Happy New Year (resolutions....eh goals)

Happy New Year to everyone.

I know not everyone believes in making resolutions, but I am making them....under a different name. I am going to call them goals. But first.....I want to revisit last year for a second.

2013~
First off, I didn't have the best year. Lots of blah blah this and blah blah that. It is over and done. What I did actually accomplish....that makes me proud. I did a 5K and I ran the entire distance other than to get a bottle of water. Not bad for a larger guy like myself. It was fun, and this will get touched on in my resolutions goals for 2014. My race season was not as good as I hoped, but with all of the heart attacks and major injuries in the cycling community I will take getting through this last season as a win. Family always keeps us busy but it is always worth it. Meg got invited, and will be going, to tour with Blue Lake Performing Arts in Europe. She is amazing! Izzy did her very first race and did very well. It was a tough course and she did her best...making our team and her parents very proud! Zoe did amazing in her dance too and is learning more and more every day. Zack started driving and we actually did some snow training tonight. Never a dull moment in our house!

But...that is the end of last year. It is a new year and I am setting my resolutions goals right now....right here. It will be the typical goals that I have set before....but this year is different and I will reach the goals I set.

1. Weight: on this day next year I will be under 200 pounds. I have 65 pounds to lose as of today. In 52 weeks that is only 1.25 pounds per week. Not terrible. It is attainable. So...how do I go about reaching this goal? Nutrition. Exercise. Attitude. I will eat better....I have no choice. It is about my health. As my weight has creeped back up I have had more trouble sleeping...with a touch of apnea rearing it's head now and then. Gotta drop the weight...so I can reach goal #2.

2. Ride faster: seems simple enough when #1 is achieved. I did get down to 235 pounds in 2012 and I felt freaking amazing. I was faster and my handling skills were solid. It was so much more fun to ride fast and keep up with the group....well...sorta keep up....but not be so far behind. how is that?

3. Run more: this will be a key difference for me. I actually don't mind running as much as I thought. After the 5k last year I only ran a few more miles for the year. I am going to run more this year. Still thinking about how far....how many miles.....I will get back to this.

4. Ride more: duh. It is more fun to ride more. Just gotta do it. Simple. How many miles? Well....I would like to say 10 miles a day for a total of 3650....but that seems aggressive. 5 miles a day is only 1825 miles per day. I will set this goal at 200 miles per month or 2500 miles for the year. That comes down to just under 7 miles per day. Totally doable.

5. Be happy. This means that I need to focus on the positive and push out the negative. As a realist this will be the most difficult thing on this list.....but.....I can do it.

So to recap:

1. Be sub 200 pounds....down 65 pounds.
2. Ride faster
3. Run more.
4. 2500 miles for the year
5. Be happy.

Here we go.

Holland 100 (2012)

I woke up at 4:30 to take Zack to work. This day was different because I HAD to stay up so I could get ready to head to the Holland 100. I sat down to eat a bowl of cereal and as I finished there was a knock on the door. It was Dan S., Dan T. and Summer. I was not even close to being ready....but I knew where eveything was and just got moving faster. We left the house at 6:02 and we got to the Herman Miller building around 6:30. That gave us plenty of time to get registered and round everyone up by 7 am.

As we left the parking lot we had Dave, Dan S., Dan T., Eric, and then Ted came out of nowhere to join up with us. We started pretty fast to get in front of the people that were just cruising. There were a lot of people and our pace line was zipping past them. Around 12 miles in Ted peeled off to the left side of the road and Eric turned around. Dan S. and I stopped at the next intersection and I called Eric to see what happened. Ted's pedal had come out and twisted, but they got it back together and decided to keep going. We pressed onward and everyone regrouped at the Pancake Breakfast about 30 miles in. Dan S. and I took off fairly quickly and were on our way just cruising.

The weather was perfect. Sun shining and a few clouds. It never really got hot until towards the end. A group passed us and Dan said "wanna" and I nodded so we picked up the pace and dropped into a group so we could ride faster with less effort. We stayed with them for a while but they were flying up the hills...and I as I am getting faster....still not that fast...so we dropped back and settled back into our pace. The next rest area was approaching when we saw the huge group stopped in the road. It had grown to more people than the one that we were riding with...but it was clear there was a crash. We didn't know anybody in the group but there was a guy down and they were asking if he could feel his legs. Bad crash....glad we were not involved....and hopeful that the guy (and anyone involved) is okay. We pressed on and got the aid station. Dave rolled in right as we stopped. Eric and Ted were a few minutes later. We refueled and started off again.

Shortly after the rest area Dan T. broke a spoke and we had to slow down....his wheel was wobbling like crazy if we were over 15 mph. About 5 miles from the next aid station I got a flat. I borrowed a tube from Dan S. and the SAG vehicle was right there so I used their floor pump. Eric and Ted passed us right there too. Off we went again and made the aid station. As we got there Dan got his wheel fixed. Dan S. had to keep moving so he was WAY ahead. Poor guy gets cramps like crazy....so finishing was all that was on his mind.....and I don't blame him. Off we go again...about 30 miles left.

I started to run out of gas.....slowing down and just wanting to be done. Thankfully we reached the last aid station as Dan T. and I caught Eric and Ted. Summer was there too. We refueled and left as a group of 5. It didn't take long before I got shot out the back.....a long climb got me and my legs were refusing to pedal hard.....I pushed what I could and kept the group in sight about 1/2 mile ahead. A group of 4 came past me and I jumped on their wheel. We closed the gap pretty quick and I just stayed with them....until a hill....then they created a gap and that train was over. Summer was with me though....and Eric and Ted were right there. Dan T. was ready to be done...so he disappeared off the front.

We had about 6 miles to go and I just put my head down and dug in. I went as hard as I could for the rest of the ride with everyone right with me. I was way ready to be done....but I have no clue where my legs came from....just that they were back and I was going to use them. We ended up with 104.48 miles. Actual ride time was 6:20. Not a bad day on the bike. Thanks to the people that came out to ride and for the volunteers at the aid stations. (wow, I kinda rambled a bit.....but alot happens in a 100 mile ride)

Consider this....

I picked up riding again thanks to my friend Chris. We were working 3rd shift and I was really bored so I started looking up cycling related topics again. It had been many years since I had ridden. Working far from home and our babies had kept me very busy...so busy that I was neglecting my own health and well being, which as we all know is counterproductive. Chris and I started talking about riding and eventually dusted off our bikes and headed out to ride. It has been a roller coaster since. We have gone all the way to Houghton to race the Keweenaw Chain Drive and I have done a lot of other races. I remember though...the Chain drive....I was registered for the 32 mile race...but switched to the 16 mile race because I was out of shape. A lot has happened since then.

Last month I rode my first century of the year. In a few weeks I have another century ride on the schedule. I went from being afraid of 32 miles to looking forward to riding 100. Twisted right? Well, not as twisted as the thought that I had after the last century I did.....and that thought was a 100 mile mountain bike race. You heard me....100 miles on the dirt....with hills....and other likeminded people. It is on my bucket list to ride 100 miles of singletrack....but I never thought that next year....or even this year....would be an option.

I am going to miss the Boyne marathon which would have been a major test for me....lots of climbing, but only 33 miles or so...still a long time on the bike...but we have other things going on...so not this year. That made me think...what about a 6/12 hour race. There are a few close to me....and there is one in August that might be the first 12 hour race I will do. It is a perfect opportunity. Close to home...and short laps...less than 5 miles. That means I can cruise my own speed and still knock out two laps an hour....at least in the beginning. I am putting it on my schedule.....with the goal of not winning....but simply riding 100 miles in the dirt......and pushing myself to the limit.

Something has changed.....I was afraid of longer rides only last season....50 miles was hard....50 miles is still hard....but I am getting faster...and pushing myself to keep going. Thankfully I have people that push me too, and keep me moving when I want simply stop. This 12 hour race will be different.....because it will be a fight with myself......and I will have to push myself to keep going....even when my body is trying to quit. I will keep riding the longer distances to build my endurance.....and I will ride 100 miles in the dirt this year.

One and done....

The number 1 seems innocent enough....and so does a zero. But when you add two zeros behind the one....and then add the word miles behind it....well...that is a different story. The 4th Annual Allegrina 100 was this past Sunday and the jury was still out on how I would feel. We had just gotten back from the Dominican Republic on Friday and we were busy all day Saturday at a wedding. Not enough sleep and zero miles in 7 days meant a high probability of pain. So...here we go.

The weather was perfect. Cool. There was a slight chance of rain, but nothing major ever happened...just a few sprinkles. We lined up a little after 8 for the first 45 mile leg of the ride and we were off. I knew I was in trouble because the pace was way harder than I anticipated. I was hanging with the group, but there was no way in hell I could hold that pace for 100 miles. Dan S., Dave, Chris C., Dan T., and Chris B. all were there to suffer with me, but they near the front and I was mid group. The first leg was fairly uneventful. The group got split on some climbs and I got dumped out of the fast group. Dan T. and I worked together to keep going until we got caught by the next group about 40 miles in. We led the pack for a bit but then I peeled off and dropped in for the rest of the loop. 45 done, time to refuel and regroup. The plan was to wait for the people riding 55 miles and head out as a group, but we didn't want to wait as our legs were feeling it after the stop.

The next loop was 33 miles and we had about 20 riders. Before too long the group was thinned to 10 and I was doing my best to just hang on. Eventually I got shot out the back again but I kept some of the riders in sight. Dan T. was with me again and we just plugged away until a tandem with Kaat caught us and led us back to Felt Mansion. I rolled in and Dan S. said that we were not very far behind them. I figured this was impossible because I felt so slow, but we were closer than I thought. Only a few minutes behind them. I was done.....I declared "that's all I got" and was ready to quit. Dan S. drove and he told me that he wouldn't let me into the car unless the computer read 100 on the odometer. Ugh....ok, but the pace needs to be slower because my legs were toast. Jet lag was rearing its ugly head. Refuel. Go.

The last leg was 22 miles. We were riding through Saugatuk when I heard Dan T. say "SEAN!" and when I looked at his face I knew something was wrong. He was starting to cramp and we had at least 16 miles to go. Instead of turning back, we pressed on. I forgot about my own pain and just kept an eye on him to make sure he was okay...which he was....just in a ton of pain from the cramps. Like soldiers....7 of us pressed onward......missing a key turn. Eventually we turned around and headed back because we were way off course. I was dead. Dan S. was suffering. A chime of "this isn't fun anymore" came from Dan T. and I had to agree. On the route back I got spit out again as my legs were out of gas. I knew the way back and just kept spinning my own pace. Eventually Dave, Dan S. and Lindsey disappeared......a while later Dan T. disappeared. Thankfully I made the last turn and pushed to the mansion.

105 miles in total. My second century ever. Thanks to everyone for putting on the event. Thanks to the people that drug me around for 100 miles, and thanks to the guys for making me keep going.