Rhett's Run 2009 - MWFTSC

Well, after preparing for the last 8 months in gym, riding, eating right and plenty, and partying little, my efforts paid off. I pulled out a middle of the pack finish on time among expert finishers, 11th overall, on my first race since the 2008 season. In retrospect i wonder why the #%@ didnt i start racing in March.

http://www.midwestfattireseries.com/results/09resultsmenu/96-20095rr

RACE RECAP

Duff and i left kc around 9 and pulled up to a well attended event at cosmo park in colombia mo. it threatenend rain, and we slicked our way through a wet preride, but about 20 mins before the race the boomer slid by and is was sunny and humid. I had set up myself for one bottle per lap, starting with two, and they were placed at the feed zone all lined up. The race format is - race for 1:30 then first to finish whattever lap their on wins. I figured 4 laps.

The line was full of people i didnt even know anymore. all i knew among a hundred some expert and sport racers was duff! i guess after 7 years things change. the race went off pretty smooth bigg'n it in the woods in middle pack. the trail was a bit slick, but hardened up about half way through first lap, i had a dab on the steep little rocky climb and had to stumble around while letting several people pass me. After that i was in no mans land, stretched out by the riders in front and holding speed on the riders behind due to the trails kick ass texture and flow and my 9'ers ability to roll fast over big stuff - not to mention recently changing to an old turbo road saddle with plenty of leather and generous porportions to help stick switchies and v-notches. Sworks control on the rear hooking up and the fastie crossmark on the front with lock out for the generous fast gravel sections at cosmo.

after getting my bearings back from the little misstep i found my legs and hr settled down and i was able to lay down big ring all over the place. by the first part of the second lap i started lapping sport riders, and started a cat and mouse passing game with a couple lite little single speed mofos. They could light it up on the short uphills or timing, but i busted out the big ring and simply out geared one of them in the end. nailing my bottle on the second lap, i knew i was going to have it, and had little time to make up lost ground and put the pedal to the metal. i was calling out rider up! and ripping around spectators and riders, it was a blast!! I passed back several expert guys between the 3rd and 4th lap and held off the single speeder in a crazy end of the race 3 minute effort to finish 1:44. The overall winner was at 1:28, this sick fucker Dave B from St. Louis, i guess, and the overall last place was 2:05. So smack dab in the middle. there were several finishers between 1:40 and 1:44, so that is where my sites are set for next time...

After racing this weird format i realized that its basically a sprint compared to the racing back in the late 90's. So i worked out an extra sick hill repeat / single track circuit so i can climb the blue river valley and hit 10 mins of fast and hilly single track at swope each lap. i think i will just simulate the 1:45 race once per week using this route. And i re-instigated Liberty Laps, which was bad ass yesterday, to take full advantage of urban space, with killer hills. all the mid-body work has baid off and i am going to keep going to the gym for that, plus doing the back extensions is helping to heal up my ham, which is a bit ichy still. I feel like i can actually pull my legs up from my stomach on steep climbs, it gives me endurance. thinking about doing yoga, but not in a class.

Montreal, QC, Canada

I recently took a trip to Montreal to give a presentation on stormwater green infrastructure and ecological planning. I had a great time in Montreal, its an old and beautiful european city.

And the Recovery...

So i just pulled a hammy and calf. That has mostly healed up now and I am feeling strong again. But the PT discovered that I have some scar tissue where my fibula meets my LCL and in my ankle that needs some manual therapy to break down. The scar tissue is from an ankle sprain last year that actually got me back into biking, and is causing a linkage problem in my left leg, which in turn caused the pull. Once that gets worked out I should be able to load my leg up without the risk of reinjury. Either way, I am fully back on track.

I also took a V02 test yesterday and to my amazement scored a 63 with a max hr of 204. A pittence in comparison to world class atheletes, but for my half season and one off season back into things I am satisfied with the result. I felt quite good and think i had a good day, but with my new 10 pound heavier body I think my performance will be different that my old 155 pound body - I hope to improve during the season. I will test again in the fall to see if I improve.

I used the injury as a way to build my team. I have now solidified an othorpedic doctor, a PT from the UK, a massage therapist who lives in my neighborhood, and a trainer that has access to V02 equipment. I am looking forward to working with my team this season and finding out how far I can go.

Wham! - Injury...

I'm not 21 any more. I have experienced an overuse injury in my left knee, possibly related to a severe car wreck i had in 2003 where my shin and knee slammed into the dash, and a follow-up ankle / MCL sprain last year that actually got me back on the bike. The injury occured when last week in the gym, as i was pushing up the end of my 3rd set of 8 plates on the leg press, i noticed tenderness in my outer and inner knee, as well as my ham and calf. I have now been referred to a sports medicine osteopath. It sounds like i have a possible range of problems, from just a pulled ham, to IT band tendanitus, to MCL and PCL problems from my past car wreck that had been previously hidden due to my relatively low state of activity, to possibly all of the above. The worst is that i have to wait for 2 more weeks until i see the osteopath and can really know what to expect. The good is that I am 31 and through this have found a personal trainer at KU med for a very affordable monthly fee that is going to help me through this problem no matter what the diagnosis. Basically, if I ain't dead, I can overcome.

There is no doubt that my left leg has built differently in the past 3 months than my right leg - as my right quad is noticibly larger and more powerful than my left. I have even began compensating for this on the bike, as I think back to recent hard rides, by developing a right quad and left ham unbalanced pedal stroke. As one can imagine, I'm pretty bummed out right now. But, when there is crisis, there is always opportunity as well, so I'm looking forward to getting this matter straightened out, getting my legs balanced, and being stronger than I have ever been.

Annika is giving me lots of perspective an support, as one would expect, but I could use some encouragement if its out there - any kind of "you can do it's" or "I came back from a similar injury" type statements would be worth their charactars in gold right about now. I have included a diagram of the knee just to illustrate the complexity of the joint - which is porportional to my whirling internal conflicts related to this injury.

Riding is Good!

The thing about jobs that take up creative energy in their excecution, is that when the day is over its hard to rally up the energy it takes to follow through with all the "after work" ideas. This is exactly the right time to go for a bike ride or go to the gym, because when your mind is toast or idle, then it doesn't get in the way of a good workout. And, after workouts are always a good time to ponder creative ideas, when the body is tired but the mind has recovered from the days creative expenditure (with a little endorphine bonus). A few sketches about the days events, or a quick song or new instrumental overlay and before you know it, its time for bed!

Revelators to play hot rod Dragfest in California!!

The Rivercity Revelators latest album release sparked some attention from the international hot rod magizine, Rod and Kulture. R&K have selected one track from our latest release (Paseo, Thunder on the River) and one track from our '05 realease (By My Side, Red Flag) to be part of the soundtrack for the nationally distributed promotional DVD for 2009 Dragfest in Bakersfield, California. This is the first national break for the Revelators.

Additionally, the Revelators have been invited to play dragfest as one of the featured artists!!! Last year Dragfest attracted 30,000 people. If you miss us at Dragfest, we are linked up with some friends to tour southern California for several weeks after the Dragfest event. So, the Revelators will be taking a few weeks in the summer for touring - and hopefully will make some good connections in a different market. Gosh, I hope my job gives me the vacation time :O

Rod and Kulture:

http://www.rodandkulture.com/


A bit about the two songs:

Paseo - Written by Bryce Lawrence and Desmond Poirier, is a Poirier remix of an early Lawrence tune, Goin' Round, from his 2002 release Get Over It!

By My Side - Written by Desmond Poirier and Justin Mathews is a Poirier original with accompanyment written by Mathews. From the 2005 release Red Flag.

Self - Unity

Solidarity is a virtue. It may best be titled self-unity when embodied by an individual. I believe the struggle for self-unity is a struggle to balance internal and external forces. I almost destroyed myself in the struggle for self-unity, unable to balance the internal, always over-extending with no regard for personal safety or external impact. But I was into balance through partnership, love and distributed focus.