Vision Quest Coaching
Solvang 2008 Summary
Solvang 2008
This year I was very excited to come to Solvang as a coach instead of as an athlete. Last year it was a lot of fun and this year it was going to be better. My only concern was my lack of training miles. I had ridden an average of 1 hr a week since November.
My focus this year was to get healthy (I have raced with Achilles problems for the last 4 years, leading to a walk in Kona last year). I don’t want to race injured anymore. So this year it would be for recovery and some swim races in the middle.
And of course, some fun on the bike.
The camp started great. The first TT went well and I averaged 318 watts for 19 minutes. About 100 watts over a test I had done previously. Then a group of us went swimming and I cramped in the middle of a set for the first time ever. Luckily I recovered quick.
Then Mt Figueroa, I started feeling the lack of endurance. My first 30 minutes of climbing saw an average of 324 watts, and by the time I hit the top, that average had dropped to 278, for a 65 minute climb (which means the second half averaged about 230). I made it thanks to other riders that came from behind that pulled me up.
That same day, a group of guys from Chicago (The three amigos, Joel, Dave and Jerry), who aside of being completely insane, are some of the most fun and classy guys I have ever met, convinced me (it took them a lot of work) to do the climb twice. With my current shape that second climb would have been miserable, but since we were joking and having fun, it made it for a great ride (and some pain).
The third day was supposed to be a recovery day. As a floater coach, every day I was supposed to be assigned to a different group. I was with group A the first two days and also the third, the “recovery day”. There was nothing recoverish in that ride. We started slow and little by little it was getting faster as we were loosing units. There was a sprint at the end, which I had promised myself I would not get involved in. Of course, once the sprint started, there was nothing I could do to not be involved (that gdamn competitiveness that always gets me in trouble). I stayed I n the lead out wheels until the last part , then I tried to give a lead out to the rest of the guys involved (since my points did not count) but they were already leading themselves harder than I could. Gordo, JD and Rod took the points and I finished 4th.
That same night my right calf was destroyed. Too much work without the proper base. I thought of not starting the following day, but since I was assigned to the C group, I thought I would have an easier day. And it was. I had the most fun. My calf bothered but I did enjoy the 100k ride and hanging out with the people. I was very impressed with Tim Duffy, who is one of the most talented athletes in the camp. He weights easily 100 pounds more that any other athlete in the camp, and still manages to win uphill sprints and roll in the flats over 30mph for a while. Keep an eye on him in the future. As soon as he looses some weight he is going to dominate the races.
I was also very impressed with Wally, who after crashing, showed great determination in the climbs. That guy is a winner. He simply won’t quit. It was also nice to spend some time with Tom, Kevin, Justin, Lesley and some others. Great people in this group.
Then we went swimming. I had a only 45 minutes because I was coaching the big group, But after the warm up I was able to do a quick set of 4x100 at 59 seconds each, plus some IM stuff.
The group swam very well. John Fell was very strong. He is a great swimmer and if he puts a few hours in the pool, he’ll be one of the fastest swimmers in triathlon. MJ had a perfect swim, negative splitting the whole workout. And Natalie led Julia and Lesley to a solid swim.
Jalama Beach day was definitely different for me. Once informed that I would leave with the C group, I was very happy. That meant I would be riding comfortably until the fast group came. By then I would be fresh to give them a hard time. As we started, our group showed strong differences in performance. While some riders were at a 5 for PE, others were at a 10. It was obvious that we would not be able to keep it together. In one of the climbs, Bob and I caught a group that stayed together for a bit, but we ended up alone again. Bob is a great rider and pacer. We were working great together. Then we started descending to the turnaround and I was looking for the speed bump. I was telling Bob to be cautious. As we were approaching the turn around I saw a car bty the little house, which we would have to go around. The car got my attention and I did not see the bump. Apparently I crashed pretty hard. I lost consciousness and next thing I remember was Rob Ehrman helping me out. Robbie was there also but I did not recognize him. His face looked familiar though. I was taken to the Hospital by Helicopter, although nobody took pictures of that ( I was upset at that). Once there My wife and son were there, and I got treated. I had several stitches in the eye, chin, cheek and lip and was in severe pain. I had some worries about internal damage but the results of the tests came positive. I was only external damage. Disfigured face and bruises all over the body. Basically 5 days of discomfort and I am good to go.
This was the first time in 15 years I was on a crash. I feel extremely lucky that nothing else went wrong. And while I am in a lot of pain and discomfort right now, I still feel happy that that’s all it happened. The balance of the camp is still very positive.
Also, on the positive side, I got to ride a Helicopter, take three days off from work and stay in sunny California, take preferential treatment at the airline (being carried in a wheelchair). Crashes are not that bad after all.
This year I was very excited to come to Solvang as a coach instead of as an athlete. Last year it was a lot of fun and this year it was going to be better. My only concern was my lack of training miles. I had ridden an average of 1 hr a week since November.
My focus this year was to get healthy (I have raced with Achilles problems for the last 4 years, leading to a walk in Kona last year). I don’t want to race injured anymore. So this year it would be for recovery and some swim races in the middle.
And of course, some fun on the bike.
The camp started great. The first TT went well and I averaged 318 watts for 19 minutes. About 100 watts over a test I had done previously. Then a group of us went swimming and I cramped in the middle of a set for the first time ever. Luckily I recovered quick.
Then Mt Figueroa, I started feeling the lack of endurance. My first 30 minutes of climbing saw an average of 324 watts, and by the time I hit the top, that average had dropped to 278, for a 65 minute climb (which means the second half averaged about 230). I made it thanks to other riders that came from behind that pulled me up.
That same day, a group of guys from Chicago (The three amigos, Joel, Dave and Jerry), who aside of being completely insane, are some of the most fun and classy guys I have ever met, convinced me (it took them a lot of work) to do the climb twice. With my current shape that second climb would have been miserable, but since we were joking and having fun, it made it for a great ride (and some pain).
The third day was supposed to be a recovery day. As a floater coach, every day I was supposed to be assigned to a different group. I was with group A the first two days and also the third, the “recovery day”. There was nothing recoverish in that ride. We started slow and little by little it was getting faster as we were loosing units. There was a sprint at the end, which I had promised myself I would not get involved in. Of course, once the sprint started, there was nothing I could do to not be involved (that gdamn competitiveness that always gets me in trouble). I stayed I n the lead out wheels until the last part , then I tried to give a lead out to the rest of the guys involved (since my points did not count) but they were already leading themselves harder than I could. Gordo, JD and Rod took the points and I finished 4th.
That same night my right calf was destroyed. Too much work without the proper base. I thought of not starting the following day, but since I was assigned to the C group, I thought I would have an easier day. And it was. I had the most fun. My calf bothered but I did enjoy the 100k ride and hanging out with the people. I was very impressed with Tim Duffy, who is one of the most talented athletes in the camp. He weights easily 100 pounds more that any other athlete in the camp, and still manages to win uphill sprints and roll in the flats over 30mph for a while. Keep an eye on him in the future. As soon as he looses some weight he is going to dominate the races.
I was also very impressed with Wally, who after crashing, showed great determination in the climbs. That guy is a winner. He simply won’t quit. It was also nice to spend some time with Tom, Kevin, Justin, Lesley and some others. Great people in this group.
Then we went swimming. I had a only 45 minutes because I was coaching the big group, But after the warm up I was able to do a quick set of 4x100 at 59 seconds each, plus some IM stuff.
The group swam very well. John Fell was very strong. He is a great swimmer and if he puts a few hours in the pool, he’ll be one of the fastest swimmers in triathlon. MJ had a perfect swim, negative splitting the whole workout. And Natalie led Julia and Lesley to a solid swim.
Jalama Beach day was definitely different for me. Once informed that I would leave with the C group, I was very happy. That meant I would be riding comfortably until the fast group came. By then I would be fresh to give them a hard time. As we started, our group showed strong differences in performance. While some riders were at a 5 for PE, others were at a 10. It was obvious that we would not be able to keep it together. In one of the climbs, Bob and I caught a group that stayed together for a bit, but we ended up alone again. Bob is a great rider and pacer. We were working great together. Then we started descending to the turnaround and I was looking for the speed bump. I was telling Bob to be cautious. As we were approaching the turn around I saw a car bty the little house, which we would have to go around. The car got my attention and I did not see the bump. Apparently I crashed pretty hard. I lost consciousness and next thing I remember was Rob Ehrman helping me out. Robbie was there also but I did not recognize him. His face looked familiar though. I was taken to the Hospital by Helicopter, although nobody took pictures of that ( I was upset at that). Once there My wife and son were there, and I got treated. I had several stitches in the eye, chin, cheek and lip and was in severe pain. I had some worries about internal damage but the results of the tests came positive. I was only external damage. Disfigured face and bruises all over the body. Basically 5 days of discomfort and I am good to go.
This was the first time in 15 years I was on a crash. I feel extremely lucky that nothing else went wrong. And while I am in a lot of pain and discomfort right now, I still feel happy that that’s all it happened. The balance of the camp is still very positive.
Also, on the positive side, I got to ride a Helicopter, take three days off from work and stay in sunny California, take preferential treatment at the airline (being carried in a wheelchair). Crashes are not that bad after all.
Add a Comment
6 Comments
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Comment by Nils H. Hendrix on March 5, 2008 at 11:10pm -
Ruben,
Glad to hear you are on the mend with no long term damage. Seeing the helicopter flying in the first thing to come to mind was please do not let it be one of our riders-no such luck. I sure hated to see you lying on the ground when I drove up. Thank you for having to wear a helmet. Seeing you Saturday afternoon, bruised, doped up and sort of smiling was great. I enjoyed working with you and meeting your wife and son. See you next year, Nils
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Comment by Stan Watkins on March 5, 2008 at 1:11pm -
Ruben,
Glad to hear you are healing and back in Chicago. That was a scary moment but you have a great attitude about it all. It was great meeting you in person and you have a fantastic family! Stan
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Comment by David Lawson on March 5, 2008 at 11:26am -
Re: "I was taken to the Hospital by Helicopter, although nobody took pictures"
Ruben,
Steve Heine put 9 photos of the incident on the slide show. We mechanics were very thankful to see you return to camp (with Elizabeth driving) and were sorry you couldn't attend the final banquet that night.
Terratriker David
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Comment by Karyn Austin on March 5, 2008 at 9:18am
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It was great getting to know you better Rueben. Glad to hear you are healing well. Please give Kai a squeeze for me, what a great little kid you have! It was super to meet Elizabeth too.
Heal up and hope to see you in the pool (well, your feet at least!)
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Comment by Bob Hayssen on March 5, 2008 at 8:58am - Ruben - thanks for working together at Jalama Beach - we both would have placed very well. I am glad you are recovering nicely.
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Comment by Tim Duffy on March 5, 2008 at 7:54am
- Great summary Rueben. Thanks for all your help and encouragement at camp; it really made a big difference to me.
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