RAAM Nutrition by the Numbers

They say it takes a village to accomplish great tasks. What I recently discovered is that it also takes an entire village's monthly food supply to fuel one RAAM rider for 8 days.

I put together my usual all-encompassing-race-nutrition-spreadsheet-from-hell and came up with my overall nutrition numbers for 8 days of racing based on my "typical" race requirements for cycling / per hour = 300 calories, 400mg sodium, 45 oz fluid.

Calories: 28,800 -- equivalent of putting on 8.2 pounds
Sodium (mg): 38,400 -- glad I have really low blood pressure
Hydration (oz): 4,320 -- 33 gallons

Did I mention this is only for WHILE I'M RIDING and doesn't include "off the bike" meals?

I laid out all my gels, bars, powders, chews, salt tablets and I stood back in awe of the massive pile on the kitchen counter top. I will be taking in 80% of my cycling calories in liquid form. To give another perspective, these calories include 115 scoops of powdered glucose (yum!) and 50 scoops of Hammer Perpetuem (both are essentially powdered calories added to water). And the Hammer Gels? Forget the individual packets. I bought multiple jugs.

At this point ultrarunner Dean Karnazes flashed through my mind and he may have had it right. When he would be on one of his epic training runs, he'd simply call a pizza place and tell them to deliver at an intersection that he would be running through. Then he'd simply take an entire pizza, roll it up burrito style, and enjoy. Maybe I need to rethink my nutrition strategy. Then again, do I really want to be tasting and re-tasting tomato sauce or cheese while I'm grinding my way up Wolf Creek Pass? Not so much.

Dad...Will You Fix This?

There is a frequently used saying in my family -- "Dad...will you fix this?"

My dad is an engineer by trade and he has a machine shop in the basement so anytime something needed fixing, he was THE go-to guy. It didn't matter what it was, from a broken Rubics cube or cracked prom shoe heel to overhauling a 454 Chevy big block engine or reroofing the house, if it needed fixing he could always "make a part".

I went home for a quick visit last week and brought "the van list" which included:
1. Reinforce the Thule bike rack so it won't wobble.
2. Figure out how to mount a light to the back window so it would provide light at night to riders/crew outside.
3. Create some type of table/tray for the center section between driver and passenger seats but it has to pivot so we can get to the race radios and outlets.
4. Figure out how I can simultaneously listen to music AND have a race radio plugged into one ear piece (RAAM rules require one ear to be open to traffic).

In his usual form, Dad came through on all accounts and far surpassed expectation. I "supervised" (aka: I stood there and kept him company while staying out of the way or made the multiple trips to Radio Shack or Home Depot with him) and he worked his usual magic with the band saw, welding torches, metal cutters, and lathe.

This is one instance of all the help and support the team has received from friends and family in preparing for our race. The van is now on it's way to Oceanside and between all the work that Leary did to get it ready and with Dad's final touches, the "leapfrog" is set!


Thanks Dad!

Just plug it in!

Electricians of the world - I salute you.

Apparently it takes more than just a cigarette lighter to plug in 4 cell phones, 4 rider headlights and batteries, 2 race radios, a laptop, a GPS system, a coffee maker, a hair dryer, and yellow flashing safety lights.

Last fall we sat down and figured out all the things we wanted to have in the leapfrog vehicle (mini-van) and what the electrical requirements would be. Being a creature of comforts, I included things like a hair dryer (because when I ride, my hair is perpetually wet) and a coffee maker (7-9 day endurance event without coffee -I don't think so). And then there were the "necessary" items such as cell phones and GPS units that would actually help us get across the country.

After compiling the list, crunching some numbers, looking up the specs to the van alternator, calculating battery juice, and listening to my Dad and Leary have riveting conversations about "modified vs true sine wave patterns", we finally determined that we would have to get a 1600 watt inverter to ensure we could power all the devices we wanted. Correction - power all the devices we NEEDED (my coffee maker and hair dryer got booted from the list because they would suck too much power and pretty much ensure we would NOT make it out of California during RAAM).

We ordered a Whistler PRO-1600 watt power inverter. With specs like this, we thought we were set:

"Turn your vehicle into a mobile office with the Whistler PRO-1600W 1600-Watt Pro Power Inverter. The Whistler power inverter allows you to run AC appliances, with start up loads of 1600-watts or less, right from your vehicle, boat or RV. They're great for weekend use and life on the road. They're also great for power outages. "

I would like to point out to the Whistler people that you can't have a power OUTAGE if you can't get power TO BEGIN WITH!

Leary took the inverter in to have it professionally installed 5 days before our Kerrville training weekend. We wanted to test it out and make sure everything worked. During installation they ran the cables, hooked everything up, went to test it...and....NOTHING. They moved a few wires around, retested again...and...NOTHING. This went on for 4 hours with the final determination that the unit was shot. Leary called Radio Shack who informed us that even though we bought it from RS, we would have to work directly with Whistler. Leary called Whistler who said we would have to ship it back to them because it falls under warranty and no, they could not just send us a replacement. Needless to say we didn't have the unit set up for Kerrville.

3 weeks later, new Whistler unit in hand, Leary went back to have the installation finalized and it took them less than 20 min to put it in the van. Leary went to test it and long story short, it turns out that our original plan of running 3 extension cords and a multitude of devices off the inverter WON'T WORK and that everything has to be plugged directly into the unit itself.

Are you kidding me?

So Leary is at Home Depot right now buying a bunch of those multiple outlet units where you plug one end into an outlet and then you can plug multiple things into the other end. When I asked him what the difference was between that and an extension cord (other than the obvious "cord vs no cord") he said it has something to do with power traveling through a cord and now the inverter won't allow that.

Again, are you kidding me? This device sounds like something a guy would invent.

So I have no idea how this whole thing will work and I'm beginning to think that maybe we should just buy cases of batteries and run everything off the Energizer Bunny. It seems a lot more straight forward!

UPDATE: Leary is now back from Home Depot with a completely exasperated look on his face. Imagine if you will, Leary in the Home Depot parking lot, van doors flung open, power cord wrappers everywhere...three separate trips into Home Depot (with three returns), and finally finding the right combination of cords, plugs, and wires. We are up and running!

However he did mention that when the inverter is running, there is a slight "electrical smell" that is emitted from the floor compartment (where the inverter is being stored). As he was telling me about the possibility of punching a hole in the floor and installing wire mesh so the inverter could breathe, I couldn't help but start to giggle (which turned into full on crying laughter). After I finally recomposed myself, he smiled. I think we should rename our team to "Team Sanford and Son". Bwah bwah bwahhhda....

Going Commando

According to my mom, when I was a baby I did NOT like a wet diaper. I realize this is probably true of most babies, but in keeping with my usual "I'll just take care of the problem myself" approach, when my diaper was wet I would simply pull it off. Ahhh!!!!

41 years later and not much has changed. While I thoroughly enjoy going for a long ride or run in the Texas heat and sweating up a storm, when I'm done working out I want to air out and be dry. NOW!

With all the cycling I've done over the past several months in preparation for RAAM, I've reverted back to my baby ways and have started going commando again. I should clarify. I'm not running around without any bottoms on (although I have been known to streak in the house - who doesn't?) but let's just say that sometimes my "too much time in the saddle" pink parts are not in the mood to deal with women's underwear. And even the most soft, smooth, supple elastic is STILL ELASTIC! I've come to fully appreciate men's cotton boxer shorts or even light airy skirts and so have my pink parts. Because sometimes a girl just needs some air!

*I had to go buy my own since Leary doesn't wear boxers :-)

47 Days and 50 Bazillion Details

We are T minus 47 days to RAAM. Where has the time gone? I'll tell you. It has gone to 20 months of planning, preparation, training, more planning, trial runs, trial errors, meetings, e-mails, discussions, documentation, and more planning. At one point last year I remember thinking, "Oh, we can do that later. We have PLENTY of time." In the words of my Dad, "It's later than you think!"

Photo 1: Setting up the leapfrog and follow vehicles.
Photo 2: Testing out race radios.


As of last week, we are in the final throes of RAAM planning and the core team decided that the best approach is to meet weekly for a few hours to hammer out remaining details. At the end of our last meeting, Crew Chief Fred sent out this list of what's left to finalize - yikes!

RAAM Route Review
Vehicle Power Requirements
GPS Navigation Equipment
Vehicle Role Definition
Gopher Vehicle- rent or borrow
Crew Rotation
Vehicle Supply Inventory
Bike Equipment
PA system for communication to riders and/or provide music
Bike Light Battery Charging
2-way Radio Battery Charging
Spare Bike Light Batteries
Vehicle Signs
Medical Supplies
Financial Mechanisms
Off-shift Activities/Procedures
Satellite Phones/Long-Range 2-way radios
Rider Tracking
Safety Emergency Procedures
Gopher Vehicle Implementation
Info sharing with riders
What to Pack
Improve vehicle logsheets
Improve Dashboard Checklists
Pre-Race Food Preparation
RV Practice Plan
Pre-Race Activities
Crew Photographer/Videographer
Crew T-shirts (round 2)
Agenda/Schedule for Kerrville
Maps for Kerrville

And of course a little extra training is built into these meetings because I get to ride 20 miles to them! Awesome!!!

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Photo 3: Got tires?
Photo 4: RAAM Planning meeting.

"Those are some big biking legs!"

I was standing in Starbucks ordering a mid afternoon tea when out of nowhere I hear a guy's voice behind me say, "Those are some big biking legs you got there!" I glanced side to side and saw there weren't that many customers in the place so I assumed he was talking to me. I turned around, reluctantly smiled, and said, "Thanks?" emphasizing the question mark. We briefly chatted and it turned out he was a cyclist too. I should have left him with this parting thought, "Dude. Unless you want a hot coffee dumped down the front of you, you DON'T tell a female she has 'big biking legs', or 'big' anything for that matter." Well, maybe if referencing boobs but even that's a turkey shoot.

I have recently realized that ultra endurance cycling may not be the best sport for women. Don't get me wrong, I think females are very well suited, both physiologically and mentally, for long distance sports. While I was training for my first 100K trail race, my leg muscles became long and lean and my abs and back solid felt strong. But with all the cycling I've done over the last 12 months in preparation for RAAM, my quads are bigger, my butt and hips are bigger, my gut has gotten somewhat flabby, my upper body muscles have shrunk, and my posture is taking on a permanent, hunched over, "aero position" shape. It seems that cycling enlarges everthing women typically work so hard to reduce. My thoughts were confirmed when my teammate Carol asked, "Have you gained weight during your training? My legs have gotten huge!" My other teammate Sue responded with, "I haven't gained weight but my butt is a lot bigger."



















Cartoon by Guy Junker -- http://www.junkertoons.com/ebmtb.htm

5 x 100 Miles

I know myself well. I don't like surprises. Correction. I like surprises if I know about them. This is both the beauty and the curse of being a control freak. My husband refers to it as my "neuroses". RAAM is 9 days for everything to go right...or to go wrong...and so in training for RAAM, my goal is to be as prepared as possible. (Photo of a card Leary gave me after the first day of riding.)


During RAAM, each rider on the team will cover approx 750 miles (assuming the total 3,000 mile distance divided by 4 riders). My plan is to get as close to that 750 mile mark as possible during training so I can experience what that type of mileage feels like and also learn what works well or may potentially fail (sore neck, sore butt, bike pants that work or don't work, etc.).

My RAAM training consists of a 3 week cycle/rotation which includes: 1 week of "quality" (speed work, hill repeats), 1 week of volume (pure mileage), and 1 week of recovery (go to my favorite spin and yoga classes, catch up on all the DVR recordings from the past 2 weeks, eat, and sleep).

The week of April 11th was my biggest volume week to date with 5 days of 100 miles each day. Here is a brief summary of how it went.

Mon (4/11) - 100: Here I Go!
I spent the prior weekend mentally ramping up for this week and Monday's ride kicked off what was surely to be a long week. I rode solo and headed out from home towards Creedmoor (south east of Austin). I hadn't ridden in the Creedmoor area for several years and was amazed at how some roads were completely unrecognizable thanks to the new toll road system. But then some of the familiar things were still in place like the smell from the Texas Waste Disposal and Landfill, the Creedmoor General Store which has been there since the time of the old wild west, and the area where every road is named "Turnersville Road" -- seriously! When I got home around 7:00pm, my husband immediately handed me an Odwalla Super Food juice mixed with a big dose of vitamin B liquid. No crabby "carby" moments here!
Lessons Learned:
-- Start doing more neck and upper back strengthening exercises.
-- Got chamois cream?
-- Don't be lazy with post-ride refueling. Eat, eat, EAT!

Tues (4/12) - 100: Fickle Fitzhugh
I intentionally put the Fitzhugh ride on the second day because this was going to be hilly, hilly, hilly. I love riding Fitzhugh because it's tough and I've had some of my most mentally and physically difficult workouts on this long stretch of road from Austin heading west to Johnson City. If Fitzhugh ever feels good, I am immediately suspicious. I was out there riding with what felt like very little effort after yesterday's 100 miles. The hills kept rolling towards me and I enjoyed every one of them. For the record, I much prefer hills to flats! I came up to Pedernales Park, rode the 3 miles in to the guard station and paid $2.00 for 16oz of water from a vending machine (talk about supply and demand), hit the 50 mile mark, and then turned around and headed back for home. HELLO HEADWIND! I knew the ride out was too easy! It was oddly comforting to struggle on the way back. That's what Fitzhugh is all about. I stopped to take a photo of the Texas Hill Country and sent it to my Dad. I had my GPS turned on on my phone so my Dad was literally tracking me from his laptop. It was nice to have the feeling that my Dad was with me even though he is in Minnesota. Home was a welcome sight on my return.
Lessons Learned:
-- Pool soaking feels FANTASTIC after a long, grimy day of riding.
-- Putting chamois cream in shorts at mile 70 really gives me something to look forward to. Hoo Ha Ride Glide brand is minty fresh and feels awesome!
-- Neck and upper back are starting to relax and the hills felt better than the flats yesterday.
-- Meat night ROCKS! Leary baked potatoes and grilled two small fillet mignons. My muscles appreciated the extra protein!

Photo: Texas Hill Country on Fitzhugh near Pedernales State Park.

Wed (4/13) - 40/60: Stops and Starts and Interviews
Today's ride had to be split because I had two mid-day interviews. So I rode 40 miles in the morning and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise over Mansfield Dam as I headed to the Arboretum area in the north central part of Austin. Legs are starting to feel consistently tired but no problem climbing up Steiner Hill. I got back home and then drove out to Decker Lake for a Team Ride Red interview with YNN News. I racked up a whopping 2 miles as they filmed us riding up and down the roads. I decided not to count that as part of my 100 miles for the day (smile). I ate in the car on the way back home, had a phone interview for a potential work contract (which I took while wearing my bike shorts and a spandex bra -- THIS is why I will never do video phone conferencing!), and finally got back on my bike around 3:30pm to finish up the 60 miles.
Lessons Learned:
--Keep up with the protein. I dumped a can of tuna into a baggie and took it up to the pool and ate it while I soaked. 30 grams of protein in one shot. It smelled bad but tasted good!
-- Stay on top of sore spots by stretching and rollering out kinks with a foam roller or tennis ball. Knots are starting to accumulate!
-- Don't think about what I'm doing. Just do it. It was a hard push to get BACK on the bike for the 60 mile ride so late in the day. I won't have a choice during RAAM.

Thurs (4/14) - Off (aka: Just In Case Day)
I build in this day as a "just in case" day in the event weather or life got in the way of the rides on Mon, Tues, or Wed. I took advantage of this day to sleep in (10 hours!), continue to eat, and do some much needed laundry!

Fri (4/15) - 100: Low Batteries and WIND!
Today was the toughest day of the week. I felt ready to go but the wind was really bad with sustained 15mph north winds, gusting to 25mph. My friends Julie and Jim offered to ride with me today (plus Dad was there via GPS). Thankfully!!! We met at CC Mason school in Cedar Park and headed north up to Leander, Liberty Hill, Mahomet, over to Florence, down to Andice and back to Cedar Park (aka: the "Cedar Park Fever" bike route). We had solid headwind for the first 30 miles and it was tough. Julie wasn't feeling all that great and turned around at Liberty Hill so it was just Jim and I for the remainder of the ride. I definitely felt leg fatigue on this day and didn't have my usual strong power climbing even the smaller hills. I was steady but didn't feel strong. After mind numbing long stretches and getting blown all over kindgom come, and trying to avoid buying a box of chicken at the Florence gas station (because the fat and salt just smelled so dang good!), we enjoyed a 30 mph "push" tail wind as we blew back to Cedar Park. Jim split off and rode home while I road back home as well to hit the 100 mile mark.

Throughout the ride my technical gear was complaining about the wind but in its own way. My cyclometer flashed "low battery" about 20 miles into the ride. I just swapped out the battery a week ago! Luckily it hung in there for the rest of the ride but the display would start to fade until I banged on it with my hand. Then around the 3 hour mark, a digital voice in my iPod started intermittently saying, "Battery low". It kept this up for about 2 hours before finally dying during Barry Manilow's "Copa Cabana". I rode the remaining hour listening to the wind howl.
Lessons Learned:
-- No matter wind, hills, plague of locusts, or dust storm, just keep moving nice and steady.
-- Again, Hoo Ha chamois cream at mile 70 ROCKS!
-- Dealing with the wind is more mental than physical.
-- Turning up my iPod and listening to disco music helps take my mind off of the wind.
-- In order to remove layers of sunscreen and dirt requires a serious loofah scrubbing in the shower! Photo of dirt, sunscreen, and sexy bike tan lines after Friday's ride.
-- This was a tough training day but one of those benchmark days when I can say, "Well at least it's not as bad as the time we rode in Cedar Park!"

Photo: Happy Easter from the Texas Hill Country! Taken in Cedar Park.

Sat(4/16) - 100: Red Poppies and Cookies with Friends
I intentionally picked an organized ride to finish out the last of the 100 mile rides for three reasons: 1) the likelihood of bailing now was slim to none because I actually paid money to ride, 2) aid station support and route provided, 3) Leary and friends would be there for company.

The Red Poppy Ride started in Georgetown and by 8am we were off. Fred, John, and Lori kept me company and before too long we were split from our larger group of friends including Leary, Danny, Kim, Marc, Laura, Richelle, Barrett, Tammy, and others. The wind was light coming out of the south and while temps started out pretty cool where arm warmers were definitely required (and numb hands were an issue), it warmed up nicely by 9am. Aid stations were about every 15 miles so we enjoyed home made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cookies, and water refills. Usually I don't have a strong urge for cookies but Fred wore his Cookie Monster bike jersey and I think I was getting subliminal messages. Each time we stopped I ate 3-4 cookies plus I'd stick a couple in my jersey pocket. This came in handy when we were in the middle of nowhere and Lori said she could really go for a cookie. I reached into my pocket and VOILA - cookie! She was very happy. Despite getting a little turned around in the last 9 miles, we finished around 2:30pm. Leary and Danny were already done and enjoying some post ride festivities which included an announcer greeting riders as they finished and large bin of grilled hot dogs for riders to enjoy. The thought of a hot dog at mile 10 sounded terrible. At mile 50, maybe. By mile 102, heck yeah! So with a Mexican Coke in one hand (thanks Danny!) and a hot dog in the other, we celebrated our 100 mile ride and my 500 mile mark. That evening Leary took me out for some great TexMex at Maudies and a nice cold Shiner beer. Sore, tired, and happy -- what a great way to end the week! Lessons Learned:
--After 500 miles I still want to ride and don't hate my bike -- a good sign!
--Recovery food and fuel is critical to keep going, keep going, keep going.
--Good friends are awesome!

Photo: Lori, John, and I at the end of the "100" mile Red Poppy Ride.

Sun(4/17) - I Miss My Bike
Each day this week I would put my helmet and bike shoes next to the front door since I would be riding again within 12-18 hours. But when we got home from riding on Saturday, I felt a little sad as I put my helmet and bike shoes in the closet knowing I wasn't going to ride on Sunday. I could have ridden more, but the plan was 5 x 100 and I ended on a really great note with yesterday's ride. I'll have another long mileage week before RAAM but for now, I will enjoy my accomplishment and not tempt the fates.