La Jolla 1/2 Marathon Update and controversy!

Well, it seems that there were some shenanagins going on with the incredible runner I was pacing during the La Jolla 1/2 Marathon as detailed in my Sunday "Leading out the Runners" post.

Full article from Today's San Diego Tribune sport's page.

=================================================

Incident in La Jolla makes waves in NYC

Half marathon winner loses entry after DQ

By Don Norcross
STAFF WRITER

April 30, 2008

The New York City Marathon rescinded Allen Wagner's complimentary entry to this year's race yesterday after the Ocean Beach runner admitted he deliberately broke a rule to enter Sunday's La Jolla Half Marathon.

On Sunday, Wagner, 27, the first runner to finish the race, intentionally tried to pass himself off as last year's official winner, Sean Birren. Birren had given Wagner his entry. Both runners sought to embarrass race officials because of events that transpired since last year's event.

When reporters questioned Wagner's identity Sunday, saying he didn't look like Birren, Wagner said he had lost five pounds in training and that his hair was lighter from the sun.

“We are absolutely miffed as to why an Olympic Trials qualifier would so flagrantly break USA (Track & Field) rules and cause that kind of disruption to an event,” David Monti, the New York City Marathon's professional athletes consultant, wrote Wagner in an e-mail.

“The part about how you attempted to explain the difference in your appearance as you pretended to be Sean is particularly reprehensible. We know that you had a beef with the race organizer and perhaps saw this as a way to protest, but cheating is never the way to accomplish that goal. There is no room in our race for someone who would engage in this kind of behavior.”

Wagner yesterday apologized to LJHM race director Bill Uncapher and Monti for his actions.

“In retrospect, I deserve it,” Wagner said of being denied entry to the New York City Marathon. “Running is even more important to other people besides me. Running is very important to the race director at La Jolla.

“Running is so important that even people not living in this area could ban me from a race on the other side of the country. It's a gift you can't be flagrant with, which I was.

“I'm sorry for what I did. It was not worth it.”

Wagner and Birren were upset with LJHM officials on multiple fronts.

Wagner said he was called a cheater by the race announcer when he neared the finish line last year. While leading the race, Wagner told members of the press truck he was not the runner who corresponded to his bib number. He admitted he had purchased the bib from another runner.

Michael Curran, the race's longtime announcer, denied calling Wagner a cheater.

“I've never in my life said anything like, 'He's a cheater,' ” Curran said. “I might have said, 'Hey, next time get a bib.' ”

Wagner and Birren were also disappointed that some top-level runners did not receive entries into this year's race.

Uncapher said those runners applied for entry after the race was sold out. Dave Kloz, who manages the Carlsbad-based BSK Runner Center team, said he attempted to enter those runners in February.

“I was just angry at the way the race was run,” Wagner said. “I wasn't thinking about my future or what the consequences could be.”

Scott Keenan, director of Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minn., said he considered rescinding Wagner's complimentary entry for the June race.

Keenan changed his mind, based on a conversation with Wagner yesterday.

“He was very apologetic,” Keenan said.

Said Wagner, a respiratory therapy student, “I would rather never run a race again than be considered a bad person in my community.”

Wagner qualified for the Olympic Trials last June at Grandma's. He placed 25th at the November trials in New York in a personal-best 2 hours, 18 minutes, 25 seconds.

“If I'm guilty of giving somebody a second chance, if I err on that side, I don't think that's bad,” Keenan said. “As I told Dave Monti, it wasn't that bad a day for Allen. He's batting .500.”

Wagner is not permanently banned from the New York City Marathon.

“If he runs well, runs by the rules, doesn't have problems with any other race officials, I'm sure we would certainly reconsider,” said Richard Finn, a race spokesman.

Under race rules, Wagner and Birren are banned from the LJHM for five years for violating rules by exchanging entries.

While it is against USA Track & Field rules to exchange bib numbers, it is a common practice among runners because many races sell out.

Wagner said he would like to perform volunteer work for the LJHM to demonstrate that he's genuinely sorry for his actions.

“I want it to be sincere. I don't want it to feel like just words,” he said.

Meanwhile, numerous runners complained that on a day when record high temperatures were recorded across the county, the LJHM race did not have sufficient water or volunteers.

“The lack of water and replenishment on the course for the novice was unacceptable,” Rick Asher wrote in an e-mail. “At Mile 5, the trash cans of water (being used), the volunteers are filling reused cups (which) have sand in them.”

“It was messed up with the water,” a writer posted on the Web site BeginnerTriathlete.com. “Thankful for the people with water hoses near the end – saved me.”

Uncapher said 30,000 extra cups were ordered in anticipation of the heat.

“Obviously,” he said, “the lack of hydration on a course is inexcusable for any race.”

Training Log - April 28 - May 4

Monday: Rest day.

Tuesday: Spin Class. Totals were just under 14 miles with 990 calories burned.

Wednesday: I had planned a 4-5 mile walk tonight after class but thought it would be better to rest my aching foot. I've been wearing an arch brace all day feels like it is really helping.

Thursday: Two climbs up Soledad. Today we had a guest rider, Troy who is an alumni having done the Tuscon Century last season. He's a very strong rider although he hasn't been riding lately. It was nice to have some company on the climbs. We did the normal Soledad Mountain road route and finished up with another trip down and up the Nautilus face. Totals were 15 Miles, 1700 feet of climbing.

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: Long Mileage day. 83.66 Miles, 5300 ft of climb!

Sunday: 15-Mile loop around Mission Valley including two big hills.

The Miles are Starting to Show

Looking over last week's training log, I see that the totals were 133 miles and over 8000 feet of climbing. The miles are starting to show.

1) I've recently had to replace my bike chain as it was stretched out from all the heavy riding I've been doing.
2) Thursday, I had my first flat.
3) Also on Thursday, one of the screws fell off of one of my biking shoes cleats while I was riding. I didn't find it out until I tried to unclip and couldn't. Without the point of resistance from missing screw, my cleat just spun around not allowing me to unclip. I had to do the last part of the Soledad ride unclipping from the opposite side than I am used to. Got a little squirrely there for a bit..
4) I need to true my back tire as it is starting to get a little too wobbly for comfort.

Now for the body:

A) sore lower back
B) a bit of a knee twinge
C) very sore Vaste Externe muscles. See chart below




















D) Foot pain that I suspect is Plantar Fascia Strain
E) and finally some very sore quads.

Today I'm feeling particulary dehydrated and can't seem to catch up with my hydration despite drinking like a fish all day.

Consequently, I took a well deserved day off from working out.

Leading out the runners

Today I was scheduled to do the La Jolla 1/2-Marathon. This is a long standing local event and is considered to be a pretty tough race due to the course taking you over a couple of significant hills. The last few weeks, I have been wavering about whether to actually do this event as I was already signed up for it. I decided not to do it for three reasons

1) Long mileage biking on Saturday's really takes a lot out of me.
2) I've got a nagging foot injury that just won't heal.
3) I took a long hard look at my walking shoes and they are played out. Breaking new shoes in during a 1/2-marathon is a bad idea.

But sometimes things work out. I received and email mid-week inviting me to help out with the race by "leading out the runners". Myself and two other Team in Training people were asked to help track the status of the top runners. My mentor Jay, Coach DJ and myself in full regalia were first out of the starting gate on our bikes and paced the top runners over the entire course. We stayed contact with the race organizers and reported times at each mile markers so that the announcer could report it to the spectators. A very nice high profile opportunity for TnT.

What a blast. I was selected to stay with the top runner and kept ahead of him for the first 5-miles until the field spread. After that I would race up ahead and wait for him at the mile markers and record the time when he passed it. Then I would sprint up to catch the pace car and report the time.

Part of the course takes you up and through Torrey Pines State Park which is some pretty serious uphill. I had raced ahead anticipating being a bit slow climbing up the hill. I started the climb and maintained a good 7-8 MPH pace which is very respectable. About three quarters up the hill I look over my right shoulder and see the lead runner right on my wheels. I scurry to the left to get out of his way and he passes me on the uphill going 10 MPH. Amazing. Once the course levels out, I regain ground and my respectability and get ahead of him again. I didn't get the runners name but he was incredible, finishing the race in 1 hr -11 minutes.

The rest of the event was pretty uneventful. I cross the finish line about 30-secs behind the lead runner. I had swung back to let him enjoy his first place finish. It was about 2-3 minutes before the second place runner showed up.

It was a very tough course and it was brutally hot, with temperatures in the high 90's. Several runners had to be taken off the course in ambulances.

After the race, we hung out a bit and enjoyed the atmosphere before heading back. We rode back to the starting line and then Jay and I, got free brunch from fellow B3 team mate, Naomi who runs the Torrey Pines Hilton restaurant. She had invited us to stop by after the race for some grub. Excellent hook-up as the food was fabulous and she spoiled us rotten.

Overall I had a great day, even with the heat. I managed to get in nearly 30-miles and 2000 feet of climbing.

Hot Hot Hot

Today's ride started in Escondido at Kit Carson Park. The plan for the day was 70+ miles with lot of hills. We had our core group today with only Head Coach Rick as an additional rider.

2-Miles into the ride, Coach Rick and Mentor Jay cross tires and Rick goes down hard. He stays down for sec before getting up. He was a little scraped up with the elbow getting most of the damage. We are now brothers in elbow road rash. His jersey pocket full of GU energy gels also burst creating a mess. He says he's fine and we proceed on. About 25 miles in at the first rest stop, the other coaches convince him to pack it in for the day. Better safe than sorry.

We get a good pace going and start eating up the miles. The weather forecast was for hot weather and that it definitely was. Climbing Champagne Blvd along at around mile 50 or so, I start to really overheat. I had about another 1-1/2 of climbing left to the top and considered just going for it. The group had seperated into three subgroups during the climb. Amanda, Mark and myself were in the lead group. A few minutes behind were Liz and Mike and bringing up the rear were Claudia, Naomi and Mentor Jay. We're struggling along and I start complaining. Mark tries to break down the hill into manageable sections. The yellow sign is 1/3 of the hill, that big rock is 2/3, etc. Not working. We ride through the shade of a single tree and I think to myself, you should stop. Nah, I decided to go for it. Bad choice. Getting hotter and hotter and started to fall back. A couple hundred feet up ahead and see more shade. This time, I decide to do the smart thing and dismount and cool down. My buds, hang with me for a minute but then move on. I take my helmet and shoes off, sit in the shade, drink water and just cool down. About 5 minutes later, Mike and Liz reach me. Mike is a former EMT from the fire department and makes sure I'm ok. I am. He decides to stay with me and cool down as well. Liz takes of. About 10 minutes later the remaining part of the team shows up and join me in the shade. All and all, I got about 25 minutes of sitting and cooling. Made the world of difference. We push on and make it to the top where one of the coaches had smartly stashed an ice chest full of ice cold water. Heaven. More rest and Mark decides to call it day. I strongly consider doing the same but decided to see it out as there was only 12 miles left and I felt much better.

We made a little unexpected detour on the way back and got semi lost. Actually as Jay pointed out, we weren't lost, we just didn't know the best way to get to where we wanted to go. We had a comical incident where we took a frontage road and actually ended on a dirt trail for a bit before turning around. We finally managed to find the right way with the use of google maps on Jay's phone and headed in.

The high temperature for the day was 97.8 degrees. The ride was torturous with little to no wind and blazing heat the entire day. Something like 6 riders were taken off the course due to a combination of mechanical or physical problems. Poor Chris from the C group had two flat tubes and one shredded tire. Liz from our B3 group also shredded a tire.

After the ride, a few of use hit a nearby On the Border restaurant for some well deserved Margaritas. The funniest incident was when Jay refused to accept money from Naomi (now famous for salt stained bike shorts) calling it salty sweaty butt money. Too funny.

Only 3 more long rides left with Tahoe just over a month away.

The 4th Face

Thursday night means climbing Soledad Mountain. It was a very rough day after staying late at work last night and getting an very early start today to meet all my deadlines. My last of three meetings let out at around 3:30pm. I decided to take the afternoon off and make the early (5pm) group at Soledad. I usually can't get there until nearly 6pm and go out with the later group. One advantage of making the earlier time is that you have enough daylight to make a third climb. One disadvantage of the earlier time is that you have enough daylight to make a third climb. Life is confusing that way sometimes.

Lead rider was Coach DJ. Also along for the ride was fellow B3 Orrin and Tonya and my mentor Lisa from the B2 group. First climb was our standard Lamont to Soledad Mountain Road to La Jolla Scenic to the top. Not quite a walk in the park but I've been there done that. At the steep part of the climb, DJ calls for everyone to get into their climbing gears. I scoff and inform him that I haven't used my small ring in 5 weeks.
Pride comes before the fall.

At the top, DJ says we're going to try a new route. The group splits at this part and everyone else but me leaves to do the Nautilus face. We take off westward and then scream down La Jolla Mesa Drive aka The west Face aka La Jolla Mesa Drive. It's a blast doing the downhill. I get into the biker's tuck and look down at my bike computer. 42 MPH! Wow. At some point during the downhill, I start to feel a sense of dread creeping in. It's been nothing but downhill and you know what that means...all uphill on the way back. At the bottom we turn around and I almost strain my neck looking up at the slope I'm about to climb. DJ gives a little devilish grin and away we go. Grind, grind, grind and guess what?...I had to do the whole thing in my climbing gear. The main part of the climb is about 3 straight miles of what has to be 4-5% slope. Brutal.

I finally reach the top gasping for breath and get the high five from DJ. I inform him that if he makes me do a repeat of that face, I'm quitting the program. Laughter ensues. At the top, we meet up with the other group and everyone but Orrin decides to pack it in so Orrin, DJ and I tackle the next face.

Cardeno blvd. Mums the word, with DJ and we start down . It's a beautiful curving road past many gorgeous homes...and it's straight downhill again. Fooled me twice, shame on me as the saying goes. After jokingly complaining about the last climb, I was duped into making an even harder one. I can't really describe the climb back up but it's safe to say that it is the hardest one I've done in the program. I get some good climbing advice from DJ. He shows me a technique where I scoot all the way back on my seat and push forward, through my pedal stroke. It works a different muscle and provides relief from the quad torture I had been enduring. We reach the top with my legs on fire and my heart nearly bursting out of my chest.

Trial by fire, rite of passage or whatever you want to call it, I was damn proud of being able to do all these climbs right after another. I've come a long way in the few months that I've been training.

Coach DJ


















This man is a sadist

Training Log - April 21-27

Monday: Nothing

Tuesday: Spin Class. 19-Miles, 1150 calories.

Wednesday: Nothing today :( Duty called and I worked until 9pm. Looking forward to Soledad Mountain tomorrow.

Thursday: Threepeat up Soledad Mountain. Totals 20.8 Miles, 2,410 feet of climbing! 1513 Calories burned. Steve strong like bull.

Friday: Rest day

Saturday: 65.5 miles in blistering heat.

Sunday: Leading out the runners for La Jolla 1/2-marathon. 28-miles, 1900+ feet of climbing.

Lake Powell Roam-a-Rama

I took a break from training this weekend and roamed to Phoenix to attend a company function. Flew into Phoenix on Friday morning, worked 1/2 a day and then loaded onto a bus with about 40 of my closest co-workers and drove about 4 hours to Lake Powell. It was a very fun trip and I got to meet a lot of people from our Phoenix office. Friday night we were treated to a delicious dinner and a rousing evening of


















Bunko!

Which is quite possibly the game with the least amount of strategy that I have ever played. It's really just an excuse to sit at a table and chat. That being said, I actually had the worst score of the entire party and won cash prizes! My pathetic score was good for $15 dollars!

Saturday, we all loaded up on a boat and took a 3+ hour trip to Rainbow Bridge, an incredible natural arch. The entire area is beautiful. Here are a few pics.


















On the Boat


















On the Boat II


















Rainbow Bridge

We also found an actual dinosaur footprint. Neat!


















Dinosaur Footprint

All and all, a great way to spend the day although I was a little windblown at the end of the trip.

















Saturday night was awesome BBQ in Flagstaff and then back to Phoenix for the night. Good times.

Solitude

Did repeats on Mt. Soledad again today. Only had time for two because traffic was BAD. I got to the DeAnza Cove parking lot just in time to join the last group heading out and up.

Same route as last week. First time up the hill along Mt. Soledad road I was feeling pretty blah. I hadn't slept well the night before so I was pretty tired. The route is basically all uphill and I ended up riding alone for almost the entire way. At the top, I tried very hard to talk myself out of doing a repeat but I just couldn't do it. A few others were going to squeeze in another climb and I bowed to peer pressure and joined them. I'm glad I did because we did Nautilus face again. The downhill is a screamer and I got up to 37 MPH. We regroup at the bottom and then make the long steady climb back up and then head back in.

The all uphill routes are tough for me because as a heavier rider, I get no breaks from hauling my butt up the hill. It's just grind, grind, stand and grind. I do much better on the routes that mix in a small bit of down to go with all that up as I can use my weight to my advantage and get some momentum going on the brief downhills that gives me a head start on the uphills.

It was a weird session for me as I ended up riding alone almost the entire way. Come to think about it, it's very appropriate for Mt. Soledad as Soledad means solitude in Spanish. Totals were 15.5 miles with 1680 feet of elevation.




















Worth the climb.

Training Log - April 13 - 20

Monday: 2-mile walk at lunch.

Tuesday: Spin class. Brutal session with Coach Rick as the ringleader. He announced that we spent the first half of the season working on cardio so now were were going to concentrate on building strength. Consequently he made us do most of the session in our big ring at high cadence. Cranking at 85 rpm in your 3rd hardest gear out of 30 is no joke. I was pouring sweat after the 90 minute session. We did the equivalent of 19-miles of riding and I burned over 1100 calories!

Wednesday: Nothing today. Took the bike to the shop for a tune up and to replace my chain which I've managed to wear our in 2.5 months of riding.

Thursday: Soledad Repeats. 15.5 miles w/ 1680 feet of climbing.

Friday: Nothing. Travel day.

Saturday: 2-Mile Hike to Rainbow Bridge in Utah

Sunday: Nothing. Travel day.

Start Slow and Taper Off

Today's ride was a blast....from a furnace, that is. It was incredibly hot the entire day with temperatures reaching the mid-90's during the early afternoon and a steady wind which always seemed to be blowing directly in my face. The course was the same as last week starting in Carlsbad up to Oceanside over to Fallbrook area, back through Rancho Santa Fe to Encinitas and finally looping back to Carlsbad. Total distance was 74.5 miles with over 7 hours in the saddle.

We had a couple of new riders this week, a guest mentor and a rider from the ACE team. It's always an adjustment when you get new riders in the group as there needs to be a good level of confidence and familiarity between riders. The paces lines were a little choppy for the first part of the ride but stabilized.

Due to the weather, I was asked by our Mentor Jay to slow it down this week and really work as a team. On a day like today, you don't try and break any personal records, you just try and survive the trial by fire. The motto for the day was Start Slow and Taper Off. I took the advice to heart and didn't attack the hills in my normal fashion and tried to help out the other riders by letting them draft behind my bulky frame. Team sport, team sport, team sport. I have to keep reminding myself. I'm learning to embrace my team role.

Last week, a few of my teammates were appalled to discover that I haven't been wearing a base layer beneath by cycling jersey. A "technical" wicking base shirt draws sweat away from your skin allowing it to evaporate. So this week, I show up with a white long sleeve technical base shirt beneath my jersey and of course it turns out to be the hottest day of the year. It actually turned out to be ok. The white sleeves bounced a lot of heat off and I would ocassionally just pour water down the front and back of my shirt soaking the base layer which provided a really nice evaporative cooling effect as I was riding along.

Oh, did I mention it was hot? At our first rest stop, I had to take a brief break to wash the salt off my face and arms. Ewww. I drank 8 bottles of water over the 7-1/2 hour bike trip. It was so hot that two of the riders in our group were taken off the course as they were overheating and getting dangerously close to heat stroke. I heard similar reports from the other groups. Most of the route had no shade, particularly the stretch up Champagne blvd. Baking. At the end of the day I had some pretty funny looking tan lines. There was the normal bike short line and standard sock line but I hadn't reckoned on the fingerless bike glove tan. One rider in also had the funniest looking salt lines on their bike shorts and took a lot of ribbing.

Another big thanks to the Simon family who once again spent the entire day roasting in the sun to feed us peanut butter and honey sandwiches. This time they also came equipped with bags of ice, chilled blankets and a shady pop-up. Words cannot describe the gratitude I feel for them being there suffering through the sweltering heat to support us.

Not much more to add beside the fact that I threw a chain again on the downhill. Very inconvenient when you are doing 35 MPH down Del Dios Highway. There is definitely something wrong. I plan on taking the bike in to see what the shop can do for me.

Lastly, the total fundraising for our team as of today is over $78,000! Wow! We've got a few more weeks left so if any of you readers out would like to contribute, please click on the read DONATE link to the right.

Peace out

Big Thanks to our Corporate Sponsors!

Here is the list of the Team's corporate sponsors for this Summer season. Each of them made a minimum donation of $1,000 with some donating a lot more. Their names and logos will be appearing on all Summer event Jerseys, T-shirts, event banners and brochures. Thanks!

CompanyName

McQueen Kalligan Insurance Services, Inc.

Hitachi Foundation

Hi-Tech Bikes

The Genomics Institute Of The Novartis Research Foundation

Charles & Geneva Hangsterfer

Walton Barber LLP

Law Offices of David C. Skyer

Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek

Henrys Farmers Market

West Coast Mortgage

Marvin K. Brown Auto Center

Transamerica

Supercuts

Valicom, Inc.

Sirris Abatement

Sciberquest, Inc.

San Dieguito Printers

Robek Chiropractic Sports Rehabilitation Center

A Robert Cromeans Salon

Gordon & Holmes

Innovation Energy Solutions

Center for Family Health

The Boardwalk Mission Beach

Sanders Family Dentistry

Mary Ehlers-Pearman

J World San Diego

Robert M. Biter, M.D. Obstetrics & Gynecology

Capital Growth Properties, LLC

Sierra Emergency Medical Group

NetRIET

SoCalCars

Bob Baker Auto Group

AT&T Pioneers

Max Muscle

Max Muscle

Psycotron Paintball

Big Apple Bagels

Schwinn

Frog's Fitness

Two faces of Mount Soledad

My second mid-week ride was a blast. The team met up at DeAnza Cove for another trip up Mount Soledad. This week, Coach DJ was the ringleader and took us on his super secret route to dodge most of the traffic. We then navigated up Mount Soledad road and up La Jolla Scenic to the top following the same route as the week before.

It has become apparent that my seat position is still wrong. Arggh. I'm definitely too far forward again. At the top of the climb I get the tools out and make the adjustment. Ahhh, much better.

At the top we determine that we have just enough light left to make another run (aka repeat). DJ takes us on another route down the hill via Nautilus avenue. It is a very steep fast downhill. We go quickly from 840 ft at the top all the way down to the ocean in Point Loma. Want to get our money's worth, right? After dipping our toes in the water (not really) we turn around and make the very challenging climb back up. That's one mother of a hill, particulary the 1/2-mile where I have to get into a standing climb position to make it up. Whew.

At the top, we gather the horses and the head back to our cars. It's getting pretty dark and there is a decent amount of traffic so it's an adventure. At one of the stoplights, a guy walking along shouts out our rallying call "Go Team". He cheers us on and let's us know that he is a former member of the TnT cycle team and Tri Team. It's a real boost when someone notices us and gives us encouragement. Re-energized, we cruise the rest of the way back to our cars.

Totals are just a hair over 15 miles, 1680 feet of climbing and 100% of fun.

Training Log - April 7-13

Monday: 2-mile walk at lunch

Tuesday: Spin class with just over 15-miles of work.

Wednesday: Nothing

Thursday: Two faces of Soledad Mountain. 15 total miles and 1680 ft of climbing.

Friday: Scheduled rest day.

Saturday: Long Mileage day - 74-miles. Burned a crazy 5100 calories and dropped about 1.5 lbs in sweat.

Sunday: Recovery day. I felt pretty whipped most of the day and was dehydrated no matter how much water I drank. Christine and I took a nice 40 minute walk in the evening around the neighborhood.

1/2-Way!

Today marked the midway point to our training season for the Tahoe Century Ride. We have another 9 weeks of intense training left and it's looking like we will be the most prepared team at the event.

TnT's coordinator, John made a special trip out to support us this morning at our meeting spot at the Poinsetta Train Station in Carlsbad. He put on a beautiful pancake spread complete with chocolate ships in recognition and appreciation of our hard work and unflagging attendance. Having piping hot fresh pancakes right before the ride was well worth getting up an extra 45 minutes early.

Before every ride, we have what is called a Mission Moment. This is where one of our teammates, coaches, mentors gives a brief talk about why they are participating in Team in Training. This week, my mentor Lisa, gave a very powerful, personal, heart-wrenching account of how she lost her best friend to Leukemia. Not a dry eye in the house afterwards. While the rides are fun and working out is great, it's important to remember why we are doing this. We are helping to find a cure for cancer and to provide assistance and support to afflicted families.

Today's ride was a 70+ mile ride all over San Diego. The ride through the backroads and countryside is exactly what I imagined when I joined the cycle team. Take a look at the map to see the amount of ground we covered.



















We started out on the Coast before moving eastward. Our journey took us through the best bike path I've ever been on. It was a completely isolated stretch of 8 miles through the hills of Oceanside. The path was bikes, joggers only and it felt luxurious to not have to dodge cars for a change. The group of 9 riders maintained an excellent pace line at clocked consistent speeds of 18-19 MPH over the distance. It was great to cover so much ground at that good of a clip. It's frustrating riding up and down the coast and having to break your momentum at stop lights and signs.

After moving inland, we hit some beautiful country roads like Lilac Lane and Champagne Avenue. Lilacs and Champagne...sounds like a Sunday Brunch. The two stretches of roads were about 5 miles each and featured long steady climbs. Think about climbing 3-4% grade for 5 miles. It's a workout. We had a guest ride mentor assisting us this week. Timmy is a phenomenal experienced rider and former mentor of the HIT team. I'm drawing a blank on what HIT stands for right now but their main goal is SPEED. They try and complete 100-mile bike rides in under 5 hours. Timmy stayed with me the entire distance of the two main climbs and gave me some great encouragement and tips. It was nice to have company on the climbs as I'm usually flying solo on those.

After gaining the altitude we had some nice long downhills. The 7-ish miles downhill down Del Dios was gorgeous. We passed right by Lake Hodges which is a jewel of a lake and a beautiful sight. I'm going to have to investigate it further in the future. I've been in San Diego for over 7 years now and had never been out in this part of the county. There's no better way to see it then on a bike.

Mentor Jay's family provided SAG (Support Aid Group) today meaning that they fed us on our two mid-ride breaks. Big thanks to the Simon's for spending their entire Saturday day to assist us. I don't think I've ever had a better Peanut Butter and banana sandwich. Here's a photo of the team at one of the stops.
















I'm the pudgy one, 4th from the left.

After all that we headed back westward for another 25 miles to make it back to our cars. The ride took over 6 hours. Total distance was just over 70 miles with over 3,300 feet of climbing.

The drive home was a bit of an adventure as I was nodding off from being so tired after the ride. Had to keep pinching myself and slapping myself in the face to stay awake. LOL. Got home, had a bit to eat, took a shower and then NAP TIME.

We're doing basically the same ride next week with only a few minor changes. I'm already looking forward to it.

Weeknight Ride - Soledad Mountain

Thursday night spin class was canceled at the end of last week so this week about 10 of my team mates met up at De Anza Cove after work and did a 10-mile ride from the Bay up to the top of nearby Soledad Mountain. Here's the route.











The climb to the top is a very popular cycling route. There is a ride that some of the crazies on the ACE Team do called the Five Faces of Soledad where they go up the mountain via five different progressively more difficult routes one right after the other. I'm going to have to tackle that one of these days.

There is a long steady climb up to the top which was pretty rough in spots. The ride was very enjoyable. The view from the 822-foot peak of the surrounding area was incredible. Fellow B3 Teammate Liz and I were the first to the top and got to enjoy the gorgeous view of the surrounding areas. All of San Diego, particularly La Jolla, was visible. It was very clear so we were actually able to see all the way into Mexico. I'm going to try and remember to bring my camera next week to take some nice photos. Here is a virtual tour you can take if you are interested. Once you have it loaded, use your mouse to "grab" the screen and move it around to get different views.

We waited around for 15 minutes or so for some the others to arrive before heading back. It was starting to get dark and the weather was getting very cold and windy so we headed down for 5 miles of almost all downhill. Yee-haw.

Training Log March 31- April 6

Monday: Rest day

Tuesday: Tuesday night spin class. Full class, I did the equivalent of 17 miles of riding in the 1hr 20 minutes class. 12 of those minutes were standing climb which is getting easier each week.

Wednesday: 2 mile walk at lunch

Thursday: 2 mile walk at lunch. Soledad Mountain after work.

Friday: Rest day. I spent an hour or so prepping for tomorrow's big ride. General bike cleaning, degreasing my chain, derailers and cassettes. They pick up a lot of dirt on the road. After wiping everything down, lubed it all back up. I also made another adjustment to my seat position hoping to hone in on the perfect orientation. Took a small trip around the block and it all feels pretty good. We'll see what it feels like around mile 20 tomorrow.

Saturday: 70-miles, 3300+ feet of climbing. Good times.

Sunday: 4.25 mile walk around the neighborhood. Hadn't done that in a while.

Sunday Jaunt - Pomorado Rd

As part of our training we are supposed to go on a "noodle" ride the day after our big Saturday long mileage rides. The intent is to get a few miles in but to do some easier miles to limber up and stretch out the legs. We're supposed to try and do 1/2 the mileage of Saturday's ride.

Now that our Thursday night spin classes have been canceled, I was looking for a nearby ride that I can do after work. So I drove to the office, parked the car, and hit the road. Route was Kearny Villa Road, to Miramar (east) then to a longish trek on Pomorado Road and back which is good for nearly 22 miles. The location is certainly convenient but the route is a little sketchy. The route requires that I cross past 5 freeway on-ramps. Not a problem on a lazy Sunday afternoon but potentially a nightmare at 5:30 pm on a weekday. The bike lanes were nice and wide being somewhere between 3-4 feet across so the rest of the ride felt very safe.

It was a very enjoyable trip. The ride to Miramar is flat, although there was a lot of wind. Once I made the turn eastward onto Pomorado Road, it was a long gradual climb for a good 6.5 miles and then a short screaming downhill to Scripps-Poway Road. The downhill is a lot of fun but losing that much elevation so quickly after working so hard to gain it is really annoying. At the bottom of the hill, I made a U-turn and climbed back up. Really tough climb. Once at the top, it was mostly coasting on the way back down to Miramar. Navigate the streets, dodge the cars and head back to the car. 22 Miles in about 1.5 hours. There was some pretty tough climbing involved so it wasn't the ideal noodle ride. The ride is definitely good for a weekend but I think I'm going to stay away from it on the weekdays.