Monthly Archives: September 2010

Race Recap: Liberty Off-Road Squeezer MTB Race – Sept 26, 2010

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Another race I was under trained for. :roll:    It’s a good thing I did a little 45 min pre-ride the day before to see if I remembered how to ride a mountain bike..LOL

I parked at my buddy Shawn’s place which is only a few KMs from the start of the race.  Unloaded, got prepped and biked to the event.  Good way to warm up the legs at the same time.

When I registered a few weeks back, I signed up in the D1 Wave which is considered the “Moderate Enthusiasts” class, but in hindsight, I should of signed up in the C Wave. Also, after looking over the course map it was evident that there was plenty of road sections, which works to my benefit considering my on-road training.  With that said I decided to start right at the front of the wave to get a clear shot at everything.

Once the horn went off, I was out like a bat out of hell.  The first 1.5kms is on city paved streets so I pushed the speed big time….probably a little too much.

The extra weight I’ve added over the summer, and the lack of riding for the last 3 weeks certainly made things harder.  After the paved section, it went into a gravel road/path.  A handful of us had broken away from the rest, but I could tell I was already pushing too hard too early in the race so I started slowing down a little before hitting the single track.

There were plenty of challenging climbs including going up the Decew Rd. hill…TWICE!  Because I had pushed so hard earlier, and adding those 2 big road climbs, trying to maintain 30 KPH on the road sections was difficult.  My average in those areas probably closer to 27 KPH.  Total climb for the race was close to 1000 ft.

There were a few new single track sections that were really nice & challenging.  Then it was down the Hydro Hill section.  One of the sections of single track had a very rocky portion.  The speed I was carrying down the hill, I hit a few rocks fairly hard.  I was sure to get a flat front tire, but nothing…..until 2-3 mins later crossing a short field section I heard the dreaded…PPSSSSSSSSSSSSSS…down the front tire with only 5 kms to go….AAAHHHHHH.

I lost approx. 7 mins fixing the flat.  This could have been a little better if I had not forgotten to bring a tire wedge.

Once I got going again, I was stuck behind alot of slower people and given the last remaining 5k was mostly single track, I lost more time here also.

Overall though, the race was very well organized, trail well marked, good support, and great volunteers cheering everyone on.  Next year I will be better prepared with some hill training.



Official Results Here

Results Recap:

  • Official Time: 1h 59m 59s
  • Overall: 469 of 769 competitors (61%)
  • Age Group(M30-39):  88 of 115  (77%)

Major Update for the Last 4 Months

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Well, as you might have noticed, I didn’t put up any weigh ins, or updates since last May.  It got so busy with the summer season, also started a new job that has me commuting 10 hrs a week, plus I really had nothing GOOD to report.  Although I tried maintaining a good diet, I only did for 3-4 days of the week.  Then the weekends would come along, and it was major splurges.  I did maintain my fitness & training schedule, but obviously that wasn’t enough to keep some of the weight from coming back.  Like it’s well known, exercise alone is not good enough.  What you eat is 90% of the battle….I lost that battle over the summer a little.

Now that summer & race season is over, it’s time to get back on track.  Starting tomorrow (Sept 27th) I’m going to do a P90X round which is a 90 day/12week training program, something a little different for the off-season, to lose of that summer weight, and also add a little lean muscle mass.  I’m also still going to maintain at least 1 run & bike session every week so I don’t lose that fitness totally.  I’ll also be resuming my weekly weigh ins to keep me humble & accountable.  With that said, here are the starting numbers from this morning (Sept 27);

Weight: 212.4 lbs
Body Fat: 21.7% 
LBM: 166.3 lbs

Yes, that’s over 20 lbs from my lowest weigh in at the end of March. :-(   But that’s the GOAL of this 12 week session, back down to my lowest 190 lbs by December 25th.

For my diet/nutrition, I’ll be giving Tom Venuto’s “Holy Grail Body Transformation Program” a try which is based on calorie cycling; 3 days at a 20% calorie deficit (2300 cals), 1 day at calorie maintenance (2900 cals) or surplus.  I’ll be going with the calorie maintenance as my primary goal is fat lost, with a secondary goal of maintaining lean muscle mass.

With that said, time to get moving.

Happy Health!


Great Ab/Core Routine

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I found this on the Burn the Fat Inner Circle forum from a regular contributor, John Sifferman.  I’m posting here so I don’t forget about it for future reference.

The plank routine exercises are:

1. front elbow plank (FEP)
2. FEP w/ right arm elevated
3. FEP w/ left arm elevated
4. FEP w/ right leg elevated
5. FEP w/ left leg elevated
6. right arm and left leg elevated
7. left arm and right leg elevated
8. right side plank
9. left side plank
10. right side plank with leg up
11. left side plank with leg up
12. top of pushup position (TOPP)
13. TOPP w/ right arm up
14. TOPP w/ left arm up
15. TOPP w/ right leg up
16. TOPP w/ left leg up
17. TOPP w/ right arm and left leg up
18. TOPP w/ left arm and right leg up
19. right side plank, elbow locked
20. left side plank, elbow locked

Again, thanks to John Sifferman for the great routine.


Race Recap: Thunder Bay Half-Marathon – Sept 19, 2010

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Got up at 5:30 AM to make sure I could get my breakfast in at least 2.5 hrs before race start.  Sleep was borderline adequate.

Weather: Damn chilly!  At 6 AM it was still 0C with a mild wind.  By 7 AM, it was 2C.  That means I wore long sleeves without a doubt.

We left (brother-in-law, my wife & I) the house at 7:35 AM, got to the race start around 7:50 AM.  We were parked only a few blocks away so I used that as my warm-up to the start line area.


At 12km mark...

There was alot of energy in the air, and a great turnout crowd.  Announcer indicated the start was in 5 mins so I planted myself on the left edge approx. mid pack…..not long after, the horn went off.

My strategy for the race was to finish under 2 hrs which meant a 5:40 min/km average pace.  Since the first 6.5 kms was mostly uphill I was planning to go 5:45 pace

Finish line

for that first section, then catch up on the downhill sections.

After the horn went off, I was just going with the flow for the first 1km until people started sorting themselves out.  I did pass a few people that obviously were pacing way slower than I was.  But, I noticed even going up the hill on Villa St. that I was maintaining a sub 5:40 pace & felt comfortable doing it, and my heart rate was in check, so I just kept it going.  Average HR for the first 5km was 152 BMP which is my Zone 3…right where it’s suppose to be.

After the 6.5 km turnaround, the general profile is suppose to be downhill for the next 10 kms, but there were a few uphills.  In that section my AHR went to 157, but the average pace also went down to 5:25.  I was really getting in the groove in this section, and felt great.

Billie & I, post-race.

The last 6 kms were getting a little hard.  I started getting a hotspot/blister on my left foot in the usually spot around the 17k mark, and in general my legs were getting really ache.  But I kept at it, picked up the pace a little more.  The heart rate jumped up to the low 160s, but my cardio still felt great.

The the final straw…going up the hill on Park Ave..  That was tough, but there was light at the end of the tunnel.  A couple more turns & it’s done.

I turned the corner on Red River Rd…the final 200m length.  I dropped the hammer with whatever I had left.

I crossed the finish line with an official time of 1:54:25 which is a 5:25 min/km average pace.  My goal was under 2 hrs, and I SMASHED IT! :mrgreen:


Here’s a little video montage.  Thanks to my brother-in-law Shawn B. for the clips:


Official Results Here (Male, Half Marathon)

Results Recap:

  • Official Time: 1h 54m 25s (5:25 min/km avg pace)
  • Overall: 156 of 463 competitors (34%)
  • Age Group(M30-39):  20 of 39  (51%)

Pre-Race Status: Thunder Bay Half Marathon – Sept 19, 2010

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Here I am, 12 hrs before the start of the race.  For the last 7-8 days my diet has suffered, I haven’t slept that great, & 2 days ago I started getting sick.  Not what you want before a major competition. :-?

My training hasn’t been that great for the last month either, and by all accounts I believe I might be under trained. But, it’s too late now and nothing that can be done about it.

Come tomorrow morning 8 AM, I’ll be still shooting for my sub 2 hr goal and do my best. :-D