OMX Series

The return of the world's oldest teenager

2011-01-23T16:55:00.000-08:00

Birthday today. Went for a run this morning but could only handle the cold for around 20 minutes. Later got layered up and biked to Velotique on Queen Streot and bought myself a present:
GoPro HeroHD helmet camera.
Also today, signed up the for the Warrior Dash at Horseshoe resort in July. And last week joined the Toronto Triathlon club.

Looking forward to a fun and active summer.

Saturday July 31

2010-07-31T11:40:00.002-07:00

Two weeks until the Give-It-A-Tri

7:00 am rode to work to check on the Caribana crew. Then
Bike 80 minutes, a bunch of it on hills. Basically from Polson Street up Broadview to Danforth, across the Yonge, north and uphill on Yonge, over to Moore Park, down the ravine to the Brickworks Farmers' Market. Then Bayview to Gerrard, to Parliament for some shopping then to St Johns Bakery and then home.

Two-A-Day!
Was cold this morning but by 12:30 it had warmed up so it was a good opportunity to try out the wetsuit at Cherry Beach. Water’s really cold when you first get in but after a few minutes it’s not so bad. The first 5-10 minutes splashing around in the wetsuit was awkward and it’s a strange feeling to have something that feels like a rubber band around your chest restricting your breathing. Went back to the shore and stood up, relaxed for a while and then swam out to a buoy 100 meters from shore and back. I’ll get used to it but even if it does provide extra buoyancy it feels like it slows me down a lot. If the water’s warmer for the Tri, might consider swimming without it.
Then since I had to bike back home anyway, decided to take up Unlikely Hero’s advice.
Quickly got out of the wetsuit, put it in pack. Put on bike shoes without socks. Pack on back and biked home quickly. Was doing 30 kph for the first few minutes until I started to hit some red lights, but kept above 25 for the rest of the short ride. Got home, hung up the wetsuit, put on shoes, went out and ran a little less than 2.5 km in 15 minutes.
Without any pressure or people around, it’s fun. We’ll see how it turns out two weeks from today.

Bonus tip: a stretchy tri belt can also be used as a strap for holding an ice pack on your knee and lower leg.

July 30

2010-07-31T11:40:00.001-07:00

Got to sleep after midnight, woke up at 3:00 am, had breakfast, sleep a few more hours, had a bizarre dream filled with violence; no energy taking the day off from exercise.

July 28

2010-07-31T11:39:00.004-07:00

6:00 am run 23 minutes 3 km. Took more willpower than Green Lantern needed to battle the Sinestro Corps War but it finally felt less like jogging and more like running.
50 situps
7:00 am swim 600 meters 15 minutes

PWD: skipped the drink and had scrambled egg whites. Too bland, going back to regular free range brown eggs after using up this carton of egg whites.

Two A Day
8:00 pm bike 10 km 30 minutes crosstown boogie

July 27

2010-07-31T11:39:00.003-07:00

Had to deal with a medical issue

July 26

2010-07-31T11:39:00.001-07:00

6:00 am run 25 minutes 3 km. Started out okay, ended strong but sagged in the middle.
7:00 am swim 600 meters 15 minutes. Watched videos linked in swimming thread and improved stroke by reaching further and kicking more.

July 25

2010-07-31T11:38:00.002-07:00

8:00 am

Warmup:
50 situps
20 pushups
10 glute raises per leg
10 hydrants per leg
3x10 hanging leg raises
3x10 back extensions w plate

Bench
Lat pulldowns
Military press
Curls
Tricep extensions
Pecs
Lats – cable machine

3x10 cable crunches
3x10 incline situps w 10 lb plate

PWD banana, blueberry, isolate, flax, water, ice. Egg white omelette. Whole wheat bread w peanut butter.

July 24

2010-07-31T11:38:00.001-07:00

BRICK!!!
6:30 am
Bike 50 minutes 20 km Ave speed 23.1 Max 36. Was holding 30 kph steady between stop lights. Felt really good, it’s been a while since I had a ride like that. If I wasn’t doing this Tri training probably would have done a nice 2 or 3 hour bike ride
Run 3 km 24 minutes kind of slow, had to struggle a bit to finish. Wonder how much of running is psychological.

PWD: banana, blueberries, water, ice, flax, isolate, coffee. Very tasty. And a hardboiled egg.

July 23

2010-07-31T11:37:00.002-07:00

Rained out. One more rest day.

July 22

2010-07-31T11:37:00.001-07:00

Knee still sore, took a rest and recovery day. Yesterday on Facebook Pete said, “Here’s something to consider: what will you do if you flat out?” Today I got home from work and bike had a flat tire. Coincidence?

July 21

2010-07-31T11:27:00.001-07:00

Knee was bothering me this morning, so I didn’t run.
6:30 am
Swim 18 minutes 600 meters. Lane was crowded so I had a chance to get accustomed to having other swimmers’ arms and legs flailing around beside me. And more T1 practice, and a little better now that I know what to expect when hopping on a bike with wet tri shorts.

July 20

2010-07-20T04:56:00.001-07:00

6:00 am

Warmup:
50 situps
20 pushups
10 glute raises per leg
10 hydrants per leg
3x10 hanging leg raises
3x10 back extensions w plate

Squats
Bench
Lat pulldowns
Military press
Curls
Tricep extensions
Pecs
3x10 cable crunches

7:00 am
Bike: 20 minutes
PWD: banana water ice chocolate isolate

July 19

2010-07-20T04:55:00.000-07:00

Woke up with stiff back. Maybe I can’t sleep more than 4.5 hours because this futon is old and lumpy. As Rorschach said, Must remember to investigate further.
Run: 3.0 km 20 minutes That’s a bit of an improvement. Also almost ran over a raccoon I don’t know which of us was more startled.
Swim: 600 meters 16 minutes. Worn new tri shorts, might have helped reduce drag. And since I was wearing tri shorts, decided to go for the tri experience. Got out of pool put on running shoes and hopped on bike with the wet shorts on. Not the greatest sensation in the world but it’s not so bad.

July 18

2010-07-20T04:52:00.002-07:00

Rest and recovery and bought this
Quintana Roo Superfull Wetsuit

Really nice, 2 or 3 years old and top of the line. Can’t wait to go jump in the lake with it on.

And made one more movie:
Triathlon Tyros’ Top Ten Tips

July 17

2010-07-20T04:52:00.001-07:00

6:30 am
Run: 4.78 km 36 minutes. Longest run yet. Longest run since high school back in the 70s. And I feel pretty good.
PWD: banana water ice chocolate isolate flax oil

9:30 am
Bike: ~35 km. Went up to Endurosports outlet store. No wetsuits in my size but I bought Orca tri shorts to try out. Return trip included a stop at Brickworks farmers market and St Johns Bakery.

July 16

2010-07-20T04:51:00.000-07:00

Was putting on running shoes and started to rain so I didn’t go. 20 minutes later rain stopped so
Swim: 600 meters 18 minutes
Felt good, could have done more, need to start out faster, push harder instead of staying in comfort zone of effort.

July 15 - one month to go!

2010-07-14T15:32:00.003-07:00

July 14, 2010
This is such a difficult event requiring a rare skillset (and motivation) that most people won’t even consider it and sometimes when you’re in it and training you lose sight of that.
My brother is a better runner than me, bought a new bike over the winter but isn’t a good swimmer so he’s not going to participate. I have another friend who’s been going to the gym regularly for at least a couple of decades. He’s impressed I’m doing this but wouldn’t even consider it (I think he only even runs on a treadmill, and probably can’t swim). There’s a kid at work in his 20s who’s about a foot taller than me, really strong, bikes to work every day. I would bet that with zero training he could have a better time than me, and yet the best I could get out of him was, “I’d should come and watch your race, when is it?” Guy I told at the bike store said “that’s awesome” but all he likes to do is bike, no way he wants to train to run any distance at all.

The only friend I have who’s into this (and the one who talked me into it) lives in another city 200 km away.

6:00 am
Run: 3.0 km 23 minutes. Hot humid and muggy. Reminds me of the opening monologue from Sexy Beast:
Oh, yeah.
Bloody hell.
I'm sweatin' here.
Roastin'.
Boilin'.
Bakin'.
Swelterin'.
It's like a sauna.
A furnace.
You could fry an egg on my stomach.
Ohh...
Ooh, now that is hot.
It's ridiculous.
Tremendous.
Fantastic.
Fan-dabby-dozy...
...tastic.
Keep going, though. July 14 now. Event is on August 14. Must push through. Then about 15 minutes into the run the playlist hits RATM Killing In The Name Of, and it’s like a shot of adrenalin.
Shirt was drenched at the end of the run.

7:00 am
Swim 500 meters 15 minutes. Good relaxed pace, good form. Last 25 meters I breathed every other stroke, maybe work on that for the next few weeks, seems to be little more efficient.

July 13

2010-07-14T15:32:00.001-07:00

July 13, 2010
4 hours sleep. Maybe I should start adding in an evening workout session so I’m tireder and can maybe sleep longer.
5:45 am
Bike to gym
Warmup:
50 situps
25 pushups
10 glute raises per leg
10 hydrants per leg
3x10 hanging leg raises
3x10 back extensions w plate

Deads
Bench
Military Press
Lat pulldowns
Bicep curls
Tricep extensions
Pec flies
Cable ab curls
Hammer machine curls (incline bench was broken)
Bike home

PWD: watermelon, blueberries, unflavoured isolate, coffee, water, ice, flax oil

July 12

2010-07-14T15:31:00.006-07:00

6:00 am
Run: 3 km 23 minutes
7:00 am
Swim: 500 meter 18 minutes
Intervals, got this idea from a post in the Swimming thread
4 x 50 w 30 seconds rest between each
2 x 100 w 30-45 seconds rest
2 x 50 w 30 seconds rest

July 11

2010-07-14T15:31:00.005-07:00

Went to Hole last night. Got home at midnight, slept under 4 hours, no energy so
Rest and recovery

July 10

2010-07-14T15:31:00.003-07:00

1:30 pm
Swim: 500 meters. Didn’t get the time but it was the best swim so far; getting stronger, good pace. And I started to practice looking ahead once each pool length because in the open water swim it’s going to necessary to look up a lot and keep an eye on the buoys, other swimmers and landmarks.

July 9

2010-07-14T15:31:00.001-07:00

July 9 2010
142.8 – a new low. At this rate I could be under 140 for the tri which is not a bad thing.
Pool day today, but it doesn’t open until 7 am. Got up shortly after 4 and figured I’d go for a bike ride and maybe cool down a bit. After about 20 minutes a light rain started to fall, it was nice. But I also noticed I was fading and have to remember to not take the biking fitness for granted. Got home and started to pack bag for the pool and the rain is now coming down hard. Not going back out in it, so it was really lucky I got the bike ride in.

Bike: 30 minutes, a little over 10 km.
PWD: banana and chocolate isolate smoothie and a hard boiled egg.

July 8

2010-07-14T15:30:00.003-07:00

Hot, and I woke up around 4:30 am. Had to get in a run before it became unbearable so was out the door at 6:00 am

Run: 3.0 km in 24 minutes.
Going through the park I actually passed a few people on a slightly uphill part. That felt good even though it was at the beginning of the run. And in part of the last 500 meters it felt like I was not jogging but actually running with a stride, so there is some progress being made.
Have a couple of dozen baseball style caps but none of them are really suitable for running in this weather, and going to need to get some kind of portable hydration system aka a water bottle.

July 7

2010-07-14T15:30:00.001-07:00

7:00 am
Swim: 400 meters nonstop in 10 minutes. Then did a couple more laps as intervals, going as hard as I could. First day I felt like I was reallyswimming.

With over a month left to train there is now a possibility of doing the 400 meter open water swim in under 10 minutes which was beyond even considering a few weeks ago.

July 6

2010-07-14T15:29:00.002-07:00

Toronto's a funny city. We survive through 6 months of cold weather and as soon as it gets warm, PUBLIC ADVISORY: HEAT ALERT because it's over 80 degrees.

Mini-brick: 15 minute bike ride to gym then immediately hop on treadmill for 10 minutes.

Weights, ah weights. It's been a while because I had to start swimming and running.
Warmup:
50 situps
25 pushups
10 glute raises per leg
10 hydrants per leg
3x10 hanging leg raises
3x10 back extensions w plate

Squats
Bench
Lat pulldowns
Curls
Tricep extensions
Lat raises
3x10 cable crunches
3x10 incline bench crunches w 10 lb weight

Realized after I'd forgotten to do military press and rows. Next time!
Bike home around 7:30 am, feels like it's going to be another hot day.

PWD: another banana & chocolate isolate smoothie, these things are habit forming.

New video is up. Me and Pete compare notes about triathlon training.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO5pM2_sOrs

July 5

2010-07-14T15:29:00.001-07:00

Rest and recovery

July 4 - later

2010-07-14T15:28:00.002-07:00

Biked to Endurosports this afternoon. Beautiful day outside so the store was empty when I walked in. Salesman asked if I wanted any help, and I was about to give him my typical, “Just looking around” but instead, I decided to go for it. So I told him I had entered the mini-triathlon on Toronto Island, and he had nothing better to do so we spent the next 20 minutes going over stuff and he showed me some necessities, some options, and gave some good tips. I tried on a wetsuit, and he explained how to get it on, zip it up, and then how to get out quickly. I reserved it for the day of the event and really want to take it out at least once before then to splash around the lake. Nineteen, I think it was a Pipeline. More flexible and a lot more skin tight than I was expecting. Looked absurd, like auditioning to be in the Very Old X-Men. Simply pulling it on and taking it off left me sweaty and worn out!

One thing he said that was really helpful: get there early and get set up (I was already planning to do this part). Put on the wetsuit and then go to where the swim will end. Look back at the Transition Area, pick a landmark and figure out the route to take to get to your bike. Because when you get out of the water it will be mass chaos, you’re tired, disoriented, and you don’t want to have to guess where you’re going and start wondering where your bike is.

July 4

2010-07-14T15:28:00.001-07:00

6:45 am
Bike to YDS, say hi to the crew, bike home
7:17 – 7:42 am
Run north, through park then Broadview to Queen and up River Street.
25 minutes, 3.0 km. Have to push harder, faster than a slow jog.

July 3

2010-07-14T15:27:00.000-07:00

7:00 am
Bike: 60 minutes, first part of it was up some hills, last part through the Moore Park Ravinefor fun.

Quick stop at farmers market to pick up free range eggs, pack of sprouts (broccoli, clover, radish, alfalfa mix), sheep milk yogurt, cauliflower curry salad, lentil salad.

7:30 pm
Bike 11.77 km 31 mins ave 22.7 mx 35.5 cruise 27+

July 2

2010-07-03T03:01:00.001-07:00

6:00 am
Run 2.7 km in 20 minutes. Stomach’s been upset ever since puking. Hope it’s just the pills.
Swim 400 meters in 50m intervals with minute rest.

With 6 weeks to go, feel that I need to increase distance of run and swim by 50% in the next 3 weeks. Then work on speed at those distances.

July 1 - Triathlon course reconnaissance

2010-07-03T02:55:00.002-07:00

Mouth is still a bit sore, but got up at the usual time of 3:30 am after a solid 5 hours of sleep. Leave shortly after 7 which will give plenty of time to get to the 8 am ferry. Do 2 laps of what I estimate is the 10 km bike ride, and the run. I expect the Transition Area will either be in or close to the tennis courts.
Turn around will probably be just past these fountains.

Can’t figure out where the swim will start, maybe here. I’m pretty sure I’ve kayaked through this strait, the water is calm but really cold and dirty so will definitely need a full wetsuit not a shorty.

The bike and running paths are even flatter than I had expected. Good for beginners; good for me. But as usual when near the lake, no matter which direction you’re riding it feels like you’re heading into the wind.
Instead of another lap I decide to see how far the road goes and – it goes about 15 km, so that’s another 30 km ride, get back to ferry dock with a few minutes before it arrives. Hop off bike and run on grass for a few minutes, stretch. A good morning workout, a somewhat successful preliminary recon mission.

Bike: ~50 km
50 situps
25 pushups

June 30

2010-07-03T02:55:00.001-07:00

Mouth still sore but now I know what it takes for me to get a full 6 hours sleep – prescription drugs. Made it to work and put in a full day, popping painkillers like they’re candy.
Went for a 40 minute walk in the evening on a route I’d like to make my morning run. Should be able to do it in 30 minutes.
Tooth or rather the space where the tooth used to be was still sore but should be good to get back to training tomorrow morning.

June 29

2010-07-03T02:54:00.000-07:00

Had a tooth extracted yesterday afternoon. Woke up around 5 am, took Apo-Keterolac for pain and swelling, Amoxicillin to fight infection, Tylenol 3.
Went into kitchen and put water on to boil.
Woke up having collapsed in a heap on the kitchen floor. Turned off stove and went back to bed for a while, sweating and shivering. Got up again. Really thirsty so drank some water.
Supposed to avoid solid food, hot liquids etc. Made smoothie like yesterday morning’s PWD. Banana, water, ice, a bit of coffee. Drank it down. 10 minutes later got to the bathroom in time to throw it all up. Don’t know which drug made me sick or if it was due to taking the drugs on an empty stomach but that was really bad.
Went back to bed, sweated some more. Got up again around 8 am. Dizzy, nauseous. Back to bed. Maybe I can get to work for 10:00 am. Nope, stood up and was still dizzy. Tried again for noon. Tnen 2:00 pm. Have to eat something, so had a bite of a banana, waited. Seemed okay so I finished it off, ate another, tried working from home but still feeling dizzy, nauseous and shaky.
Had read about Dr. Graham’s 811 raw vegan diet and being on Banana Island. Had not planned on going there but will give it a try for a day.

Was advised to “avoid strenuous actiivities” for 48 hours. That’s okay, I could use a couple of days to recover from the surgery - and from training. That will give me a little over 5 weeks left to train, which should be enough time to get both the 400 meter swim and 2.5 km run under 15 minutes each.

June 28 Triathlon training

2010-06-28T17:53:00.002-07:00

144 lbs. This is good with 6 weeks to go. Might get down to 140 lbs for ‘race weight’ simply by cutting back on bread.

6:00 am
Run 2.7 km in 17 minutes.
Home, wait around, bike to pool and wait for lifeguard to let us in. First time ever doing ‘intervals’.
50 meters crawl (2 lengths), rest 45-60 seconds x 12 (600 meters total).
Bike home.
Feels like I’ve done a mini-mini triathlon this morning. Run, bike, swim, bike.

PWD: Banana, blueberries, flax oil, isolate, water, ice, coffee.

Finding this pool feels like I’ve discovered one of the precious unknown secrets of east end Toronto. Open Monday-Friday at 7:00 am, and it’s free.

June 27

2010-06-28T17:53:00.001-07:00

6:35am
Run 2.7 km in 17 minutes

Bike Trail beside Bayview heading north to the Brickworks

2010-06-26T16:04:00.000-07:00

A haiku:

Oh Kona Jake you
take me everywhere I
ever want to go

June 26 Triathlon Training Log

2010-06-26T16:02:00.000-07:00

Woke up really early. By 4:00 am I’m lying in bed fully awake. Yesterday I exercised in the morning, stopped drinking coffee by 2:00 in the afternoon, went to bed around 11:30 pm and yet a little over four hours later I’m up. And it’s not even the old man syndrome of having to get up to take a piss. Anyway, get up shave, surf, etc, wait for the sun to come up so I can get out and ride.
Decided to try my first brick.
Figured on doing an hour hard bike ride then a run. Put on biking clothes. Fill up water bottle, put on kitchen counter. Thought I’d try a gel for the first time so I threw a couple in jersey pocket. Put on helmet, gloves, grab keys, elevator downstairs, stretch for few minutes, and go. Start out hard right away. Intend to stay above 25 kph at all times. A few blocks later, look down and realize the water bottle is still sitting on the kitchen counter. EPIC FAIL in T1 and that’s without even swimming first! Get it together dude there’s no excuse for this kind of absent minded mistake.
Still want to run after, so I decide to cut down to a half hour ride. Figure that since I don’t have water, might as well get some moisture from gel. I chug back the Gu realize that was a mistake as I feel it crawl down the esophagus like chocolate slime and really wish I could wash it down with water. Still, the ride goes okay, I put in a good effort.
Bike 10.65 km in 28 minutes, which includes having to slow down and stop for red lights. Not great but I haven’t done a ride like this in a couple of weeks because I’ve been so intent on starting to run and swim.
Back home I don’t waste time changing into running gear, but take six minutes in this T2 in order to drink about a liter of water without having to chug it all at once. Put on walkman and headphones, get back outside start running, Bob Marley’s Lively Up Yourself is the first song on the playlist and
WHAT THE HECK DUDE, SERIOUSLY WHAT THE HECK
is what my legs are screaming. Different muscles are being engaged in different ways, blood doesn’t know where it’s needed most. Now I know what Pete meant when he said he was running like Tim Conway’s “old man” on the old Carol Burnett show. But after a couple of hundred long slow meters the soreness subsides, muscles are stretching out and feel better and I can go at my usual jog. Talking Heads’ Thank You For Sending Me An Angel has great energy and lyrics for running and then comes a Ramones song and I’m moving along okay. Decide to go a bit further than last time, and even though the last couple of blocks are slightly uphill I manage to press harder and go a bit faster than when starting out. Decide the mantra for this triathlon will be:

The faster you run, the sooner it’s over.

The day’s workout is done and it’s not even 7:00 am and the farmer’s market doesn’t open for an hour.
Bike 10.65 km in 28 minutes
T2 6 minutes
Run 2.7 km in 18 minutes
50 situps
25 pushups

June 25 Triathlon Training Log

2010-06-26T16:01:00.000-07:00

Biked to Queen Street community centre and arrived around 6:45 am and the doors were open. Pool was still locked, which gave me a chance to stretch arms and shoulders a bit.
BONUS: this place is FREE, yes free swimming pool a short 10 minute bike ride away, wish I’d known about this earlier! Awe-freakin-some.
Second time swimming, and again I did a double-take.
Swim: 400 meters. Alternated 2 lengths breast stroke, 2 lengths crawl at an pace, concentrating on form. Threw in 2 back crawl near the end. Time taken: less than 14 minutes. Took a minute to catch breath. Did a couple more lengths of back crawl a little faster, and then 2 crawl with more effort. Was out of the pool in around 18 minutes. Quick change and hopped on bike for 10 minute ride home, feeling pretty good.

June 24 Triathlon Training Log

2010-06-26T16:00:00.001-07:00

Timing can be an amazing thing. Woke up and rain was pouring down, figured it was about time I took a rest and recovery day. But a little after 6 the rain had stopped and the sky was clearing up. Air was nice and cool.
Friday morning, have to go to the pool and get in some swimming and Saturday is bike day. So, why not go for a little jog. Started at 6:33 am. Finished at…6:51 am ?!

Stretch
Run: 2.35 km in 18 minutes. (distance calculated by mapmyride.com)
Stretch

Started out with the usual slow jog, but felt good so took a slightly longer route than yesterday and then did what could actually be considered ‘running’ the last block. Back in apartment, looked out the window, and it was pouring rain again. Somehow I’d snuck in a run in a short break between downpours. Girl Talk’s [i]Let’s Play[/i] mashup album is a lot of fun to listen to when running. Feel really good, too. Much better than after yesterday’s run.
Recover quickly. Not even hungry or drained. Having one of those old person moments when I’m almost concerned because I just ran 20 minutes and feel great. Energized. [i]Is there something wrong with me?[/i]
Now I have a target time, and am confident that with over a month of training to go, even after the swim and bike stages I should be able to run 2.5 km in under 20 minutes.
Skip the PWD and have water, coffee, bread, peanut butter, hardboiled egg. .No situps, no pushups – this is a recovery day.

June 22 workout

2010-06-26T15:51:00.000-07:00

Was going to take a rest day today but woke up around 4:00 am so by 5:30 was too restless to do nothing. Wanted to give the legs a rest so instead of a run or cardio workout, I biked at a moderate pace over to Goodlife to move some weights around, from 6 to 7 am.

Warmup:
50 situps
25 pushups
10 glute raises per leg
10 hydrants per leg
3x10 hanging leg raises
3x10 back extensions w plate

Bench 5x5
Lat pulls 5x5
Curls 5x5
Tricep extensions 5x5
Lat raises 3x8 (hoping this helps with swimming)
Pecs machine 5x5
Delt (cable machine) 5x5
3x10 cable crunches
3x10 incline bench crunches w 10 lb weight

Biking home, some punk passed me on a downhill stretch. It's such a great feeling to have someone pass you on the downhill bit of road and then you pass them on the uphill part afterwards...so much for no cardio and giving the legs a rest LOL, we battled for the lead for about a kilometer until I turned south on River Street.

Nutrition Talk

2010-06-21T01:44:00.000-07:00

I was so tired out after my first real Tri training workout, I needed some time not moving and figured it was a good opportunity for my first attempt at using Xtranormal. A bit of a discussion about nutrition for endurance events. Turned out okay but I think I can do better with a bit of practice.

Nutrition Talk #1

Give It A Tri on Saturday August 14.

2010-06-21T01:42:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I discovered that there’s an event called Give It A Tri on Centre Island, on Saturday August 14.
Intrigued, I started to consider it. Takes place close enough that I can bike to the ferry dock, and the stages may be short enough that I could get through them. A friend (who lives in another city) is also over 50 and has been training for a Sprint over the winter. He had to learn how to swim, got a coach, a really nice bike with these high tech aero bars, etc.

I asked him if I was crazy to even think about it. His response: “my dead grandma could run 2.5. No really, 2.5 would be over before you know it. If Steve Fonyo can hop across Canada on one leg you can gimp through 2.5 km.”

Fuck. He’s right. Now I have to go through with it.

The Toronto Island Give-It-A-Tri is on Saturday August 14 which gives me a scant 7 weeks to train. I have not run since high school and haven't been in a pool in a couple of decades.

Swim: 400 meters
Bike: 10 km
Run: 2.5 km

Yeah if you're 23 it doesn't seem like much. When you're 53 it seems like a lot of effort!
But not impossible. This event is a reasonable distance for an old man; and short enough that I shouldn't need to buy much gear. There's a store not too far away that rents out wet suits and I'll need one for the lake swim.

Have been weight training since November with decent results but will put that on hold for a few weeks. Also I ran out of pot a couple of weeks ago and haven't restocked so I might as well go without until after this event.

I can't deadlift, squat, bike, and run; my bad knee cannot tolerate all that. This will be a good change of pace for the summer to keep things interesting; it will be fun to take a break from the usual, “try to add 5 more pounds to the pathetic bench press you wimp.” And it's summer, time for outdoor activities!

With only seven weeks to go, think I'd like to use the first 4 weeks to build up endurance in swimming and running, then use the next 3 weeks to put it all together.

Summer Mode Begins

2010-06-15T04:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning, rode to ferry docks to meet crew that was heading over to Olympic Island. On the way to work, as I passed the hotel strip and started to speed up, glanced to the left and saw a kid trying to pass. So I sped up and got up to 35 kph and held that speed for a good 1/4 mile or more. When I looked back again he was out of sight.
Legs were burning and lungs were aching, but I've decided that was the start of summer riding mode: Go fast or go home, haha. Pedal at least 25 kph or coast until recovered enough to go at that pace.

A Trip To The Zoo

2010-05-26T16:34:00.000-07:00

Monday May 24. Perfect weather for a long ride, so I went to the zoo. Wasn't sure how far it was before leaving; did around 65 km total for the round trip. Took around 2 and a half hours.

Route taken, on mapmyride.com

Pickering

2010-04-02T23:58:00.000-07:00

Had a great ride out to Pickering and back. 60 km in around 3 hours. Good as a 'scouting' trip.

Approximate route here

Will try again in a few weeks, should be able to cut 20 minutes off the ride.

Morningside Road and Kingston Ave.

Waterfront park on the west side of Pickering. Have to remember to smile!

Deadlift Form Check #2

2010-03-12T03:49:00.000-08:00

Deadlifts at 145 lbs (body weight). Wasn't deloading and have corrected that. Still some rounding in the upper back.

Leg Raises and Hyperextensions

2010-03-07T07:32:00.000-08:00

Every time I'm at the gym, warm up routine includes 3 sets of leg raises and hyperextensions with 45 lb plate.

Deadlifts Form Check

2010-03-07T07:24:00.000-08:00

5 reps @ 135 lbs. Looks okay, in fact it looks like I'm not straining too hard and could be lifting at least another 10 or 20 pounds.

Collision with a Purpose

2010-03-05T19:22:00.000-08:00

So I'm riding home tonight, eastbound on the curved part of Dundas east of Yonge and a cab pulls up right in front of me, angled towards the curb. There's not enough space to pass him on the right, and going left would put me out into a lane of traffic. I'm on my beater so I slowed down and deliberately ran into his back bumper, haha.
Then as I'm passing he leans out the window and says, "Sorry!"

Squats Form Check

2010-03-04T16:30:00.000-08:00

Been doing the Starting Strength program for a months now and making some good progress.
Goodlife Fitness at Coxwell is a really nice gym. Opened last summer so all the equipment is still relatively new and in good repair.
Monday to Friday it opens at 5:00 am and I'm usually in there for an hour some time between 6 and 7:30 am. and it's never crowded, there's rarely a time when you have to wait for a bench, and NO ONE ever uses the squat rack. A few brave souls dare the Smith machine, but the squat rack is always open.

Friday January 8

2010-01-08T07:32:00.000-08:00

When I started biking this summer, just a few months ago really, at first my 'rule' was that I would not ride at night or in the rain. Well, of course if you're out on a long ride and it starts raining, you have no choice, then realize it's not that big of a deal.
Then the days started to get shorter and pretty soon if you're going to bike to work and back, you're going to be doing it in the dark. So I bought a good set of lights and another rule fell by the wayside.
As the seasons changed the new rule was that since I didn't mind the cold so much I'd keep riding but not if there was snow on the ground, that would be too treacherous.

This morning I left for the gym around 5:45 am.

Yes it's my "go anywhere, do anything freedom machine" but there are limits!

I started to slip and slide and to think, "what kind of fool rides a bike in this shit, I should go home and get back in bed", but pressed on.

Talk about "taking the lane", on some stretches of Gerrard I had to ride between the streetcar tracks because the rest of the road was too slippery. When I heard the rumble approaching from behind, had to pull over and figured I'd capture the moment for posterity.

Came close to losing it a few times, but got there. I hesitated outside though and thought that if all I did was turn around and ride back home that would be a good 40 minute cardio day. But what the heck, I was already there, so inside I went.

Follow up to Red Paw: Gluten

2010-01-06T16:39:00.001-08:00

According to the Red Paw dermal test, I should avoid gluten - which unfortunately is in a lot of processed food. Should also avoid oats, barley, spelt, kamot, wheat, white flour.
But I really like the bread and occasional pastry from St. John's Bakery. Saturday mornings I like to hit the gym from around 8 to 9:30 am and then pick up a loaf of sourdough and a couple of amazing brioches fresh out of the oven and still warm.
Then I read this article at www.thehuffingtonpost.com headlined, Gluten: What You Don't Know Might Kill You.

Well, bread contains gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, spelt, kamut, and oats. It is hidden in pizza, pasta, bread, wraps, rolls, and most processed foods. Clearly, gluten is a staple of the American diet.

What most people don't know is that gluten can cause serious health complications for many. You may be at risk even if you don't have full blown celiac disease...

A recent large study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that people with diagnosed, undiagnosed, and "latent" celiac disease or gluten sensitivity had a higher risk of death, mostly from heart disease and cancer...

Yet an estimated 99 percent of people who have a problem with eating gluten don't even know it. They ascribe their ill health or symptoms to something else--not gluten sensitivity, which is 100 percent curable.

Yikes!

Sunday January 3

2010-01-03T06:58:00.000-08:00

Headed out for the gym around 7:30 am this morning. According to theweathernetwork.com it was -17 degrees Celsius. Don't know what the wind chill made it but the wind was frigid and blowing from the north and west.
About 1/2 block from the gym I crossed from south side of Gerrard to north, and front wheel got caught in the streetcar track. With instinctive reaction in a fraction of a second I managed to get a foot on the ground, and arms pulled up and twisted the handlebar enough to get the wheel out, got back on seat and kept going. Would have been a really bad time to have taken a fall, instead it was a good beginning for the new year.

River To River

2009-12-28T03:49:00.000-08:00

River Street to the Humber river.
Yesterday the temperature was hovering around 0 celsius, the sun was out so I decided to go and check out the terrain of a cyclocross race being held next Sunday at Humber Bay park.
Total ride time was just under 2 hours and it was really great to be on the bike for so long; haven't ridden this duration since maybe the end of September.
Was warm everywhere except the feet, even with 2 pairs of socks on those biking shoes do nothing to keep out the cold wind and feet were freezing on the return ride.

Trip Report: Red Paw Electro-Dermal Testing

2009-12-26T05:11:00.000-08:00

Trip report of an appointment at Red Paw Computerized Electro-Dermal Testing. http://www.redpaw.net

Disclaimer: Food sensitivity or tolerance is not the same as allergies (neither is lactose intolerance) so this testing is not a substitute for the allergic 'scratch test', and you don’t have to jump in to tell me that electro-dermal testing is not a test or diagnosis for allergies.
I have allergies, lactose intolerance, and sensitivities; and I can assure you that while there is some overlapping they each have very different causes, symptoms, and effects.

The office space is not sterile and clinical as I was expecting, it is warm and folksy with Etsy - type crafts (stuffed animals to go with the ‘red paw’ theme I guess) strewn about on the reception desk and on the walls. I liked that the office was not trying to pretend to be a medical clinic, nor a new-age spirtual centre. There are no lab coats, no hard sell, and they don’t appear to sell anything except the service. And while it uses electrical equipment (a machine that goes, ‘Bing!’)and a computer to analyze the results it is homeopathy, not a validated medical diagnostic tool nor scientifically approved and verified procedure.
They are also careful to make sure clients (not “patients”) know that this is not a medical diagnosis.

Here’s a printout of some of the food-testing results.

What I do know is that the testing correctly showed hypersensitiy to everything I already knew about, eg lactose intolerance, some nut allergies, allergy to cats, and other foods/products I know give me varying degrees of adverse reactions. The testing also showed hypersensitivity to some things that I eat a lot.

There is not an exact relation between the number and the sensitivity and allergies; eg since almonds make me break out in hives, I've avoided them for decades, and so they show up lower on the sensitivity scale than peanuts, which I eat almost every day and don't cause an allergic reaction.

A big surprise was that I showed hypersensitivity to tropical fruits like oranges, bananas, and pineapple. I knew about strawberries (bad reaction, sometimes causes rash), but learning that I should not eat oranges and bananas was a bit of a shock to say the least. I probably averaged 2 oranges and 3-4 bananas per day for the past few months.
Knew that my body doesn’t like gluten, didn’t know that I should also avoid wheat, barley, hops, oats (no oatmeal?!), kamut, yeast, sugar (ie, NO BREAD!?). And corn. I’d already been trying to eliminate corn and its byproducts from diet, so finding out that (according to this test and analysis) I should avoid corn starch, maltose, corn syrup, etc was not unexpected.

Another big surprise was the [i]number[/i] of things that I showed hypersensitivity to. The toughest item to try and eliminate is going to be caffeine. It’s both an addiction and such a habit, even if I think about not having coffee, when I wake up I’ll be in autopilot mode and have a pot brewing before even realizing I had decided to try and not have any!I’ve tried a few caffeine-free teas that are supposed to provide an energy boost but none of them are even close.

Summary: for the past 8 months I’ve gone without cow, pig, chicken, fish.
And it’s been good for weight loss (then mainenance) and overall health, but because the list of proscribed foods is so big, in order to cut out so much (bread, peanut butter, several fruits etc) I’m going to have to re-introduce fish and maybe some seafood to my diet.

The good news is that I'm okay to eat all the dark leafy vegetables. Lettuce, spinach, kale, broccoli, cabbage, rhubarb, cilantro, swiss chard, collard greens, kelp...all that yummy stuff, heh.
The idea is to cut out all the hypersensitive items for 4-6 months and then get re-tested. Don’t know if I’ll get another test but am going to try cutting out a lot of the bad stuff and see if there’s a noticeable change in overall health.

After eating salad every day for 6 months you get good at making salad

2009-11-28T02:01:00.000-08:00

Probably nine days out of ten I have some kind of mixed ‘salad’ at work.
On Friday a couple of guys had splurged and gone to Burger King for lunch. After eating one of them complained, “Why did I eat that I feel like shit now” and then he started to ask me about my lunch which was sliced mushroom, carrots, romaine, broccoli, a tablespoon of cottage cheese and a hard boiled egg. “How long did it take you to make that?” which I thought was a strange thing to ask. So I explained that I usually just put some stuff in a bowl, wash it, chop it up and that’s it, only takes a few minute. Then he said, “So it wouldn’t take you much time to make two of them?” Why would I do that?
“Because I’ll pay you five bucks a day," he insisted, "for you to bring me the same thing you eat.”

Post Cross Report

2009-11-24T17:38:00.000-08:00

Two days later and legs are still feeling it. Something I realized during the course is that I need to get to a hill like Rosedale Valley Road and spend some time charging up, coasting down lather rinse repeat.

CSAJ Cross - Riverdale Park - November 22 2009

2009-11-22T11:23:00.000-08:00

Sunday November 22, 2009

6:30 am
Been up for an hour, had breakfast and have indeed lost my mind because I’ve made the decision to try something new, and in 3 and a half hours will be in the CSAJ (Cycle Solutiosn Angry Johnny Racing Team) Cyclocross race in Riverdale Park. Beginner Men division. Or as I like to think of it, “Beginner Men Over 50 Who Should Know Better”.
Can think of so many excuses or reasons to sit this one out: left lower back has been really sore for the past 3 days. Recovering from cracked rib and torn rotator cuff from wiping out on my bike about a month ago. Got some bizarre irritation or rash on my arms that is sore and itchy and taking forever to clear up. Have never raced before. Have never even been in group ride, don’t know how to handle being among a bunch of competitive riders who would just as soon ride over me as go around.

Race duration is 40 minutes + 1 lap. My goal is to get through one lap without killing myself, and if I can manage that, try to complete 4 laps in the allotted time. I expect the contenders to do at least 6 laps before the final lap bell. Mantra for this event is: ‘It’s only 40 minutes. You can keep moving forward for 40 minutes. Keep moving forward. Keep your feet moving for 40 minutes.’.

Have never done anything like this before but I can see it is a very difficult course. There are (at least) 2 uphill sections which will require me to dismount and walk up, although I expect the other riders to simply charge up those slopes on their bikes. Plus there are the other obstacles that are designed to get the riders off their bikes.

Post Race Report:
Was too old for the beginner division so I entered Master 3 Men (35 and over).. The weather was absolutely amazing for November 22. Started out cloudy but cleared up before the 10:00 am start time. It was cool but not cold with very light winds. It had rained on Friday and some parts of the course were muddy and slippery.
Accomplished what I set out to do: got through the first lap okay. Kept going, didn’t kill myself or wipe out. Could have gone faster on some downhill sections but the main thing is that I kept control and avoided catastrophe. So glad I had practiced controlled skids earlier in the summer. And the bike held up perfectly. Tires slipped a bit on muddy parts so I had to walk which was all right with me. Did not drop the chain. Did not give up even when legs were burning. Did not give up when I thought I was going to throw up. Sure I finished in last place - 36th out of 36 - but I did finish. And now that it’s over I can say that it was fun.

2009-11-15T10:32:00.000-08:00

Cycle Solutions, the Local Bike Store where I bought my bike is hosting a cyclocross in a park about 5 minutes from where I live! Didn't get much notice and I had to keep at them to get details but finally tracked down the info and a site map.

Went out today and rode a few laps of the course. Wow it is tough to peddle for an extended period over bumpy grass, leaves covering divots in the ground, trying to climb up dirt hills until your wheels spin, loose gravel on a running track etc. Very humbling when you think you're in reasonable condition but puffing and panting after carrying your bike up a hil that looks like it's only 20 feet or so, haha. The event is next Sunday. Really wish I had one more weekend to train, or even that there was enough sunlight so I could run the course after work during the week.
But it's good too, to figure out what sort of conditioning and training I should be doing in the gym. I've mostly been doing abs and upper body, figuring that the biking, spin classes and stationary bike cardio would take of the legs. WRONG! Need to do more squats, leg presses etc.

Was out there for about an hour and at different times saw two pairs of serious racers all kitted out, testing out the course, too. Glad I'm not racing in their division. I mean I don't know how people can even 'race' this course; it's going to be tough enough to keep from wiping out on the grassy hills and to avoid crashing into other riders in some of the tighter areas.

So my plan is to go there next Sunday morning and then if I think I can have a bit of fun running the course, make the decision to enter - or be a spectator.

What did I see

2009-11-01T12:51:00.000-08:00

Friday morning I was heading out the lobby. Comning in was some hipster looking guy carrying a bike frame. Odd so of course I had to say something.
"Lose your wheels?"
"No, I just got this", he replied. "Birthday present, birthday on the 11th.""Nice" I said. It was a blue and green Gary Fisher frame. I leave, get on bike and start thinking, there's no bike stores open at 6 am, where did he get that from. Did he steal it? But if he took a bike locked up outside why take the time to dissassemble it when youj could just ride it home.

10 Streetcar Track intersection at Broadview and Gerrard

2009-10-12T16:02:00.000-07:00

One day this summer around 6:30 am there was no traffic around. Coming south and downhill on Broadview, made this left turn way too fast and was lucky to hang on.

The Big Spill

2009-10-07T01:49:00.000-07:00

October 3 2009

It had rained overnight and the forecast was for afternoon rain but it had stopped so I deicded to get in my usual Saturday morning ride of 1-2 hours, and hit the Brickworks farmers market.
Was cold so I thought I’d try out an idea for winter riding. Bib shorts, long sleeve North Face shirt, thermal long johns under rain pants, and Outdoor Research cap under the helmet. Gortex windbreaker, sunglasses, mp3 player and Sennheiser headphones. Axiom fingerless gloves…reminder that I’ll need gloves with covered fingers soon. Tried ski gloves and they’re too bulky to change gears with brifters.
Got out shortly after sunrise with no particular route in mind.
Went Gerrard east from Parliament to Warden, then north on Warden and instead of turning west on Danforth, kept going north to Eglinton, then went west to Bayview. Bit of a mistake because there was miles and miles of constructiion; the road was torn up so I had to ride on the sidewalk for a while. But eventually got to Bayview Road and took it south to the Brickworks. Stopped there to buy a loaf of the greatest whole grain bread in the city. Baked fresh the night before.
Took the usual route from there, back north along Bayview and onto the good old Lower Don Trail.
Was less than 10 minutes from home. Crossed a small wooden-planked bridge and was accelerating around a tight left turn when I went over some wet leaves. Tires went out from under me and I slammed into the ground. Hard. Wind knocked out, and in instant pain all along the left side. Shoulder, ribs…so glad I always wear a helmet or I would have probably been knocked out. Managed to pull off helmet, cap, sunglasses, headphones and sat there trying to regain my senses. A jogger came up and offered help, which was appreciated.
After a few minutes, was together enough to stand up again, collect my stuff, and limp away with the bike. Was in some serious pain, left hand and arm were virtually useless, and had to carry it up some stairs then get to Riverdale Park and take it up a long staircase but had no choice.

Finally got home, got out of the biking get-up and into street clothes and called a cab. Noticed that the left brifter had been pushed in and wondered if the bike had any damage but that assessment could wait. Had to get to a hospital for x-rays because there was so much pain I was certain either shoulder or ribs had a fracture, although when changing I was surprised that aside from some swelling there was no visible signs of damage.
After being there for a couple of hours waiting to get x-rayed and checked out by a doctor I asked for an ice pack. I was in huge pain. Massive. An ocean of pain. If the world was made out of pain it would be resting on my shoulder and ribs.So the nurse left, and five mintues went by. Then ten. Then what seemed like forever. Had she forgotten about me? Ignored my request? Finally she returned with a professionally made wonderful ice pack, better than what I had expected and I held that against my shoulder like it was my best friend. Alternated the ice pack between shoulder and ribs and kept waiting.

Finally got x-rayed and seen by a doctor who said, “It doesn’t look like there are any fractures but I’m not a radiologist”. Gee, thanks!

David A Balfour Park Ravine

2009-09-26T15:00:00.000-07:00

It was nice and cool this morning, with rain expected around noon so I got out shortly after the sun came up around 7:00 am. Went from Dundas and Parliament to Jane Street and up to St. Clair today instead of Eglinton.
What I didn't realize is that St. Clair west is under heavy construction for miles and miles! Think I would have preferred the hills on Eg to the single lane of traffic on St. Clair.
So after about 40-50 minutes of street riding, I got onto Moore Avenue and thought I had found a new entry to the Moore Park ravine so I carried the bike down these stairs.

But it was the David A Balfour Park ravine, I guess. But was not going to climb back up so... no turning back now. But which way to go? The path that runs east of this creek or west?

This is a trail?! Really.

Decided to walk the bike along this part of the trail that ran beside a fence.

It's good to have a helmet on, you never know what might come across your path.

Continued for a while and ended up south of the Brickworks, circled around and got onto Bayview and then north to the Brickworks farmers market.

Caught up in a Victory Lap

2009-09-20T06:49:00.000-07:00

7:30 AM I start an exercise ride. Goodlife Gym opens at 8:00 and I time the ride perfectly. Get there at 8:01 AM breathing hard and ready to do some weight training. At 7:50 I'm done and get back on bike, ready for the usual fifteen minute cool-down ride back home, only to see about 30 or 40 cyclists at the intersection in front of me turning onto the street in the same direction I'm going to be heading.
Of course I'm curious about what's going on, so I catch up to them and ask. They're doing a "victory lap" to celebrate having completed the Niagara Falls Ride To Conquer Cancer earlier this summer. There and back over two days. I ask a few more questions about it because I had been thinking about trying it next year, or at least doing that trip one-way.
And this is my neighbourhood, a part of Gerrard Street I've riding many many times this summer, and I can't let them out-run me in my own hood, so of course my cool-down ride becomes a 'keep up with the kitted-out cyclists on road bikes' ride :)

A great way to start a Sunday.

GoodLife Fitness

2009-09-15T15:27:00.001-07:00

First day weight training at Goodlife

Leave home at 6:00 am. Bike hard and arrive in around 10 minutes, pumped and with a bit of sweat.. Hit the weights, took about 40 minutes to go through the routine including a quick warmup. Then got on the machines for about 15 minutes.

Like the same seretonin rush I got when I started biking! Rode home in under 10 minutes and feel supercharged. Slammed down an amazing protein shake – fruit is cheap and plentiful now so I’m keeping stocked up. It was: ½ scoop whey, ½ banana, ½ clementine (I had the other halves for breakfast, with an egg), watermelon, blueberries, tablespoon peanut butter, splash of coffee, water and ice.

Feel great. Energized.

Joining the gym and hitting the weights was the best investment since buying a bike.

Jane and Eglinton

2009-09-07T06:11:00.000-07:00

This morning's bike ride was epic.
From Parliament went west along Dundas with the intention of going back to the Humber trail. But when I got to Jane, I wanted to do more street riding so I turned north. There were a few little hills as I continued along until getting to Eglinton. Turned east and...even more hills. East along Eg past Keele, past Bathurst, past Avenue. Turned south on Yonge and then headed over to the old favourite, the Moore Park ravine so went onto that muddy path to the Brickworks then the Lower Don trail and back home. Riding time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.

Humber Trail

2009-09-06T06:59:00.001-07:00

One of the great aspects of having done a 4+ hour ride last weekend is the boost in confidence. So this morning I decided to go across town and check out the Humber Trail and started out at 7:00 AM. I found this map and started at Dundas & Parliament. Didn't follow the map exactly but eventually got out to the Humber Trail.
View from bridge over Humber River. Bike trail can be seen on the right.

It's really nice, a wide paved trail There's a section which includes a bunch of dirt trails too so I rode on those until I was good and disoriented and then got back on the main path.

After being out for a little over an hour, turned around (sort of), got onto Bloor Street and headed east.
Total riding time 1 hour, 50 minutes and don't even feel too tired.

Sunday August 30: Oshawa Ride4Life 88 km charity ride

2009-09-06T06:54:00.000-07:00

In the morning I noticed that the back brake was rubbing the rim, and the front wheel was a bit off, causing the tire to rub against one brake pad on each revolution.
And of course being a complete noob I didn’t know how to fix these things. Asked around at the starting area but the repair truck was not there and no one knew where it was. So I got into the queue for the start of the race with my brother and his friend. There were all these people with some really nice bikes, and jerseys and some with full team kits on. My brother and his friend were in t-shirts; I had on my standard wicking microfiber t-shirt under the MEC button-up kayaking shirt with the sleeves rolled up. This combo has served me well on many kayak trips so I see no need to replace them with a $60 single-use biking jersey.
We start off in good spirits and the ‘rolling start’ went on for longer than I had expected but eventually everyone was going along and the 300 or so riders started to spread out along the road.
I had borrowed a pannier from my brother but at the last second decided to go without it. Stuck a bag of trail mix in pocket of shorts, a couple of cliff bars and two small clementines in shirt pocket, and ditched the pannier. They told us there would be rest stations with water, oranges and bananas along the route so I figured I’d be okay. Having been warned about bonking, and having done some 40+ km rides, I had a pretty good idea of how to maintain energy. I find it best to take lots of little sips of water, and small handfuls of trail mix, starting very early in the ride, eg about 20 minutes in. And after about ½ hour the clementines in the shirt pocket were annoyingly banging against my leg, so I ate them while riding no-handed along a level stretch of road.
About an hour and a half in, I saw the repair truck and pulled over. The guy there fixed up my brake problem and wheel alighment really quickly and I was back pedaling within minutes.
At one pont in the ride there was a surreal moment when I rode past a sign in front of a house that read "GO MATT GO". Then another. Then I noticed some smaller words about going for medals. Must have been for Olympic snowboarder Matthew Morison.

A rookie mistake I made was underestimating the difficulty of riding hills over such a long distance. Toronto is pretty much Flatland so the few little hills I’d ridden in town had not given me any problems.
But I was probably too aggressive on the hills in the early part of the ride, because around 60 km my left knee became really painful. I had no Advil, and because I’d blown off the pannier I had no tools. Possibly a hex key to raise the seat a little bit might have eased the pressure and made the knee feel less like there was a hot poker being jabbed into on every push down. I had to take a few breaks and walk up a few of the steeper hills, and did most of the last 20 km peddling with one leg. But there was no way I was not going to finish. Really thought my brother would past me near the end because I was going so slow, but his 15-year old bike held him back and he came in a little after I’d finished.
At the end of the ride, the registration tent had been changed into a massage tent. Free massage after 4 hours on a bike? I’m not one to turn down that offer.

2009-09-02T15:35:00.000-07:00

This morning I was out for a ride from around 6:30 to 7:00 am and it was brisk. Around 10C (50F), maybe a bit lower when I got down by the lake. But I thought I was tough enough to put up with the chill, and prepared: a liner for a hat that fits snugly, covers the ears and fits under my helmet. Using rainpaints over bib shorts, and 2 layers of shirts.
So I'm riding along thinking that I should get gloves with full fingers this weekend, and what layers or items I'm going to add if it gets much colder, and pull up to a red light. There's a girl on her bike, commuting to work in shorts and a t-shirt.
"Aren't you freezing?" I asked. "Naw, it's okay as long as you keep moving" she laughed.

2009-08-27T19:56:00.000-07:00

I'm usually non-confrontational. But two days ago I was riding along a slight downhill, curving stretch of road. Parked cars on the right, and a row of cars zipping past on the left. This guy in a truck gets right behind me and lays on his horn, then pulls away.
Well, a couple of hundred yards later he's stopped at a red light. I manage to catch up and go up to the passenger side, the window is open and past the passenger I yell, "WAS THERE SOMETHING YOU WANTED TO TELL ME? BECAUSE YOU BLASTED YOUR HORN AS YOU PASSED SO I FIGURE YOU MUST WANT TO SAY SOMETHING TO ME" and he takes a few seconds and mutters something lame about wanting to warn me about getting out into traffic.
Here it is, where Woodbine and Lakeshore meet.

View Larger Map

2009-08-22T18:30:00.000-07:00

Out the front door and riding at 6:40 AM this morning. It’s cool, and I’m ready to try for a new PB by riding at least 50 km. Got a bottle full of water, some trail mix, and a thermos of coffee and clementine if I start to fade.
There are some really nice long stretches of road without much traffic and I’m cruising along all right. Next thing I know I’m passing Scarborough Town Line. At one point I was about to turn back but two kitted-out guys on road bikes also out for a morning ride pass, so I speed up and try to stay with them, and for a while I do but they are around 5 kph faster than me, and eventually pull away on a downhill section and I can’t catch them again. Maybe I need slicker tires.

But thee are very long stretches without having to stop, and some challenging fun hills and next thing I know I’m at Markham Road and Ellesmere, and have gone 25 km. Halfway to the target distance, and still feel pretty good. Take a quick break for a sip of coffee and some trail mix, then start going west along hilly Ellesmere Road. A few kilometers later I realize the rear tire’s gone flat. It’s not even 8:00 AM, I’m somewhere in the Scarberian wilderness, and did not bring:
Cellphone
Patch kit/inner tube/pump or any tools at all

Had a twoonie and a $20 bill so I didn’t even have the right fare to hop on a bus to…somewhere. Bus to subway, subway then another bus. At least an hour. I see a convenience store and start walking to it to get change for a bus when a cab goes by, without a fare. I wave him down, throw the bike in the back seat. I figure the twenty dollar bill will be more than enough, and on the way back start to realize how far I’d gone. Cab ride ending up costing $40 and I still had to get the tire fixed.

Finally 10:00 AM rolls around and the local bike store is open, so I take the bike there. On the way, I see the lights at intersections are not working, and then realize that the electricity is down in the area and all along Parliament. The LBS is open, but with no power. Since I have to get the tire fixed, I ask the man who sold me the bike about the price for easier-rolling tires. He looks at mine and says, "I'm impressed you wore these out so fast, look how much the tread has worn down".
So I switch out the Continental Speed Kings for Specialized Nimbus 700x35c and they are a bit faster (and have a supposedly puncture-resistant lining), around 2-4 kph on level ground, which is pretty good improvement considering I'm stuck with the same old legs.

OMX Series: Moore Park Ravine to Brickworks

2009-08-17T17:52:00.000-07:00

“So you think you can bike” is not a challenge to anyone but myself. An incentive, a piece of advice - to keep moving forward.