Everyone should go to a Monster Truck Jam

FYI: The following post has little to do with triathlon or athletics in general.

So last summer the Emmet County Fair announced there would be a Monster Truck Jam. Having never been to such an event I had to attend. Long story short it was an incredible experience and we had a blast. The finale performed by Predator was spectacular.Video on left. Reptoid on Right.

Thus when I was driving to the Farmer's Market to sell by B-Nuts Trail Mix and heard an advertisement on the radio for Monster Trucks at the North West Michigan Fairgrounds I decided I had to go. So we got a car full and drove down to TC for the show. Now this show was paced a little slower but had superb people watching. To blend in we dressed the part (pictures below).

Walker the Welder and myself. Trucks in background. 

Nigh Stalker crushes a helpless station wagon

The following is a short bit of prose I was compelled to write following the show.

A dusty haze settled over a technicolor sunset as the scent of high octane racing fuel entered the nostrils and implanted itself within, touching the deepest elements of the human soul. The raging behemoths sat silent, having already unleashed their rage and destruction on the derelict station wagons. Leaving with ringing eardrums and muted grins, we absconded into the night. 


 

Duck Lake Time Trial-My first pure TT race

     Today I competed in the Duck Lake TT (link here), which served as the Michigan Time Trial Championship. Having competed numerous 40K (24.8 Miles for us silly Americans) efforts in triathlons, putting in an all out, balls to the walls effort is slightly different. I was excited to see what kind of time I could put down, considering I've been focusing on my bike training since my injury this winter.
    I have an 11.8 mile rolling hill loop by my house that I've been training on. This year I've been doing the loop consistently under 30:00. Last year my Olympic Distance Tri I've had splits of 62 and 64 and taking those things into account  I set a  goal for the TT to be at 58:00.
    I drove down the night before and stayed with my Grandma in Big Rapids, before driving to the race, near Whitehall.  I felt a little rushed as I got my equipment set up, warmed up, etc. I'd rather be rushed than have to sit around and wait--less time to think about it.
   I was a little jittery from excitement and some caffeine as I rolled out at 9:07. I focused on keeping a steady and controlled pace for the first lap, passing several riders and splitting somewhere around 29:30 I believe. The roads were in decent shape for what I'm used to-chip sealed last summer or so.  There was a steady wind, leaving the long side of the rectangular course into the wind. I just tried to keep my head down, stay aero and slowly build up the effort. With about 10K to go I knew I needed to force myself to push the pace and I responded well. I rounded the finishing corner and sprinted to the line. Glancing at my watch I knew I was right close to 58 flat.
   After a cool down I was able to track down my official results-58:02 and another Cat 5 'W'. Reflecting on my race I am happy, but I do feel like I could have left a little bit more out on the course. It was a new experience and I'll have to learn the pacing required for optimal results. I also need to get more confidence and risk more on the corners. It was a great experience and I plan on doing some more in the future.

Cat 5 40K TT- 58:02

  I have to give a shout out to Lon Epstein, who was a roommate while I was in Colorado my first year. He had an internship at Cannondale and got Chrissie Wellington to sign a picture for me. It arrived by FedEx the day before the race. Thanks Lon!

"Where'd those guys go?"-West Brach Road Race

After winning the cat 5 race at Washtenaw I put in to upgrade to cat 4, despite having less than the required 20 points. I didn't think that USA Cycling really cared that much...but I got rejected. Thus when Daemian and I signed up for the West Branch Classic road race we were both racing cat 5. Upon registration there was no course map, no info about number pickup or much specific info in general. There was a hand drawn map to the start staging area where the heading had North pointed down. Judging by this we were expecting an interesting race. The course was 44 miles, two loops, with plenty of rolling hills and one mile long steady climb to the finish.

Our race started at 10:30, and as we were standing in a group waiting and it was HOT! Not like Kona, just overcast, no air movement whatsoever. I hate waiting around to start in the first place and the heat only made it worse. However once we rolled off and got a breeze I didn't notice the heat for the rest of the race. There were about 30 or 35 in cat 5.

 For the first lap everyone was in one group, no one was really pulling, just getting into it pretty easy. Like my experience with other cat 5 races, there was little organization and tons of brake use-age. Annoying blast up the hill, sit up and bunch together, etc. No one wanted to work to put in some pulls and break the group up. I just sat in the middle of the pack. At the finishing climb for the first lap, there was some more steady effort and some people fell off the back. Around mile 25, I started to move up to the front of the pack to try to work with some people to break the group up. I put in a pull and looked back and no one went with me, they were just hanging out. So I sat up and chilled.

A mile or two latter I made another move to see if anyone wanted to go in a break. No one did so I figured I'd try it solo, since they weren't very organized. I got probably 300ish meters off and the distance held as I worked for a mile or so. Then they closed the distance down and I re-grouped. Still, no one was making any moves. I guess everyone wanted a sprint finish.

After a couple more miles I tried to break again and get someone to work with. This time one guy went with me. We gained some distance and it looked like there was a mildly organized attempt to catch us. We started to catch a few cat 4 guys that had blown up, still gaining time on our pack. We made a right turn and were working together well as there were many rolling hills. At this point we had quite a distance on the pack, but kept the pressure on. As we approached the final right turn for the climb to the finish I new there was no chance we would be caught.
    Getting into the "lets finish this race" mode, the began to distance the guy I had been working with. About half way up the hill I had about 100m on him and eased up as I crested the hill to the finish, getting my second win of the season. Now I can upgrade for sure.
   With Daemien in the main pack he gave me the scoop after we broke away. There was an attempt to bridge up, but it didn't get organized. After the second to last right, everyone went back to the "chillin" mode and didn't work together. At one point, in reference to our breakaway, a guy asked, "Where'd those guys go?" (or something like that). Daemian said, "They're gone!", to which he responded, "WELL WHY DIDN'T ANYONE SAY SOMETHING!" Interesting, since I thought I was pretty obvious with my intentions.

After the finish there was pizza, sandwiches and beer for all participants. I'd never been at a race with "free" beer (even if it was Mich Ultra). Road races just keep looking better than triathlons. Tons of fun, cheaper, food, beer and good prizes. I won a beer tub with 6 beers, a beer mug, and a nice helmet. Granted I killed 8 flies, got bitten by mosquitoes and  sweated my stones off waiting around for the awards, which should have been more organized, but it was worth the trip. I highly recommend any triathlete try road racing. I'll be doing a lot more of it.

Tour of Washtenaw: 2nd Road Race Ever

      Last weekend my buddy from work, Daemian, and I did the Tour of Washtenaw road race and had a blast. The unique thing about his bike race is that about 40% of the race is on dirt roads and the rest is paved, with sections of varying length. We both raced cat 5, which had about 36 racers. Having rained the night before the roads were a wet mess and we got filthy (as the pictures slightly show). In some places it was like trying to ride through peanut butter (I HATE peanut butter!). Other places it was super fast and smooth and everything in between. The dirt roads had numerous potholes, which of course were impossible to avoid, while riding in a pack. One could compare certain sections to riding on a jackhammer or as Daemian described it, "Letting Mike Tyson repeatedly punch you in your taint." Despite the mud and getting the crap beat out of you the race was a BLAST and I have a new respect for the Paris-Roubaix (and any cobbled races) pro guys. I don't know how they do it for that long.
     We rode our regular road bikes but got some slightly wider tires with a kevlar belt (these). Considering we didn't flat, the wheels were still true after the race and nothing ill-performed during the race, it speaks volumes to the quality and abuse decent equipment can handle....that being said it's not like we  pro riders or anything.

Daemian

    For the race specifics the plan was to push hard on the first dirt section and break the group up in an effort to limit our chances of crash carnage. I was part of two breakaway attempts in the first 8 miles, but neither stuck. I lost both my bottles on one pothole, after forgetting to put one in my back pocket. Daemian gave me one of his. At one point there was a turtle in the road and everyone called out "Turtle", which was a first for me.
    After we got back onto the pavement, we decided to just hang out up front and wait. There were two UofM guys and a couple other groups that were happy pulling so we let them do all the work. Something that I'm not sure I really like about bike racing, but I understand somewhat, is the tactics and strategy. I guess one could say you have to "use" the other riders to your advantage. Just part of the game making it so the strongest rider doesn't necessarily win. The first cat 5 race I did last summer was a great learning experience in all of these points.

Finish Line

     So we were just staying on the wheels of the front guys as they were putting in efforts and breaking up the pack somewhat. At one point I was behind a guy on a cyclocross bike when we hit a muddy section and, while I was already filthy, it added insult to injury. But it made it fun and reminded my of a particularly muddy Cross Country Regionals in College. With about 15 miles to go, there was a dirt section and there were about a dozen guys in the front group. People were putting in some good hard efforts and stringing us out. The pace dropped off a bit, like they were done and I decided it was time to go so I went off the front. I looked back and they were all strung out. A minute later everyone was blown apart. There was one guy on my wheel and a group of two about 50yds back. Everyone else was way back there. We sat up a let the two behind us catch up so we had a group of four to work with. That didn't last long and soon it was me and the guy on the cyclocross bike. We worked together for about 5 minutes before he dropped back and I soloed the last 10 or so miles for my first W at a road race. Being it was a cat 5 race I'm not dwelling nor bragging about that fact.
     That race was a fun experience and I'd love to do it again next year. I'm also planning on doing several more bike races this season. It's a great change of pace from triathlons in addition to the fact they're cheaper. Now I'll upgrade to Cat 4

It could be dirtier. 

      

B-Nuts Trail Mix!

The inspiration for B-Nuts came to me when I was preparing for my first Ironman Triathlon in 2009. Since there was never any snack food in the house (or if there was it didn’t last long), I needed something that was relatively healthy, filling and of course delicious. Store bought trail mix was lacking in the latter and thus I sought to make a trail mix to be craved.Thus I began mixing up batches of trail mix, which became larger and more complex. Soon the nickname given to me by my sisters became the name of the mix-B-Nuts. Last fall I started selling some to a few family friends. 

Last winter I was contemplating about expanding B-Nuts into a larger business and this spring I started an official business under the name Road Weasel Enterprises. It was named after my little sister and her infamous nickname-Road Weasel (story another time). I'd like to give a short rundown of the ideas behind my business and the improvements I've made this spring. 

          In an effort to expand my business am now able to purchase ingredients at wholesale, which increases product consistency and of most benefit decreases cost. I've also improved the packaging to offer heat sealed, tamper evident bags, which also have a zip lock type closure so you can nibble and re-seal the bag. I've sourced all the ingredients and materials from Michigan based companies and distributes to keep the money in our state. In addition I now have two different mixes, each available in 24oz and 6oz sizes. B-Nuts "Original" and "B-Nuts "Premier". Both mixes differ from traditional trail mix in the fact they have a higher percentage of nuts other than peanuts, delicious milk and dark chocolate covered nuts and fruit, tons of dried fruit including cherries, cranberries and blueberries and a generous helping of maple roasted nuts.

B-Nuts Original in 24oz and 6oz

With the passing of the Michigan Cottage Food Law I am able to make B-Nuts in my home kitchen. Click Here for more information, but basically it means I don't have "official" state licenses nor a Department of Agriculture inspected kitchen. However I still follow strict standards for cleanliness and preparation.

     More details to come and if you have any ideas for marketing, new products or feedback please let me know. I'm working on a granola recipe.

Don't forget to "Like" B-Nuts Trail Mix on Facebook! There's a ton more information on the Facebook page, including pricing and ordering information. Hopefully I can make a go of this.

The Damages of Skiing

Let me start by saying I had an amazing winter in Steamboat Springs, CO. Here's a youtube video to prove it.                         

Epic Steamboat Video

      That being said the epic face shots in the Canyon and hucking myself took its tole and resulted in this. (You can see how it happened at 10:19 in the above video.) Now for an anatomy lesson for the less inclined. This is a MRI of my left knee from the lateral (outside) aspect. The top bone is the femur and the bottom bone is my tibia. The stringy band in the middle that is angled backwards is my ACL. This is good news as a blown ACL looks like an exploded pack of Ramen Noodles. Just below my ACL on my Tibial Plateau you will see a white area. In short the top part of my tibia is basically crushed slightly, and is the reason my knee has been hurting and why I haven't been able to run.

      In the second picture you are looking at the knee from the front. Note the dark area and how it seems slightly lower on that side. As the initial examination I was suspected of having a blown ACL or torn meniscus, this MRI was good news. However it's basically a fracture and needs time to heal. Thus I made the decision to withdraw from Ironman St. George and am taking it easy for a while. This decision was easy to make once "premature arthritis" was mentioned. So I'm out 600 bucks and have to try to take it easy for a while. I'm planning on more bike races this summer but really focusing on getting this healed before pushing any kind of training.

The most adventursome adventure ever

      So this adventure was one for the books and most deserving of it's own post. All this time we had been deciding our adventures from this guide book. It was super helpful and I'd definitely recommend it if you need a guide in Kauai. So in this book there's an adventure labeled "The Jungle Hike". It said it involves hiking through mile long irrigation tunnels to get to a hidden waterfall.The book gives plenty of warning that this is an unmaintained trail, it's sketchy, super muddy and long. I love caves, I love waterfalls, I love adventures, especially filthy ones, sounds right up my alley. Ben and I set out earlier, like maybe 10am. The hike was muddy from the first 100 yds. It was more of a pig trail through the undergrowth with plenty of ducking, and crawling for our 6'2" scrawny frames. More than once we almost fell off a ledge or hole that was hidden by the thickest vegetation I've ever encountered.
        After a long hike we arrive at the first tunnel. It feels like Indiana Jones or something. You can see the light at the other end even as you enter the tunnel. There's about shin deep water and a slightly silty bottom and most of the time the ceiling is about 6 feet tall. After adventuring through the first tunnel, there's directions to get to the "slightly more sketchy" second tunnel. Of course we're going. So after crossing a river, scampering through the undergrowth, coming upon a makeshift campsite with discarded Ramen wrappers, we stumble upon the entrance to the second tunnel. Sketchy doesn't begin to describe it. The tunnel looks about 3 feet tall and we have to climb down this ladder into an irrigation canal with crotch deep water.

Actually the less sketchy tunnel exit, but you get the idea.

We have to walk hunched over for the entirety of this tunnel. The water is thigh deep and worse that that there's a foot of silty mud on the bottom of the tunnel. There's a point with rotten wooden timbers you have to crawl through. It seemed to me they were holding up the tunnel, adding to the sketchiness of the adventure. Finally the light at the end of the tunnel is close and we emerge, seemingly in the middle of the Kauai interior. After such a long, filthy, sketchy hike one would expect the most glorious view ever, considering the effort put in to get there. Now I'm not saying it was a let down, the waterfall was cool. But it's the experience to get there, not the final view.

Now we just had to turn around and hoof it out before dark. We made it, our shoes didn't fair so well. After several washes I still wear mine. I believe Ben threw his out.

After that adventure we pretty much chilled for the rest of the trip. Book reading on the beach, swimming and such. Ben flew out a day before me so we got a taxi to the airport and he caught his flight as I disappeared into the night to find a place to sleep. Let's just say the shore area around the Lithue Airport has a lot of miscellaneous junk lying around: Toilets, ropes, refrigerators, whole cars, car parts, mattresses, etc. It was like a dump. Eventually I found a nice junk free bit of sand beach and enjoyed my last night in Kauai sleeping on the sand as the waves crashed on the beach. Yes I did account for the tide coming in so I didn't get washed away in my sleep.

Beach Camp Site

 I awoke early the next day to get some good sunrise pictures.

I never get up early enough to view such events.

Sunrise near Beach Camp Site

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After that I hiked some more, found a beach to chill on and read and killed some time before I went to the airport to fly back to reality. I left Lithue arrived in LAX and arrived in D-Troit. As I exited the plane, there was a blast of cold wind and I hurried onto the Jetway. I exited the Jetway and the attendant at the desk announced, voice laced with sarcasm, "Welcome to beautiful Detroit, where the temperature is 45 degrees." If I could only go straight from Hawaii weather to Pow skiing and skip the "in between" season.

This about sums up the trip. The moral of the story is that if you are planning a trip to Hawaii, add an extra two weeks. Forget your watch. Adventure. Chill.