After Action Review – 100 Miles Bike Ride
October 19, 2009 Leave a comment
DATE: 20091017
DURATION: 7hours and 8 Minutes
WHO:
WHAT: 2009 Outlaw 100
WHERE: Old Settlers Park, Round Rock, Texas
HOW: By Bike
Miles Travelled: 110 Miles
What went well?
You’ve heard this before… A long journey starts with the first mile. I personally don’t like to drive greater than 50 miles from home and can you imagine 100 miles of pedal power. People ask WHY and maybe you are wondering what is the reason why I am doing it every year. A friend reminds me of the answer to this type of question – you have to experience it. Endurance event requires so much from our body and mind. There are so many reason why people do it and the most common reason is simple – “because I can”. My motivation is “research” and most likely that is the reason why I end up in the hospital last year after swimming long distance in a 65 degrees pool. I want to know what my body can do and cannot do. I want to know where my limits are. I want to know if I can push my body while I am also working on a regular job and helping the kids at school and love a wife at the same time without being stressed out. My research work can be found at my Sharepoint site so feel free to take a peek of what is going on with my experiments.
Key points:
1. Able to finish the 100-mile course (+10 bonus miles)
2. Zero crash
3. Zero flat tire
4. Zero cramps
5. Zero stomach trouble
6. Zero chest pain
7. Zero irregular heartbeat
8. Average Heart Rate = 116 bpm
9. No of heartbeat during the ride =58,000 (30,000 at normal beat of 60 bpm)
10. Peak Heart Rate = 134 bpm
11. Total Calories = 5020 calories
12. Total Time on the road = 8 hours and 20 minutes (with rest stops)
13. Average RPM = 80 revolution per minute
14. Total RPM = 33,600 RPM (no. of pedal strokes)
15. No. of Clif bars consumed = 5
16. No. of Power Gel taken = 4
17. No. of pickle juice cups = 5 (nasty but effective for cramp prevention)
18. No. of Gatorade bottles consumed = 6
19. No. of Rest Stops taken = 8
20. New cycling friend = 1 (AS)
What didn’t go so well?
Being lost for ~10 miles, lost at least 45 minutes from the normal route. To me this is a plus, more is better. If we were not able to get back to the correct route, it could have been a disaster. Unknowingly, being lost produces one friendship.
What would you do differently next time?
None
Conclusion:
I was satisfied with my overall performance considering I suffered a heart attack last year (Dec 22, 2008). Being able to test my heart capacity and capability will boost my confidence back to my aging body. I am 43, young at heart and mind but when you encounter a devastating heart illness, the knowledge alone that I am able to get back to my normal routine is very encouraging. I don’t trust my body anymore. I am doing the best I can to help me avoid any medical problems but sometimes there are things that can happen to us that we don’t understand. If you really look at my life 10 years from today, you will see how I took care of myself physically. I don’t celebrate victories regarding physical accomplishments anymore, this event means nothing to me because last year, I participated the same event (October 18th, 2008) and in December, I stayed 3 days in ICU. I am not hesitating to mention the word “heart attack” anywhere in my journal because I choose myself to become an ambassador for healthy heart awareness. I am doing all these with only one purpose in mind – to create awareness of a healthy lifestyle. I am trying to go through the motion of staying healthy and maybe one day, a few friends of mine will do the same. Yes, staying fit is doable even if you have a full time job. There are countless benefits of exercise and often times I heard excuses from friends that they don’t have time and they are so busy or they are too tired or I am not going to change because I am just so satisfied with who I am or I work night shift or I always come home late. I don’t know about your “death readiness” – are you ready to go at any moment? Will you ignore the things that you can do now that will help you in the future? Me? I am in the bonus life already. I live each day as if it is my last. You haven’t been to the edge of dying yet. Start something…do something.
To my loving, caring and adorable wife Britta, to Brittney and Brent, I hope that what I did yesterday delete all your worries about my health. There were so many restrictions placed upon me after I was released from the hospital that Christmas of 2008 and I know that there were millions of worries running through your mind that week. May this event gain back the idea that I am well physically. I don’t want you to worry too much about me. In fact, I should be the one thinking about your health. To my mother – Mom, I am perfectly fine, to my other mother in CA, yes, I am okay, to all my sisters who are so concerned about my health, I am in full recovery. To all my my friends who really cares, thank you all for praying and thinking about me.
I do hope that one day I will receive a message telling me – “I am exercising now everyday”.