Day 253: Photo Op

Update: 50 lb Goal Reached Day 124. Current weight - 206.6 lbs - 8.6 lbs to 60 lb goal.

Work with me baby, work with me!

Ok, I almost hesitate to post these, because some are not the most flattering, and well frankly, I feel like I've about talked my Challenge to death, but since these just came in from the official photog, here are the Kreutz Photography shots from Livestrong.

Here we are before the ride, thinking everything was just gonna be peachy. It was rainy and cold, but I was hopeful that it might just clear up and that at least part of the day might be dry. Of course, that didn't come to pass, but such is life, and it makes for great stories.

Funny thing is, I searched out some specific sunglasses that I'd read about - interchangeable lenses and all for different kinds of conditions - you can see them there in my gloved hands....turns out I never wore them. Lots of folks like them on the bike forums, so I got some Tifosi glasses. The lenses I have in them now really give everything a nice warm glow, even on cloudy days. I've only been out once since the ride, but used them that day and they were great!

Also that morning, we got the 'team' together and did a big group shot with everyone we could find in the rainy mess. I don't know the final count of the people that decided to show up and brave the weather, but we did have one of the largest teams riding that day. Here's a shot with the portion of the team I was in. You can find me, I look like I'm all cheeks and goatee on my face.

Next is the line up of riders in before the race. I think that's Lance and his buddies in the very small group at the bottom. The original 100 milers are on the left, and the 70 milers are on the right...and of due to the weather, we all did the 70 miles together. I'm about 1/3 of the way down on the right, up against the inside curb, but I don't think I could point myself out.


Then a close up of me leaving. I hate this shot because it looks like I'm all gut, but most of that is the jacket pulling away. I *am* still kind of all gut, but not quite that bad. Still hopeful here that the rain will let up.



Next, a shot where I'm giving one photog the pump fist pose I stole from Keijiro's ride last year. Definitely tears in my eyes at this point from finishing the ride.



Lastly, the final turn into the courtyard, and a little thumbs up to say 'hey, I'm still alive!' Totally worn out, wet and cold and ready to go find my family!



You can view all of the shots from our ride, and/or all the shots that I was in at: http://www.kreutzphotography.com/ - click on Livestrong Challenge Portland, then on Livestrong Ride and Run, and then my bib number is 937 if you want to see those. Gotta get on that next 20 lbs so I'm not making excuses for my gut next year!

Hasta!

Day 250 - Starbucks: The Thorn in My Fleshy Side

Update: 50 lb Goal Reached Day 124. Current weight - 206.6 lbs - 8.6 lbs to 60 lb goal.

The wetter and colder weather is quickly moving in, and we are officially entering my favorite time of the year, from now through Christmas.

One of the things I love the most about this time of year is enjoying the foods and drinks of the season. One cool and cold mornings and evenings, I love me some coffee, and in the past this time of year starts the official Treat Season as well. Fall Festival candy and cupcakes, pumpkin patch donuts and ciders, Thanksgiving banquets, every kind of pie imaginable, and then into Christmas candies and cookies and of course, more meals. When it's cold outside, the warm glow of a comfy fire, or even just the warm glow of a oven knocking out some sugar cookies has always made me happy. This year, it just makes me nervous.

I have already begun to think about how I can try to limit the damage of the impending holiday season, and one way I've already determined is to cut down the amount of time I spend at the Starbucks counter. Don't get me wrong, I'll still swing by for some drive-through coffee, or conduct my meetings at my favorite office away from the office, but I've got to avoid that glass case with all kinds of temping sorts and sundries. If you haven't been to a Starbucks during this time of year, then you may not know of what I speak, but there was one item in particular that just did me in last year, and I need to avoid making eye contact with it this year if at all possible.

I'm speaking about the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin. This little baby, with it's pumpkiny goodness, sweet cream cheese swirled through it all, and one little walnut atop the whole thing weighs in at 500 calories, and goes down like just a few M&Ms before I even know it. I think last year I easily consumed.....well, I'm not going to even guess how many I ate, because it's probably just embarassing. I ate them with abandon. Suffice to say that you could probably just paste a couple boxes of those babies around my waste and know why I had the 50+ pounds to lose that I did.

And if the Muffin wasn't bad enough, I was also tempted by every kind of holiday drink I could imagine there. White Chocolate Peppermint Mochas, Peppermint Lattes, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Eggnog Lattes, Raspberry Mochas, Paddingtons Humdinger Lattes....ok, well that one doesn't really exist, but if it did, I'd be in trouble. Toss in any of these drinks, in any of the medium to larger sizes, and add another 300-500 calories without thinking. 1000 calories to be had between a muffin and a drink, without even trying!

I'm feeling strong about this one. I've seen the Muffins the last few times I've been in and a happy to report that I've resisted so far. Doesn't mean I won't have one at all this year, but the longer I can hold out, the better chance I have of being labled the Muffin Man when I start packing it back on. If you see me making a mad dash for the counter, knock me down before I get there...you'll be doing me a favor.

Beware the Starbucks glass case, it is not your friend!

Hasta

Day 242: Livestrong Challenge - The Day After

Update: 50 lb Goal Reached Day 124. Current weight - 206.6 lbs - 8.6 lbs to 60 lb goal.

This will easily be my longest post, so I'll try to get all the vitals out of the way early in case you want to bail before the novella begins.

I'm sitting in my jammies, sipping hot coffee, waiting to take the kids to school and it's kind of hard to imagine that yesterday actually happened at all...well, right up until I move my legs and then my knees remind me that it was in fact a reality. Today is the day after the Portland Livestrong Challenge for 2007, and this year I can say that I not only participated, but also rode the longest official route available...more on that later. For those who want the down and dirty specs, (Motionbased Info - click here) here they are:

Total time on route: 5:07 hrs
Total moving/riding time: 4:30 hrs
Total distance: 69.5 miles
Avg speed: 15.4 mph
Max speed: 30.3 mph
Elevation gain: 1000-2000 feet (still sorting out GPS discrepancy)
Avg Heart Rate: 148 bpm (zone 4)
Avg Temperature: 49 degrees (max 50)
Avg Wind Speed: 10 mph, max 14
Calories Burned: 5100 (yeah, baby!)

Before The Ride
I woke up at 4:30 yesterday, got dressed, did a final check of the gear, had some oatmeal, loaded up and was out the door by 5:30 to head towards the Nike World Headquarters, where we would begin our ride. It was raining from the moment I woke up until the moment I put my bike in the truck after the ride. All the way up I kept thinking 'why am I doing this again?' - but knew it was not only for a great cause, but also an amazing personal goal I really wanted to reach.

After being redirected with everyone else to a parking lot on the backside of the campus, I unloaded my bike, grabbed my stuff and started heading down towards the starting lanes. I dropped off my bike in Lane 3, the lane for 70 milers, and went to find our 'team' for a group photo. While there I met a couple of nice guys - one who was a triathalon guy who had tons of great rainy day group ride advice, and another who decided to ride when someone asked him for a donation. I don't know that I saw those guys again after we took off, but I enjoyed chatting with them. After our team photo, we all went to our lanes to get ready to ride. There were 4 lanes total, one for each of the 10, 40, 70, and 100 mile options. Due to weather, the 100 mile ride was cancelled, and they would be joining us on the 70 mile ride.

The 70 mile ride was not scheduled to start until 7:40, a full hour after I unloaded my bike at Nike. So even before riding, we spent a good hour, just soaking up the rain. I was in shorts, jersey, undershirt, arm and leg warmers, full fingered gloves, and a light water resistant (ha!) jacket. I flipped back and forth between a heavier rain jacket, and something lighter. The two schools of thought are if you stay super dry, you're probably going to soak yourself with sweat anyway, vs just keeping the cooler air off of you and getting a little wet from the rain. I don't think it really mattered yesterday either way.

Gettin' to The Ride
So after sitting out in the rain, we were officially about to begin and they brought out a couple of important people including the president of the LAF and Lance himself, who pointed out that it takes a certain level of committment to come out to a long ride in the weather we had. It was great to get the encouragement, but at that point I was honestly thinking 'lets get moving, I'm freezing out here!'

After Lance and a special group of friends took off, they let the original 100 milers go, and we were to follow 5 minutes later. 10-15 minutes later, we finally were able to take off. I saw Kiejiro, and gave him a hollar and a wish for a good ride as he headed out with the Lane 4 group. I was nervous as we started pedaling. Nervous that I'd stay warm enough. Nervous that I'd keep my bike up on wet, slick pavement. Nervous that I'd have enough stamina to make it all the way. Nervous that I wouldn't bonk out because I hadn't properly hydrated. Nervous I'd look like an idiot compared to the more experienced riders...and a bunch of other stuff. Because of the rain, and the fact that we were like a trail of ants all bunch together for a few miles, I took off slow and easy, staying in the 12-13 mile speed for longer than I normally do. I got stuck on the inside lane behind a recumbant bike and wondered if I'd be there until nightfall, and the two of us would be bringing up the rear!

At mile 8, we had our first support stop. I had neaded to 'ease myself' since we were sitting in line waiting to go, so I was most looking forward to the outhouses, and based on the lines, so was everyone else. I grabbed a half a PB&J and an orange slice, and got back on the road. Before I knew it, I was getting up to the speeds of my normal rides, and feeling comfortable enough to pass people and stay in whatever groove I needed to be in. One gal asked how far we had ridden and I looked down and was surprised to see we had crossed 16 miles already. I also saw a dad and son, who couldn't have been more than 8 or 10 somewhere about this point. As we climbed a short hill, the dad started cranking away, put one arm out and helped push his son as he climbed...it was a an amazing site, and I couldn't believe they braved the weather to take on the ride.

We had one more stop at mile 20 before heading up to Hagg Lake. Another rest room stop, a quick sip of Powerade and I was ready to head out again. We started picking up some stronger winds, and the road got bumpy at the same time. I had 10 miles to go until we hit Hagg, and another 5 before we got to the first cheering station, but the thought that my family would be waiting there to cheer me on gave me a boost of motivation. I had heard and read about cheering stations in previous Livestrong challenges - lots of balloons, people cheering, music pumping, and looked forward to seeing my favorite faces in the crowd of others as I hit the halfway point. I called from the Hagg 'power stop' location to make sure they had made it, and told them I'd be up around the corner in just a few minutes.

As I climbed the hill towards the official Cheering Stop, I did indeed see my favorite faces waiting for me, wedged in right between the other two vehicles that were there. Ha! Apparently the weather drove away the music, balloons and massive crowds, but it didn't matter, I only cared about seeing my family. I pulled over and got a chance to get hugs and kisses from everyone, and give a quick run down of how it was going. I also showed the kids a neat trick - when I made a fist and squeezed, I could get about 3/4 of a cup of water out of each glove! We took a few pictures, I ate half a powerbar, and hit the road again - spirits lifted and motivated for the second half of Hagg Lake, and the remainder of the ride.



Along the next few hills I made a point of thinking about all our friends and family who had fought, or were fighting cancer in their lives. Even though it was cold and wet, and I was miserable, I knew it was barely a blip on the radar compared to everything they had endured, and I thought about them and prayed for them as I rode along.

Heading out of Hagg Lake, I rode by one of my favorite spots, the lumber mill, which has smelled so great both times I've ridden up there. It's amazing how the little things can be invigorating. I also lost a bottle of Propel along that stretch when a gust of wind blew at me while I was taking a drink - literally blew it loose from my hand, where it hit the ground, and flew right off the road, through a guardrail, and down the hillside. I'm sorry Oregon, I polluted your grand beauty, but I stopped and didn't see a way to get to it, so I kept going.

The Second Half of the Ride
At mile 45, I hit another rest room stop and was feeling a little hungry, so I grabbed a cup of tomato soup, which turned out to be burnt...ugh. I had that craptacular taste in my mouth for a good 5-10 miles. I refilled my one remaining water bottle, ate another half a PB&J to try to get the burnt tomato taste out, cleaned out mud from my cleats and got back on the road. I overheard a lady on her cell phone telling someone 'honestly, this is the most demoralizing experience of my life.' And I laughed outloud...and rung more water out of my gloves.


50 miles in I realized that everything from that point in was more than I'd ever done before. I've only ridden 50 miles once, so each mile was indeed a new milestone for me. With this knowledge in mind, and a flat stretch ahead, I was feeling fairly strong. A little voice inside my head said 'keep it easy, don't go nutso, you've still got 20 miles to go.' But another voice was saying 'Dude, you've only got 20 miles to go...you do this all the time, lets drop the hammer a bit!' - And of course, I listened to the second voice. I kicked it up to a pace between 18-23 mph and started passing some people, even overtaking some people on the hills and was feeling great...I could see the end in site. Then a couple things happened.

About 12 miles out, the wind kicked up. About 10 miles out, the rain kicked up. And at about 10 miles in, someone decided that the route back home would be more fun if we threw in a few more hills right at the end. These three things combined made the last 10 miles the hardest for me, and all of sudden I thought back to that moment I decided to push harder and realized I may not have made the smartest decision.

At the top of one hill about 10 miles in I wasn't feeling great. I had pushed hard up the hill and was feeling a little lightheaded, and I couldn't get my legs to push very hard. I think I was doing about 8 mph on the flat spot at the top of the hill, and that was the most I could do. I was worried that I might be about to 'bonk' (fatigue, hitting the wall) and didn't want to crash out somewhere, so I pulled over. I slammed a quick powergel (not as bad as I'd been expecting) drank a few gulps of water, took a deep breath and got back in the saddle. Although I felt a little lightheaded a few more times, I never really got dizzy, and was able to get back up to cruising speed for the rest of the ride in.

The Homestretch.
Somewhere in the last 6 miles or so, I ended up in a pack of riders that I stuck with until the finish line. At one point I said to the guy next to me 'this better be the last hill because I really don't have anything else left to give.' And he said 'man, I think it is.' Well, I think he had taken classes in How To Encourage the Chubby Rider Next To You Who Looks Like He's Not Going To Make It because we had at least 5 more hills in the last 5 miles. Granted, they weren't huge hills, but in the condition I was in, every hill was a huge effort. Soaked to the bone, cold, tired, miserable...every stroke was really an effort. I kept turning my thoughts back to people I knew who had fought the fight, or were doing battle with cancer right now and would make myself realize this was only a momentary struggle - nothing compared to their experiences, and that I needed to keep at it.

A road support member stopped us at a light and made a joke about 'smelling the beer from here,' which made me think we were within a mile or so, but the next gal up the road said 'only three more miles!' (BTW, the support team was awesome...everywhere we needed them, and encouraging everytime we rode by.) I pushed on, and within a few moments we were pulling into the backside of the Nike campus again. I got stopped at one last light before pulling into the drive where I could see the yellow balloons (finally!), the course photographer, a bell ringer, and then the courtyard which would be our final stopping place. I actually could feel myself welling up a bit as I came around the corner and saw the finish line. A lady handed me an energy drink, a guy handed me a couple of dry towels, and I couldn't believe it was over.


The official route was 69.5 miles according to my GPS, but I easily rode another 3/4 mile around the campus trying to find our parking lot from the morning when everything was dark. Aside from a free mini latte at the Starbucks booth, I decided to skip the festivities at the campus afterwards. I was soaked, and all I wanted to do was get into dry clothes and out of the rain. I also knew that my family was still over in the Hagg Lake area, stopping in at some shops, and waiting to hear if I wanted to have a late lunch with them...so I got over to Gaston as quick as I could for a burger at a little hole in the wall with them.

Afterwards
I realized I hadn't pulled the camera out once during the ride...it was just too wet. So I only have a post ride-pic here. I was tired on the drive home. My hands finally returned to normal from their previous raisin state, and my knees were aching (they still are today...probably from the 'hammer' section.) After a hot bath, I laid in bed, caught part of the Hereo's premiere and then crashed for a while. The ride was easily the hardest physical challenge I'd ever endured, and like some have said, I *am* proud to have accomplished the goal. I woke up this morning to achy knees, a TP'd yard (actually was TP'd when I left yesterday, but I didn't see it) and the realization that I totally forgot about both my fantasy football leagues in the preparation for my ride.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU once again to everyone who contributed, prayed for me, and encouraged me along the way. I really means a lot to me...I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

I'm kind of glad it's raining...I think I'm gonna give the bike a rest for a couple days.

Hasta.

Day 240: 1 Day Left - The Night Before

Update: 50 lb Goal Reached Day 124. Current weight - 206.6 lbs - 8.6 lbs to 60 lb goal.

...and Something Wicked This Way Comes. Just heard that the news is predicting record-breaking rainfall for tomorrow.

Well, here we are, the night before the race. I won't update the blog until probably the day after the ride, unless I'm feeling particularly motivated tomorrow evening. I think I'm good to go with all the stuff I need, at least as well as I can best guess. I'm still going through everything to make sure I've got just enough stuff to get through the day, while still being able to fit it all into my Bushwacker pack.

Today we ran up to the Tiger Woods Center at the Nike World Headquarters to get my pre-race packet. As you can see above, I'm #937 - no real significance there, but if it wasn't getting close to the pre-ride bed time, I'd figure out some math equation to make it somehow mean something...just not tonight. When we got to Nikeland, one of the first things we saw was everything being set up, and covered in plastic. Once inside the TW building, we immediately saw a sign that said the 100 mile ride had been cancelled due to the dangerous winds that would be up on the Bald Peak segment of the ride. I am now officially slotted to ride the longest ride you can do in the Portland Livestrong Challenge for 2007...how about that? And since I've just heard 'record breaking rainfall,' perhaps we'll all just end up taking laps around the parking lot for the entire day!

To be honest, I'm pretty nervous about the ride now. Wet roads make me nervous, but roads that are just hard to see because the monsoon season snuck up on us seem especially dangerous. Where I was previously excited to celebrate all the hard work I've done up to this point with a glorious early fall ride, I am now wondering if I'm just going to have to cruise along at a snail's pace so I don't put my bike down on every turn. I still think I'll be able to get through the whole thing, I'm just not sure how long its going to take, and/or how crazy it's going to be in the getting there. Pray for safety...I'd like to get to come home to my warm, cozy house tomorrow. When you think of me, I'll probably look like this guy:

I'll be sure to post again, but I want to say THANK YOU again to everyone who was so generous in giving to the cause. Today we were counting all the people we know who've been touched by cancer in the past few years, and I'm amazed at how everyone nowadays it seems can say the same thing. Our friends and family will be on my mind tomorrow as we ride. I'll post a recap when (if) I get back!

Hasta!

Day 239: 2 Days Left & The Jersey

Update: 50 lb Goal Reached Day 124. Current weight - 206.6 lbs - 8.6 lbs to 60 lb goal.

Still trying to reach my fundraising goal, so next paragraph is cut from yesterdays post:

I'm getting closer to my goal for the Livestrong Challenge. I've sent out some follow-up support letters, but if you would like to help contribute to the LAF, and help me reach my goal of $2500 for this event, you can click here, or click on the logo to the right. It is for a great organization doing a lot of wonderful work in the area of cancer research and advocacy. Also a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who've been so generous so far..I really appreciate it!

We got our team jerseys on Saturday, so I thought I'd post some pics. This is my first real bike jersey, as the current one I use is really a tennis jersey because it was $12 at the Adidas outlet. The only thing that my fake jesery is missing is the stowaway pocket in the back that real ones have. Most bike jerseys run from $60 to $90 in bike shops and I just can't seem to bring myself to forking that over for them. These team jerseys were discounted for us and *only* cost $40, so I figured it was a decent time to step up and buy one.

I've been eating less the past few days and it's helping a little in the gutteral department, as I was worried about the jersey huggin' the gut a little too much. However, as it turns out, the current forecast is for 100% chance of rain, and winds at 18mph....good gosh oh golly. Guess I don't have to worry about the jersey gut huggin' too much since it's going to be burried underneath a rain coat for the whole day.

5+ hours, on a bike, in the rain and wind. This has got to be some kind of joke...right?

Hasta.

Day 238: 3 Days Left!

Update: 207.2 lbs, 50 lb Goal Reached Day 124. 9 lbs to 60 lb goal.

Looks like there's no turning back now...a few notes heading into the last days.

I'm getting closer to my goal for the Livestrong Challenge. I've sent out some follow-up support letters, but if you would like to help contribute to the LAF, and help me reach my goal of $2500 for this event, you can click here, or click on the logo to the right. It is for a great organization doing a lot of wonderful work in the area of cancer research and advocacy. Also a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who've been so generous so far..I really appreciate it!

Next, it's looking more and more like it's going to rain on the day of the ride. I've done 50 miles, and I've done 1300 ft of elevation in 15 miles now, but never both of them together, and never either of them in the rain. I'm not looking forward to that. If you could send up some prayers that the majority of the rain hit AFTER our ride, I would appreciate it. I'm sure God has it all planned out perfectly, I'd just like his perfect plan to be for later in the afternoon. I need to go add a lightweight, waterproof jacket to my gear for the day, but at least I should be ready for riding in the damp Oregon fall.

Lastly, if anyone knows of any quick, gut-reducing actions I can take, I'd appreciate it. Our jerseys came in, which I think look great (I'll post a photo later on) but even though I got an XXL size (dang Euro-cut size) it's still kind of hugging my gut like a baby panda hangin' on to it's momma for dear life. Ok, it's not that bad, but I am keeping the food intake down just a bit in an effort to free up a little space.

That's it for now, I'm sure I'll put something else up before the ride, and of course after DownpourFest '07.

Hasta!

Day 234: Back To The Hagg!

Update: 207.2 lbs, 50 lb Goal Reached Day 124. 9 lbs to 60 lb goal.

Less than a week now until my ride...final preparations underway for the big day!

On Saturday I drove back up to Hagg Lake in order to give it a pre-Livestrong Challenge test ride. I was nervous to see what would happen. On one hand, if I got into it and hated it, or couldn't finish, then it would make this whole next week stink, knowing what would be waiting for me 25 miles into my 70 mile ride. However, if on the other hand I could get around the lake without too much trouble, then I could feel like I was ready for the challenge at hand. So without going on and on, the good news is...I think I'm ready!


The day was beautiful despite forecasts calling for showers in the morning. The air up around Hagg is brisk, and I was thankful for arm and knee warmers (see image below) that kept me from freezing on my ride. I've been enjoying the sun, but know that colder mornings are coming, so I'm slowly starting to gear up for riding in Oregon fall days.


On my bike I have three gear rings up front, and spend most of my time in the middle ring. If I get up over 20 mph, then I'll shift up into the outside ring, but that doesn't happen all that often. Only once or twice before have I shifted into the smallest ring for climbing, but I figured I may need to use it at Hagg, which is either uphill or downhill the whole time without any real flat spots. As it turns out, I only dropped down to it for one longer hill, and pretty much stayed in my saddle in the middle ring on the other hills, aside from standing up for one shorter steeper segment. Below is the arial satelite view from my GPS export of the ride. You can get my Motion Based animated version of the route by clicking here.

I also passed a couple on one hill (they *were* on mountain bikes) and left another guy in the dust who was following me up the first hill. All in all I felt pretty strong, and finished the 15 mile ride with an average speed of 15.3 mph, which combines the slow climbs uphill and the fast coasts down the other sides.


On another note, I made a pitstop back at Maggies Buns after my ride and picked up some rolls for the fam. Let me just say, they are ginormous. See the picture above...I put an oreo sized cookie on top of one the rolls so you can see just how big they are. And that's a big old trough of icing for them too. Definitely worth the stop!

Hasta!