30 min
10-7-2022 Ride Update 3 RunRunLive 5.0 - Running Podcast
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- Running
Bike Report… Here is a slightly more scripted version of my 2 day ride across Massachusetts. I scheduled it as a 4-day adventure. This is one of those things that you learn from doing long or hard or ultra-type events. Give yourself some buffer time. I have always violated this rule. Partly because my life has always been busy, or I have convinced myself that it was, and I had to rush to get to events and then rush back. I have always tried to not be that guy who talks too much about this stuff at work. I realized early on that this is my obsession, and the rest of the world may or may not give a shit. I’ve been more than willing to talk about it in depth when asked, or in this purpose-built forum for that outlet, but I have always taken pains not to be THAT GUY in the office. As a result, most of the people I’ve worked with know vaguely that I train all the time, but seldom have the gift of knowing exactly what or when I’m doing an event. That vagueness allows work activity to crowd around the events and I find myself running a marathon in the morning and jumping on a plane in the afternoon. I think it also fits that egoistic self-image I have had of being the indestructible man that can pop in and out of events that other people can’t even fathom. Even my acts of humility are ego-centric! There are advantages to not buffering time around an event. If you show up just in time for the event it doesn’t give you time to think too much about it. You can get much more adventure in the day by not being prepared and not knowing the course, etc. Just show up doesn’t fit many peoples’ brains but I enjoy the adventure of it. If you jet off after the event you don’t have time to wallow in your misery. But the disadvantages of this cramming in events, especially big events, are manifold. You can make mistakes that you could have avoided by being just a bit more prepared. Like, for instance, not thinking about how the temperature drops below freezing in the mountains at night. And, most regretfully, you don’t really get a chance to let it sink in. Many of those races I’ve run are just blurry memories of a fast weekend spent somewhere doing something hard. I’ve found that no matter how good shape you’re in, a multi-day event will mess with your thinking ability. It’s best to take a day off after because you’re going to be useless anyhow. For this ride, I took 4 days off to ride around 250 miles in 2 days. I enlisted my wife to crew for me. I suppose this is one of the advantages of having a long-term relationship. You can just casually drop something like this… “Hey, take Friday and Monday off we’re going out to Western Mass and you’re going to follow me while I ride across the state for 2 days.” And that doesn’t end the relationship. … Day one was Friday. We got up and I took Ollie down to the local kennel when it opened at 9AM. This was Ollie’s first time being kenneled – so it was a bit like first day of school for your kids. I had a pang of sadness driving back to the house in my truck with the passenger seat empty. I had done my best to make sure all my stuff was organized. We drove out a pretty section of Rte 2 west into the Berkshires and the Mohawk Trail. Western Mass is a pretty place. All hills and farms and little; towns. Those same little towns that you’ll find in Vermont or New Hampshire. A bit of a tourist trap but really pretty without being entirely off the map. We took the new truck with my bike in the back. I prepped my bike earlier in the week. I washed it and cleaned the chain and derailleurs as best I could. It’s a messy and dirty job. It requires using a degreaser and a toothbrush. Kids, this degreaser chemical is very dangerous. Remember to wear rubber gloves and safety glasses when you’re cleaning your bike chain. Once you get it all sparkly clean then you can rub a little bike gre
Bike Report… Here is a slightly more scripted version of my 2 day ride across Massachusetts. I scheduled it as a 4-day adventure. This is one of those things that you learn from doing long or hard or ultra-type events. Give yourself some buffer time. I have always violated this rule. Partly because my life has always been busy, or I have convinced myself that it was, and I had to rush to get to events and then rush back. I have always tried to not be that guy who talks too much about this stuff at work. I realized early on that this is my obsession, and the rest of the world may or may not give a shit. I’ve been more than willing to talk about it in depth when asked, or in this purpose-built forum for that outlet, but I have always taken pains not to be THAT GUY in the office. As a result, most of the people I’ve worked with know vaguely that I train all the time, but seldom have the gift of knowing exactly what or when I’m doing an event. That vagueness allows work activity to crowd around the events and I find myself running a marathon in the morning and jumping on a plane in the afternoon. I think it also fits that egoistic self-image I have had of being the indestructible man that can pop in and out of events that other people can’t even fathom. Even my acts of humility are ego-centric! There are advantages to not buffering time around an event. If you show up just in time for the event it doesn’t give you time to think too much about it. You can get much more adventure in the day by not being prepared and not knowing the course, etc. Just show up doesn’t fit many peoples’ brains but I enjoy the adventure of it. If you jet off after the event you don’t have time to wallow in your misery. But the disadvantages of this cramming in events, especially big events, are manifold. You can make mistakes that you could have avoided by being just a bit more prepared. Like, for instance, not thinking about how the temperature drops below freezing in the mountains at night. And, most regretfully, you don’t really get a chance to let it sink in. Many of those races I’ve run are just blurry memories of a fast weekend spent somewhere doing something hard. I’ve found that no matter how good shape you’re in, a multi-day event will mess with your thinking ability. It’s best to take a day off after because you’re going to be useless anyhow. For this ride, I took 4 days off to ride around 250 miles in 2 days. I enlisted my wife to crew for me. I suppose this is one of the advantages of having a long-term relationship. You can just casually drop something like this… “Hey, take Friday and Monday off we’re going out to Western Mass and you’re going to follow me while I ride across the state for 2 days.” And that doesn’t end the relationship. … Day one was Friday. We got up and I took Ollie down to the local kennel when it opened at 9AM. This was Ollie’s first time being kenneled – so it was a bit like first day of school for your kids. I had a pang of sadness driving back to the house in my truck with the passenger seat empty. I had done my best to make sure all my stuff was organized. We drove out a pretty section of Rte 2 west into the Berkshires and the Mohawk Trail. Western Mass is a pretty place. All hills and farms and little; towns. Those same little towns that you’ll find in Vermont or New Hampshire. A bit of a tourist trap but really pretty without being entirely off the map. We took the new truck with my bike in the back. I prepped my bike earlier in the week. I washed it and cleaned the chain and derailleurs as best I could. It’s a messy and dirty job. It requires using a degreaser and a toothbrush. Kids, this degreaser chemical is very dangerous. Remember to wear rubber gloves and safety glasses when you’re cleaning your bike chain. Once you get it all sparkly clean then you can rub a little bike gre
30 min