Get To The Point Century
Today was fast, flat, and warm. A combination that made for some smoking speeds. My on bike time for 103 miles was 6 hours and 15 minutes. We took some long breaks and an even longer lunch, so I was out for the whole day. As a test, I used a BreatheRight strip on my nose and found I could breath through my nose up to a heart rate of 190 bpm. In the past, I would be panting like a dog trying to get enough air into my lungs at that rate. I have a really oily nose, so the strip came off about 30 miles later, but the point was made.
Why is nasal breathing so important? A couple weeks back I went to a discussion with Jim Fox, a local coach. He pointed me towards the work of John Douillard and his book, "Body, Mind, and Sport". In it, John explains that we were designed to breath through our noses and we only breath through our mouths as an emergency measure. The problem with exercising at a high rate and breathing through the mouth is that it tells your body there's an emergency and in an emergency, your body is stressed. The stress causes all sorts of problems and keeps you from reaching your full potential. He covers the proper way to breath and exercises to help you incorporate the breathing into your workout.
Around the 90 mile mark, I started to really feel the miles and my form broke down, including the nasal breathing...That was around the same time we got passed by a '66 Nova in Badass Black with a hood scoop, roll cage, and those super fat drag strip tires on the rear. Later, as I was coming home, the Nova pulled up alongside me at a light and it had that awesome V8 low idle sound...
putaw - putaw - putaw - putaw - putaw.
The ride ended with Santa Claus waving to us by the side of the road and a beautiful sunset. We went to dinner in the 'hood' (beltway exit 7A to Allentown Road) at a place called Topolino's which was next door to a Topless bar (which may not have had better food, but I bet the entertainment was better).
