Starting from square ONE... 2019 edition

“Start at the beginning!”

“And when you come to the end… STOP.”

• March Hare and Mad Hatter, Disney’s Alice in Wonderland

Sorry folks, sob story time…

In 2014, I did the Issaquah Triathlon with my son Patrick, his first and only full-distance triathlon (still haven’t written this one up). Not long after that race I had the second of 2 different injuries that effectively ended my race seasons and ruined my summers for 2013 and then 2014. Then, after having issues with memory, attention, and energy, I was diagnosed with some other health issues that required some interventions (moderate and treatable, not severe). And I haven’t been in a triathlon since.

That Issaquah Tri in 2014 was my last race of any kind. In the mean time a few other things have happened -

1. My son Patrick discovered an amazing love of mountain biking, which I have joined him on numerous occasions. He now owns a bike far more expensive than any of my bikes. This injustice must be rectified!

2. In 2015 I rode in the RAMROD bike ride and *almost* finished. (more to come later)

3. I have been in numerous local mountain bike races, even taking the points race in the Clydesdale category in the Vicious Cycle Fat Tire Revolution racing series in 2017 (the last year they did a race series).

4. I was promoted at work and then changed jobs, which affected my ability to ride to work (i.e. not nearly as often, even though I am now only 5.5 miles from home)

5. In 2018 I strained my back during a race in Leavenworth Washington on the Freund Canyon trail at the Bikes and Brews Festival, but it was worth every minute of pain afterward. Unfortunately my bike mileage suffered that summer and hasn’t really recovered.

And that brings me to my current state of affairs…

• I am over 320 pounds, the most I have ever weighed in my life.

• My energy level and fitness are at all-time lows.

• In 2018 I rode the fewest miles than any year since I started cycling again in 2007 and this year is on track to be even worse.

• I haven’t actually gone on a run for fitness purposes since November 2018, and I only recorded 3 runs that year. None so far for 2019.

• I haven’t done a swim workout since… I can’t remember.

So I am back basically at square one. The same place I was back at the beginning of 2005 when I looked like this-

Me with Boy #2 and Boy #3 when they were just a few days old

Granted, in that shot my twin boys were barely a month old and sleeping through the night was a pipe dream, but my health was terrible. I was about 315 lbs back then and my cholesterol and blood pressure were through the roof. I did a program back then to change my health and get into shape through a local health club, spending a LOT of time and money. 18 months after that, in 2007, I did my first triathlon at the behest of a friend, and the rest is history.

Now I look like this-

Bad selfie!

I picked a bad selfie for a reason: I look terrible and no one wants to see a fat guy with a gut.

Compare that to how I looked before the Beaver Lake Tri in 2011, 50 pounds ago…

Just before the Beaver Lake Tri 2011

So where does this leave me? Looking for training plans and options for NEXT year. I was hoping to be able to take my son on a week-long cycling trip in Oregon this fall but that isn’t going to happen (at least not this year).

My current goals:

1. Ride to work at least 3x per week for the rest of the year, starting next week (this week is a 3-day holiday week and there’s no way I can fit in that much riding before being gone for 4 days).

2. Ride the rim of Crater Lake during one of their car-free Saturdays in September.

3. Shed at least 50 pounds by the end of 2019 through diet and exercise with the stretch goal of getting down to 250 lbs by June 1, 2020, the unofficial start of the race season in Seattle.

4. Go on at least 2 bike camping adventures with my sons.

5. Ride at least 2000 miles by the end of the year.

6. Be able to comfortably run a 10K by the end of the year.

7. Track it all on this fabulous blog. }B^)

So that’s it. I’m basically starting at square one. AGAIN. (hence the 2019 edition in the title)

Will it stick this time? Will I actually do it? We’ll see. I mean, I’ve tried hitting the reset button before and it didn’t really work.

I mean… What’s the worst that could happen, right?

How to kill a Schwalbe Marathon

There only very few things for which I have zero tolerance. Flat tires is one of them. There is nothing in the world that kills the joy of riding a bicycle faster than a flat tire. Especially when you are going down a big hill and your freshly-installed tire was not properly seated on the rim. And you used a slime tube...

Tube failure due to improper tire seating

I spent my High School days in eastern Washington and was introduced to this little nuisance...

They can get REALLY bad, as Pat from 26InchSlicks found out...

Pat pulling dozens of thorns out of a fat tire using pliers.

Needless to say that when you are riding in eastern Washington State you ride with tire protection or you don't ride. Or at least you don't ride very far. That is Tribulus terrestris, commonly known as tackweed or goathead thistle. They REALLY hurt when you step on them barefoot.

So one day I was ranting about how much I hate flats and a friend at work introduced me to Schwalbe Marathon tires. They claim to be the only "flat-less" tire on the market, with the Marathon Plus model sporting an incredible 5mm of rubber between the tire surface and the tube. They even go to great lengths to prove how tough their tires can be...

So I picked up a set for my old mountain bike and started using them for daily commuting. For years I had ZERO flats.

In 2012 when I switched over from my 1993 Schwinn High Plains to a Specialized TriCross, I bought new Marathon Plus tires (700x35) to go with it and quickly ditched the really bad stock tires. And things went fine. These tires are AWESOME!

Until...

I was riding to work in the rain a few months ago and suddenly heard a quick "whoosh" sound, followed immediately by the unmistakable feeling of a flat rear tire. Luckily I was only going 15 MPH at the time and easily pulled over on the wide shoulder. A mile later I would have been doing 35-40 MPH down a very steep hill. Thankfully, I was unhurt.

It didn't take me long to find the reason for the leak: a MASSIVE hole cut in the tread. !?!?!

1.5" slice in my rear tire!

What could make such a hole? How did I NOT see it?

It didn't take long to find the culprit.

The Husky Sure-Grip Folding Lock Back Utility Knife

There is was on the road... a Husky Sure-Grip Folding Lock Back Utility Knife. You can buy them on Amazon for $11. They are a favorite tool among construction workers, landscapers, and anyone who routinely opens boxes (retail or warehouse workers). It was obvious by the damaged handle that the knife had been run-over several times by cars/trucks and had seen better days. So I picked it up and walked home.

Upon closer inspection I found the hole was impressively deep: even the tube had a 1" hole sliced into it.

I quickly swapped out with a new tire/tube and was back on the road in about 20 minutes.

Moral of the story: even the most armored tired cannot survive EVERYTHING. And I still have no idea how I didn't see that knife on the road before I hit it.

And who drops a box cutting razor knife in the road anyway? (probably fell off the back of a truck) A $14 knife carelessly dropped in the middle of the road cost me a $65 tire.

"Wait a minute, Lee... You just happened to have another Schwalbe Marathon Plus tire ready to swap out?"

Yes, I did. I have this nasty habit of pre-buying replacement parts for things that experience normal wear and tear. My garage contains a small stock of chains, cassettes, tires, and tubes for all my family's bikes. Remember my post about buying on the cheap? Buying ahead of need saves me a lot of money in the long run. 

Finally Getting Back on Track

At 12:30 pm today the countdown officially ended: sunny skies, high temp around 55, and a slow day at work. The stars aligned to allow me to bring out my new training tool...

That's right, I'm finally doing something I've always wanted to get into. And it came about on a whim.

My '07 Scattante has been having some frame issues so I've been shopping around for possible replacement options. This has taken me to Craigslist and eBay countless times in the past several months. As I was browsing frame after frame, I came across a listing for a track frame with a current bid of $30. After considering it for a few minutes, I put in a max bid of $70 and thought nothing of it. A couple days later I received an email from eBay notifying me that I won the auction at exactly $70. I was floored. 

You will notice that it is missing a few things, like wheels, a seat, and even a chain. With further searching on eBay I found a set of wheels that fit my needs: tough, somewhat aero (Deep-V rims), and around $200.

That left me with just a few other parts to purchase, which arrived from Amazon over the coming week: a chain, cogs of various sizes, a cog lockring, and a Park Tool Head-Gear lockring wrench.

I had other parts on-hand from previous replacements or stock-ups: Schwalbe Durano S tires, Specialized tubes, a Forte Pro SLX seat, and Shimano PD-R540 SPD-SL pedals.

And then I had to go to the bike store to buy some rim tape. Duh!

Now that I have a track bike assembled and ready to go... I became a hipster and started wearing weird clothes and drinking PBR, right?

Um... No.

Only 5 miles from my house is the track that hosted the cycling events for the 1990 Goodwill Games, many regional Olympic trials, and several National Championships, the Marymoor Velodrome. It is a fabulous outdoor, 400m concrete oval bicycle track with 25 degree banked turns. Most tracks are shorter, which means banking up to 45 degrees. 

Panorama of the Marymoor Velodrome, Redmond, WAThe key thing here is "outdoor". That 25 degree banking can be downright dangerous in the wet. With that in mind, the only thing I needed was a dry track. This requires a dry/sunny day. In late winter in the Seattle area. Suuuuuure. It only took about a week of waiting.

My new track bike at the Marymoor VelodromeI came down for a long lunch at the track and took in a few turns. There were only a couple people there, including Rob McD, a track racer I know from work. He had some very encouraging words but in the end I was just there to show everyone how slow and out of shape I have become in the last 18 months. 

The circus had indeed come to town. No, really. That big white tent behind me is for Cavalia. Think Cirque du Soleil but with horses. One of these days I'll actually go to one of their shows. Anyway...

I did an even 40 laps of interval training: sprint for 1-2 laps, rest for 2-3 laps, repeat. OK, I did have to stop a few times to adjust various things on my bike like stem position, handlebar height, etc., since this was my first time on this bike.

In the end I didn't kill myself. I didn't even embarrass myself, although I tried a few times. Note to self: FIXED GEAR BIKES do not have a freewheel. Trying to stop the pedals at 25 MPH is a BAD idea.

It was a great day. I can't say enough good things about this track. And I'll be back. My next opportunity appears to be Monday, only 3 days away!

On race night the atmosphere around the track is electric. The competition is fierce and the speeds are high.

Marymoor Velodrome during the 2012 FSA Grand Prix

One of our favorite track events is the "Marymoor Crawl" where they have everyone "race" from turn 4 to the start/finish line for up to 2-3 minutes, at which point they ring the bell and everyone does a 1-lap sprint for a $100 prize. The catch? If you put your foot down or cross the start/finish line before the bell, you are eliminated. It is crazy and looks a little something like this-

Getting Back On Track: T-Minus 4 Days

"What does a dyslexic owl say? How! How! How! He should get together with another owl and the werewolf then all they need to know is when." - Boy #3

That's how my day started. How about yours? }B^)

It ended like this...

Our town is on a plateau with rather steep sides all around. Once you ride off the plateau, getting back up can be a challenge. On the north side of the Sammamish Plateau, where we live, there are three choices, all of which have 1/4 mile sections that with a 10% average grade-

1. Sahalee Way - 1 mile, average grade 8%, max grade 12%
2. NE 42nd Way - 1.4 miles, average grade 6%, max grade 24%
3. Inglewood Hill Rd - 1/2 mile, averge grade 9%, max grade 13%

There is also 244th NE but it is a little out of the way and very narrow, not my perfect combination. 

Today I was riding home with my eldest son, Patrick, who recently turned 12. He has always been an enthusiastic bike rider and takes every opportunity to ride with me, even when it means riding up big hills. Today we rode from my office to his swim practice via the East Lake Sammamish Trail and then home via Inglewood Hill Rd. I like to dangle carrots in front of him to see if he can push himself a little more.

Today's challenge was a big one: ride to the top of Inglewood Hill Road without stopping.

The reward: a trip to his favorite fast food place, Jack-in-the-Box.

I guess I already spoiled it, didn't I? The last time he rode up this hill, not more than a month ago, he was very proud of himself when he only stopped 3 times. This time he got into a groove and held it all the way up the hill, without stopping or putting a foot down until he reached the top. We consider the Inglewood Beach Club sign the "official" top of the hill, even though the grade isn't completely level for another 20 meters.

For me this represents 3 consecutive days of effective exercise. I cannot remember the last time I did this. Yes, it has been many, many months, probably April of last year, just before my injury.

Tomorrow promises to be a bit wet but we still plan to do some mountain biking at Tolt MacDonald Park at arguably the most last-minute campout ever planned by boy scouts. 2 days notice. Sheesh!

GETTING BACK ON TRACK: T-MINUS 5 DAYS Part II

"Hold on a second... Part II? Why aren't you counting down?"

Well, the Brown Santa decided that the final day is actually Monday, as opposed to Saturday, thanks to some big cold, wet thing called Vulcan dropping immense amounts of snow on a few people in the entirety of the eastern US. That's only a slight exaggeration. 

And now, I bring out the ever-popular Soapbox...

Yesterday afternoon I took advantage of the gorgeous weather here in the Seattle area to go for a jog. OK, it was more like a fast-paced amble. I went on a local trail (the 520 trail, for any curious locals) for a couple of miles, nothing big, and was passed by many cyclists of all shapes, sizes, and colors (Blue shorts with brown jersey? Seriously?)

To the cyclists who passed me, I have 1 word for you: LUBRICATION.

If I can hear your transmission from more than 50’ away, it is time to invest in some Tri-Flow. Or Finish Line. Or White Lightning. Or even the new WD-40 lube if you are too cheap.

The worst offenders? The 5 guys in matching kits that passed me near NE 40th. WOW. It sounded like a flock of birds squeaking up behind me.

Perhaps this is a new bicycle warning system for pedestrians on multi-use trails?

That is all. I now yield the soap box to the more capable voicing of others.

Anyway, back to the countdown. What is it? Well, it's a way to get my health back to where it should be: right back on track. Any other place would be uncivilized.

How many kids ask for this, along with 3 of their friends? Quite a few, actually. FSA seems to like it.

)