Build up Week for the Hospice 100

After basically a rest week off the bike, I was hoping that it would lift my form a little in preparation for the Hospice 100. On Monday I did a nice endurance ride to the tune of 30 miles and a avg speed of 20.4mph. My HR was acting haywire, so the chart is not worth showing.

On Tuesday I went out to do my normal 40mile time trial, and was hoping that I would see something that would indicate that the form was in moving up. Here is the Chart for the entire workout.

For the first hour I was having serious problems with finding a flow as the legs had just not found themselves yet. Plus, I was being straight "Wind Jacked" by the nasty crosswind. I still managaged a Avg Speed of 20.6 for the 1st hour. Here are the stats for the first hour.

As I turned back I started to feel better even though I was still in a crosswind. My speed slowly crept up, and the burn in my legs crept down. The only negative about the rest week was my hips were aching a little. I was pushing the pedals harder than I have this year, and I was going faster and faster. I'm right around my fastest time at all checkpoints, and my HR is still in the 140's. I'm not heading East on 84 and my heartrate is in a zone and I'm riding faster into the wind than I was going West with the tailwind. Once I get to I-75 I stand up and attack all the way up and over. My HR goes from 147 to 171bpm, and I still have the burn does seem to set me back as I keep the pace high all the way back home. The Avg speed for the 20miles back home was 21.9, and that is the fastest that I have ever rode back, especially with most of it into a headwind. Here is the stats for that lap.

I went back and looked at the laptimes of the top riders at Santos and I realized 1 major factor. And it was constant speed. I need to hone in my ability to ride constant speed. When you are coming from XC racing, it is easy to push the pedals at that XC effort. I realize if I do that, then it will set me back at about hour 4. I'm still convinced that I did the necessary training for Santos and it was my stomach that I failed by overdosing on carbs, sodium, etc. Nam as me on the right program, so I can sleep easy on what is going into my body.

I've been sitting on these for about 2 weeks, and I'm itching to get them on.

My FSA K-Force Flatbars have not come in yet, so I'm going to miss having the new brakes on for the Hospice 100. I'm going to apologize now for anyone that is near me during the race because I have some squeaking that just won't quit. I thought it was the bushings, so I replaced them. It's still squeaking, so I'm going to have to troubleshoot it at a later date because I dont' want to tamper with the bike as it is functioning well right now.

For Wednesday I decided to do a 6 lap dress rehearsal at Markham in preparation for the Hospice. I'm prepared 6 water bottles, and the plan is to do 6 laps back to back. After Tuesdays great workout, I really need to get back on the mtn bike. I haven't quite figured out how to transfer my talent from the road bike to the mtn bike, so at this point just riding the mtn bike more may do the trick. Or maybe my talent is higher on the road bike. I know that everytime I have gave a great mtn bike ride, I go back and have a better road bike ride. I wish I could reverse that.

The bottles were prepared to Nam's specs and I went out to Markham. I decided to put out my small cooler on the picnic table and just grab one as I went by each lap. The only thing I was fearful of is someone tampering with the water bottles in the cooler. My nightmare is urine in the bottle. I need this dress rehearsal so I take a chance and leave the cooler on the picnic table and I’m off. I was feeling really inspired in the car, and I was hoping that my legs would match my emotions. The trail was empty and I was feeling pretty good, and being about 20 seconds up on my normal checkpoints indicated that. I was not riding harder than I normally ride, but I had a really nice flow going. A couple of times I held back for a few minutes, because I wanted my 2nd lap to be the same as my first. I’m also glad I was doing all the laps back to back as the weather was cold. I wouldn’t want to have to go back to the car and have the body cool down in this frigit weather. I bring in the lap at a 26mins, 30 seconds, which is about 17 seconds faster than I have ever ridden at this effort

I have to stop to open up my cooler and get another bottle and that sets me back about 15 seconds. I was feeling good and I decided that I would push it enough to bring in the lap at the same time as the first. My legs felt great and I push it in certain sections that flowed and backed off in the more anaerobic sections. It took me the entire lap to get 10 of those seconds back, and I brought in the lap at 26mins, 35 seconds

Yeap! I pushed it too hard and now my legs want to back off. I don’t fight it as I still have a flow, I’m just pushing the pedals a little softer. By the end of that lap I had lost only 19 seconds and the power was ok.

As I went into this lap I could see the cars of the usual suspects out at the park. I call them the "Frat Pack", and I normally don't run with them. It just seems like I don't quite fit in now that I'm a Expert rider, which is weird. My attitude was the same when I was a 220lb Beginner as I always gave my opinion. The better I got, the most resistant I got for saying my opinion. If another rider give their opinion, it's ok. But if I give my opinion, then I'm taking shit and it comes back to me. Looking at a riders laptimes at a race and giving my opinion is not taking shit. Writing on my blog that I have had problems with asking a certain rider to pass that everyone else has historically had a problem with is not taking shit. Taking shit is if I went up to that guy and said, "Hey, I saw that your grandma won the "Amateur Night" at the strip club last week wearing the 1985 Tour de France Motorola uniform. See, that would be taking shit. So to avoid conflict, I just go into the trail and ride by myself. It's what I did when I played table tennis, so it's old hat at his point. OK, back to this 4th laps I'm putting down.

I felt good with my effort, but I was starting to lose some power as I didn't hit sections as fast I normally do. At the halfway point of the lap I connected with a Active Cycles Teammate Dean Yobbi and having that company lifted my spirits, and it showed in my speed and HR. Dean stayed on my wheel until the end of Alligator Alley where I either surged or he backed off. Having another rider behind me for 10 minutes managed to bring up my morale and I'm only 2 seconds off my 3rd lap.

Now, I have my system for scooping my water bottles out of my cooler without even missing a beat, so I'm stealing seconds with a really good bottle exchange. I’m not having any problems with my stomach and I almost don’t even notice it. I'm so used to having stomach problems and it always affected my ride. I’m taking in 1 power gel per hour, and that is ok. But I can tell you that I’m a little bit hungry. My legs have taken another 20 second hit and I'm able to manage that effort. I'm started to daydream about how hungry I am. In my daydream I'm taking a nap and I'm actually dreaming that I'm one of those "Feed the Homeless" kids. I'm standing there with a fat stomach, diaper full of boo boo, with flies all in my eyes. Of course, I'm swatting down looking right into the camera with the stoic look on my face like I do this all the time. Then the white man comes walking around the corner to explain my situation. "With as little as .35cent per day you can feed Brian". I speak English and realize I can defend myself. "Hey Mr. White Man, I can take over from here. I look into the camera and say, "I don't need .35 cent, I need you to come and get my black ass. Look at my stomach, I need some carrot juice to flush my colon." That nap inside of the daydream allows me to forget about the fact that I'm losing power, and bring in the 5th lap at 27mins, 35 sec.

During the 5th laps I had fantasies about blasting out a 6th lap faster than my first, but the legs were not having it. In fact, I was hurting and I had lost 40 seconds at the halfway point. That is when I went from the comedic standpoint to keep myself in high spirits, to straight insulting myself to keep that 6th laptime intact with the 5th lap. I had to dig deep to get creative to get this done, so I created a Good Rider, Bad Rider personality. The good rider would say " My ass is hurting", and the bad rider would take over and say, "You is a bitch Brian! Yo punk ass is hurting. Maybe you should put on KY Jelly on it . You ain't got no heart out here dying after 5 laps. As a matter of fact all you got is balls. Where's your shaft Brian. You sure you don't have a coochie down there. You aerobically "Embarrassed". You got bad Credit Brian. You got one of those fat, video booties, I see why your ass is hurting. Put a thong on that booty, Brian." The good rider doesn't even get a chance to interrupt as the lap was over by the end of the rant by the bad rider. I brought in the lap 10 seconds faster than the 5th. Mission Accomplish, it was just a really funny exchange with the fake personalities I created.

Here is the Overall Chart

Here is the HR Values Chart

The only negative about the entire ride is someone stole 4 of my water bottles that I threw on the ground. Man, if you need to steal a riders water bottles that are used, then you are doing bad. Now, what should I do if I see someone with "Dedicated Athlete" water bottles that are issued to sponsored riders. I'm not going to put some foot to dat ass, but whomever it is will get the whispering of a lifetime (That means some really eloquent curse words). The workout was so good, that I didn't let that dampen my spirits of making it more than 50% through my Hospice workout while keeping my speed extremely constant.

I can't ride anymore controlled that this workout, and I hope that it is enough to put up a fight with the best riders. I know there are going to be some heavy hitters in town, and it's hard for me to make any kind of prediction regarding my performance. I had really high hopes for Santos, and that got crushed after about 6hrs. So I'm going to take a page out of being respectful of my ability and my pass performance. So my mine objective would be to run good laps just like I did in this workout.

The recommendation Nam gave me on how much to intake during the workout was spot on. When I told her it is forecasted to be hot on Saturday, she gave me a fluid intake preparation plan that is extremely planned to a tee. I'm going to have to write that one down to remember it. I'm actually hoping for hot, hot, and more hot. I'm still hype on drinking the 9.5 water, and it being hot will only help drive my point home on the benefits of it. I don't want a good performance to be indicative of the benefits, but it seems like that is what it is going to take.

The weather is way too cold and windy for me to ride on Thursday, so that means a CTS workout on my ipod, or a stinking Spin Class. I think I'm going for the ipod workout.

Until then, I'll keep you up to PACE

Pacer Out!

Keeping it Moving

The week after something like Santos is always a slow week for me because I need time to let my body recover. I can ride alot, but it's only going to hurt so I thought it would be better if I picked some select days to ride, and played some table tennis in the meantime.

I did ride this week, so I'll try to recap it. I took off Sunday and Monday as the legs were aching. Tuesday morning I went out to do my 40 mile time trial, and had a nice ride going for the first hour, but got hit by some light rain which was not too bad. It was the 15 degree drop in weather that made me cut out of the ride 10 miles early.

Wednesday I went out to Markham to do 6 Hospice style laps, and I had some bike problems. First I had a bent hanger. On top of that the cable came out of the groove that is on the deraileur. As a result I destroyed the shifter.

Whatever happened at Markham would have happened at Santos, as the shifter stopped working about 3 miles into the course. So I just rode it out, and went home.

Since the day of singletrack was bust, I decided to play some table tennis. I'm getting more and more skill back every week. Here are some highlights from the session.

I skipped Thursday on the bike, and went to the YMCA in Weston to do a spin class.

I hate spinning, because I just overheat in that room. I normally go there becuase I have a 2hr session with 2 of my table tennis clients.

I'm actually better friends than clients with these guys.

Z-Motion Ride
I took Friday off, but planned a big day on the bike for Saturday. My boy Wes had been telling me about the Z-Motion ride that leaves in Parkland. Since they have B&J as their core of high level riders, it a guarantee that the ride is going to go anaerobic at some point.

I had got some great guidance from Namrita on how how I should approach my nutrition on the bike with regards to sodium, and my carbs based on my weight, height, and body fat. Based on her protocol I was straight "Overdosing on Sodium". I was dumping in my sports powder, and salt solution into my bottle. Not to mention the power gels has sodium in them. For the Saturday ride I prepared my bottle to Nam's exact specifications.

I get to Wes house and we warm up over to Pat's house where the ride leaves from, and other riders slowly trickle in. Enzo, Flaco and Victor have moved up to Pro 1,2, so I know their legs are primed and ready to go.

Once we get going the ride is slow as it goes in and out of backstreets. Wes told me that once we get down to SR 84, all hell breaks loose for that 6.5 mile stretch, then everyone waits for the riders that got unhitched. Before we get to Hiatus there are 3 riders off the front, so things heat up. We are going 27mph into a headwind, and I'm not excited about taking a pull as it's going to be painful as I have not done any high end efforts all week. But by the time take my pull I'm feeling good, so I put my head down and take a 90 second pull over 28mph. Don got unhitch, and I realize it was Victor and Joel up the road. My HR starts at 153bpm, and when I pull through I'm at 178bpm. OK, a brother needs a break. It keeps going though.

I recover faster than I expected and I'm able to go off the front with Victor and we walk down a 3-man group that is off the front. My HR is over 170bpm again. Man, we haven't even got to Oakland yet. This is going to get much more painful. There about 6 major, major players on this ride and that is Enzo, Flaco, Victor, Me, Sheldon, and a guy in a Florida Premiere uniform. All of these players can take pulls over 31mph and hold it, so having that flow allows the ride to keep a high pace when other riders coming in and take pulls.

We get to Oakland Park and I'm behind Flaco. This guy is a beast and he can take a pull as such a high pace that it will kill your ability to take a pull. He is taking it easy at 27mph, and when he pulls through at 136th, I'm in the front. I take it all the way down to just pass Sunrise and I don't go under 28mph. Since I'm new to the ride and noone knows me no gap is opened for me to get back in near the front. So I go all the way to the back, and I fully recovered by the time we get to SR 84. Side Note: I can't remember the last time I did a ride this hard. The Sheridian ride is slightly faster, but with 80 people in the ride it is very hard to get this type of workout. Plus, there are much more attacks that go off the front even if the rider at the front is smashing it. I have been riding in nice group rides so long, that I almost forgot what is like to be in a ride where attacks go off the front in the middle of a hard effort. Welcome to the B&J ballers.

Hell has already broke loose about 6 times, so what is going to happen now that we are 84. Things get going and by the time we go through 136th, the pace is over 29mph, and things start shaking up. Sheldon is at the front and take a monster pull and he spends enough time above 31mph that I stop looking at my speedometer. When he pulls through, Joel goes right him. By the time we get to Weston Road there is a group of us that are off the front. It's Flaco, Victor, Enzo, Sheldon, Don, and myself.

The guys in the Florida Premiere uniform takes a Jurassic pull over 32 mph and holds if for over 50 seconds. After that we settle down to a nice pace that has us increasing the gap on the second group. Everyone is playing nice, then Victor and Flaco start doing "Gorilla Surges", and that cripples the nice hard pace we had going.

I take every surge the Enzo starts and it seems to be putting Sheldon into difficulty. He doesn't have a quick start to surge, so Enzo has the upperhand as his first 10 pedal strokes usually get him over 31mph. Noone is working together as surges keep coming and everyone is looking around for someone to form something.

Flaco slips off the front while everyone is trying to manage the acid bath in their legs. Enzo is still looking back for Sheldon and whenever he has a gap he does a attack that gaps Sheldon, but Sheldon grinds his way back up to the group. The second group is gaining because Enzo is discouraging anyone front forming a chase group to get Flaco with his multiple surges. About a half mile from Glades I go off the front by myself and I decided to keep my pace above 31 for as long as I can, and I'm about to get to 47 seconds. My HR is 182bpm when I take the turn onto Glades and everyone regroups.

Some of the riders that got dropped were taking a long time to catch up, and Flaco was up the road still keeping a nice pace. So about 6 of us waited for everyone, then took Glades up to Weston Road, made a right, then cut over to South Post to see if we could meet with the group that dropped us. There was Flaco leading a group on South Post up and over I-75 while we were at the light. He didn't wait up, he kept it moving. A chase group kinda forms, but it falls a part at the round-about when we have an exchange with a guy in his Porsche.

We get to the Mobil Station, and Wes says, "We've never gone that fast before". We leave the mobil station just as the Sheridian Ride rolls in,m and I'm happy as I know I got a much better workout. At this point I'm sure that the pace will be slow on the way back. Wrong! Before we get to the first light we are going 27mph, and I look at Wes and he shakes his head. I'm sure that effort that I did once we got going was the hardest effort I did this year, and the front group was putting out the same medicine. This effort was not what I bargained for, but I got involved anyway. I'm a decent sprinter, I can take pulls with just about anyone, and I can handle the multiple surges.

We get up pass Oakland and the pace and effort is just as hard as the Florida Premiere guy takes the speed over 35mph with me on this wheel. When he pulls through I stay on the front and do a 20 second countdown based on pedal stroke, then I pull through. That surge he provoked the heavy hitters and they started animating the ride even more. To make a long story short, the last 20 miles was just as fast as the first "Hard Effort Stretch" going South and I was actually looking forward to looking at the workout chart.

We get back to Pat's house, and I just take off my helmet and sit on his garage floor that is carpet. I start stretching just to make sure the muscles don't get too stiff. Once everyone rolls we, we go in for one of the most gansta as meals you can have after a 70 mile effort. Man, Pat hooked it up. Boiled Eggs, Egg Casserole, Spinach/Cheese/Crab Casserole, Bagels, Pancakes, Juice, Coffee, and Fruit. I hope I'm not leaving anything out. I was more concerned about how the stomach would take a good meal like that after such a hard effort. I normally eat light when I get home. But the "Nam Program" had my stomach feeling ok, so I was able to eat 2 servings of Egg Casserole and 2 boiled eggs without any problems. We chat a little about the ride, and racing in general. This guy Pat is a great host and a cycling fanatic. Wes had been asking me to come to this ride for about 5 weeks now, and I'm glad I came. It's a great group of guys and gals that just love to ride their bikes. If I'm not racing I'll definitely come out and do this ride.

After the meal I needed a couch, as my body has completely shut down. The ride back to Wes's house was like walking the Green Mile as my body was pretty tempermental about wanting to be on the bike, but I managed it. Next time I do this ride, I'm going to just ride to Pat's house instead. It was a great day on the with a really nice group of people.

I got home and I was eager to look at the chart. Here is the complete chart.

We actually went slow going back and forth on the backstreets, and here is what it looked like once we got going. Anything in the read indicate we are more than racing.

We went over 32mph 11 times in this 20mile stretch and had a Avg of over 25mph, see.

The last 20 mile stretch was just as fast, and I felt like we went a lot faster, and a lot harder. We hit about 7 lights and that dramatically drops the Avg Speed. Here is the chart for that stretch.

We still were able to Avg over 24miles per hour with all the stops, see.

I went out Sunday and played more table tennis for 3 hrs, then I went out and did a recover ride for 1hr making it 4hrs for the day. This week I plan to pick up the distance in my rides on the mtn bike, and wait for my legs to come around before I really pick up the intensity.

Until then, I'll see you on the dirt or asphault

Pacer Out.

Video of the Week - 12hrs of Santos

Sorry it took me so long to get it up, but here is the video from the 12hrs of Santos. I warn you, it's not much riding as Mrs. P only got me going through the feed zone.

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Anecdote of the Week - My bike

That is what I said when Shawn Hancock rode off on my Schwinn bike. I had taunted him, and it ended up making him play way above his level and he won my bike. Not only did he win the bike, he won the admiration of the crowd by beating down the bully on center court. The lesson for me was, “Don’t bull the small guy”.

I had missed this tournament the year before, as a result of “Peer Pressure”, and I made sure that I was a shoe-in as I did the proper training, improved my level, and stayed out of trouble. The “Regency Mall” tournament was the premiere Table Tennis Tournament in the south as it was played in the mall in Augusta GA. If you won the junior event, Pete May would walk you down to the department store, take you the recreation section, and you could pick out your own bike. Most would ride them right back to the center of the mall while people applauded. I could see myself already popping a wheelie, so that bike was mine. Plus, I was sick of tired of running across town to play table tennis. I could use more of my time playing if I got to the club 25 minutes earlier every day.

It was a nice retreat to play a competition in the mall. You could smell food from the food court, and the sharp smell of finger nail polish from the nail salon at the same time. It also was nice to see cute girls walking around the mall with their mothers, which was a nice retreat from what we normally saw at tournaments. Most of the girls in table tennis where tomboyish and very athletic, and it was refreshing to see some cute petit faces.

We packed into the Butterfly Van for the 300 mile trip to Augusta, and we checked into the Red Roof Inn once we got there. As soon as we got into the room, someone turned on the TV and the movie “Red Sonja” was playing. That was the movie that starred the women that dated Flavor Flav before he did “Flavor of Love” Eddie, clearly the most comedic of the group started repeating lines from the movie and “ Sonja, the Eye”, was the line that had everyone in stitches. He then started saying lines from Bruce Lee movies. “Can you tell me what teacher died of”, from “Chinese Connection”, and it had all of us cramping. Then he went to “Enter the Dragon”, when he said, “What was that, and exhibition. I said emotional content, not anger”. Then, “Man you come right out of a comic book. I would all of a sudden like to leave your island”.

After the comedy cooled down someone turned to Rocky III, and that was when it hit me. I need to be like Clubber Lang, who was played by Mr. T. He was domineering, and a physical beast. Plus, he has some of the greatest lines to drive his point home. So while everyone was turning in for the night, I kept watching the movie. I even wrote down every line that I thought I could use for the tournament.

The next morning I kept thinking about how I would use the lines, and give them life based on the situation. My first match was Clifford Roberts, the tournament director’s nephew. And man, I didn’t care, I had my plan together. When we got to the table I looked at him, and said, “Dead Meat”, and he gave me this puzzled look on his face. I dominated him, and tortured him at the same time. It was so overwhelming that my boys were asking me what in the world was I doing. I ignored them and stayed in my zone. I had 2 other meaningless matches, and decided it was not worth me giving out the great lines, if the level was not up to par to make a point.

In the semi-finals I had to play Shawn Hancock, a scrappy, small 13 yr old that chews the floor to win every point. This would be a great match to display all my lines. We got the clipboard from the control desk, and as soon as we got on the court I looked at him and said, “Gonna Bust you Up”, and he gave the same puzzled look as Clifford and for a moment he thought I was going to fight him. No! I wasn’t going to fight him, I was going to fight him with words just like how Clubber Lang got into Rocky’s head the first fight.

I’m much better than Shawn, but he can play above his level so I wasted no time putting the smash down. I hit a ball pass him and it went out of the court, and when he came back I said, “You shoulda never came back”. The better I played the more I taunted, and the more I taunted the more Shawn lost his focus. I hit another ball out of the court, and when he came back in the court I said, “I gotta a lot of mo”, just like Clubber Lang said it. I was clicking on all cylinders with the timing.

I win the first game by a huge margin and I when we get ready to start game 2 I said, “ I will destroy any man who tries to take what I got. What I got is in Montgomery Ward. That is my bike. I get a huge lead, but I’m running out of lines. So when I hit a ball out of the court it goes into Chick-fil-a and I yell, “Bring me back a chicken strips”. He comes back, and I say, “I’m gonna beat you worst than I did last game”.

At this point Shawn is practically in tears, as I’m embarrassing him in front of his home crowd since he lives in Augusta. He is visibly holding back his tears, so I thought. He was actually mustering up the courage to face the bully. At this point I’m waiting for him to lie down and give me the win, so I stopped trying so hard. But he is going up the side of the mountain in terms of inspiration, and I’m back sliding like it’s nobody’s business. Somehow he wins that game, and there is a huge momentum shift. He goes into game three with the support of the crowd, his family, his coaches, and the peers from the Boys and Girls club. And I have my “Clubber Lang” fake personality that has been reduced to a fart in the wind. Game 3 was a landslide victory for Shawn has he was totally in the zone, and I couldn’t even find Brian Pace. My teammates looked in amazement as I was taken down by this kid that I should never, EVER lose to. Shawn support crew lifted him up like a phoenix rising from the ashes and he beat back the big bad bully, just like Rocky did to Clubber. I guess I forgot about how Rocky actually beat Clubber Lang in the end.

Shawn was riding so high that he completely destroyed the other kid in the finals, to take the title. And Pete did what he always did. He walked Shawn down to Montgomery Ward, and he came back riding on a brand new Schwinn and the thunderous applauses of the crowd. I just sat there feeling all defeated, and happy that I actually didn’t win for having such a bad attitude.

On the ride back home, I heard every single line that I used during the tournament, and every one got a huge laugh. Pretty soon I started quoting the lines myself. My coach was like, “Wow, these guys can quote the lines from movies like nobody’s business. He was playing the tournament also, and he normally doesn’t watch us closely. If he had known that I taunted someone into playing the match of their life, and they had rode off with the bike as a result he probably would have been a little grumpy at me. That attitude was not something that he promoted, or put up with.

I got home, and it took me a couple of days to detox from the weekend of trying to act like a bully. When my brother Reggie asked me why I didn’t have a trophy this time around, I explained to him how my plan had backfired, and he just laughed and laughed. He then explained to me that if I was a table tennis player, and it was an Asian sport, then I must act the part. If you are going to beat someone right in front of you like that, then your approach has to be more “Ninja” like than “Loud American”. He then showed me this movie called American Ninja, and they used all kinds of tools, but never fought you face to face. It was almost comical, as he used what little knowledge he had to help me learn the lesson.

It was important for me to have this experience early, because had I won using that tactic I have no idea what I would have become, especially if I had rode off with that bike. So it was important for me to lose. And I have learned a lot from that experience. I learned to create a game plan without making it personal. I learned that if you taunt some competitors, you just might provoke them. I also learned that in the sports, you are making an attempt to conquer a style of your opponent, and not a person. So if you really want to put the knife in and twist it, then it’s better to compete from a logistical stand point. Because if you can systemically pull their game apart and expose their weaknesses, then there is nothing they can do to stop you.

But the main theme of my experience is “Don’t Bully the Little Guy, he just may ride off with your bike.

Pacer Out!

12hrs of Santos - Race Report

I haven't forgot about you planet earth. I've been really busy, and really couldn't get to sit down uninterrupted and give the long winded version of my race report.

I got to Santos, and actually made a stop at the Santos Bike Shop to have Ryno put on a tire for me. Anthony Hutton was there, too. There was a young, cute female there that new here bike parts. A chick that knows her bike parts, somebody better take her off the market. I got to Vortex and did a lap that I thought was the entire race course, and it was smooth and fast. The false flats where not to difficult to manage, and I got really excited about how I would approach the race regarding my effort. Then I heard that I actually cut out the 1st 12 minutes.

So I went in back in to do an entire lap, and that 1st section was a doozy for the legs to get used to. It was technical, hilly, rough, jagged, and not much room to navigate on each side. All I was thinking was, "This is gonna be a bitch to ride at night". But after this assault on the legs, the rest of the course is smooth until it gets back to the reds, but they are much more easy to manage.

I went back to the hotel thinking that I just need to hold back on the first section, and ride smooth and consistent the rest of the way.

The next morning finding a decent place to park was a blimp, and I settled in right beside Ryno. I hauled all my things over to my tent that was set up right beside Joe V. and I must pat myself on the back for having one of the best places to make my pit stops. I set it up the day before, and waited until the next morning to say something to Dave, in hopes that he wouldn't have me move. Dave ok'd it, so I brought over the rest of my things.

I had 12 hours to manage everything, from effort, to food, to fluids, to attitude. I decided that I would ride with the who I thought were the front runners to establish a pace to settle into. I chat with some people at the start. Shout out to Dean T., T. Wiz, Bounds, John M., Ed Legerwood, and some dude that spray painted his hair like Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings.

Some dude said you can't have headphones in your ears. I turned around and said, "I'm a black dude". Before he could say anything I said, "All black men are bonafide paralegals, we know the crimes and the penalties." That got a laugh out of everyone. I then explained that if the earphones aren't actually in the ears, then it's ok. I always have mine wrapped around my helmet strap. Then I patted him on the back and say, "You ran right into that one".

We were all at the bottom of the quarry ready to go, and antsy as a result of the waiting for the last minute riders going to drop of their bikes.

Riders 5 seconds...................Horn! I take off behind T-Wiz but my ipod is bouncing and it feels like it may pop out. I'm not letting my 80GB ipod drop out of my jersey to get stomped by riders with cleats on their shoes. So I slow down, grab the ipod and keep it steady. Harvey cruises right pass me. Great! That is the wheel of interest to sit on the first lap. As he is really the only 12-hr guy that I know. We get to the bikes and it is chaotic, and I mount the X, and I'm off. Harvey is 20 meters up the road and I smash it to get on his wheel just before we turn into the singletrack.

My anxiety has the best of me as I have a HR that is about 10 beat higher than I want it to be, but I'm in a nice paceline. We pass a couple of people and we soon establish a core group that are fast, have good skills, don't mind their position, and have a nice flow. My HR is still about 10-12bpm higher than I want it to be. I'm not burning a match yet, but I'm downshifting to my own "Speed Pacing" after this lap.

Just before we finish the blues and about to go into the reds, I can see Kevin H. creeping up on us. Once we get to the reds, things slow down as riders space out. On the first climb, someone has to unclip, and we are all running it and I get passed by 2 riders. After that we keep it breezy until all of sudden 6-8 of us have made a wrong turn.

I wasn't even looking at where I was going, just the wheel ahead of me. We only lost about 10 seconds, and less than 1 minute we were rolling through the start/finish to dismount, run the bike through, and remount. I hate getting off my bike by the way. That lap was 32mins.

I haven't even had anything to drink, so I take a long swig(Definition of Swig - A long uninterrupted drink of anything) from my water bottle and get another one from Mrs. P. The riders bunch up as most of them are getting fed their water bottles. I got back in with Greg D. on my wheel.

Since he is racing the 6-hr and Joe V and Victor are up the trail, I start looking for a place to let him pass. I choose a bad place to let him pass and when I pull over he is already on the outside of my wheel and can't bring it back in. I here a "THUD", and when I look back he has one hand down, and the other hand still on the handlebars. Shit! I was trying to give him the best line to pass me, that is why I went out wide. Riders are passing, and I don't have the gall to just ride off on Greg, as he is off his bike trying to let his pain subside so he can get back to riding his race speed. I ride up the trail, and wait for him just before a steep climb, and when he passes I give him a push and apologize again.

Then I settle into my own pace, and I get through the technical section and I'm not attacking the false flat but I'm keeping a real nice pace. The burn in my legs are gone from the first laps that included the run, my breathing is not labored, and the power in my legs feel good. I ride that entire lap by myself, and bring it in at 45 minute lap.

Bob Mc is now at my tent and he waves me off to slow down, and hands me my 2 water bottle, and the first thing I notice is how sweet and salty it is. I have my blend of powder and salt solution in the bottle, and it was not that sweet in training. But I slam the first one down right out of leaving "The Reds", and I keep it steady. About 18 minutes into that lap I get passed by Kent Lofton and he has a nice pace going. Because he has 2-digit number on his leg I jump on his 2-man train.

He is smoking it like he is doing the 6hr, and I decide not to let him go. I go into the top of my endurance zone, and I'm flirting with the red zone, but I hold it. After about 10 minutes, the guy sitting on his wheel pulls over for me. Kent keeps the pace going and I'm not in the red. He is really a fast rider, or he is trying to drop me. I decided that I will stay on this wheel.

I finish out that lap with a 44min lap, and I get 2 more sweet ass water bottles, and I'm off. I get into the trail and I can't find Kent. Damn, he is gone. He must have turned up the gas, so I just settled into a nice pace. About 10 minutes in Kent comes by riding through, and I jump on. About 20 mins in he downshifts and the pace is easier to manage. There are sections that he turns it up and I'm in the red, and other sections that I'm about to run him over.

I finished out the lap, and I ask for 2 gels, and I'm reluctant to ask for water bottle as I can't take the sweetness. Bob Mc starts to jog and he hands me my water bottle and puts the other one in the back of my jersey. Even though it was really sweet, I needed them. I got back in and I'm by myself for about 6 minutes until Kent rolls up on me. He actually pits a lot longer than me, and that is why I'm in front of him at the beginning of each lap. He is actually quite cordial and he offers me a water bottle and gel each time he passes me. As soon as we finish the red section, I don't feel so good. It's not my legs or the tale-tell signs of cramping coming on. It's not the burning in my legs that normally forces me to slow down. It's my STOMACH. It's starting to bubble like a volcano.

We passed Anthony Hutton the lap before, and bridged back up to us, so we had a 3 man train going before 2 other riders bridge up to us. I pull out of the way to let the riders by, and when I do Anthony had been gapped a bit. My stomach is feeling so bad that I just shut it down and go a much slower speed. I have cracked a bit due to a weird acting stomach, but I can see Kent about 10 seconds up the trail. He must have something going on because he should be gone with the wind. I'm surprise that he is not gone because I have backed it off to a crawl. When I finish the lap I'm about 5 minutes behind the time from the lap before. I tell Mrs. P that I'm going to make a pit stop.

I come in and explain to her that the mix is too sweet and to just give me water until I ask for anything else. I actully sit on my bike and try to gather myself as I still have a long day ahead of me. My stomach aching, "I gots ta Boo Boo", and Mrs. P blurts out into laughter. She said, I wish I had the camera on, that was priceless". I hit the Little John and I know I'm in trouble as it was just water. OK, my stomach is not working, it's just flushing.

I get back out on the course and I feel like I have a parachute behind me. I'm trying to push the pedals to get my HR in the 140-150's, but I can't. I'm actually in the 130's, but it's burning like I'm in the 150's. I then decided to ride in that zone which is my fat-burning zone until things turn around. But I feel like crap. I get passed by a former teammate, Larry Beute, as he his riding for a team out of St. Augustine/Jacksonville. He says, "I'm drinking Fuji Water", and I just laugh. That is a kick in the ass to me drinking the 9.5 Ionizer Water. How I"m riding right now, I honestly say, "Don't do SHIT that Pacer is doing". I finish that lap out 8 minutes slower than last, and I make another pit stop. This time I pit for 12 minutes trying to get fluids back into my body that will jumpstart me back into race zone.

I pass Kent and Anthony, and they must be having some type of melt down too, becuase we are all about 20 minutes behind the pace we were doing earlier. I go into the course and my HR has dropped another 10 beats, and I'm now riding in the 120's. Shit! This is just funny now. I feel like I"m riding ok, but I'm reminded that I riding really slow when I rider blows pass me, and what was even worst was I just could not get on anyonne's wheel for 10 seconds.

When I get to my normal time check at 20 minutes I'm actually at 27 minutes, and I know I'm just stinking up the trail with my pace. I look down and my HR is 116bpm. I'm not speed pacing, I'm freaking "Speed Walking". I'm sure my wife can run faster than this, I am able to hit all the climbs in the red section before the end of the lap, but I'm just creeping over them and don't have much power to keep the pace after. I know that I'm in trouble if this is the pace that I'm going to be riding at night. I envisioned myself riding at night, and because I'm riding so weak I would lose control over the bike and ride off one of those cliffs and fall 40ft right in front of my tent to a laughing Mrs. P and barking Lance.

I get through the red section, go through the start/finish, and I know I have to pull the plug. I get to the tent and Bob is there to do a check on the bike. I let them both know that I'm not even riding at all now, and I'm nervous about the prospect of slow pace riding at night. They both suggested I shut it down. I take a seat and I recount with Mrs. P how the laps went bad all of a sudden.

I started brainstorming what had transpired. I wasn't riding fast enough to hurt myself so soon. I then tell her that the mix was way too sweet that I prepared. "Which bottle did you prepare?", she asked. "I prepared the first 7 bottles", as she had a confused look on her face. She then said, I put powder and salt solution in all those bottles you had on the table. What?! I had put powder and salt solution in those bottles the night before. We both just took about 10 seconds to let it soak in. I had a double dose of my blend, and salt solution. She looked over at me and said, "My bad". I then said, "I want a DIVORCE, I'll see you at the courthouse", and we both laugh.

Is the overdose in the water bottles the real reason why my race when sour? Or did I push too hard? Those questions will be answered in 2 weeks when I do the Hospice 100. Nah Riders! This bad performance ain't gonna break my spirit. This training program includes the Hospice 100, so I am going to finish it. I can say sitting their at the tent with weak bowels and a race that had fallen apart had me rethinking if I can actual pull this off. By the time I got to Olive Garden with Mrs. P, I was in good spirits as I knew I could revamp the protocol.

What's new with the protocol. What food I eat at the Hospice 100 will be taken out of my hands, and placed into the attractive hands of this young lady on the right.

That is Eddie and Namrita Odea, if you have been living under the singletrack. Eddie shot me a email yesterday and wanted to offer some advice on what to eat on the bike from his wife, Namrita Odea. She is one of the queens of 12hr, 24hr racing, and she does it on a dang singlespeed, that's gangsta. She is completing her MS in Nutrition, so what a perfect person to give me the REAL. I've proven that I'm incapable of running the JOINT with regards to food, so I'm going to hand it over to Nam.

I still have some problems holding down food, even after 4 days, so whatever happened really has set the stomach back. Yesterday I went out and did my normal 2 hour workout and I was riding just faster than my best time for the 1st hour, the second hour the rain came and I had to cut it short. So my legs are recovered, but I do have just a bit of soreness in the knees.

I'm going to go out today and see if can do 6 Hospice style laps at Markham and ride a nice pace. Mrs. P did some video from the race, and as soon as I get the cord to download it to my computer, I'll upload it.

I'll keep you posted.

Pacer Out!

Clip of the Week - Off to Battle

I have been anticipating this event. The start of it, the lining up, the anxiety, the run, the mounting of the bike, the heavy breathing, the finding of my flow. And most of all the 12 Hours of racing on the bike Solo. When I'm out there I won't adapt to the single-track. "I will be the single-track".

I do want to thank my TEAM. Without you, I would not be able to do this. You know who you are.

This clip pretty much sums up how I feel about it.


Pacer Out!

Food Plan for Santos

Food Plan for Santos.

When I decided that I was going to do Santos, the first thing that I figured out was what I was going to eat & drink.

If you don't already know, 9.5 water is the bomb. All my table tennis buddies are coming over weekly to take home a couple of gallons for their families. I got T-Wiz (Tim Wisner) on tap for some water and I'm sure others will follow. It only takes one person to co-sign it, then it's on. I say if you are sitting there with yourself in neutral, and waiting for me to do this race to judge the outcome. Then, I say you are sitting in. Come on rider, don't follow my wheel. Pick your own line. I say you are waiting for someone to tell you it's ok. This is not the stone age. You don't have to go to the inside of a cave to try to read the marking that were left behind. You can do you own research.

I got my video camera fixed, and I'm going to do my own test with other water companies. I have about 5 different water bottle companies. After Santos I'll do the test, and you will be surprised for sure. Drinking this water when I workout has not made me faster, it has allowed me to maintain a higher speed for a longer period of time. That is exactly what I need for Santos.

The next thing I figured out was what kind of food I was going to eat. Yeap! You guessed, ALKALIZING FOODS.

I'm staying with the theme of alkalizing, and now that I understand the alkaline/acidic food chart a lot better, I can't bring myself to eat incorrectly. The best aspect that I have learned from this experience is food-combining. I normally always eat rice and chicken when I eat broccoli, but since rice and chicken are both acid forming I'm getting no benefit out of the broccoli. So I have to end of eating it solo. Salads that are rich with green leafy vegetable has been what I normally do for lunch. Sometimes I even have it in the morning.

With regards to nutrient uptake, I have broken my race into 3 sections. It is carbs, fats, and drink. There are subdivisions of food intake, but these are the main 3.

My source of carbs. In previous races like this I have seen everything from honey buns, peanut butter and jelly, and all kinds of sandwiches, to just power bars, gels and bananas. I'm going to make a decision to put 80% alkalizing/20% acid food in my body during this race. My plan is to chose food that is easily digested, and will have nothing but a energizing affect on the body. I'm going with broccoli, red, green & orange pepper for my alkalizing carbs. I plan to cook them down at just under 160 degrees, which does not destroy the nutrients but does kill any bacteria that my be present. They will go in a 8 oz cup and put them in the back of my jersey, and it will look like this.

So when I need to eat, I can just dump it down, no wrapping, no having to opening anything. That way eating on the bike will be easy and efficient. These foods are alkalizing, full of nutrients and have a tremendous amount of fiber. I think that that eating simple carbs is just not ideal for this type of event. Eating a power gel, or taking in a red bull is like throwing gasoline on the fire. The type of food that I'm going to eat is like throwing a huge log on the fire that the body gets more uses out of during the event.

For my 20% acidic foods (cheating food, basically) I plan to make a ham & cheese crossaint with parano cheese. I also plan to do vanilla power gels, and maybe some shot blocks.

My source of fat. Now this one is really not radical once you read the research, and I know it's going be a huge factor. My primary source of fat will be coconut oil in all my water bottles.

Let me explain what coconut oil is, and what it does. Coconut Oil is called a "low fat" fat, and it is one of the most stable "Fats" you can eat. It actually acts like a carbohydrate in that it just passes right through the liver and is used as quick energy. Because the liver does not have to break it down, it won't affect me while I'm riding on the bike.

The body does not store it like other fats. It supports thyroid function and increases your metabolism, and that is perfect for something like a long distance Endurance Race. Here are the supplemental facts.


The plan is to put 1 tablespoon (125 calories of fat) in each of my water bottles. I plan to drink 2 water bottles per lap, so 250 calories of good fat per laps that turns into instant energy is as good as as I can get. Wait, I have more info on this oil.

Coconut Oil also improves digestion and absorption of fat soluble vitamins, minerals (especially calcium and magnesium) and amino acids which are needed when racing. It is a natural antioxidant, and it protects the body from free radicals damage, which means it's neutralizing free radicals that are forming during the race. And because it's a "Medium chain fatty acid", it has very unique qualities. It does not required your body to shut down to send blood to your liver to break it down. It passes right through and is quickly used. Taking in most fats usually has a person feeling out of sync while digestion is taking place. Well, not with coconut oil.

My source of fat. That would be the avocado.

Now, this is just outright radical in every since of the word, but read a fella out before you think I have gone off the deep end. I'm simply looking at what is the best food based on digestion, not what is IDEAL from an historical standpoint. They are rich in vitamin A, B-complex, C, E, H, K and folic acid. They also contain the buffering minerals to get lactic acid out of the blood and muscles, which I'll need while I'm in the race. They also provide all the essential amino acids which is 18 in all. Plus they have 7 fatty acids, including omega 3 and 6. They also contain more protein than cow's milk. The water content of avocados range from 70-80%, and that makes them a hydrating and energizing fuel and leaves no metabolic waste behind.

What is also great is it is one of the most easily digested sources of fat and protein in a whole food. Approximately 63% of the fat contained in the avocado is monosaturated and only 17% is saturated. Both serve as good sources of fuel rather than glucose or protein. I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.

My source of liquids. Of course every water bottle will be full of 9.5 water.

I can't say enough about how drinking structured ionized water has improved my performance on the bike with regards to hydration. I'm actually looking for hours 6-12, because that is when you find out what you are made of, and it the time I hope I get a return on this investment.

For my Endurance drink I have decided to go with a company, but I can't make it public. So to see what I'm putting in my water, you'll have to find my tent. But I'm covered for 12 hrs.

My main electrolyte source will come from this.

This is a product called phlavor. It is Liquid Salt. Most people don't know the pathway to using magnesium, potassium and calcium begins with salt. So you can eat all the foods that are rich in those minerals and without salt the body can't use them to help the muscles contract while on the bike. If you don't have salt, those minerals are stuck in a holding pattern and can't be used. And this isn't the salt that you buy at your local store. It is unprocessed and whole. The salt is harvested and blended with water of a ph of 9.5, and you have something called Sole. I know riders that take electrolyte pills, or the electrolyte tablets that have powder in them. Your body does have to break it down, and who knows how long that will take. Well, my mixture will go into all my water bottles along with the Endurance Mix and coconut oil. Since they all are easily digested I don't forsee them getting in each other's way in the form of giving me an upset stomach. Plus, they all have different functions.

Last year when I did the 6-hrs of Santos, and I had an upset stomach after about 4hrs. It's because I was putting all this acidic food in my stomach and it was not able to digest due to the high intensity effort I had on the bike. The body has a decision to use the blood to carry oxygen to the working muscles, or to use it to digest food. So if I'm putting everything in my body that requires little to no digestion, I can keep my speed up on the bike and that is going to factor in for me later in the race.

With all the people reading, I know there are doubters. Please try to prove me wrong. I hope that you are a skeptic, because then you'll do your research and see that Pacer is sitting in the Penthouse, and the doubters are in the lobby with regards to details to nutrition.

The only thing I can't control is the outcome of the race. But what I have done is taken all the steps to prepare. I have lined up all my ducks, and I have one bullet. When I played table tennis I just simply took myself through the steps to prepare, and all the energy went into the details. To make sure the nothing was over-looked once the big event came. All activities had to be closed, all anxieties had to be put to rest and that was done with preparation. Imagine going to hit a heavy bag with one of your fingers out. You are bound to dislocate that finger. I have all my fingers closed and I'm ready to kick Santos in the ass. No offense to any of my competitors, I'm honestly not interested in kicking any of your asses at all. If they get in the way, well, I'm sorry.

I'm just simply applying that same program to another sport. I have successful created a protocol that I believed in based on the knowledge and experience I have. I followed that protocol without having to modify it. Now, it's time to see exactly what kind of return I will get in this investment in effort.

I know you have hear the phrase, "The devil is in the details". Not me. The devil to me is the actual race. The putting together the program and following it has been the most rewarding experience. I do understand what kind of feat I'm attempting in just doing this race. Don't think I haven't thought about how many people actually finish this race, or don't have the performance that they have trained really hard for. That is why the details were so planned out, and executed to perfection.

But, I will be honest in saying whether or not I do well, the race will honestly be anticlimatic for me. I think I have just enjoyed the "Process" of being 100% committed to the program, and that out-trumps the event. I'm not actually sure exactly what I will do after this.

Either way, you'll get a blow by blow of the event from the moment I hit the road, to the moment I get back in the house. I plan to have some video shot also, and I'll put together something for you also.

Pacer Out!

Anecdote of the Week - Peer Pressure

With rain in the forecast today made it pretty easy for me to reflect since I will not be riding the trails today.

My Anecdote of the week goes back to 1986. Peer Pressure.

That is what got me into trouble. It was the first time that I can say that I gave into peer pressure. In the mid 80’s all I heard from the Nancy Regan was “Just say No”. For me it wasn’t drugs, they got me to steal.

My mom had caught me stealing about 3 years before and I caught the beat down of a lifetime as a result. I remember having no interest in getting held down by my older brother and whip with a belt. That is a dirty south style of whoopings. And if the crime was really bad, then you would get the most feared weapon for a offender, “Da Switch”. And what’s worst is you would have to go and get your own from the backyard. Now, I had gotten the belt enough to have a routine. Just put the arm out and the belt will wrap around it, and then you can just ride it out. But a switch was a totally different monster. It was small, thin, and agile. It is a small tree branch with the leaves taken off. Oh! You better not go get one too small, because if your mom has to get one, she’s gonna whip you up the wall. I see the switch and I'm not nervous at all. I do my normal routine in putting my arm out to do the “Wrap around”

That didn't go the way I wanted it to go.

First let me say, that I was not one of those kids that was abused, I deserved every one of my whoopings. The stronger and bigger I got, the whoopings became less, so she looked for other ways to punish me. But that whooping was the mother of all whooping and it left an impression on me.

Ever since the major beatdown I had sworn off stealing and just opted to ask my mother for money instead. We weren’t doing bad on money, I think I stole for the thrill of bragging who had the most goodies once you get down the street. I had started playing table tennis the second semester of 7th grade, so this would be the first summer that I would have primarily one activity every day. In fact, some of the guys I used to get in trouble with were involved in table tennis, and whenever they went out to do dirt, I made myself disappear.

We played table tennis in the back warehouse of the actual company that the table tennis business was in. So once the summer came I was free to go across town and play table tennis during business hours, then once the business closed my coach would play with us, then take us home. This happened pretty much every day. We were not that sure how it happened, but the table tennis association gave a grant to our coach to pay himself to coach us. He turned around and offered that money to us to earn our own money to go to tournaments.

We would look at the directions in Japanese and somehow figure out how to put together table tennis tables, barriers, etc. We also filled orders, put labels on mailouts, and cleaned up the building. So we were earning our own money to play tournament with the help of my coach and his family I later found out. We would play the morning session, then during the 2 hour lunch break we would go to White Rec Swimming Pool, then they would hit up the grocery store.

If you speak or understand slang, Hit up the Grocery Store means you would bum rush the store with 10 kids, and 6 of them would steal. 4 of them would act suspicious to draw out the po po’s, and the others would get snacks. Little Debbie’s snacks, crackers, cheese, peanut butter, cool-aid, and sugar would be the normal list they would get. For the entire summer I just sat out the local Big Star, while the crew would rob them for about $8.00 worth of snacks. The thought of stealing had me having flashbacks.




So I would tell them I’m on the bench. I wouldn’t steal, but I would indulge in the spoils. I would always be given a hard time for not stealing, but the guys loved how I mixed the peanut butter and jelly and made cracker sandwiches. As the summer came to a close we all pretty much had the money for the trip from working at the table tennis club/business. We also had to complete our training, and physical training before you could qualify to even go to the famous Regency Mall Tournament in Augusta. No one wanted to spend any of their money they had earned, so they kept stealing and I kept watching.


At the end of the summer I pretty much got an ultimatum from the entire group. I needed to steal something, or I was not going to get any of the spoils. What was worst was I could have simply took $2.00 out of my account, had a happy meal and the situation would have been closed. But that peer pressure was a blimp, and I didn’t want to lose this core group of friends.

I had on a big shirt, so they told me to steal the crackers. I had not been in this Big Star, so I had no idea where the crackers were. So I walked around looking all lost, drawing attention to myself. I saw the crackers, then I made a pass to see if anyone was watching. I walked down the next isle, then when I came back, I grabbed them, walked to end of the isle and put them in the front of my shorts. Now, I’m walking around looking like a pregnant 14yr old kid.

The next thing I know I’m being grabbed by this “Mens In Black “ type guy in a black suit. I get taken to the security room where they show the camera on me. It shows me looking all around like a rookie, and I see that I’m being stalked by the special agent Men In Black dude. They call my mom at work, and she has to pick me up. They explain to her that I had been caught stealing, and I had another flashback to that beatdown from 3 years before, and I was getting ready to take my licks right there in the security room. But my mom found it comical as they showed her the video tape because it was no way that I was getting out of there as I just looked like I was going to steal.

They tell her that it is a good chance the Big Star is going to press charges, and I will most likely have to appear in court to do some community service. I walk out of the store and all my boys are out there, and one of them say, “Where’s the crackers, Ni%&A? I look at him and give him the gester that I was going to get my head cut off.

Reggie can’t hold me down to catch a beatdown because he just went into the Marines. Phillip is older than me, but I’m stronger than him. I know my mom wasn’t going to get her boyfriend to hold me down, as he wasn’t that close to me to do that. I got home and she just prepared dinner, and all the time I was waiting to be told to get my switch so she could get to whooping. But she said nothing, nothing at all. As a matter of fact, she was nicer than normal. That was a Saturday, and on Sunday I didn’t play table tennis as I went to church. I had actually prayed that I would not get a whooping, and I didn’t get one. “COOL”, I thought, I need to holla at the big man more often.

The realization came to me the next day that I was not going to get off scott free. When my mom was getting ready to go to work, I said goodbye and that I was going to the club to play. She said, “You are going to sit in this house and tape the soap operas for me. No table tennis for you, as that is the wrong group”.

Damn, she cut a brother off at the freaking knees. I had to video-tape Young and the Restless, Body and the Beautiful, As the World Turns, and Guilding Light for the rest of the summer. I couldn’t tape it and leave. I mean I was told to stop the tape during the commercials, so I couldn’t fudge it.

For 3 weeks, I went through the most torment that I think I had ever experienced. She got me! She knew I had discovered a love affair with table tennis. I actually got into the soap operas because I had no choice. I missed the mall tournament in Augusta, but I got a play by play when they got back.

I was missing out, and I needed to do something to get back in. So I started cleaning up, acting nice, and being very cordial. Ever couple of days I would ask my mother if I could go and play, and she would just say “NO”, and it was end of discussion. I decided that I need to show her how far I was willing to go to get out of Prison of taping and watching the damn soap operas.

The revolution first started with me taking naps, or going to bed with my racket on my chest. She found it funny, so I had to take it up a notch. Next, I would come to the dinner table and lay my racket beside my plate only for my mother to slap it off the table. Great! I’m testing her spirit, but I was not breaking it. I then started playing table tennis videos on the TV and I would practice my strokes in the living room trying my best to make as much noise as possible. I was trying to burn a hole in the carpet with my movements.

That got under her skin, but no keys to freedom yet. I needed some help for this next one, so I called up my best friend Greg D that was playing at the time. We lined up my mother cookbooks across the kitchen table and Greg and I would go at it right there. It was nothing worst than the ball bouncing behind the washing machine or into the spaghetti my mother was cooking. The last thing I would do was I would say the name of my racket and rubber over and over. It didn’t have a name yet as it was just a code. I would say EE5, on Sriver and Sriver. That drove her up the wall, but she stoodfast in her punishment.

I broke down when Greg told me they were having a Car Wash and then were going to take the proceeds and go to the buffet at Pizza Inn. I got off the phone with Greg, and I had to think of a plan as it was Friday night and the car wash and pizza buffet was Saturday morning. I couldn’t think of anything, so I decided to just do a “Prison Break” and pay for it later.

On Saturday mornings my mother picks my grandmother up from the dentist office where she works and takes her home. That means I can leave right after her because my mother won’t be coming back in same direction. So as soon as she left I put on my socks, grabbed my racket and left. I knew I would get in trouble, but I would get to enjoy the car wash and pizza before. I was running like I had stole something, again. I was out on the main streets and I needed to get to some back streets so I could hide on my way across town.

I just need to get pass the train tracks, then I can start cutting through neighborhoods. I’m a block away and I can see freedom right in front of me. If I’m going to get caught, this would be the place because I can't jump the ditch on each side of the tracks. I get to the track, and I cross them, and I speed up my run. I hear a horn beep.

I look up and it’s my mother beeping the horn, and waving her hands out the window. I stop running as my mother practically pulls into oncoming traffic for me. “Get you black ass in the car right now”. I was so stunned that I just got in the car with a shocked look on my face. How did I get caught, she never comes back this way. She actually was taking my grandmother back to our house, and she was going to let me off punishment since it was 3 weeks to the day that I got caught.

So my mother just simple said, “You just added 21 days more”. Every time you mess up, you are going to add another 21 days to it. So get some “Act Right” in you, and you can go back and play. Remember, you mess up, you stay in the house.

The other bad news, was my name was in the paper along with my cousin for getting caught stealing at Big Star. The good news is Big Star went out of business, so there were never any charges brought up on me. Now she had me by the ping pong balls with regards to my behavior. She did abuse it a couple of times. Like having my coach come in the house and wash the dishes with me before I could leave and go to practice.

The lesson was not to give into to peer pressure, Ever. That is why I do most of my training by myself, and it is very seldom that I will call someone. I normally jump in and sit in the back if there is a big group anyway. When fools start acting up and smashing the pace, I let them go 95% of the time. I think trying to keep up when things get provoked is a form of peer pressure. How many times have you let someone sucker you into going all out, especially when you did not want to do it.

With regards to table tennis I have essentially spent my adult career training in remote 3rd world countries by myself. I like the environment like how Rocky did it in Rocky IV when he went to Russia. I love the solitude. Most of my peers keep up with me now by reading my blog, as I have pretty much took myself out of the XC group for the time being. I’m not naturally this way, but I have disciplined myself to train in solitude. I think I'm going to need it when I'm at Santos though. I think that doing the opposite in a lot of cases makes you a more well-rounded person.

So that is my lesson on staying focused and determined to not let anyone or any group twist you into a posture that you know does not work for you, EVER.

Pacer Out!

Fine-tuning the Engine!

What's up with you Planet Earth, this is your boy Speed Pacer checking in with you after another fantastic week of training.

This past week I really wanted to see if I can still continue to improve my performance, and my body did not disappoint. After a great ride Sunday I decided to give myself much needed day off the bike, so I decided to run with Mrs. P. I woke up the next day, and hit the sidewalk with Mrs. P, and the Water Ionizer had improved her performance, and after about 17 minutes she just kept turning the screws and I couldn't keep the pace. She was even taunting me saying " Keep the pace Mr. Pace". After she dropped me like a husband at the alter, I took it back to the house and she continued for her 1 hr run. I'm holding her back, so no more running with her.

I enjoyed the rest of day off from an aerobic standpoint, but the screws were still turning mentally and emotionally. I decided I would do only 2 high intensity workouts this week. That would be a strong effort at Markham, and my first "Hundy" of the 2008 for me. In between I would but in some nice low HR recovery rides, with some hypoxia workouts on the CAT Altitude Unit using the mask.

On Tuesday I did my first recovery ride, and decided it would be based on Speed, and not HR. So I kept the speed between 19-20mph. One thing I noticed about these types of workouts is my body goes through periods when I feel good, and other moments when I'm out of sync. When your racing XC you are hurting the entire time, and don't have time to really monitor if you are up or down when you are in the pain locker.

After the 90 minutes, I jumped on the patio, got myself up to 9000ft on the hypoxia unit, and did the OLD (One Legged Drills) on my ipod. After 30 minutes of that I was good to go. I'm trying to accomplish a variety of things with this kind of workout. I want to put in the 90 minutes of steady riding, then I want to ride at 9000ft for 30 minutes as it adds another extra 30 based on the altitude training. Then I want to work on my improving my cadense, which was 88rpm for min. for 90 minute workout. This is the kinda day that you can work on the small things. Here is the chart.

Since the next day was Wed, and I get off at 2 I decided I would go to Markham and the plan was to do 6 laps. I want to compare it to my MLK Day ride when I did 6 laps at markham. In the middle of the second lap I got a flat tire. Yuck! That ruined my workout as I was feeling great and was ahead of my first lap time with a much lower HR. I wanted to to do at least 2 more laps, so I went to the 2 nearest bike shops, but they didn't have tubeless tires. Ok, the ride is a BUST for Wednesday.

I got off Thursday in the early afternoon, took my rear wheel to Active Cycles and got a new tire on it. When I got it home and put the rear wheel on, somehow the rotor knocked out one of the brake pads out, and I wasted 30 minutes trying to get them back in. One of my goals this year is to become a much better wrench, so this was one of the moments for me to get some practice in. But it did prevent me from being able to do 6 laps, so I committed to 4 laps. I left the house so quick that I forgot my ipod, and that is a serious offense. I'm in my 4th year racing Expert and I can count how many time I have rode without music. But since I had limited daylight, and I had lost time putting the pads back in, I decided not to turn around. I would have to feel and hear the entire course today.

After I rode around the park to warm up I went back to the car to get an extra water bottle. I knew that some of my peers told me that my bike was squeaking due to needing new bushing, but that was just outrageous. I put some WD-40 on the bushings, and that quieted it for the moment. Note to self: Get bushing before Santos. As soon as I got into the course I was feeling really good, and I knew I would be faster on all check points. I was not doing a full laps, I was actually doing the "Hospice Lap". I get to the halfway point in the lap, and I'm about 30 seconds faster. By the time I'm finish that lap I'm about 48 seconds faster than the MLK(Martin Luther King)Day workout. On the second lap, I feel just as good and at the halfway point I'm on the same time as the first lap. I actually decided to hold back, and I bring it in about 12 seconds lower.

I get back to the car, and I quickly get 2 more bottles and try to make the pit stop less than 1 minute. I get back in the course and I'm still feeling good and I just keep it breezy and at the halfway point I'm back to the same time I was on the first lap. This year I have really learned how to not be a slave to the HR monitor, and I spend my time finding a nice endurance flow. I don't even look at my HR anymore, I only look at my time, and I bring in the lap 5 seconds slower than my first lap.

As soon as I go in for lap 4 I have no intention of riding that fast, I decided to back it off and at the halfway point I'm about 15 seconds out of my first laptime. I'm in Bermuda and I slide out on some soft sand as I'm about to go over a log and I actually knock out some air. It was the first time I have ever burped out some air out of my tire, and I actually thought it was flat. As soon as I saw it was not flat I quickly jumped back on the bike and decided to finish out the lap. The front tire was really unstable on shart turns due to the burp so I take it in about 50 seconds slower than the first lap, but it was a really successful workout.

Honestly, I think this is closer to XC racing , but I did what I could do based on time, course, and the protocol I have created.

Here is the total chart from MLK

Here is the total Chart from this past Thursday.

As you can see I spent very little time in the red racing zone, and you will see that I'm just faster. I'm not sure if those chart really do justice, so I decided to see if I can break it down a little better for you. I'm going to compare 4 laps of the Markham workout on MLK, and this past Thursday by showing the stats from each lap.

Here is the 1st lap of MLK Workout. Actually look at the second line which tells you what lap I did, not time as that tells you the total time for the entire workout.

Here is the 1st lap of this past week

My HR was down 7bpm, and I was over 45 seconds faster

Here is the 2nd lap of MLK Day

Here is the 2nd lap of this past week.

I was hurting on this lap on MLK, but this past week I was able to knock off over 2 minutes and 10 seconds.

Here is the 3rd lap of MLK Day

Here is the 3rd lap of this past week.

I was in a flow on MLK Day on this lap, but this past week I had that same flow, but I was just faster. Actually, I was actually exactly 90 seconds faster

Here is the 4th lap of MLK Day.

Here is the 4th lap from this past week.

Even after losing time because of a small crash, and having only about 20lbs of pressure I was still 40 seconds faster on this day compared to MLK Day. After that I rode around the park to make my total for the day just over 30 miles. I know that this not enough singletrack, that is why I'm doing my first "Hundy" mile ride for 2008 on "Sheridian Ride" Saturday.

After giving myself an emotional pat on the back for being stronger all the way across the board on this Markham workout, I went back to my low HR recovery workout. There is a really nice loop right outside of my complex, and I never have to worry about traffic and I really get a chance to keep my HR in the ideal zone.

This workout I decided to up the ante just a bit compared to Tuesday by decided to keep my speed between 20-21mph. I started to zone out as soon as I got into the workout, and that makes the workout go by quicker. I was able to keep my speed and HR where I wanted it and I got through the 90 minutes feeling quite good. My Avg Cadense was 94rpm, which was up 6rpms up from Tuesday. I still jumped on the trainer, turned up the unit to 9000ft, and did the same One Legged Drill. I skipped the warm up and cool down, which made it 30 minutes. Here is that chart.

I was really excited about the 100 mile day and since I was fully recovered it would be easy for me to get through it. I got up at 6am, eat some granola cereal with bananas, and as soon as I got to my bike the front tire was flat. Damn! I fixed it but I lost time as I was trying to analyze the problem so it would happen again. I left the house at 6:45, so I wouldn't be able to put in more than 20 miles before I get to the Sheridian ride.

I get out on the road, and my legs feel heavy and I know the problem. I need to drop some more riders out of the peloton. I thought I had my morning bathroom excursion, but more riders need to go backwards. I changed my route to find a gas station, and I instantly feel better once I get back on the bike. I keep it steady and get to the ride with Garrett of Bike America.

I pull into the ride, and I hear psssssssssssss! I took off my headphones, and it was me with the front tire going flat again. I ride up to Joe D, and he holds my bike as he hears the flat. At the same time they are whistling for the ride to take off. I go and get a tube from Tony, and he grabs a pump for me as I go back out. Joe is pulling off the tire, and put sweat all over him giving him assistance. The whistling is still going as we are putting the tube back in. The riders are going out to Sheridian and go says, "I gotta go before I get dropped". I get the tube back in, and Tony starts pumping, but the pump won't go over 60psi. We both rush into the shop and I find another pump, and this one does not work at all. I go over to a new pump, tear the plastic off the adapter and I put it in and as soon as Tony gets it to 120lbs I yank it out, and run back out to my bike in front of the shop.

I know I'm not going to make it to group, but I have to at least try. If the stars are aligned then I can get back with them. I had my 100 mile route together and I needed this ride to be a part of it. I needed the high end, as I have not done much this week. I get out to Sheridian Rd. and I hit the laptime marker on my HR monitor and before I know it I'm going 28mph, and I can't even see them. I put my head down and the next time I look up I'm going 29.5mph. I can see the group, and they are really, really, far away. I don't have any burn in my legs, so I put my head down again. The next time I look up the group is closer and I'm going 30.7mph. I know I have to catch the group before they get over I-75 because once they come back down the westside of I-75, they are going to take off.

I start getting excited because I know I will catch them, and I can't even remember if there is burn in my legs. I bridge up to the group just over I-75 and I blend into the group quite nicely. Joe D looked over to me a couple of minutes later and said, "Boy, you had to put in an effort to get back to us". I just looked at him and said, "Yeah". I didn't feel turned inside out at all. Especially, not compared to 4 weeks before. When I looked at my chart the HR monitor was acting up and didn't show my actually HR. That was probably a good thing, so I wouldn't have been defeated by that number.

The group gets going and once we turn on Hwy 27, things starts shaking up at the front. I slowly move my way to the front, and there is a group that is putting the smash down. We are going over 33.8mph for over 1 minute, and as soon as they back off, I pulled out and keep going. No one goes with me, and for about 2 minutes I was out on my own just pushing the pedals. When the group catches me, I'm offered a push by a couple of riders and I decline. I want to back into the group and recover.

I move back up to the front just before we turn East on 84, and the group breaks up and everyone's just riding for themselves. Soon after order is restored and the group that is off the front are slowly brought back in.

I sit in the group all the way over I-75, and I move up to the group and it is practically dissected into 2 big groups. The lead group has about 15 seconds, and I have no idea how it happened, but it did happen quickly. Normally, I would be one of the guys that would make up the front group that is making the charge to bridge, but with so many riders I stay right where I'm at. In less than 2 minutes we are all back together and I haven't burnt a matches.

I sit in to wait for the sprint, and it just does not look good. About 40 riders are staying in position and normally it's about 20. As it gets going I can't find a way in as way too many riders are being dropped out of the back as the group is stretched out really long. I make a surge up to 36mph, and I instantly pull the plug. I didn't want to waste an effort if I wanted to get to 100 miles for the day.

I get to the gas station, eat a bananas and gel. I decided to ride back home and get my own 9.5 water instead of the awful water in these stores. I'm now just under 49 miles and my plan is to do a 51 mile time trial to get me just to the Benajamin Franklin (100 people). I go home, drink 3 water bottle, eat 1 bananas and 2 more bars, and I run Lance downstairs to hit his favorite trees and I'm back off. I'm at 59.2 miles at this point. Great I can do my normal 40 mile time trial route, then ride around to get just to the Century mark.

It takes me a bit to get into the groove as the 10 minute break back home was just enough to start the "Acid Buffering" process over again. I'm very surprised that I feel so good. I mean good like I just started out. In fact, I'm riding a time that will most likely rival my best 2 hr workout with fresh legs.

At the halfway point I'm riding a very good clip, and when I turn around I have a tailwind, and I actually hold back. I know there is a headwind going East on 84, and I'm going to leave some in the account for that. I'm on a high because I'm just riding stronger and stronger. I get to 84, and the normal headwind has me going between 17-19mph. But I'm between 20.5-22.5 and my heartrate is 142bpm, so I have some more to give. I stay patience and as the wind get stronger I slowly bring up my effort, but I manage to keep it under 150bpm all the way home. I ride for another .8 of a mile to make it a cool "HUNDY". This has been the best 100 mile workout that your boy Pacer has ever done.
Here is the info from the HR monitor. 100 miles right on the dot.

Here is the Avg Speed. That's gangsta.

And the time.

That time, I had to do a double take on the time of 4hrs, 37mins. 3 weeks ago I did the same workout and got 96.1 miles out of 4hrs, 37mins. I was able to squeeze out 4.6 miles in the same time. Plus, I went from 91rpms, to 93rpms. OK, I have to break this one down for you since my HR monitor was acting haywire during a section of the ride.

I'll start out by showing you the entire charts for both workouts.

3 weeks ago

This past Saturday

Then I'll break it all the way down "Stat style".

Here is the ride to the Sheridian ride 3 weeks ago

Here is the ride to Sheridian Sat.

Here is the Sheridian ride 3 weeks ago

Here is the Sheridian ride Saturday

Here is the ride home to get more water 3 week ago

Here is the ride home Sat.

Here is the ride back out to Orange and Flamingo 3 weeks ago

Here is the ride back out to Orange Flamingo Sat.

Here is the ride back home 3 weeks ago

Here is the ride back home Sat.

I took a nap, and was awaken by Mrs. that forgot to tell me that we had to go to a Birthday party for her Boss. She woke me up out of my "100 Mile" nap for a birthday party. Man, I should just lay here and act like a stupid husband. But she is Haitian and will probably sprinkle some of that powder on me and my head will shrink like Beattlejuice. So I dragged myself out of bed to hang out with a bunch of boring ass therapists. Word to the wise, when you are around a bunch of people that Psychoanalyze the way you breathe, just shut up and watch.

We were able to take some picture, and Mrs. P kept saying you actually look nice when you shave back the "Big Foot", and put on the nice clothes you have. Look


After all the prayers, the speeches, the songs, and the slides on powerpoint I was burnt out. When I tasted the vegetables I look over at Mrs. P and had enough. I said, "I'm going to act like I'm going to the bathroom", you understand what I'm saying. She said, "I'll be right behind you". In less than a minute we were out of the hotel, in the car, and high fiving each other for getting out of there before it really got started. I got home in time to watch HBO boxing. I watch the 5'9 Carlos Quintana upset the 6'2Paul Williams for the 147lbs title. It was almost comical watching the short guy throw punches at that very tall target. Carlos, Floyd Mayweather is coming for that ass.

Sunday morning, I decided it would be great idea to just not ride the bike on Sunday, so I decided to get the racket out to get me some new headphones. Every 2 weeks there is money pot competition in table tennis in Davie. I've only played it once in my life, as I never play in bad conditions. The Boy & Girls club has some type of legos in the gym and they move which is just bad for someone like me that is all over the court. I had only had 1 training session this year, which was last Wednesday, so I'm reaching but if there is money I'm the line, I'm there.

I wanted to get win the $100.00 so I could make a drive up to the Apple Store at Boca Mall to get some headphones. The headphones I have now have a shortage in them, and I need to get some before Santos. As soon as I got there, I was playing in less than 5 mins. It was strange being back out there with the other players looking at me like they were going to scalp me. I found my instinct the second match, but I was seriously knocking off dust the footwork, handspeed, reaction time, movement, and timing.

I won my group, and moved into the final group. I lost to a guy that I have never lost to from Trinidad, then I turned around and beat a guy from Cuba. I had actually never beat him as he beat me twice just before retired. I didn't advance because the Cuban buy beat the Trinidadian guy 3-0, The Trinidadian guy beat me 3-0, and I beat the Cuban guy 3-1. See that 1 game the Cuban dude won just cost me money, so I had to go to Boca and spend my money. After the Oleta race I'm coming back to rock that world pong players. Yes, Daddy's coming back to take over the hen house.

I couldn't chose between these 2 at the store, so I bought both of them.

The first headphones are so loud that I just decided I would use those when I'm jamming in the house, or airport, or just traveling. The second one was the normal one that I use. So I have my tunes back.

I take a nap, and make myself a nice alkalizing meal. Just broccoli and onions. Bump what they say about milk for protein. I'm not a baby anymore, so the excessive milk for protein is way over-rated. If you eat enough broccoli, you will get all the protein, iron, minerals, etc that is needed to replenish the body. Take a look. Yummy!

Now, what is on tap for this week. Maybe one strong effort ride, but mostly tempo riding just under race speed. Then, some final upgrades to my steed, the Racer-X. First, I have the new bushing in for the Titus. Then I have the 2008 Juicy 7 Carbon's coming in on Tuesday. Gonna get my boy Ryno to put 2 Fast Trac Pro tires on hold for me so I can put them on fresh before the race.

One thing I haven't mentioned was the food plan I plan to use for Santos, as I'm saving that for last. Man! All I have to say it, RADICAL, RADICAL, RADICAL. Just before I leave I'll reveal my plan, and I know that I have everything covered. Either I'm going to shock everyone with a performance that is better than anyone expect, or I'm just going to go down in flames.

When I'm out training I'm constantly thinking about whether or not I'll have what it takes to even hang with these guys at all and the competitor in me wants to hang in there for a while and even make them think that I may be a player in the Endurance race, and the sane part of me just wants to finish the race to say I had the experience to put the notch on my belt. I really think food plays a big part, so I'm hoping what I have on tap for food will get me through hours 8-12.

Either way, you'll have a "Front Row" ticket to "Pacer Experience".

Pacer Out