Category — Furnace Creek 508

This morning as I got up, the day I am leaving for the Furnace Creek 508, I encountered a throbbing pain in my left ear.  I had the same pain last night, but I was hopeful that it would be gone by this morning.  No such luck however, and as I sat in my office later on talking to my boss, he asked me what was wrong as I winced in pain from a spasm.  Long story short, he recommended an ear doctor near my office and it turns out I have an ear infection and major irritation of my larynx and inside my nose.  The dry air on the plane as I write this entry is making me feel awful.  I can’t wait to land and get off the airplane.

But anyway, as I sit on the airplane and think about what to write, I remember when I first started endurance training, and in particular for Ironman, how I would always have something to say in a blog entry practically on a daily basis.  As time has gone on, I haven’t had much to say, especially as I have trained for the same races year after year.  I guess that is because I repeat the same training patterns, routes and routines and it feels like I have already discussed everything that passes through my mind.  After all, how many creative ways can you come up with to describe a 20+ hour, 200+ mile training bike ride.  It gets monotonous to keep writing about that.

If it wasn’t for my children I am not sure I would be doing the race this year.  They both wanted me to do the race, with the reason being that knew how much I enjoyed it last year.  In a way they know me better than I know myself.  My beautiful daughter was in shock early in the year when I expressed doubts about coming back.  She knows though, that I love everything about major endurance events; the training, the physicality, the logistics and the camaraderie of working with a team.  I do wish though that Beast Jr. was sitting here next to me as I fly across the country.  I feel as though he should be part of this race and I am going to miss him very much this year.  We talk about doing the race together as a team when he turns 16.  I can’t think of anything better than to race with him as my partner.

My son simply likes to play and it doesn’t really matter which sport.  This fall he is playing Flag Football as well as Travel Baseball.  He is not so good in the former, but totally excels in the latter.  This past weekend he had Flag on Saturday and didn’t get much playing time.  The coach was obsessed with winning the game, even though it was quickly turning into a blow out and gave the majority of the playing time to the stronger players.  This was very upsetting to Beast Jr. (to me as well), but there is really not much we can do about it.  After the game, I sat down with him in our car for a while and discussed how he felt about not getting much playing time.  I explained that we each have to recognize our strengths and weaknesses and also pointed out to him how in baseball he tends to play the entire games when the there are other kids who sit out for significant time.  My point to him was that he needs to recognize that he can’t be good in everything, but if he wants to get better (and get more playing time), he is going to need to focus on practice, training and preparation.  He also needs to make sure he is part of the team, even though he is not on the field, and needs to root and cheer for his team all the time.  He understands, but it is still a tough pill to swallow.   I also explained to him if he wants to get 100 percent playing time, then he should concentrate on endurance athletics, as the only person that he is accountable to in those sports is himself.  Beast Jr. is a much better athlete than I was as a kid and I so admire his heart for sport.

I know I talk about Beast Jr. quite often, but I must also say that I am very proud of my daughter.  Early this year, during the winter, I sort of coerced her into joining the local youth track club.  She wailed and complained about it at first, but I think deep down, once she got going she enjoyed it.  Since that time she started High School and joined the schools track team.  She hasn’t been to any meets yet and says how the workout they are giving her is so much easier compared to what she was used to doing.  She is looking forward to her first meet and trains with the school team four days per week after school, without a word of complaint.  Just to give the full picture, after practice is over she first has to take the NYC Subway for the hour long ride home and then start on her homework.  I love her so much and am so very proud of her.  She smiles as me when I talk about doing Ironman with her in just 4 years, but I think she will do it.

Getting back to the FC508, I am doing it this year for several reasons.  Probably none of them make much sense, but here they are in bullet point format:

• I do not want to be a onetime wonder.  I know I did it once, but do I have what it takes to do it again?  This I need to find out.
• I want to be a role model for my children.  To prove to them that you can do anything that you set your mind to.
• That glorious feeling of accomplishment.  My mind fought me this year, but I fought back.  Someone tweeted a Mohammed Ali quote that said something to the effect that he hated every second of training, but there was nothing in the world like the victorious feeling he had after he accomplished his goal.  I crave that feeling.
• Endurance sports are what I do.  It is my lifestyle.  I wouldn’t be who I am if I did not continue with ever increasing or challenging goals.
• Deep down, I know I am going to have a blast once the day arrives.

It is too early to start thinking about next year, but if you asked me today, I will probably take a pass on next year.  My children have been asking to go back to Ironman Lake Placid and I signed up for it this past summer.  If I could put a two man team together, I think the likelihood of me being back in 2012 would be much better, especially if my teammate is a local person with whom I would train.  All of this though is too early to be discussing, as I still have the glorious task of finishing this year’s race.

My training for the Furnace Creek 508, 2011 edition is finally over.  I begin serious tapering starting today and I can honestly say that I am glad it is has finally arrived.  I didn’t enjoy the training as much this year and was plagued by serious cases of loneliness.  I spend many hours in the saddle alone, through all hours of the day, and it was getting to me.

It wasn’t so bad when my kids were in Spain for the summer and I was left home alone to train to my heart’s content.  Once they returned though and I still had to go out and train, I felt pangs of guilt knowing that I was spending so much time away from my children.  Yesterday was my last longish ride and after about an hour into it, I called Beast Jr. and asked him if he wanted me to come home so I could be at his Flag Football game.   Had he said yes, I would have turned around without hesitation and gladly sat on the sidelines watching his game with the rest of the parents.  Instead of telling me to come home, Beast Jr. said to me that I should continue training because it would help me.  He knew all that I put into preparing for the race and he honestly didn’t want me doing anything that would jeopardize my training or doing something that would not allow me to do my best.  My heart swelled with pride at having such a thoughtful boy and I was at least able to motivate myself to do what I had to do, if only to make my children proud of their father.

The riding was so much harder this year.  This is partly because I got a very late start on my training.  I really didn’t begin until June and did so without much of a base.  I was almost starting from scratch in the form of shotgun training.  I just went from no distance to doing centuries, then double centuries in just a few short weeks of time.

Another reason for the difficulty, especially during my longer solo rides is that my legs were always a bit fatigued.  Even after I ramped up my mileage (albeit quickly), I still did not do close to the mileage I did last year.  This year was a lot of strength training in the form of Boot Camp fitness.  I went to this class 2 – 3 times per week, but I must say I feel so much stronger this year that I did last year.  I don’t have the cycling mileage, but I am hoping the increased strength will help when it comes to the endurance and speed.

I went out to do several double centuries this year.  Not all of the attempts were successful and I found myself really hurting at times.  I rode well into the night on several occasions and wondered how I was ever going to get home.  On one trip I took, I began to follow the Englewood 300K Brevet route.  It goes through Port Jervis, Goshen, Cornwall, Harriman and other towns.  On my first attempt at this I was in Cornwall very late in the day and I was at serious risk of not making it to the George Washington Bridge before they closed the pedestrian path home.  I decided to take a short cut home, but wound up climbing Storm King Highway/9W, which was the biggest, most trafficked climb around.  Cars whizzed past me as the sun set and exhaustion set in.  At about the halfway point I pulled off to the side of the road into some grass to rest and have a snack.  I was literally melting into a puddle and suffering a major bonk.  If I would have lain down I could have easily fallen asleep – probably until morning.  By the time I got up again, it was completely dark and I still had hill to climb.  I finally made it over the top and flew down into Highland.  I am very familiar with the area and debated on just staying in a local hotel/motel.    I kept going until I reached a convenience store and loaded up on water and ice, drank a Red Bull and 5 Hour Energy.  It was around 8:30pm by now and deep down I knew I couldn’t make the bridge.

Mercifully, another cyclist came into the store and started to talk to me.  I explained my dilemma and he suggested that I just head over the Bear Mountain Bridge to Garrison and take the train home.  I don’t know why this didn’t dawn on me earlier, but it was a brilliant idea.  The cyclist even offered to drive me to the train station as he lived just a mile or two up the road.  I gladly accepted.

The next weekend I managed to successfully complete this ride and clocked in around 225 miles.  I still got home very late and was completely exhausted, but at least I finished it.  The weekend after that, I went up through New Paltz, New York, and then over the Mid-Hudson Bridge for a ride back home on the East side of the Hudson.  This was the first time I did this ride and it was an experience I am not likely to repeat anytime soon.  The roads on this side of the river are not that conducive to riding all the way back south, especially under cover of darkness.  At one point during the ride, around 12:30am, a driver pulled alongside me and asked if I was alright.  Physically I was fine, but I am sure he was questioning my mental faculties.   I assured him that I was doing just fine.  I only had about 26 miles left to home at this point and continued on.  Around a mile down the road, the same driver flagged me down and once again asked if I was ok.  We were right outside his house and he invited me in to grab a cold beer and to call a taxi to take me home.  Never was an offer for a beer so tempting, but I assured him I was ok, and that I was training for a very long race and must get used to riding through the night and exhaustion.  It was soon after this though that the ride started to get sketchy as I went through some rough neighborhoods, that being Yonkers, upper Bronx and various sections of upper Manhattan.  Eventually I made it home in one piece, having ridden for over 21 hours and 215 miles.

I did two more long rides after that.  A 160 mile ride through High Point, NJ and then to Beacon and a hilly 90 mile ride up through Harriman State Park, Bear Mountain and then to Cold Spring.  Both of these rides ended with a pleasant ride on Metro North back home.  Thankfully, my training is now complete and now I am concentrating on getting the taper correct.

I don’t know if I will sign up to do the FC508 again next year.  It is really too early to know, this year’s race hasn’t even arrived yet, but I really suffered during my training this year.  It wasn’t so much the physical punishment as it was the mental stress that I put myself through.  The loneliness was terrible this year.  So many hours on the road by myself was beginning to get my spirits down.  A few times I shouted out to myself “I don’t want to be here, I don’t want to do this”.  I guess though that is what shows the true character of the person as somehow I persevered and managed to do all of my training.

I definitely trained differently this year.  Whether it will pay off or not is yet to be seen.  I am a lot stronger overall, having done two days a week of Boot Camp Fitness training.  I am hoping that my greater strength will translate into increased endurance and speed on the bike.  I am nowhere near the mileage I had last year, but perhaps this is a good thing.  I’ll find out in almost exactly two weeks time.

A special shout-out goes to all my twitter followers who tracked me during my rides and offered encouragement, especially @Dean who was good enough to txt me the Metro North schedules so I could make the train.  All of your support made the rides less lonely, knowing that there were people waiting to see my progress and how I was doing.

And before I end this post, I ask my reader to consider donating to The Center for Missing and Exploited Children.  This is the charity for which I have decided to raise money for this year as part of my commitment to doing the FC508.  Please consider donating less than 1 cent for every mile I will be riding.  That is a donation of only $5.00.  If interested, please make your 100 percent deductible donation here: www.crowdrise.com/brooklynbeast.

So once again I have registered for the Vermont 100 Mile Endurance Run.  I had until July of next year to register, but I just could not stand the feeling of being without a big race planned for next year.  It is like I have no purpose in life, without something to focus on.  I feel better knowing that I have something waiting for me.  It gives me a reason to continue training and more importantly, just something to look forward to.  Life is so much more interesting when this is so.  The anticipation of a big event, the anticipation of anything really, is what adds the spice to life.

The big question surrounding this race is whether or not I will be able to get to the starting line injury free.  As much as I love ultra-running, ultra-running does not seem to agree with my body.  I keep getting injured every time I try to go mega long.  50 miles is about the longest I seem to be able to train for without getting seriously injured.  I’ll just have to take it slowly this year and not push myself too hard.

One of the main considerations of deciding to do the VT100 is the fact that I am still not fully recovered from the Furnace Creek 508.  By not recovered, I mean that I have a lingering health problem as a result of the race.  It’s a quality of life issue health issue that I am dealing with and not anything that is actually preventing me from being able to ride or do any physical activity.  Without getting too much into details, let’s just say that I’ve lost feeling in certain parts of my body… Parts which I would very much like to get the feeling back.  So until that feeling comes back, bike riding is off limits for me.

You can see the problem area that is causing my lack of feeling in my MRI.  From what I am told, both sides of the image should be symmetrical.  You can see a black spot on the right side, whereas on the left, a contiguous line appears.  I have no idea what this part of my body is called.  Perhaps if you are a neurologist or urologist stumbling upon these images you will be kind enough to offer your opinion.   So in the meantime, until I get my feeling back, I will just be grateful that I already have children.

Problem Area Photo 1

At long last I am on my way to the Furnace Creek 508.  I hope all the time, energy, sacrifice and expense will have paid off.  It’s been an odd past couple of weeks leading up to the race.  The weather had turned cooler, the days suddenly became very shorter and my mileage has decreased as race day approached.  It’s as if all the training I’ve done over the summer is a distant memory.  I hope I didn’t over taper the past few weeks and lose too much fitness.  The common wisdom though in regards to the taper is better to be 10 percent under trained, than 1 percent over trained.  I definitely don’t feel over trained at this point.

The last two weeks at work seriously dragged on.  It was very hard to concentrate on my projects as I just wanted race day to get here already.  I tried to enjoy the feeling of anticipation leading up to the race, but all I felt was annoyance and irritation.  I tried not to wish the days away, as doing so is like asking for one day less of your life.  I kept thinking to myself that the minutes, hours and days will slowly pass by and soon enough I will be on the place headed to the race with Beast Jr.  Sure enough, time moved on and I now type this from the comfit of my Jet Blue seat, my son watching Shrek III at my right hand.

I don’t know how I will do at the race.  I just know that I will be tested more than I’ve ever physically and mentally been tested before.  The key part of the race will be to fight off the sleep and to keep moving forward.  I can’t let myself succumb to the tiredness that I am sure is to come.  This is what concerns me the most.  I get so tired at night sometimes that it’s literally painful to stay awake.  I must find the willpower to move ahead and find my way to the finish line.

I feel bad that my daughter isn’t coming with us.  She hid it well, but I am certain that she is sad that she is not going and that her brother gets to go.  I’ll have to do something with her soon that is extra special in which her brother does not tag along.  I am thinking of taking her to Ironman Lake Placid the next time I do it.

I hope my crew is ready for the challenge ahead. My crew chief, @gregbarnett recruited two of his friends to round out the team.  The entire crew needs to be focused on the racer; on whatever his needs may be.  Literally, for the duration of the race the experience will be that it is all about me.  There will be time after the race to show my gratitude and to figure out how to repay them for their support.   I am deeply grateful that they’ve agreed to be my sherpa’s for this event.  Without them racing the FC508 would not be possible.