Saw this on friend Sean Clancy’s training log and wanted to share with anyone reading. Talking about adventure racing in particular but I found some of the thoughts pretty cool for the mentality of endurance type racing in general. Sean knows his stuff in the endurance world, always has cool tidbits of info and more with regards to almost anything.

Here is what he posted:

From my friend David Kelly’s FB posting from Yukon River Quest
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MORNING COFFEE DIALOGUE (aka “With enough coffee I can explain my world”)
A recurring theme of questions has come up over the last few days: “What does it take to really compete in, rather than just complete, a multi-day event like the Yukon River Quest.” I’m offering up a synthesis in writing of what I shared in conversations.

Years ago when I was deep into my adventure racing career, I wrote what I saw as the elite Adventure Racer’s Manifesto. As I’ve transitioned into other ultra-experiences (where the sun both rises and sets at least once in the same event) the Manifesto still seems to hold true.
The same holds as much or more truth for a solo competitor as it does for a team.

THE MANIFESTO
If you are not hungry, you’re carrying too much food.
If you’re not thirsty, you’re carrying too much water.
If you’re not cold, you have too many clothes.
If you are not frightened, you have too much gear.
If you are not drag-ass tired, you’re going too slowly.
If you are not drop-down sleepy, you’re getting too much rest.
If you’re not wet, scratched, and bruised, you took the long way.
If you finish the race on schedule, it was too easy anyway.

COMMITMENT
If you’re into multi-day ultra-distance racing of most-any type, you have to spend much of your time being wet, cold, tired, hungry and occasionally frightened. In order to get through the demands, you have to have a deep burning passion to do so. (Like the old Nike slogan that went something like: “You’ve got the clothes. You’ve got the shoes. You can dribble the ball. But have you got the love, Baby?”). Ultra races are too long – and the reasons to stay home are too many – to not be driven by “the love.” When you commit to getting to the finish, you need to decide how to overcome the obstacles along the way. You choose the right teammates to give you the best chance to succeed. You learn the appropriate technical skills, and select the right equipment and clothing for the disciplines and conditions. You train enough to know your physical limits. You plan the best route to get you through safely, methodically, and efficiently. And you realize that whatever you planned on will likely fall between “Not-as-Good-as-Hoped-For” and “Not-as-Bad-as-Feared.”

ADAPTABILITY AND FLEXIBILITY
And you have to be flexible and adaptable enough to deal with the unplanned. A team, aware of its weaknesses and its strengths that also has the ability to be malleable, flexible, and adaptable to the inevitable change in plans can outlive and outperform an otherwise stronger team which proceeds without discretion.

RISK
Competing also requires embracing risk. In that quest, sometimes luck is with you, and sometimes not, but the important thing is to ride the edge and take some risks along the way, rather than turning safety and comfort into your personal zip code. It’s become increasingly clear to me over the years: It is not variety that is the spice of live. Variety is the meat and potatoes. Risk is the spice of life, and it’s definitely a part of competing at the upper echelon.

Martin Luther King said: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands during challenge and controversy.”

So to really compete, you have to commit to it. You have to be willing to take some risks. And you have to be adaptable and flexible – all in the midst of challenge and controversy. And you have to be willing to fail occasionally. That means stretching your comfort zones and flirting with the elasticity of your own limits. That doesn’t mean you have to seek out do-or-die situations. To understand the situation, to know your limitations and to keep within them – that’s the essence of good decision making and good sense.

A sled dog racer shared with me his belief, “In order to make a young dog a good race dog, you have to get them past the point where they think they’re going to die, and then look for the dogs which thrive on it.” To really compete in ultra-racing, sometimes you have to push past the point where you think you’re “going to die.” For some racers, the 2010 Yukon River Quest offered up a few of those moments – more than a few racers quietly expressed the belief they were “going to die.” Those with “the love”, pushed on.

Admittedly, this is all a lot easier to intellectualize in the rear view mirror.

A big part of my training has been improving my diet in the past  5-6 months. With alot of ideas and motivation from friends like Slater (although I could never eat 1/3 or workout 1/4 of the amount he does), James (nutrition guru to the max), and lots of other blogs and cooking sites, and plenty of watching food network (although most is ManvFood and Best Thing I ever ate).

I really have tried to cut out as much processed stuff as possible, but definitely still have some in our diets as well. I have done a good job improving that for sure, and I cant explain how great I think both of us feel and I can definitely tell a difference on the bike. It does take alot more time and prep and shopping time 2-4 times a week, etc. but it is well worth it. These are just some of the many different things we have been cooking up lately:

Keta Salmon with two kinds of Sweet Potato. Kale+Bell Pepper Salad  w/evoo/lemon juice/balsamic dressing

TJs Buffalo Burger w/Blue Cheese and TJs Chicken Burger w/Applewood Smoked Bacon

Baked Tritip steak, Diced Brussels Sprouts w/Corn+Bell Peppers (cooked with TJs Island Soyaki), Russet Pots

Steelhead Trout, pan fried Scallops, Asparagus

Pizza #1: Avocado/Portabello Mushroom/Applewood Bacon/Roasted Eggplant Sauce.

Pizza #2: Spinach/Artichoke Hearts/Mozarella Cheese/Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce.

Fresh Boysenberry Smoothie, Multi Colored Potatoes, Eggs

Ground Beef Tacos in Corn Tortillas w/Corn and Avocado and the magic hotsauce: D’Elidas

Almost too good to be true: On skewers in the oven…Bacon Wrapped Salmon Fillets w/Garlic Oil.

Headed out on July 3rd and wanted to get some time in on the mountain bike. I headed out to Santiago Canyon solo and got going on the ride. I took alot of photos this time around and just had a good mellow ride out there. Not many people at all out, so I had the range all to myself basically. Ride was 2:40, 25.8miles, 4,000′ elev gain. Great way to start the weekend.

The Climb up Blackstar, all socked in with overcast haze.

The look back down the first 1/4 of the climb or so.

Cattle Crossing.

Shot just below “the ball.” Many batches of white flowers here and there.

Looking onwards towards more Main Divide climbing.

Shadows and San Bernardino Mtns. in the background. Low Clouds covering everything in between.

Sequence 1

Sequence 2

Sequence 3

Big Bear in the Backdrop

Motorway descent

Motorway was real loose today, took it easy.

Downed tree at the bottom of motorway.

Um, where???

This is my third beer review post, and I know I have a very select viewing audience so I hope this is in everyone’s interest realm, the blog is “Racing to the Brew” after all. I don’t really know how to review beers, and my knowledge of them is limited, but I know what I like and that is truly what it should all come down to for everyone. If nothing else it embodies a sort of journal for me where I can look back on some beers I have had and liked and unliked. Here’s some more beer reviews of some recent favorites:

This is the Noble IPA, and was picked up from a new beer “garden/den” I have found near my office called Farmers Harvest. The ABV on this is 7% from this beer out of Anahiem. Anahiem for those who arent familiar is also home to the best baseball team on earth. This is supposed to be a West Coast IPA and has alot of positive, a nice darker color, IBUs if I had to guess around 70-80, and a nice smell with citrus and floral scents. The brew is fresh tasting, and its always cool to get a good fresh and properly handled batch from a real local brewing company. Just a real solid IPA, very drinkable and the alcohol is nicely hidden but still there. Not a huge hop monster or tons of different citrus or floral flavors but very well balanced and a nice carbonation, maybe a little too much. Anyways, great fresh beer, gotta keep it fresh! Grade: B-

It is that time of the year for Stone’s 14th anny release! Courtesy of James for giving me my first 22 of this bad boy. I had a “good time” with the 13th but this one really went to another level for my tastes. Not to discredit the 13th, just a different beer and totally good, but the 14th as an “Emperial” IPA is way more my style. They say this is has its roots in the English IPA, and it is definitely different, but WAY better than any English IPA I have ever had. It is light color, really light color for a 8.9% beast, due to its white malt and “Burtonised” water, with its multiple english style dry bodied hops, this is a beyond solid. This beer just gives you a great feeling, and was enjoyed after a solid day of hard riding, the best way to do it! One bad thing: if you have this beer 1st of the night, its a tough one to follow up, it definitely is a DreamCrusher. The malts are so nice and sweet and complement the hops perfectly. Stone is so on top of their game, and this is unlike any other “Emperial” IPA I have ever had, it definitely gets an Grade: A (this was an easy A, like that easy A grade Usain Bolt got in running 101, no brainer!)

Port 4th Anniversary packing a serious ABV of 10%. This was a big old hop bomb but….. Good balancing with the malts. This one in comparison to other awesome IPAs from Port like Mongo, Booya Steeze, High Tide, etc. is too malty and not enough good old fresh beautiful hops. Although to their credit they do call this a Strong Pale ale not an IPA, and I think they hit the nail on the head with that characterization.  This one was thicker and “chewy” with alot of good hops too, just “masked” out a bit by the malts. No complaints here, was an awesome beer and would be perfect for a colder day after a good ride. Maybe they should start releasing this in December/January! Grade: B+

This beer is my first intro into Rye IPA’s. I first had these beer a year ago and loved it. This and the Nelson Rye IPA from Alpine Brewing Company are the only two I have ever had, and theyre both knockouts. Bootlegger’s is a brewery located in Fullerton, CA which is about 30mins from my place, one day I will go when I can get a growler-full of this stuff. Sometimes Beeradvocate blows it, it may be American but its more of a Rye IPA than just American, people don’t appreciate the Rye enough to give it its own division! Only a 6.2% but this beer is just fresh and still packs 85ibus, and its a sneaky one! The rye grains give it a whole different bitterness to the hops and its awesome, check this stuff out if you can find it, totally worth it. Grade: A-

And I will leave everyone with a couple completely random and off-the-wall (c’mon van’s)
) photos:

Story: Randomly on a whim she went out and crushed 3 hrs and 45+ miles on the road bike without riding for atleast 3-4 months. I did indeed marry an athlete, cause I couldnt ever do that in my dreams. Sarah definitely had a couple celebratory brews after that ride, so awesome! And I am pretty sure she can create/design/obliterate all other web designs with her new company, amazing ideas and creativity in a beautiful and completely affordable package.

Story: Galaga, I dominate it! Anyone wishing to challenge me should apply here at the COME SEE ME BOOTH! (Yes, I also dominate Wack a Mole and win Jackpots)

It had been a good amount of time since I have done any road riding down in SD. I hadn’t even taken the Super Six down there since I got it back in April, so this ride was overdue. James had a good route planned out inland with some good climbing and Allison was going to meet up and ride as well.

Cruising away from the coast, and into the sun.

Elfin Forest, the beginnings of a tumultous rear derauilleur day!

I hit a little traffic on the way down (you gotta love how caltrans decides to repaint some lane lines during the summer on a weekend, as if traffic wasn’t enough of a nightmare already). I had a pretty light week of riding so legs were feeling fresh and we headed out around 9:00am. Looped up and into Elfin Forest, then around Hodges and out near Highland Valley.

Heading up back of Vandy Canyon

Off the front!

Some good steep climbs, out of the saddle in the granny gear for some portions, and my shifting issues weren’t helping me! James and Allison were crushing my dreams on any incline, this ride was shaping up to be a little more “tempo” than the “steady” I had envisioned before! But it was definitely good to push it at times, and riding with these two ensures youre not soft pedaling much.

Some good descending and we were headed back towards the coast, stopping for some water and coke at about 3hrs into the ride. I rarely drink coke, usually only some diet with my makers, but one a hot summer ride a ice cold coke really is unbeatable (I only drank half the can, didnt want the whole thing).  And these Clif C bars are really awesome. I really love the bonk breaker and lara bars but for a shorter ride or just to mix it up a bit the Clif Cs are awesome. Fueling went well on this ride and always felt like I had enough in the tank. Still loving the Prolong too for longer rides like this.

James and I cruising back on the coast near the end, triathletes sucking our wheels…typical

Ride Stats: 4hrs even, 67.51 miles, 4,354′ elev. gain

Photos courtesy of Allison, thanks!

Alesmith IPA: Nice hoppy IPA from San Diego county. It almost reaches 8% on the ABV level and has some good flavor and color. I have had this beer probably a dozen times, and 10/12 the batch has been solid. I suspect the other two times were when I actually got it from Bevmo and they handled it poorly, too concerned with their gummy worms and wine decanters im sure! But that aside, this is a solid beer, especially on tap it is wicked good. Pretty solid on the malt/hop ratio in comparison to my true favorites, but they nailed the balance. Grade:B to B+

Ballast Point Sculpin has had an epic aura for James and I in our IPA quest over the past year. I have always liked their Bigeye IPA and their Yellowtail Pale but this is on a completely different level for Ballast Point brews. This is apparently a 7% single IPA and in terms of single IPAs it is top 3 without a doubt. It is super fresh and hit you with all kinds of hops but balances with some good citrus flavors and just tastes awesome and is way to drinkable. It also seems they are getting better too, the newest batch I got from James was insane, still have it on my mind from a few weeks ago. Grade: A

This is more of a winter IPA type in my mind, alot like one of my favorite stone beers (Sublimely Self Righteous) which I will have in the next review probably. This is a darker IPA, and with the name 1000IBUS (most Triple IPAs are around 100-120) you would expect a complete hop punch in the mouth. But that didnt happen, this is a european take on American IPA but evidently they arent factoring the California IPAs as much into the “American” part. It has a great hop flavor but it definitely doesnt take a starting role, shares it with some great malts and flavors, and feels great after some hard riding on a gloomy drizzly day. Beware of the $12 price tag, I had to try it and glad I did, but it will be a single occurence purchase for me. Grade: B+

Wine time! Bargain Purchase from traders for $5, this is a pretty young wine for sure and has the taste of young wine to boot. Sarah and I arent really savers or cellar-ers. We have our small wine “fridge” which holds 8 bottles, most have been deemed savers for special occassions so we usually pick up and have them when we are in the mood. This one is a blend of 3 grape, 3/4 petite sirah, the rest half zin and half syrah. I really love the blends and this one was darker purple, inky and had a great smell or “nose.” Had a great light feel and good with lighter dishes and salads but will get drowned out with burgers, meat, and certain pizzas for us.

This wine totally came through. The label caught my eye and then found it was from the Dry Creek Valley (famous for old vine zins especially) and where we spent some of our honeymoon time. This was a nicely spicy one with good fruity flavors backing it up and smoothing it out. One of the top Zins we have ever had!

It was margarita time for us the other night. We blended some of these up with some of the Traders Joes mix, some lime, and some Jose Cuervo Gold. They were awesome and a cool change of pace from our usual wine and beers. We have to do these more too, becuase I could really use the practice on getting these better, I need the secrets! I think one secret would be to pour the Trader Joes mix out and go a different direction for starters, not that good!

What a ride with an awesome group! The plan was to go ride with Luke, James, Tom and Luke’s buddy Chris and have Luke show us the finer parts of the infamous SART (Santa Ana River) trail. I know I have wanted to ride this trail for the past year or more and finally was going to head out and do it. We met up early at the Loch Leven lot, and surprise, Brent Prenzlow, Celo Pacific teammate and buddy shows up to ride with us too.

We headed up the climb to the restaurant/store and it was a pretty mellow nicely groomed trail to the top. We started at about 3,700 elev. and got to the restaurant in about an hour with atleast 1,500′ elev. gain. Was feeling good, but just trying to hang on to this really fast group filled with pro mtbers and easily could be pro mtbers. Awesome weather, couldnt have asked for a nicer day up there.

the crew an hour in at the restaurants

There was a good amount of downed trees, stream crossings, loose DG, overgrowth, and plenty of exposure! But boy the singletrack did not dissapoint. Being up in the mountains and riding and exploring new adventures is something I have been missing out on the past couple months, this was awesome! Here is the crew hiking around a big downed pine.

Big river crossing here. Brent and James took this route and I followed across, making it safely (the second time coming back from the out and back I wasn’t so lucky. These guys are cyclocross experts and danced across this log with their 29ers like they were auditioning for dancing with the stars!

They were waiting for me! Stopped for a bite and drink on the trail here, overlooking the backside of big bear mountain. Always looked at this range while snowboarding up at big bear and now riding some amazing singletrack. It was definitely a harsh reminder if you did not focus on the trail. Skinny singletrack and gnarly rocky exposed mountainsides just off it made it risky and fun. Something different and really cool and scary at the same time. Risk is always rewarding in the end, I just remind myself to take little doses at a time.

A cool shot of my front wheel with San Gorgonio mountain in the backdrop. This mountain is higher than big bear, and if it has legal mtb trails I am going to put that on my next to do list!

A shot of James and Tom. Rare that I got ahead of them to actually get a shot (notice no shots of Brent or Chris) but obviously I was barely ahead because I almost didnt get the camera out in time and cut off Tom’s head a bit.

The crew leader Luke, thanks for showing us around out there.

Neat little waterfall on the fireroad climb back up to the restaurants.

After we hit the 4hr mark Tom and James headed back to the cars and I headed out with Luke, Chris, and Brent for a different slightly longer and more technical route back to wrap up the day. Exposure was definitely on the menu for this section, and easily the gnarliest trail I have ever ridden. Was overgrown mostly with alot of big drops and stuff, with some really fun singletrack whipping through meadows and trees in the middle, that kept me smiling.

Here is one example of some exposure/drops around the singletrack.

The best way to finish a good day of riding. This was the carrot in my head the whole time, a nice cool and refreshing beer when I get home. After scarfing down some good food here and fluid on the way home, well earned!

This was a really great ride, and for a 5+ hour ride, at elevation, with 6k’+ of climbing I have never felt this good and ready to go afterwards. Of course I am fatigued a bit, but there was no bonk during the ride, felt great throughout and was just enjoying it. It always helps to have great guys to ride with that push you and that is a huge point in how I have gained so much fitness in the past half year or so. I always have races to track my improvement and that is definitely a good way to do it, but good long rides and feeling it is something I consider as well. Today was a day when I really noticed the difference in how I felt and was riding from training rides a while back. It felt good, and I am thankful for being able to put in the time, ride with friends, and continue to make these types of improvements in the future! I look forward to many more rides out there and other new places with this crew and others, it IS truly, what its all about!

Well actually these arent really the reason I use Prolong, but these are damn good cycling ad/commercials. Anyways, I have tried a good amount of the energy drinks out there and this one really does top the list for me. I emailed them back in February and asked if they had a couple samples they might be able to send me after James told me he liked his samples. Well I tried both the Lemon and the Blueberry flavors and both are really nice.

-Has a nice clean taste, light flavor, easy to take down.

-Good clean feeling energy and no quick ups, feels constant

-No stomach distress/GI stuff/or cramping at all.

I have used the stuff for all my endurance racing and long training days this year, and I have never had any issues and the stuff does make me feel great.  Anyways, I thought I would share some of these funny commercials I found after seeing one on Facebook.

Got to do a few rides with Sean this past week and weekend before he departed the SoCal scene for Boulder, CO. He is going to miss the flat intersection infested stretches of PCH, so we did a couple short morning rides on Friday and Monday in HB, SB, and LB to get the legs moving. Always joking about the most random stuff, going to miss joking about Lemmiwinks and Trololoooooo and everything else we could laugh at while riding and suffering.

Sunday a group of us including Allison and some of Sean’s friends from SD headed out to ride in the Santa Anas. It was a warm one for sure, and the ride was a little shorter than planned but I think everyone got their fill. I really love riding up in the Santa Anas, I am sure Sean will miss these trails and views for sure, they have to atleast rival some of the Boulder area MTBing….and if not, well its all we got here and I am not taking it for granted.

Clancy getting ready for the Lower Holy Jim climb.

Some guy doing cannonballs in a deep water hole near LHJ start.

Sean killin it.

Allison leaving everyone in the dust

This type of view NEVER gets old.

Obviously I am no beer snob or wine connoisseur by any means (most limiting would be actual means $$) or I would be! I thought I would share some beers and wine I have been sampling lately. I have been totally procrastinating on this for the last couple months, but want to make it a somewhat “regular” feature on my blog here. Other than offering up some of my riding adventures and racing stuff, maybe I’ll share some of my brewsies and so on which are really the carrot at the end of the stick for some of those rides! I will spare everyone the “tastes like eden berries with soft hints of walnuts and a soft eden cheese” snobby reviews.

I like good beers, fresh beers, with lots of hops and good flave. James knows what this is all about too, we share alot of the same tastes in brews. Thanks to James pointing this out to me as well, I have also been checking out an awesome beer blog called the hopry, this guy is the MAN and reviews all sorts of beers and does an awesome down to earth job with it. Also, a blogger friend who is a little more daring than I just started a brew blog of reviews and homebrew stuff, check it.
I had this beer last year and didn’t really impress me. Hop 15 sounds ridiculous, and still lives up to the hyper of a name for me. What I expected was a really hoppy explosion but instead got a little more balanced taste. With a nice local SoCal brew it has that freshness not found in many places. Really good but I give it a B+.

Can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this beer formally, although it really doesn’t need a guy like me reviewing it, it speaks for itself. World renowned for a pure Hop and all 110% pure fresh hoppy bomb, this is it. So many rides and races have been powered by the pliny. Difficult to find for many including myself, I cherish everytime I am able to score this beer. 500ml and a true pint, always fresh and never has once let me down. There isnt much to say other than if you want the best of the best and youre a true hop fan, this is an A+ to the max!

Generous buddy James supplied me with a couple of these bad boys and I basically cradled them like newborns until I poured them into a glass. This beer is RIDICULOUS! Has a real amazing hop kick from the start, notch below pliny in terms of pure hops, and adds a hint of honey. But oh so fresh tasting, I cant even imagine what it would be like on draft, it would be the end of me. This beer was top notch, only real east coast beer that met my expectations, and really exceeded them to be honest. Grade of A

I am going to grade these both together. Obviously not the same brew at all but I cant remember and totally distinguish (honesty is the best policy). Trying these thanks to James and Toby. Got these from James when we all raced the Whiskey out in Arizona, got home and put these to work during the week following the race. Drink it fresh! They did not dissapoint, I loved them both, but the true winner from Alpine Brewing Co. was the Nelson which is a Rye IPA. Boy do I really love my Rye IPA’s. Between Bootlegger’s Rustic Rye and the Nelson, well…..the Nelson totally wins because its the best Rye IPA I have ever had, totally awesome. Alpine has it going on for sure, all their beers are the real deal and they are definitely in touch with their hop-linity! Duet and Pure Hoppiness B+ and Nelson gets an A-

Got to get a wine post in here, because Sarah and I really love some wine every week or two (we were married in wine country, at a winery after-all). This is the second bottle of Sofa-kind-bueno we have popped and it was solid. Great with a fat Ribeye and Asparagus and red pots. The total american meal except we are substituing nasty beer or cocktails with this amazing wine from Central California Coast/Paso Robles. Even without the totally creative name it would still be an amazing wine, these guys know how to back their stuff up for sure.