I was bored out of my mind this weekend, so I played with some new video editing software. I wanted to link to the different products that I reference with clickable buttons in the video, but couldn’t figure out how to do that. . .
This video is a summary of the supplements and a few dietary changes that I’ve made since breaking my hip for the 2nd time, and being diagnosed with Osteopenia .. at the age of 39!
Introduction to Ultra Racing – Mentorship Program for Beginners!
Exclusively for 1st Time Ultra Racers planning to race the 6 Hour Pace Bend Ultra Race.
If you’ve never tried an Ultra Race before, but are curious what the hype is about, and looking for a fun and fulfilling challenge to keep your training on track through the Holidays and heading into the new year, this is a program that you won’t want to miss.
~2 x 1 Hour Group Q&A Sessions with Shane & Christie during which we will provide general training, fueling, and hydration guidance, discuss race pacing/strategy, and answer questions
~Race Day Guidance along the same lines
~Full Crew Support on Race Day (and the option to bring a crew member for hands-on training)
~10% discount off the already reduced early bird pricing
~1 participant (drawn at random) will get to use a #UltraFast #UltraLight #UltraCool set of Atom Composites Carbon Race Wheels on Race Day!
Register Here, using BikeReg Code: “tracytraughbermentor”
**LIMITED TO 8 SPOTS (BikeReg Code will only work 8 times)**
2017 12 Hour Time Trial WORLD CHAMPION!
(Is this real life?!?!)
Race Report Time!
12 Hour World Time Trial Championship Race – Borrego Springs, CA
My husband and I flew to CA and rented a home for the week so that I could continue to work through Thursday, and do my training/taper rides on the race course in the evenings.
My coach flew in to help crew for me and we chatted strategy the day before the race. I really didn’t know the caliber of my competition, as I couldn’t just stalk their results on USAC or USAT bc there was also a Rider from the UK & from Italy. We decided that I’d start out on the fast end of my 12 Hr effort level, while temps were cool, & he would monitor gaps. IF I built a decent gap over 2nd Place, he would step down my power gradually until I was holding the gap steady. The goal here was to do everything necessary to win, but nothing more, because we didn’t want to burn matches unnecessarily that I would need during my ZA Semi-Final workouts a few days later!
Friday afternoon, we got our crew area canopy set up, picked up my packet, went through bike inspections, and attended the pre-race meeting.
Packet Pickup – listening carefully to ALL race day instructions!
Discussing Game Plan with Coach 🙂
The race was ridden around an 18 mile loop for the first ~11 hours, & then we were switched to a 4.8 mile loop for the last ~hour. Crystal Spearman, Great Britain, and I were neck & neck for about the first 90 Miles. My coach informed me at the end of lap 6 (108 Miles in), that I had a 7:30 gap built, & instructed me to dial down my power just a little. We continued to step it down ~5W every lap until lap 10, and I held that output steady for laps 10-12.
The wind really started howling around lap 10 (~8 hours/~162 Miles in), and while this definitely made the race more difficult, it worked to my advantage because I am very strong in high winds.
Somewhere mid-race, gritting my teeth a bit as I leaned into that wind!
By the end of lap 13/11 hours/234 Miles in, I had built the gap to 17 minutes, so my coach & I agreed that I would back it down considerably, & use the final hour on the short loops as my warm-down Time.
I finished the race with 248.4 Miles under my wheels, & a huge grin on my face!
Crystal Spearman (Great Britain) finished 2nd, & Anna Mei (Italy) finished 3rd.
12 Hour World Time Trial Championship Ladies Podium
I was literally brought to tears by all of the support and encouragement given by my friends, near and far. There is no way that I would have been able to afford to make this trip if it weren’t for the generosity of the local TX Cycling Community and your participation in my Fundraising Raffle. Thank you to ALL of the local businesses and individuals that contributed swag for the raffle, to CryoWellness for generously throwing the “Send Christie to Worlds” Party for me, and to every single person that bought a raffle ticket, made a donation toward my travel fund, or sent me encouraging messages through FB, Strava, Text, etc. I can’t even put into words how grateful I am, but I *tried* to below. . . (I filmed this about 12 hours into the 19 hour drive back to TX from CA, the day after the race, so excuse the exhausted appearance!):
Carolyn DeFoore & I had the awesome opportunity to be interviewed by Carrie Sapp Barrett about our USA Cycling Master’s National Championship Adventures for her I Could Never Do That Podcast, and an article to follow in Austin Fit Magazine!
In Carrie’s own words:
“This week, it’s my long-awaited conversation with Austin’s Cycling Golden Girls, Carolyn Defoore and Christie Tracy. They both represented in a big way at this year’s USA Cycling Masters National Championships, bringing home a slew of medals including:
Christie Tracy (ATC Racing): Gold in the Time Trial Race, Silver in Road Race
Carolyn Defoore (Athlete Architecture): Gold in Road Race, Silver in Crit Race
In the conversation, which is an article in the September issue of Austin Fit Magazine, we talk about the differences between the different cycling disciplines, what it takes to be good at any or all of these specialties, the arduous physical and mental preparation, what it means to be a mentor for up-an-comers, and, most importantly, how to get over fears of failure and crashing.
Our Golden Girls spill it all and we celebrate their victories!”
Well, I haven’t blogged in FOREVER, but I’ve been scouring the internet for the last several weeks looking for supplements to promote bone regrowth, exercises that can be done with a broken collarbone, quick and easy Paleo Meal recipes that I could fix with 1 arm, and various other odds and ends related to my most recent collarbone break and recovery efforts.
A very abbreviated history:
June 13, 2013 – I broke my left collarbone in a Crit, and surgery was required to repair it. I was religious about sticking to strict Paleo Protocol during my recovery, and came back very quickly, and stronger than ever.
Surgery was June 28th (~ 2 weeks after break)
I was on the trainer 1 week post-op.
I was back on the road 3.5 weeks post-op with no restrictions other than no racing yet.
I returned to racing 7 weeks Post Op
February 16th, 2014 – I was in a really bad accident during a Road Race, and re-broke my left collarbone at the end of the existing plate. This time, I had a compound break (they actually scraped road paint off the exposed end of the bone. . . ewwwww). . . and I had a pretty severe concussion. I was life-flighted from the accident site to the nearest Trauma Center, and emergency surgery was performed. I was in the hospital for several days due to the high risk of infection. This break was MUCH worse than the first, and recovery was slow and painful. I got depressed and let’s just say that I did NOT stick to my Paleo Protocol (pretty much as far from it as I could get after a while) My sugar demon reared it’s ugly head and I now joke about the fact that the “Ben & Jerry’s Diet” is apparently NOT conducive to bone healing. . I tried to justify it by the fact that I was getting my calcium in. . but c’mon. . I wasn’t fooling anyone!
Emergency Surgery was February 17th
It took 4 weeks this time before I was back on the trainer, and then it was sporadic at best
I was back on the road at 6 weeks, but limited to solo rides because bone wasn’t fully fused
I was not cleared for group riding until 11 WEEKS post Op, and even then, my bone wasn’t fully fused, and I was instructed to be careful
I am now 16 weeks Post-Op, and the bone still isn’t fully fused, and they are worried that it may become a Non-Union
May 24th, 2014 – I hit a huge pothole on a group ride in Austin, took a spill and broke my right collarbone.
Surgery was June 6th (~2 weeks after break)
A follow-up apt 1 week Post-Op showed that it’s lined up nicely and already knitting, but the left side is STILL not fully fused.
SO, this is what’s led me to begin all of this internet research. Since the 3rd break, I’ve been really careful about what I’ve been eating for the most part, with only 1-2 small splurges, but after the most recent appointment on Monday where I was informed that they are concerned about a Non-Union of the Left Collarbone, I am officially on an All-Out Mission to heal BOTH sides once and for all.
I’m blogging my plan and progress in the hopes that it may help someone else out there whose trying to promote healing as quickly as possible from a collarbone break, while staying active and preventing loss of fitness.
THE PLAN (effective TODAY, June 18th, 2014 until both collarbones are fully fused):
Nutrition/Supplementation
Cutting out Caffeine (OMG kill me now. . coffee, I will miss you!)
Cutting out all alcoholic beverages (not really an issue – I rarely drink)
Daily cup of home-made Bone Broth (from grass-fed cows)
Emphasis on LOTS of leafy green veg & healthy fats, and moderate amounts of fruit & high quality protein (Organic, Free-Range Eggs, Grass Fed Beef, Pastured Chicken, Wild Fish)
Will be keeping caloric intake up to support bone healing
Supplementing w/ Calcium + D3
Supplementing w/ Cissus Quadrangularis
Also doing more research on a Comfrey Ointment and possibly supplementing w/ Glucosamine Chondroitin. Verdict is still out on these, but I’ll be updating.
“Other”
Get a minimum of 8 hours of sleep every single night (preferably closer to 9)
Using a Bone Simulator 20 minutes each side, 2 x per day, as prescribed by my Orthopedic Surgeon
Exercise
Bodyweight Leg & Core Workouts started 1.5 weeks post-op
Bulgarian Squats
Air Squats
Pistols (attempted – probably have to work my way back up to these!)
Bridges (increased difficulty by elevating feet on bench)
