Adventures and Musings of a Gorge PT

"Well, that depends."

2011-11-12T17:16:00.000-08:00

There's been something on my mind lately. Why is it that we all believe ourselves to be unique individuals and yet as a race, humans readily buy into ideas that are marketed as the one right solution? Why do we jump on the band wagon so quickly? Why is it so hard for us to step back, take a deep breath and problem solve our way to the right answer for us as an individual instead of just grasping onto the latest trend?

I had a strained conversation with a client this week that had me thinking about this. He asked me what seems to be a simple question, "What is the better way to train, aerobically or anaerobically?"

My answer was, "Well, that depends." Then I asked him what his goals were. His answer was to be fit. Then I said, "What does fit mean to you? What is your specific fitness goal?" He didn't have an answer for me. He wanted me to give him the one right answer. What I told him was that there is no one right answer. There is only knowledge to draw from and to help us find our way but only if we know what our goal is.

In my experience, that is precisely what most people do not want to hear. And I wonder why that is. Is it that people don't want to have to ask themselves the questions they need to to define their goals? How can you find the right path if you don't know what the desired destination is? If one person wants to go to Alaska and another to Europe, it makes absolutely no sense that they would follow the same path to their destinations.

So if we're willing to accept that each of us is different, how can we expect simple answers to our questions? There is no black and white, only shades of grey. Why are people so uncomfortable with grey?

Strong Chicks Workout Sept. 29

2011-10-02T10:17:00.001-07:00

I'm in the middle of my fall push to get people on some strength training and injury prevention. This is the perfect time of year to do it.

As part of this plan, I will be posting examples of overviews of some workouts we do do in my Strong Chicks Strength and Conditioning class on my blog if you're interested in seeing what we've been up to.

The goal of these classes is to get in a whole body workout in one hour. We use body weight based exercises including some plyometrics, some light weights, kettle bells and resistance bands. I try to change it up frequently in terms of the types of exercises we do and the speed we do them. Usually we use a circuit format to minimize down time between exercises.

All of my classes emphasize functional strength, core strength and balance work. Not only will the exercise help people perform better in their chosen sport but it works as great injury prevention.

Here's what we did last Thursday night:

• Medicine ball warm-up
• Dynamic warm-up to prep for running
• 6 times through very short (around 10 sec) hard fast running drills
• Running against band resistance and band resisted biceps
• Pull-up (assisted), partial body weight push-up using exercise ball, squats
• Beginner kipping pull-up, Bosu push-ups, glutes!!
• A whole bunch of different core exercises and triceps using the Bosu ball and medicine balls.

Classes are Tuesday and Thursday at 6 pm. I keep the class size very small (5 maximum) so that I have time to help people with form and adjust the exercises according to a participant's ability. As such, I cannot take no notice drop-ins. If you'd like to attend class, please contact me directly to confirm that I have room on the night you wish to attend.

The cost is $15 per class but a discount is available if you turn out to be a regular and wish to pay for several classes in advance.

Have fun and play hard. Life is too short to do it any other way.

Cassie

Reflecting on near disaster

2011-07-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

High Cascades 100 was the hardest thing I've ever done. Harder than Ironman, in my opinion. Mostly because this race took me longer (by 4 hours than my slowest IM finish) and you don't have the benefit of changing activities to break things up. I registered for this race knowing that it would be a true test of my limits. I wasn't sure I could finish 100 miles on a mountain bike. Of course, the biggest challenges present the greatest learning opportunities.

The race started from Wanoga Snow Park outside of Bend OR at 5:45 am. The race was presented as a 100 miler but in the previous 2 years it had been closer to 98 miles. This year we were told that it would it would be 103 miles with 14 000 feet of climbing. It turned out to be 108. It doesn't seem like much, 5 miles, but those 5 miles turned out to be very significant.

I won't bore you with excessive details of the race. Suffice to say that there were a lot of ups and downs. Moments when I was miserable enough to cry, and moments when I giggled with delight as I floated down beautiful single track, swooping on banked corners and easily gliding over drops and log overs. Then I came to mile 75.

The Swampy aid station was the first time cut off. I had just struggled through several miles of climbing with nothing in the tank, a back that was so sore I couldn't climb more that 50% of the time, even on the low grade hills. I made it to Swampy with 30 min to spare, but based on my last few miles, there was no way I was going to make it to the finish line in the light. Tom was there and with his encouragement I continued on to the next aid station, in spite of the fact that I had already been in the saddle for 11:30.

I made the next aid station cut off by less than 10 min. I was in decent shape, still feeling like I had no power but I knew that I had the endurance to make it home. After all, I expected it to only take 2 hours, I was already at mile 87. Unfortunately, I didn't know that I had another 21 miles (the course was longer than advertised) including a huge climb.

2 hours passed, dusk came and I hit 100 miles. I still had to find my way back to the finish in the dark. It turns out, I wasn't alone, there were 14 other riders still out there. I was very happy that I had the foresight to put a headlamp in my pack. It was still a nerve racking hour trying make my way back without overshooting my headlamp, trying to stay alert for course arrows.

When I crossed the finish line. Tom was anxiously awaiting me. He didn't know I had a light and was very worried. I got a big hug from Tom and congratulations from several people. The best was from Justin who manned the last aid station. I can't quote him exactly but it was something to the effect of good job, you probably hate me a little right now. All I could do was stare at him in disbelief. Yes, I did hate him at that moment, 16 hours and 13 min after I had started this crazy adventure. But, in reality, I love Justin. He's worked at several events that I've attended and he does a fantastic job. But sometimes, you have to hate someone when they push you to your edge and he certainly did that.

So here we are 3 days later. I'm still fatigued but not really in pain. This is a vast improvement over my inability to bend over the day after the race. I can stand up for longer than 10 min at a time. I can stay awake for more than 2 hours and I'm not waking suddenly from dreams of falling off my bike. The numb spot on the base of my neck is almost gone, my hands have stopped cramping and I am ready to get back on my bike.

After I've done something like this I always get asked if I had fun. No, I can't really say that it was fun, but there is nothing like pushing yourself to your limit to help discover who you are. That is priceless.

Happy riding.
Cassie

Almost 1/3 of the way

2011-05-02T07:03:00.002-07:00

Right now I am composing this email from the car. I am with my massage teammates as we are heading back to H2otel for the end of stage 3. It's been very hard work so far. I am tired.

The Race, Day 1:

The first day was wet and very muddy. Kate, a Canadian-Norwegian was bitten badly by a large dog but still managed to come in 4th overall. There are some very fast women here this year.

Tom had a tough first day. No major problems but lots of little issues that added up to a frustrating day that was slower than he had hoped for. Three mud was horrible and in spite of being very tired he had to do a loot of work on his bike. On the up side, the route was beautiful, the day not too hot and our hotel was a lovely stone B&B in a farm setting. Homemade everything for breakfast including yogurt. It reminded me of my grandma.

The massage area was chaos the first night. We all did our best, but it was tough. All of us working until 11 pm at least. I did 12 massages. This will be my own endurance event of sorts.

Day 2:

Riders were already starting to show signs of fatigue. Kate had another great day in spite of her dog bite. A lady in an older age group is also doing very well, Anne Van de Broeke. In this race people start at different times depending on statistics related to gender and age. This means that Anne starts earlier than anyone else. But whoever crosses the finish first winds the stage regardless of how they started. It makes it very exciting because it is quite possible for a woman to win a stage and the young boys all have to chase her down.

Tom had a great day. He felt good, rode all the technical parts well and finished much better than the previous day.

I got worked. 13 massages and couldn't fall asleep until 1am. Back up again at 7 the next morning to eat and head out to the first check point for today.

Day 3:

Anne and Kate came through the first check point first as expected. I became worried when Tom did not come through with his group. It got later and still no Tom. Finally Tom's brother Rich, came through and let me know that Tom had a flat. Not good, but better than an injury. When Tom came through he let me know that he had already had many adventures I will get more of the story later.

Off to the fancy hotel. If we get there soon enough I will get to swim. By the time any one at home reads this, I will be elbow deep in massages.

To be continued...

Cassie

Day 7 - Athena

2011-05-02T07:03:00.001-07:00

Tom booked us two nights at the fancy hotel. We arranged to rent a bike for me. After breakfast, we picked up Athena, a very heavy Specialized Hard Rock with mechanical disc brakes.

Tom and I rode for a total of about 4 hours, climbing climbing climbing. Much of it very steep and rocky. At one point we came across a large herd if goats. As we got closer two HUGE dogs jumped up from their nap and started barking. There was one older dog and a younger dog. Three older dog got a good look at us, figured out we were no threat, laid down and got back to his serious business of napping. The other dog marked at us for at least another 45 min. What amazed us was that they were out there, guarding the goats without any human in sight!!

We finished the day with some splashing about in the pools, indulging under the massaging waterfalls then an excellent dinner.

One more night in the fancy hotel. Then slowly driving upheading up to race.

Cassie

Day 6 - The Short Cut

2011-04-29T07:47:00.000-07:00

We woke up in Batalha to the sound of church bells outside our window. The little abbey next door made quite a racket. Tom and I decided it had "little church syndrome" and who wouldn't with The Cathedral across the way.

We were the first in The Cathedral that morning, pleasantly surprised to have it nearly to ourselves and with free entry since it was Revolution Day. I do not have words that can describe our experience adequately. Awe inspiring grand spaces. Stone ceilings so high they seemed impossible. Does gravity not have the same effect in these places? Brilliant stained glass casting bright butterflies and stripes of light on the walls and the floor. Stone carvings so delicate, how did the stone not fracture? All of this done with technology that is more than 500 years old!

Try to imagine what life would be like to live as a worker during the construction. You'd be born into your job and die before it's completion.

We left Batalha to head to the mountains. On the way, stopping at a Roman ruins site. Awe inspiring in a different way. Walking on stones, worn deep by people who walked there as many as 2000 years ago. Coming from North America, it's hard to grasp.

We decided to stick to larger roads to get to our fancy hotel in the mountains sooner rather than later. This is not really in keeping with our road trip style, we usually much prefer to get off the beaten path. As we got closer to the mountains, l asked Tom if he'd like to take a "short cut". He looked at me skeptically and asked if I was sure I could navigate us through it, especially given our somewhat serpentine route the day previous. I was confident, so off the beaten path we went.

Now, before I go further I feel a need to defend my decision. Everyone told me that there are no real mountains in Portugal and the roads on the map looked pretty straight. Well, l am here to say that there are serious mountains in Portugal, they may not be tall but they are really steep and the roads look straight on the map because they wind so tightly it would be impossible to map it. Instead they just draw a line in the right general direction. Add this to the fact that there are a million little towns to get turned around in, built in impossible ravines with seriously inadequate signage and you have a recipe for disaster.

I will save you the gory details but in summary:
An extra 2.5 hours traveling time
Roads with grades up to 16%
25% of these roads single lane
Traveling speeds often as low as 25km/hr
1 goat herder complete with herd in the road
Sheer drop offs with no guard rail
The most beautiful villages I have ever seen

We arrived at the fancy H2otel later than planned but much richer for the journey.

Cassie

The magical day

2011-04-29T01:24:00.000-07:00

Some days when left unplanned can lead to beautiful coincidences and elegant discovery. This was day 5 in Portugal.

Tom and I had loosely planned to head to two towns that had very old architecture but we left it all open for interpretation and changes on the fly. We started out properly by sleeping in for 2 extra hours to recover from the ride the previous day. In Portugal that means you miss breakfast. So off we went weaving our way out of Lisbon. Cafes are plenty and we found pastries and coffee without trouble.

Our first stop was Tomar, to see a 500 plus year old monastery. Unfortunately, we couldn't go in as it was Easter Sunday. But we had a great look around the outside and snacked on lunch while sitting on an ancient cobblestone road. By road I mean something akin to a sidewalk just wide enough for a horse and carriage.

With some time to absorb the atmosphere, we headed into the town square where we watched children feed and chase the pigeons. It was a perfect afternoon, warm, interesting light created by the high cumulus clouds and happy portuguese taking advantage of their holiday time. Just as we were readying to leave, we heard music. Bagpipes? Really? Yes, bagpipes, drums and a sax, played by men in striped costumes, with face paint. One of them on stilts. It was great. My cheeks hurt I was smiling so broadly.

We left Tomar to head for Batalha to see what promised to be an amazing gothic cathedral. Excited to be on our way, we left Tomar without ensuring that we were on the right road, both of us trusting that we were headed in the right general direction. Wrong, we ended up too far north, had to triangulate our way back to the right road, getting caught again in small towns with narrow one way "you can't get there from here" evil alleys. Finally back on track (our mistake only cost us an hour really) we headed into town.

The cathedral was not hard to find. It's spiked pinnacles visable from all over town. We found a quaint Residecial close by, dropped off our things and scurried over to the cathedral to catch it in the quickly fading afternoon light. Not only where the light angles perfect, a double rainbow appeared. Right over the cathedral. We have the photo to prove it.

Had we not gotten turned around on our way to Batalha, we would have missed it I'm sure. Our photos would have looked like every other tourists and we wouldn't have believed it if we hadn't seen the rainbow ourselves.

We ate at a nearby restaurant and when we left, the square was dark but the cathedral was gently lit up making it loom eerily in the late twilight.

It was a day full of serendipity and joy.

Cassie

Riding near Lisbon

2011-04-26T11:30:00.000-07:00

Time to get caught up on my blog while I sip on a fabulous port in a hotel that we really shouldn't be in. Luxury doesn't quite
describe it. But more about that later. I am trying to keep this chronological.

So let's go back 3 days to our last adventures near Lisbon. I briefly mentioned a ride Tom and I did with friends José and Rui. My description did not do the ride justice. We started out in a small, typical Portuguese village south of Lisbon. We found our friends by following the GPS coordinates José gave us. After two attempts to head south on a bridge from the city (which looks an awful lot like the Golden Gate bridge by they way) we finally managed the task only to get trapped in small cobblestone alleys in the village of our destination. Many villages, well cities too really, have a bad case of "you can't get there from here". We arrived at the appointed meeting area slightly late but ready to ride.

The rest of the day was full of fantastic double track dirt roads, single track through mud and a little pavement to get us to the next village and cafe. We started out in fall weather, drizzle and mist that turned into a full on downpour, at which time we took shelter in a village cafe. We sampled pastries of the area and sipped coffee while trying not to get mud on the white marble tile.

When the rain slowed we continued on our way. Eventually the sun came out and we were treated to beautiful views of the ocean, followed by riding through wine growing areas and cork trees. Mixed in was another fantastic degree stop. The pastries here are amazing!

All tolled, we rode close to 60 km (36 or so miles), 5 hours plus including our time in the cafes. A great prep day for Tom, I was trashed. Big thanks to Rui for loaning me a hard tail, titanium mountain bike (light!!) that was great for this ride. And huge thanks to José Carlos, who led the way, directed us to a room for the night and led us to a fanastic restaurant to help us replenish.

A great day by any standards.

Cassie

The first few days in Portugal

2011-04-23T15:20:00.001-07:00

We arrived in Portugal late afternoon on Wednesday. I have to say that flying business class over the Atlantic is the way to go. Champagne before you even sit down, good food and our "pods" allowed us to stretch out completely and sleep for at least 5 hours. Great, except for my "Black Swan" dreams!

Our first night was spent on the coast at a hotel we chose in large part for it's oceanside 100m plus pool. Unfortunately, it was closed for repairs. But I did swim and play in the ocean waves. There is nothing like ocean water to cleanse you soul.

The next day was spent exploring areas around Lisbon. We explored food and art, including amazing works related to maps. Then we got tangled in the craziest traffic ever in Lisbon, trying to park and meet a friend for dinner. We finally found under ground parking, waited in a central square where it rained profusely, watched an insane running race begin from the square and head off into the insane traffic, (I was sure they would all die, but amazingly all the cars made way for the runners). This was just the beginnings of an amazing evening of real Portuguese culture.

The rest of the evening was spent with Patricia, a good we met at Trans Portugal the last time we were here. She and here boyfriend took us to a very authentic restaurant where the waiters were surly, the customers smoking but the good fresh and fantastic. It was a great, fun evening. Then we wandered through historical Lisbon at night over small, wet, square cobblestones. I have no idea how Portuguese women do it in heels.

Yesterday we got up, surfed then walked, through lush forest to fantasy palace in the mist.

Today was another ideal day. Mountain biking south of Lisbon with plenty of stops for coffee, rain storms, wild roses and sunshine. All thanks to Jose Carlos and Rui.

Tonight it was a meal of grilled pork for Tom and cod for me. Time for sleep.

Ciao,
Cassie

Cassie

At what cost?

2011-03-25T13:09:00.001-07:00

If you are not getting paid to race or even if you are, why are you risking everything for your sport?

There are plenty of you readers out there that I am sure lead a balanced and healthy lifestyle, this is not about you. It's about those of us that are walking on the edge of a precipice and are about to fall. I am seriously alarmed by the number of people I have encountered over the last year alone to whom that analogy applies.

Yes, strength to weight ratio is important for racing. But you're not going to be any faster if you're starving. Worse than that, when you get too lean (less than 7% body fat for men, 12% for women) bad things start to happen. Your organs don't work right anymore. Your heart starts doing the funky chicken, not to mention your other organs and immune system. And yet every issue of every mag about running, cycling or tri that I have picked up in the last year seems to have an article on how to get leaner. I have yet to see one that cautions against getting too lean.

So I am here to tell you that you can die from being too skinny. If you are trying to optimize your strength to weight ratio, get you body fat tested to get an idea of how much weight you can safely lose. Don't assume that less is more.

Eat well, eat responsibly, enjoy life.

This post was inspired by a friend who fell from the precipice but clawed her way back into competition, at a healthy body weight.

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Power Training on the Bike

2011-02-28T20:45:00.001-08:00

There's nothing more intimidating than standing in the middle of a bunch of super lean, hairless legged dudes conversing in bike-geek-speak. I can usually hold my own with the lycra clad warriors but I was starting to feel a little left out when the topic of discussion inevitably turned to Watts. It was time to get a new toy.

Since I wasn't convinced training with power was all it's cracked up to be, I went the cheap route and bought a computer that is calibrated to estimate power when used with my Kurt Kinetic trainer. Not the most accurate tool, I know but it was less than 1/5 the cost of some other power meters. I've been using the trainer and power meter over the last couple of months and I hate to admit it but it does work much better on shorter interval workouts than heart rate data.

Heart rate takes a while to creep up when you are doing a hard interval. So it doesn't give you good feedback on your effort if you are doing shorter intervals, like 1 or even 2 min. You get immediate feedback on how hard you are pushing with the power meter. That's key when you're trying to improve your high end output. Since this is my primary limiter... I guess I should stick with it.

The down side: It really effing hurts to push that hard and I highly recommend you keep a bucket close by. I guess I should also add that it takes some homework to find out what your ideal wattage for training a given interval length should be. That's something that a lot of data hounds out there will embrace. For the rest of us, it's a hassle.

You can download a pdf file at www.trainingbible.com that thoroughly explains training with power called, you guessed it... Training With Power.

The first person to puke wins.

I've had better days.

2011-02-20T18:52:00.001-08:00

I set out on my ride today feeling good about how it should go. I was relatively well rested, given that I had been sitting on my bum for two days learning about joint surgery and rehab, (more on this later). I thought that I should have plenty in the tank. I was wrong.

Lesson 1: it's not a ride if you have to walk up 80% of it. Yes I was on a single speed. Yes it was silly steep. Yes it was narrow and off camber and exposed and slippery and sketchy and had deer poop on it...

Lesson 2: sometimes there is crying in mountain biking.

Lesson 3: no matter how safe someone says it is, sometimes your limbic system and adrenals just don't agree.

Lesson 4: the ride can still get better no matter how it starts.

Lesson 5: there is an appropriate time and place for tree hugging, on a mountain bike ride is not usually it.

Lesson 6: every ride turns out well when it ends at Everybody's brewing.

When will I ever actually learn how to rest on Sunday?

Rest, recovery, regeneration

2011-02-12T10:23:00.000-08:00

A little story about life balance.

It was 6 weeks before my second Ironman Canada. I showed up at the track for my once a week workout with my running coach. We went through a really light warm-up, then did a few form drills and he declared the workout over.

Me: "What?" I said. I couldn't believe it. I thought we were going to put some finishing touches on my speed work. Didn't he realize that Ironman was just around the corner? I was running out of time.

Coach: "You're exhausted, I can see it in your eyes."

Me: "But I haven't been over-training, if anything I've been missing workouts!"

Coach: "Life is like a water chute. Only so much stuff can flow through the chute at one time. That stuff isn't just your training, it's work, it's your relationships, it's your responsibilities. If you try to fit too much through the chute, there's going to be a mess when things burst apart."

Me: "Life's been challenging as of late, but what am I supposed to do? I need to get ready for the race!"

Coach: "Over the next 6 days, I want you to use every minute that you would to train, to rest in a horizontal position. You don't have to sleep. Just rest."

I thought he was nuts but I also knew that I was tired and I did as I was told. The first 2 days were tough because I felt guilty for being lazy. Then I started to recognize how truly tired I was. It took 6 days for me to get the training/racing itch back. He was right on the money. The decision to have me rest that week likely saved my Ironman. I was on the verge of disaster.

The moral of the story. Sometimes life is demanding. As an athlete it's hard to give yourself permission to do nothing, especially when you haven't been able to train much because of other factors. But those other factors drain you, as much as training, if not more. Sometimes, doing nothing is the best training you can do.

This 20 min of writing was done in the horizontal position. My goal to day is to stay like that as much as possible. Time for repairs before the water chute bursts open.

Compassion

2011-02-11T13:55:00.000-08:00

I am lucky enough to have been born with a generous allotment of constitutional strength in many arenas. What I wasn't born with was a lot of patience or understanding for people who don't have the same get up and go as I do. I struggle daily with frustration when I see people exhibiting self destructive behaviors. I struggle to not just reach out and shake them while yelling, "Can't you see what you are doing to yourself?"

I know that my frustration harms my spirit/psyche/emotional health - whatever you want to call it. It does nothing to help those who have come to me for aid.

I had a very difficult day yesterday. A day dominated by clients with chronic conditions and negative behaviors that perpetuate their situation. It had me exhausted at the end of it. Fortunately, the wonderful positive energy of my Strong Chicks brought me back to life. It was a good reminder. A reminder that our behavior affects those around us. A reminder that my frustration radiates to others and that's not good. A reminder that I can change my behavior and my attitude, my world. A hope that if I change myself, I will create a ripple effect that will change the lives of others... in a good way.

So why did I call this post "Compassion"? Compassion is the keystone in my character arc(h). It is the antagonist of my frustration. If I can truly incorporate compassion in my day to day life, integrate it, breathe it, the frustration will disappear and I will be a better person.

Bike fitting and the body.

2011-02-03T12:17:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine has purchased a new bike and was concerned about handling on descents as this is sometimes a problem for him. In part related to bike geometry but also likely related to riding style and posture.

This spurred an online discussion about getting lower on the bike to allow for better handling. The comment also included advice on using your core to support your trunk so that the rider could let his arms relax while riding. Not unlike this:

I agree that the changes suggested would improve handling on descents. But sometimes a body just can't do it.

I did a bike fit for the rider in question with the focus on trying to relieve any pain issues while riding. We did that successfully. While the lower position described may help with handling on descents and other technical riding, the rider has to have a body that will accept that position as well which requires sufficient core strength, hip and hamstring flexibility. *IF* the rider can get into the position, maintain a good low back and pelvic alignment, the neck might be able to take the posture. If the low back and pelvic position and stability aren't there, neck posture will be crap and there will be huge compressive forces through that part of the spine. Even with perfect low back/pelvic positioning, the neck will take more strain due to the way the head has to be lifted to look forward with the lower stem/handlebars. A younger spine can take that strain fairly easily. Older spines (greater than 35 years old) start having bone spurs and things that complicate the issue.

The comments made by others in the discussion about riding posture were absolutely correct, not just about the position but also about having to use your core to support your trunk instead of having a lot of weight on the hands. Unfortunately, a lot of riders do not have sufficient core strength to do so, or insufficient muscle endurance to maintain that core support over longer rides.

So this is perfect example of fitting a bike for performance versus ergonomics. In some cases, you have no choice but to give up one for the other. Finding the right bike fit is a balancing act. It's not black and white.

Getting Settled

2011-01-20T17:18:00.000-08:00

It's been a little over 2 weeks since my last post. This sounds a bit like confession. I should be careful or soon I'll start to be plagued by guilt.

I have a good excuse though.
We did it! We did it! We did it!
Tom is moved here and we are in our new home. Now if only all these boxes would unpack themselves and contents sort themselves into piles for donation/recycle/trash/keep.

Truthfully, I'm exhausted. I feel like I could sleep for about 24 hours straight. In fact that's what I should do. It might be time for a black curtain day or two.

On that note, let's keep it short and sweet.

Food tip:

Red, yellow and orange bell peppers are loaded with vitamins and antioxidants. Most bell peppers we get here in the PNW this time of year are grown in hot houses. So even if the pepper is not organic, a lot fewer chemicals are used to grow it since the environment is more controlled. I like to eat them raw in slices or cut into 1 inch cubes and sauteed with onion, garlic and sometimes mushrooms.

Fit tip:

If you live less than 5 miles from your workplace, try commuting by bike a couple of days a week. You don't have to do it every day and it's an easy way to add 30 to 45 min of exercise to your daily routine. Just make sure you're visible. Having fenders with reflective tape, a red rear blinkie light and a good commuter jacket with reflective material should do the trick.

Now get out and play.

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-03T19:11:00.001-08:00

My food tip for the week:

Chicken wings are powerful bad for you and should not be eaten unless you've ridden your bike for at least 4 hours. Really. I put 12 wings in my food diary today and I couldn't believe the calories, more than 1200!!! Just say no.

My exercise tip for the week:

This is one of my favorite hamstring exercises. It's guaranteed to kick your bum into shape.

On a personal note:

I am very fortunate to be enveloped in love. The love of my boyfriend, my family, my friends. 2010 was a great year and I want to thank you all. Those words don't seem enough. Language is limited. I wish I could find a better way to communicate what you mean to me.

What did I do in 2010? It all seems a blur now. I know I skied... a lot. I know I rode... a lot. I loved... you get the idea. Life unfolded and shit happened. Tom, who rarely crashes on a bike, had not one but 4 significant falls. The worst resulting in rib fractures that took a couple of months to heal. Meanwhile, we got to dive into new depths of our relationship and I found a nurturing side I didn't know I had.

2010 was also the year of my fastest Ironman to date. I'm fitter now that I was 10 years ago and it feels good to have crushed my previous best IM time in my late 30s.

Beautifully, things are falling together and a new world is opening up for us in 2011. Tom should be moved here with his business in about 2 weeks. We will finally live together in our own home. We'll be returning to Portugal in the Spring with Tom racing at TransPortugal and I will be working as part of the medical team. Then there's my big goal for the year, the 100 mile mountain bike race. I must be crazy.

Looking forward to a 2011 full of promise and adventure.

11 days after that...

2010-12-28T16:55:00.000-08:00

OK, so I've managed to miss a week. It was Christmas and I was having fun.

Personal update:
Happy Cassie continues to be very happy. Tom and I are moving into a new place sometime in January. It's all very exciting. Tom is taking over as owner of GVH Bikes and will be moving the biz here from Coos Bay. The house is located in a great spot, less than a mile from great mountain biking/trail running and only 3 flattish miles from my work. We can't wait.

Chubby Cassie... is still kind of chubby. Darn Christmas goodies got me, no matter how much I skate skied. Evil, sneaky, intractable, recalcitrant bum fat (ESIRBF).

Athletic update:
I've committed to racing the High Cascades 100. That should help with the ESIRBF mentioned above. It's definitely got me riding scared.

Tip for the week:
Side plank is a great exercise for almost anyone. It's a common area of weakness and can contribute to low back pain, IT Band syndrome, knee pain, even shin splints. Here's a video link that I put together to help determine if this is a weak point for you and what to do about it.

Happy adventures everyone.

One week hence...

2010-12-17T11:08:00.001-08:00

Injuries = nearly all healed.

Chubby Cassie = getting slimmer Cassie. I decided to try an online food and activities diary. It is helping a lot. It's amazing how motivating looking at calorie numbers can be to 1) give you that extra push to get out the door and train so you can have that pint of stout and 2) to keep you from eating all the nasty candies in the bowl at work. Thank you Carly for the inspiration and for showing me the site.

New life phase Cassie = Still happy and excited Cassie. I promise a new post to fill you in on the excited details... soon

My tip for the week:

Cross country skiing burns way more calories than most any other activity. Here in the Gorge it has the added bonus of getting you up on the mountain and out from under the inversion where you might get some sunshine. So get those skis out and enjoy the sun.

It's been a while

2010-12-12T20:46:00.000-08:00

So, it's been a very busy late summer/fall and well really... almost winter.

What's been going on? You might ask.

Well in summary...
Cross racing = fun and injuries (not serious)
Post Ironman eating = chubby Cassie
New clients = busy Cassie
New life phase = happy Cassie... to be continued, I can't expose all the details just yet.

But what I mean to do is start blogging once a week. I should be able to manage that right? Just a tip or two. In the next while, they'll mostly be dietary since that's my latest kick. Gotta get rid of the post Ironman chub before endurance mountain biking season is here.

So today's tip is asparagus. I discovered that you can eat a lot of asparagus roasted in the oven for a fraction of the calories of french fries and way more vit C.

Here's how I do it...

Chop up a bunch of asparagus into 2 inch lengths. Toss lightly in olive oil and roast at 400 deg F for about 10 min. Sprinkle on salt and eat like french fries. One cup of asparagus has only 32 calories but 73% of your RDI of vit C. Way better than french fires.

Which reminds me, I have some in the oven right now.

Some of my favorite running stretches

2010-09-07T20:19:00.000-07:00

I was asked to put together a presentation for our middle school cross country running team on dynamic warm-up and stretching.

The current research does not support stretching before running as a way to prevent injury. The best way to prevent injury and improve performance is by performing dynamic running drills that gradually increase range of motion while increasing activation of certain muscle groups and also improve balance and stability.

However, stretching after activity can help address muscle imbalances and asymmetries. Ultimately, this will help to prevent overuse injuries, especially if the stretches are done after activity with special attention paid to stretches that reveal more tightness on one side than the other.

I recommend that stretches be held for 20 to 30 sec (about 5 to 6 even breaths) and repeated 1 to 4 times a side. If an area feels tight, perform more repetitions. If one side is tighter than the other, perform an extra rep on that side.

The following are some of the basic stretches that I recommend for runners. I have giving three options for the piriformis stretch. Choose your favorite one. There is no need to do all three.

Piriformis stretch in standing

Piriformis stretch in sitting

Alright. I give up. That's all you're getting tonight. I'm having problem uploading the photos for the stretches. Stay tuned for more piriformis stretching, hams, quads, calves, hip flexor and IT band.

To be continued.

Calf/Shin compression sleeves - Product review

2010-08-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

I've been curious about compression sleeves for a while. My weak link has always been my calves and the thought that there might be something out there that could stop my calves from begging "make it stop!!" during a distance event has been very appealing.

So when the lovely people at Shortt Supply here in Hood River loaned me a pair to try out, I was all over it. Here's my take on these silly little sleeves that scream "Tri-Geek" like nothing I've seen in the last few years.

Zensah Calf/shin compression sleeves

Function
I've only used the sleeves twice, once for our sprint distance club workout and yesterday for a workout called the Triple Threat. I wore the sleeves under my wetsuit at the sprint Tri which worked well. They stayed in place in transition and I didn't have to mess with them at all. They are not particularly quick drying which is not a problem here in the summer but could be if you were starting a race in cooler temperatures. It felt like my calves were contracting more efficiently sooner on the bike, like the sleeves had a warm-up effect. I did not notice any calf pain on the run but that's not unusual though for such a short run.

Yesterday's workout on the other hand is meant to closely simulate the kind of physical stress that your body sustains at Ironman distance races. My calves were tired but did not seem to be as sore as they usually are. Could it be that my calves are just stronger this year... maybe. But I think the sleeves helped, at least a bit. They did start to feel hot at different points in the workout but it was very hot, up to 103 degrees, so I don't think you can really fault the sleeves too much.

Today I am sore. In all the usual places and my calves are tight but while I'm at home doing chores, I'm wearing the sleeves and they are definitely helping with post workout discomfort.

Workmanship

While it's hard to tell if the sleeves will put up with extended use, I can say that the fabric is super comfy, the seams are smooth and did not chafe and the construction appears to be sturdy. I rinsed the sleeve out by hand after each workout and noticed a lot of red dye leaching into the water, so be careful not to wash these with other items.

Appearance

I looked like a complete idiot in these things. The ones that were loaned to me are red. They clash horribly with my blue tri suit and offensively bright green Newton racing shoes. I don't think I could have put together a more ridiculous outfit if I tried. My training buddies were calling me Pippy Red Stockings. The outfit was truly shocking and as I said before, screamed "Tri-Geek". Well more like "Colour Blind Tri-Geek!!!" I actually try very hard to avoid the Tri-Geek stereotype so this is a little hard for me to swallow.

Bottom line

I like the sleeves. They feel good and I think they actually helped me. I'll be ordering some through Shortt Supply... in a different colour thank you.

2010-08-14T19:02:00.000-07:00

Ironman Canada is 2 weeks out. Do I feel ready? To finish sure, but I lost that fear a long time ago. This will be my 4th Ironman. I know I have the endurance.

Then I ask myself... What is left? I'm not fast enough to qualify for Kona. I won't win my age group and unless I gain 5 lbs in the next two weeks, I don't qualify as an Athena. So I won't win that division either.

Do I have it in me to set a personal record? Maybe. I haven't trained as consistently as I would like. Hills and track workouts have been sparse. Life has been very demanding this year and it has left me with very little energy to devote to this crazy sport. I've learned in the past that tired is tired and you have to sleep when that happens. So I've hardly swam at all this year. I ride my bike about twice per week, not counting my short commutes to work. I have been running 1 to 2 times per week. Not nearly enough by most people's standards to finish an Ironman. But I know that I will. I know that I can.

To set a PR I will have to beat 12:11. Based on my workout today (The Triple Threat), I think I can. I may even be able to beat 12 hours...

The Triple Threat is 3 rounds of bike-run. Today we totaled of 77 miles, 4:50, 6300 feet on the bike and 2:08 for 14.2 miles on the run. That kind of pace would have me really close, but could get me that elusive sub 12 hour race.

We shall see.

RAO - Hindsight is 20/20

2010-08-01T18:42:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've blogged. Life is busy. But our most recent adventure definitely deserves a write up and I hope that some people may learn from our experience.

Tom rode at Race Across Oregon last weekend. In fact one week ago at this time we were leaving Maupin OR. We had 80 miles left in this 535 mile saga that started at 5 AM the previous morning. There were 2 big climbs to go, we were all set up for night riding and follow support. Tom looked great. Energized by the cooling air. We thought we had this race in the bag. We followed our plan to a tee. We survived the heat and had 9 hours to finish. What could go wrong? The answer is A LOT.

Up to this point Tom had ridden steady. He kept his effort level as low as possible so we didn't have any major issues in the heat. And it was hot. Tom's GPS read as high as 113 deg F climbing out of the canyon after Condon. The crew (Matt, Julie and myself) were having a hard time staying hydrated sitting in the car. I honestly don't know how Tom was able to keep moving in that heat.

The idea is that the rider sleeps as little as possible. So the first night Tom did not sleep at all, he plugged away the entire night and made good time while it was cooler. In the morning we stopped for a break to feed him a couple of sandwiches and make some coffee in Long Creek OR.

At this point Tom was still looking steady but showing signs of fatigue and discomfort. Who wouldn't after 310 miles on their road bike in 25 hours. But we stuck to the plan through the heat of day two and got into Maupin in good shape at about 7 PM, about 38 hours in. We had a longer rest break to hydrate and get some food into him. Pumped up for the last stretch.

Tom was good after leaving Maupin, for about an hour. Then climbing Tygh Grade (a 7 mile 6% climb) he started talking about the jigsaw puzzles at the side of the road. He was hallucinating. I was prepared for this. Most ultra riders will hallucinate, it's all part of the game. As long as we could keep him connected to us and talk him through it, he'd be safe. So we descended Tygh Grade - Perfectly. Then began the last climb up forest service road 44 from Dufur. Tom was still handling his bike well, he knew all the turns without being reminded. He was strong but was continuing to hallucinate.

At one point he stopped his bike suddenly. When we stopped with him he said, "Why am I stopped? I didn't mean to stop." Then started riding again. Shortly after that came the "Something is wrong phase." When Tom kept repeating this and I couldn't get him to articulate what it was that was wrong. Then he got off his bike and started walking. Realize that I've had a week to reflect on all this and although I didn't know it at the time, now I'd have to say that Tom had completely lost touch with reality but was still so focused on finishing this race that he was determined to continue with some sort of forward movement, even if he couldn't ride anymore. Actually, even at this point when he was riding, he was riding better than 90% of the population does when they are fresh. He can literally ride his bike when he is asleep.

Here's the hard part. My role in what was to come. I was crew chief. I was responsible for his safety. I was instructed to get him to the finish line.

I got Tom back on the bike. He was riding along at about 6 mph when he suddenly fell over. By the time I was out of the car and at his side (10 sec max) he was dead asleep in the ditch at the side of the road, still clipped in to his bike. I unclipped him, set him up with blankets and called a nap break for 45 minutes. Tom would wake up for brief moments with eyes wide open, darting wildly. I told him to rest and he would fall right back asleep.

After 45 min I got Tom back on the bike. I woke him up, got him moving and when he walked past the back of the van he crawled in onto the bed. I woke him up and guilted him into getting back out there. It was our trump card, only to be used in emergencies. It worked. My thinking was that if he looked bad we would take him back off the bike and sleep more. Worst case scenario, he falls into the ditch again at 6 mph. I was wrong.

At some point, Tom's mind disconnected such that he was no longer registering what I was saying to him or if he was, he would not listen as I had become part of this nightmare he was trapped in and couldn't get out of. Tom started to ride and was behaving oddly. I yelled at him to stop and he wouldn't. He turned around in front of the car and started back down the hill gaining speed.

Matt jumped out of the car and sprinted next to him. At this point all I could see were Tom's lights and hear Matt aggressively pleading with Tom to stop, to put on his brakes. Then the lights went off the road and tumbled end over end at least 3 times. I have never been so terrified in my life. I ran as fast as I could to the crash site. Tom was face down in the dirt in something akin to a fetal position. He was awake and said, "That was real, wasn't it?" I checked him over thoroughly and decided it was safe to move him. We put him in the back of the van and he was already checked out again and not making any sense. This is when we decided to pull out of the race. We had to get Tom someplace where I could monitor him for a head injury, clean his wounds and let him rest. It was a difficult decision. Especially when we had 5 hours left, only 10 miles of climbing, 40 miles in total. I toyed with the idea of letting him sleep in the van at the side of the road for 2 hours then trying again, but my crew quickly brought me to my senses.

Once the decision was made and we started down the hill, I fell apart. I don't know when the last time was that I've cried that hard. When we got back to the house, Matt helped me get Tom in and undressed. While I was cleaning his wounds, Tom told me he didn't remember the house and he wasn't sure who I was. It was heart breaking but I knew that it was extreme exhaustion. I stayed up for several hours to check Tom's vitals frequently. All was well in that department. Finally I went to sleep after setting my alarm to check on him in an hour.

I woke up 3 hours later, very upset that I had slept that long. I checked his pulse. It was even and strong and his colour had come back. I got up to do some things around the house. I was wide awake again from scaring myself. Soon after, Tom got up and headed to the bathroom for a shower. When he came out he walked into the kitchen, took my hand and led me to the couch where he asked me to tell him what happened. He didn't remember anything after Tygh Valley.

I'm not sure what the moral of the story is here. I know that I feel more connected to Tom than before the race. Somehow this experience has strengthened us as a couple. I know that I feel guilty, that I let him down somehow, that I should've been able to get a finish out of this. Then I feel guilty for putting him back on the bike and the resulting crash. All for what? Then I get the heebie jeebies thinking about what could have happened if he had fallen asleep on the descent off of 44 or on Hwy 35. I don't think I did anything wrong but somehow I still feel horrible about it all.

What I do hope is that other crews might learn from this experience. Sleep deprivation is a dangerous thing. Try to plan for it. Watch for the signs and know that when it gets bad enough you no longer have control of your rider, the crazy nightmares in their heads will gain control instead. When that happens, you are no longer safe.

My next adventure... Ironman Canada August 29th. It seems so minor now in comparison.

Texas Hill Country 600!! Part 1

2010-03-16T17:38:00.001-07:00

We finished!!!!! I did it, I did it [visualize insane redheaded woman doing a happy dance… well more of a happy wiggle, my legs won’t support a happy dance right now]. Tom and I finished the Texas Hill Country 600 (375 miles) in 23 hours and 6 minutes! I think I rode something between 150 to 170 miles and Tom kicked supreme ass on the rest. Best of all, we had fun. Really, I’m not kidding. It hurt like the dickens, but there were moments I wouldn’t trade for anything.

I had many firsts on this ride. It was my first true ultra event. Yeah, I’ve done Ring of Fire 12 hour as a two person team and a solo, but it doesn’t really compare to this riding through the night business. Hence, this was my first true night riding experience and I loved it. I thought I would struggle with staying awake, that I’d be grumpy about getting back on my bike at each hand off but that wasn’t the case at all. In fact I had my best (by far) pull at about 5 AM, more about that later. This was my first time riding more than 120 miles in a 24 hour period. It was my first experience involving an armadillo. It was my first race with Tom as a team. We love each other even more. What an amazing experience to share.

The weather was great. I don’t know that we would’ve even started the race if there was rain. Being a self supported two person team meant long transitions at night. To do it in the rain at 40 deg F might have been too much. But we had clear skies with almost no moon making a blanket of stars that was as bright as I’ve ever seen them. The wind kicked up a few times and treated us with some cruel twists… it sucks to have a headwind going out and then another in the middle of the night when you’re headed in the other direction, uphill no less. Really, that’s my only complaint.

In the end, Tom rode the last 20 miles and he rode them at full throttle, it was amazing and inspiring to watch.

This is only the first installment on this topic. I’ll have some detailed stories to pass along as I get time to write them up.

More later…

Moderation? Wait a second while I look that up.

2010-02-17T17:37:00.000-08:00

There's a reason why here in The Gorge we talk about being fit and being Gorge Fit. I live in one of the most amazing outdoor playgrounds that exists.

January and February have been filled with skate skiing, often 3 workouts a week. The trails are beautiful, the mountain looks so close it seems like you should be able to reach out and touch the peak. This morning I was blessed with FAST snow and frosted trees, beautifully backlit by the early morning sun. I had good company too. My good friend and ski buddy Kani Rowland of Gorge Paddling, super fast fasty Tamara and an amazingly beautiful technical skier, Teresa. How could it get better?

Well I could come back down, work a few hours then go for a ride up Binns Hill Road in the sunshine. Then I could have my woman's strength and conditioning class.

I wonder why my body is beat. But that's the way it is here, if you're not sore, you're not really living The Gorge lifestyle.

Now, could somebody please pass me some vit I?

Ski day!!

2010-01-23T18:16:00.000-08:00

In case you're wondering what I like to do with my Saturdays... and Sundays for that matter.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Skate Ski at Teacup

I am in love with skate skiing. It's great winter cross training for cycling and is a kick ass cardio workout like no other.

Have fun out there and enjoy the snow.

Snow and ice anyone?

2010-01-22T13:18:00.000-08:00

I haven't really had any great adventures in the last little while. Just a bunch of fantastic days on the mountain skate skiing... same o' same o'

But Tom just got back from Scotland where he did the Strathpuffer. He joined a 4 person team for this crazy 24 hour mountain bike race.

You can get his version of the story here. You have to click on the link on the left that says "Tom's stories" to get the race report.

My version... he's crazy. They took third place and I picked up a very happy but exhausted Tom at the Portland airport on Tuesday.

Get out there and have fun. So what if there's a little snow and ice, it sure as heck doesn't stop the Scots.

Just train.

2010-01-14T12:20:00.000-08:00

This video is quite amusing and it reflects the truth far more than many triathletes (myself included) want to admit.

On that note, I think I'll go for a run.

Enjoy.

My Poor Immune System.

2010-01-09T22:54:00.000-08:00

What have I done since Ironman. Not much. After a big race like that it's best to take at least 1 month if not 2 easy. That doesn't mean doing nothing. It means staying away from anything that resembles triathlon and not living by a training schedule. Cross training is great during this down time. It's a perfect time to get caught up with family and friends, learn how to surf or just finish reading the book that has been sitting on the shelf for the last 9 months.

I wish that was what my post race month looked like. Instead I was sick. Quite sick for about 6 weeks in total. I likely had a virus going into the race that blossomed fully within 2 days of finishing IM. That then turned into a couple of opportunistic secondary infections and the next thing you know, a month or so has gone by and you haven't been able to much of anything besides sleep and work, forget about exercise.

It's well documented in the research that hard effort races result in immune system suppression for 24 hours after the effort. Many professional racers will avoid public places and may even go as far as to wear a mask if they have to travel by plane in the 24 hours following a race.

I'm back training again to get ready for my next big adventure, the Texas Hill Country 600. But the last 6 weeks were rotten. What's my advice? Don't go to a Bunko party 2 weeks before a big race. If you do, take your hand sanitizer.

Happy training.

Finished

2009-11-23T11:40:00.000-08:00

IM is a great way to end a season. There really is nothing like it.

Tom and I drove down to Phoenix at leisurely pace, taking in Cedar Breaks, the Grand Canyon and camping on Mogollon Rim with no one around for miles. I ran at over 10 000 feet, rode my bike a bit and rested. It was perfect.

Once in Phoenix we stayed with very good friends, Chris and Randy, who opened their home fully to us and provided a perfect base of operations. Thank you Universe for all my great friends who helped this happen. An athlete is never alone in their accomplishments.

My last workout before the race went really well. I felt better than I ever have the day before an IM... well there was the nip I got from a dog on my run but he barely broke the skin. Tom rode with me on his fixie, kept me out of the wind, reminded me to drink lots and was my pack mule the whole weekend. I love you Tom.

Race day was tough. The water was very cold and the swim very physical. I lost my nose plug right away and although I usually am very happy in the water, even I started to have a bit of a panic attack brought on by a lot of heavy physical contact with other swimmers. I had to slow down and breathe deeply to make it go away. Then I continued at a slower pace making my swim time about 5 to 8 min slower than what I had hoped.

My first transtion was slow, it was a long run through and my feet were completely numb. I found out later that other swimmers had to DNF due to hypothermia.

I fought hard the first lap to hold a 6 hour pace for the ride. Maybe too hard, it was windy and I couldn't feel my feet at all so I don't think my pedal stroke was efficient. The next 2 laps were slower as I began to realize that I was working too hard for such a long day.

The run was horrible for the first 5 miles. I usually feel bad for the first 3 but then things straighten out. My back was cramping and I had nothing in my legs. Then somehow things got miraculously better. I swear that what allows me to do well at these races is that I don't fall apart as quickly as other people do. It sure isn't because I'm fast. My last 5 miles on the marathon were the fastest of the whole run. The marathon at IMAZ was the funnest run I have ever done thanks to the great aid stations manned by pirates, Wizard of Oz characters and Cowboys.

In the end I finished in 12:11 and change. In my age group I was 18th in the swim, 36th on the bike and 33 on the run. Not bad for an age group of 119. I didn't get the 11:30 race I had hoped but I smiled most of the way and basked in the feeling of knowing how lucky I am to be able to race like this at all. There is no such thing as a bad Ironman day.

IM approaches

2009-11-04T22:33:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I worry that I'm unidimensional. Sometimes I wonder if I'm so self absorbed that I'm missing out on life. Then I realize that I've got the IM psychosis.

I think of little else. Work is busy and all I can think about is how it is hindering my taper. Not that I trained enough to warrant a taper but hey... one can dream can't they.

Tonight as I sit by the woodstove, eating kale crisps I am counting down the days when it will be over. Why do we do these things if they are only accompanied by dread? What is it that makes endurance athletes tick? Why am I happy when I finish a 7 hour and 30 min ride that includes the climb over FSR 44 when really for a good part of the ride I was miserable and wanted nothing more than to be off of my bike?

I don't have any answers. But I do have a link to a good song...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjTBKx-64h4&feature=related

Good night.

A great IM Training day

2009-10-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

When my friend Leanne told me about this workout I thought she was insane. Why would someone put their body through that kind of hell just to train. Going through hell on race day to get to the finish line is one thing. But to train for 9ish hours in one day...!!???

I decided to try it and here's how it went:

Bike 27 miles, run 6 miles, bike 27 miles, run 6 miles, bike 16 miles, run 3 miles.

Originally the plan was to have 3 rounds of 25 to 27 miles on the bike followed by 6 mile runs but we ran out of daylight and had to shorten things up a bit. Since the last ride was shorter, I tried to do some really hard efforts a few times for a couple of minutes at a time. The last run segment went similarly. I ran hard for the last mile up a slight grade.

This was a fantastic workout. I got in a lot of time on the bike and run but never got bored. Part of that was the nature of the workout, part of it was having friends there to help. I'd highly recommend this type of workout 4 to 6 weeks before a big event like Ironman. It really built my confidence up and I feel like I'm ready to race.

Next weekend is mountain biking for fun... let's see how many bruises I come home with.

2009-10-10T20:32:00.000-07:00

I'm soooooooooo hot. My metabolism is through the roof. That's what happens when you ride your bike for 98 miles, 7 hours in the wind and cold. This may be my last looooooong ride before Ironman Arizona. From here on out I'll start to shorten things up and do combined workouts, bike followed by run.

But before that happens... one more long run tomorrow.

The road to IMAZ has been interesting. I haven't trained as consistently as I have in the past. No written plans, only 2 other races this season. So it'll be interesting to see what happens. I've trained intuitively and haven't spent the last 6 months flirting with overtraining. But I don't feel like I've trained enough. November the 22nd will tell the story.

The little things

2009-10-05T16:22:00.000-07:00

I had a great weekend. I am happier than I have been in as long as I can remember.

Today I rode my bike to work, in the sunshine with a skirt on and clompy Danskos. My bike has a new SRAM shifter for the front derailleur and new grips thanks to Tom. She was riding like a dream, zooming down Belmont with a snow covered Mt. Hood looking over my shoulder. It was one of those joyous moments when I felt like nothing else exists in the world except happiness.

Needles!!!

2009-09-24T10:01:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot to share some of the biggest work related news I've had in a few years. I can use needles at work again!!!!!

The PT licensing board has declared dry needling to be within the scope of practice for a PT if they have the appropriate training. That means I can use acupuncture again as an adjunct modality in my practice. I'm very excited. My clients are very excited and I have already seen some good results in pain relief and swelling management.

The wonderful spin off is that my renewed use of acupuncture has spurred me to review some of my Tradtional Chinese Medicine books and notes. This in turn has motivated me to spend more time meditating and centering myself.

I feel as if I've been released from a cage.

Training adventures

2009-09-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to post something about this for a while because I think it's a really fun way to get in a lot of miles on the bike with good support and allows you to go places you can't if you solo.

Here's what we (Tom, George, Terri and I) did this weekend. We all piled into the Race Across Oregon van - with Amelia of course - and drove to BZ Corners WA. We then rode for many miles. Each of us taking turns riding and driving in the van. I logged 75 miles the first day with about 6600 feet of climbing, Tom logged 95 miles and George and Terri each got in 50. The next day was a little shorter but no less challenging in terms of climbing.

The great part about this kind of riding is the social aspect. Good quality time with friends. Then there is the distinct advantage of riding with a support vehicle. For me it means I can push a lot harder than I normally would because I know that I can always get more food/water or even a ride if I completely explode. It also meant that I didn't have to ride the crazy gravel downhill that Tom conquered in the rain!! The man is insane.

I can't wait to do this again.

Ring of Fire Time Trial - Maupin OR September 12, 2009

2009-09-16T13:53:00.000-07:00

The plan was to ride my bike for 12 hours. The hope was for 160 miles. The reality was very different.

Well, it started out with a stomach ache and trouble with nutrition. The first 60 miles of the course is at least 80% climbing and I was much slower than I had hoped. I was OK with that, I had all day to pull through as long as I could get my stomach to straighten out. At about 5 hours I finally got a long enough descent to back off substantially and get some food into me. My stomach started to feel better and I hit the next climb with some oomph, still not fast, but better.

Then I had fun for about 1 hour.

Then came the heat and there was carnage all over the race course. Someone with a temp gauge on their cyclocomputer said the heat got up to 97 deg at about 3 PM. Cyclists were stopped at random spots all over the course just because they were too hot to keep going.

I got seriously overheated. Relying on SAGs and self supporting did not help. By the end of my big loop of 112 miles, I was struggling to go 10 mph on a flat road with a slight tailwind. I should've been cruising easily at 18 mph. I hurt everywhere, had a terrible headache, flashing lights in my field of vision. When I got into the checkpoint and tried to talk to one of the volunteers, I wasn't articulating well and I knew I couldn't go on until I had cooled off substantially and got my electrolytes and hydration squared away.

While I was trying to do this Tom came in off the 24 hour course with a DNF. He ended up very overheated as well.

That's when I decided I was done. The cost seems too high to go back out. People were throwing up everywhere, many racers had DNFed, one went to the hospital and had an IV of 3 litres of fluid. He still wasn't quite squared away.

So I got an official finish and I seem to be recovering in a timely fashion. I'm still a little whacked out but my legs are better. No significant signs of anything serious. I'm very glad I decided to pull the plug when I did.

Not sure I will solo this race again. I certainly would not do it without support if there is any chance of heat. I was definitely not able to carry enough water to keep hydrating well between SAGs in those temps.

Tom and I are thinking that a 2 person team might be the way to go next year. :)

2009-09-06T06:23:00.000-07:00

So this blogging adventure has not gone as planned. It's been tough to keep up. All I can say is, like everyone here in The Gorge, summer is sacred and should be enjoyed to it's fullest. I haven't had much free time at my computer.

Today however, I woke up to the sound of pouring rain. So I've ditched plan A which was to ride the Ring of Fire Time Trial course. It's remote, it goes up high and it's 112 miles. I'll be racing on that course next weekend. I've now gone to plan B, back to bed. It's cold, wet and apparently the snow level is down to 6000 feet. Yup bed sounds good.

Here's a quick summary of an exciting summer:
Butte to butte run and epic (yes I'm using that word appropriately) ride to Moon Point in Oakridge OR.
Tom raced but unfortunately did not finish the Cascade Cream Puff. He was exhausted from June.
July Mountain Bike Oregon. I got to do a trail side reduction of a dislocated shoulder!
XTerra Portland for me... I got my butt kicked but came back the next day with a 5:37 century in Newport OR.
Then back down to Bend OR to watch Tom take 3 in the SS category at the High Cascades 100!
And last weekend, up to Penticton to watch Ironman Canada and sign up for next year.

Oh yeah, I've been working quite hard on getting my coaching company up and running. That's been quite a learning process.

And there was that fire that threatened my little home of Mosier OR. You can see more about that here http://videos.oregonlive.com/oregonian/2009/08/update_on_microwave_fire_near.html
This experience is worth a whole blog post of it's own. It was one of the scariest things I've seen and one of the most educational. Thank you, all of my dear friends and family, for your support. A huge thanks to the firefighters that saved our little town.

A pretty busy summer by anyone's standards. I'm looking forward to fall. Less travel, more Ironman training, cool temps...

Pacific Crest Half Ironman

2009-06-29T16:52:00.000-07:00

OK, I haven't trained for a while and I really shouldn't have expected much but... I still really wanted to beat my time from last year when I had that horrible stomach issue and I didn't. I did get through it though. So here's my advice on how to survive a Half Ironman done off the couch.

Find a good draft on the swim and use it as a warm-up
Ride at a low heart rate and focus on your pedal stroke
Expect the run to hurt. It's gonna suck. There's a reason why people train for these things you know!

The final result was 6:03 I think. 9th in my AG. 3rd out of the water for my AG, 14th or so on the bike and 8th on the run. So I guess I need to ride more. Bummer ;-)

Sure wish I could walk today, good thing I can still ride my bike.

Success at RAW.

2009-06-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

I had no idea. The summary is that we came, we saw and we kicked... well, you know how that goes.

RAW stands for Race Across the West. It's the first 1044 miles of Race Across America. It's a killer ride with lots of hills. Thank goodness I was crewing and not riding.

Tom entered as a 2 man relay team with George Thomas. They rode 58 hours and 56 min to get them from Oceanside CA to Taos NM. I sat in the van with 2 other people for all those hours, taking care of Tom with a little drivng and navigation thrown in when Lisa and Ken needed to be spelled off. The average shift on the bike was 1 hour at a time but got as long as 3 hours if the other teammates needed a sleep and a lot less if it was hot. Some of our rotations were as short as 30 min leaving us barely enough time to get Tom off the bike, into the car, fed, massaged, driven to the next hand off, dressed again and ready for the exchange. It was a really tough job but we did great. Tom and George made it to Taos before anyone else. Granted they had the advantage of being a team but even if you only compared them to other teams they kicked azz.

For those of you that have thought about crewing for an event like this...

Crewing for a team is MUCH harder than crewing for a solo rider. It seems counter intuitive, but it is. I've done both now, trust me.
If you volunteer to crew, embrace the silliness that comes with sleep deprivation, it makes it more fun.
Finally, stock your vehicle really well with snacks, decent food can be really hard to come by, especially when you're crewing for a team and your down time is minimal.

What a trip!!

2009-06-15T13:35:00.001-07:00

Wow. To say that I was busy while I was in Europe would be a serious understatement.

Here's the Reader's digest version of the trip....
We arrived in Lisbon having survived the drive to Vancouver WA, train to Seattle, plane to Heathrow and connection to Lisbon. We were jet lagged, hungry and missing Tom's bike. Fortunately the bike turned up the next day. The Race Relations person, Louize, picked us up and took us to the Hotel Barcelona. The next day or two was spent eating, resting and more travel, this time by bus to Braganca. More prep time and the race was on.

The first 3 days were insanely hot and to a serious toll on all the racers. Tom had a very difficult first day but rallied back the second and was doing well by the third. Then the weather cooled and he just got stronger. While Tom was racing my days went something like this: get up, big buffet breakfast, go to our first checkpoint with my check point partner Patricia. We then sat for hours watching the racers go by noting times and numbers. Then off to the stage finish where I'd set up for massage. Massage would go on until about 7:30 or 8 until we had another amazing buffet style meal, then back for more massage. Often I wouldn't get back to my room before 11 PM. Then Tom would finally get his turn and off to sleep to do it all over the next day.

As the race went on, problems started to crop up. At least one third of the riders, if not half of them, had developed saddle sores from the heat, sweat and grit. I ordered dressings for the sores and spend what spare time I had distributing them to the riders, explaining in detail how to use them and even applying dressings for the ones that couldn't reach them on there own. Of course all the jokes started to come out... Cassie is covering everyone's ass... the rider's are really a pain in the ass... Cassie the queen of the butts... you get the idea.

Yes I was busy and yes I was exhausted at the end. But I wouldn't have had it any other way. I got to be part of the team, I had updated info about how Tom was doing all day long and I got to meet a bunch of really great people. I can't think of a better way to see the countryside and I would do it again... maybe even race it one day.

Tom placed 9th overall, much better than expected and he would've done better yet if he hadn't struggled so much that first day. He even had several days when he placed in the top 5 and one day when he came in 3rd after the 2 very fast racers competing for the overall win. It was amazing to watch.

We had 4 days to recover in Portugal, then 2 days checking out London with Paul, another racer from Portugal. He was a great tour guide and we had a blast.

Now we're on the last leg of the journey. We're here in Oceanside getting ready for RAW. There are a lot of details to take care of before we start the race on Wednesday. Speaking of which... it's time to go.

To be continued.

2009-05-30T04:04:00.000-07:00

Day One in Braganca.

We´re here. A little jet lagged still. Tom´s made it through registration and his bike is built. I have my staff ID and T-shirt.

It´s HOT. There´s a castle on the hill, blooming Jacaranda trees and lots of really nice bikes!!

The racing starts tomorrow. I have today to relax a bit then the work begins. While Tom is racing, I´ll be helping with check in during the day. Massage starts at 5 PM and goes until 10 ish. They are going to be Looooooooong days!!

Off for some paella and wine. Yum.

Ciao.

2009-05-26T23:01:00.000-07:00

All packed and ready to go...

Good night to everyone. I hope to keep this blog up while we're on the road. We'll see...

7 hours until the true travel begins!!!

At worst, I'll be back in 4 weeks.

With metta,

Cassie

Class 5 in the living room

2009-05-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

My room mate is a paddler and travels a lot. Before every big trip the living room turns into a class 5 rapid of packing. Well, I'm not a paddler but I can say I've achieved class 5 in the packing department.

Everything is out in piles to make sure I don't forget something. A pile for running gear, a pile for "working" gear, a pile of beach gear, a pile of crewing gear... on and on and on.

My advice:

Lists are good and I do mine by category of activity. When I make my lists I start from my feet and work my way up the body to make sure I don't forget things like socks or goggles. Then I make up other categories like "paperwork", "electronics" and "toiletries."

That usually gets me pretty well set for my trips. It leaves the house looking like a disaster zone for a bit as everything gets pulled out and set in piles but if I can't see it, I stress about it. Once I'm satisfied, it gets packed away and I let go of any worry about what I forgot. Not that I don't forget things. I do. I just remind myself that's why we have credit cards. :)

I'm starting to get excited!!

Another great training camp!!

2009-05-18T11:58:00.000-07:00

What makes for a great training camp?

6 strong riders, dedicated volunteers, great camp organizers, 500 plus miles of remote Oregon roads with spectacular views... in 4 days!!

This was my second year crewing for George and Terri in their Race Across Oregon training camp. It was even better than last year. I had lots of fun with my crew mates. Thank you Ken and Hugh, you were so helpful!! We had a great group of cyclists, Martha Walsh is my new hero. She rode 500 miles total and was right in there with the boys. Best of all Tom was there and we got to ride together a fair bit. I managed to squeeze in about 130 pretty high intensity miles over the 4 days between driving a SAG van, serving lunch and doing massage in the evening. Tom rode strongly all weekend. In the end he managed 463 miles in some heat with a high average pace for the terrain and defended his reputation as a climber.

The highlights where a night in an interesting hotel that including every issue of every hunting and fishing mag you can imagine and a sitting room full of taxidermied animals... even a Kodiak bear. OK, maybe that wasn't a highlight. But I have to say that the B&B in Fossil was excellent and the breakfast amazing!! I got up in the morning and rode up the Fossil climb with Tom, flew back down to the B&B, hopped in the van and drove to the top of another spectacular climb, rode down to Tom, turned and came back up. The scenery was stunning. The company great.

I'm looking forward to doing it again.

Getting ready for the big trip.

2009-05-07T18:16:00.000-07:00

Well, the last ticket has been purchased for the big trip. "Planes, trains and Automobiles" has nothing on us.

Here's the plan...

Phase 1. May 27th drive to Vancouver WA, catch a train to Seattle, have lunch with a friend and then catch a plane to London. Timing of the next bit is confusing because of time zones but somehow with one connection at Heathrow we'll end up in Lisbon Portugal on May 28th. The next day we'll bus to northern Portugal where I will work as part of the medical team for Trans Portugal, an 8 day stage race done on mountain bikes that runs the entire length of the country. I've got the easy job, Tom's racing. http://www.supertravessia.com/indexIng.htm

At the end of the race, we'll hang out for a few days in Sagres, Tom asleep under a parasol and hopefully I'll be on the water windsurfing. Then back to London for a day of pubbing with a friend before we jet back to the USA.

Phase 2. We land at LAX on June 14th, will bus to downtown LA to catch a train to Oceanside CA where we'll meet up with a bunch of other crazy bikey people to get ready for RAW - Race Across the West, the first 1000 miles of RAAM. Tom will be racing on a two man team with another friend of ours. I'll be in the van crewing with two other people. The race starts on June 17th and hopefully 60 hours later we will find ourselves in Taos NM. http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/subwebraam/raam.php?N_webcat_id=27

Phase 3. Drive to Denver and send people home on airplanes to head back to their work lives. Sigh. Well all of us except Tom. He's gonna ride his bike in Fruita CO, cause the boy just can't get enough.

But first... training rides this weekend, Race Across Oregon Camp next weekend (working again, not riding) http://www.raceacrossoregon.com/training

And Tom and I will do the 12 hour Lewis and Clark Ultra as a 2 person mixed relay team the next weekend before we fly out. http://www.lacultra.com/

When am I going to find time to pack?