
     Running Index 41     �
     Energy Expenditure 318 kcal�
     Number of Heart Beats 3440 beats�
     Recovery -35 beats�
     Minimum Heart Rate 128 bpm�
     Average Heart Rate 160 bpm�
     Maximum Heart Rate 166 bpm�
     Standard Deviation 5.7 bpm �
     Minimum Pace 14:17 min/mile�
     Average Pace 10:00 min/mile�
     Maximum Pace 9:22 min/mile�
     Distance  2.1 miles �
     Minimum Cadence  79 rpm�
     Average Cadence  84 rpm�
     Maximum Cadence 88 rpm�
July 3rd – Ladder with Circuit (regular circuit, all exercises done wearing La Sportiva Spantik’s), stairmill
  Ladder:     �
     10 jump pullups (rest)
     10 jump pullups, 10 pushups (rest)
     10 jump pullups, 10 pushups, 10 – 10lb curls (rest)
     10 jump pullups, 10 pushups, 10 – 10lb curls, low punches, military presses, reverse flys, high cross-punches, 10 jump squats (rest)
     10 jump pullups, 10 pushups, 10 – 10lb curls, low punches, military presses, reverse flys, high cross-punches, 10 – 10 lb jump squats (rest)
     10 jump pullups, 10 pushups, 10 – 10lb curls, low punches, military presses, reverse flys, high cross-punches, 10 – 10 lb jump squats, 10 straight-arm swing (raise) with 25 lb curl bar (rest)
  20 minutes on stairmill, 10 at level 4, 10 at level 5
monitor data:
     Duration 1:28:15  �
     Sampling Rate 5 s�
     Energy Expenditure 932 kcal�
     Number of Heart Beats 11571 beats�
     Recovery 4 beats�
     Minimum Heart Rate 100 bpm�
     Average Heart Rate 131 bpm�
     Maximum Heart Rate 160 bpm�
     Standard Deviation 14.4 bpm�
     Energy Expenditure 935 kcal�
     Number of Heart Beats 11569 beats�
     Minimum R-R Interval  366 ms (164 bpm)�
     Average R-R Interval  458 ms (131 bpm)�
     Maximum R-R Interval 611 ms (98 bpm)�
     RLX baseline 5 ms�
     Standard Deviation 51.8 ms�
     Max/min ratio 1.67  �
     Weighted RR Average 463 ms�
     SD1 3.3 ms�
     SD2 73.2 ms�
     RMSSD 4.6 ms�
     pNN50 0.0 %�
     Total power (0.003 – 0.400 Hz) 385.03 ms² �
     VLF (0.003 – 0.040 Hz) 357.10 ms² (92.7 %)�
     LF (0.040 – 0.150 Hz) 26.15 ms² (6.8 %)�
     HF (0.150 – 0.400 Hz) 1.78 ms² (0.5 %)�
     LF/HF ratio 1465.9 %
July 4th – rest (beach day!)
July 5th – rest
July 6th – Trainer workout
     Jump squats w/ medicine ball
     TRX shoulder workout (squat – straight arm lift)
     straight-arm lat pulldown

Vuelta a Baja road ride and vacation... for fun!

I know… I’m still preparing for the trip to Aconcagua, and I’ve already started thinking about my next adventure.  Well, to celebrate the kickoff of the Tour de France this weekend, I have started the Vuelta a Baja site – http://vueltaabaja.com/.  The goal is to have a tour style road ride from Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas.  I have just started working through the itinerary but it looks like it will be 6-7 days riding, then 5 days in Cabo relaxing, then two days driving back. 

The best thing I think about the concept of the vuelta is that it allows serious riders, non-serious riders, and plain old vacationers to have a great trip.  The cyclists will take off from the stage starting point in the morning with a support car following, and the lead car taking off to spot any issues with the road where we may need to dismount for a distance.  Anyone can ride one day and skip the next (or the rest), or a partial day.  The stage starting and ending points will be located to provide a good day’s ride out on the open road, and will avoid dangerous city areas or hazerdous areas of road.

Anyhow, I’ve just started working on the plans for the Vuelta, and hope it will come together.  I think it could be a great experience and a great time for everyone.