How not to finish a Mountain Bike Race
Written by Mike Cheliak on September 29, 2009 – 5:59 pm -There are many people who will tell you the deepest, darkest secrets of fitness, training, nutrition and competition. What you will very rarely find is someone like me who is going to tell you the cold, hard truth about the things you need to do to ensure you DON’T complete your race.
Sunday September 13th, 2009
I woke up with a sore throat. I was at the Wasaga Beach Triathlon/Half Marathon weekend doing what I do best…taking FANTASTIC photos of all the hard working athletes. I stayed hydrated and made the best of it.
Monday September 14th, 2009
I felt like shit! Sinus congestion, cough, irritated throat and general crappy feeling. I managed a half assed workout but my heart was NOT in it.
Tuesday September 15th, 2009
I felt like shit! Sinus congestion, cough, irritated throat and general crappy feeling. I did as little as possible. Got up…did mostly nothing…went for a nap…drove the kids around…went to bed.
Wednesday September 16th, 2009
I felt like shit! Managed to sit in front of the computer for a bit and then I had a nap, had chicken broth for supper and went to bed.
Thursday September 17th, 2009
I still feel like crap but I now have Flonase which cleared up my sinus issue. I went for a 20K trail ride (really just a VERY LIGHT RIDE). I felt like crap! My energy was really low and my breathing was not bad but still a bit laboured from the cold.
Friday September 18th, 2009
I paid for yesterday’s ride
Saturday September 19th, 2009
Lakeside II Triathlon Weekend day one. I now have very little voice left thanks to cough-o-mania. Up at 6:30AM, out the door at 7:30AM, on site at 9:15 AM. Started shooting at 10AM and finished around 5:50PM, left the site and got home around 7:40PM. I FEEL LIKE SHIT! Process what I can and off to bed.
Sunday September 20th, 2009
Lakeside II Triathlon Day 2. I REALLY FEEL LIKE SHIT! Off I go again to a shorter day of shooting. I manage to make it through and I sounded like a cast member of the Soprano’s.
Monday September 21st, 2009
Processed all the weekend and relaxed…still not feeling great.
Tuesday September 22nd, 2009
Did a 20K ride around the easier trails today. Made it through, still feel like shit!
Wednesday September 23rd, 2009
Today is the first day I actually feel like I have any energy at all. Went to the gym and did a light push/pull/big/small/core workout. Didn’t really feel great but at least I hoisted some iron! Rode to and from at an easy pace and felt OK.
Thursday September 24th, 2009
Out for a little rigourous ride. It did NOT go well. I had to stop a couple times just to recover.
Friday September 25th, 2009
Not feeling great but pushing through. Just a doggie walk today. Getting ready for the Milton TRiKiDS event tomorrow.
Saturday September 26th, 2009
Feeling a lot better and the TRiKiDS Triathlon is a really fun series to photograph. The event was from 9:30 until nearly 4PM. I squatted ALL DAY! As any good photographer will tell you, you HAVE to shoot at the level of your subject. Anything else looks stupid. I did bodyweight squats for around 6.5 hours straight! If you have any concept of quad workouts, I guarantee you would have a lot of trouble making it through this one!
Sunday September 27th, 2009 RACE DAY
After I woke up, I should have decided not to race. Instead, I prepared myself. Light simple food for breakfast along with some really heavy coffee for some energy. Lots of hydration before the race and a nice 2-3K ride warmup followed by a good core and leg stretch session (yes I know what I am doing).
THE RACE
I really felt pretty good going into this. It had rained pretty much for the last couple days and somewhat heavy at times. Last night was really a good downpour so I knew the course would be yucky. I didn’t mind.
I started out great. The first couple stages weren’t particularily tough and were just a bit mucky. Once we started getting into the hilly sections of the escarpment, things changed! Several racers were wiping out on the short bridges and narrow trails and most of us were walking our bikes up the bigger hills.
My first wipe out was on a small (6 foot long) wooden bridge. As soon as I hit it, my bike went left. Not a bad still but still a little pain. I picked up and continued to Hydro Hill (Nasty piece of work). I made it up via ride/walk as did most.
Another 3km up, I decided I was too clean and wiped out once again. This time was a little down hill (off trail) slolom. I ditched about 20 feet off the trail but managed to push back up. My quads at this point were “tweaked” to say the least. The previous day of Squat Fest was now starting to rear it’s ugly face.
I managed to push through anothere 7 km or so and then I wiped out one more time. After getting up this time, my quads said “STOP” and I agreed. It took me a good 30 minutes just to get my quads to release. My cramping was so bad at this point that I had to sit in the MOKUSO position to engage my quads so they wouldn’t spasm.
The morale of this story is simple. I do this stuff to have fun. When it ceases to be fun due to whatever the reason, I stop. No matter of “must complete” mentality will make up for the fact that I really shouldn’t have started this race in the first place. I really shouldn’t have done this race given the couple of weeks I had previous to the event but I did.
I DID have fun (until my body said it wasn’t fun). My fun is played between the limits of what I am able to do. On a good day, this race would have been doable and fun…on this day…mail it in Mr. Rockefeller, this boy is going home!
Whatever you do…just have fun. Don’t beat yourself up when you don’t “hit the mark” and don’t make excuses “not to participate”. Just do what you can , what you enjoy and what gives you a sense of fun.
In Happiness and Health as always!
Mike C.
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LiHD Insider from Panasonic
Written by Mike Cheliak on September 25, 2009 – 12:17 pm -
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In happiness and health as always!
Mike C
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A Spicy Love Affair
Written by Mike Cheliak on September 25, 2009 – 11:23 am -First of all…get your minds out of the gutter!
This is all about the wonderful experience you can have just by expanding your dry pantry to include a variety of international spices and flavours.
Many years ago (in the 80’s), I was fortunate to work in the food and beverage industry. I worked my way up and around from the service end to the kitchen end and worked under a number of very talented Chefs.
The one common factor in all good Chefs (home or professional) is the ability to mix, match and meld a bevy of spices into an amazing creation fit for any palate.
This early introduction to cooking and “Spicery” as I like to call it created a lifetime love affair with spices. From the earthy standards to the exotic mixtures of the Middle East and the Asian Continent; the combinations of flavours is endless.
In the North American culture, many people have avoided or never been exposed to these marvellous tastes and tantalizing layers of flavour. Our obsession with quick fix meals, fast food and processed food has created an almost entire generation of people who think fine food is a Gourmet Frozen Pizza.
In comes wonderful programming like the Food Network. Food TV both in Canada and the USA is a fantastic channel that promotes the exploration of flavour, texture and creatively wonderful food experiences.
As one of my favourite (late) personalities, Pasquale Carpino so aptly put it; cooking is combination of Art, Fantasy and Vocation. A very simple way to say that we combine our artistic abilities through creation of flavours while using our imagination to remove the limits on what we combine and then package this all together with the learning and knowledge that is important for the technical side of cooking (ID…how long to cook a roast).
“Spicery” is one of the most fantastic ways to bring out the Culinary Artist in you. Read about them, sample them, combine them and most of all experience them!
For my money, I would rather have a simple meal made at home with a gorgeous combination of flavourful spices than hammer down a Monster Burger from some fast food chain.
In happiness and health as always!
Mike C
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Our own Mortality
Written by Mike Cheliak on September 13, 2009 – 8:14 pm -Everyone faces the question of his or hers own mortality. We don’t often dwell on it nor is it healthy to do so; but none-the-less it is a question that each of us faces from time to time.
Matters of health, fitness, medical history, lifestyle, genetics and personality play rolls in how we survive our lives. In a perfect world, we would all have a magic formula that works everytime. That is not the case.
Life is simply a journey in which we control our own destiny (for the most part). We adapt, modify, re-evaluate, change and re-assess our choices and paths all the time. Our physical life is much the result of our own action or inaction.
That holds true almost without fail. The rare exeption happened this last weekend. I was photographing a Triathlon as I do quite often. I have been with this series since 2003 and love every minute of the events that I cover.
On Saturday September 12th at 12:42 PM I photographed a very fit athlete who was at the top of his age category. Shortly after finishing the race, he collapsed and eventually passed away.
This is a person who was at the top of his age group, very fit and seemingly in perfect health.
Is there a lesson in this? Possibly. We should, if nothing else, accept that we don’t truly control our ultimate meeting with death but rather we live our lives in a fashion that befits our departure. Kindness to others and respect to yourself is only part of the equation. Living life to the fullest and all the old cliches are actually more accurate than we care to give credit.
Make your life count. That is about the only advice I can give and the only credo that I follow. I don’t subscribe to hype, political correctness, organized religion, political bantering or terrorists. What I subscribe to is Life…the way I see it, the way I love it, the way I live it and the way I move through it. In the end, my happiness will be shown on the smile on my face when my own life expires.
Maybe a little off my usual but still in happiness and health!
Mike C.
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Easiest ever Tandoori Chicken
Written by Mike Cheliak on September 9, 2009 – 9:05 am -Easiest ever Tandoori Chicken
• 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon peeled and grated or crushed ginger root
• 3 tablespoons Sharwood’s Tandoori Spice (available in your local grocer spice section)
• 1 tsp salt
Mix the marinade ingredients in a large glass bowl. Add the chicken and coat and cover in fridge overnight. About 30 minutes before cooking, remove chicken from the marinade and let sit on a platter at room temperature.
Brush the grille with oil or spray with a non-stick spray. Grille the chicken on medium low heat turning often until it is done (about 15 -20 minutes).
Serve with slices of cucumber, tomatoes, red onion and some fragrant basmati rice.
In happiness and health as always,
Mike C.
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