Closing of the 2013 collegiate cycling season

Wow, these past two months of the collegiate road cycling season have been a blur.

There have been ups and downs, and I'm still not totally back together again healthwise - yes, this week I've been off the bike for 3 days already due to feeling generally icky and exhausted in a lets-not-push-through kinda way.

The highlights of the season for me:
1. having the honor of being the men's team captain and bringing in a season of regained team spirit and many victories all around. This photo is of an inter-team ride and pizza party with NYU. Who ever said ordering pizza while riding a bike is a bad idea?

2. taking the time off the bike (or on the bike, slower than normal) to teach skills and help bring a well prepared, confident group of new racers to the collegiate season. And, watching them win! It's true, as they say, those who can't do teach. This is what has really redeemed the season for me. Just last week I had the joy of seeing one of our new men's racers take a bronze medal at the eastern conference championships, and it felt like a win of my own.

3. remembering that riding and racing are not always about results. It's nice to win and do well, but sometimes finishing is winning. And, when you aren't killing yourself at the front, sometimes you get to appreciate the race course a lot more. I bet nobody in the front group of the race saw that waterfall midway through the climb!

4. teamwork. Again, sometimes finishing is winning. My favorite road race after getting sick this year was the RISD/Brown road race, a rolling course with Battenkill-like dirt sections, which was deceptively difficult and exhausting to ride. After flatting at the start line (oh!), and then hovering off the back of the race I caught a teammate who was placed to do well who had flatted, and offered him a wheel exchange (as I was not in contention, I would wait for the next wheel car to come). I then restarted on course as fragments of the women's feild was coming through and rode next to one of my teammates (no drafting allowed for those not in the same field!) for about 20 miles until the course took it's toll and she said, "The social portion of this race is over! I'm hurting and can't talk right now!" at which point I took off up the road and ended up catching a few guys from my own field, including my teammate Daniel. He had "bonked", or became hypoglycemic and his body stopped working properly after not fueling adequately in the first half of the race, and he was in baaaaad shape - swerving in the road, not making eye contact, mumbling speach. Knowing we still had quite a bit of milage ahead of us, and that we were in the middle of nowhere with no cell phones and only scattered marshals, the best option was to keep going. So, I gave him all of my remaining food and sat up as straight as possible to make myself as effective a wind shelter as I could so he could do less work, knowing that it would hurt but I had enough in the tank to make it work. And, then when the food wasn't enough, I started zipping back and forth to find more food from elsewhere (more GU from other riders ahead, a can of soda from a police officer, a biscuit). And, finally, with a lot of coaxing in the final miles, we both made it over the finish line together. Finishing is winning, and everyone on the team finishing is even more winning.


Above is a photo of me during that race while I was on my way back with the can of soda, looking pretty relaxed and feeling pretty good about the day despite being so far off the back of the peleton.

About half of the team at the RISD/Brown race weekend

Now that the semester is over, most of the undergrads will depart for home. But, riding in New Haven continues! I'm still hoping my health will get it together and allow me to be competative for the track cycling season. But, if not, I'll still enjoy the ride!

First race weekend of 2013!

This past weekend Yale Cycling took the first weekend of the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference (ECCC) by storm! Well, mostly...

Unfortunately, while perfectly placed for a (winning?) sprint finish in the final lap of the criterium, I had a collision that sent my bike near-horizontal with rear wheel lift-off, and while I saved myself from eating pavement, I couldn't make up the momentum I'd lost as the field when by in a flash. I finished, still mid-field, in 26th. And, in making that near-crash save (if I had crashed at that speed it would have been far far worse!), I jacked up my previously injured ankle, which took me out of the road race on Sunday.

Here are some photos of the prologue, a short ITT. Note that it was about 28 degrees F outside. I'm not sure if that pain face at the end was due to effort or freezing cold hands!

Leadership without guts

The big news:

As proof that having an ileostomy and IBD doesn't have to hold you back from endurance sports, I am honored to announce that I will be serving as the new Yale Cycling men's team captain for the 2013 season.

Here's looking forward to an exciting year of cycling, as we are only 2 weeks out! Collegiate racing kicks off the first weekend of March.

Keep on doing what you're doing, whether it's cycling, running, swimming, climbing, hiking, or any other sport. Don't give up - who knows where you might go!

Hey look! That's me in a track race!

Things have been busy here at Yale for the past month and a half, but I'm finally feeling settled in and am enjoying my program. I'm also really seriously enjoying the New Haven cycling scene. It is amazing - truly.

You know how you've read articles featuring things like local group rides that are FAST!, with townline sprints, and the local Tuesday Night Cup informal race? I always thought these were fiction or strictly metaphor. They exist here in New Haven and it is awesome. I'm totally enjoying getting my broken butt kicked up hills on a daily basis.

The Yale cycling team is also pretty rad. I finished out the track season last weekend at the Northeast Velodrome in NH, taking 5th in the 4k pursuit (fully lapping my Harvard opponent!), 4th in the points race, and 4th in the scratch race (got nipped by less than an inch at the line in the pack sprint for 3rd. Two guys were way off the front).

Track seems to be my thing, and I'm embracing it wholeheartedly! However, that doesn't mean I don't still need to do the majority of my training on the open roads.

Speaking of track. I found this video on youtube. This is my first track race on this coast, at the Kissena Velodrome in Queens, NYC. Apparently the guy who won the race (and took this helmet cam footage) was on my wheel for essentially the whole race until the end. Hmm...

The race starts at 2:00. The beginning is just announcements and warnings, "This is a huge field! Ride safely! You will be disqualified for passing on the left!"

Track Racing!

Very quick photo post and recap of the Trexlertown collegiate track race:

Note the change of cycling kit from Pitt to Yale!


I wasn't expecting to be in great form today given that I have had the flu for the past three days. However, I woke up this morning feeling less awful. So, that was a good start.

Speaking of starts, here's a neat photo series that one of the race organizers got of me getting set up for a 2km individual pursuit race:

Bracing for the gun! And, we're off! First pedal stroke is the hardest. I need to practice throwing my weight forward more forcefully.

Picking up speed, out of the saddle. But, not too fast, since I have to pace it for 6 laps.

In the scratch race (a simple-concept mass start type race where the first person over the line at the end wins), I managed to get away with one other guy in a break off the front with 6 laps to go. Sadly, I got caught by the pack and trounced with one to go, taking 6th place - just outside of points. It's always easier after the fact to think that I could have done better, forced myself to push through more hurt. But, it's something to build on! Hurt more and don't get caught!

An experienced track racer said of it, "You can't win unless you are willing to risk losing".

All in all, it was a fun day. I learned things, saw some cool dudes I know from the collegiate road season, and am looking forward to more collegiate track racing next weekend in New Hampshire.

Mapletown Road Race

At this point, I've figured out how to do well at a criterium race (short flat circuit race, fast and technical cornering), but still find myself in a world of hurt and dispair when it comes to road races. It's so easy to start beating myself up mentally when I'm in agony on a climb and feel myself struggling to hang on. It's easy to forget that half of the other guys are probably in the same boat, and just pushing through. And, all pain in temporary.

Cycling takes mental fortitude, in addition to physical strength. And, different types of races take different types of mental preparation and strength. Road races take an ability to push through pain for much longer than criterium races, which have become my "comfort zone" of racing. In many ways I think that having a chronic illness has better prepared me to handle the pain of competitive cycling; those of us with IBD know what pain really means. But, in other ways, perhaps this history makes it more difficult to volunteer for a world of hurt, no matter how relatively short a few hours may be. It is both a glorious and terrible feeling to choose to let the pedals stop spinning and make the pain stop before the summit - a choice that we are never given when facing illness or surgery, and one that is soon followed by regret in a race. And, because of Crohns and my relative gutlessness, pushing onwards means that much more to me. I can face whatever agony this race brings, and I will finish it! And, within a few minutes of finishing, none of the suffering will seem so bad. In fact, I'll remember it as a good time.

Few things worth doing come easy. And, there is only one way to get better at road racing: do more of it!

Also, I need to do more climbing more often, as evidenced by my pain on the climbs of this course. This photo is of the first summit, when the pack had already broken up considerably. You can see the USA Cycling official on the motorcycle in the back bringing up the last of the real pack - it is possible to fall behind the scooter, and there are few things more demoralizing. When you hear that engine, you force yourself to pick up the pace!

One major success of this race was hydration! I brought 3 bottles with extra concentrated gatorade plus Elete electrolyte add in - 2 in the bottle cages and one in my back pocket - and needed every bit of it. Three bottles might seem a bit excessive for a two hour road race, but with less intestines come impaired hydration. If the race had been longer I would have desperately needed a feedzone handup!

Goals for next time: More watts, less weight, and less negative self-talk. That's the magic recipe. No matter where I place in the finish, it is about achieving my personal best, beating the medical odds, and proving that I can still be competitive in this sport despite my added challenges.

Bethel Criterium

Earlier this month I was in the Yale area looking for housing, and made time to race a local criterium; the Bethel crit.

One of the highlights of this (unusually for a crit) hilly, short circuit race was getting to meet another competitive cyclist with an ostomy! We went for a short ride after the race, talked about cycling in the area, and about how we'd like to see more encouragement of serious athletics for those with an ostomy.

There are plenty of folks out there (many of whom show up on my links page section) who do rad, active stuff - including hockey, rock climbing, running, etc. Now, if only we could get both the healthcare provider community and the general public to recognize that there are no limitations on what you can do after surgery!

Thanks, Alan, for the photos! Here's one of the starting lineup. Check out those wheels on the Tarmac guys! And, also, the yellow crocs on the race official. Wow.

Biomechanics, and the problem with ab muscles lost

Having just finished a fantasticly productive and learning-filled cycling team practice, I am feeling very ready for bed! It's only 10pm! But, I'm pretty much toast, in the best kind of way.

Today we did a lot of pedal biomechanics work - this is the physically and mentally painful stuff. We have been working on perfecting smooth, even, one-legged pedaling in proper form and at a relatively high cadence... and up small hills! The good news, it's getting better. The bad news, my right side is still about twice as strong and fast as my left.

The next thing we've been focusing on for a few team training sessions now is sprinting, specifically with getting forward and low over the handlebars while leveraging the bike side to side underneith you. This takes a lot of control and core strenght! And, I do confess that I don't have a lot of it. I haven't been very good at doing any active abdominal excercises. In fact, I avoid them because they hurt and send my ab muscles around my ileostomy into little spasms! Distressing...

So, now it has become clear that without doing some core strength work, my sprinting will never be as good as it could be.

For those of you with an ostomy out there, if you are reading, perhaps you have input on the ab workout quandry? Have you had similar muscle spasm issues? How have you overcome your own hurdles around building/rebuilding lost core strength?

Also, in preparation for my departure for Yale in August, I had a final fit of rebellion last week! Whoa! Next month, I intend to dye it cotton-candy blue to match my new Yale cycling kit.

I'm doing fine!

It's been a slow month of recovery and reinjury... the week I spent flat out sick with Crohn's symptoms left me feeling depleted and tired for most of the month. I've been slowly working my way back up to speed, and being aware of my lack of reserves has forced me to cycle smarter.

What happened? I got so sick that I ended up dehydrated and in the ER overnight with a systolic blood pressure of just over 80. Again. Why does this pattern have to keep on repeating? Because with an ileostomy it is almost impossible to stop once it gets started. Of course, I've never been one to follow instructions well. So, I've been off all immune suppressant medications for over a year now because I couldn't handle the frequent upper respiratory infections I was getting. Sticking to a strict diet and excercise plan seems to keep me in good working order most of the time. Except when Crohn's strikes back...

I was perscribed a month long taper of prednisone. But, since I'm just that kind of non-compliant patient, I shortened my taper to a week. And, wouldn't you know, a week later I felt ok. Run down but functional. In fact, two days after getting out of the ER, I did a local C (cat 4/5) race and hung on. It's been steadily better since then.

A couple of weeks ago I did my first B race (cat 3/4) and was startlingly comfortable in the field. Too comfortable to just hang, in fact. Sadly, I had a mechanical near the end of the race and ended up a lap down. But, in that race I did accomplish something BIG! I had a super fast lap where I moved up the side of the entire field and moved into overall, all-time 4th place (57 seconds for 0.5 miles with a slight uphill on the finishing quarter, not tied for that place with anyone) for lap times on the course on strava (A neat application that keeps electronic tabs of times for various segments. Most regular racers in the area use it.)! So, I'm pretty proud of that. I am also in overall 9th place for the final sprint on that course (tied about 10 ways though).

And then I did one of the most beastly, demoralizing road races I've ever seen a map of. Tour of Tucker County is rated one of the hardest road races in the country for good reason. It has a legitimate mountain summit within the first twelve miles, and then continues on with essentially no flat ground until finishing at the top of an >7 mile, 7.6% average grade ( pitching up to >20% in sections) climb. Least to say, it didn't go well. That much climbing at a race pace hurts no matter who you are. But then, right when I needed it the most, from the recesses of my brain, came this song. I am now almost convinced it was actually written for occasions such as the Tucker County road race. It is my new favorite race-pain song. Because, as cheesy as it is, it is so right.





But, even with The Gossip on my side, eventually I fell apart. I dropped my second waterbottle of gatorade midway through the course, a mile after the feedzone - where I might have begged one off of somebody's support person, although I had nobody in the feedzone on that course. In 90 degree weather and full sun, the dropped bottle was the death nel, a ticking time bomb. And then, finally, only 4 miles from the finish line, the cramps hit in full effect. Not just leg cramps, but abdominal muscle and hand cramps so bad that I couldn't even hold onto my handlebars.

Yet, strangely enough, through all of the suffering, I still had a blast! (what is wrong with me!?)
The sheer agony of it was somehow beautiful, elegant even.

My new goal is to get stronger, and get to a place where climbing doesn't hurt so much. Or, at least, where it hurts just as much but my speed is much greater!

Series points prime taken! Race lost...

Another spectacularly not-sunny day of bicycle racing here in Pittsburgh!

Windy, drizzly, dark, cold. This is actually my favorite race weather, except for the headwinds.

I raced well in the Cat 4 field, driving the pace and taking the first prime (the race within the race) for the first half. Then, I went for the second prime and my ankle started twinging... and I sat up, and let the field pass me with only 5 laps to go.

So, I placed terribly (11th? 13th?) in the finish. But, I did win some series points anyway! And, there were enough flashing cameras that I know I'll have some great photos of me off the front of the pack! People joke about the facebook photos being the only reason to go off the front... but, there is something wonderfully narcisistic and gratifying about having photo evidence. Sometimes when I get home from a race, it's hard to believe that I actually accomplished what I did, racing against guys who are generally taller (longer legs = better levers) and in perfect health.

Now, for some serious rest and then the Steel City Showdown tomorrow!

Top ten finish, and the Steel City Showdown

The semester is over! Thank goodness!

And, my ankle is behaving itself... somewhat, for now!

I've been able to push a slightly more difficult gear effectively again, which means I've been able to start doing more intense training workouts and catch back up to where I would have been.

I will definately say that one of the places where I seriously feel the nutritional deficiencies from Crohn's disease and not having a large intestine is in recovery from racing and high intensity interval work. I notice that I have a seriously impaired recovery time compared to other racers and teammates. I need more cooldown time, more sleep (naps are great! naps in the parking lot or on the lawn at races are the best ever.), and more in the way of nutrients than other guys my age. This means that I bring my gummy vitamins with me to races, so I have no days of missed nutrients. And, I do allow mysellf to go find a quiet place and take a nap. Self care is sometimes hard to prioritize over cheering on teammates in following races, but I've learned what I cannot budge on. Luckily, I have a few teammates who know the issues and have been great allies. My coach is also very aware that I have specialized needs.

But anyway, yes, I've gotten a self care routine down (most of the time) and my ankle is now behaving (some of the time)!

And... on Tuesday I took 8th in a criterium race (short, very fast circuit race with sharp corners)! I'm back in the game! For a minute it looked like I was going to take 3rd, but I got beat out in the final sprint. That's ok though, I'm still not overdoing it with high torque gears. I'll take an 8th if it means preserving my ankle for the rest of the season. It's still a top ten place.

I'm looking forward to a full race weekend, tomorrow and Sunday. Sunday in particular should be exciting! It's the steel city showdown, and I'll be racing in it and trying for another top ten finish. Here's hoping for some sunshine this weekend!

Carbs and cadence

Race Recap:
The beginning of the non-collegiate season is here!

This week was the second of the local criterium series. And, oh boy is it a lot less aggressive of a race.

Collegiate cyclists are out for blood and want upgrade points. Local people tend to be more interested in just hanging in the race. This is great news for me, as I'm still struggling to rehab my ankle. I raced this past weekend and this Tuesday in a laughably easy gearing, spinning at over 100rpm for the entirety of the race (except for the many times in the local race where I didn't need to fast pedal or pedal at all).

If there is one great thing that this ankle injury has done for me it is jacking up my cadence! My coach said that this is a great thing, as it will set me up for sprinting when my ankle can tolerate high torque again. Horray for that. Also, I'm planning on competing in the collegiate track cycling season to show off my new ability to hit 140rpm.

Speaking of which, this past weekend I was mistaken for a past national track champion. More than once. My response was at first to laugh, and then reply, "I'm not that fast". It was strange. But, apparently we look semi-alike in that we are both short and have a muscular build (read: not a climber).

All in all, it was uneventful and not terrible. I was last in none of the races, and apparently was towing people that I didn't even know were on my wheel during the last collegiate criterium race. And, I didn't get caught up in any crashes (1/4 of my field crashed in the road race). Also, we took 6th out of 16 in the team time trial.


Interesting interview on metabolism and carbs:


Today while working on a biostatistics class final project, I've been listening to this incredibly smart and relavent interview. I can honestly say that I've never trusted any of the low carb diet hype before, but now I can see how it would be applicable for some types of athletes (marathoners, triathletes... not road cyclists). I not a low carb person. I love carbs. But, I am also fascinated with metabolism and sports performance.

Not having a lot of guts left has forced me to tease out some of the same issues that this guy touches on regarding dumping salt and the resulting potassium abnormalities. Additionally, I think this discussion is very relavant because there are so few complex carbohydrates that I can tolerate while on the bike. This means that I am limited to fast-burning Gu shots, instead of the sandwiches and bananas that other cyclists carry in jersey pockets during long road races. An ultra slow burning carbohydrate sounds awesome! However, cycling requires short bursts of energy in addition to long endurance efforts and brings me back to the Gu.

power up, weight down

My goal for the future is this simple:

Power up. Weight down.

This means two things: 1. more training, more suffering.
2. Cutting out everything unnecessary from my diet.

I am shooting for an functional threshold power of 240 watts. Currently I'm just above 220.

And, I'm aiming for a >= 1 pound weight loss per week, with the hopes of approaching 120 lbs (54.5 kg) by the end of April. Currently I'm hovering between 125 and 126 lbs.


More power, less weight = faster.

Goals! Ready, set, go!

crash!

Ouch.

This collegiate season has not been terribly kind to me so far, unless you think of it as some sort of serious tough love!

What it has been is a learning experience.

So far I've overcome an ankle injury, started collegiate competition in a higher category than the normal pathway (category C as opposed to D), sorted out some major electrolyte issues, and survived a few close calls with crashes/nasty pack dynamics.

This weekend I crashed out on the final switchback of a moderately long descent at the Lux et Velocitas circuit race. I was able to pedal through all of the previous switchbacks, and was trying to close a small gap in the pack. When I approached the final switchback (which was a tighter near 180, off-cant turn than the previous few) the marshal started yelling "inside! too fast!". Once in that kind of turn it is too late to brake. I apexed it, had my line, thought I was going to make it through... and then I felt my rear wheel lose traction just as I was coming out of the apex. Then I was down and sliding through the turn and across the road.

At some point I tried to get my bike off of me, only to have it come back to me and catch my right leg through the left side of my frame triangle. The bike and I ended up tangled in a bush, on the guard rail off the side of the road. The next thing I knew I was being disentangled from my bike and stood up by about 6 people. And, my problem right ankle didn't want to bear weight.

For what it was, I have amazingly few injuries. Just some road rash and a newly achey right ankle.

I rode the criterium the next day, finishing with a group but second to last. I started at the front of the pack (second wheel) for the first half of the race, until stomping on my pedals to stick with a surge and feeling my ankle twinge in a bad way. After that, I reduced my gearing so as not to increase any injuries by over torquing my ankle. But, I'd be damned if I was going to DNF (did not finish) two races in one weekend, so I continued on - hoping for a mercy pull from the race by the officials (it counts as finishing if you are pulled by officials). I was practically - no, litterally- begging to be pulled every time I came around the lap line: pointing to my ankle, making various mercy and please kill me now signs, and finally shaking my ankle at them. This got a lot of laughs from the crowd, and gained me a cheering section because it was clear what was going on - that I was refusing to DNF the race despite serious pain- but did not get me pulled. The race officials even said "Travis, we are not going to pull you!".

But, all in all, it was still a fun weekend despite the crash and the miserable criterium finish.

I am sore today. But looking forward to the beginning of the local crit series starting tomorrow evening!

Youngest person ever on potassium supplimentation

Ah, yes, the electrolyte issue again!

After I got back from the race weekend in NJ, complete with ER trip, I had repeat bloodwork done at my primary care physician's office. And, wouldn't you know, my potassium levels are borderline low.

I took this weekend off from racing and have been training closer to home while I do a trial of K-dur (a prescription potassium suppliment usually given to older people with heart issues who are on diuretics!). This is interesting because taking a daily potassium suppliment could be very dangerous, if I were to alter (lower) my training/racing plan. Potassium has a very narrow normal range, and then it can cause lethal heart problems including sudden death.

I am currently starting on a fairly low-moderate dose, once a day, and will be completing another set of bloodwork before going to race out of town next weekend. Figuring out my dosage with my physician was an interesting conversation, involving laying out exactly how many hours per week I am training/racing at a high enough intensity to drive down my potassium levels.

Yes, exercise does naturally drive potassium down. Your cells need it to function properly in an aerobic state. And, chronic diarhea also lowers your potassium. Having a high output ostomy and high intensity training/racing for 8-12 hours per week is enough to really knock out some potassium.

How has it been going so far? Well, it took a few days for my body to readjust after getting screwed up last weekend. But, at the end of 5 consecutive training days, I'd say it's going pretty well. I did some team time trial practice with another teammate who didn't race this weekend, and got well into that satisfying place of feeling the hurt!

A photo of me lined up with the most interesting time trial team ever. Notice where I line up to the shoulders of the two guys on either side of me? Oh, Crohn's, why did you have to stunt my growth so terribly? There is almost a full foot height difference there.

Just hanging on...

The quick recap of the three races at Rutgers this past weekend:

Team Time Trial: 14th out of 15 teams with less than a two minute gap between the first and last teams.

Circuit Race: I narrowly escaped one crash, and being pulled down by my jersey pocket! Then, got stuck behind a second crash. On the way back out of the second crash, I latched onto three University of Pennsylvania guys and pacelined with them for about 3 miles. Then, at the top of the hill near the lap line, they were gone! (on looking at the board later, I see that they gave up and DNF'ed) So, I soloed off the back for 12 miles, in the wind alongside the river. It was more of a mental excercise than a physical one. I wanted to throw in the towel, but was determined to finish the race and not get pulled. So, I cranked it on the flats, spun fast up the two climbs and drove myself as hard as I could on the downhills. With one lap to go, one of the marshals wasn't paying attention and misdirected me on the course. So, I had to go back and do that segment again. In that chicane, I slowed down enough to actually have about a minute of conversation with my coach. But, it was what I needed to keep it going for another time around while I was feeling frustrated and like my shoulders couldn't hold my weight anymore. Note, because of the tired shoulders from staying in a severe aero position for so long, on the flats I ended up doing some very interesting invisible-aerobars-elbow-and-upper-arm-steering maneuvers. And, finally, it was over. I finished. I didn't get pulled, but I did get dead f*cking last (DFL). Still, from the time on the course and distance, I would have had to have averaged about 19mph by myself for 12 rolling miles. Not too shabby. Now I need to learn to avoid crashes and position myself better in the pack. Oh, and, being stronger and lighter would also help. More on my new diet plans later...

Sadly, after the race, the hard part of my day wasn't over yet! At first it started out as just a nagging headache. And, I didn't help it much by standing around in the sun cheering for team mates. Then, bam! raging headache and feeling like I'm going to hurl! And, let the vomitting begin! I forcefully vomitted for hours on end, so hard that I pulled an ab muscle above my ostomy site and could hardly breath between heaving. It was horrible. My kind and patient teammate drove me to an ER and sat in the waiting room with me. By that point I was feeling dizzy, with cold tingly hands. And, then I sat in the waiting area some more... until I started having palpitations. But, because I was still vomitting so hard I could hardly speak. Pointing at your chest in an ER waiting room is suprisingly ineffective.

Once I was able to communicate that I was having palpitations, they took me back to the ER immediately and started me on saline IVs, and zofran for the vomitting. When labs came back, my potassium was low, yet again. So, it seems that I haven't solved my electrolyte issue after all! Sigh.

It was 10pm by the time I got out of the ER, leaving a 6+ hour gap from the time of my races to the time when I was able to eat and keep food down. My legs were already cramping and feeling deflated by that point. It was a horrible lesson in what happens if you race and then deprive your body of the nutrients it needs to refeul and recover afterwards.


Criterium (short flat circuit): Yes, I did race in the criterium on Sunday! Even after a night of vomitting and low potassium, I made it to the starting line! I can't say I did much else. I was pulled an placed midway through the race, after 6 laps according to my coach. Honestly, I was in so much agony that I didn't know what lap it was. I felt like somebody had beaten me all over my body with a crowbar. And, like I was going to vomit again - residual naussea, anyone? I was both sad to be pulled and relieved to stop. Everyone said I looked like hell. But, then, I've been doing a lot of that at races this year.

For some reason I am strong on training rides but consistantly underperform on race days. Yet, I'm having the time of my life and learning a ton! Even if I take DFL again next week, it will still be a fun time! But, I'm hoping for better.

breakfast, then a training ride

Breakfast.

Hydrate.

Wait.

Ride!


If you do any reading or talking about bicycling, you've probably heard people say over and over again how important a good pre-ride meal and hydration routine is. Yet, with IBD or an ileostomy, it is all too easy to cut one's self short.

Eating leads to an active gut, and that's the last thing anyone with IBD or an ostomy wants on a bicycle. I like to not have to think about my guts when I'm trying to get my daily miles in, or set a new personal best up that climb that haunts my dreams/nightmares.

I used to be afraid of eating much before going out to ride. And, that meant that (especially if I was starting early, 7 am anyone?) I'd be running on just a piece of toast and peanut butter plus some gatorade as I headed out the door. And yes, I've done centuries more than a few times on this routine. But, midride I start feeling like I just can't keep up, and later that afternoon I end up feeling like somebody beat me with a baseball bat - regardless of how much post-ride feuling I did. Worst is the next day, if I'm riding again, when I felt like my legs just didn't want to work no matter how hard I willed them to.

But, I've reformed my ways.

These days I know that if I'm heading into 3 consecutive days of interval training, and preparing for the next race weekend, I have to always be thinking about the future - not just the ride today. I know that if I run myself down to empty on the first day of training, because I didn't eat appropriately, I will blow any chance of being productive on the next two days.

I started eating oatmeal and some juice before rides later this past summer, and carrying a few GU shots with me, and thought I was doing pretty well.

And then came the equation....

To prepare for a race effort (or long, high intensity training), (according to my coach) an athlete should be eating ~2 grams of carbohydrates/kg, 3-4 hours prior!!! Or, ~1.5g/kg 2 hours prior.

Plus enough protien to keep you running efficiently. And, don't forget the water!

The closer to the effort you get, the less carbs and calories you should be loading. You also need to give yourself time to hydrate (and pee) prior to hitting the bike, so you don't head out with a sloshy stomach and the desire to hurl on the first hill.

I found that when I did the math, I was still selling myself short. Oatmeal with honey and PB was still only ~50g of carbs.

I weight 58.5 kg (divide lbs by 2.2). This means that I need to be loading 87.75 grams of carbs 2 hours prior to racing or high intesity training.

This is equal to: 1 bagel (the real kind, not the ones that are just circular bread!) with peanut butter and honey, 8 oz of OJ, 8 oz yogurt, 1 bannana.

Or, today's breakfast: a stack of sweet potato pancakes with maple syrup, a large bowl of nonfat yogurt with a sprinkling of cocoa crispies cereal, and a coffee.

For a hilly 3 hour ride, I will be bringing 4 GU shots, each equal to 100 calories.

Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference season opener

This past weekend was the ECCC ("E tri-C") season opener! The Pitt team caravan got home close to midnight last night, so I'm feeling a bit tired and achey. But, it was a blast!

The team report:
Our team did well overall, with a few guys in upper categories (A & B) making massive breaks off of the front of the peleton. The break in A was a 45 second gap for half of an hour long criterium, with three points Primes (sprint laps with points awarded)picked up. The breaks in B were in both the road and crit, with close to a full minute gap on the pack and overall top ten placements in both rides. In women's our team got 6th place time trial and 7th place womens A/B crit places. MIT cleaned house in the road and crits in men and womens, with a number of pro team members in the race (the men's A road winner is a Garmin development team member).

Sadly, we had one teamate crash in the D category, and one get caught in a major pileup in the C road race. They are both ok, but sore.


My report:
I went into this weekend not fully expecting to finish either the road or criterium, having only ridden a few times since spraining my ankle. And, I did pull myself from both the road and crit because my ankle was hurting in a bad way. It wouldn't be worth throwing away a whole season on the first weekend.

I did start in C category (the categories are A, B, C, D, and Intro) despite this being my first season racing with a team. And, after some initial intimidation and aprehension, it felt like a good place to be!

What I will say is that the collegiate categories are overall more way aggressive than the local categories. The guys are fit, fast, and not afraid of bumping in the pack. There was significant overlap in the time trial results for the A,B and C men's categories, and the C men's road and crit races were FAST! As the announcer said, "C men's: kinda fast, kinda dangerous". As opposed to B mens which is fast, and A men's which is blazingly fast and more stategic as a race.

Saturday: The road race
Prior to pulling myself in the road race, I learned lessons about not getting boxed in on a narrow road, about strategic placement on corners (don't get squeezed out to the curb!) and about when it is appropriate to start yelling at people. My teamates said I should have yelled more when two Penn State races tried to push me over the yellow line on a steady ascent (automatic disqualification for crossing the yellow line). But, it was also the first time i got to do some elbowing back in a road race. Three times! I've never honestly elbowed somebody with the intent of pushing them over before! It was a good learning experience. I still couldnt get out of the middle of the pack and move up until I was at the point where my ankle was twinging and I let myself drift out the back. luckily, I pulled myself just before the entire back of the pack wrecked. It looked like a landmine went off under the pack! Bodies and bikes flying through the air. A few major injuries with loss of conciousness resulted.

Sunday: The criterium
I was feeling more confident, despite starting with a bad right ankle and a mechanical issue with my left cleat (couldn't get muddy crud out of my finicky Speedplay cleat, despite lots of banging and resorting to putting it under a sink.

1 minute prior to staging, as my coach was holding me up on the bike while I was trying and failing to force it to click - which would have forced me to start on the wrong leg- he said "you're going to have to do a Lance on this one... don't push it too far if the stress is too much on your bad ankle".
I was consistantly able to move up towards the front of the pack on the 1/4 mile climb (atypical crit course!), and realized that I'm a much more aggressive descender than most others in C. But, doing most of the work with my right leg because my left was unclipped was too much stress on my ankle. One lap under half way through, I let myself fall off the pack on the climb. If I hadn't had to take myself out of the race, I might have stuck with the front group for the crit and gotten a top 20 finish. It was a confidence booster, but also a good lesson in what I have to work on before the next race!

Two top priorities for things to work on:
1. Finding my most efficient climbing gears for a race pace.
2. And, I desperately need to improve my nutritional status and get more sleep on a regular basis.

I was definately feeling the effects of anemia from recently diagnosed iron deficiency - it feels kind of like drowning and desperately trying to stay afloat on hard efforts. Not a fun feeling. And, the nagging cough I've had since strep throat came around my office a couple of weeks ago. I've always found that I got sick more often and more intensely than my non-autoimmune disease friends. This is yet another example of how much harder it can be to recover from illness when you are starting with any other nutritional deficits, or on immune suppresant medications (which, for the moment, I am not).

I can't wait for the race in a couple of weeks! Hopefully my ankle will behave better and I'll be back with a vengance as the only gutless cyclist in the ECCC, and maybe all of collegiate cycling history!

Minor setbacks... and the ECCC calendar!

I don't know how, when or what I did to my ankle. But, it hurts... in the bad way.

There is no major point tenderness, so I'm taking that as a good sign that it is just a strain of some kind. And, you know what they say about sprains and strains! RICE!

Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation

Since it's not swollen, I'm not sure that compression or elevation would do much good. But, I did ice it today and will be resting it tonight. I tried going out for a ride earlier today and realized after about a mile of pain not going away that it was a bad idea. Walking up the hill on my way back home also didn't feel so great.

Why am I always sabotaged on the nice days?!


In other news, for those that are in the Northeast and into cycling, the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference calendar is becoming more and more populated with race details every day! Check it out! And, drop a line if you'll be at one of these races! I'm hoping to do as many as possible, but probably not New Hampshire.

Results of my Time Trial

I'm going to try to keep this blog less about racing and more about just plain old bicycling with chronic medical issues and an ostomy, and all the considerations that come with that. But, since it was my first TT at the track, I am posting all the gorey details. Apparently, I am now entering the world of racing at the velodrome!

The TT: It was OK. I didn't meet what I know to be a very reasonable personal goal, but I do have some ideas as to why. And, I'm totally ok with that. It means I have a lot of room to improve and can expect to be satisfied next time around. I suppose it's to be expected that it was a learning experience, being my first. Regardless of times or skill, IT WAS FUN! I enjoy working for something, and it is pretty awesome to share a track with the super fast guys on the aero bikes (fancy, real TT bikes) - their wheels make crazy noises when they zip on by!

Thoughts:

1.)  Five miles is really very short. I lost track of a lap and realized that the end was approaching when I was only 0.2 miles from the finish. Ooops. So much for pushing myself at the end!

2.) Corners. Mine are bad. I need to practice pedaling harder and leaning more through them.

3.) Probably staying out till 4am the night before is not a good idea!

4.) Must yell name louder when finishing.


Those were my major items of the day.

I also learned that it makes sense to actually practice the distance on the track before the race. This seems very obvious in hindsight. But, seriously, before the 10 mile TT coming up, I will be practicing.  That way I will know what sort of pace to maintain at what points in the race, instead of guessing or taking other people's suggestions. This time I drastically overdid the pacing and probably could have pushed a lot harder a lot earlier on.

Here's what my computer says about it:
Max speed (on the flat part of the course. Remember, this is a TT... no drafting!): 26.6
Average speed: 20.76

Still waiting on my official time! I know it was somewhere in the 14's, which is not terrible but not great.

And, next time I will be smarter, faster, better!  I just treated myself to a bowl of vanilla bean ice cream, for the heck of it, even if my average speed was not what I was aiming for (22) this time around. I'm pretty sure I can fix this by improving my corners.

Can't wait for the metric century ride in the morning! Here's hoping it stays as perfectly temperate out as it has been this week!