If you read my last blog posting…please forget it.
I have totally retooled my performance enhancing drink (PED)
experiment. First, I am abandoning the
4.6 mile Blue Ridge Parkway bike segment I intended use as my time trail
comparison. I raced up this segment of the Parkway this past weekend and
compared my performance to others using the STRAVA iPhone app. I was satisfied with my performance. I pushed hard and completed the segment in
twenty-four minutes, a personal best.
Despite these results, I realized I cannot commit to racing up this same
section of the mountain every weekend for the next 10-12 weeks. This is the same section which I laboriously
plod up on my bike after work 2-3 times a week.
Beautiful as this part of the Parkway may be, I have a hard time
disassociating it from my work routine.
Weekends are weekends, and workdays are workdays. I would like to keep each in its separate
compartment if possible. Instead, I will
perform my weekly time trial on a different, even more popular STRAVA segment
referred to as Elk Mountain TT.
According to STRAVA, the Elk Mountain TT is a category 2 climb (1 is
hardest and 5 is easiest). It is 4.8 miles in length and has a 5.3% average grade.
There is a yearly race on this mountain, which is part of the “Lung Buster Time
Trial Series,” so I presume it will not be easy.
Second, although my prior post outlined a plan to compare
various PEDs in a stepwise “blinded” fashion (I planned on my wife making me a
smoothie of unknown ingredients prior to my rides), I have come to the
realization this is not feasible. It is
unlikely my wife can really blend such a great smoothie that I am unable to
know whether she added a can of Red Bull as opposed to some vegetable
juice. Also, each PED comes with
distinct instructions regarding the ideal time to drink it to maximize impact.
Considering these barriers, I have decided to strip my experiment of its last
semblance to true science. Honestly,
none of my other trials of alternative medicine have been blinded so why should
this be any different? Besides, who ever
heard of a single person, placebo –control study? Plus, by being aware of what
I am drinking, I will be fully susceptible to the advertised claims promulgated
by each product. Why should my
experience differ from the Red Bull guy who parachuted from outer space? I will
be able to fully describe my expectations that come with each PED, its taste,
and the perceived effects it has on my performance.
Stay tuned…next week the selected PEDs will be announced. Feel free to send me your suggestions.
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