Return to 100: LIVESTRONG Challenge Training Journal

Slow recovery

Well, it's been 10 days since I came down with a virus...and I'm finally starting to feel closer to normal.  This bug was so stubborn, I ended up staying home from work all last week.  Even my doctor was surprised that my symptoms were lasting this long, so she ordered a series of blood tests to make sure there was nothing more serious going on.  Fortunately all the tests came out ok.

Needless to say, I've already deviated quite a bit from the "comeback plan" that I drew up little while ago.  But seeing that my plane ticket is non-refundable, I'm just going to take things day by day and see how I feel in two weeks.  After all, there's always the 40-mile and 70-mile option...

Feeling sick

Just when I thought my training effort couldn't get any more difficult, I've crashed into yet another obstacle -- a viral infection.  I was scarfing down quadruple-stacks of IHOP yesterday morning when I suddenly lost my appetite and started to feel sick. Next thing I know I’m feeling feverish, achy, and exhausted...like I've caught a flu or something.  I was hoping I would feel a lot better after a good night sleep, but now a day and a half later I'm still feeling pretty sick.

Fortunately my doctor is confident that I'll get over this in couple of days, but this illness is the last thing I need when I'm already really behind on my training.  I'm starting to really doubt my chance at getting into a century-ready shape by end of the month...

Comeback plan

With the big ride only 4 weeks away and my foot still not feeling 100%, I'm facing a difficult situation.  On one hand, I can continue to take it really easy with my riding until the injury is healed completely -- but by the time that happens I won't have enough time to get in shape to go 100-mile.  On the other hand, I can try to squeeze in maximum training effort in the next 28 days -- but that'll likely halt my injury's recovery process completely (if not re-aggravate it).

So here's what I've decided; I'll try to do minimum riding necessary to get back into shape that I was right before my injury --  which is being able to complete 70+ miler without absolutely killing myself.  If I can at least do that, I'll probably be able to squeeze out another 30-miles on the big day with adrenaline and willpower.  Here's a chart that outlines my training for next four weeks:

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
9/3 - 9/9	XT	30	XT	30	XT	45	10	115
9/10-9/16	XT	30	XT	30	XT	60	10	130
9/17 - 9/23	XT	30	XT	30	XT	75	10	145
9/24 - 9/30	XT	30	XT	30	XT	Travel	100	160

XT stand for cross-training, and I plan on spending these days doing core workouts and yoga stretches.  The 10-milers on Sundays are 30 min spinning session on my trainer, and are meant to be recovery rides. 

Of course, things rarely go exactly according to plan -- so my intention is to use these numbers simply as general guideline.  And if my foot is still giving me problems at the end of the month...well, at least I can pull out of the ride knowing that I've achieved my fund-raising goal for LAF.

Tibialis posterior muscle

In an effort to overcome my injury as fast as possible, I spent a lot of energy into the recovery this week:

• I visited my sports clinic three times for treatments
• Iced my ankle and stretch out my legs every day
• Didn't ride at all for 6 days
• Took Advils for 3 days for any inflammation that might've existed

Unfortunately even with all this effort, my foot still isn't feeling 100%.  In fact, I can still feel some soreness even when I'm not doing anything...which worries me a lot.  What I originally thought was just a minor bump in my training may soon become a complete road block.

The only thing positive that has come out this past week was that I gained a better understanding of my injury.  Initially I thought I've strained my achilles, but during my visit to the sports clinic I learned that it was my tibialis posterior muscle -- a band of muscle that runs from the back of the calf down to the inside of the ankle, and eventually to the sole of the foot. 

The most likely causes of this injury were my over-pronating feet and tight hamstrings.  At the early stages of my training, I was wearing a pair of Nike cycling shoes with Superfeet inserts to support my arch.  But when I got a new pair of Specialized shoes few month ago, I didn't think to use the inserts because the shoes looked like they had enough support right out of the box.  Well this turned out to be a huge mistake, because the shoes allowed my feet to over-pronate during hard climbs and put significant stress on my tibialis posterior muscle.  To top it off my hamstrings have been always tight, so this forced my lower leg muscles to compensate by working extra hard -- thereby putting excessive stress to my ankles.

Of course, there could be many other reasons for my injury...but at least these two factors are something I can control.  As soon as I learned all this I placed Superfeet inserts back into my shoes, and I've been stretching my hamstrings religiously.  I was able to ride on a trainer pain-free for an hour this morning, so I'm hoping to get a break in my recovery soon.

Strained achilles

Ever since my failed attempt to get back into running, I've been experiencing occasional discomfort in my left achilles.  Well last night I went out for my usual after-work ride, and as I was putting my bike back inside the car I felt a "pop" in my left achilles.  Now at the time it didn't feel like there was much of an injury...but when I woke up this morning there was some pain radiating from the inside heal area, so I got it checked out right away at my sports clinic.  Diagnosis: a strained achilles with possible micro-tears in my Calcaneofibular ligament and Gastrocnemius muscle.  I've been putting a lot of stress on my calves/achilles lately with all the hilly rides, so I guess my left just gave away.

Luckily, I didn't sustain any raptures or major tears...and with all the treatment I received today (ultrasound, e-stim, ART, Graston, Kinesio taping) I should be back on my bike very soon.  Unfortunately though I'll have to miss out on a metric century this Sunday that I was planning on riding with two of my buddies.  With LIVESTRONG Challenge being only a month away, I need to make sure this injury heals as fast as possible.

Update (8/18/07): Rode easily for an hour on a trainer this morning, and the achilles felt just fine.  I may test it out on the road tomorrow before heading back to the clinic on Monday.

Mix bag ride

Today's ride was sort of a "mix bag", since I combined several routes I've taken in the past into one 70+ mile ride.  It started off with a 10-mile climb up Page Mill, followed by another climb up Skyline before flying down Kings Mountain.  From there I hit Cañada Rd before returning to Woodside and heading back home on Sand Hill and Foothill.

By far the most difficult challenge I faced today was the constant hunger.  Not only did I not eat much the day before, I also didn't have my usual source of fuel with me.  As a result, I was feeling completely fatigued only 15 miles into the ride -- and I had to make multiple food stops just to keep myself going.  Total food I consumed in 5 hours:

• 2 PowerBars
• 1 PayDay candybar
• 2 chicken breast sandwiches
• Half a bag of Fritos corn chips

On the positive side, this whole thing actually turned out to be a nice confidence-booster.  Because despite feeling really crappy at the beginning of the ride -- to the point where I seriously considered turning back home -- I was able to eventually recover from it and complete the ride as planned.  It's a nice feeling to know that that I can cover 70+ miles even when I'm not feeling my best.

Satellite view
Click here for Google Earth file | Instruction

Elevation profile
Today's route was meant to mimic the elevation profile of the 100-mile course -- steep climbs earlier on, then relatively flat the rest of the way.

Photos from the road
Arriving at the starting point bright & early

Making my way up the endless climb of Page Mill

View from the top -- close to Page Mill & Skyline

Cruising down Skyline (Hwy 35) toward the town of Sky Londa

Entering the twisty descent of Kings Mountain

Pit-stop at Roberts Market in Woodside

Rosemary garlic chicken breast sandwich, fresh from the deli

View of the Crystal Springs from Cañada Rd

Flying down Sand Hill

Numbers

• Time: 4:47:01
• Distance: 70.87 mi
• Avg speed: 14.8 mph
• Avg heart rate: 145 bpm
• Avg cadence: 92 rpm
• Total ascent: 5622 ft
• Calories burned: 4514 cal   

Back to the Pacific

After coming very close to it two weeks ago, I finally broke the 70-mile barrier today.  The route was pretty much identical to the previous long ride to the ocean -- but with two additional sections to make the ride couple miles longer: taking Lobitos Creek Rd before hitting Tunitas Creek, and adding short out & back trek on the opposite end of Foothill Expy before finishing the ride.

Even though the route was pretty similar, the ride itself was much harder today than my previous trek to the ocean.  Lobitos Creek turned out to be much steeper than I anticipated, giving my legs quite a workout before even hitting the steep sections of Tunitas Creek -- and the climb back up the mountains just seemed to take forever.  By the time I got over the summit, I was so exhausted I actually thought I might not make it back to the car.  It looks like I still need to get better at fueling/hydrating on long rides...

Satellite view
Click here for Google Earth file | Instruction

Elevation profile

Numbers

• Time: 4:56:41
• Distance: 70.05 mi
• Avg speed: 14.2 mph
• Avg heart rate: 152 bpm
• Avg cadence: 90 rpm
• Total ascent: 5957 ft
• Calories burned: 4827 cal   

Course revealed

The LIVESTRONG Challenge website has posted a course map for the Portland event.  I'm curious to see how many rest stops there will be, as the map doesn't show any on the route.

Speaking of rest stops, the 4 pm course closure will add another layer of challenge to this event.  At the current pace of my long rides, it'll probably take me around 7 hours of actual riding time to cover 100 miles...and if you add up all the stops at the traffic lights, that could account for additional 30 min.  That means I'll only have an hour total to spend at the rest stops...which may sound like a lot, but that's less than 7 min per stop to refuel, refill water bottles, and stretch (assuming there's a stop every 10-mile).  I should probably start taking shorter rest stops on my long rides to simulate the cut-off clock.

My route

Few people have asked me about the route I took to the ocean two weeks ago -- so here's a guide to the 65-miler.

Click here for interactive map.

I almost always start my rides from the corner of Foothill Expy and Homestead Rd -- at the parking lot by Trader Joe's and Chain Reaction Bicycles.  From there:

1. Head north on Foothill toward Palo Alto.
2. Turn left on Arastradero Rd.  When you hit Page Mill, turn left onto it and then make a left turn at the very next street -- this is the continuation of Arastradero.  There's water and restroom at Arastradero Preserve to the right.
3. Turn left on Alpine Rd, and continue up the hill until you reach Portola Rd.  There's water at the corner, and food at the deli and gas station across the street.
4. Turn right onto Portola, and follow the road until you come up to Old La Honda Rd on your left.
5. Turn left onto Old La Honda, and climb all the way up to Skyline Blvd (Hwy 35).
6. Once you reach the top of the climb, go pass Sklyine and continue down the backside of Old La Honda Rd until you reach La Honda (Hwy 84).
7. Turn left on to La Honda Rd, and just follow the road.  You'll find water & food at a small store in the town of La Honda.
8. Continue riding on La Honda Rd, and you'll eventually hit a town of San Gregorio.  Make sure to take a pit-stop at the general store by Stage Rd, as you won't find any water for next 15 miles or so.
9. Make a right onto Stage Rd, then another right onto Cabrillo Hwy (Hwy 1).  You've finally arrived at the ocean!
10. After too short of a cruise down Hwy 1, turn right at Tunitas Creek Rd.
11. Make the endless climb until you hit Skyline again.  Go across it and head down King Mountain Rd  You can get water from Huddart County Park on the left.
12. After the long descent, turn left onto Woodside Rd.  You'll find water & food at town of Woodside.
13. Turn right onto Whisky Hill Rd and head down toward Sand Hill Rd.
14. Turn left onto Sand Hill and enjoy the long down hill along Linear Accelerator.
15. Turn right onto Santa Cruz Ave, then make immediate left onto Junipero Serra Blvd.
16. Head back south on Junipero Serra (it'll eventually become Foothill Expy) until you're back where you're started.

Go any questions?  E-mail me.

Typo of the century

Ever since I first read the course description for the 100-mile course, I've been skeptical about its accuracy -- specifically, it's mentioning of "6,000+ ft. of climbing in 15 miles midway through the route".  Now anyone who's a cyclist would know that such climbing is simply ridiculous...hell, even Lance himself never had to face such a climb in Tour de France!  So I emailed the event organizer a while back to see if that was a typo, but the reply I got was that the description was accurate.  Still, I remained sketptical...

Well few days ago the organizer finally posted a graphical elevation profile on the event website -- and as it turned out I was right; it was a typo!  The course actually includes two mountain path that "only" adds up to about 3,000 ft of climbing in 15 miles.  Suddenly, this ride has become much more survivable.