Editor’s Note: There has been a lot that’s happened to me in 2008, but since the nature of this blog is to track athletic achievement, and for the sake of time, it is limited to mostly athletic happenings. It is still a bit long. I hope it is as inspiring for you as it is for me.

To look back at 2008, I actually have to start in 2007. It was a beautiful October day in the lost pines of central Texas. I woke up and decided I felt like trying a 24 hour race-solo. 24 hours and 175 miles after the noon start, I was the first soloist to cross the line. The victory was sweet, but the effort had exacted its toll.

I had this weird sensation in my left knee the weeks following that race. After realizing that it wasn’t subsiding, I decided to see a doctor and get it looked at. The initial diagnosis was nothing serious. I likely had some muscle tightness and junk built up around soft tissue. The knee was tracking well and functioning otherwise, so it would not need surgery and therapy would be all it took to get going again. I spent some time (&money!) at Texas Spine and Sports Therapy while training for the next big 24 hour race, 24 hours in the Old Pueblo in mid February. I saw improvement, but it was sometimes hampered by my training volume. I was continuing to race cyclocross and marathon mountain bike races through the winter.

I had never sustained an injury that I did not recover from, but this one was different. Sometimes the body needs assistance in healing itself. Dr. Atencio began my education on this matter very professionally. While he did begin to teach me how joints get messed up, and how therapy could help, he never instilled in me the importance of stretching and flexibility.

Meanwhile, I began to do a lot of research on bicycle fit and component ergonomics. I met Sean Ahmadi, a bike fitter and personal fitness coach. I paid him to fit my mountain and road bike. Sean did a great job and it was the start of a wonderful relationship. We discussed some of the problems I was having and from here my knowledge really began to grow. He went beyond the call of bike-fitting duty and engraved in my head the absolute importance of stretching, flexibility, and proper recovery.

Sean agreed to give me coaching tips and let me workout with him for no cost reimbursement. In return, I referred him as much as I could. I also educated him with some of my latest findings. He was a good fitter at the time, but new technology always emerges. I introduced him to a site that sells specified bike fitting tools and knowledge and wouldn’t you know it-he goes and buys their complete kit.

I really didn’t have much time to prepare for Tucson, but the day came and I was ready to give it all I had. The race was going smooth. I was running a steady pace and the bike was rolling great. Disaster struck a little over halfway through the race and final night lap. Pain in the left knee again flared up. I came through the feed zone demoralized, knowing my race was done. There was no way I could fight through that much pain for another 11 hours.

After Tuscon, it was back to the drawing board. I was hurt this time far more than the first. So much so, that I had to forfeit the spring cross country series and take a few months off the bike. That’s not an easy reality for a bike racer to accept, but it is a good opportunity to realize that racing bikes is not life. There are many varieties of life, why limit yourself to a few?

I was eager to find a permanent fix to my knee problem and get back on the bike, so my research and due diligence took on a whole new meaning. At the referral of a teammate, I switched doctors and started seeing Dr. Chris Sellers at Performance Wellness. These guys definitely had their stuff together and much more experience than the last doctor. Not only did their treatment seem much more effective, they wanted to educate you as much as they can so you can prevent future injury. Beyond actual treatment, Chris explained to me the effects of muscles tightness and imbalance. He then sent me to their main therapist, Dr. Davis, who gave me some “homework” with stretches and exercises to help correct my deficiencies.

I continued my discussions, workouts, and gear tweaks with Sean. Flexibility took center stage as the way to heal and increase performance, but it didn’t stop there. I began to eat more wholesomely, get more rest, hydrate better. Everyday I learned something new and made more progress. I gained confidence that I would not only become completely healed, but that all these new facets of training and living would make me stronger than I was before the injury.

I slowly got back into riding and was able to compete at the final Spring Race at X-Bar ranch near El Dorado, TX on May 18, 2008. It was a disappointing 6^th place finish in a category lower than where I left last fall, and one that I had dominated just a year before. However, it was a finish on a tough course and a reminder of the long road ahead.

With mountain bike season already gone, I turned my attention to other endeavors. I remained steadfast in my efforts to get better and regain my fitness. I learned how to swim and began running a bit so that I could start competing in triathlons.

Come June 23, Colleen and I entered the Austin Urban Assault with an impressive 2 out of 300+ finish. The confidence and fitness continued to grow.

Come July 13 I had the opportunity to compete at the Austin Rapha Roller Race. I was only expecting to have a good time and maybe get through half the rounds, but I walked away with the win and a new track frame that evening. Five hours later, I woke up and competed in my first ever triathlon, the Couples Tri at Decker Lake. The swim wasn’t easy, but I didn’t drown, hammered the bike, and survived the run. Not a bad way to start a triathlon career. I would go on to improve my swim and run times 2 weeks later at the Marble Falls triathlon on a harder, longer course.

I was seeing improvement week by week, but there was still a lot of work to do. By this time of the year, Performance Wellness, Coach Ahmadi, and Chipotle Congress had all agreed to sponsor me! Things were looking up.

August 17 was another new adventure, my first off road triathlon, the Camp Eagle X-terra. The rain threatened us from the start and it would prove to be a big problem by the time we hit the trail. I had a great mid-pack swim and was ready to turn it up on the trail since I would be more in my element. I was passing racers left and right, and then had a huge mechanical. I persevered and was able to finish the race, and apparently an age group win. It took a few weeks for the officials to sort out the results, but I actually ended up 3^rd. That news did nothing to deter my sense of accomplishment though.

2 weeks later I would return to kick off the spring season of cross country. I had made huge gains over the summer and planned to start in the Pro/Semi-Pro/Elite category where I belonged. Another set of mechanicals kept me out of the top ten, but not from finishing and not from feeling good about the performance.

September 20, I was set to compete in the Huntsville Classic before Hurricane Ike paid the course a visit a week earlier. With that race cancelled, I traveled to San Angelo with teammates to compete in a 6 hour race at the state park there. Another teammate gave me a run for the money, but I was able to edge him out for the win on my rigid steel 29er on the last lap. This win was a great confidence booster for the upcoming 24 hour race in Moab.

I was doing Moab on a 4 man team this time. I was again plagued by mechanical conditions early on and the team decided to bow out and just go do some fun riding the next day. I stayed for a few extra laps. It was a pretty trip, and I enjoyed it as my main vacation this year, but the race left me with a real sour taste in my mouth. I was ready to put it behind me and move on.

I would compete at Ruston and finish the season at Rocky Hill, both lackluster finishes. It seemed as if I were on a plateau. I bought a cyclocross bike after finishing 5^th at the first cross race of the season on a borrowed bike. That was about where I left off last season, so I knew this season I had a chance for some wins, especially with a proper bike.

It would be 3 more frustrating races with mechanicals before my day came with a win at the Bikesport CX challenge December 7.

In the middle of that cross series, I competed in my first Duathlon at Rocky Hill ranch. I managed 7th of 80, only to drop 3 spots on the final run leg. That was ok though, my run times were markedly faster than the tris I did over the summer and I was very happy with that performance.

Following the Houston races, I began a new workout series called p90x and met with Sean to outline a training strategy for the next big race, the Dirty Dozen on Valentine’s Day 2009. I have been sticking to the regiment as well as I can and have started to see good results already. I suspect that at this time I’m as strong as I’ve ever been, but still have much more potential. 2009 should be a great year with all that I’ve gone through in 2008.

That brings me to my conclusion. Would I have traded in that knee injury and lost riding time for more of the same old same old routine that would’ve gotten me slowly and slightly faster with no injury at all? Yes and no. Yes, because injury really sucks. It’s scary and demoralizing. Injury does nothing to boost confidence. It keeps you in a state of “maybe it’ll get better”.

A more resounding “no” . It’s hard to trade in all that I’ve learned and how much I have grown as an athlete and human being for the sake of not having an injury, an injury that was very much heal-able, mind you. Not only am I FULLY recovered from that knee injury, but I am stronger and more prepared than I was before it. I’m ready to take racing and life to the next level. I’m happy with where I’m at now- there should never be any disappointment from doing something you enjoy so much. But I know there is way more potential for me out there and I plan to dig deep for it. I hope that this 2008’s journeys have been good for you too, and that 2009’s will be even better. Thanks for reading this entirely too long entry! Happy New Year!

-Greg “Caveman” Parham

I arrived in Austin safe and sound Sunday night after managing to not gain any weight and still get a few ride/workouts in during my stay in Terrell. I wasn’t able to follow the workout schedule to a T, but travel and family time are hard things to work around. Lounging around and watching movies and playing with Christmas stuff isn’t a bad way to spend time off work anyhow.  If you get a chance to go see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, I highly recommend it. Just bring a box of tissue with you though.

As promised, I’ve made a few updates to the website, namely the motivation page and and the launch of the all new tech corner. I’ll wrap up the year tomorrow with a final ‘Year in Review’ entry and some fun time with friends downtown.  I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas and had safe travels. Enjoy New Years too, but please be safe.

-Greg

Sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day. I met the big goals of the weekend, neglected the mid-sized ones, and threw out the small ones.  Rides- got a late start to my Saturday ride, but it was all good once I got going on the knobbies. Rode to the greenbelt at Zilker, took it past the hill of life all the way to Lost Creek Blvd. The trail gets pretty scrubby a 1/2 mile from the bridge, but this is mountain biking. Took a slow and painful cruise up Lost Creek to 360 while an older couple chuckled “helluva hill, ain’t it?” as they squeaked by on their golf cart. Took that up to Bull Creek greenbelt. I had never ridden this 5 miles of trail in its entirety, but thought this would be a good chance to do so. The trail is hard to follow sometimes and I did get lost a few times, but all in all it was a nice 5 miles. It got dark on me with about 1.5 miles left, so on came the Nightrider. From here I headed up the dreaded far west climb and to shoal creek. Picked up the Shoal creek greenbelt at 38th st and proceeded to downtown and back home. A nice blend of trail, flat road, hills, and time in the saddle.  The pleasant weather allowed for a sleeveless jersey all day.

The sunday ride wouldn’t be as nice. Wool warmers, jersey, and base layer were all in order as the temps didn’t get much above 40, and windy. Thommy Cho came by to borrow a bike while he was in town from grad school at Vanderbilt (the same bike I rode yesterday). Since he was taking my hardtail, and I still wanted to do some trail/road riding, I threw some fat tires on the cross bike and we drove up to Walnut Creek to meet some other friends for a ride. I wasn’t nervous about riding a Cross Bike on this trail, just wasn’t sure what to expect. Rocinante held his own though, keeping up with the mountain bikes just fine. It was just as much fun on a cross bike as it is on my mountain bikes. We finished our lap, said goodbye to Thommy, and then I rode back to Nick and Dustin’s at mopac/duval with them to refill water. From there headed to jollyville -> great hills->360 ->bee caves ->Yaupon Holly -> Red Bud -> Lake Austin and home from there. It was dark and really cold by the time I hit Lake Austin. By the time I reached 6th/I-35,  things were starting to hurt, but I was able to block it out. The pain set in big time as I crested Prospect Hill and coasted 100 yards to the house. Two back to back long rides and the Sunday weather had taken their toll, but it was a feeling of accomplishment and solid training heading in the right direction for Spring.

I wish I could have has the same success with my Christmas gift making and holiday spirit gallaventing around, but I was at least able to watch the crappy 2nd half of the Cowboy game sat night. I missed my Saturday Plyometric workout due to time constraints, so moved it to Sunday after the ride. I was spent though, and my form completely fell apart after 30 minutes, so I called it a day, got some quality home cooking at Colleen’s, and some much needed rest.

Keep an eye out after Christmas for website updates-Motivation, Health Tips, and Tech Corner ( lots of component/bike reviews!)

I wish everyone a safe and joyous holiday season.

-Greg

Wow, I’ve got a heck of a weekend coming up. My good friend and fitness coach Sean Ahmadi and I met up for lunch yesterday to discuss my training for the upcoming weeks, culminating at the 12 hour Race at Warda Feb 14th. We came up with a plan to supplement the P90x strength program I will continue to do. It calls for long rides on Saturdays and Sundays, and shorter more intense rides on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So, in addition to some long rides this weekend, I will be making christmas gifts for friends and family.

This year, I decided to make stuff for everybody instead of buying junk that people don’t really need and don’t really appreciate. There is something about a hand crafted gift that provokes more thoughtfulness and caring than a piece of plastic from Wal Mart. That should take up a pretty good portion of time.  And by the way, if I can’t come up with something useful to make for any recipient, I will donate to a charity in their honor. It’s a hard pill to swallow when you stop and think of all the excess and materialism our society has conditioned us to live with, while a lot of folks in the world struggle to secure their next meal. So if you’re a family member reading this, don’t be surprised if someone else you don’t even know gets a flock of chickens in your name instead of you getting scented body wash or a DVD. If you’re wondering why a flock of chickens, it’s because I’m leaning more towards this charity here. I urge you to open the eyes of your loved ones by doing something similar. While you’re at it, check out this site for more on the true spirit of christmas.

Back on topic, Colleen’s parents will be in town and have graciously invited me to lunch, and I’m not about to pass that one up. The Cowboys play their final regular season game at Texas Stadium saturday night, and I’m not about to miss that one either. I have to find some time in there to continue my P90x workouts, eat dinner, stretch, and sleep. If there is anytime left,  I will head over to the convention center for some holiday cheer, Austin style, for the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar. I wish everyone a productive and restful weekend. Remember to spend less, and give more

The Christmas treats have now waged a full on war. Sure enough, our kitchen table here at work has acquired a steady supply of sugars, bleached flour, chocolates, and some fats.  Hell, I even brought up some of the awesome banana nut bread I made over the weekend for my sponsors (it, however, is not part of the evil axis, but is an allie. You see, it uses whole wheat flour, apple sauce instead of butter, and brown rice syrup instead of sugar, plus it’s got bananas and pecans). Temptation and hunger finally got the best of me yesterday and I indulged in a few pieces of mint white chocalate, and converted a 5 sided star cookie into an asymmetric 3 sided one, and perhaps I snagged a little reeses butter cup, but that was it. I escaped with only minor damage. It was clear that I had to lose this one battle to win the war, and win the war I shall.

Another battlefront is occurring at home in my workout room. I continue to commit to the P90X workout system. Just as the soreness had started to subside from the chest/back and ab ripper workout last Thursday, we hit some of the same muscles again with the legs and back workout + ab ripper last night. Tony Horton really loves his guns and hence a crap load of pull ups. While I am seeing progress with pull ups, it will be quite some time before I work up to the level that he is at. Legs, that is a different story. Tony doesn’t quite have chicken legs, but he doesn’t have caveman legs either.  I could far outpace and outweight him on just about every leg workout in the set. However, I was not there to compete with anyone other than myself, so I tried to focus more on form and quality rather than excessive weight and repetitions. At the end of the set is the 18 minute or so ab ripper X.  This one is totally humbling for me. I don’t know if it’s because I just finished one workout and the peeps in the video are doing their only workout for the day, or I’m just a total wuss with these movements, but it seemed as if my second go round of ab ripper x kick my tail more than the first! That’s alright, another battle lost so that I might win the war.

Both these wars are leading up to the next big race weekend, the Texas State Cyclocross Championship Jan 3-4, 2009. There is potential to win 4 state titles, but really a decent chance at only 2. Saturday is age-based, meaning I’ll go up against folks in a 19-29 age group, maybe 25-29 if enough people show up. Either way, the fastest people in the state are already in this age group. Sunday starts with the newly added singlespeed category, followed by the 3/4 race and then the open race. I stand a very good chance in the SS division, and a good chance for the 3/4 title, not so much in the open race. Good luck in your personal wars and keep fighting the good fight.

Greg

… when tasty treats start appearing out of thin air and on the kitchen table in our breakroom at the office. Working as an architect, and in an office where we share space with several other firms, there are tons of consultants with whom we engage with on a day to day basis. Since most of their business comes through us, they always feel obliged to send us a lot of calories come Christmas time. I noticed for the first time friday that cookies were starting to pile up. Before you know it, we’ll have a few gift sausage and cracker baskets, those big tin popcorn cannisters with three flavors, maybe 5 or 6 things of Danish cookies, and an assortment of homemade cakes/muffins/cookies/whatever. There are so many empty calories just sittin there, that we often can’t handle them all until a week after new years. At least they’re packed with enough preservatives to last that long. This year, I’m following a much stricter diet of fruits, veggies, yogurt, and granola bars. I’m all about getting lots of calories, but why not get some vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants while you’re at it. I will resist this sweet tasting evil-ness this season and start the new year out right.

On a different note, I’m hurting like hell today from the ridiculous chest and shoulder P90x workout on Thursday. Yesterday’s workout was the Plyometrics, and I was at least able to keep up this time since It is more lower body intensive, but it still beat me down. I’m taking Saturday off for some R&R (and a team christmas party!) and will resume with the arm and shoulder workout on sunday. Enjoy the weekend.

Greg

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkR1Wn7kHGY&hl=en&fs=1]

I threw this video in because I mostly like the music, but I like the idea behind the commercial too: progress. Today I made 2 important gains.

1. I finally got the folks at the Texas Bicycle Racing Association (TXBRA) to upgrade my cyclocross category from a 4 to a 3. For those of you unfamiliar with categories, I will spell it out real quick. Road racing has 5 categories, 5 being beginner, 1 being elite, basically a Pro level rider. Everyone must start as a 5 and work their way up in 1 of 2 ways. Gather a certain number of points in a 12 month period. Points are awarded based on top 10 finishes. If you just can’t breach that top 10 cap, but are a strong rider and finish with the pack, then they will let you upgrade based on a certain number of finishes within the top 20. In cyclocross, there are only 4 categories, with a similar upgrade system. In mountain biking, there are three categories, and then Pro. Going to a Cat 3 cross status sort of puts me in the middle. But I’ve maintained I’ve been there all along since I am a Cat 1 mountain biker and have placed well in intermediate cross races ever since I started doing cyclocross racing. The powers that be are real stingy and full of politics when it comes to upgrades, so the first time I applied in January I was denied. Then came my injury in February and after that I wasn’t worried about upgrading. Then came the race at Mason park in Houston, and that pretty much sealed the deal. With only 2 cross races left this season, it looks like I will have to wait another year to get a few more good finishes and upgrade to a cat 2. Once that happens, I can’t go back. I will have to race the big boys forever. No more B races, only A’s. That’s what every cyclist should strive for anyways. They shouldn’t be content with mid pack finishes in the B race. Put in some more hard work, move up, and let one of the C racers take your spot. Tis the evolution of the sport.

2. I began my P90x off season regiment today. Tony Horton totally kicked my ass. Circuit 1 is Chest and shoulders, and a nice little ab blaster at the end for giggles. I can barely lift a shirt to put it on. Brutal. I’m counting on this program to get me totally ripped and ready for swimsuit season. Kidding of course. While a nice looking body will be an added bonus, the real purpose I’m committing to this program is to improve core and functional strength, and get some cross training in. A lot of cyclist have incredible leg strength, at least in a forward plane. As many different disciplines as I compete in, leg strength alone will not get me to the podium in all of them. I need totally body strength and muscle balance. In the long run’ it’s much better for my skeletal system too. I could go on an on about the importance of cross training, but right now I’ve something more important. Sleep.

I decided to skip the Camp Eagle marathon mountain bike race to do a few cross races in Houston. Normally, skipping any kind of mountain bike race for a race that involves tires skinnier than 1.9” is blasphemy and not in my nature especially if it involves going to Houston. This go round, though, I wasn’t really feeling like riding 42 miles of Camp Eagle, not to mention it’s a longer drive and I’ve already been twice this year for Xterra and the XC race. I didn’t really have a good bike setup either. So, I made the decision Friday night to head for Houston in the morning.

Frustration Continues

Saturday’s race was held at beautiful Eleanor Tinsley park with the skyline as a nice backdrop. I was telling Colleen how I remember the first cross race I ever did being somewhere nearby as we were driving there, and sure enough, it was the same park that I had done my first ever cross race about 5 years ago when I raced for UT. I had the bike setup with a Shimano 1×9 drivetrain this time following the bad weekend in Dallas. It worked well at the Dirt Derby on Tuesday and so I felt good about it for the weekend. I did, however, bring my mountain bike this time to place in the pit in case something did go wrong. Same story, 1000^th verse. I have a crappy start, but begin to make my way towards the front in the middle of the race. Chain jumps off the front chainring and gets jammed in the crank while a good chunk of the pack passes me by. It is still intact, but damaged from getting it loose and back on. It lasts long enough to make it to the pit and switch bikes. The mountain bike was noticeably slower on such a smooth course, but I still managed to gain back 5 or so spots to finish 17 of 33 or so. After the race was the real fun part. Free beer and a really good local blues band. The weather was great for sitting around and watching the open race.

After my buzz goes down a bit, Colleen and I decide to go find a hotel and do something fun around town. We get a decent room close to the Sunday race site and settle in. I decide to do something with the dilapidated cross bike so maybe it’ll actually be of use tomorrow. Fed up with gears and derailleurs turning against me, I decide to go single speed once again. Unlike last time in Dallas, I brought a super rad chain tensioner with me this time in case of a situation like this. I also brought a pretty foolproof single speed chain with me. If the same model chain would last numerous miles on my mountain bike, I felt 100% confident it would handle some cross racing. After that was fixed, we went downtown and walked around a bit before having a nice dinner at Cabo and returning to the hotel.

Redemption, at last

Who knew what the new day would bring. It would take an act of God or extreme carelessness on my part to break my bike today, so I wasn’t worried about that, but instead I was worrying if my single speed setup would put me at a disadvantage. On some courses it helps you because you must push harder to get up some climbs. On courses that have both steep climbs and long flat straights it can hurt you, because you won’t be able to ride the steep parts and you’ll run out of gears on the flats. I had my fingers crossed that Mason park would be somewhere in the middle, neither an advantage or disadvantage. This was a new venue to the Texas series, and I guess that kept some racers away because we only had around 19 starters to yesterday’s 35 or so. At any case, I think all I really expected was to have a good time and get a good workout. I roll up to the start line last on my one gear machine, hang over my bars and yawn a few times. I’m still looking around as they blow the whistle. I figure it’s time to get going. I sit back for most of the first lap because I can see the leader, and he ain’t getting away in a hurry. The last stretch of the lap is uphill, but you can really push it and blow by people. When it seemed like people were already starting to hurt at this point, the beast within me awoke and it was @#$%*& on! I charged to the front by the third lap and it was a constant battle between the top 4 riders. We kept attacking each other and switching off the lead. It seemed like everybody had different recovery parts of the course. The single speed was holding it’s own out there. Not only was I in the top 5 this time, I was making some moves and putting the hurt on. There was one spot on the course where lack of gearing appeared to hurt me a bit. There was a short steep hill after a flat open field. I had no choice but to push it hard to carry enough momentum over the hill, and this usually got me past riders, but the big push left me a little winded and I would get passed and gapped on the next 1000 yards of field until the run up. For the run up I was able to ride most of it, and then run the last bit fast and make up a little time, but then struggled on the downhill and the long stretch of sidewalk to keep up without gearing. That’s where riding fixed gear down Austin hills comes in handy! The sidewalk ends at some loose switchback turns and then it’s the gradual uphill towards the finish where I made up most of my time. At one point I think the leader had a 10-15 second gap. I kept having this thought “There Will Be No White Flag Upon This Bike” dance through my head (thanks Dido!) and not only caught back up but gapped him with 1 ½ laps to go. My opponent was very worthy though, and he was back on me like white on rice as the bell rang for the final lap. I knew he would probably drop me on the flat sidewalk, so I had to make the strongest effort I could on the technical sections, the barriers, the run up etc. to prevent this. It worked, I was able to stave off the threat, but he was still with me through the twisty section, so as soon as we turned the corner it was a pretty mad dash to the finish. I worked too hard and went through too many crappy races to let this one get away. Redemption was finally mine. A guy who had not finished higher than 7^th all season and 17^th the day before showed up on a bike with one gear and left with the W. Thanks be to God, for whom all glory is due, and thanks be to Colleen, my ever supportive girlfriend. The single speed cross bike is the start of something very, very good. Thanks for reading.
Greg