Gary’s Fitness Blog

I have been thinking about all that Lexington has to offer the endurance community. I have written a few posts in the past talking about the endurance culture, specifically I wrote a post several months after Nikki and I moved back to Lexington titled, “Lexington’s Endurance Culture.”

Then this week as a triathlon community, we had a pretty exciting result as Tony White (a local triathlete) won the age group world championships for the 20-24 age group. The great thing about that is knowing that there are other locals that are great too (although Tony and Dave Kuendig do stand out).

As much as I like to talk up the culture of endurance athletes in Lexington and the country roads we have to cycle, there has become a glaring issue that I just can’t keep to myself anymore. The issue of being a cycling and running friendly city.

Here are some recent media reviews of Lexington as a place to live, along with one state sponsored class that got me thinking:

1. Lexington has worst carbon footprint in country. — There were several reasons for this ranking and you will have to read the article to generate your own opinion, but the first things they mention that relate to cycling and running friendly streets are: traffic and urban sprawl.

Take a look at the picture they post; this is a common scenario for most of the new communities that are reaching out to the horse farms. Yes, there are more urban infill projects that are being completed (a lot right now actually) but it remains to be seen who, how many and when people actually fill those developments. And will those moving into the town center alleviate traffic issues or initiate the city to take downtown pedestrian infrastructure seriously.

What we see in Lexington is that many (most?) of the people working downtown live in the suburban sprawl and are relegated to commuting to work, likely by using a car. Are there other options? Not effective ones as public transportation is poor and cycling inroads are unusable or at the least unsafe.

At this point, my recent frustration hasn’t caused me to stop commuting.  I do not commute every trip to the training studio, but I’ve been making it several round trips a week.  I have even started to add in a run commute (drive to work, leave car and run home, wake up and run to work) to get in a little more running.  And it has opened my eyes even more to some pedestrian issues.

The worst part is that I’m taking most likely the best route available for all cyclists to exit the town center to the nice country roads (Armstrong Mill, Man ‘O’ War, Bold Bidder, Greentree, Chinoe, Richmond).

2.  Best Life (June / July 2008) ranks Lexington 100, out of 100 listed places to raise a family.  This may not have a direct correlation to pedestrian issues and how safe our streets are, but I think there may be some correlation that we could draw.  Give me a little freedom; some items considered within this assessment included things such as good schools, teach-to-student ratio, above average test scores and respectable budgets.  It also included safety, parks and commuting times…

3.  Kentucky Traffic School:  ok, I had to go to traffic school for a speeding ticket I got on highway 60 between Versailles and Frankfort, that isn’t the story here.  There are two things that really stood out to me as I sat there for 4 hours of driving education related to Lexington’s roads and driving laws:

a - There were 56 pedestrians killed in 2005 due to vehicles.  I asked a question about the interpretation of this statistic because that seemed too high to be true.  The instructor assured me that it was fact.  I guess I should double check this, but 56 people walking or biking killed in one year?  Either there are situations that make these numbers appear more than they should be … or … get off the roads tomorrow.  How does this compare to other cities?  (I really don’t know.)

b - There was zero discussion of how to treat, share or approach pedestrians.  If the state (and our city) is serious about improving traffic interaction with pedestrians, it would seem logical that a class on traffic laws and driving safety would at least mention that cyclists and runners to use the road.

So what do we do as pedestrians that use the roads of Lexington?

Well, I think that there is awareness that is taking place within the city that should be applauded.  The city now has May set aside for “Bike Lexington” month.  The downtown area businesses have a group that have started the Yellow Bike Project (another yellow bike link).  And the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government has a Bike and Pedestrian Plan (I’ll be honest and admit, I have not read the entire report).

And I personally believe that there are some builders (especially downtown) that are aware and concerned about the pedestrian issues (I assume that their attractiveness depends on good infrastructure) that we face as a community.

But to be honest, that doesn’t mean much to me today.  As I ride my bike (or as I ran today) I continue to see vehicle traffic and pedestrian interaction becoming worse.  Some of these issues are just related to drivers and riders (and many riders have as much blame… like the guy I saw blow every red light from Alumni to Richmond on Chinoe - FOOL) not knowing how to interact.  But the city planners, administration and developers have a responsibility to create environments that offer Lexington something to be proud of… because at this moment we don’t.

Thank goodness the culture and community of people located here have been dedicated enough to overlook these downfalls.

As cyclist and runners, we need to continue to educate ourselves, so that we can be a valuable resource when called upon.  Here are some links that I’ll suggest:

1.  bicyclinginfo.org
2.  Active Community Environments (Centers for Disease Control)
3.  walkable.org

Final Thoughts:

I have a lot to say about this.  There will be more to come, that is something I can promise.  Right now I have one last plea to our city leaders:  Please take these issues seriously!  These issues are important for those of us that ride our bikes, run the roads and just want to commute safely to work.

As I continue to educate myself about these issues and how they impact the city as an organism, I get even more concerned.  Currently I’m reading a book titled “The Rise of the Creative Class” by Richard Florida.  And what I am beginning to realize is that these issues impact the attractiveness of a city to talented workers, which directly impacts innovation, economic stability and many more factors that help establish a viable city.

I guess Nikki and I have discussed these issues many times without even realizing it.  As small business owners in Lexington, we ask ourselves - “Is this a place that we can fully invest our careers, family and company?  What factors should we value above others?”  A few of the answers that we often come up with are related to the subject of pedestrian friendly living and recreation.

I know that I am biased, as a Lexington, Kentucky transplant, but the Derby is an amazing event. Last year I wrote a post about Rags to Riches and how the athletic ability that these horses show is amazing to see…. (Rags to Riches was the philly that won the Belmont last year)

…. I am getting ready to head out the door to Cincinnati. I’m planning on running the Flying Pig Marathon tomorrow morning… and as I am catching Derby coverage, I’m feeling my heart race. I’m way more excited about the running of the roses today than lacing up my shoes tomorrow.

…. I’m not sure why, I don’t have any money on it. (Unlike the batchelor they showed that was placing 100k on Colonel John - his down payment for a house - yikes!).

…. but when the gates open, it is a sight to see when an animal is born to race. These horses understand what is going on. The more I learn about horse racing, the more I like the spirit these athletes display.

This past week has been Jimmy V week on ESPN. I have now seen the video of his ESPY speech on tv, heard it on the radio and just watched it on you tube. If you have never seen it, you really need to watch it right now. There are two great action plans for everyone to use that he puts into this short speech. The messages are:

1. Everyday you need to laugh, think and be emotional to the point of tears.

2. You need to remember where you are from, know where you are and know where you want to be.

Great lessons I believe we can all implement and use. Jimmy V was battling cancer at the point he gave his speech (Jimmy V Foundation) and he knew what he wanted to accomplish through the Foundation. That is what I enjoy about his speech so much - he was also living out the very ideas he was trying to motivate others to use.

Thanks Jimmy, I’ve been moved to tears 3 times this week alone through your speech.

The motto of the foundation is “Don’t Give Up, Don’t Ever Give Up.” While it may seem trivial in my daily life to use a phrase like that just to get through another work day or get myself out the door for another run, I don’t think Mr. Valvano would be insulted by using that phrase for the more trivial daily obstacles. His speech had a lot to do with personal accomplishment and for most of us, making those daily decisions to maintain our plan and goals is what we need to do in order to obtain that level of personal satisfaction that we desire.

It has been exactly 2 months since I last posted to the blog. Thinking about it, that is a long time to leave the blog unattended, so I’ve likely lost some readers. But I know that there are a few people out there that are still reading some past posts, so today I’m beginning another solid year of blogging and sharing my endurance life experience.

Evaluating training and this lifestyle (my last two months):

The end of the triathlon season is sometimes a hard time of year because I feel lost. One of the greatest things about training for a marathon or triathlon is that it forces me to be focused each day on how my time is spent. When those rigid training plans are over and the race has been completed, I feel a little lost.

That being said, it also allows me the time to sit back and evaluate things in a more balanced state-of-mind. Right after the season, I was thinking about all the races I wanted to do, all of the miles on the bike I need to put in, etc., etc.

But a few weeks after the Ironman, I began having those thoughts of how happy I was with my Ironman attempt. Luckily, I had some activities that were going to force me out of a “normal” training routine for some time, allowing me to evaluate “what next”.

Here’s a brief list of some things that I’ve done that have influenced my current state-of-mind:

1. Play del Carmen, Mexico trip (Dan’s Wedding.. pictures here!).

Influencing thoughts during / after trip: How much of my life is structured to accomplish things that I percieve will make me happier in the future? (Back to the happiness post…) This point was really driven home when I sat there eating breakfast and watched a lady pull up on a scooter with a body board, she went body surfing for 45 minutes and then loaded up and likely headed home to get ready for work. It seems like a lifestyle worth living. But likely an existance that many of us are unwilling to take on, because to live a “simple” life we have to accept a life that doesn’t compete with what we are told we should have.

What should we have? As I ventured out to our local shopping area last Friday (Black Friday) I came to the conclusion that most of us don’t expect to have a life with adequate food, shelter and relationships, but we expect gps units, panel televisions, Wii game units and many more “lifestyle” purchases. In my own life I can see where I’ve put some things / accomplishments ahead of creating more rewarding relationships or adventures. I haven’t come to a place where simple living is anything more than an idealistic dream (we purchased a new television on Saturday?).

To also influence my thinking while in Mexico, there was a friend of mine there that seems to have created a similar life (romanticized in my mind of course) by living out his snow skiing lifestyle. After living in Vail, CO he now lives in Telluride - it’s pretty easy to see how that could become an envious situation. I’ve never really asked if he thinks of it as an envious lifestyle - maybe I will?

2. A couple books that I’ve read lately that are influencing my thought processes right now: Into the Wild, The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical and The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals.

I don’t want to go into the contents of the books, but they all have made me evaluate my own influence on our society and what I do to help others. And contrasting that to what I do to focus on helping myself. If you are not up to reading the books, I’d encourage you to at least check out the movie of “Into the Wild.” We thought it was great. It includes amazing scenery if nothing else.

3. We went camping again. This camping once a year pattern since we got married is kind of crazy considering we used to backpack several times a month and for days at a time. Camping always provides a wonderful opportunity to reflect.

4. I took a yoga class again! I’ve realized that practicing on my own isn’t going to happen anymore, so I signed up for classes again. My first experience back was wonderful.

How this all applies to Triathlon:

I watched the replay of Ironman Louisville on Versus the other day and loved what Chris McDonald had to say about how triathlon fits into his life. He said it is a lifestyle. He also mentioned how the triathlon lifestyle can be used as a behavioral pattern to be successful in other areas of life (business) once he was done competing.

My take-home message from this was that you have to love the training, the racing… the associated lifestyle. If you don’t, why are you doing it?

(Side note: Nikki - my hotty wife - made the IM Louisville coverage as she was the volunteer that hung the Wigwam towel over Chris’ shoulders at the finish. She did a happy dance!)

My next plan of action:

1. Run. For me there is a lot of purity associated with running, so I’m going to spend some time running. To be a better triathlete next year I know that I need to cycle. But that, I guess, is the whole point I’m trying to make - right now I love running, therefore I’m not worried about placing or performance.

2. Yoga. Continue going.

3. Poetry and journaling. I hasn’t been a part of my daily life since ‘04. On occasion sure, but not regularly. I’ve found that regualarly involving some aspect of creativity exercises into my life opens up my awareness of others.

That’s a simple gameplan! Let’s see what happens next.

A great place to restart my poetry and journaling would be to reshare some past writings. (Those long time readers might remember this?) Lessons Taken in Silence - Number One.

I have talked about Timothy Noakes before and the idea of a “central govenor” model of fatigue. It is a concpet that needs to be explored more by me, but the research also needs to be more complete… the concept is interesting none-the-less.

This month in BestLife magazine there was an article titled “Mind Over Muscle” that brings into the main stream Noakes’ ideas. It begins by stating a research finding that showed muscle biopsies of exhausted marathoners still had plenty of glycogen and ATP… the reported conclusion was that fatigue is a result of the brain telling the muscles to conserve energy, not as a result of running out of energy substrates. Noakes is quoted as saying:

“This is likely a survival mechanism”

It is an interesting idea and concept if nothing else. Definately controversial in the field of exercise physiology. How does the article use this information? They give a list of four things to do in order to get an edge in performing:

1. Program your pace - Train in a way to trick the brain’s govenor
2. Sweat with a smile - be positive (my tags on positive talk)
3. Zen out - keep relaxed during exercise
4. Envision success - use visualization techniques

All these ideas are things that I commonly support, whether they are related to a govenor model of fatigue or not I have no clue.

I’d like to return to the idea of fatigue in endurance events after I finish Ironman Wisconsin, but for now go read a previous post I wrote (Is fatigue physical or pyschological?) while reading the book, Deep Survival.