Riding Across Hawaii - At Home!

After my little cardiac episode, my cardiologist told me I should initially return to stationary cycling. He felt it best for me to stay in a safe environment should anything strange happen to me again. But who wants to ride indoors during the summer? Anyway, I used my predicament as an opportunity to review Global Ride's "Hawaii Rides" DVD set. Read on and you'll find some reasons why you may want to use these DVDs yourself any time of the year...

I already have a CompuTrainer. That provides me with probably the best indoor cycling experience. However, at about $2500+ for a full setup (the CompuTrainer, plus a computer to run it), what are the alternatives for cyclists without piles of money to invest? Virtual ride DVDs can fit the bill.

In this market segment, Global Ride has put together a set of 3 DVDs in their "Hawaii Rides" product: Volume 1, StrenDurance in Hawaii; Volume 2, Oceanside Ride; and Volume 3, Maui Rides. Coming soon and sold separately will be their "Speed & Power in Italy" volume.

The formats are similar on each DVD. Riders warm up to a slide show of scenic Hawaii photos. Then the on-bike video workouts begin. Riders are given first-person videos shot from an actual cyclist's ride, featuring some of the best roads on Maui and Oahu. Original House-style music and various audio coaching tracks are available on each ride, providing different coaching voice-overs to accompany cyclists. For a cool down, each DVD concludes with another slide show, but this time the photos are from the producer's world-wide cycling adventures. Finally, each DVD includes a bonus off-bike training segment: Strength Training on Volume 1, Pilates Training on Volume 2, and Yoga Training on Volume 3.

Why You'd Use These Videos

• You're looking for alternatives to simply riding a trainer and staring at your handlebars for an hour.
• You're short on time (damn meetings at the office kept you late, again) and/or short on daylight and/or lack good weather for an outdoor workout. Maybe it's pouring rain. If you don't have an extra hour to clean up a muddy bike afterward, then why not throw on a Global Ride DVD, turn on a fan, and ride your trainer? It's certainly better than taking an unplanned day off.
• You don't have the big bucks for a computerized virtual trainer, but you'd still like some virtual video for your training pleasure.

How To Use These Videos

Most of my own training is structured around intervals. The very nature of bike racing is unstructured intervals. Attacking, counter attacking, covering breaks - they're all synonyms for intervals.

Climbing intervals are one of the best ways to interval train. And these Global Ride DVDs are mostly about climbing intervals. The Hawaiian Islands are collections of lumpy volcanic rock. The most picturesque rides are roller coaster ups and downs over smooth black asphalt. Gene Nacey, producer of these videos, has grabbed the best of them (mostly from Maui) and burned them onto these DVDs. Almost by default, each DVD is a concentrated 50 to 55 minutes of interval riding.

Yet like a spin class, which these seem to have been initially produced for, you ride at your own pace. The four separate audio coaching tracks on each DVD give you options. Follow each coach's prompts for when to dial up the resistance, hit the pedals a bit harder, or sit down and spin out the lactic acid. If you want to get the most from less than an hour on your bike, then intervals are about the only way to go.

During my mid-winter training, I could see myself using these videos to put together my own Staycation Mini-Camp. As a break from my regular training, over the course of a week I could cycle through all three videos, selecting different coaching tracks and bonus sections each day. It would certainly be cheaper than even 1 night's accommodation in Hawaii, let alone the airfare to get there!

Technically, setting up in front of a wide screen TV would be best. But running on a laptop or portable DVD player set on a chair in front of your trainer will also work. Head phones are almost a must, if you want to get the best audio into your head over the drone of your trainer.

How To Use The Bonus Sections

Riders can use the DVD's Main Menu to quickly navigate to each bonus section, providing about 25 minutes of supplemental material on each DVD.

Strength Training Bonus (on StrenDurance DVD): If you're new to strength training for cyclists, then this is a good introduction. But if you've spent at least one season in the weight room, then you've likely moved beyond the routine provided. It only uses dumbbells, making it extremely approachable for novices. Advanced users could use this routine for some in-season maintenance, or during your fall transition period as you ease back into the weight room.

Pilates Bonus (on Oceanside Ride DVD): An excellent core stability section. In-season, I only hit my core with 3 basic exercises (front plank, side plank and bird-dogs). Off-season, a compact Pilates routine like this one would make for some good core stability work. And a stable core is key for a strong, stable pedal stroke.

Yoga Bonus (on Maui Rollers DVD): Yoga for cyclists is like stretching on steroids. It takes a little extra time than a basic stretching routine, but in the end you always feel more rejuvenated. After your longest weekly ride, spending a half-hour with this yoga routine will get your recovery well under way. My only criticism is the first half of the routine progresses too fast - cyclists without any yoga pose familiarity will probably find themselves pushing the video pause button a number of times trying to keep up.

Bravos!

• Looks great on a wide-screen TV or laptop. Hawaiian scenery is a fantastic backdrop for your cycling. These videos are the next-best thing to actually being there.
  
• Audio coaching is like having your own team coach shouting in your ear, keeping you honest during the workout.
• You can get some Magic Maui Miles - almost - for less than the cost of a night in a hotel. No airfare required!
• Rider-cam video is stable when the roads are smooth. Thankfully, most of the rough-road riding has been left on the editing room floor.
• Strength, Pilates and Yoga bonuses add worthwhile seasonal supplements to the cyclist's training toolbox.
• During these rides, you can cycle at your own pace, and you'll never get dropped on the hills!
• Great hard-driving House music is fun for spinning.
  

Blunders¡

• Some sections of the audio coaching can be hard to hear over the music track. Users at least can select the audio coaching only, get used to the routine, and then add the music back in later. Or if they like, they can select music-only.
  
• I could do without the raindrops on the camera lens during the beginning of the Hana Highway ride on the Maui Rollers DVD. At least this "camera creativity" is only around for about the first 10 minutes of the ride.
  
• Yoga routine moves a little too fast for novices.
• Audio coaching is more spin-class centric. It took me a few views to realize that, "Let's turn right," meant to increase the bike resistance (turn the resistance knob clockwise), not turn my bike right. If you're not actually on a spin bike, then you'll probably want to be on a trainer with a handlebar mounted resistance controller (works a bit better to "dial in" the hills, though switching to a bigger gear can also work but might be a little less precise than you want).

Product Summary

Producer: www.GlobalRide.net
Price at time of review: $75 for complete "Hawaii Rides" 3 DVD set, or $30 for each individual DVD.
Features on each DVD: 50 to 55 minutes of image stabilized first person video recording, English language coaching tracks from experienced American, Australian and Italian coaches as well as a live recording from a spin studio, original House-style music audio tracks, and about 25 minutes of bonus supplemental training.
How obtained: Sent to me by the producer.
Am I an affiliate?: No.
Would I use this in my own training?: Yes! I particularly like my Staycation Mini-Camp idea. I really love riding on Maui - these Global Ride DVDs would be a good travel alternative during our cold Canadian winters.

How CPR Saved My Life

Okay. So I haven't posted for a while. Not because I've got nothing to say. Far from it. I just don't know quite where to begin...

My 2009 race season hasn't really gone as planned. Pre-season training was good and very consistent right through from October '08 to April '09. I capped off the pre-season by logging a massive week of hours and miles at the ABA Spring Bike Camp in Penticton, BC.

I don't want to sound immodest, but for where I'm heading with this post you must understand this: I'm a fit guy, especially for a 42-year-old. I've been racing on the road and track consistently for about the past 10 years. I can hold my own against many riders 20 years younger than me. I can consistently ride 40km time trials in under an hour. My resting heart rate is in the high 40's. I have a body-fat-percentage in the 6% range.

So what gives?

On May 9, an hour into the first race of my season, I got taken out by a crash right in front of me. At 50+kph I had no where to hide and down I went too. I expected to have some road rash, but not much else. When I stood up all seemed okay, but my bite was all wrong. Later in the ER I'd learn I broke my jaw. I was "looking forward" to a liquid diet for just over 4 weeks. That sucked - pun intended!

The same crash posted a bruise on my left leg, just above my ankle. I didn't think too much of it at the time until, after 4 weeks of it being sore and causing me to limp around, I learned I had broken my fibula (that's the smaller bone in your lower leg). At least it was well aligned, and no further medical work was needed. That explained why my plyometrics were hurting so much!

As you can likely imagine, my training got a bit goofed up, but I managed to stay almost on schedule. Power levels were increasing. I competed in another road race and didn't get crashed out - though another crash, this time at 60+kph, happened just far enough ahead of me that I was able to dash out of the way. I also rode a track meet and finished 6th in the omnium. I was starting to think my season wasn't going to be too bad after all.

Then the bombshell dropped...

I was all tapered and set to ride in the Banff Bike Fest Stage Race. But then, at about 4:30am on June 18 I awoke with a sharp pain centered on my solar plexus, radiating outwards to both sides. It felt a bit like indigestion, but without the burn of acid reflux. I stood up, thinking the pain would subside if I changed body position. I managed to walk around the bed and then I collapsed.

All I can say about what happened next is I'm damn lucky my wife is an intensive care physician. And she was right there by my side. Many times in the ICU Dr. Ella has seen fainting and cardiac arrests. She knows the difference. She's sure my heart had stopped.

I was rigid. My eyes were wide open and staring straight out. She could find no pulse. At first she felt utter disbelief. This couldn't have been happening to me, no? But she kept her wits, quickly switched into physician mode and immediately began CPR on me. One big thump and about 40 chest compressions later I regained consciousness. My first memories were simply trying to get my thoughts going while listening to Dr. Ella on the phone to 911. "Why's she calling 911?" I thought. Quickly I realized something bad had just happened to me.

Now you know why I wanted to tell you a bit in the beginning about the shape I'm in. I spent the next 48 hours in the hospital, hooked to a heart monitor, thinking, "What the F... ??" It didn't make sense, and still doesn't.

After the continuous monitoring, 3 blood tests (and enough needle tracks to make me look like a heroin junkie), a chest x-ray, an enhanced CT scan, a cardiac ultrasound, a treadmill stress-test and finally a cardiac MRI, all we've found is that I'm an extremely fit 42-year-old with super-healthy blood pressure, super-healthy cholesterol levels, and a "normal athete's heart", i.e., my left ventricle is enlarged but dilated as you'd expect in a healthy athlete (the left ventricle does all the work pumping blood to your body, so it grows a bit like any other muscle tissue that gets a good workout).

So why the cardiac arrest?

It's important to distinguish that I didn't have a heart attack. That implies a blockage in an artery of the heart leading to death of some heart muscle tissue. My heart is still completely intact with no indications of arterial blockages. But it did stop - hence the term "cardiac arrest".

My recent broken bones could have led to a blood clot thrown into my lungs or heart, but the blood work and numerous scans ruled that out.

At this point we can only say it was some kind of arrhythmia - an unusual sequence of heart beats leading to stoppage. Why did it happen? Perhaps this electrical engineer has an electrical problem in his heart. More tests by an electro-physiologist might point in that direction. And there may be a few other genetic scenarios that could explain things. Some genetic testing might provide those answers.

On the one hand it's great to know I'm "healthy". But really, WTF? Something happened and I really don't want it to happen again. I can't expect Dr. Ella to be by my side for the rest of my life. I don't seem to have an issue while I exert myself, so perhaps my training can remain intact. Is there a preventive solution? Sure. An Implanted Cardiac Defibrillator. Stay tuned - hey, that's a good excuse to subscribe to my blog - see the box on the right! I'll let you know if I become the Bionic Bicycling Blogger...

Does this mean anything to you?

Damn right it does. Two things.

First, being an athlete doesn't necessarily guarantee you a long, healthy life. Certainly a high degree of physical fitness should give you a high quality of life while you're here. But your fitness levels can actually mask other underlying health issues, issues that may have grabbed you from the face of the Earth sooner if you hadn't been athletic. Don't neglect to get annual physical checkups and blood tests. Work with your family doctor to maintain your health. If you've got small problems, issues that don't seem too bad but don't really correct themselves, don't ignore them. Keep an open discussion going with your family doctor. As athletes we tend to think we're invincible, that a little rest is all that's needed to get better. That's not necessarily the case.

Second and more important, learn CPR if you haven't already. Dr. Ella is actually the director of CPR training at the hospital where she works. Until you take a course yourself, she's provided these pointers to keep in mind - what they teach now is a little different than what was taught even just 5 years ago:

How To Perform CPR

1. Make sure the person is lying on their back on hard ground.
2. Check and double-check that there is no pulse and no breathing - the best place to look for the pulse is to position the person on their back, find the point on their jawbone just beneath their ear (it doesn't matter which side, left or right) and then slide your fingers - not your thumb - down onto their neck.
3. Find the bottom of the sternum, i.e. the bottom point where the ribs meet in the middle of the chest. Measure up 1 hand width from the bottom of the sternum. This point will become the focal point of your compressions.
4. Begin with 1 solid hard fist-blow to the focal point. Really hard!
5. Start chest compressions on the focal point. Put one palm on top of the back of your other hand, interlace your fingers, get yourself directly above the person's chest (not reaching towards them at an angle), and begin direct downward chest compressions. Keep your arms firm, and don't let them flex during a compression. Try to compress the chest about 2 inches with each press. Keep a tempo of about 1 compression per second, or slightly faster. Think "1 and 2 and 3 and 4..."
6. Now here's the key difference from what you may have been taught or seen in the past - do not stop to administer any mouth-to-mouth breaths. Just keep on compressing.
7. Call for help and get someone else to dial 911 if at all possible.
8. After about 1 minute of chest compressions check again for a pulse. If you're still by yourself at this point, call 911. If you still didn't find a pulse, don't waste too much time on the 911 call - get back to the chest compressions and just keep going until help arrives or the person starts to come around.

The key difference of not stopping to apply mouth-to-mouth is much like pumping up a bike tire. When you put a pump on the tire, it takes a number of pump-strokes before you build up enough pressure to break the valve seal and actually start to get air in the tire.

With CPR, the concept if very similar. It takes numerous compressions to actually build up enough blood pressure to get some blood flowing. And the most important thing you're trying to do with CPR is to keep blood flowing into and through the brain to preserve as much of it as possible. Any time you stop CPR compressions it's like taking that pump off your bike tire - you lose all the pressure gained, the flow you started, and open the person up to more possibilities of brain damage if they can ever get their heart started again.

Back On The Bike

I'm back training, doing my best to be ready for the Canadian National Track Championships at the end of August. I'm spending a lot of time second guessing myself, but I will not be defeated by this. If I'm not back racing this season, I'm certainly going to be back at it in 2010!

Photo "Heart anatomy" by: Patrick J. Lynch