there is no finish line...enjoy the ride...

What's your "BHAG" that will keep you active?

I have to be honest; I’m having a little trouble finding my motivation this year as I switch from off season maintenance training to hard core preparation for the upcoming cycling season.  The problem is I don’t have a BHAG (I’ll explain that in a minute).  Sure, I still work out every day; this will never change, but something is missing.  I even have a new bike with a power meter that’s introducing me to a whole new way of training that I’m sure will improve my performance.  But I’m having trouble “amp-ing” up the emotional side of my training.  Unlike last year I don’t have the same “fire-in-the-belly” kind of motivation, because I don’t have what Jim Collins, the author of “Built to Last”, calls a “Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)”.  This time last year I was well into training and preparing for the world’s hardest amateur bike race, Haute Route.  Just thinking about Haute Route scared the hell out of me and there’s nothing like a little fear to motivate a person, or in my case, a lot of fear.

In his book, Mr Collins defines a BHAG,as, “a strategic goal which is created to focus an organization (or individual) on a single medium-long term goal which is audacious, likely to be externally questionable, but not internally regarded as impossible”.  In the world of amateur cycling, I can’t think of anything that can focus one’s attention more than the thought of competing against 600 of the world’s best amateur cyclists, over 800 km+ in 7 days through the French Alps, with over 20,000 meters (70,000 feet) of climbing.  Haute Route surely qualified as my BHAG for 2013 and short of doing it again this year; there’s a big void to fill.

I often suggest to people that are new to exercise or adopting new lifelong healthy habits, that in the absence of tangible, measurable goals that align with a larger purpose, they’re more likely to quit and fall back into their old habits.  And goals that are beyond a person’s reach today, but achievable if they really apply themselves are even better.  For example, I signed up to my first Ironman when I could barely swim.  Again, FEAR of failure is a great motivator. 

I coached a guy a few years ago who was 75lbs overweight.  Instead of setting a goal to lose this excess weight like they do on the popular TV reality show the “Biggest Loser”, we focused on 9 months of preparing for the Chicago Marathon.  His diet and training supported a tangible and measurable goal that wasn’t rooted in vanity.  The inevitable, “set-in-stone” start date of the Chicago Marathon wasn’t going to change; it didn’t care what he weighed, or how he looked, it only cares that he focus on the right stuff in preparation, because if he didn’t, it would chew him up and spit him out.  I also suggested that he tell as many of his friends and family about his audacious goal and Facebook was great vehicle for this.  Not only did it make it impossible to back out, especially after telling so many people, but he also received amazing support.  He shared his 9 month journey from obesity to good health with regular updates and I’m sure he inspired a few people along the way.  Not only did he successfully complete the marathon, he dropped his weight from 245lbs to 168lbs and more importantly, he sets an annual BHAG to keep him committed to his health.

Only 8% of people stick to their health related New Year’s Resolutions and I myself fall into this small category.  In 1979, I decided to lose the extra 35lbs I gained while living a sedentary lifestyle during my time at college and the first couple years of working.  I didn’t exercise at all, and my diet consisted primarily of pizza and McDonalds.  It was also at this time that my mother was dying of cancer, so I made a New Year’s Resolution to make my health a lifelong priority and my first BHAG was to run the Toronto Eaton’s 10K road race in May of that year (only 5 months away), in under 40 minutes.  I hadn’t run a single step since my high school track days, so to just finish a 10k race was a stretch.  Instead of setting a goal of simply losing the extra fat I packed on over those years, I set a tangible target that required planning, training and commitment.  The muscle soreness and fatigue I felt after running my first mile of training on January 1st was probably my greatest motivator.  The more I ran, the better I felt and the better my diet became, as I realized how interconnected exercise and diet were.  And even though I wasn’t focused on my weight, it seemed to just take care of itself, as I went from 195lbs to 150lbs in 5 months.  So by the time May rolled around, I not only lost 45lbs, but I also ran the 10K race in 36:45 and placed 51^st out of 10,000+ participants.  Ever since then, I’ve been setting annual goals (like riding from Toronto to Ft Lauderdale Florida in 1982) that supported my lifelong commitment to health (my purpose).

Motivation comes from many places, for example, I love reading about, or meeting people that set BHAG’s for themselves and it’s all the more impressive when these people are in their 80’s, 90’s or older, and are engaged in activities generally considered unnatural for their peer group.  In this blog, I often speak about my own father, who’s run the equivalent of 2.5 times around the planet since he started running at the age of 59, and now in his 89^th year he still does his daily 5km - 10km walk/jog; or 86 year old Link Lindquisty who I met this past summer in the South of France, who’s the oldest human to cycled up and down all three sides of the infamous Mt. Ventoux in a single day, and he has his sights set on running the Western States 100 mile race when he turns 100 (how’s that for setting a huge BHAG).

But the star of motivation has to be Frenchman, Robert Marchand who two years ago set the world 1 hour cycling record (24.251 km) and 100km (4h 17m) for a human over 100.  And if that wasn’t enough, Mr Marchand is at it again in an attempt to break his own world record at the amazing age of 102!  (Read his amazing full story below).

So find whatever motivates you to get your ass off the couch and live a healthy and active lifestyle and the following 4 tips will help get going and keep you going:

1. Set a goal that’s measurable and is aligned with a greater purpose (it’s too easy to quit without purpose)
2. Set goals that scare you a little, (or even a lot).  Plan to do something you’ve never done before, or is above your present level requireing preparation, commitment and resolve,
3. Tell everyone you know, or meet about your goal and be an inspiration for someone else; positive energy is contagious,
4. And most of all…..Enjoy the Ride

Rob  

Marchand to make new hour record attempt at 102 years of age

Frenchman continues to inspire and to astound scientists

 

After previously setting marks for the hour record and 100 kilometres at over 100 years of age, French inspiration Robert Marchand is at it again; now almost 102 years old, he is planning to once again extend his hour record mark.

On February 17th of last year he travelled to the World Cycling Centre is Aigle, Switzerland, and rode 24.251 kilometres in an hour. He had been instructed beforehand by doctors not to exceed 110 beats per minute, and so rode within himself to go at that speed.

“I’m not playing at being a champion,” he said then. “I just wanted to do something for my 100th birthday.”

On September 28th he was at it again, heading to the Parc de la Tête d’Or Velodrome in Lyon and riding 300 laps. He covered the 100 kilometre distance in four hours 17 minutes 27 seconds, again setting a new standard.

Once again, he showed modesty about the achievement. “I feel like a guy who is a hundred years old, I feel good. I’m an ordinary guy,” he said then. “I rode a bike for 52 years, it is not new today.”

Now he wants to try the hour record once more, with INSERM [Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, or National Institute of Health and Medical Research – ed.] professor Véronique Billat announcing the bid today.

“We prepare Robert Marchand for the world record of an hour above 25 km/h in January he will be 102 yrs old,” she wrote on Twitter. “He improved his VO2max (35) and his maximal power by 10% by the strength component, especially 2.65 w/kg of full body mass with 13% fat mass.”

Marchand’s birthday takes place this month and he’s continuing to push the limits for his age.

He trains regularly, lives alone, is self-sufficient and continues to drive. He is just five feet tall (1m52), but is in superb health.

Born in 1911, Marchand started cycling at 14 years of age, then later left France and lived in Canada and Venezuela. He worked as a fireman, market gardener, show salesman and wine dealer, and competed as an amateur boxer. He returned to cycling in 1978 at 67 years of age, building up the distances and training with riders who were far younger than he was.

He finally retired from work at 89 years of age and around that time rode the Bordeaux-Paris event. He covered the 600 kilometres in 36 hours. More recently, he’s limited the distance, although he still does a considerable amount. “For the last five years I have decided not to go for rides of more than 100km,” he said in February of last year, when he lay down an age-related hour record of 24.251 kilometres.

“There is no point going overboard. I want to keep cycling for some time yet.”

Prior to setting his 100 kilometre age record last September, he was asked if he would use any performance-enhancing substances during his attempt. “The only doping for me is water with a spoonful of honey that I put in my canteen [water bottle] - that's it,” he answered then, before joking, “if I was doping, though, maybe I could hit 35 km/h.”

He explained his key to life, and fitness. “I am lucky that I haven’t had any major health problems. My advice to anyone, young or old, is to keep moving. I do ‘physical culture’ every day. It works out my whole body and keeps me supple.

“Some people when they reach 80 years old, start playing cards and they stay immobile. Not me. I’ve never been able to keep still…”

Marchand’s extraordinary physical shape has captivated the attention of many, not least the scientists at the Inserm public research institute. They study him every three months, and are impressed by what they see.

“They told me I had the constitution of a 55-year-old man, they think it's genetic,” he told Reuters last year. “I have never deprived myself of anything: not wine, not food, not women, but always with moderation.”

 

Random Thoughts…for a Boxing Day

After enjoying a great Christmas with our daughter Nicole and her boyfriend Michael who both travelled from London England this year to be with us in Calgary for the Holiday Season, I just thought I’d share a few random thoughts on this Boxing Day that I often speak to when asked about health and fitness.  So here goes, in no particular order, enjoy:

• It's really about being fit for life. Think about your body like a car. Once you park a car for a while, it may be harder to start, or maybe it will never start again. But if you just keep driving it, it'll probably keep going. Your body likes to be driven.  My father who’s 88, walk/jogs every morning because he says as long as he’s moving, he’s living.  And my friend Link Lindquisty, who’s the oldest person to climb all three sides of Mt Ventoux in one day (at the age of 85), plans on running the Western States 100 mile race when he turns 100!  He only has 15 years to go, and every day he asks himself if what he does on that day will contribute to his goal.

• You want fitness that you can actually use. Why do any exercise without a purpose?  People that hit the gym with no purpose usually give up on their program, especially at this time of year when the “New Year’s Resolution” group shows up.  If you’re going to commit to an exercise program, do it with purpose.  For example, when I’m in my gym, the purpose is to do exercises that improve my cycling.  So if you’re going to get fit, have a reason why you’re making such a commitment and do it in support of something you love.  Chances are you’ll stick to your program.

• You are what you eat.  If you eat and drink garbage, don’t be surprised if you perform like garbage.
• Vacations aren’t a time to break from your good habits.  It’s an opportunity to get into an even better routine. During my personal time off this year, I raced two Gran Fondos, competed in the toughest amateur cycling event in the world, rode up Mt Ventoux 3 times in 4 days and still enjoyed the South of France with my wife.  This may be considered extreme by many, but so often I see people neglect, or in some cases abuse their bodies as soon as they go on vacation.  Refer to point #1.

• How to rest.  This is something I'm still trying to do better. Going full steam all the time is not always the most productive approach to achieve or maintain good fitness because you're always trying to catch-up with recovery.
• You have to do different stuff.  When you reach a certain level in any sport, you become so efficient the effort level really diminishes. Your body has adapted.  For example, I recently introduced Rebounding into my exercise program as it helps my power output and core development for cycling, in addition to maintaining healthy bone density because it provides a non-impact, load-bearing activity.
• Above everything, sleep. I’ve made this a New Year’s Resolution three times in the past five years and I still get too little.  It’s on my list again for this year.  We all need around 8 hours, ‘nuff said.
• I know people that eat healthier than me, and if they don't get their sprouted bread, they nearly go into a seizure.  By comparison, I can eat “Pulled Pork and Sweet Potato Fries” at my local pub once in a while and it won't put me into toxic shock. It's like if a car is too high-performance, like a Bugatti Veyron that can only operate on 100 Octane.  I’d rather be the BMW, because if you fill it with regular gas once in a while, it may cough and burp a little, but it's still gonna keep running.
• Chew your food more. That'll probably do more for your ability to absorb nutrients from your food than just about anything.
• It's always more enjoyable to train with other people. It's more stimulating, and it will also push you because you have accountability.  My step-brother, Gerry Patterson and I competed in Haute Route last summer and although we never said it directly to each other, we had our own little battle going on, where we pushed each other harder than if we were riding by ourselves.  You don’t want to be the guy that said, “This hurts too much, so I’m just going to take it easy now”.

• Fear is an unbelievable motivator.  Once you understand as a motivator, you can use fear to your benefit.  Nothing struck more fear into me this year than making the commitment to compete in Haute Route.  Its reputation for being the hardest amateur cycling event in the world motivated every participant to train with a heightened sense of purpose and commitment.  Find a goal that scares the hell out of you and watch how focused you become.

• And if you aren't able to be scared, you’ve probably never pushed yourself past what you thought was possible.

• We are our own greatest inhibitors. People don't want to do new things if they think there’s a chance that they’re not going to be good or someone is going to laugh at them. You have to be willing to subject yourself to failure, (fall off the bike and get back on), and try stuff that you've never done in order to be the best you can be.
• Schedule your training, you owe it to yourself.  If your health and fitness is a life-long priority you’ll make it happen, otherwise, you’ll just make excuses.   
• And finally, if you're still doing it, you’ve won already!

Enjoy the Ride….Rob

Are the nurtition "experts" confusing you?

I just returned from close to a month in France.  The first part of my trip was to participate in the grueling Haute Route bike race.  This is a 7 day stage race from Geneva to Nice France, covering over 800km through the French Alps, climbing over 21,000 meters or 70,000 feet of grueling mountains passes every day at my maximum race pace effort. It was undeniably the hardest endurance event I’ve ever competed in and it certainly lived up to its reputation as being, “the Highest and Hardest” cycling sportive in the world.

Approximately 600 participants competed in Haute Route and for one week I lived in a “cycling bubble”.  Imagine if you will an environment where every person is keenly aware of their personal health and fitness level (I was even comfortable wearing compression socks in public). This obviously contrasts to the everyday world we live in, where the typical North American’s personal health and wellness is not a priority, that is unless they have an illness or disease.

Outside the Haute Route cycling bubble, which consists of very thin cyclists that take their health and fitness to a scientific level, was the everyday person who cheered alone the roadside as 600 of us passed through their villages or towns.  It’s these people that caught my attention, because they represent the general population by which I can draw comparisons to what I observe here in North America. 

After finishing Haute Route, my wife and I spent the next few weeks in the Provence region of France, starting in Nice where we observed and enjoyed a very different lifestyle compared to what we’re accustomed to in Calgary, or our other home in Arizona. 

It seemed we could find any number of close-by markets where fresh locally grown food was always available. 

We also spent two wonderful days with a good cycling friend and his family and were treated to meals that were fresh, healthy, sourced locally, and very typical of the French lifestyle. 

By contrast, when I returned home, I found myself steering my oversized grocery cart through my local supersized grocery store, selecting produce that was probably aged artifically under ultraviolet lights, while  surrounded by oversized people stuffing their oversized carts for what appeared to be a month’s worth of processed junk food and supersized soft drinks. 

My general observation is that, “North Americans are obsessed with size and equate ‘more’ with better value”.  This thinking manifests itself in our supermarkets, restaurants, home appliances, highways, real estate etc. We drive oversized minivans and sport utility vehicles; we rip into potato chips bags the size of garbage bags, we drink soft drinks from bathtub-sized containers and wedge our steroid fed Thanksgiving turkeys into oversized refrigerators that have more room than most European cars.

The fact that we weigh too much because we eat too much on a regular basis may be obvious to some, but I’m starting to see a disturbing trend of pseudo-science that’s distracting us from the real causes behind our unhealthy size.  Study after study are looking at fringe reasons why over 65% of us are either overweight or obese and are focusing on the edges of the problem instead of the flabby core.  It seems like we’re focusing on the less daunting issues that distract us from the one that’s most difficult to change, which is the sheer volume of food our “larger is better” culture accepts and now believes is normal.

In the past two weeks since returning from France, I’ve read stories or blog posts that describe research exploring the effects of a proper breakfast on weight loss; the implications of gut bacteria on a person’s tendency to be fat; the impact that sleep deprivation on dietary cravings; the possibility of strenuous exercise as an appetite suppressant (I can attest this isn’t true after observing how much food we ate after strenuous daily racing during Haute Route); and the unhealthy food choices a person will make when their favorite sport team loses the game.  I even read an article that experts have now drawn a parallel between air-conditioning and obesity. 

Like the trillion dollar business seeking a cure for cancer, obesity has become full-time employment for scientists, physicians, nutritionists, and professors, who are funded to look for every obscure reason why we’re so fat. What’s upsetting is that these experts have done little in the way of providing clarity; in fact they have done more to confuse the general public than help. We’ve been told that snacking is good for us and that it’s not; that fruits and veggies will save the day and that they won’t; that more exercise means fewer pounds and that it makes little to no difference. Their approach to the weight issue is like a doctor stitching a cut finger on a severed arm; they're focusing on the cursory problems when the larger issue is staring them in the face.  There’s no one standing at my door offering a million dollar research grant, but what I’ve advised the people I’ve coached has yielded positive and lasting results more consistent than anything the experts are advising and it’s largely because I keep it simple and focus on the obvious problem.  

Back to Europe for a moment. I’ve been there a number of times over the past few years and from my observation, I know they’re generally thinner and healthier than North Americas.  I also know they walk more, and they eat more locally grown foods, but these factors alone don’t make the difference in body size or health when compared to North Americas.  The reason for the difference is because they don’t celebrate huge portions the way we do.  They can’t comprehend the sheer volume of food we eat over here. For example, my friend in France said the French don’t understand the concept of the “Doggie-Bag” (you know, for that time when we just can’t shovel anymore food in our faces, so we take whatever’s leftover home and eat it later).  He said it would be very difficult to move his family back to the United States, where he's originally from, largely because of the lifestyle differences, which includes the unhealthy eating practices of North Americans. Note the healthy portion size on "Mrs. No-Finish-Line's" plate (Eggplant, Rice and Pork Tenderloin, served with a wonderful bottle of local rosé wine).

When the typical North American thinks of value; 7-11’s Super Big Gulp, Coca Cola’s economy pack, KFC’s party size, Papa John’s two-for-one pizza, the Whopper, the Double Whopper, the Triple Whopper, Costco in all its bloated grandeur all come to mind. With restaurants that serve obscene volumes of food and are celebrated on shows like “Man vs. Food”, we’ve been taught that quantity, not quality, equals good value and it’s established a dangerous baseline for what we consider to be a sane and acceptable amount of food. 

While preparing for Haute Route, part of my training objective was to reach and maintain an optimal race weight.  I often think cyclists are more pre-occupied with weight than international super models.  Although for a cyclist, carrying an unnecessary 5 to 10 lbs over 70,000 feet of mountain climbs, as I did in Haute Route can be the difference between racing well and just surviving.  For me, this meant I had to lose around 10lbs to 15lbs, which doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re already thin, losing 10 to 15 pounds requires extra attention to not only what I ate, but how much of it I consumed.  During the 7 months leading up to Haute Route, I dropped my weight from 167lbs to 153lbs.  Actually, I gained 4lbs of muscle during this time and lost 18lbs of body fat for a net weight loss of 14 pounds (6.36 kg) and still managed to maintain a very healthy 7.8% bodyfat.  I achieved this simply by paying particular attention to my food portions in addition to my food quality.  After getting over my habit of eating more than I really needed, I was surprised how easy it was to eat smaller, healthier portions and still not feel hungry.  And the surprising and unexpected benefit was how much more I enjoyed the food I ate. 

So my advice if you’re seeking a healthy body size is to ignore the cursory pseudo-science that’s confusing our lifestyle choices, especially when it comes to food and simply learn what a healthy portion is and eat accordingly.  Remember, when it comes to food, “less is more”.   

Enjoy the Ride....Rob

 

Gran Fondo Preparation 101

A friend of mine is organizing the Gran Fondo Canmore being held on July 6th, 2013 in the beautiful Canadian Rockies asked if I would write a post about preparing for such an event. I hope this post contains some high level information that enhances your experience while keeping you safe.

Firstly, for those of you who are new to the term “Gran Fondo”.  A Gran Fondo, (or cyclosportive, or simply referred to as a sportive in most European countries), is a short to long distance, organized, mass-participation cycling event.  Gran Fondo is the Italian term commonly used for these events in the North America and most English-speaking countries and they're springing up all over the place.  It's been said that cycling is the new golf.  Now I don't know if this is true, but I certainly know cycling is a great form of exercise that can be enjoyed at any age.

These events are not considered cycling races and riders of all calibers participate.  For the recreation rider, finishing and sharing the outdoors with good friends and like minded participants is the primary objective, and for the more competitive cyclists, well, they give you a number and a provide you with a finishing time, so for guys like me, that's enough to be competitive.

Since the range and abilities of cyclists riding in any Gran Fondo are vastly different, I will focus this post more on the basics, as the seasoned riders will be well versed in these concepts.  I will provide basic information on:

1. Bike Setup,
2. Training,
3. Food & Drink
4. Safety  

Bike Set-up

So before we can talk about bike set up, you have to answer the following question:  

Are you more interested in cycling performance, or do you care more about comfort and enjoying the scenery? 

The answer to this question determines how you position yourself on your bike. How your friend sets up his or her bike will have little to no bearing on your setup, even if he or she has exactly the same body measurements. You know why you ride a bike and only you know what trade-offs you’re willing to make in order to achieve your purpose on a bicycle.  Below I will describe some general concepts for you to consider, but to get your bike fitted properly, especially if you’re new to cycling, while keeping the answer to the question above in mind, I suggest you visit your local bike shop for assistance.  Below are some basics to consider.

Fore/aft Position: After establishing the height of your saddle, the fore/aft position is the most important position and is based on what type of riding you prefer to do.  Are you looking for “comfort” or “power & performance”?  It’s a trade-off.  Here’s how to start.  Get comfortable while in the dropped portion of your handlebars and then take your hands off the bars and hold the position without the use of your arms holding you up.  If you require your arms to hold you up because you have to strain your torso muscles, you’re probably in the performance position, but if you can hold the position just with your torso muscles without too much effort, you’re more likely in a touring position.  I always recommend new riders to be comfortable on their bike and over time if they continue riding, they will migrate to varying degrees of the performance position. 

If you watch pro cyclists on TV, you will notice they bent way over with their backs flat in the power position to maximize their performance.  The compromise is it’s not initially comfortable as the touring posiiton and takes years of training to get used to this extreme position.  That's assuming you're even interested in this type of riding.

Regardless of whether you want to tour or race, as you ride more you will find yourself leaning further forward into the power position by extending your stem length and/or moving your saddle further back.  Note: as you move your saddle forward or rearward, you are effectively changing the saddle height relative to the cranks, since the saddle rails are not perpendicular to the seat tube. So be prepared to change the seat height as you adjust the fore-aft saddle position; lowering the saddle as you move it back to maintain the same leg extension, while raising it as you move the saddle forward, always keeping a slight bend in the knee whereby you never find yourself rocking your hips while peddling.

I find most new riders opt out for a shorter stem length with many spacers that raises their handlebar height so they’re in a that comfortable upright position.  They will also notice they don’t ride as fast as the seasoned riders that are bend over.  Besides their training, seasoned cyclists position themselves for maximum power and aerodynamics (which I’ll get to in a moment).  But it takes time to gradually move into this riding position, so if you want to enjoy your first Gran Fondo withour the sore neck and back, think comfort first.

Aerodynamics: The distance from the nose of your saddle to the middle of your handlebars is an important measurement to keep in mind.   If you stick with cycling over the years, this measurement will get larger, because you’ll be, 1) more comfortable in the power position mentioned above, and 2) be more aerodynamically efficient.  

If you look at bikes specifically built for individual speed efforts (time trials or triathlons), they are designed to maximize power and aerodynamics.  In fact, the rider is in such an extreme position; they require pads on their handlebars to rest their arms because there’s no way the torso muscles could hold them in that position for very long. Besides being in the power position, reducing wind resistance is extremely important because the coefficient of drag (wind resistance) increases by the power of 3 relative to your speed.  In simpler terms, the smaller profile you present to the wind (i.e. lower body position) will reduce your power requirements to maintain a certain speed.  New riders almost always ride more upright, thereby presenting a larger surface area to the wind thereby increasing the coefficient of drag, while also being in a position that reduces their power output.  Below is a picture of 2012 Tour de France and Olympic Time Trail Champion, Bradley Wiggins showing this principle in action, enroute to his Tour victory.

Summary: So when you set up your bike and you’re new to cycling I suggest you focus on comfort first, but be mindful of the trade-off you’re making when it comes to power and aerodynamics.  And if you’re a seasoned rider, slam that big dog stem as low as it can go and remember Rule #5 of the Velominati rules of cycling. 

Training

If this is your first Gran Fondo you have time to prepare yourself for a summer Gran Fondo event to maximize your riding experience.  Since most Gran Fondos have different distances to choose from, like the Canmore event, your training distances may vary from someone doing a shorter distance, but the concepts remain the same. 

I coach a number of people and supply them with a structured program based on their personal Anaerobic Thresholds and incorporates techniques and training loads, balanced by micro and macro rest and recovery periods.  Their training is provided in the form of a daily workout schedule to ensure they achieve peak performance on the day of their targeted event.  Since I won’t be providing that level of detail to such a wide audience, I will share with some basic concepts to get you prepared so you’ll enjoy your day of riding during the event.

If you’re just starting to get acquainted with your new bike without having done much training in the past few months (or years), your goal will be to build an endurance base tailored for cycling with the majority of your riding done at a low to moderate effort. Your weekly training plan will encompass three different workouts, each designed to tap into different energy systems required to comfortably complete such an event.  These three workouts are:

1. Base/Endurance,
2. Tempo and
3. Intervals. 

If you’re new to cycling or just cleaning the dust of your machine now, you will focus most of your training time on Base/Endurance workouts with a little Tempo riding.  And if you’ve been riding indoors throughout the winter months and already have a good base, you may want to increase your power and speed with higher intensity tempo and interval workouts as I describe below. 

Base/Endurance – The objective of this training is to ultimately prepare your body to be in the saddle for approximately the same amount of time you’ll be riding on the day of your event.  This weekly workout is your long ride (as in hours) and should be done on the same day of the week you’re race is planned.  Your body likes and adjusts to patterns, so if the event is on a Sunday, try your best to schedule your weekly long ride on a Sunday.   This ride should be done at a moderate to easy pace, which uses fat as the primary fuel source (yes, you’ll probably lose some weight riding a bike, as long as you eat sensibly). Increase your weekly riding distances so by the time you reach event day, you’re comfortable riding close to, or the actual distance you’ve selected to participate in. 

Tempo – Given most Grand Fondo events will have hills and head winds, it’s important that you train your body to ride at a harder intensity than what you do during your long endurance rides.  Just remember if you never ride hard, don’t expect to ride hard on event day.  In the absence of knowing your training zones based on your anaerobic threshold, this ride should be at an intensity whereby talking to your riding partner starts to become difficult because you’re breathing hard.  The total time for this workout should be approximately 60  to 90 minutes.  You should start and finish with 10 minutes of easy riding to warm up and cool down and the actual hard tempo component should be broken into 15 – 20 minute intervals with 5 minutes of easy riding to recover between sets.  Cycling is as much about mental endurance as it is about physical endurance and this is a very effective way to train your mind to push through periods of discomfort.

Intervals – if you want to increase your speed or ability to climb hills or simply to keep up with the group and enjoy the benefit of their draft, interval training is a must.  There are a number of ways to perform intervals, but they’re all based on the same concept of doing an all-out effort followed by a rest period, which is repeated multiple times.  For example, after you’ve done a10 minute warm-up, find a local hill and ride hard up at a pace that you would have trouble holding a conversation because you’re breathing so hard.  After a couple minutes of this hard effort, relax and recover as you take your time riding back down the hill and repeat this process for 30 – 60 minutes.  Another way is to find a stretch of flat road with minimal traffic and ride as hard as you can (preferably into the wind) for a couple of minutes, then turn around and ride very easy to the original start point and keep doing this loop for 30 - 60 minutes.  It may look strange repeating these loops, but this type of training is very effective and yields great performance results.

Rest Day(s) – On any given training week you should incorporate rest into your training plan.  A couple days of scheduled rest will increase the quality of the three key training sessions described above.  Rest days can be either a complete day off, or a day of easy spinning. It’s better to be well rested, than over trained and burned out when heading into your event.  So make sure you get plenty of rest to allow your body to recover from your high quality training sessions.

Food & Drink

It’s important to know that between your liver and muscles you only have 2 to 3 hours of energy stored in your body in the form of glycogen.  If you plan on being on your bike longer than that, you’ll have to eat some food that’s high in carbohydrates as fuel.  The rule of thumb that seems to work for most poeple is to take you weight in kilograms and eat that amount of carbs in grams per hour.  For example, I weight 155lbs (70kgs), so I eat about 70 gm of carbohydrate every hour of riding after the first hour.  That said, figuring out what to eat is a little harder and is as much an art, as it is a science.  Even after 30+ years of riding, I'm style fine tuning what I eat while riding to maximize my performance.  Some people have sensitive stomachs (like me) and have trouble with many of the over the counter products found in stores, so I generally I make my own out of real food.  I tell everyone I coach to, “eat your carbs and drink your electrolytes”. 

Besides building up your endurance, your long rides will provide you the opportunity to test what food and hydration combination what works best for you, being mindful of the balance between performance and GI issues.

I have a second home in Arizona where the temperatures can sour to 40C during any given ride and careful attention to hydration is paramount.  Hydration needs change from person to person but we’re all affected somehow by the temperature.  You should know your hydration needs long before event day so you don’t become dehydrated on your big day.  The easiest way to do this is simply weight yourself before and after your rides.  You should drink enough fluid not to lose more than 2% of your body weight, as this will negatively impact your performance.  Note that every kilo (2.2lbs) of weight loss is equal to one liter of sweat and you should adjust your fluid intake accordingly. 

What to drink is also important.  If you’re riding under a couple hours, generally water will do, but longer than that will require electrolyte replacement, particularly salt.  I personally drink a product called Skratch, which comes in a powder and can be easily added to water when I ride distances that require electrolytes.  I particularly like this product because it closely simulates the water and electrolytes lost through sweat, less all the sugars found in popular energy drinks.  And best of all, it doesn’t upset my sensitive stomach like the sugary drinks.  Click on this Skratch link as they have some good information about electrolyte loss.

SAFETY

I want to talk about, 1) safety while training by yourself, about motorists and 2) safety on the day of your event or in a group ride setting. 

Training Safety - Because you share the road with motor vehicles, you want to be aware of your surroundings at all times, using all your senses.  This includes your hearing.  You can’t hear vehicles approaching behind you if the traffic noise is drowned out by your favourite tune on your iPod.  Use common sense and NEVER listen to an iPod in a city or high traffic areas.  If you’re riding on a large paved shoulder on a lightly traveled country road, well maybe you can listen to music, but only if the volume is turned down low enough that you can hear approaching traffic.  And NEVER use iPods in an organized event or group ride regardless of how light the motor vehicle traffic is. 

About Motorists - Get comfortable with being able to glance frequently around you, including behind yourself so you’re always aware of the traffic situation.  A bicycle is a vehicle and you must obey the same rules of the road as you would if you were driving a car.  On group training rides, unless you’re riding on a wide paved shoulder, always ride a single paceline so traffic can pass safely.  Don’t give motorists more reasons to dislike cyclists than they already seem to have by riding two or three abreast.  And should you be comfronted by an angry person behind the wheel, don't escalate the situation by yelling or "flipping the bird".  You’ll never win an argument with some person driving a car or truck.  You may be right, but you can be "dead right".

Event or Group Riding - Riding close to others is very different than riding by yourself.  Not only should you be aware of traffic and your surroundings for your own good, but for the good of the group.  Also, you should be comfortable riding close to other riders that may be less than a foot behind, or in front of you. 

Below are a few pointers to keep you and everyone around you safe:

• When riding a paceline, the lead person should point out potential road hazards, like debris or potholes to the person behind them and each person relay this information through the pack. 
• Don’t be shy to verbally communicate your intentions, or if you’re uncomfortable, or if someone in the group isn’t following proper rider etiquette.  Your safety and the safety of the group take priority over hurting someone's feelings.
• Don’t simply rely on the person in front of you for your personal safety by only looking down at they’re rear wheel.  Always look up the road for yourself and communicate and react accordingly.
• Don’t overlap your front wheel with the rear wheel of the rider in front of you.  The rider in the back is always the one that goes down when wheels touch, and it happens in an instant.
•  “Hold your line” and “Hold your pace”.  No sudden moves.  If you can’t hold your pace or your line, you should practice more by yourself for the safety of the group and yourself.
• Never ride a bike with aerobars in a group ride where a paceline develops. Leave this for the pros and enjoy watching them on TV as they ride at over 60km/hr with only a few inches separating their wheels.
• If you’re new to riding in a paceline, wait until you’re at the back to eat or drink. 
• When it’s your turn to take a pull, don’t sprint off the front causing the whole group to sprint to keep up.  Ride at the group’s pace taking short pulls at the front and then let the next person come through for their turn at the front in a smooth consistent pace.  No sudden moves.  Making sudden changes while riding in close quarters cause stress and increases the potential for unnecessary crashes.

NOTE:  There are only two types of cyclist, those who have crashed and those who will crash, so stack the deck in your favour and do everything possible to keep the rubber side down for as long as possible.

This has been a high level summary of a few things that will make your ride on event day a little more enjoyable and safe.  There are hundreds of books dedicated to any one of these topics, so this only scratches the surface, but will set you off in the right direction. 

Cycling captures that wonderful sense of freedom we all enjoyed as children when we got our first two-wheeler and were allowed to explore the neighbour.  If you want to feel young forever, ride a bike.

Enjoy the Ride....Rob

What Are You Made Of?

My regular guest blogger, Dr Les Davidson and I align on most health related topics and this week is no exception.  Of the people that actually monitor their body weight, I wonder how many understand what makes up the number on their scale, and why is it important.  That’s the topic of today’s post by Dr Les.

Besides our nation being just lazy, the obesity epidemic gripping North America may be in part due to what I call, “health illiteracy”.  So many people have preconceived ideas of what “healthy” is, but in actual fact they score very low on the health literacy scale when it comes to nutrition, diet, body weight, fitness, sleep, stress, etc., and even lower on execution.

Specifically related to Dr Les’ topic of weight, I’m experiencing this “illiteracy” first hand as I train for the hardest amateur bike race in the world this August - Haute Route.   This 7 day stage race starts in Geneva and finishes in Nice France and covers 860km through the beautiful French Alps.  But it's not the distance that makes this race so grueling; it’s the 21,000 meters (68,000 feet) of climbing over the Alps that makes is so hard.  Below is the profile of the 7 days of racing facing the 600 participants of Haute Route. 

 

Given the amount and severity of climbing involved, special attention to a rider's body weight and its composition is of primary concern to every participant.  There’s a reason why cyclists pay more attention to their weight than international super models, and it has little to do with vanity.  In fact, it has everything to do with how much power a rider can produce for every kilogram of body weight.  And the relationship between power output and weight has greater sagnificance when long, steep mountain climbs are involved.

At the beginning of January, I weighed 171lbs, but to race Haute Route, I would have to shed between 15lbs to 20lbs to increase my “power-to-weight” ratio to over 4 watts/kg.  Losing weight is just half the battle, as one must also be mindful of what type of weight that's lost.  In my case, I want to lose body fat, while maintaining or even increasing lean muscle mass. 

There’s an old saying in business, “If you can measure it, you can manage it”.  So, at the beginning of February I started measuring my body fat using skin fold calipers.  By focusing on the quality and even more importantly, the quatity of food I consumed, I now weight 156lbs.  During this time I also gained 4lbs of lean muscle, so effectively I’ve lost 19lbs of body fat since January.  Since fat occupies more volume than muscle, I’ve also lost an inch from my chest, waist and hips, so I actually appear much thinner.  Below is my progression of weight loss and muscle gain since I started recording this information in February.

And here in lies the “health illiteracy” issue.

It seems in North America you can be overweight, or even obese, and no one will ever mention that you have a serious and potentially life threatening health issue.  In fact, a recent study found that over 60% of parents with overweight children considered them to be of normal weight.  But if you’re thin, as in healthy thin, people take it upon themselves to point out that you’re too thin and don’t look healthy.  Can you imagine the reaction you would receive if you told a friend that she was overweight and didn't look healthy?  The duel standard is because of three reasons:

1. Given there are so many overweight and obese people in North America, our mental model of what constitutes a healthy weight and size has been skewed over the decades.  People of a healthy thin composition are now in the minority and look different to the majority of overweight North Americans.
2. Most people are illiterate when it comes to what a healthy size and weight should be.  Just like the majority of people no longer know what represents a healthy food portion.  As a result, the bigger is better attitude prevails.
3. Finally, weight loss is generally associated with serious illnesses such as AIDS, Cancer or Eating Disorders.  My good friend Pierre LeClair who I coach was once 250lbs.  After losing 80lbs last year, he tells me people that haven’t seen him for a while ask him if he’s sick because he looks too thin, even though he’s the healthiest he’s been in decades.

This is obviously frustrating to a guy like myself that’s uber aware of my health and fitness, but more importantly, it draws attention to the fact that so many people are “health illiterate” which has negative consequences at both individual and national levels. 

Dr Les, has done a great job of framing the issue, why it’s important to understand what you’re made of, monitoring techniques, and how to bring yourself back to a healthy and well proportioned size. 

As always with much of what I share, “knowledge is power, but action flicks the switch”. 

Enjoy the ride….Rob

 

What Are You Made Of?

by: Dr Les Davidson

What are you made of? Or stated more technically, what is your body composition? Are you a lean, mean athletic machine, or are you getting a little soft?  Every year billions (with a “b”) of dollars are spent on weight-loss endeavors in North America. Beyond the obvious — looking good at the beach — is there any reason to be concerned about the composition of your body.

As a competitive wrestler throughout high school and university, the scale was a constant companion because we were grouped according to our weight classes for competition.  I learned quickly that the quality of my weight was crucial; reducing extraneous fat became an important objective. Forty years later the challenge to maintain an optimum fat to muscle ratio is still there but my motivation is less about competing and more about remaining healthy and active. In order to do that, I need to pay close attention to my body composition.

Body composition is simply a measurement of lean body mass (bones, muscles, ligaments and organs) compared to fat mass which is referred to as adipose tissue. Technology allows us to accurately measure the amount of lean mass versus fat mass. These measurements are expressed as percentages of overall weight and knowing these percentages and what they indicate is important to your health.

A certain amount of body fat is essential to insulate our body, protect our organs from trauma, provide energy, and to assist hormone production necessary for reproduction. The amount of essential fat will vary dependent on sex and age but there are recommendations for ideal body fat percentages. The table below from the American Council on Exercise is typical fat percentages.

	Male	Female
Essential fat	3-5%	10-16%
Competitive Athletes	6-13%	14-20%
Recreational Athletes	14-18%	21-24%
Average	19-20%	25-31%
Obese	25+%	32+%

 

An equally important variable is where the fat is located; excess fat found at the waist (also known as central obesity) is associated with increased risk to our health. Our waists are thickened not just by the fat we can feel but also because excess fat accumulates around the organs (visceral adipose tissue).

Historically, we believed this fat to be an inert storage of extra energy. Medical science has now come to understand that adipose tissue is a major endocrine organ that produces hormones associated with insulin resistance and general body inflammation. The conditions associated with excess fat are often discussed as separate syndromes but in reality, they are a group of interrelated issues that cascade into ill health. Insulin resistance and inflammation leads to Metabolic Syndrome or Syndrome X — conditions associated with an elevated risk of Type Two diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease. There is also strong evidence that Metabolic Syndrome increases risk for certain Cancers. Then there is the impact that excess adipose tissue has on the musculoskeletal system with increased back pain and damage to the weight-bearing joints of the lower extremities. In my office each day I see patients impacted by being overweight. It may not cause their back, hip or knee pain but it aggravates their symptoms and limits their ability to be as active as needed to regain good health.

Determining your risk:

Body weight alone is a poor indicator of body composition as it does not differentiate between lean tissue (bones, muscles, connective tissue and organs) and body fat. There is no single ideal percentage of body fat for everyone. Estimating body composition is attempted with the body mass index using the variables of weight and height (weight divided by height squared). More accurate methods using DEXA (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry) or hydrostatic weighing (calculating what sinks (lean mass) versus what floats (fat) when the client is submerged under water) are often difficult for most individuals to access. Using calipers to measure skin folds or employing Bioimpedance are affected by the skill of the person measuring and the formulas applied, but can be easily mastered with a little practice. At our office we employ the bioimpedance method. With careful attention to patient hydration and selection of the optimum formula, we have had results that match closely to results of the DEXA scan.

Another method to stratify those who have high levels of body fat ignores the percentage of lean mass and body fat and focuses instead on the amount of belly fat. Measuring your waist circumference may be a more sensitive test because, as I mentioned, Intra-abdominal or visceral fat (regardless of overall body fat) has a particularly strong correlation with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancers and other life shortening diseases. There are three ways that this measurement is used to quantify risk:

1. Waist circumference, Absolute waist circumference (>102 cm in men and >88 cm in women)
2. Waist–hip ratio (the circumference of the waist divided by that of the hips of >0.9 for men and >0.85 for women)[19]
3. Waist circumference divided into height. This has been described as the index of central obesity. (0 .5 or greater is suggested as a sign of increased risk. More specifically the range for women was suggested to .47-.54 and for men as .51-.58).

Reducing the risk:

1. Diet: You cannot exercise at the same pace you can eat so it is critical to moderate your calories regardless of the protein, fat or carbohydrate content of your food or the amount you exercise. Look for food in a natural state with no “improvements” by the food industry (such as partially hydrogenated fat, preservatives or high-fructose corn syrup).
2. Exercise: Just remember we are designed to move and not doing so compromises our health. Vary the intensity and duration and include resistance activity. This challenge becomes greater as we age because hormonal shifts make building lean mass harder and layering on fat easier
3. Sleep: Sleeping too little or of a poor interrupted quality increases insulin resistance and raises cortisol the stress hormone. (See Rob’s blog, The Sleep Mistake Many of Us Make)
4. Stress reduction: Being overwhelmed or on heightened alert increases the sympathetic nervous system activity. This releases cortisol and directly increases belly fat. Moderating our moods by eating or drinking too much is often seen in response to stressful situations.

The body has tremendous recuperative powers if it is provided with the right inputs. March is Nutrition month and I would like to encourage you to think of the importance of quantity as well as quality of your food! Exercise is critical for good health but it can’t exercise your way out of a bad diet! Don’t pursue some unrealistic and media-hyped expectation for your body.  People come in all shapes and sizes but no shape is improved by an expanding layer of belly fat.

Pay more attention to what you’re made of. This will be good for your health and you just might look better on the beach this summer!

Calories are NOT Created Equally

I’d like to share with you an article I recently read in Bicycle Magazine that’s excellent “food for thought” (pardon the pun).  And not just for cyclists, but for anyone that’s interested in maintaining a healthy weight.  It's often suggested that it doesn't matter if the calories you eat comes from a donut, or an apple, because a calorie is a calorie and the body doesn’t know the difference.  Nothing could be further from the truth. 

Let’s start with some basics.  There are 3,500 calories in every pound of body weight and when you exercise you burn a varying amount of calories depending on your activity and intensity. For example, I zap around 9 to 10 calories every minute when I’m riding my bike, which means a guy weighing 159 pounds like myself will burn between 500 and 600 calories on a typical one hour bike ride—roughly the calories in a 6-inch Spicy Italian Subway sub. (If you're heavier, you shed more calories; if you're lighter, you lose less.)

Most people that exercise generally overestimate how many calories they’re burning up during their workout.  And if they eat an energy bar and drink a sports drink, they’ve effectively cancelled any calorie burn.  According to Leslie Bonci, MPH, RD, director of sports nutrition at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, “Surveys show that many exercisers overestimate the calories they burn by nearly double and unless every morsel has a food label, it's difficult to know how many calories are consumed and even harder to know how much you're burning."  And it goes without saying that your average couch potato has no clue what they’re consuming and unfortunately they couldn’t care less.  In fact, the only time they take an interest is when they’re told they have heart disease, cancer, or diabetes.

As mentioned above, a calorie is a measurement of the energy in food. And for years we've been told a calorie is a calorie. According to Bonci, "Foods close to their natural state, such as fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains and lean, whole cuts of meat, require energy from your body to chew and digest them. They create a thermic response, which means you burn calories just processing them."

Bonci and other experts partly blame the preponderance of "lazy calories" for the current obesity epidemic. "Our food is so heavily processed, it's practically predigested," she says. "That fast-food burger you eat from McDonalds has gone through so much pulverization, you barely have to chew. We're losing the ability to burn calories as we naturally would during the eating and digestive process." And many of these same foods are calorie-dense, so there's more for your body to store.

Neither Bonci nor I suggest counting calories as it takes the joy out of eating and ends up a futile venture. Instead, fill your plate with active calories, like those found in fruits and vegetables. Such foods possess more fiber and water, which means you digest them slowly, feel satisfied longer with longer-lasting energy.  Consider them as, "free foods" and eat as many as you want.

By simply changing the composition of your plate, you will lose weight without worrying about hunger pangs, counting calories, or bonking episodes if you’re a cyclist like me. Below shows what a "high performance plate" should look like. Structuring your meals this way will allow you to fill up without filling out.

The Performance Plate

• One-quarter to one-third of your meal should consist of active and semiactive calories from protein such as lean meat, skinless poultry, fish, eggs and low-fat dairy.
• One-half should be active calories from fruits and vegetables (for the fill-and-chew factor).
• One-quarter should be active and semiactive calories from whole-grain starches: brown rice, whole-wheat pasta.
• Couch Potato calories should be consumed sparingly; and if you are overweight (BMI greater than 24.8) try your best to avoid them completely.

Active Calories

• Lean meat, fish, poultry
• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Leafy greens
• Whole grains
• Beans and legumes

Semiactive Calories

• Fiber-rich cereal
• Whole-grain bread
• Low-fat dairy
• Soups

Couch Potato Calories

• Pastries, cookies, pies, cakes
• Fatty processed meats
• Chips, pretzels, snack foods
• Fast food

So being mindful of foods that are not only nutritious, but require energy to digest, you won’t have to starve yourself on one of those crazy diet programs that force you to count every calorie while depriving yourself the enjoyment of eating for pleasure as well as nourishment. 

Enjoy the Ride....Rob

Lance Armstrong...he is the best and worst of all of us

I’m not sure if it’s my last name or that I’m a cyclist, or both that makes me a target for opinion on this whole Lance Armstrong thing and I, like so many others couldn’t resist watching the Oprah interview to see what he said.  I struggle every time someone asks me the question, “so what do you think of Lance Armstrong”?

Externally my answer is pretty clear, although internally I have mixed opinions. 

You see, the integrity part of me hates the bastard for all the bullying, cheating, and lying over these many years.  I watched him race and speak directly into the camera that he didn’t cheat and he would attack anyone that challenged his word.  He ruined the lives of many people whose only fault was telling the truth.  He represents everything I despise in a person, so of course I hold him in great distain.

I’m also a competitive cyclist and I respect his drive, dedication, discipline, athletic capabilities (without the drugs), and his all out, never say die attitude that’s required in all high performing champions. I wish I had more of that.  So I respect the guy.

Wait a minute; a second ago you said you hated the guy.  Come on Rob, you can’t suck and blow at the same time, you either hate him or you respect him, you have to pick a side. But in the case of Lance Armstrong, you can suck and blow at the same time.

Lance has this polarizing effect on the public.  He contains the personality traits we respect and hate, all embodied in the same individual. It's why some will respect him, while others hate him passionately.  It just depends on the dominating characteristics each of us possesses whether you're a "Hater" or "Believer".  He is the best and worst in all of us. 

The next time you get into a heated debate over the details of why you feel the exact opposite to someone else about Lance, remember that your personality traits are different to theirs and they may respect and value certain aspects of Lance's character and overlook the traits that you passionately distain. There’s no right or wrong answer, only shades of grey.

So here’s my new answer that I’m borrowing from my friend Matt Young as it summarizes him best.

Lance Armstrong is a cancer survivor, legend, icon, son of a single parent, father to 4, boyfriend, ex husband, womanizer,  white, American, overachiever, athlete, role model, spokesperson, Olympian, team mate, captain, charismatic leader, businessman, above average hypocrite, me-centric, ego centric, ass-hole who’s now a scorned product of a society that loves to feed off his great story and then revel in the downfall, skinny, dork, really fast cyclist who cheated to reach a level of infamy we all dream of – but could only get to if we cheated and had his natural ability.

So basically in many ways, he’s like you and I.....only on steroids.

Enjoy the Ride….Rob

I'm Not the Man I Was...I'm Healthy Now

I usually write a blog that coincides with the 1^st of January when people set their New Year’s Resolutions.  The number one Resolution people announce has something to do with their health. I generally explain the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and describe in detail the risks associated with the unhealthy alternative. This year is different.  I intentionally held off writing the same old message. 

First, I decided to write a post mid way through January, because according to statistics, 70% of all people that make New Year’s Resolutions have already abandoned their commitment to a new lifestyle and retreated back to their favorite couch in front of the TV while eating unhealthy food and washing it down with soda, beer or a glass of wine. 

Second, instead of “preaching” the benefits and risks associate with lifestyle choices, I decided to share a story written by Peter Leclaire.  I coached Peter last year and he finishing one of the hardest single day cycling races in the world.  What’s most impressive is when I started coaching Peter he weighed around 245lbs, and after 10 months of committing himself to a healthy lifestyle, Peter dropped his weight by 80lbs, to 165lbs and has become a lean, mean cycling machine.

It’s my hope that by reading Peter’s transformational story, you too will be inspired by what’s possible when you take action and make this Year’s Resolution the one that sticks for the rest of your life. 

Enjoy the Ride....Rob

 

My Journey to Health - by Peter LeClaire

Ever since Robert (AKA: Coach) asked me to write my story describing my transformational journey soon after racing Etape du Tour back in July of 2012, I’ve been struggling how to best write this. I had many ideas floating in my head where to start my story, how to fill in the middle and provide an ending with a call to action for those who like me were sitting on the sidelines.  Below is my story and I hope it inspires you to make the lifestyle changes I embraced, regardless of your age, your gender or starting weight.

My life, like many of yours, is fairly ordinary. I’m a 50+ year old guy that has time commitments of work, family, friends, etc.  I’m not an overachieving “AAA” personality with a strong take-charge mentality, but I am a passionate individual who generally loves what he does and sticks to it once started. This is especially true when people support and believe in me. This is where my story starts.

About 5 years ago I registered for my first charity bike ride, a back to back metric century (100km) in support of the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, one of the largest charity rides in Canada.  At this point I had never thought of a bike ride in terms of distance, only in terms of time. I was excited about being part of something bigger than myself and raising money for a great cause in addition to joining over 4000 cyclists with the same goal. What I didn’t realize was how hard it was to get my fat behind (and I mean fat) out the door and actually do some training. I had no real game plan except to put some time on the saddle. I was quite overweight and considered obese even though I was reasonably active in other sports, but it didn’t take me long to realize just how out of shape I was when I began climbing hills I found myself gasping for each breath by the time I reached the summit feeling the negative effects a poor cardiovascular system and carrying so much extra body fat. I’m happy to report that I can laugh at those days now, but at the time it was not only painful, but provided a view into my general fitness level.

I completed that first charity ride that spanned over a weekend and besides having fun, I felt an overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment I immediately signed up for the next year’s event. This is when I realized the importance of setting a major goal for myself each year and cycling was the “vehicle” for me. Although I was still overweight, I participated in the Ride to Conquer Cancer four years in a row with the last two events being back to back 160km rides.  I erroneously felt that since I was doing all this riding I could reward myself with over abundant meals that were for the most part, unhealthy.

I think I can say that my real transformation started two years ago when I was in France on vacation and had the opportunity to ride with Coach’s step brother Gerry Patterson who has been blogging about his cycling adventures and guided tours throughout the South of France. I contacted Gerry through his blog and we scheduled a guided day ride. The only thing I knew about our outing was that we were going for an 80km ride in the hills behind Nimes. I mean really, how tough could it be. I had a vision of a pleasant cycle through the rolling French countryside, but the reality was a far cry from what I had imagined in my head.  How naive was I? As much as I struggled that day, and I mean struggled as it was probably the hardest physical thing I had done in my life up until that point, it was an epiphany. Gerry was telling me about completing his first Etape de Tour race, or riding up the famous Mont Ventoux and it dawned on me that I would love to do a big mountain climb like that one day. I couldn’t believe I was actually thinking this because I’m the same guy that hated climbing any hill and used to ride out of my way just to avoid them.

The biggest part of my transformation was to set a big goal, and after listening to Gerry talk about his riding and racing adventures I proceeded to sign up for what would become the biggest physical challenge of my life, the L’Etape du Tour 2012 – Act 2. For those who don’t know, this was an actual Tour de France stage, but for amateurs. This particular race was 202km and located in the high Pyrenees Mountains.  It was the hardest stage of that year’s Tour de France.

It would be an understatement of colossal proportion to say this was a huge undertaking and probably something in my physical condition that bordered on impossible.  In fact, there were many times I thought to myself that I must be nuts to attempt such a physically demanding event. I knew I couldn’t do this alone and needed some guidance and structure to my training if I was going to accomplish this monumental task, and I had no idea how I was going to get it. Talk about setting an audacious goal.

It was at this time that I was introduced to Robert Armstrong by Gerry. Robert was looking for someone to train as he often does from time to time.  Gerry mentioned that I had signed up for the Etape du Tour race and recommend I contact his step brother for some training tips, as he coached him to his first Etape de Race.  Well be careful what you wish for, because I received more than a few coaching tips.  I think it was when I mentioned my weight to Rob that he realized I needed more than just a few coaching tips.  In fact, my challenge was a total life makeover.  Rob didn’t want to kill my dream of participating in this great race, but he said there was no way I could finish in my current condition and he was genuinely concerned for my long term health.  Rob didn’t charge me for his services, so he spent a long time qualifying my interest and personal commitment to the transformation plan and it wasn’t an easy process.  He told me that most people fail because they embark on these journeys for all the wrong reasons.  I basically had to convince him that I was worth his time, and I must have done a good job, because he took me on.  So as I said above, be careful what you wish for, because although Coach was supportive, he showed me no mercy.

Even though his training program was communicated via email, because he lives in Calgary and I’m in the Toronto area, I felt his encouragement every day. If this was to work he said, there has to be complete honesty between the two of us. Coach sent me new dietary principals that I had to follow without question and he expected I follow it to the letter before we even started on the cycling training program.  He told me things about myself that were hard to hear, but it was the wake-up call I needed.  Commitment to my general health, given I was obese was far more important than riding a bike in some race in France.  But cycling was also the catalyst to get me to the end point. He explained the many health reasons why getting my size under control from my current weight of 245lbs back to my senior high school weight of 170 lbs was important.  I just thought he was nuts when he suggested I could lose 80lbs in 9 months.

Changing my diet was difficult at first because it was based on the healthy foods I rarely ate, like Vegetables, Fruits, Salads, and a healthy balance of Carbohydrates, Protein and Fat.  He also said no alcohol until I was back to a healthy weight.   These were tough choices indeed.  Changing from a lifetime of self abuse based on bad food choices and avoiding sugars like soda pop & concentrated fruit juices, processed convenient foods, as well as simple carbohydrates was very difficult. These were all the foods that contributed to my weight gain and provided me with the comfort I desired.  This was a significant change, but after his big speech about commitment to each other, it was tough to let him down, but more important, I wasn’t about to let myself down.

The next step was making exercise a daily priority. Coach set up my program in 4 week periods. It started with approximately 7 hours of structured training per week, which progressively got harder and longer as the winter season wore on.  This was not to say that I didn’t grumble to myself more than a few times and that I was exhausted and tried to convince myself that couldn’t do this.  Every time that happened I focussed my thoughts knowing the big picture goal: a new me with a new healthy body with a newer outlook on life. Many of my friends witnessed my transformation right in front of their eyes as the excess fat started to melt away. As much as I was seeing and feeling the positive effects of Coach’s training program and dietary principles, I still remained focused on the big goal ahead, which was getting scarier by the minute as the Etape de Tour got closer and closer.

Since reducing a significant amount of body fat by the time the outdoor season arrived (by March/April I was weighing around 180), my overall riding significantly improved and my ability to climb hills was easier than I ever experienced. In addition to my new found energy, my wife was tossing out all my oversized clothes.  I had gone from a size extra large in everything I owned, to a size medium. I couldn’t remember the last time I wore a medium in anything, but there I was wearing a new skin tight cycling kit 2 to 3 sizes smaller than I did a short 6 months before. I finally started to look like a real cyclist.  That being said, the other challenge I had to get used to was accepting my own self identity.  Every time I pasted a mirror or caught my reflection in a window, I didn’t recognize the skinny guy looking back at me.  And it wasn’t just me, many of my long time friends that I hadn’t seen for months didn’t recognize this new person that remotely looked like the fat guy they once knew. 

I found it strange that when I was obese, no one ever told me I was too fat, but now that I’m a very healthy size, with a BMI of 24, people will tell me all the time that I’m too thin.  I think we have so many overweight people in our country that used to look like me, we’ve lost track of what a healthy person should look like, because having a healthy weight is no longer “normal” in this country and people feel it’s ok to point out that you don’t look like the rest of the fat population.

2012 was a big year for me. In late 2011 I finally met the woman of my dreams whom I was to marry in July prior to going to France for Etape. It wasn’t a bad way to spend a honeymoon and do some cycling at the same time. My wife got to proudly watch me complete my goal of competing in Etape de Tour and only 3 days later climb the epic mountain of Mont Ventoux with a new friend John who was gracious enough to open his home to us for a few days. Thanks to Gerry for taking me out on that ride a couple years ago for without that single act of generosity, who knows who I would be today. You never know where that turn in the road takes you.

As I mentioned earlier, it’s imperative to set goals to keep yourself motivated. I love my new life of opportunities and I plan to stay this way.  I continue to train under the guidance of Coach Rob and have already seen further improvements in my fitness levels.

So what’s on my agenda for 2013?

I’ve signed up for another stage race in France which takes place in Lac Annecy on July 7th. I’m going to climb the epic mountain of Alpe D’huez (13.7km, 8.1% grade, 21 switchbacks, 1071 meters of climbing).  And if that isn’t enough, I plan to ride the famous mountain in the heart of Provence, Mt Ventoux, not once, but three times in the same day from the three different start towns. And finally back home I’ll do a couple 160km+ races. 

I share the list above not to brag, but to highlight the opportunities that are available to me now that I’ve taken control of my health and made it a priority in my life. I can truly enjoy my passion for cycling. I’ll never go back to my unhealthy self.  Take it from a guy that was obese and take control of your life, set a goal that scares you to hell, build a plan that includes someone to support and motivate you and most importantly, take action.  As the Nike slogan goes, “Just do It”.  Coach would often say to me,“Knowledge is power, but action flicks the switch”.  Well, I think by now most everyone knows what’s required to live a healthy lifestyle, it’s not rocket science.  Flick your switch and you too can enjoy an exciting life that isn’t held back by any physical limitations. 

Best of health.....Peter LeClaire.

Don't "Live a Little"...learn to "Live a Lot"

Most people would be happy just to say they made it to 100 years of age and still be able to walk and remember their name. Not Frenchman, Robert Marchand. No, just making it to 100 is for pussies. This guy is setting world records on his bike. First he set the one hour cycling record in Switzerland by covering over 24 kilometres in one hour, a record that was sanctioned by cycling’s international governing body, the UCI. Now he set a second official record for a person over 100 years of age by covering 100km in a time of 4:17:27. 

I’m writing this blog post from my second home in Arizona, where I have ridden over 1500kms in the past 15 days as I begin my preparation for the next year's Haute Route race from Geneva, Switzerland to Nice France. Every time I come down here from my home in Canada, I’m always shocked at the poor health of so many Americans, by evidence of the number of obese people. Given the alarming condition of the majority North American’s (Canadian’s included), just completing a 100km ride would be a near impossibility for most, but to ride it in Mr. Marchand’s time of a little over 4 hours is only a dream.  And it's such a mystery why we have out of control healthcare costs!

As much as racing in next year’s Haute Route is a lofty goal to be sure, it’s only a small step in a much larger target and Mr. Marchand is making my ultimate goal a whole lot more difficult, because instead of going after one record when I turn 100, I now have to break two. He has set the bar higher because now in addition to breaking the one hour record, I also have to beat his 100km record.

I was having a conversation with a friend the other day about Mr. Marchand accomplishments and we were identifying the many things you have to get right in your life to accomplish what he’s doing at his age. First, he has some good genetics at work here, but good genes will only get you so far, so what are the other things, let me list just a few:

• You have to remain active all your life to be able to ride 100km at 100 years of age.
• You have to eat a nutritious diet throughout your life that consists of fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, high quality protein, healthy carbohydrates, while avoiding the foods we know are bad for us.
• Drink a healthy amount of water every day.
• Don’t smoke (that's obvious) and don’t drink an unhealthy amount of alcohol (1 drink a day for women and 2 for men)
• Get enough sleep and rest
• De-stress your life
• Keep your mind active, for without a sharp mind, you'll never be able to manage even the simple things like keeping your balance, or structure a training program to accomplish the kind of physical activities Mr Marchand is capable of.
• And finally, have a passion in your life that keeps you young. Clearly, Mr. Marchand’s passion is cycling and it’s giving him purpose, and probably one of the main reasons he’s still so active.

This represents a partial list of the most important elements necessary for a long and healthy life that many will consider somewhat restrictive or even boring. In fact, I’ve been told on a number of occasions that I should “live a little”, especially when I’m at a party and I refuse to drink the same volume of alcohol as others. My goal isn’t to “live a little”, but to “live a lot”! I’m only 56, so I have another 44 years to train and prepare for my attempt at Mr. Marchand’s records. Racing next year’s Haute Route race is considered the world’s toughest cycling sportive and is what I equate to as, "living a lot".  I certainly don't want age to be the thing that prevents me from being like Mr. Marchand.

The important thing to consider about long term health is that what you do today will affect you 20, 30, or even 40 years from now.  Most people that reach their 60's, 70's and 80's in poor health, generally achieve this state as the result of poor lifestyle choices that manifest into one of the many degenerative diseases. 

The purpose of this post is to share an inspirational story of a 100 year old man that’s “living a lot” and it proves that it’s not by accident that’s he’s capable of these amazing accomplishments. For sure, you can’t do much about your genetics, and some people are just luckier than others. I may be one of those people (I hope); given my father at the age of 87 is still very active and does his daily 10km run/walk. But there are so many more variables that you have total control over if you apply discipline and dedication to make it happen.

Remember, you don’t stop exercising because you’re old; you get old because you stop exercising.

Enjoy the ride....Rob

 

Haute Route....You must be crazy! Seek the “Freak”

Over the past 33 years, I’ve riding enough miles to go from the earth to more than 2/3 the way to the moon, competed in 7 Ironman Triathlons, run enough miles to circumnavigate the planet twice and swim the equivalent distance from LA California to Hawaii.  Believe me when I say I’ve been called “crazy” more than a few times about my commitment (some will call it an obsession) to athletics.  And I wouldn’t want it any other way.   

One of my biggest fears is to be categorized as “normal” by today’s standards.  I could provide you with the health risks of being considered part of the majority, or normal, but that’s for another day. 

In my last blog post I described the six (6) rules that will increase the quality of your life, and rule #6 was to find your passion and keep it fuelled.  I love listening and seeing someone that’s totally passionate about something in their life.  Check out this video of my good friend Bob Willet’s son Nolan, doing some basketball drills.  This is what passion looks like.

  

To get to this level of proficiency (he’s now 14 and even better) he has to practice every day until his fingers bleed; push through that pain and then do some more.  A normal person without this kind of passion will never understand his level of commitment.  If it hasn’t already happened, someday, somewhere, someone will call Nolan “crazy” to dedicate this amount of time and effort to his sport, but what they will never understand is this is Nolan’s passion and the pain associated with the volume of training to become this good is what he considers fun.  

Let me illustrate how I’ve fuelled my passion for athletics for over the past 30 years.  A passion which honours me the coveted title of being a “nut case”.  In my early days of running, when I thought 10km was a pretty good distance, I used to think marathons were reserved for those crazy freaks that were borderline masochists, but after racing a number of them myself, these “crazy freaks” began to look pretty normal....Time to refuel my passion.

When I read about this bike race called the “Race Across America”; whereby the cyclists rode non-stop across the USA taking only brief stops for sleep.  I thought to myself, “Now those guys are definitely crazy”.  So I decided to ride my bike from Toronto to Ft Lauderdale, Florida, and raised money for Leukemia Research (a disease that took the life of my mother at the age of 56).  When co-workers, friends and even family heard what I was planning to do, many called me “crazy”, and I liked the fact that I wasn’t “normal”.  But after doing the ride which saw us average over 160km every day for 16 days in a row, it too seemed normal....Time to refuel my passion.

I happened to be turning the channels on my TV in the fall of 1982 a year after my bike trip to Florida when I witnessed Julie Moss crawl across the Ironman Triathlon finish line on ABC Wide World of Sports.  I thought to myself, what kind of passion and determination does a person require to force themself to crawl across the finish line when every cell in their body is telling them to stop.  Clearly Ms. Moss was a certified “crazy freak”.... and I knew right there I wanted whatever it was that made her go.   

 

After a while, I was curious to learn how crazy someone had to be to train for and race an Ironman.  So I taught myself how to swim and placed 10^th overall in my first Ironman attempt.   I was thought my place as a crazy Ironman was secure.   And I did 6 more just to be safe.  Now that so many people have done the Ironman, my “crazy” status is once again in jeopardy, not to mention my need for a new goal to refuel my passion.  

So after riding my bike across the USA (north to south) two more times in an effort to raise money for cancer survivors, I was once again looking for something to refuel my passion.  Last year my stepbrother Gerry Patterson who lives in the south of France, emailed me a link to an event that makes the Ironman look like a warm up (if that’s even possible).  It’s called Haute Route (“High Road” in English) and it’s as close as I will ever get to sport’s ultimate sufferfest Nirvana, the Tour de France. 

 

Haute Route is considered the toughest and highest amateur Cyclosportive in the world. It is a seven (7) day bike stage race from Geneva to Nice through the highest roads of the French Alps; the very same roads that have been made famous by the professional cyclists of the Tour de France for the past 100 years.  Haute Route covers 780km and the cyclists climb an unthinkable 21,000 meters (or the equivalent of 2.5 times the height of Mt Everest).  Talk about refuelling the passion.  Doing something like Haute Route is clearly CRAZY, even by my standards, that's why I LOVE IT!

There’s an old saying that, “Pain welcomes company”.  Well the kind of pain and suffering being served up by Haute Route welcomes a whole team of crazy people.  So my step brother Gerry and I have formed a team of 9 riders that are every bit as crazy as he and I to join us. Follow this link to Gerry’s Blog to meet the other members of our team, who will join 600 other people that have the same passion for the sport of cycling in next year’s race.

The point of this blog is not to encourage you to sign up for next year’s Haute Route, or play basketball like Nolan Willett.  No, it’s to encourage you to find your passion like Nolan, or my step brother Gerry, or the other countless number of people that started with a small passion and over time gave it fuel.  Never stop seeking that freak within you, while feeding your passion with bigger goals and objectives that makes you feel alive.  And when someone asks you why you do it, or calls you crazy, you know you’ve arrived; you’re no longer normal, which means you’ve finally found the “freak” within. 

Enjoy the Ride..... Rob