Racing with the New BMX Pedals

The pedals and ride proved out to work for me yesterday at the Sabertooth Duathlon at Natural Bridge Caverns. 

The race started in the "belly" of the cave as a time trial start.  You had to climb out of the cave as part of the first two mile run.  Then you proceeded to the bike.  There were four duathlons going on all at the same time, three road races and one off-road (the one I chose). 

The bike couse was tough.  It was rocky, full of rotting tree limbs and bark (aka unprocessed mulch), and hills.  I had been doing quite a bit of practicing in Garland, but was not real prepared for this course.  While portions of the trail were jeep trails, much of it was a fresh cut, technical nightmare (for me).  Rock after rock, rut after rut, more "mulch" sucking the life out of my tires...  There were two technical (extremely rocky) decents that I just walked down.  Then of course, what goes down, must also go up; so this race director decided to pick the toughest climbs possible.

By the second climb, my rear derailer was having issues, leaving me no choice but to walk it up that hill.  The remaining few miles were fortunately on a dirt road.  I quit shifting my rear derailer to try to keep the cassette in tact enough to make it back to T2, using only my front derailer to address changes in terrain.

Entering T2, my son walked up and said he caught a stick in his rear wheel that ended up tearing up is rear derailer, and had walked his bike in.  He ended up running the second run for the heck of it.

Based on the technical difficulty of the course, I was really glad I had my BMX pedals.  I didn't have any major falls as a result, and where I did have to walk, it was easier with running shoes on that the cleated shoes.   Leading me to a first in age group win.  I am going to continue to use my BMX pedals.

I recommend trying out this race if you want to test your off-road biking skills.

Train safe!

Mountain Bike Pedals

I've been learning to mountain bike now for about nine months.  I have only been able to ride about a dozen times in those nine months, so I'm not exactly progressing as fast as someone practicing three to four times a week would in those nine months.  Nevertheless, my confidence was growing as were my skills...until about six weeks ago.

I was out at Rowlett Creek Mountain Bike Trails ready to really go all out.  I was there a week prior and really felt strong and skilled.  So now I was going to really push it.  At the turn from loop 1 onto loop 7 there a big rock in the way.  The week prior, I'd gone over that rock five times...but not this time.  I hit and it shot me back; feet stuck in the clipless pedals, and down I went right onto my chest and chin.  After several minutes of attempting to catch my breath, I finally was able to continue my ride; albeit painful.  I then attempted my ceremonial "brick" run, but couldn't even run a single step.  OUCH!

This injury started me analyzing my mountain bike riding, crashes I'd had, and (lack of) skills.  Interestingly, I found the root of all my injuries stemmed from not being able to get my feet on the ground before another part of my body did.  Now, I realize I'm not supposed to need to do that...but as I suggested, I'm new to mountain biking and started this at less than appropriate age (read: older).  With this realization, I went out and purchased some BMX pedals.

Yesterday, I went out rode again at Rowlett Creek.  I hesitated over that rock that forced me to crash a few weeks back, but managed to get over it (finally) without incident.  I also had a few other close calls, but with the new pedals, my feet hit the ground before anything major occurred.  I even discovered that when I chickened out on some parts of the course, it was very easy to step off the bike and lift it over the obstacle.

I know it isn't the most powerful way to pedal, but I'm more confident riding with my new pedals.  I get to test them next week at the Sabertooth Duathlon.

Train safe!

Where did that come from?

One of the advantages of relocating to a new city is I get to race some local races that are "new" to me.  This morning I was able to race the DRC Half Marathon, a race put on the by the Dallas Running Club.  My next big adventure is the Cowtown 50K, so I figure doing some "short" races such as half marathon would be a way to inspire me to keep focused on training as well as get out and see some new venues.

The race was in its 35th year, and the logistics proved it.  Shuttle service from various parking lots, clear signage for bag drops, food tents, etc.  And even a nice beer garden!

Lately, I've really had a hard time with the psychology of training and racing.  I'm just having trouble feeling "it".  Same mind games started with me this morning.  I told everyone that I'll be lucky to run a 1:45, so I lined up between the 1:40 and 1:50 pace groups.  When the horn blew and we started running, I started to think..."Wait a minute, a couple of years ago I was able to run a 3:19 marathon; I certainly ought to be able to run a 1:40 half marathon!"  By mile 3 I caught the 1:40 pace group and proceeded to run by them.  I never saw them again.  My Timex Ironman Global Trainer said I was averaging 7:28 at mile 5.  The course started to move up hill and when I passed mile 6 (after a steep climb) my watch reported that mile was 7:42.

"Uh-oh, there goes the race.  My pace is starting to fade already."  I decided to focus and hang on.  By mid-point I was still at a 7:28 pace.  I decided to see if I could pick it up.  I recall a quote from my friend Alex Bump who said toward the end of long run, "Tighten the core and stay light!"  So that's what I tried to do.  My pace picked up with my last mile being at 7:12.  I finished with a 1:37.  Whoa!  Where did that come from?

Racing continues to remind me to stay confident and trust your training. 

Train safe!