First off, someone posted in my comments last week that I was on page 86 of the new Mountain Bike Action this month (which is August... don't bother looking at your calenders). I went to go look at it at the bookstore, but it won't hit the shelves till July 2nd. I headed over to MBAction.com and checked out their web version preview and saw that they had an article about 24 hour racing titled: Your First 24-Hour Race:Ten tips that will make it fun. Well, who knows fun and 24 hour racing like yours truly?
Anyways, my best guess was that they put an old photo of me from the 2006 24 Solo Worlds in the article, the same one they used back in December 2006. The one you see here:
Sorry, that's my shitty scanner in full effect.Well Mike of Charlotte, NC has verified my suspicions, and this is what is now "current news":
World Champs get all the press. Same photo, different caption. Apparently they knew this 26'er rider would be a future 29'er rider. Wow, MOOTS is gonna be so happy to see me get some press... on my Dean wearing my Race Face kit.... oh well. At least I'm heating up the rivalry. Everyone knows I'm the one who was pushing Craig Gordon and Chris Eatough to their limits that year.
What else...
Remember back in February when I announced I was anemic:
The doctor put me on iron supplements, and told me to come back in two months. When I came back my hemoglobin numbers were even worse. She wanted me to go to a gastroenterologist to get my insides scoped for internal bleeding. The Pie (RN) told me there was an easy take home test version to check for what is called "occult blood". Without getting into too many details I found out there was no bleeding which was a relief since the "C" word got tossed out there by the doc in our conversation.I found out I was taking the iron supplement with the wrong foods at the wrong time of day. I also did a lot of searching and found out that vegetarian endurance athletes often have these problems. One year to the day of going vegetarian I ate my first piece of meat. I won't get too much into the decision, but suffice to say I made it and went at it for two months.
At some point during the second two month period I realized I know a certain smart somebody who has made nutrition her focus in life, education, and future occupation. I called Namrita, and she gave me her very informed opinion. I was on the wrong track, but now I was on the right track, and I heard "Why didn't you call me back in February?"
I got my latest lab results last Friday. I am no longer anemic. My numbers aren't really great, but they're heading in the right direction. What sucks is that all the numbers related to getting oxygen to my muscles are below average. Great news before heading to elevation, right? Oh well, better's better than worser.
The anemia thing and the altitude problem were my two reasons to stop the whole ten pound weight loss plan for Breck Epic. It was gonna do me more harm than good on so many levels to drop the weight so fast at a time when my body needed to be as recovered as possible and a lot less anemickey (my word).
So, do I have a plan for the Breck Epic? Sure. I'm gonna go for it... at least for the first few days. I'm serious, no alcohol, abundant hydration, proper nutrition, adequate sleep... all that stuff that the pundits claim is important to make great bike race.
But...
If by the third or fourth day I'm totally outta contention I'm changing gears (figuratively, not literally) and turning it into an ORAMM training camp. I'll hit the beers and lower my expectations... drastically lower my expectations. Instead of going for the podium I will go after moral victories by trying to beat Jake Kirkpatrick, Peter Keiller, Tomi McMillar, Mike Ferrentino, and Jasen Thorpe. Beating them will be nothing more than blog fodder and ammo for any future pissing matches, but if things turn south I'll take it.
So that's it. I leave tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'll get back on here to blog before the race or not. I'll be spending the first few days on the road with Peter and visiting the MOOTSFolks. Yeah, yeah... sleeping with the enemy while visiting family. You know what they say "Keep your friends close, your enemies closer, and Peter away from small livestock". Maybe I'll sneak off into a closet at MOOTSheadquarters with someone's laptop when no one's looking and update the blog with a MOOTS-O-RAMA pre-Breck report. If not, be sure to look for daily updates over at MOUNTAINBIKE.COM once the race starts this SUNDAY. I might get over here to give you a direct daily link to my race reports, but maybe not. If I stay away from my tent too long Peter may try to stuff it full of live chickens and farm porn, so I gotta stay mobile and on full alert status.
Most importantly, I can't wait to meet Breck Epic promoter Mike McCormack and give him a hug.
Bumble bee tuna!!
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13 comments:
no beer? meh, you're soft.
No, I said no beer until I'm totally outta contention. That could happen on day one I guess.
Not sure changing your standard is a good thing right before a race.
Might as well race as you train. Just don't finish the keg off.
there is a restraining order in place as you concern Michael, there may be others.
in fact please refrain from touching anyone...little men that run around with perpetual hard-ons are just creepy.
Back in January, my step dad quit drinking. He isn't a heavy drinker by any means, he drinks no more than you or I and probobly less... With I a week his blood pressure and cholesterol went through the roof and his sleep apnea returned.
He excercise, eats well and is into raw foods and juicing. A real healthy guy... His doctor advised him to not quit drinking. Not even to taper off his consumption.
Just food for thought.
Wow, I got a mention in the blog. "Mike from Charlotte, NC" This is great! And with such a unique name, everyone will immediately know it's me. (Thanks Mom & Dad.) This makes the time I spent scanning the picture while my son was begging me to play with him last night totally worthwhile.
Good luck in the epic!
Mike,
You're welcome.
what stage you gonna break the epo on?
Hey, as they say in show biz, break a leg!
jim m
what might give you better results than not drinking is slapping that fox on the bike. I am guessing there will be some long loosish, down hills where the hands may fall weak.
go get'em!
I am new to the blog so you may have posted about this but after seeing that photo from 2006 worlds thay show your legs and rig in the film 24 solo....I watched it last night...I love my Moots
Wanted to leave you a random joke for your adventure...
Two tall trees, a birch and a beech, are growing in the woods. A small tree begins to grow between them, and the beech says to the birch, 'Is that a son of a beech or a son of a birch?' The birch says he cannot tell, but just then a woodpecker lands on
the sapling..
The birch says, 'Woodpecker, you are a tree expert. Can you tell if that is a son of a beech or a son of a birch?'
The woodpecker takes a taste of the small tree, & replies, 'It is neither a son of a beech nor a son of a birch. It is, however, the best piece of ash I have ever poked my pecker into.'
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