UltraRob's Adventures

Today I got out for a nice spin on the bike trail on the mountain bike. It was in the 30s with lots of sun but there was still plenty of ice and snow on the trail. It was good to be out on the bike.

I got thinking about how much more I enjoy riding outside instead of on the trainer. I don't even feel I'm working as hard when I'm outside.

Several years ago, I was part of a study on mountain bikers at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs (that's when I started calling it the Olympic Torture Center). I told one of the researches that it seemed like I was working a lot harder in the lab. She decided to test me outside on an old railroad grade.

I would ride for 3 minutes trying to hold the same HR that I had at a given power output in the lab. She would get a blood sample and then I'd push my HR to match another 25 watts of power output. At each level, I'd use the RPE scale to rate how hard I was working.

The result of this test was that my HR and blood lactate levels matched for both the lab and out on the road. I pretty consistently used 2 points less on the RPE scale to describe my effort outside. It clearly seemed that it was easier to ride outside but I was actually working as hard.

In spite of enjoying riding outside more at least when it's not too nasty, I still think riding a trainer is valuable. I can get training in without spending all the time of getting layers and layers of clothes on. Some workouts such as intervals, one legged drills and high cadence spinning can be more controlled on the trainer.

I also feel that riding a trainer gets you used to pedaling all the time instead of coasting for even a few seconds at a time. I think that's why my legs sometimes feel more tired after riding the trainer. I've seen where some coaches think that you want to be on a trainer that mimics the feel of the road the best which would allow you a little coasting. I'm not convinced of it.

CST Cyclops Tire Price: $13.00

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Labels: cycling, mountain biking, training

I've had way too many good reason not to workout such as being sick, the Holidays, working on my garage, etc. Spring is coming and now is the time to be training.

via The Everyday Athlete

Labels: fitness, health, training

Hunter Allen, one of the training with power experts, is doing a webinar tomorrow, 10/17/07 at 4 PM tomorrow on training with limited time. It's through USA Cycling and costs $35 for members, $25 for coaches and $50 for others.

10-17-07 Update: I just found out about this yesterday morning and didn't realize you had to register by noon yesterday.

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Cycleops PowerTap PRO Power Meter Price: $1199.99

Cycleops PowerTap SL Power Meter Price: $1599.99

Labels: cycling, mountain biking, training

It's fall and we're heading into the cold part of the year. At least here in Colorado, sinus infection are common with cyclists during this time of year. I'm not sure exactly why but I think it was to do with the really dry, cold air and breathing hard while training. It's also when we get more colds and try training too much before we get over them. My non-active co-workers also are more likely to have sinus infections during the winter too but not as bad as cyclists.

For the last several years, I haven't made it through a winter without being on antibiotics at least once for a sinus infection. Not only do I have bad summer time allergies but I'm also allergic to molds and dust. I have some congestion most of the time which contributes to my sinus problems.

With my extra job stress this year, I've been on antibiotics 4 times for sinus infections. The last time was about 2 months ago. The biggest thing that makes it hard for me to train while on antibiotics is that it messes my stomach up. That makes it hard to eat enough on long rides and can cause a bonk. Eating yogurt and taking iFlora or Digest Caps really helps my stomach.

This last time I was on pretty strong antibiotics for 18 days. Within a week of finishing the antibiotics, I was feeling like I had a sinus infection again. I was doing everything that I know to do. I was taking antihistamines, using nasal spray and Mucinex.

When I was in to my asthma and allergy doctor's office to get my allergy shot, I told them I was having trouble again. They said I really should be using the Sinus Rinse. A couple years ago they had tried getting me to use it too and had given me a free one.

I had never used it. You use it to spray a saline solution up one nostril and let it run out the other side. That just didn't seem pleasant to me. My dad had been using it for a while and had told me it doesn't feel that bad and had really helped him.

They gave me another one even though I told them I still had the other one. I figured I'd give it a try to try to avoid taking more antibiotics. It ended up not feeling bad at all and I got a lot of crud out of my nose. The key is to bend over enough so the solution doesn't run down your throat. I've also found when I'm really stuffed up it helps to take a really deep breath and hold it while squirting the solution up my nose.

Even after using it once, my sinuses felt better. After a couple more days of using it, my sinuses felt fine. I used it for a couple weeks and then felt well enough and quit using it. After several days, my sinuses started bothering me again. I guess I need to use it every few days to keep things cleared out.

According to the list on the website of places to buy the Sinus Rinse, it should be easy to find at a drug or grocery store. My free one only came with 5 packets for making the solution but I think the ones in the store come with 50 packets. I bought a box of 100 packets at Walgreens once the ones that came with mine ran out.

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Hammer Premium Insurance Caps 30 7 Capsule Packets Price: $29.95

Labels: cycling, health, reviews, training

If you need something to keep you motivated while you're sweating away on the indoor bike trainer or need to learn more about training, Cycling-Videos.com is offering 15% off videos and books. Use coupon code DM11 through December 18th to get the 15% discount. Cycling-Videos.com is run by a guy that raced RAAM solo last year and is planning on doing it again next year. I met him at RAAM and rode with him part of the way during the neutral start.

They carry Spinervals, Train Right, and Cycling Fitness Results DVDs. They also carry books like Coach Friel's "The Cyclist's Training Bible" and bestselling videos "Rides" Volumes 1 and 2 from Endurance Films.

You can find even more cycling, outdoor and travel related deals on my deals blog.

Labels: cycling, discount, training, videos

Since Al asked about my take on Hammer Nutrition products, I thought I'd write a post rather than just add a comment because I have a lot to say about their products. I'm sponsored by them although it's a discount, not cash or free product, so if I didn't like their products it wouldn't do me any good. If you've never ordered from them before, you can get 15% off your first order by following this link. They have a Yahoo group where even the owner will answer questions. Steve Born that has finished RAAM more than once and done things like start at the finish line of the Furnace Creek 508 and ride to the start to do the race has been a big help for me to get my nutrition dialed in for long races. Last year I was really out of shape for the Adirondack 540 and I had to call him the day before the race to be convinced I could do the race.

The best way to explain my take on the products is to tell my experience when I first did Montezuma's Revenge in 1998. It was my second 24 hour mountain bike race. I was sick when I first did the 24 Hours of Moab and spent 7 hours off the bike but was so congested I couldn't lie down without starting to choke.

I had tried Sustained Energy during training but had trouble with bloating and gas so I had given up on it. I now know that because it doesn't have any preservatives it goes bad in about 3 hours in the hot sun and that is what was causing my problems. They actually say it should last a little longer but 3 hours has been my experience. I ended up solving that problem by mixing my 2nd bottle the night before and freezing it. That was back before they had Perpetuem and HEED which take a lot longer to go bad. I had gone back to using CytoMax and GU. I got about 8 hours into Montezuma's Revenge and got so sick to my stomach I didn't feel like eating plus I was peeing like crazy but at the same time feeling really dehydrated. I got up on Gray's Peak above 13,000 feet and was stumbling and falling asleep as I tried hiking with my bike on my back.

After that miserable race, I decided to give Sustained Energy another try along with some Hammer Gel. I used them at the 24 Hours of Moab along with solid food and did much better although still had some stomach problems. Dr. Bill that has had a huge part in developing the Hammer Nutrition products finally convinced me that for 24 hours I was best off without solid foods. The first time I tried without solid food I had plenty of solid foods available and ended up not using any and didn't have any stomach problems. I now pretty much just use their products except I've eaten a small amount of solid foods in my RAAM qualifiers. When I did the Furnace Creek 508 in 2002, I had 36 servings of Sustained Energy and less than a 1,000 calories from other foods.

Now they have more choices in fuels and I mix them depending on what I'm doing. For short, hard group rides I use HEED and some Hammer Gel. When they first came out with HEED, they just had the Lemon-Lime flavor and I didn't like it but I've come to really like the Mandarin Orange. For 2-3 hour mountain bike races, I use Sustained Energy with a couple scoops of the powdered Endurolytes added in plus I use a coin purse to carry more Endurolytes. For 100 mile mountain bike races I mix Sustained Energy and Perpetuem half and half along with some powdered Endurolytes. When I'm going hard I seem to have some problems digesting straight Perpetuem and that's why I mix it with the Sustained Energy. In 24 hour mountain bike events and RAAM qualifiers I use mainly Perpetuem but use a little of the other fuels for variety. I always have plain water with me so I can drink what I need independent of the calories I'm getting plus it helps to not have any taste in my mouth. Even under ideal conditions, I have trouble digesting much over 250 calories and hour and try not to go over 28 ounces of fluid an hour. Eating or drinking stuff with simple sugars while using the Hammer fuels is a sure way to bonk. I found this out the hard way doing the Vail Ultra 100. Julie offered a couple bite sized Snickers bars at one of the aid stations and within 20 minutes I was severely bonking and sat at the next aid station for an hour wrapped in blankets and shivering.

If I'm doing an early morning race, I sleep as late as possible and don't eat anything until I'm on the bike. The first few times I didn't eat before I felt really hungry and thought for sure I'd bonk but my stomach felt better early in the race than if I had eaten and I didn't bonk. I do find I have to start eating sooner but my stomach feels fine. If I ate too close to the start, I'd find my stomach didn't feel the best and it would be an hour or so before I could start eating.

Lately on my long training rides I've been mixing one bottle with 4 scoops HEED and 2 scoops plain Perpetuem and another bottle with 1 scoop HEED and 5 scoops Dreamsicle Perpetuem and 3 scoops powdered Endurolytes in each bottle. For performance I'd probably be better off using more Perpetuem but I like the variety of flavors.

For races and rides under 3 hours, I take 1 Race Cap Supreme, 1 Mito-R-Cap, and 4 Anti-Fatigue Caps an hour before the start and then just Endurolytes during the race or ride. I longer races and rides I take the same thing before the start and then starting 2 hours in I take the same thing every hour except drop the Anti-Fatigue Caps to 2 and take 2-3 Endurolytes. I always have more Endurolytes so I can take more if I need them to keep from cramping. The Anti-Fatigue Caps really help keep me from smelling like ammonia. Before I started using them I used to stink of ammonia by the time I'd get 6 hours into a race. For during races and rides, I use the little baggies to but in an hour worth of pills so I can just grab one out of my pocket and dump everything into my month. I can really tell I don't fatigue as fast and recover faster if I take the supplements. During training I generally open the bag and squeeze from the sides on the zip section to open it wide so I can reuse it but during races I generally tear the top off. If I have a crew with me, I use empty canisters that film come in and have them hand it to me. Now that I'm using a digital camera I have to make sure I don't lose the ones I have.

After hard rides, I generally have 2 or 3 scoops of Recoverite and then a little while later I mix a bottle of 2 scoops of Recoverite and 1 of Whey Protein. I also take Super AO and Tissue Rejuvenator.

Update: See what I did for nutrition during my 2006 solo RAAM attempt.

Labels: cycling, Hammer Nutrition, mountain biking, sports nutrition, training