Hitting the Trails

I was excited to get in a mountain bike training ride in for the past week. I met up with some riders from the bike shop and headed out in to Usery Park.  Wearing my Suunto Ambit 2S I was looking to gather a bunch of data about my workout, with some of my favorite apps plugged into the HR monitor.  The weather was perfect. It started at about 55 degrees at 8am and quickly warmed up.  After being in the saddle for an hour, I was feeling really good and could tell my at home roller workout along with wearing my Training Mask was helping me while out on the trails.  There are some areas of the trail I need to work on getting better at and will be visiting the park a ton before this summers next mountain bike race.  My nutrition and hydration with HoneyMaxx was spot on.  I opted to not have a water bottle cage, yet carry my keys and water bottle in my Orange Mud Hydraquiver.

Gift ideas for this holiday season

Do you have an athlete, runner, triathlete or swimmer on your Christmas gift list?

Here are some quick and great ideas of what to get them.  

The Orange Mud Hydra Quiver is perfect for keeping anyone hydrated out hiking or running. 

Cat-Ears will keep your cyclist warm using their Polar Fleece Ear Warmers and when the weather warms up their will keep your cyclist safe by letting them hear others around them while riding. 

What fits better in the Orange Mud Hydra Quiver than the Relaj water bottle. The unique bottle is easy to hold and both top and bottom are removable for easy cleaning.  

 

Udderly Smooth will keep your runners feet and skin smooth or buy them a jar of chamois cream to keep them chafe free on long training rides and races. 

For the swimmers out there, Barracuda goggles will keep them swimming in a straight line.  

Maybe the athlete or triathlete in your house could use Shutout Solutions Total Body Spray or other stink removing products to make them smell great after a workout? 

Pair that up with a waterproof case from X-1.com to keep tunes in their ears making swim workouts more enjoyable. 

Carb BOOM energy gels are a great stocking stuffer.  Numerous flavors to choose from or order them a variety pack. 

How about a pouch of Honey Maxx electrolyte drink mix. 

And last but not least, maybe for the runner your shopping for that suffers from plantar fasciitis 

a pair of Ice Feet. 

These are just a few ideas, if not gifts than stocking stuffers. 

Get a deal on HoneyMaxx

HoneyMaxx is offering a great deal that should not be passed up.  Get 48% off HoneyMaxx by using the coupon code 

THSummerDeal 

head over to

www.honeymaxx.com

Here is why I use HoneyMaxx as my sports drink.  

HoneyMaxx is easy to mix

HoneyMaxx  is easy on the stomach

HoneyMaxx is all natural 

HoneyMaxx comes in two great flavors Orange and Lemon-Lime

If you have not tried it, NOW is the time

There are some restrictions to the offer above

- purchase is limited to 2-4 bags of HoneyMaxx

- coupon does not apply to clothing or bottles

- Free shipping does not apply to products purchased with the coupon

Race Report : 12 Hours at Night

Race Report 

12 Hours at Night in Prescott, Arizona

Saturday, June 7, morning my family and I headed two hours north to Prescott where the race would take place.  I spent the week before gathering what I knew I needed and what I thought I would need.  From extra tubes to water to food I would eat throughout the night.  The race started at 8PM and would end the next morning at 8AM with the winner completing the most laps of the 9 mile course. Both my son and my daughter raced in the kids event earlier that evening on a much shorter course but still had some climbing.  They both had a great time and came back later to see my off on my journey.  The Two-Wheel Jones Bicycle Shop in Gilbert owned by my friend Larry DeMik was also racing and set up a tent.  Numerous others from the shop were also entered in the race.  

The race started off with a 400 yard running dash down a hill to our bikes and then off onto the course we went.  Not really knowing the course I hung back until I completed one lap of the 9 mile course.  I had a plan in my head to start off with two consecutive laps and then stop and refuel for both food and water.  The first lap took me a little over an hour to complete. Knowing the cold would set in, I started off and wore the whole time my Cat-Ears ear covers to help keep my ears warm as well as block the wind noise allowing me to hear things I would not be able to see in the dark.  The course consists of fire roads and single track with a few good climbs.  There were a few areas where the sand was pretty deep and difficult to navigate with the headlights.  The whole time I was using both a handle bar mounted as well as a helmet mounted lights, dimming them to save their batteries when I could.  It was halfway through the third lap the cooler weather started to settle in. It was also after this lap my body was feeling pretty good but my mind was wandering leading me to lay the bike down a few times.  I was use to everything terrain wise this course was throwing at me, but it was hitting me mentally.  Finished my third lap and hung it up for awhile, sleeping and trying to get my mind back into it and keeping warm.  I knew I had to get back out on the course, even though I was a little sore and still cold.  The sun was rising by now at 6AM and I knew it wouldn't take long for the desert to heat up.  I grabbed a few hydration bottles and off I went.  The course looked a lot different in the sunlight then it did being lit by headlamps. I took my time but knew in my head for my lap to count I would have to finish it by 8AM. I was just a little over halfway through the lap and my tire slipped around a corner sending me to the ground hard, driving my elbow up into my ribs and me looking up into the air.  I jumped up and got back on the bike knowing the cut off time.  It hurt to breathe and I could see my side bruise pretty fast.  I was glad to see the finish line beating the cut off by 30 minutes to spare. 

The Orange Mud Hydra Quiver worked great for holding my hydration bottle along with my tube and fuel.  I ended up putting two other water bottle cages on my bike a few days before.  

I wore my Suunto Ambit 2S GPS watch with HR monitor to capture a lot of data.  I used one of the over 1000 apps, this one being for Mountain Biking.  I am still learning the watch and the very cool things it is capable of doing and capturing. (More on this device in a blog)  

I took fourth place in the single male division completing my four laps. 

So what did I learn from the race?  I need to train a little more riding at night with the headlamp and increase my training before attempting this again next year.  It did not help that my training two weeks out from the race was very difficult after getting an upper respiratory infection. 

This race would have not happened with out the support of

  Two Wheel Jones Gilbert location, Suunto, Uddery Smooth, Orange Mud, CarbBOOM!, ProGold Lubrication, Cat-Ears, Dude Wipes and HoneyMaxx. 

How to mix up HoneyMaxx

Here is a simple and quick video on how to mix up HoneyMaxx.  This happens to be orange flavored but it also come in lemon-lime too. It's an all natural, high performance sports drink.  With warmer weather to arrive for summer, everyone can benefit from staying hydrated.

Week Two Marathon Training Update

Finished my second week of marathon training and am feeling pretty good.  The shorter runs I have done during the week have been late in the day, but I am still getting them done.  Monday I completed my weekly long run of nine miles.  Before I headed out, my left knee started bothering me, feeling very tight on the inside.  I started off slowly, keeping my pace a little slower than normal as to not go out to fast.  Averaged a HR of 146 with my MIO Alpha with only a few times slowing to walking to kind of rest.  The weather was perfect in the low 70's and full sun.  I know for sure last week I over dressed.  I actually felt stronger and more relaxed than during my last weeks long run. I am getting in the groove of the pace and HR.   I was fully hydrated with my HoneyMaxx orange traveling in my Orange Mud HydraQuiver.  In the time I was out, I still had some left over in my bottle when I got home.  

I am working this week on increasing my cardio on the rollers and a few runs are planned during the week with my next long run coming next Sunday.  

No real tight muscles to complain of but I will still work with the RumbleRoller Beastie this week. 

HoneyMaxx

What I use for my sports drink. HoneyMaxx and like the name says it's a honey-based sports drink.  Its a powder mix which is available in two flavors Orange and Lemon Lime.  The drink being based of honey does not create a spike in blood sugar and insulin.  It contains no refined sugar or other artificial sweetener as well as has no artificial colors.  I have been trying to use all natural honey as my way to sweeten foods I eat and drink,  and HoneyMaxx is a perfect hydration drink to do just that.  When mixing up the drink, keep in mind, it does dissolve differently.  Due to no other added chemicals to the drink, a slow pour of the powder into half of the amount of water you want to mix up is recommended.  Shake the bottle for a little and let it sit.  You may notice some of the drink accumulate at the bottom, this is the undissolved honey, that is normal and will happen.  Let the bottle sit for about five minutes and then shake again.  Add the rest of the water to the bottle and shake once more and your off.  This process is perfect, as I tend to mix my hydration drink ahead of my workout anyway.  

Week one marathon training review

This week I finished my first week of running workouts, along with my other cardio and light weights I am doing to prepare for a marathon in June of this year.  Logged a total of 14 miles.  My long run was yesterday consisting of 8 miles.  I kind of mapped out in my head the course I would take and stuck to it.  The course had a gas station which I was glad I planned as I needed to use the restroom.  The weather was in the mid 60's so I just wore a tech shirt and pair of shorts. I have been working really hard to keep my heart rate down as it averaged 147bpm.