It’s almost time for the Turkeys to Trot. The 2nd annual ASU Turkey Trot will take place this coming Saturday, Nov. 21, at 10:00. As per tradition, the awards will be pumpkin pies. The race location is on the mall in front of ASU’s University Center, registration from 9:00-9:45 and race start at 10:00. Events include a 3 mile competitive run, a 1.5 mile fitness walk, and a 1-mile kid’s run so bring the whole family and enjoy the morning. Full details are posted at http://www.angelo.edu/asufit.

The San Angelo community seems too have caught long distance running fever, based on the number of folks who made the trip to San Antonio this past weekend to race the full and half marathon events there. Based on the results page, there were 20 San Angelo runners in the marathon and 66 signed up for the half marathon. Marathon finishers also included former Central High runner Whitney Perkins, who posted a 3:13 time on her first marathon attempt to win the Female 20-29 age group. Full results are posted at http://results.active.com/pages/page.jsp?eventLinkageID=125801&year=2009

Former Goodfellow triathlete Kathy Rakel turned in a great performance at the Clearwater 70.3 half Ironman World Championships, finishing 34th overall among the females in a time of 4:25. Her bike split was especially amazing – 56 miles at an average speed of 25.2 mph. Congrats Kathy on an outstanding performance! You can follow Kathy via her blog at http://kathyrakel.blogspot.com/

Mark your calendars for April 18, 2010 for Striders Duathlon. This year’s event will be the Texas State short course championships (5K/30K/5K). That designation should attract some fast duathletes to give our local heroes some solid competition. The long course duathlon national championships will also be in our neighborhood (Oklahoma City) on July 11th. Details regarding that event are not yet posted, but it will also be a qualifier for the World long course duathlon championships (location TBA).

If you missed my latest Standard Times column, it’s posted on the web at http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2009/nov/13/throw-your-routine-a-changeup/. The take home message … put a little variety into your workouts and “surprise” your body to achieve better fitness. Shiner Bock arm curls don’t count …

Picture of the year: Jeanette Passons, 9.5 months pregnant, and still working out. Here’s wishing everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday. Be safe out there!

UPCOMING EVENTS

November 21: Turkey Trot Run and Fitness Walk, Angelo State University, http://www.angelo.edu/asufit

December 12: Run Run Rudolph, www.roadlizards.org

January 2: ECVFD 1/2 marathon, www.roadlizards.org

Fall is here

That dreaded time of the year has arrived, where we “fall back” and reset the clocks back an hour. That means that early mornings become really early and the after-work bike and run sessions end up being in the dark. It’s time to get creative again with the work schedules so as to carve out some workout time during daylight (or, … just get cozy with the stationary bike trainer, treadmill, and gym). Remember that cycling and running becomes more dangerous during low light conditions, so break out that reflective gear and those lights. I wrote about this in my October 17 newspaper column, and if you missed it please go read it on the S-T web site (http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2009/oct/16/precaution-name-of-the-game-in-low-light/-game-in-low-light/). Let’s all be safe out there!

Fall seems to have really arrived, with cold fronts every few days causing the weather to alternate between warm and cool. For many recreational athletes, this is the beginning of the “relax and enjoy” season where most of us start back building the fitness base for next spring’s events. However, the San Angelo running community seems to have exploded in size, causing the many running events to have record numbers of participants. It was normal a few years ago to have 40-60 runners show up for races, but those numbers have swelled to 200-300 for many events. Even a small race like last weekend’s Quest for the Cure drew over 80 participants. This growth can probably be attributed to (1) a greater local awareness related to fitness and the need to exercise, and (2) increased marketing of activities and events using web sites and social networking strategies such as Facebook, and collaboration between organizations such as the Road Lizards, Goodfellow AFB, and ASUFit. It may also help that there are multiple columnists writing for the local newspaper who all focus on fitness related activities.

The local running club (San Angelo Road Lizards) held their annual meeting on November 1st, with a large group of runners turning out for the event. The meeting agenda included annual reports, election of 2010 officers, goals and action items for the coming year, and the establishment of a preliminary 2010 event calendar. The elected officers and key volunteer appointments for 2010 included President Mike Buck, Vice President Ruthie Kreuzer, Treasurer Anthony Wilson, Secretary Angelina Orsonio and Member-At-Large Nick Mathers. The husband/wife team of Kevin and Katherine Garrison was appointed to the position of webmaster(s). Look for minutes to be posted soon on the Road Lizards web site.

If you haven’t ridden (or ran) the Spillway Hill trails lately, this is a great time of the year to do so. That area includes some new trail sections that were developed for the recent Red Bluff Challenge mountain bike race, with a few short stretches of highly technical areas for more experienced cyclists. I ran the 10K trail running route recently, and the trails are all in great shape thanks to the hard work of some mountain bike volunteers who prepped the course for the Red Bluff event (thanks, Kevin, Tony, Kyle, and others!). This area will host the 2010 Trail Running Series in January and February, and the Spillway Hill Off Road Duathlon in May. A good place to access the hill’s trail network is just outside the back gate of Middle Concho Park. As you exist the back gate, head straight ahead toward the rock berm and go through the opening in the rocks. This puts you onto the Mackenzie Trail, which parallels the main dirt access road. Cyclists, runners, and hikers can access over 20 miles of trails and 4WD roads from this starting point. Future plans for this area include a new trail section and permanent trail signs.

UPCOMING EVENTS

November 7: Sailor Cruise 5K, http://www.roadlizards.org/Upcoming%20Races/Navy.pdf
November 21: Turkey Trot Run and Fitness Walk, Angelo State University, http://www.angelo.edu/asufit
Dec. 10-13: Cyclocross National Championships, Bend, OR, http://www.visitbend.com/Bend_Oregon_Activities_Recreation/National-Championships/Cyclo-cross/default.aspx

The inaugural Red Bluff Challenge mountain bike race was held this past weekend in the Spillway Hill area. The event was a real success, and highlights why the State Park continues to lose users and events to other venues. One of the highlights of the Red Bluff event was the hard work by dedicated volunteers who cleaned trails and cut in some new and challenging technical sections. The running community will get a chance to “enjoy” the new routes during the Jan/Feb Trail Running Series. Pictures of the Red Bluff event are posted at http://s486.photobucket.com/albums/rr228/bcullins/Red%20Bluff%20Challenge%2010-18-09/?start=all.

There were also a couple of down sides to what was otherwise an extremely successful event. Despite multiple requests for assistance, the San Angelo Bicycling Association continued its recent tradition of not supporting mountain bike events; in fact, there wasn’t a single SABA board member present for the event. There were also very few local racers participating; in fact, more cyclists came from Amarillo and Lubbock than from the local area. Makes you wonder (1) why should anyone join SABA, and (2) were the local racers intimidated by the West Texas Series regulars who came from out of town?

Changing gears, have you ever looked back in old training logs to see what workout you did on this same date a few years ago? I skimmed through some of my old training logs recently, and came up some interesting log entries for the same weekend in October in past years. The importance of keeping a training log is that you can look back and find patterns that suggest why good (or bad) things happened related to your training. One of the things I noticed was that my 1996 fall cyclocross season was less than stellar. Turns out that I was doing more running than cycling that year, and so the power and bike skills just weren’t in place. I struggled all season with my bike form.

However, when I looked back at my 2003 log, a completely different picture emerged. I had started a very focused cyclocross training program in late spring, with a long base period of base rides, tempo bricks, and technique work. One of the primary goals for that year was to elevate my lactate threshold as much as possible, so as to perform better in shorter but high intensity events. I also spent 10 days in Colorado during the summer of 2003, with multiple days of long hard climbs or trail runs at altitudes of 9,000 feet and above. As the 2003 season progressed, the results started coming around, as listed below. The take home messages: (1) keep a training log and (2) review past logs to see what led to good race results.

· 2003 Armydillo 10K: 3rd place 50+ men

· 2003 Concho Valley Road Race: 6th overall open men

· 2003 Wurst Cross CX race: 1st 55+, lapped my field

· 2003 ASU Turkey Trot 5K: 4th overall male

· 2003 Smithville Dirty Duathlon: 1st male 50+

· 2003 REI Austin CX race: 1st male 55+, lapped field

· 2003 Texas Cyclocross Championships: 1st male 55+, state champion

In my most recent Standard Times column, I wrote about safety for cyclists and runners during the shorter days of fall and winter. That column is posted at http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2009/oct/16/precaution-name-of-the-game-in-low-light/. Since the column was published, I’ve had two near misses where I encountered runners after dusk wearing dark clothing. Read the column, folks, and wear stuff that’s bright and reflective when working out after sunset.

The 2009 Team San Angelo community survey is currently open. Please take a few minutes and provide your input related to cycling, running, and multisport in San Angelo. Go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=JSqpxTWQgCQlJ5QefVvEtw_3d_3d to take the survey.

UPCOMING EVENTS

October 24: Quest for the Cure 5K, Angelo State University (Texas Hall parking lot), www.angelo.edu/asufit
November 1: West Texas Series mountain bike race, Abilene, http://www.wtcycling.com/wforum/viewtopic.php?t=2887
November 21: Turkey Trot 5K, Angelo State University, www.angelo.edu/asufit

New event Red Bluff MTB Challenge

Special blog update for a new event see event flyer below.

It’s fall, the race courses will actually have some mud this year, but I won’t be able to race cyclocross this season. It seems that serious CX training just isn’t compatible with my chemotherapy treatments every other week. I’m holding out hope that I can at least be “pack filler” in the Texas CX championship race, scheduled for January 16 (my treatments end in late December). To remain sane, I’m riding my CX bike whenever possible and doing “mini CX workouts” (read: slow motion stuff that’s about the same as my pre-race warm-up routine). One of my stay-sane rides is a short combo on-and-off road circuit that takes about an hour at an easy pace. I wrote about this route in my most recent cycling column (http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2009/oct/02/take-a-spin-on-one-of-my-favorite-routes-around/).

Speaking of cycling, the San Angelo Bicycling Association just elected new officers for the coming year. They are John Woiton, President, Dominic Santos, Vice President, Rita Grafton, Treasurer, Roy Jones, Secretary, and Christy Nesbitt, Member at Large. I’m sure the new board already has a priority list of initiatives for 2010, but if not … I’ll list three items that might be good to address:
(1) Improve relations with the mountain bike community.
(2) Encourage a more positive attitude toward multisport athletes (we represent a majority of the local cycling population)
(3) Take a more aggressive stance against dangerous riding in the Loop Group and other pack rides.

Although the national trends for obesity are still on the rise, I’m seeing a glimmer of hope locally. I’m basing that on the larger turnouts we’re having for cycling, running, and multisport events, and the increasing number of beginner/entry level participants. As an example, 700 runners and walkers turned out for yesterday’s Pick Ribbon run here in San Angelo. Obviously, if you did a “visual survey” in the Wal-Mart parking lot, you would realize that we have a long ways to go before we actually start having a slimmer population.

Angelo State University has several events coming up that may be of interest to local athletes. On November 21, it’s the 2nd annual Turkey Trot 5K run and walk on the ASU campus. This fun event has the distinction of having pies as the primary awards for category winners. For swimmers, Mike Buck (Road Lizards VP and ASU ROTC commander) has worked with the university’s Recreation Department to get a Masters Swim program in place. See flyer on the right for details. Finally, the ASUFit Health Fair will take place on Wednesday, October 14, in the University Center. Get details on all of these on-campus events at http://www.angelo.edu/services/fitness_wellness/newsletters/October2009_Newsletter_final.pdf.

UPCOMING EVENTS

October 8: Road Bike TT series, http://www.sanangelobicycleassociation.com/
October 10-11: Texas Road Cycling Championships, Copperas Cove, http://www.txbra.org/db/events/2009FortHoodClassicV4.pdf
October 17, Heart Walk 5K, http://www.roadlizards.org/Upcoming%20Races/Heartwalk.pdf
October 18: West Texas Series mountain bike race, Concho Bike (San Angelo), http://www.wtcycling.com/wforum/viewtopic.php?t=2887
October 24: Quest for the Cure 5K, Angelo State University (Texas Hall parking lot), www.angelo.edu/asufit
November 1: West Texas Series mountain bike race, Abilene, http://www.wtcycling.com/wforum/viewtopic.php?t=2887
Dec. 10-13: Cyclocross National Championships, Bend, OR, http://www.visitbend.com/Bend_Oregon_Activities_Recreation/National-Championships/Cyclo-cross/default.aspx

The current Health Care Reform debate is starting to really piss me off. About all we’re hearing from our brainless leaders in Washington and the news media is straight party line stuff. What I want to hear from these lame brain jackals is why we don’t make 6:00 am Physical Training sessions mandatory for the general population to help solve the Obesity Crisis. The estimated cost of obesity in the US for the current year is 147 billion dollars (that’s a bunch of Big Macs and Slurpees!). Read more in my 9/19 rant that was published in the San Angelo Standard Times .

On the flip side, I am constantly impressed by both the quantity and quality of amateur athletes that we have here in San Angelo. You expect to see fast cyclists, runners, and triathletes in Austin or Boulder, but here in the West Texas desert?? As an example, take a look at the list below. These folks finished the 2009 Air Force Marathon or half marathon today in Dayton, Ohio, Good job, folks!

Brandon Bowers San Angelo, TX 24 M 4:56:15
Michael Buck San Angelo, TX 49 M 3:30:10
Gloria Interrante San Angelo, TX 23 F 4:39:07
Ruthie Kreuzer San Angelo, TX 28 F 3:57:54
Nathan Parker San Angelo, TX 25 M 3:04:45
Benjamin Passons San Angelo TX 37 M 3:42:39
Georgette Young San Angelo, TX 46 F 5:34:24
Paula Lasley San Angelo, TX 24 F 2:13:56
Gabriel Manlutac San Angelo, TX 28 M 2:24:13
Jennifer Manlutac San Angelo, TX 25 F 2:24:14
Jeanice Smith San Angelo, TX 24 F 2:38:11


Rumor has it that more people are starting to use the Spillway Hill and Twin Buttes trails instead of the State Park, due to poor trail maintenance and other issues at the State Park. If you’re not familiar with the Spillway area, take a look at the map on the right or drop me a message and I’ll fill you in. Spillway is a great place to take the mountain bike or to get in a good trail run. One project that I’m working on is a proposal for a “Volunteer Work Pass” for the Middle Concho/Spillway area. Mountain bikeer Ty Johnson suggested this, and it’s a great idea. The concept would that people who volunteer their time to work on trail or perform other volunteer tasks in that area would be rewarded by the city with free pass to the Middle Concho area during the times when they are collecting gate fees. This would encourage volunteerism, and also provide a good partnership between the city of San Angelo and the local bike/run community. One of my daughters manages an Outdoor Volunteer program in Northern Colorado that could be a great model (on a smaller scale) – read about her program here: http://www.berthoudrecorder.com/News/2009/sep/3/variety/outdoors-near-your-backdo . More on this later when the proposal is finished and submitted.

The ASUFit activities for 2009-2010 are about to kick off. ASUFit is a Fitness and Wellness program for university employees and students, but many of the activities are open to the regional community. Things will kick off on October 14 with a Health Fair and Brown Bag Luncheon. Other planned activities include a Fall Fitness Challenge, several 5K runs on campus, monthly speakers, mountain bike clinics for students and staff, and possibly on on-campus short course mountain bike race (dirt crit). For more information on ASUFit, contact Katherine Garrison at 486-6244 or e-mail katherine.garrison@angelo.edu.

Final note, again): Both the cycling and running clubs are looking for a few good people to step forward and serve as club officers for next year. If you are interested in serving, contact the appropiate club president to self-nominate yourself for an office.

UPCOMING EVENTS

September 19-20: Fort Davis Cyclefest, http://www.pbbatx.com/Documents/2009%20Tour%20Flyer.pdf
September 26 (rescheduled): Hot Dog Run, http://www.roadlizards.org%20/
October 3: Shannon Pink Ribbon Run, 10K/5K, http://www.roadlizards.org/Upcoming%20Races/Shannon.pdf
October 10-11: Texas Road Cycling Championships, Copperas Cove, http://www.txbra.org/db/events/2009FortHoodClassicV4.pdf
October 18: West Texas Series mountain bike race, Concho Bike (San Angelo), http://www.wtcycling.com/wforum/viewtopic.php?t=2887
November 1: West Texas Series mountain bike race, Abilene, http://www.wtcycling.com/wforum/viewtopic.php?t=2887
Dec. 10-13: Cyclocross National Championships, Bend, OR, http://www.visitbend.com/Bend_Oregon_Activities_Recreation/National-Championships/Cyclo-cross/default.aspx

The weather has started to cool off a bit, with lows dipping into the 60’s at night. I’m always reminded that I no longer live in Colorado when I see someone headed out for a run wearing a jacket in 65 degree temperatures. Maybe we’ll get lucky this winter and have some snow to run in a few times so these folks can work out wearing down parkas. This is also the time of the year that I would normally be getting all excited about the upcoming cyclocross season, but – due to the chemo treatments I’m currently enjoying, I’ll have to spend this season watching CX videos. Here’s a good one to watch: http://crosstube.net/Home/Cyclocross+%252F+Veldrijden+%3A+UCI+World+Cup++World+Championship/P9WMOA7dbH0%26f%3Dvideos%26app%3Dyoutube_gdata.html

The weather didn’t completely cooperate for yesterday’s Burma Road time trial (a little humid and some wind), but it was a lot nicer than the gale force winds during the Burma TT last spring. Shane Plymel turned in the fastest time of the day, demonstrating that he’s still the man when it comes to racing against the clock on the bike. Results should be posted on the San Angelo Bicycle Association’s web site soon, and I’ll get pictures of the event uploaded to Photobucket this coming week. For those of your who haven’t ridden the Burma hills, the picture on the left gives an idea of how much fun (read: painful) the course is.

With the return of cooler weather, more running events will take place over the next few months. Both the Hot Dog Run and the Habitat 5K will take place this month, with the big 5K/10K Shannon Pink Ribbon Run taking place in October. ASU will hold the 2nd Annual Turkey Trot 5K in November, and then in December the Armydillo 10K and the Resolution Run ½ marathon will take place. All of these events, of course, are simply training runs to help you prepare for the Trail Running Series in January and February. Take a look at the Upcoming Events link below for more cycling, running, and multisport events.

My most recent column for the Standard Times newspaper dealt with the fact that we have a diverse cycling community here in San Angelo. Hard core roadies, mountain bikers, casual fitness riders, and triathletes – we have a broad range of people who participate in cycling. My central theme was that none of us fit into a singular “mold” as relates to how we choose to enjoy our sport. I received a number of comments related to that column, and I want to share a couple of them with you. The messages are self explanatory, I think, and should give all of a little food for thought.

“I want to thank you for reminding me of the joy of riding a bike around the neighborhood with kids. I'm a 46 year old, out of shape mom who used to love run, and many years ago, used to love bike riding for the sheer joys of freedom and wind in my face. Tonight I took out my bicycle, and my 11 year old helped me air up the tires. We rode for 20 minutes in our neighborhood. What fun! I am looking forward to many more evenings of pleasure. Your message in today's column was truly inspirational.”

“One of the things that has turned me off to Loop Group at times is the attitude that so-and-so (let's say triathletes) aren't "real" cyclists and that somehow the roadies occupy a higher rung on the food chain. (Interestingly, you don't see that sort of attitude among runners.)”

Final note: Both the cycling and running clubs are looking for a few good people to step forward and serve as club officers for next year. If you are interested in serving, contact the appropiate club president to self-nominate yourself for an office. The cycling club contact is Christy Nesbitt, and for the running club please drop a message to Jeanette Passons.


UPCOMING EVENTS

September 12: Hot Dog Run, http://www.roadlizards.org%20/
September 12: Comanche Warrior Triathlon, Big Spring, http://www.comanchewarriortriathlon.com/
September 19: Home Run for Humanity 5K, http://www.roadlizards.org/Upcoming%20Races/Habitat.2009.pdfSeptember 19-20: Fort Davis Cyclefest, http://www.pbbatx.com/Documents/2009%20Tour%20Flyer.pdf
October 3: Shannon Pink Ribbon Run, 10K/5K, http://www.roadlizards.org/Upcoming%20Races/Shannon.pdf
October 10-11: Texas Road Cycling Championships, Copperas Cove, http://www.txbra.org/db/events/2009FortHoodClassicV4.pdf
October 18: West Texas Series mountain bike race, Concho Bike (San Angelo), http://www.wtcycling.com/wforum/viewtopic.php?t=2887
November 1: West Texas Series mountain bike race, Abilene, http://www.wtcycling.com/wforum/viewtopic.php?t=2887
Dec. 10-13: Cyclocross National Championships, Bend, OR, http://www.visitbend.com/Bend_Oregon_Activities_Recreation/National-Championships/Cyclo-cross/default.aspx