So How Do You Train for 100 Mountain Miles?

Bicycling Magazine's Selene Yeager recently posted an article, Cycling Tips: Train Your Brain that mentioned a little about the physical aspect of preparing for a race and a LOT about the mental fitness needed to finish.  That mental preparedness goes into the physical training too for any event you are training for.  From the very beginning of my active lifestyle, if I "thought" I could, I did. I couldn't swim, yet I wrapped my brain around learning to swim at age 42 and landed myself in the pacific ocean at the world Xterra competition.  I "thought" I could finish 7 days straight of mountain biking, riding over 5 hours each day at the age of 50 and low and behold, I did.  I thought I could stand in whitewater rapids on a paddleboard and I do.  But for every one of these adventures, the attitude is what makes it happen.  And that's what it takes to start the training process for 100 mountain miles.  I think I can, I think I can.  It sure helps to have a solid training plan either by hiring a coach to help you out, or purchasing one of the many canned plans on-line such as former professional mountain biker, Chris Eatough's plans which are specific to many mountain biking ultra-endurance races.  There's a method to the madness of training and it's not just about riding a lot.  Easy days mixed with harder days, endurance and specificity (climbing!) weeks building upon each other then ending with a rest week, and monitoring your heart rate during training sessions are all key elements of a good training plan. Then we get back to the head games.  There are tons of days that you won't "feel" like riding and if you'd let that attitude take over, you'll never cross the finish line. The exception is actually being ill or overtrained -- then you listen to your body and stay in bed.  But if your health is good, just tell yourself to do it.  It will be cold, it will be raining or snowing, and it will be hot and humid.  Your brain will play games with you.  You simply have to train your brain .... be positive and focused on the end results.   CBS News correspondent Anderson Cooper did a story in December on Mindfulness which basically is being the present moment.  That's the kind of focus we are talking about in training your brain to focus on the task at hand and to be ready for that 100 miles in July.  It's 12 degrees outside and the indoor cycling trainer is the only way you'll get in that 3 hour ride on the training plan.  Your heart may say stay in the bed but the head says grab the best movie or pedal-pushing music you can find and get in that saddle.  That's training your brain.  While in the saddle, be in the moment watching Will Smith and spinning those legs at exactly 135 beats per minute and you'll get that job done.  The brain said you can, and you will.  

Hello 2015 - A New Year, A New Adventure

My last post was almost two years ago.  Ever since Facebook came on the scene, blogging seemed passé and time-consuming.  Looking back over the years of blogging, there's a bunch of informative posts, so why stop?  So here we are again.   A new year and a new post.  Last year was huge in my adventure world:  I achieved a certification to teach whitewater standup paddling.  Only a handful of girls nationwide hold that honor.  I'm grateful and humbled to be one of the few.   As part of the Canoe Club of Greater Harrisburg, classes are held in June and July of each year for those learning to stand for the first time, or those that want adventure and seek standing on whitewater.  More info later on the CCGH once schedules are set.

Each year I set an "out-there" goal --  something that seems a little more than I can handle so that I focus and work harder.   Even Tony Horton of P-90X fame talks about sign-up for something big... something out of your normal realm.  So this year my plan is something that's been on my bucket list now for almost 10 years:  the Wilderness 101.  It's a 100 mile mountain bike race in Central Pennsylvania, near State College.  Lots of mountains and trails to climb and ride totaling about 10,000 feet of climbing.  I'm super-excited to work toward this race in July.  Training has already begun.  More to come on that also.

Just wanted to welcome you back!

But You're Retired...You Have Time to Ride

Retirement conjures up images of "playing" all day, doesn't it.  Getting on your bike and riding for hours any day of the week; spending hours in the garden; hopping in your boat and just drifting along on a lazy, sunny afternoon; or maybe hiking the entire length of the Appalachian Trail with no thoughts of work or stress.   I was warned that once retirement is official, the busyometer will be full and little time will be available. You think you are busy while you work?  Just wait until retirement.  That wise soul couldn't have been more spot on.  You spend an entire work career waiting for the day when you don't work anymore to do all those things you'd like to do but work seemed to get in the way.  That's 30-40 years worth of planning and when the big day comes, boom - it's all at your doorstep waiting to happen.  Volunteer for a couple organizations, house maintenance, expand that garden, take up knitting, clean out the attic, organize the potting bench, go through a couple decades of receipts and clean out, make flowcharts of expenses and keep track of everything, put in a new fence, build new trail in the woods and so on, and so on.  Whoa!  That's a bunch of shit to do now that retirement is here.  And it seems overwhelming.  So you decide to prioritize.  This can wait, that can wait.  I'll put that off for another year or so. Oh, that's not as important anymore so let's just forget about it for now.  Today I have food to plant, grow and harvest and elderly parents to tend to - everything else will have to wait for now and that includes going on day-long adventures into the woods.  That first year is spent getting the feet wet and settling into your new-found "career".  Sure, you do a bunch of those little things that you put off for too long but the bigger stuff tends to be put on hold.  It took that first full year to finally figure out how this retirement thing will fall into place and yes, just like when I worked, time management comes into play.  Hubby had me paranoid there wouldn't be enough money and now that we calculated and analyzed every cent coming in and going out, I feel slightly more at ease that I don't have to grow the majority of food and there are some things that ARE cheaper to buy; thus, the garden isn't going to get as much attention as it did last year and playtime will increase.  Time Chunking is my plan of attack this year.  There are xxx things to do and xxx hours in the day, so each one will get a chunk out of the day.   This year, I'm gonna ride that bike a little more and get on that paddle board more often... there's a chunk reserved just to play and I'm gonna take advantage of that.  It's supposed to be retirement - a time to sit back and relax and enjoy life for a change.   That, we are doing - enjoying it all - we DO live in paradise, after all.   It just takes some time to figure out everything else and after a year of trial and error, that time has come.  Saddle up... gear up...load the V-dub... let's head to the woods and water, Honey.    

Lucky Stars Twinkling on the Megatransect Challenge X

“You’re Stronger Than You Think You Are.”

Those words greeted the racers at about mile marker 20-21 of the 26-mile off-road trail challenge – the Megatransect (a.k.a. “MEGA”)  - in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. How true the prose rung in my ears realizing at that very point, I was going to finish my very first marathon – not a flat, hardtop, easy 26 miles like normal folks do – but a 5,500 elevation gain, rocky path marathon.  And here’s the kicker:  I didn’t do any run-hike-specific training for which makes for a noteworthy blog post and a little sharing of life’s lessons on human spirit and the wonderful bodies we occupy.  Yes, we all are truly stronger than we think we are.

 I finished the Transylvania Epic in 2011 – a 7-day mountain bike stage race in Rothrock State Forest that took 8 months of training to prepare for riding for about 30 hours in 7 days.  My life revolved around training and preparing for that thing.   We were physically ready and yes, we finished it.  It was something we were very proud of completing.  After that, I wanted another challenge equally hard and I picked an off-road marathon.  I blogged about it here saying if I can get in on registration, it was meant to be.  If I didn’t, oh well.  Low and behold, I got in and the race sold out in 90 minutes.   That meant it was time to start training – again.

Just like preparing for 7 days of mountain biking, I devised a training plan with a couple key races to help build distance and endurance.   The first big race was the 16-mile Hyner Challenge in April.   During February and March, I slowly added mileage like all the textbooks say, and come Hyner race day, I finished – but not without stress.  I ached the last 4 miles and prayed I could finish.  My body was crying for me to stop.  I bloggedabout the aftermath here thinking I simply wasn’t cut out for long-distance running.  A few weeks later, I bagged the 18-mile Rothrock thinking my body can’t take the pounding stress.  Summer went by and I assumed I wasn’t doing the Mega.  It really bothered me there were no transfers or refunds – especially since SO many folks couldn’t get registered and wanted to be part of it.  In August, a friend of mine (and his wife) decided to do a 27 mile hike without much training.  I thought, “huh, if he can do it, I can too, right?”  He finished with a couple weekends of long hikes prior to the 27 mile day.   But life got in the way for me and I never was able to get out and do some long training hikes as planned, and I continued to ask myself, “Can I hike 26 miles without training AT ALL for it?”.   Two weeks prior to the Mega, I picked up the inspirational saying book a co-worker gave me for retirement and turned to a page that said, “I will stop doing things the same old way just because I like to play it safe.  I will be daring and courageous and refuse to allow fear to control my actions.”  At that moment, I decided to change the “Can I?” attitude of doing the Mega  to, “I can.”  I decided to race, see how far I get and be satisfied with whatever happens.    Don’t get me wrong, I’m not much of a couch-potato and didn’t go into this thing unfit.  I life weights, do a little biking, run about 4-5 miles twice a week and do a LOT of organic gardening.   I garden for hours on end:  walking, lifting, pulling, stooping, and digging for up to 6 hours straight.   I often wondered if this “exercise” would benefit me someday.  I believe it just did. Those 6-8ish hours a day of being on my feet paid off.

Race day:  nervous as all hell having virtually no trail running training and was still a little fearful I couldn’t do it.  The inspirational side of me said, “just savor every second and soak up the beauty of this mountain.  Smell it.  Look at it, and just enjoy the journey every step of the way.”  And that’s exactly what I did for the next 10 hours.  From the moment the race director said “go” until the sprint to the finish line at just under 10 hours, I simply savored each rock, every conversation with fellow racers, and thanked all the volunteers.  I felt bad for folks in pain and immediately thanked my lucky stars for my generally pain free body.  I watched people go down steep trails backward to avoid the excruciating knee pain going forward.  I thanked my lucky stars again.  I listened to folks “complain” about the “horrible” trails and immediately thought how magnificent Mother Nature was to create such beauty.  I stood in awe at a majestic mountain reflecting in a lake and nearly cried.    I watched folks wobble, fall, and crawl over boulders as I hopped from boulder and boulder with perfect balance and once again, thanking those lucky stars.  Town folk lined the streets and cheered us on.  One particular family had hand-made signs out “You can do it!”  “Face the challenge head-on.”   The young gal had pompoms and was cheering for us.  It was heart-warming.   She especially liked the gentleman dressed as a football player carrying the football for the race. 

And I teared up.  I was about to finish something I never, in a million years, expected I could do.  I started running.  I was SO excited to be SO close to the finish I couldn’t contain myself.  The only pain my lucky stars threw me was a tiny blister that flared up AFTER I started running those last 4 miles.  I ran through it.  The finish line was in sight and the clock said 9:57.  I cheered and jumped in delight that I made it under 10 hours.   The crowd clapped and yelled too.  It was a moment almost as exciting as popping the cork on the champagne bottle to finish 7 days of mountain biking.  Definitely two of the most rewarding moments in life I’ll never forget.

 The human body is strong, very strong.  The only thing that holds it back is your brain and the fear you feed it.  Human spirit is equally powerful.  Again, the failure is only what your thoughts say it can’t do.  Follow your heart and instincts folks… don’t let your thoughts get in the way.

 

  

My Latest Endeavor

I might blog about it or I may not have time. 

2nd in a 5K??? Whodda Thought!

"What is your average pace?" Asked Lisa at the start.  "Oh, about a 12 minute pace" said Chili.   End of race: "Twelve Minute pace my ass!"  Chili finished 2nd in her age group only 30 seconds behind the winner at 28:38. Yes - a shocker: It was a friggin 9:30 minute pace.  Holy shit... I don't think I EVER ran that fast.  Of course I don't think I EVER ran a race on a totally flat rail trail before either.  Yes, 12 minutes includes hills.  So 9:30 shouldn't be a surprise on flat... but it was.  A pleasant surprise!  I was also feeling pretty good and just went with it.  I normally don't push myself too hard... I just don't.  But today I did.  It was a good day. The race was the Rattlesnake Run 5K at Lehigh Gorge State Park, Glen Onoko access.  We did a 24 mile bike ride afterwards. 

Switchin' It Up - a Long Boat Kinda Day

This boat hasn't seen water in almost two years and today she finally got out for a spin. It was so nice to do a little endurance paddling below the Dauphin Narrows while Rick paddled the white splashy stuff with a couple of his buds. My arms got tired after only an hour moving at a good pace, but it was a good tiredness. The average heart rate was 129 for the entire hour which is actually a pretty good rate for paddling constantly. When I get up into the 150 range, I feel like my arms are going to fall off. When the hour was up, I just lounged around for another half hour and took in the beautiful day.  It's nice to switch things up every now and then.