2 Months Out...

Missed the three month update! That's alright though, been a steady grind of prep work. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, VB Racing has entered The Tejas Xtreme 24 Hour Race in East Texas this September. I'll be lining up in the Ironman class and trying to hammer out as many laps as possible in the 24 hour time period.

I decided a while back that the preparation was definitely key, so I've researched, trained, wrenched, ridden, and hustled like crazy to get ready for this event (and be better at life in general). After all, strong people are harder to kill and generally more useful, right? Now here we are at the 2 month mark. I'm still fairly close to on track. The only thing I'm coming up short on is ride time aboard my KTM. She's still being rebuilt, but coming together nicely. It's too hot to ride right now anyhow, but I'm hoping to start a weekly night session on my practice track here at the compound. Other than that, I've been grinding away at CrossFit at least 4 days a week. Some days I feel strong, some days I feel like getting hit by a bus would be a more desirable activity. But I'm definitely getting stronger and more agile. This training coupled with the Paleo diet has been a home run for me. I've dropped 20 lbs in the last 6 months! I just wish I had the discipline to go strictly Paleo and avoid the self-destruction that I jump into every weekend. But as Papa Pierce says, "Beer is carbos and painkillers!"

I geeked out and scored a closeout deal on a new Cannondale road bike from the local shop. Never thought I'd find myself on a road bike since I'm too gnar core for skinny tires, but turns out I love it. It's my guilty pleasure, and I haven't told any of my freeride buddies about it yet. If you guys are reading this, I'll race you right now, and no I don't wear spandex! I've got sweatbands, a mirror on my helmet, and a techno mix on my iPod now- it's like I don't even know who I am any more. But it does a lot of good to get out and stay acclimated to the heat, not to mention I can ride all over the place locally and don't have to transport the bike 45 minutes to a good trail. It's good stuff, and I'd recommend it to anyone considering a road bike!

On the mtb front, I've been hustling the SS rig all over. We slayed it with a ton of urban miles around downtown Austin for Fat Tire's Urban Assault Ride. Lots of white trash wheelies and some great food, music, and beer. I always forget how rad Austin is until I've got a pitcher of Lone Star in me and an earful of raucous tunes. Trail rides are happening about every other week, but will get more frequent if I can get my Element back from Candice! I've found myself out cranking Erwin Park in McKinney a few times with good results. It's a very entertaining 8 mile loop of fast hard pack with some great woods sections that's guaranteed to put a grin on your face! In fact, last night was all smiles as me and the CrossFit crew hit the trail in the dark with a few headlamps. That was an absolute blast and will become an integral part of my 24 hour training.

Life is Good, Summer is HOT!!! Big thanks to all the VB crew out there for the support and for repping the VB Gear! Get out and DO STUFF!

4 Months Out...

Only 4 months until the Tejas Xtreme 24 Hour Race! To catch you up, It's an off-road motorcycle event that will consist of a 24 mile race loop we will race from 10 a.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday. And I signed up for Ironman.

It's really starting to feel real now, and I'm seeing the impending beat down just around the corner. This event is going to physically and mentally slaughter me until I'm talking mush and feeling like a bowl of pudding. Strangely excited! I've been documenting my preparation both for those of you that give a crap, as well as for me to go back and evaluate progress. Hopefully you guys enjoy this stuff! I covered my first lights session a few entries back, but there will be an entire entry regarding bike prep as I get closer to the race. For now, it's all about mental and physical prep for yours truly!

Physical:

CARDIO!!! As much as possible! Easy to say, brutal to do. I've been on the spin bike so much, I actually got a new seat and pedals for it. I even set up a stereo and screen so I can try to lose myself in a movie or some tunes to keep me pushing longer. But, I absolutely loathe that wretched machine of torture, I find myself dodging the back room where it sits, and trying not to even look at it when I walk through. I tried a trick Brantley uses, and started hitting the treadmill on the steepest grade it offers. I vary it between a fast walk and jogging pace, and also do some side stepping and walk backwards to keep all those auxiliary muscles working. Thankfully though, the sun has graced us a few times and I've found myself cruising through the woods on my Transition mountain bike. I LOVE the singlespeed setup, and it's a much more fun way to flex the heart than anything stationary.

But that was then, and this is now...

Crossfit is badass. Absolutely badass. If you don't know anything about Crossfit yet, open another window and hit their website and Youtube for a quick intro. Whatever strength you thought you had, it's nothing. This program will get results that your basic gym routine will never touch. It's all about flexibility, mobility, range of motion, endurance, core strength, mental focus, and pure kick-assery. Candice and I signed up at the local Crossfit gym, and we're hooked. Dustin and Kaylee Suitors out there will run you through the ringer and have you doing things you didn't even know you could do. It's high energy, competitive, scalable to any level, and will push you. I've seen more results in the last three weeks with Crossfit than I saw with 6 months at the regular gym. Team up this workout routine with the Paleo diet, and you'll see some change. I've dropped 6 pounds already and my pants are falling off my waist. I was flexible before, but it's getting way better. And the gnarly part- it's completely changing my riding! I feel stronger on the bike and can stay in attack position much longer now. And the leg and back cramps haven't happened since I started Crossfit.

I can preach this stuff all day, but check it out for yourself! Crossfit Solus is our local gym - www.crossfitsolus.com

Mental Prep:

Some cheesy movie I watched said "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity". Or something like that. Anyone, I'll never rely on luck and I believe we make our own opportunities in most cases, but there's absolutely no substitute for preparation. You wouldn't show up to a gunfight with a knife with high hopes. In my case, I'd prefer to show up a day early with a well armed mob and set up an ambush. I like to think through every scenario I can, and figure out the best way to prepare for each. The enduro races are great for this, as are the 2 day cross country events. But a 24 hour is a whole different ballgame. It's a mental and physical street brawl.

My Dad asked me a while back what my goals were for this race. My response was clear and simple. First thing, I want to win. Any racer that doesn't is in a foreign land on the starting line. Second thing, I want to either finish strong or find my personal breaking point. Of course I'd rather finish strong and feel great about my ride, but there's something oddly intriguing about going into something more difficult than anything you've ever done. I just can't help but wonder how it's going to play out.

A few days later, he asked me if I knew when/ how to quit. The answer to this one was quick and very clear. When the bike or I can't go on any longer. I don't think that I can, in good conscience, ride in to the pits and call it a day. If the bike breaks, you'll find me pushing it or wrenching. If it's real bad, I'll take off a wheel and carry it with me until someone official makes me stop. If it's me that bonks, someone will have to pick me up and/or drag me in. I'd rather fall over sideways trying to start my bike than sit next to it.

Questions like this are fun to think through. It's good to know how your mind works and what your own opinion is on things. I'll come back with more on prep as it gets closer. But for now, it's time to ride, continue the Crossfit beat down, and study the real bosses of the Baja Ironman class. Reading those stories has been a great resource.

More to come later!

BRAAAP!!!

First Night Session...

Tuesday night was the night! My helmet lights finally came in last week, and I hadn't had the chance to really set them up and try a lap around Mullet Mountain yet. (Mullet Mountain is my trail here at the compound- business in the front, party in the back!) Tuesday night was coming together nicely as my to-do list was light, I was feeling strong again after the beat down from the Red River Enduro and my MTB ride, and the one and only Bob Ross was on the property! With Jesse, Chris, and Candice's help/ supervision, it was time to test it all out!

Lighting Equipment:
- Trail Tech X2 Halogen Headlight for the bike
- Trail Tech Dual LED Helmet Light Kit

My review of the lights is great. The X2 is nothing to take to Baja, but at a price point under $100, it exceeded my expectations. It has two bulbs, kind of a spot & flood combo. I can cruise around problem free, but these are more for auxiliary/ backup while I rely on the helmet lights. The X2 was easy to wire and includes everything you need. I really like the fact that you don't need to upgrade the stator to run it. That was the biggest turnoff for the larger race lights and HID's.

The helmet lights were a HUGE surprise. I've been digging around for more info on the Dual LED's, but couldn't find much real world experience. I finally decided to just take the plunge and give them a try. The price was good, and if they work I'm in fat city. If not, eBay them and take the HID plunge. And I'm very glad I did. I think they'll be perfect for the night riding/ racing that I'm looking to do. I chose this setup mostly for battery life. I was afraid to try the higher output lights and then burn through too batteries in one night. At $100 per battery, this isn't an option! The LED's have three settings, and should be able to run both lights for about 3 hours on the highest setting. This way, I should only need 3 total batteries for an entire night, which I'm comfortable with. The kit came with one, and I can steadily order the other two as the money is available. It's a lot less of a sucker punch to spend one bill at a time than several!
All that aside, the color of the lights is bright, clear, and crisp. The weight isn't enough to be concerned with, and their "toughness factor" is there. I don't feel like I run the risk of tearing them up. The throw isn't very far. I found myself really outrunning this setup somewhere on the upper end of third and into fourth gear on my 300. Luckily, my night rides will be in tighter woods where this isn't a problem. The kit included everything you need, as well as the wire to connect the lights directly to the battery. I'm going to set this up as a precaution, just in case it becomes necessary.

Riding with the lights:

The helmet lights completely trump the headlight. Once they're on, the headlight doesn't really matter. I opted with the jaw mount and a "boob" focus where both spots are side by side like a nice pair. I may try running them high/ low at some point just to see what it's like.
I was nervous about this first run since I'd never run lights before. My plan all along was to get used to them on the mtb, then graduate to the slower pit bike, then steadily try slow slow laps on the big bike. Nope. Straight on the 300 and full pace by the second corner! My trail is tight and has awkward corners that can be pretty tricky. It's a potent mix of tight woods with quick run outs, hard turns, and then more woods with creek crossings, rocks, etc. It blew me away how comfortable the riding really was. The helmet lights were amazing and gave me so much confidence. I could see the ground, through the turns, and the low branches just fine. It was only the high speed sections that left me wanting more light!
The only problem I can really foresee is the same as any other ride: eating it. Point fixation is much more intense, so you have to really pay attention and look where you want to go. I came out of the creek, tangled up the front end on a tree, and went over the bars pretty good. It took one of the helmet mounts right off. I'll be doing something about this soon. The mounts are strong, but I definitely want some safeguards (and probably extra mounts) for race day.

Overall, I love it. I can only imagine what kind of output the HID's and race lights can do. But for me, this setup should work great!