The Struggle

My weight has always been an issue and something I've never been able to really control. Anyone who really knows me knows I love food. I can eat and I love to eat. My weight has ballooned over the years and just recently I was able to get it back down to a reasonable weight because of my ultramarathon training. Even training for an ultramarathon my weight never got as low as I wanted it to and I still ended up racing with that little extra layer of body fat. Well I'm thinking it's time to dedicate the rest of 2013 and my entire life going forward to being in the best possible shape regardless of what events I may enter. I will be signing up for the Leadville 100 Ultramarathon race in August of 2014 as my main event for next year. The plan is to take the next 3 months and drop as much weight as possible even around the holidays. Like most people I have always gained weight this time of year but this year has to be different. I plan to lose weight and document on almost a daily basis my progress through blog posts, video vlogs and clips of my workouts. Accountability and exposure will hopefully drive me to get in shape faster but you never know. In 3 months time I hope to see a much leaner and healthier me. There I said it, f%$# now it's time to do some work. Game on.

People are funny!

Quick and Easy Version of Ramen Noodles

Ramen Noodles from Siapao Photography on Vimeo.
Quick and easy homemade ramen noodles.

Chipotle's Clever Marketing

Behind the Burrito: 5 Things Chipotle's Ads Don't Tell You http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/09/chipotle-commercial-sustainable-food-truth

Lasting Vow...A Journey Of Infinite Love and Happiness

This Sunday a good family friend is about to embark on a really cool project he thought of years ago.  It involves riding bikes which I kind of like doing and capturing experiences of love along the way. Check out his intro below and follow along at www.lastingvow.com

Leadville Ultra 2014

New training shoes. A small yet very important start to reach my goal of racing the Leadville ultramarathon next year. I know the race just happened this year and I can't even register until January 1st BUT I can start training! After a lot of research and success with my Brooks trail running shoes I've decided to stay in the Brooks family and train in the Brooks Glycerin 11s. Game on! 

North Fork 50 Mile Ultramarathon Race Recap (June 29, 2013)

First off I wanted to thank everyone involved in making this race happen.  It was awesome! When deciding what race to do as my first ultramarathon everything pointed towards this race.  From all the race recaps I read from prior years this race lived up to all the hype about it being well organized with outstanding aid stations(mini 7-Elevens).  As I try to convince others to take that ultramarathon leap I'll be sure to mention this race.

The Race

The first climb was tough and I was surprised to see what seemed like everyone but me cruise up the climb.  I had done the first climb with my girlfriend before so it was nice to be somewhat familiar with the course but it still hurt.  I remember looking down at my Garmin and seeing 170 which is typical when I race criteriums but never when I trained for this race.  I began to wonder what kind of damage the anaerobic  effort would do say 10 hours later into my race.   I was shocked and a bit nervous to say the least.  Once I reached the top I quickly topped off my bottles and kept moving. At this point I was with 4-5 people and holding a good pace until the next climb.  I realized on the second climb that I wasn't able to hang on and with 40 miles to go that I should probably pace myself a little better.  Now for those of you that don't know...I'm not a runner and my longest run was 18.5 miles back in April.  I wasn't fully prepared for this with the exception of being ready to suffer.  So the pain came quick and I soon realized I needed back off the pace if I wanted to finish.

The temperature was perfect throughout the day and definitely not too hot.  I made it a point to consume one water bottle and one Skratch Labs powder mix in my other bottle between every aid station. It worked out perfect with no cramps or GI issues.  I consumed one salt pill per aid station along with a couple peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and half a banana.  I was sweating the entire time and had to pee 4-5x so I knew my hydration was spot on.

Back to the race.  I cruised through Buffalo Creek and made my way to Meadows for the first time in what I thought was a pretty fast time.  I arrived 45 minutes faster than what I calculated in my head prior to the race.  I had drop bags at Buffalo Creek and Meadows but didn't grab anything besides my Skratch Labs powder mixes.  I tend to overpack anywhere I go so if you looked at my drop bags you might of thought I was spending the night out there.  My longest training run was this section around the Meadows aid station so I was glad to be in familiar territory for the next 18 miles.  My legs felt heavy but I was mentally ready to push through these sections.  I must say the out and back to the Rollings aid station made me nervous because I suffered during my training run....and I suffered even more during the race.  It didn't help that there was lightning left and right and I'm a wuss when it comes to lightning.  At this point I ran the flat sections, the downhill sections and any small little climb but everything else I power hiked.  I was officially in unchartered territory having never done the mileage I had done so I had no clue if I would pop a mile later, 5 miles later or actually finish.  I got to Meadows aid station for the final time and well before the 3:45pm cutoff time which I was nervous about leading up to the race and during the early parts of the race.  It was a good feeling to come in quicker but reality set in quick realizing I still had 18 miles left!  I didn't stay long at this aid station or any aid station for that matter.  I always tried to keep it to a couple minutes at most.  I was suppose to meet my family and girlfriend here but they got lost and also didn't plan for me to arrive as quick as I did so I left Meadows with little motivation.  Bottles filled, still wet from the storm and jogging slowly out of this aid station was a rough lonely moment.  

I cruised up to the Shingle aid station passing others along the way.  I ran what I could and settled into a power hike during the longer and steeper climbing sections.  At this point I was motivated by the fact that I just wanted to finish sooner and not suffer as long so I kept hammering away.  I never thought music would get old but after 6-7 hours I was done listening to music.  I was perfectly fine listening to me breathe and the distant thunder.  Surprisingly my family arrived at the Shingle aid station just as I was about to leave. Luckily I heard them and convinced my sister to accompany me for the last 12 miles.  I made it very clear that I'd be doing more hiking than running.  We were off on the 5 mile descent to Buffalo Creek aid station one last time.  My legs were pretty shot at this point and I couldn't get my heart rate up.  I ran the downhill sections that weren't too steep and hiked pretty much everything else.  I settled into the "just finish" mode with my sister.  She encouraged me to run probably more than I would of but not much. I was simply too tired.  I had done most of the second half of the race solo so it was great to have my sister to chat with as I suffered along.  I think the lowest of lows was between 44-46 miles for me.  I was waiting to feel completely awful around the marathon mark but never got that feeling.  I was also expecting something around 35 miles from all the race recaps and articles I read but nothing? The last 5 miles were downhill and I made it my goal to run as much of it as I could no matter how bad it hurt and it f-ing hurt.  I knew all along the pain I was going to feel and it was worse.  I was able to dig deep and chug along to the base of the first climb I had done 12 hours ago!  It was an incredible feeling to know I was minutes away from finishing my first ultramarathon and to see my mom waiting for me half a mile away with cow bells ringing so loud everyone around the lake took notice.  She ran with me up to the finish where I was surprised to see friends and more of my family cheering me on to the finish line.  Although I was happy to finish I felt like I could of kept going. It was a weird feeling like I just got my second wind and had someone told me at the finish line I had 20 more miles I would of kept going.  This goes down as one of the hardest physical efforts I've done and I look forward to improving on this distance but also building up to a 100 mile race. Looking back on all 12 hours (official time 11 hours 57 minutes) I think I got pretty luck with no hydration or food issues, no blisters and no falls.  Now it's time to recover and get back to some bike racing before I build on a 100 miler. 

Gear List

Brook Cascadia 7 trail shoes, Injinji socks, Recofit compression sleeves, Columbia Omni-zero compression 9" tights, Patagonia trail shorts, The North Face tech shirt, Columbia Omni zero arm sleeves SPF 50, Ulitmate Direction Race Vest, Oakley Radar sunglasses, Columbia Omni zero hat, Columbia Omni zero neck gator SPF 50, Garmin Fenix GPS watch and heart rate monitor, Apple iPod, Yurbud headphones, Skratch Labs hydration powder mix, Nutella.

North Fork 50 in the bag!

Race recap coming soon.

I Love Racing My Bike

First official race of the season and man was it HOT and windy. Temperature was a pleasant 95 degrees at 7pm and the wind was howling from the west. I was surprised to see so many guys show up and want to suffer. The race splintered into smaller groups with I'd say half the guys dropping out completely. I managed to find myself with a solid group of 6 guys just rolling through hard each lap. I definitely did my fair share of work in the group and really tried to go as hard as I could. I was struggling a little bit with the racing rhythm you only get when you race a lot; I could tell the guys in my group had raced a bunch already this season. Given the amount of riding I've been doing and more so running I feel pretty good about the second half of the season once my ultramarathon is completed. I'm looking forward to being more competitive come July! Time for one last long run tomorrow morning before I shut it down for the North Fork 50 and taper. Below is what racing looks like with a pegged heart rate! Man it felt good to suffer.

Yesterday's Mtn Run

Discovered an awesome trail in Breckenridge yesterday. Gorgeous day with no clouds and 70 degree weather. Legs felt heavy but warmed up just as I needed to head back home. I will be back on this climb again!

Post Run Treat

Lunch Time Runs

Just finished up my second run of the week with some guys from work.  It's good to get out and get some miles in between long days at work. The guys have a fun 10k course mapped out which is prefect for a sub 1 hour run. Now all I have is a LOOOONG run this weekend. Good times!

Mini meals = skinny time

This will be my typical breakfast for the next four weeks. I could easily eat two or three more bowls and I would if I didn't have this race in the back of my head all the time. Tipped the scale at 174.2 this morning and I'm hoping with a lot of training and some serious discipline with my diet I show up at the start line around 166.  I'll save a ton of energy for every pound I lose especially going uphill! That said, I can't wait to eat a fat cheeseburger after my race!! Btw, there will always be the fat kid in me.

4 Weeks To Go!

The month of May was not how I wanted it to go but it its what it is and now I've got to focus on June. 4 Weeks gives me roughly 3 weeks to ramp up my training BIG TIME and chill out the final week. I'm kind of winging it right now with training and trying to play catch up so we'll see if my plan works. My long runs have been taking 1.5-2 weeks to fully recover so I'll have to plan my last long run of 25-30 miles in the next week or so. From there it will be short 5-10 mile runs with a ton of cycling to boost my cardio without stressing my legs too much with the pounding. I'm definitely stressing out a bit because although I think just finishing would be pretty good there is that part of me that wants to be competitive and try to place in the top half. With that mentality comes the push to get as fit as possible given the time I have left. It's like cramming for that final exam. I know I'm going to suffer dearly in this race so my thinking is that if I can improve my fitness even a tiny bit these last few weeks I can maybe delay when the really bad suffering begins in the race. My two most important goals leading up to the race. 1. One more long trail run of 25-30 miles 2. Drop 8-10 lbs tipping the scale at 166lbs. If I can complete these two goals and show up at the start line injury free I'll feel pretty good.

Commercial of the Day

When you're too scared to run long you...

Although I've cleared myself to run and I feel like I did a good job of healing up as quickly as possible I'm still very nervous to do a long run.  That said, I went for a long ride to keep the heart and legs in shape with minimal impact.  This ride was fun and safe with most of it being on Denver's great bike path system.  Slept in so didn't have a chance to really go big and get the 120 miles I wanted.  Maybe in a couple of weeks since next weekend will be devoted to my long runs in preparation for the North Fork 50 ultramarathon race.  I'm still very much motivated for this race and although my running miles hasn't been the greatest I know there is still plenty of time to get in some long runs.  It should be good with long days and warmer weather!

Post Tibial Tendonitis

Too much too soon?  My guess is that my legs were not as ready as my mind was for the 18.4 mile trail run almost two weeks ago.  I felt tired but felt no sharp pain to make me consider stopping during the run.  Looking back on it I probably should of laid off the gas and mileage that day.  I ran all 18.4 miles including the uphills (passing mtn bikers) and it was also my longest run on all trails.  I think all of this along with my 14 and 8 mile run earlier in the week made my legs give out. Not smart.  I pointed at the pain in my ankle and before I could finish my sentence my bro-n-law who is an ortho foot surgeon said, "Post Tib Tendonitis...".  Hearing the name of the injury was in some ways relieving because now I knew exactly what I needed to research and do to hopefully heal the injury.  John gave me a few pointers for recovery and I hope to be back on my feet running soon.  I've managed to stay cardio fit with some long bike rides but feeling the need to start running again.  I have 7.5 weeks to go before my "race" and all I want is to be healed and running again.  I'll attempt to run tonight on the treadmill and see how the ankle goes.  I purchased some insoles to give my arch some support, I've been stretching the crap out of my calves and massaging my tendon as much as possible.  I know I can still do this race. As far as how fast...I'm not sure.  I can do this.

Ups and Downs

After my 18.4 mile trail run everything came crashing down and looking back on everything I'm not that surprised anymore.  It turns out I had done a pretty good block of training the month of April both with cycling and running.  I managed to only take 4 days off from training in April and many of the days I did a double session workout.  As the month went I on I continued to push both mileage and effort during my runs.  I guess my body decided to call it quits and present me with some overtraining symptoms such as a slight running injury and illness I'm just now starting to get over.  As a competitive athlete you train yourself to suffer through pain so overtraining symptoms can sometimes be overlooked.  A lot of factors (heel injury, spring snowstorm, lots of work, horrible cough) just all added up to tell me to shut it down for a few days.  I have that newbie mentality right now like I'm losing so much fitness these last few days doing nothing but I know deep down inside that my body needs this rest and that this is only going to make me stronger.  That said,  I look forward to feeling better tomorrow and training hard in May.

18.4 miles in the bank!

Longest run ever so far!!! Great 15 mile trail run in South Boulder/Superior. I think this course will be similar to what I'll be running in Pine, CO come June 29th so I'm sure I'll be back. Right foot blister came back so need to figure that out before the race. Legs felt a little more tired given this was not only my longest run but also the most technical so far. I look forward to ramping it up even more in the coming weeks. Recover, recover, recover is the name of the game now. That said, time for a little self massage and movie. 

Meridian Training Race

Last ride outdoors was 3.5 weeks ago so I figured why not start with a training race as my first ride back?  It was a brutal effort and one that I'm very happy with given my training the last few weeks. Although my last ride was a long time ago I have managed to jump on the trainer a number of times to give my legs a break from running.  Legs felt okay but I was never comfortable in the pack and was lacking that racing rhythm so critical in staying with the strong guys.  The pace was a lot faster compared to when I last did it in March but I hung in there with the lead group until the finish.  It was nice to see all the guys at the top of the climb who got popped the lap before waiting to jump back in our group.  It gave me confidence that the pace was in fact hard and only the stronger guys are actually hammering away.  I think this ultramarathon training is really helping with my weight lose and ultimately my power to weight ratio.  With a few more hard training races and a few more pounds lost I think I'll be okay in the Pro 1/2 races coming up.  This weekend...back to ultra training. I have a 17 mile loop I'm eager to run. GAME ON.

Runner's Feet

8.2 mile run today. Felt great running at a little harder pace. Next run will be a long run this weekend.

Recovering Well

Feel pretty good this morning given that I did my longest run ever yesterday.  Some good Pho, 1 hour nap and a 45 minute spin on the trainer all helped out.  Knees are a little sore from the pounding and I can tell from cycling that my quads are not of equal strength.  The inside of my quads are definitely more sore this morning.  Next planned run is Wednesday! Game on.

Gettin' It Done...sort of

First long run of my training and I felt great. Legs and heart rate were fine but feet...not so much. Blisters took me out. I honestly felt like I had 5 more miles in me but stopping was a good decision. Now I just need to recover and do it again next weekend.

Two goals
Continue to increase "time on feet"
Not get injured

No Room For Error...WOW!

Only Dork's Wear Their Heart Rate Monitors To Sleep

Because I don't wear my heart monitor enough everyday when I workout I decided to wear it to sleep last night.  I have officially confirmed I'm a deep sleeper with my heart rate getting down to as low as 36 beats per minute (bpm)!!! My average throughout the night was 42 bpm so it looks like I'm getting fitter?  I think the idea is that when you become fitter your resting heart rate drops because your heart is more efficient and requires less effort to support your body.  I plan to do this again a few times between now and the North Fork 50 ultramarathon June 29th.  It will be interesting to see the impact if any with me being 15lbs. lighter and a lot more training if my resting heart rate changes.  I can't imagine it getting any lower but I guess we'll see.

Recovery Tools

I'm a big fan of self massage tools and compression socks.  This new self massage tool will help melt away knots and work trigger points. It's a good self inflicting pain!  Although you can pay an arm and a leg for compression socks these days I stick to the medically proven compression socks from Walgreens or CVS.  Way cheaper and just as good...I think.  

Official Trail Shoe For North Fork 50

Brooks Cascadia 7 Trail Running Shoe

Excited to train and eventually race in these shoes! My girlfriend and some friends swear by Brooks so I had to try them. They fit great so hopefully they'll be great mile after mile. 

176.6 lbs.

That's what the scale showed me this morning. It has been tough getting down to this weight from the 200 lbs I saw back in January. Still looking to shed 15 lbs. and line up for the North Fork 50 at 160 lbs. More salads, more miles, more sleep.

Breakfast

Fuel for North Fork 50 fo sur!

Mini Finish Lines

It's a bit overwhelming to think of this race in its entirety. So I've decided to breakdown the race into mini races with each aid station as a finish line.  It's going to be a long day of racing!

Vlog Numero Uno - Training for North Fork 50

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.” - T.S. Eliot

Good Friday Skiing W/ Ze Nephews

It's getting harder and harder to keep up with my nephews. They're getting so good and that day is coming when they'll be better than me and I'll be trying to keep up with them. And I still remember them doing the pizza.

Ski Day from MarkSimon on Vimeo.

Snowboarding in Breck

March 2013 from MarkSimon on Vimeo.

Chris, Katrina and Cecille snowboarding in Breckenridge.

Lunch

So I'm told if I add chicken, chopped peanuts and chopped fresh basil this will taste good. I'll have to remember this for next time.

Pope Cam Live

Another Day @ Breck

Cruising Breck from MarkSimon on Vimeo.

Breakfast

Volvos are cool!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21688765

Cycle Monkey - NAHBS 2013

Cycle Monkey - NAHBS from MarkSimon on Vimeo.

NAHBS
February 2013
Denver, CO

You know you're a badass when you do this...

Best way to start the day!

Video of the Day

Denver Skyline

Took this during our walk last night.

Lent

All that I'm doing and sacrificing for Lent comes down to living a cleaner and healthier life with the focus on those that I love and care most about.  

3 simple rules in life

1. If you do not GO after what you want.  You'll never have it.

2. If you do not ASK.  The answer will always be no.

3. If you do not step FORWARD.  You will always be in the same place.

Consistency

Trainer rides have been short but the efforts have been hard.  Need to keep it consistent and keep chugging along.  Probably should of gone out for a real ride this morning but was out late with the brother last night.  Maybe tomorrow?

So it begins

Officially weighed in at 190.6 lbs this morning.  I've been floating around this weight for over 2 years now so can't wait to get back down to sub 170.  170 is a good number but I'm aiming for ultimately 162 lbs which I can't even remember the last time I was that low.

Last time I was on my road bike according to Strava, September 22, 2012.  It has been a long time and it felt good to ride the trainer for 70 minutes. One day at a time. Moving forward and getting stronger and leaner.

Let's try this whole bike racer thing again...

and see what I'm made of.  The last 3 seasons were pathetic and although I attended a few races I never put the proper training in to get any kind of rewarding result.  I was there but I was there.  It didn't help that during those times I always looked back on a great season I had almost 4 years ago with some wins and thought I would easily get back to that level.  I'm ready to approach this season only looking forward to getting fit and ready to do some hard work.  I realize I'm already behind on the calendar when it comes to group rides, base miles and weight loss but it doesn't matter. What worked in the past will not work going forward.  Things have changed and I have to adapt and I will adapt.  Starting today and ending on the last day of the month I have made a goal of 33.75 hours of training (riding) and 10 lbs of weight loss. Not sure what I weigh but I'll post it tomorrow morning as my baseline.  All I know is I'm fat and out of shape.  The good thing is I can suffer.  I plan to post something everyday to document my progress. I'll add weight, photos, my attitude and my setbacks all on this blog. Enjoy the ride. Hopefully I'm going fast this summer.

Will Blackberry survive?

Maybe but not for long. And they certainly will not grow. Here are my reasons.

• Blackberry Z10 is a nice phone but nothing amazing when compared to Samsung S3 or iPhone5
• Companies have already switched and now offer most Android and iPhones as work phone options.
• Both Apple and Android have way more apps
• I believe anyone between the ages 21-10 would pick an iPhone 5 or Samsung S3 over the Blackberry 10 out of 10 times.

Funny Video Of The Day