Simply Ablaze!...

"Simply Ablaze" - A Roadside Snapshot.

It seems every tree in New England is begging for individual attention right now. Which raises a question of how best to enjoy the beauty of fall in New England?

Like people each tree has it's own unique qualities. Yet when viewed "en masse" and enjoyed as a group of good friends... there is a completely different dynamic and feel to them. 

And in the end I guess trees in fall are like people... there is no right or wrong way to embrace, enjoy and learn from them. You simply have to be open to the opportunities that both life and Mother Nature present us to enrich our lives and nourish our soul and not let them pass you by.

Not Your Typical TBT...

Not exactly your typical ‪‎TBT‬... but a challenge to all my friends today.

Think about where you were a year ago today... look at where you are today... and imagine where you want to be a year from now. 

Then realize everything is possible! :-)

Summit View - Mt. Moosilauke, NH

The White Mountains of New Hampshire
 as seen from near the summit of Mt. Moosilauke (4802') in Warren, NH

It was a gorgeous day for hiking yesterday (28.09.15) as seen in this panoramic from near the summit of Mt. Moosilauke!

Yesterday I helped lead a fund-raising trip for breast cancer research at Dartmouth Hitchcock Memorial Hospital in Hanover, NH.  The event... called "Climb to Conquer" (moosilauke.reachforthepeaks.org) is a 12km hike up Mt. Moosilauke on the western edge of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. 

This is a panoramic view from near the summit.

Although individual peaks are really tough to distinguish... this view shows most of the major peaks in the White Mountains... from Mt Lafayette and Franconia Ridge in the foreground 11.5 km away to Mt. Washington - about 52 km distant. The width of this scene (as measured on Google Earth) is about 88 km. Talk about an amazing view!  :-)  .  

Photo taken with iPhone5c in panorama mode.

One Hour on the Bike...

Copyright - Chain Reaction Cycles

Ok, just for the record they left out the part about the rider and machine becoming one... powering each other toward a common goal. Ice Cream!

But seriously... while on the bike I think the body eventually finds its “perfect rhythm”.  Each of the vital internal systems comes into sync… freeing the brain from the distraction of having to mange them individually... like little children competing for attention.

And as this happens you begin to enter a special place… a place where your mind is now freed to wander in different directions and engage in the kind of creative, reflective and philosophical thinking that is necessary to live a healthy, happy and rewarding life.

And on my opinion… this is the true value of exercise.

Thanks to Chain Reaction and visit their web site here to view the original graphic:
http://www.chainreactionhub.com/latest-news/2076-what-happens-during-one-hour-of-riding-your-bicycle

Signs #1

"Follow Your Heart"  :-)  

"Follow Your Heart"

This is the first in a series of new photographs I am working on... "alternative interpretations" of the signs (both literal and figurative) that we see and experience in our lives each day.

In this case it is about following your heart!

Have a great journey! :-)  

To see this and more visit: https://davemengle.smugmug.com/Inspiration/

Smell All the Flowers...

One of the problems with photographing flowers is that it is so easy to get caught up in their sheer beauty through the viewfinder that it is easy to totally miss or ignore their other great attributes.

And one of these is the multitude of wonderful smells and fragrances you experience while "nose to blossom" when taking closeups like this one.

And it was this realization the other day that led me to re-think the old expression about "Taking time to smell the Roses".

In fact we should take time to smell all the flowers and experiences life presents us with.  Often it is easy to get caught up in one aspect of something and miss a lot of what life is just begging us to experience.

So the next time you start to focus in what you think is that single most important aspect of something take a step back... take a deep breath and enjoy the rest of what life has to offer!  :-)

HRM1 vs MioLink...

This graph is a supplement to a comment I left on DCRainmaker.com concerning my results using the new MioLink optical heart rate sensor from Mio Global.

My testing was done using a Garmin HRM-11 chest strap (the original old style supplied with the Forerunner series units) paired with a Garmin Edge 500.  The MioLink was paired with the TrainerRoad indoor cycling application running on a PC.  Both tracks were recorded using the ANT+ protocol.

At the beginning of the activity the MioLink was intentionally moved on my wrist (Link was worn on left wrist) to create a "break" in the HR track for further positive identification of the MioLink's track.  As the graph above shows... after about one minute the tracks began to match fairly well and continued to do so throughout the activity.

Overall I would consider the results to be very respectable if you are using the HRM1 as the "standard" the MioLink should match.  Critical users will not that certainly, it’s not a perfect fit.

But personally I really believe power is the ultimate precision training tool anyway.  Heart rate is only a rough indicator of how hard I’m working because there are so many variables that can affect it. But power is power, whether you like the numbers on any given day or not.

However as a supplement to power (or when riding a bike/wo a meter) I think overall the Link would appear to do a decent job. Over the course of a long ride I really don’t feel the need for second to second correlation of heart rate with another device.

I think ultimately it would boil down to a decision about whether you want to wear the strap or not. And there are probably times I still would… like for longer events. If anything battery life is the biggest reservation I have about using the Link.

"Sunset Stroll" - Bunche Beach, Fort Myers, FL

Sunset Stroll - Bunche Beach, Fort Myers, FL

This shot was made a couple of years ago during a casual evening of shooting at the beach.  It’s an example of what can happen with a little luck.

I had made about a dozen shots of this fairly dramatic sunset… trying to catch different patterns in ripples of water to play off the composition and shape of the clouds above.  All were good, but not great shots.  Something was missing but I wasn’t quite sure what.

However as soon as this young girl came into the left of my frame and continued walking down the beach… I knew that the missing element was the “human” element.  She added a sense of scale, motion and tranquility to the photo.

I shot 3 frames of her walking away from me down the beach… with this being the best.  The playful position of her arms, foot just catching the splash of a passing ripple and her reflection in the water make this photograph complete.

Shot with a Nikon D90 and 18-105 Nikkor lens.  

Results...

Results!

After about 2 months of using Trainer Road and 5 weeks of following one of their training plans, I believe I am seeing some truly measurable results.

The graph at left shows 3 rides of the famous (or infamous) Sufferfest video ISLAGIATT.  My latest ride was yesterday and is represented by the green line(s).  As you can see, the bold green line (which represents average power throughout the ride), is consistently higher than the other two and by the end of the ride my average power was almost 9 watts or 5% higher than on the other 2 rides.

At "first glance" you might think a 5% improvement is pretty minimal, but over the course of a two hour ride that's an extra 1.1 miles on my total distance!  Not that I race much, but in a business where wins are sometimes measured in centimeters and fractions of a second that's huge!

Now granted it's indoor training and not on the road.  And there are some variables that could affect my (absolute) power readings.  But as I have noted in a previous post, I have found the results produced by Trainer Road to be very consistent.  Each time I ride I use the same gear ratio (39/17)@90 rpm to check my power right after warming up and then again during my cool down... and it's always the same within +/- 1 watt.  You can't ask for better than that.

So I believe the results to date to be real and would highly recommend the Trainer Road system and the Sufferfest videos to anyone looking to improve their riding results this season!

http://www.trainerroad.com/features
http://www.thesufferfest.com/

Bon Voyage Sufferlandria...

It's with a heavy heart and burning quads that I leave the country of Sufferlandria today. Passport stamped and '85 Yugo rental car returned, I prepare to cross the border back to what's considered by most to be "civilization". Yet I've developed a fondness for this interesting country. I suspect I will have to return again this time next year to revel in it's charm & endure unspeakable pain, misery & agony. Bon Voyage for now... and as they would say when you come face to face with a rabbit with sharp pointy teeth... RUN AWAY!

The Sufferfest, TrainerRoad & the Tour of Sufferlandria...

"Blender"

Stage 8 - Blender.

Well, here we are on the eve of Stage 9 in the Tour of Sufferlandria.  With 8 full stages of suffering and misery complete... there's only one short, hour long stage to go. It's a sprint workout planned for the crack of dawn (Sufferlandrian Local Time).

While hardly "out of the woods" yet (or more accurately, out of the somewhat "backward" & "developmentally challenged" country of Sufferlandria)... I'm already starting to reflect on my efforts in this year's Tour and my plans to return in 2015.

@TheSufferfest, @TrainerRoad and of course @GrunterVonAgony put together one of the most epic athletic events of the year (the Sochi Olympics will pale by comparison) and are to be congratulated for wringing out the most suffering, pain, agony and cries for 'My Mommy" possible from every rider in the peloton.  Ultimately even top tier talent like @thejensie got sucked in.

Now I have to admit I came by the tour rather "accidentally" Ok... I was told to say that to protect the guilty.  Actually it was ride the ToS or endure 15 unfocused hours per week on the CompuTrainer for the next 6 weeks as punishment from my DS for indulging in to much Holiday Cheer. The choice was clear.  I packed my bags and was on the next plane, and then a rusty cargo ship and (finally) a rented 1985 Yugo GV!  However after what seemed like more suffering than the ToS could possibly dish out... I arrived in Sufferlandria on the eve of the Tour.

Now riding with such intensity as required by the Tour (and GVA's Minions) is not how most coaches would recommend spending your "off-season".  But it is a genuinely inspired event!  The overall quality, brilliant editing and completely entertaining Sufferfest videos make 2 hour trainer sessions fly by.  In fact they leave you wanting more!  "Can I have another one Sir?"  Well, in fact yes you can... It's called "Extra Shot".  The workouts are pro caliber and designed to get the most out of you.

Kudo's also go out to TrainerRoad.  They have developed a program that allows you to train in a structured fashion using either virtual power, heart rate or actual power if your fortunate enough to own a true power meter.  I'm not... but the important thing to note here is that absolute power is not as important as the consistency and repeatability of results.  And Trainer Road delivers on that... for the whopping sum of $10.00 US per month.  You can't beat it... although the same can't be said for the Minions who WILL beat you with a stick as soon as they see you drop a watt or two during the next interval.  And let's not forget the lava pool at the top of Mt. Sufferlandria where it's rumored the occasional dropped rider has "mysteriously" disappeared.

Crying, groveling, stem chewing and sore muscles aside... the results form the Tour have been tangible, measurable and worth it.  The supporting screen shots below should give some clue as to the intensity of and benefit to be gained from riding the ToS.

Finally... "Shut up legs!" Yes it was worth it.  Now if I could just pass my Sufferlandrian citizenship test :-)

Now It All Makes Sense...

“The chances are great that the best potential athlete in the world is an overweight, sedentary smoker. Right now sitting in front of the television somewhere is this person born to be the world champion in cycling and to dominate the sport as no one else ever has…

The problem is that he never had the opportunity to discover his ability.”

-          Joe Friel, author of the “Cyclists Training Bible”.

Wow, as we used to say back in the 70’s when I was a kid… “That’s heavy man”.  A scary thought, but I have no doubt it’s completely true.  And it makes me that much more grateful and appreciative of the fact that I had the honor to be coached by people like Jackson Horner (State College Area HS), and in later years Harry Groves (Penn State) throughout my “career” as a middle-distance runner.

Now even though I was actually a pretty decent runner it was clear I was never going to the Olympics… or even going to consistently win all the “Big Races” in my own backyard.  Yet these guys both spent countless hours and expended considerable energy working with me and my team-mates to bring out the best in us.  To allow us to “Be all we could be”.

And no doubt inspired by Jack and Harry a few of my former teammates have gone on to become coaches themselves.  Bill Kvashay and Dave Felice both work with high school kids in northeastern and central Pennsylvania.  Bill has produced some very respectable runners at Lake Lehman HS and Dave continues to work in his hometown with many promising kids at State College.

However, despite all I owe my coaches and teammates… even more instrumental to my (modest) success was the constant and unwavering support of my parents and family.  At the time, I’m sure I didn’t really realize, understand or fully appreciate the amount of time, energy and resources they put into supporting my running.  But without them I couldn't have taken that first step onto the track.  I can only hope all the late night pick-ups at practice; weekends given-up to attend meets and occasional “breaks-in-stride” both on and off the track were worth it for them.  It was (and still is) to me.

And now circling back to coach Friel’s observation…

Pardon the pun… but a few years ago I “shifted gears” from running about 1000 miles a year to cycling 7000.  On more than one occasion various people have accused me of being crazy, OCD or even worse to ride as many miles, spend as many hours in the saddle and push myself as hard as I do each year.  And to some extent they might even be the tiniest bit right. But I’d rather think it as my way of honoring the family and coaches that showed an interest in allowing me to discover my abilities early on so I didn’t have to wonder if I was “That guy on the couch”. 

Don't Skip That Work Out Tomorrow...

Wow.  This really hits home to anyone my age (Canadian or not).

Thought provoking stuff.  I will not miss tomorrow's workout.

Don't let this happen to you friends.

http://youtu.be/Qo6QNU8kHxI