Who wants an endoscopy? ME! ME! ME!

What am I, like 70? So, I made an appointment with the GI doc after 3 weeks of nausea and late day fatigue that I just couldn't lick. His plan? Run a series of blood tests (results pending) ranging from thyroid studies to an ANA. Also, this coming Monday morning I will have an ultrasound of my insides and then have a lighted tube stuck down my throat. Yeah! Could be worse...a tube up my other end. Anyway, hopefully this will get to the bottom (er, top) of things. We'll stay away from the bottom for now!

The training has been going very well (the nausea and fatigue have been coming on slowly following lunch each day) and...HEY! THAT'S IT! NOT ONLY IS THE CAFETERIA FOOD NOT GOOD IT'S MAKING ME SICK!! Doubtful...it's just so bad. So, the training, thanks to the onset of my daily symptoms is rolling right along. Sleep is good, appetite is good, mental is good.

Guess who else is good? KR! and she is sporting some new headgear (same old beanie for me)!



"Seriously, get this thing OFF of my head!!"



KR was terrified of this ball pit the first time she entered it.



Now? Not so much.



"Ya did good Mimi. Me likey ball pit."

Dancing in the Pedals / Fun with KR

Sometimes you have days where everything goes right. I was blessed with one today.

Had to take to Fo-Runner in for an inspection sticker, oil change, and new tyres this morning.
Other than the amount of moolah I had to fork over, all went well. Sweet!

Lolly, KR, and I ran some errands while we waited that included an awesome breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and eggs at Primo's. Our favorite weekend breakfast spot (an everyone else's in the tri-county area!). Then a quick trip to Babies-R-Us for some food. KR is starting on solid foods. We got her some of the puff treats. We gave her one tonight to see what she would do. And...she choked and then threw up. Yeah, Lolly got it on video. Bribery material in her teen years for sure!

Met up with B-Rad and Buck (among others) at the trails today for what I was considering a 'C' level training race/ride. I hung with B-Rad for all but about the last 3.5 of 24 miles (3 laps) and was able to average 10mph (quite a feat on these trails). Rode at about 90-95% of my race pace and felt pretty good until a mild bonk about 20.5 miles in. If it had been a real race I would have had some Hammer Gel on hand. As it was, the granola bar was a bit hard to get to. I'll be back tomorrow for a couple hours of MTB recovery. 1st race is 8 weeks away and I am feeling great. B-Rad said I am riding better than he's ever seen. The hard work is paying off.

I earned this!



A couple of KR pics - our best friend!



Can't tell in this pic but she was bobbing her head back and forth to some silly song I was singing.



9 months old and already asking for the car keys. Jeesh!

Friday Funny

The sexes when asked: Wanna go out for a drink?

Tough Climb / Rockin' the Argyle

Came across some (as yet) undiscovered pics from the 2008 Lungbuster SCRCS finale at the home trails.



This first one is after the initial run into the woods and climb up the fire road - about 45 seconds in and 2 good matches burned due to the rookie mistake of slipping on the attempt to clip in. Nice - but hey, if Adam Craig can do it in the Olympics, a punk like me is definitely not immune! That's Steve from the coast behind me. Nice guy.



This is at the top of the 1st (of 4) big climbs during the 2nd lap. This is the infamous switchback climb. The first 7 switchbacks are basically smooth (some roots) with the new rock gardens between # 5 and 6 and get progressively steeper. The 8th through 10th are mostly rock (especially the 8th one) and work your technical skills at a time when your blown from the first 7 SBs. AWESOME! You'll notice all the rocks in this pic (a lot for MS)...well, this hill is full of them and these were used to correct some drainage issues/make 2 sweet rock gradens halfway up. Awjeah!



And, lastly, one from the Saturday TT and, although I'm not sure if you can tell, I decided to rock the old school argyles. Socks I used to wear in high school circa 1990 resurfaced in the sock drawer and I couldn't resist.

Yeehaw - it's Friday suckas!

Blast From The Past / Time to Get Limber

Me and the missus late 2005? Ah...just babies.

So I decided to forgo my usual Thursday interval session to do a nice 75min. yoga session this AM. Normally I do my yoga on Friday as a semi-rest day leading into a weekend block of riding but it's time to ramp up the intensity a bit. Intervals tomorrow followed by a two day block of MTB with what is shaping up to be a pretty good crew of local and out of town fast guys on both days.

Race season is coming up FAST!

Funny Oldie

J. Chizzle thought this was funny 13 mos. ago. Little does he know that the training program KR is on will having her snacking on the compo in the coming years!!

Think...gonna...vo...mit

Brutal interval sessions at 5:30AM are my least favorite part of being a father but there is no other time to do it. The system is just not built for that type of early morning overload: 20min warm up with 90sec @ 70%, 90sec @ 80% and 90sec @ 90% - then 6x1min with 1min recovery done @ ~ 65% on the first and up to 95% on the last - then 10x20sec with 10sec rest max effort Tabata protocol intervals. The article will say that 6-8 tabata intervals are the most that should be done but, yeah, I'm hardcore like that. After that workout I would normally do a little 15-20min yoga session but with my knee still a bit iffy I called it a day after a 10min high cadence cool down to flush the lactic acid from my legs.

I have to say that I am feeling much better now than I did at this time last year. Nice!

Last night was pretty routine for the McWeSSons: cook (chili), eat, play with KR, watch some TV (Dora, House, The Batchelor - equal opportunity TV for all in our crib), and hit the sackola.

KR has her 9 month checkup today. We expect no surprises.

Tonight I'm thinking Portabello & Gouda burgers with some fresh green beans and a salad. Guess who's hungry?!

At the Core of it all...

Monday morning - normally a full body strength day for me, but I tweaked my knee doing trail work on Saturday (already much better) and decided to take 'er easy on the legs this AM. Started my workout with a nice 20min. warm up on the trainer (as opposed to my normal jump rope and punching bag routine) and then transitioned into some of the major upper body muscle groups: 3 sets of pull-ups using 3 different grips, offset pushups with a medicine ball, bent over single arm rows and dips. Nice little burn there...makes that bike feel so light on the trail!

Then I headed inside for a core blast. Time was running short so I super setted 10 core moves into one 20min blast furnace session. Oh yeah. It all revolves around the core.

Through the years I have accumulated a vast mental rolodex full of different core exercises but these two websites are a perfect place to refresh one's memory or get some new ideas.

http://www.coreperformance.com/

http://www.usd.edu/track/Bug's%20folder/Core%20Strength%20Training%20Manual-picts_files/Core%20Strength%20Training%20Manual-picts.htm

Main thing is to keep your body guessing when it comes to strength work. My body is very used to the cycling motions so creativity on strength days is essential for me.

Enjoy your workouts!

Weekend News

Action packed weekend for the McWeSSons. Friday was beautiful: 70 degrees, sunny, and perfect for an outdoor photo session with KR.



Yeah, it's January. Welcome to the deep South! I love it!

Cut to Saturday and it was cloudy and rainy with a high of 44. Drats! (Not enough people say drats these days.) Not the best day for riding trails or roads, and I have a strict 'no trainer' rule on the weekend so the fam ran some errands (Circuit City for nada and Fresh Market for a lotta). Then I headed over to the Ridgeland trails for 3 hours of knee wrenching (literally) trail work. The rock garden is complete...inasmuch as trail is ever complete...it will evolve and require some upkeep. I'd show you a picture but I left my camera in my pocket the whole time. BOO!

Came home and got to hang out with KR. We ate and played and then got a call from Lolly that her car battery had died. Double drats!!

Sooo, Sunday morning's first item was jumping off and then driving to replace the battery. (In MS that's bat-tree). Mission accomplished and off for a quick ride in 42 degree weather with a fast group of 8 on the aforementioned ridgeland trails. Fastest ride I've done since early November (excluding my interval sessions) and I felt pretty dang good. Sveet!

Got to come home and party with KR. We cleaned the house up, did some laundry, played in the ball pen and jump swing, and watched some Noggin. Good stuff!

Getting close to KR's (and my) bedtime so I'll leave you with this.



Reminds me of an older song by the Lost Boyz:

I can't escape this life that I'm livin'
I'm in the mix, I'm in love with 2 women
That's word to moms, I got two honeys on my arms
and I don't wanna let none of them go.

Minus the double negative and the fact that Mr. Cheeks was juggling two ladies in a romatic way...you get my gist.

Almost forgot!!

The weather was warm enough this past weekend to wear the Craft bib shorts (previously poorly reviewed) on a 3 hour MTB ride and, I stand corrected (happily I might add)...they are simply marvelous!

My apologies and all who read this and need a new pair of bibs should seriously consider the Craft Pro Race bibs!!

You know McWeSSon don't abide by no foolin'!

What's up with the gut?

A little update for you cycling fans out there: the base training has been better than ever this year. Big hours on the weekends, strength training, yoga, and intervals during the work week. The last 2 weekends have included 6+ hours of ride time and 5+ hours of trail work. Adding a new section of trail to the Ridgeland trails this year with the TCMBA trail master J. Polk. Last weekend we addressed some areas that were screaming for a couple of expert level rock gardens. I love it.

The body has responded to the training wonderfully...until last Sunday. Starting feeling fatigued, then got some sort of stomach bug, took two days off, and am just now getting back in the swing of things.

The human body is an amazing thing: subject it to the rigors of year round training and it responds like a finely tuned sports car...eat some bad food or touch the wrong door knob and you're knocked down for the count.

Oh well, it happens...and I've found that we tend to come back stronger than before. One notable exception being the lovely Mrs. Gunn-Rita Dahle...

Yee-haw it's Friday and tomorrow I'm hitting the dirt!!

"Why is everybody laughing?"



Redneck baby



KR is happiest when punching her parents in the FACE!



1st trip to the MS Museum of Natural Science. Voted MS's #1 tourist attraction for 2006!!



I'm still not sure whose hair she inherited...



Whachoo talking 'bout!?!



I'm sweating like crazy! And for what? Some silly blog post?!?



Hello dere Miss Lady



Too much fun! Wheeeeeeeee!



Yeah, this is the look of someone who has achieved utter domination! Get some!!

Thanks for reading Wendi!!!

Product Reviews

Let's presume for a moment that more than 4 people take a peeky here now and again. Granted if I blogged more people might be more interested to read more but hey I got a life to live and stuff. (That sentence used the word 'more' 3 times - horrible). Anyway, I have some new gizmos thanks to Mr. Claus and I thought a product review might be in order.

Rating Scale:
5 = Radtastic!
4 = Not too shabby!
3 = Meh...
2 = Thanks but no thanks.
1 = COME ON MAN!!

1. Craft ProZero sleveless and longsleeved base layers - rated for temps between 40-60 degrees F and made of 100% polyester, Craft describes these baselayers as a second skin and I concur. These baselayers blow away the competion (UnderArmor, PearlIzumi). My biggest problem with other brands was core temp. regulation - I was always either too hot or too cold. Not to be confused with 'too cool' because that is a personal problem having nothing to do with gear. : )
Final Rating: 5 out of 5 - Radtastic!! Highly recommend for hiking, biking, running, camping, etc.

2. North Face OG Striped Sock - presumably OG stands for Original Gangster - at least that was the initial use of OG back in 1991 according to Ice-T. It nows seems to stand for anything remotely associated with the year 2006 or earlier. Kinda like when you hear 30 somethings say, "Oh, that's the bomb!" Is it? How old are you? But I digress. The socks are made of 100% merino wool which made me skeptical but the price was right and the socks were navy, mid calf, and had 3 stripes at the top. I know right, that's OG! I have ridden in these twice now, in sloppy MS winter conditions and they are DA BOMB!! No itchiness, feet stayed dry and warm! Perfection! Final Rating: 4.5 out of 5 - I am too scared to dry them as I fear they will shrink.

3. Craft Pro Race bib shorts - for me it is a complex issue because I love the bike riding but I hate the bike shorts. 3 items of concern with bike shorts: 1: chamois - needs to have plenty of padding and rear and frontal coverage, 2: fit - should be form fitting, i.e. no loose or baggy areas - read chaffing, 3: fabric should be thick enough to compress a little but also breathable. No shorts have ever worked 100% for me. So, I decided to get some really nice shorts. Mail order of course as Craft is not sold in MS. The fit is quite nice, the fabric is genius, the chamois has gel inserts and after 60min. on the trainer the rear was better than ever. Final Rating - 3 out of 5. Why? Coverage! The chamois stops a bit short and that is scary because chaffage is simply unbearable. I must say that there were no issues during my stent on the trainer but 60min. on the trainer is NOT 3 hours in the woods. This item needs more testing. I never see it going higher than 3 but it could end up at a one.

Adios.