The last 500 Meters

Trying to motivate yourself to really go all out when riding on a trainer is not easy. There's no competition. There's no wind in your face or pavement under your wheels. There's no surge with pedal strokes or balanced tension you feel when both wheels are spinning. Music helps, for sure, and I built a play list so that I could alternate intervals and resting with each song. But even the most aggressive songs don't allow me to sustain an all out effort for longer intervals.

So visualization is a requirement. On the road, I can find a spot to sprint for, or visualize trying to close a gap. On the trainer that doesn't work. I have to go for the track. There's 500 meters left and I'm off the front, but not by much. Don't look back. Just keep it buried and try to accelerate even though you can't. I can see the black line and the red line and I can hear the boards and feel the press of the banking.

Visualization works. Now I just have to keep myself from hurling.

Why gaining 5 pounds was the best thing that ever happened to me

For the first time in at least 12 and probably more like 18 months, I'm looking forward to doing intervals. I know that's crazy. When I first started bike racing in 2005, I did intervals in the spring with vim and vigor. I loved the hurt. I looked forward to the screaming lungs and legs. I relished the time I spent above lactate threshold. But I was afraid. Afraid I'd loose it. Afraid I'd slip backward, so I never really took any kind of break in the fall of 2005 and decided that if I really wanted to be competitive in 2006, I needed to seriously up my mileage.

And so in the winter I did. I rode the highest volume that I ever had. Long rides on the weekends (and some Friday afternoons as well). Up to 2 hours of Tempo on the trainer. And it payed off. I won the Masters 4/5 group at Ken Woods and I was feeling pretty darn good. But I was also feeling pretty tired. I did some track racing and got upgraded to Cat. 3 on the track. Also good! Then I crashed at the track. Not so good. It took me a long while to recover mentally and was much harder on me physically than I thought. So I went into 2007 still feeling worn out, still afraid of loosing my fitness.

I trained pretty hard during the off season, and then I got this nasty flu. I was off the bike for 3 weeks+. And I was horrified. I knew that I had lost it. But I wasn't exactly being rational at that point. I just started bailing on everything. Opening night at the track. I didn't race. Ken Woods. It was 70 degrees! and I didn't race. The summer wore on and I tried again and again to get to the track for a race night and I just couldn't do it. The truth was I just wasn't motivated.

Then fall of 2007 rolled around. I had been doing some intervals and training over the summer, even though I wasn't racing, thinking I'd stay in shape. The first snow hit in November. I wasn't going to ride outside, and I just couldn't get myself on the trainer. I did some cross training with weights, but I was down to 3 hours a week maximum training. Then over Christmas we visited my family in Maryland and I didn't exercise at all. For almost 2 weeks. I ate great food and gained 5 pounds and a notch on my belt.

Then in January, things started to change. Maybe I'll ride outside some. Maybe I'll hit the trainer, just for an hour. Maybe I'll spend 30 minutes on the rollers. Maybe I'll do some weights, just to get back in shape. In a periodized training program, that's called the preparation period, even though I didn't realize I was doing it. So by February, I was ready to try something harder again. And I started doing some intervals and trying to get longer rides in on the weekend. Wow, now I'm suddenly psyched about intervals. Weird. And I'm looking forward to doing some racing.

Turns out that I needed to really, deeply recover. But now I'm back. And I may not be as fast or competitive as I was in 2005/2006. But I'm sure as hell going to try.

194 Minutes

That's how long my bike ride was on Sunday. The longest ride I've been on since probably June of 2007. I'll have to go back and look, but I haven't exactly been keeping up my endurance. I really did enjoy the ride, though. I haven't been out around Lake Minnetonka for a long time. It was really nice.

I have a friend who got me a subscription to Men's Journal magazine for my birthday last year. It's an interesting magazine if for no other reason than it's schizophrenic. It doesn't know whether to be macho, sensitive, misogynist, healthy, unhealthy, vice-ridden or virtuous, intellectual or banal. It does have some great fitness routines and some really good recommendations on alcohol as related to food choices. But I can't help but notice a sense of deja vu as I read through some of the articles and particularly as I look at some of the graphics. And I'm pretty sure that a number of the articles are actually culled or condensed from other sources that they must assume the average MJ reader doesn't have time to peruse. Maybe they acknowledge it and I just haven't been careful enough to notice. I any case, still an enjoyable read.

Next weekend Deana's going to be out of town for a trip to discuss business strategy for her new venture. That's not going to stop me from dragging the kids to see some new music, though. I may regret it about 15 minutes into the concert, but hey, I'm going to give it a shot. Hannah should be tired from rehearsing her musical earlier in the day and I've been taking Aaron to Dick's Sporting Goods to go rock climbing during rehearsal, so with a little luck he'll be worn out, too. I tried it this weekend, and my wrists are still paying for it. Don't know what I did to get a bit of tendinitis going, but I think rock climbing is out for a while. I'll see if I can get a picture of him up on the wall and post it next week.

2008 Training Season Begins

Well, I did it. I've started my new training log for the 2008 season. I figured I'd start out my year with the Carmichael Training Systems Fitness Test. I haven't done this for way too long. It confirmed what I already knew: I've lost power and endurance from not going very hard very often. But, that's why I'm starting from the beginning, I guess. Looks like I need to spend the next month or two getting some miles in, then I'll work on getting that power at LT back. Here's my CTS route from mapmyride.com.




No idea why they feel the need to call it Map My Run, but they do. Pretty useful site. Has some nice features like elevation change, and I haven't received too many unsolicited emails since I started using it. They even gave me my own disclaimer!

Later!

Gone Daddy Gone

Well, it's official. I have managed to be so negligent in my training that my base is completely gone. I rode for just under 2 hours yesterday with a few sprints thrown in for fun, and I was pretty toasted afterward. Sad but true. Given that an entire race season passed without me pinning on a number, I doubt that I can call myself a bike racer anymore. But there is still a piece of me that would like to be. So maybe this is an excuse to start from scratch and see what next season brings. Road racing and maybe track, although I'll probably have to start over as a 4. Who knows?

My fall from bike racing came about through a series of events: Deana's been working in the evenings several days a week as well as many Saturday mornings. And I've rediscovered my musical roots. Despite the fact that I have pursued a career in Technology, I have an undergraduate degree in Choral Conducting. I got the chance recently to join a very talented vocal ensemble called InVocation that does two sets of concerts a year, one at Christmas time and one in the spring, with the proceeds benefiting a charity. This year the charity is Feed My Starving Children, which is a great organization if you've never heard of them. In any case, while rediscovering my musical roots, I also started doing some composition, which takes time. So between needing to be available to watch kids more often and doing more music, I've let the training slide. Big time. Plus, in all honesty, I'm not as motivated as I was. I don't know why. I've said before that I really think I over did it in the summer of 2006 and the winter of 2007. I never really came back from being sick in the spring of this year, and since I haven't been active riding, I haven't really connected with my new team, LSC.

So, the result of all this is that I was down to a couple hours a week of exercise, and maybe one day of cycling. I've been doing some strength training to keep my core strong, but that's about it. Now I find myself motivated to try to get things going again. I'm having trouble visualizing myself balancing all of this stuff, but I guess it's worth a try. I'll sign up to be a Loon again next year. I think I'll ride a couple of road races, and if I can get past my nerves, I'll ride a few track events, even if only to do some Tuesday night training sessions. It is amazingly fun. But I've got to get my base back, otherwise it's going to be a big suffer fest.

Mountain Biking 101 (and 102)

I figure if I'm going to finally try Mountain Biking, I might as well pick somewhere to have a good experience. And Puerto Rico seemed like a good choice. It's low 80's, mostly sunny. The mountain biking is through the rain forest near the resort we're staying at. I guess I'm never going to get more ideal conditions to give it a go.

The Mountain Biking recreation activity that I chose as part of my stay wasn't as popular with the rest of the sales people as it was with me. There are 540 people at this event. 5 of us chose to go mountain biking. There was a young (20's) guy from Texas who "started biking about a year ago and is really into it". Showing up in his Castelli jersey, he was glad to see the small number of people, hoping that "we could get a good pace going and not have to wait too much". Frankly, I was hoping the same thing. There were 3 other guys from the Bay area; one tall, slender guy, clearly fit in his late 40's or early 50's, the other two were 40's or 50's and "did some riding".

I was the only one with shaved legs.

So, we ride the shuttle bus to the starting place with much joking about how everyone feels they're going to be left behind, etc. etc. I decided to just keep my mouth shut other than to comment on how this was going to be a lot more fun than riding in sub 30 degree weather. When we got there, I was pleasantly surprised to see half-way decent bikes (Specialized Hardrock hard tails). We were picking out helmets and gloves that fit when the guide showed up. He was riding a Stumpjumper, but wearing a Liquigas kit. He was maybe 25 and looked like a pro. His legs were shaved, too. I found out later he placed 2nd in Puerto Rico for MTB in 2006 and he races all over the Caribbean and Central America. He was taking us out, had another group to take later, and had ridden 80 miles earlier in teh day on the road. What a life!

So, we headed out. It was all rutted, bumpy, rocky fire roads or ATV trails, but it was very nice. Huge groves of bamboo. It looked like a scene from House of Flying Daggers. It was pretty cool. There were a few short rises, but nothing I would really call a climb. Unfortunately, I quickly discovered that the big talking Texan was mostly a big talker. The two of the guys for California were regular MTBers, one of them a racer, so that was great. We had to stop several times and wait, which is a bit challenging once you get warmed up.

Then we hit the Hill. I've never ridden at Afton, but I'm guessing it was pretty similar. 8 - 15%+ grade for at least a kilo if not longer. Every time you came around a corner, it just kept going up. I haven't pegged it like that in months! It felt good after it was over though, and once I recovered, I was ready to do it again. Which is a good sign I'm ready for training.

Now, several of my cycling buddies have suggest that I really should try racing MTB. "You'll love it!". "It's perfect for your style!". "You'd think it was great!" And I have to tell you, the climbing, even over the rocks, gravel, loose soil and uneven roads was pretty fun. However bombing down a 15% grade, through trees over rutted roads around blind corners is something I will NEVER do at any thing resembling race speed. I got down no problem, but I would have been way off the back considering how fast the guide and the California based MTBer flew down. I just watched them disappear.

I think I'm just going to sit on the beach today or by the pool and enjoy the relaxation and the sunshine. Maybe swim a little. Puerto Rico is a beautiful place. But when it comes to mountain biking, what happens in PR, stays in PR.

Your flotation device may also be used as a seat cushion

Although I'll probably be damned for even complaining, my sit bones are sore. I'm somewhere over the mid-Atlantic on my way from a short layover in Charlotte, NC to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Hardly something to take issue with. But, over the last 10 days, I've spent 24 hours on my bike in an effort to build by base. Due to the lovely weather of last weekend and mid last week, 9 hours of that time has been on a trainer. Then Friday, Saturday and Sunday with 4 hours, 4 hours and 3:30 hours. I was getting sore anyway.

But, I thought, what better way to spend a rest day, and a rest week than on at a tropical resort, begun of course, with the obligatory relaxation of 6 hours or so of airline travel. Normally, this would have bothered me, but I was actually looking forward to getting a chance to be off of my legs. At the end of the ride on Sunday, I could barely get off the bike. Great plan, right?

Well, US Airways had other plans for me, at least for the first 2 hours. My flight left MSP at 7:05 Monday morning, which is only about 30 minutes later than I usually get out of bed. So I was happy to get on the plane 20 minutes prior to departure and take my seat, hoping to sneak in a nap prior to take off, maybe even sleep through the sometimes-anxiety-causing process of getting up to altitude. We were on a CR9 or some such thing: a small regional jet to fly from MSP to Charlotte. I had an aisle seat (my preference, usually) so I was all ready to plunk down. When I sat, however, I was unpleasantly surprised. My seat was somewhere between a seat cushion life preserver that's been left on a boat in the sun for too many years and a phone book. Some padding existed, or had at one time or another, but not much any more. It was a challenging 1 hour and 45 minutes.

All was far from lost. My Charlotte to San Juan fight (where I'm writing this, off line of course) is on a 767. Much more comfortable. And after being assigned to a window seat, the ticket agent in MSP managed to get me an exit row aisle seat. MUCH BETTER.

I thought there was some big deal about how airlines had to carefully vet movies they showed on planes to make sure the content was universally acceptable, etc. Either US Airways has a different view of what's universally acceptable or I do. They're showing some fairly recent film with Cameron Diaz and Jude Law and Jack Black and some British actress about where the women switch houses and end up switching boyfriends or some such thing. There are quite a number of kids on this flight under 12, and I'm confident that everyone of the boys between 9 – 12 has enjoyed the scene, head phones or no, with Cameron Diaz in bed wearing a bra. Plus the scene where Cameron punches out her cheating husband was real family content. Of course, I'm getting the benefit of watching this without the sound. I plugged my headphones into the plane sounds system and finally got some sleep by turning on the classical channel, even though there were 2 volume settings: inaudibly soft and nearly unbearably loud. Ever notice that if you're listening to anything else and watching a movie and there's no dialog that you can see, what ever you're listening to becomes a plausible sound track to the movie?

Tool

This weekend was almost a loss. Mid 40's and raining. Consistently. From Friday morning until Sunday morning, it didn't even stop long enough for the patio to show the slightest hint of light gray at the cracks and high spots. As I mentioned in my last post, I am woefully behind on my base due to The Sickness (also know as the yack, aptly named by my cycling buddy Steve Laurel). I'm not too worried about the base endurance for racing, as I'll be mostly focusing on track this year and with the longest event I'm riding coming in at about 15 kilometers (or 20 if I have lost my sanity enough to try the Madison), being able to sprint or ride solo after 2 hours of riding isn't as big of a deal. But I am worried about having enough base to really pound the intervals for sprints and for threshold training for Team Pursuit.

So Thursday, my gift subscription to Bicycling magazine shows up in my in box. Bicycling magazine always has a few articles that remind me more of Redbook than an athletic magazine. The 5 things you can do to loose 10 lbs fast! Ride faster while training 2 hours a week and breathing through a drinking straw! You know, the classic too good to be true stuff. So the cover article about building your base in only 10 days left me a little dubious. I looked it up anyway. Well, it was by Chris Carmichael, which gave it credibility for me. I've based most of my training off of one of his books, so I wasn't straying too far from reality. And it was actually 3 weeks, not 10 days, when you include the rest leading up to and following the main endurance block. So, I decided to give it a try.

Which is where Tool comes in. I was supposed to ride 2:30 Friday and 3:00 Saturday. Due to the aforementioned weather, there was no way I was going to start out if it was raining that hard. So, to the trainer. And so as not to go crazy, slightly shortened sessions, with long Tempo intervals. There is no better music to ride Tempo to than Tool. The short songs are 5 1/2 minutes long. From there it's 8, 9, 10, 17 minutes. When your doing an hour long interval, having a nice steady build from the tunes makes a real difference. Plus the sound is so complex and layered that you can hear the same songs over again and always find some section or part that you didn't notice before. Very, very talented guys.

And when I could take that any more, I watched some Cowboy Beebop. Too fun. Speaking of Japanese animation, has anyone ever seen Kappa Mikey? He's an American cartoon character (heavy outlines, bright colors) working on an Anime cartoon show. As the theme song says, "lost in Japan". So I'm thinking I'm going to start the Kappa Mikey Keirin team. Let me know if you want to join. I'm sure we'll have t-shirts or socks or something. Maybe I can get Chris Hoy to join....

The Fates

I guess I can reveal my deep, dark 2007 season training secret, since no one I race against actually reads this blog. Not that they should, since I seem to update it every 2 - 4 months. Anyway, here's my secret:

I lost 8 - 9 pounds since last year. My weight will no longer hold me back on those long climbs. I am already at almost my ideal cycling weight.

Of course, I lost that weight because I was sick. In fact, I was so sick that I was off of the bike for 3 weeks. I finally climbed back on the bike on Sunday (ignoring the occasional cough) and rode a whole 1:50! Wow! Unfortunately, when I got home it felt like I had ridden more that twice that long. So right now, my fitness is in the tank. I've basically got a 6 week rebuilding process, and will probably have to keep working endurance after that to be able to compete in any road races later in the summer. My early season it toast. I'm not sure I'm even going to bother with the spring road races. My six week rebuilding is done the Sunday before Ken Woods, which has traditionally been my first race of the year. I'll have to see how I feel at that point and make a decision. I was going to race 35+ this year, but without a longer base, I'm not sure I can be competitive for the longer distances. Plus I want to focus on track, which will require more concentration on sprinting and fewer long endurance rides.

So, you win some, you loose some. My weight would be a great benefit for road races, but not as big a deal at the track. I lost some endurance, which will hurt me on the road races, and not so much on the track. I always knew I could never do well at everything. For now, I'm just working on getting back carefully enough that I'm not back on the bench in a week.

Real Winter

In spite of all of my hopes to the contrary, real winter has obviously arrived: highs below zero, air temperatures as low as -20, day time high hasn't been in the double digits for a week. I've cycled outside this year in much colder temperatures than I ever anticipated, as low as 12 - 15 degrees, but there is NO WAY I'm going out below 10 degrees, let alone sub-zero. So, I'm becoming reacquainted with my trainer.

It's not all down side, I guess. The trainer certainly provides a consistent work out if nothing else. No down hills, no 5 minute waits at stop lights, no other interruptions to mess with my heart rate. Just steady, aerobic work. And strength work. I'm ready to ride outside, though. It's supposed to get to 15 on Sunday, so I may have to go out, even if it's only for an hour. Next year: beater Mountain bike and fenders for my winter road bike.

Un-freaking believeable

This is a post purely for cyclist, but you've probably already seen it. Here's a video of Theo Bos breaking the world record for the flying 200 meters. He covered the distance in 9.722 seconds. At the local velodrome, there are only a few people who can even break 11 seconds.

He's 23. He's already won world championships in the Kilo, Keirin and and Sprint

Training Again

Well, it's just about that time. I've been doing some lifting for the last 8 weeks or so to get the joints and muscles ready for heavier weights, and working quite a bit on spinning technique. But that's the boring stuff. The fun stuff is yet to come.

Like the email I got from Andy Kruse planning to set up a Team Pursuit team for 2007 to go after the challenge money. Like big gear hill climbs coming in January and beyond. Like tempos and sub threshold time trials. I really can't wait!

But days like today make it frustrating. It did the freezing rain/snow/sleet thing over the last couple of days, making the side streets too icy to get down (I don't have any studded tires. Yet.) Plus the snow is so bad that skiing doesn't even sound like fun. And it's too icy to walk. I did the Nordic Track for 40 minutes yesterday and that was about all I could handle. Plus it's sunny, so I can't seem to bring myself to hit the trainer for a couple of hours. I should probably just take off until Monday. I'm starting to get a little nervous about upping the volume in January, though. Still, I'm sticking with my philosophy for this year: enjoy it. Maybe I'll ride a little lighter schedule hours wise this year than last. Don't know. I did some really long endurance rides during the spring and I ended up over trained and I didn't see the benefit of it. I'm not planning on being in peak condition until August. Gotta keep those priorities straight.

Here's a little photo to keep everyone motivated for 2007. The last mile or so of Ken Woods 2006. Maybe the weather will be just as good this year.

The 2007 Season

Ok, it's probably a little early to start thinking about it, particularly with my plan to not over train and get burnt out. I did get some good philosophies this weekend reading through that sacred tome, Joel Friel's The Cyclist's Training Bible. Like make sure you're recovering enough to be able to go hard on the days you're supposed to go hard. Like fitness isn't static; it's always either improving or declining. Like don't imagine you're going for some goal and then you can rest. That's not the way fitness works. That's been my mindset, though, for the last two years. "If I could just get to , then I will be there!" Whatever that means.

So with those thoughts firmly in mind, and the understanding that races this year, regardless of priority, are jewels on the string of my cycling journey, I took the MCF proposed 2007 calendar and started picking A races. It was easier than I thought. A nice solid 2 week peak for the hopefully Tour of 10,000 Lakes and the State TT Championship. Then a break. Yes, a break. I'm taking one this year. And then a build up to the Timed Events championship and the state RR at the end of August. Then a break and some cyclo-cross for fun.

Looks great! And I feel very differently about it this year, so maybe the dose of philosophy is working. I'm looking forward to riding for my new team and enjoying the commeraderie of bike racing again. I will definitely race far more often in 2007. But for now, enjoy the training, and be sure to get enough rest, increase the intensity slowly. I actually need to start some more structured training the first week of December, with my base and serious strength training starting January 1. Hard to believe.

Awesome Cycling Video

I was looking for some video of the recent World Track Cup Round 1 and I found this on Google. 20 minutes of track coverage, including men's and women's sprint finals, women's Keirin final and women's pursuit final. Then there's some World Cup Cyclecross coverage for the remainder.

Also, the finals of the Men's Team Sprint. Looks like they are starting on opposite sides of the track and racing at the same time. I think a little of THAT on Thursday at the Blaine velodrome would get the spectator enthusiasm going.

Enjoy!

New Team

I have been contemplating a new cycling team for quite a while. I'm not getting much out of Nature Valley. I have tried, repeatedly, to be more involved, to grow the club, to participate. But the club leadership is focused pretty much exclusively on the A team. Now many of the star players that I got to ride with in the winter are gone. And I didn't ride with them at all this summer, anyway.

Maybe it's as much my focus as much as anything that's changed. It may not be the club at all. In any case, a new environment is in order.

So, I'm riding for Loon State Cyclists in 2007. More (way more) guys at the track. Way more club involvement with the sport in terms of promoting races and participating in the community. I'm very grateful to Flat City and the A road team there for everything I learned, and to Penn Cycle and Nature Valley for their support. I would have never stayed this involved or probably achieved as much as I have without the incentive of the team.

I'm pumped for the 2007 season already. Now I just have to keep my self relaxed and enjoying the training, not increase the volume and intensity too early. I really want to be in top form the last week of July through the 3rd week of August. That's a long time from now. I've got a lot of time to enjoy myself before I get too intense. Time to loose 3 - 4 kilos. Time to improve my technique and efficiency. Time to enjoy my cycling and my training.

What Superhero am I?

Apparently, not Lance.

You are Spider-Man

Spider-Man 70% Green Lantern 70% Robin 57% Iron Man 55% Hulk 55% Supergirl 50% Wonder Woman 45% The Flash 45% Superman 40% Catwoman 25% Batman 25%

You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have great power and responsibility.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

Cross Training - Much Better

On Sunday, for reasons I still don't completely comprehend, I chose to begin my non-cycling exercise by running a short distance. In my worn out shoes. Even though I hate running. One of my "friends" had convinced me that running was the best way to get ready for the upcoming cross country ski season, since, like cross country, it is weight bearing exercise.

I figured I would run slowly and for a short time. How bad could it be? So I strapped on my heart rate monitor, just to see where I got to, and off I went. I started out with the kids in tow, Aaron and Hannah on their scooters. Then Aaron couldn't keep up on the scooter, so we went home and he got his bike. We went around about 2 blocks and it became obvious that he just wasn't up for this. So I ran maybe a total of 5 blocks between both outings, probably no faster than I could have walked. My heart rate never got over 100 bpm.

I dropped off both kids at home, with 15 minutes under my belt and headed out to get a little more speed on. Except that I was still "taking it easy" and I was still running in my broken down shoes. And when I say broken down, I'm not kidding. The outside edge of one or both shoes is actually coming unstitched from the sole and my sock pokes out periodically. Yes, I know I'm too cheap to buy new shoes. It's hard to get motivated to buy equipment to do something you hate. I ran for maybe 5 minutes. My heart rate was still in the 120's, but my quads hurt so bad that I realized I'd better stop and walk. And so, alternating between walking one minute and running 2 - 3, I completed another 20 minutes or so of exercise, for a grand total of under 40 minutes. Maximum heart rate - 134. Average heart rate - 113. Leg pain, excruciating.

I mean, really bad. My feet hurt, my ankles hurt, my quads hurt, my knees hurt. I couldn't walk down stairs without wincing. This clearly was not going to work. And so plan B came into effect.

The whole point of running was to cross train for cycling (my love) and get ready for cross country skiing (which is also awesome). Enter Craigslist. It occurred to me that people were always getting rid of Nordic Trac machines. I had been thinking about looking for one for about a month or so, but it wasn't pressing as I was still racing. Now it seemed a little more important. Wah-lah! Monday about noon I discovered a classic Nordic Trac Pro on sale in Eagan for $25.00. Great condition. The deal was done and I picked it up Monday night.

For whatever reason, I can't get motivated to ride outside in my cool weather gear. It's cold! I don't like it! I know it's in the 50's an in March I'll be loving it, but right now I'm pouting about not being able to wear shorts. So on Tuesday when I was going to ride, but I was stuffy and didn't want to go out in the cold, my new toy beckoned. Forty-five minutes later, I had averaged 142 bpm, done a solid set of 5 minutes plus at just below threshold, and had hit 161 bpm. Much better! And yes, my legs were sore, but it was the good sore. I have found my transition to skiing and some variety from the bike. I'm even looking forward to getting out on the snow. And dare I say it? I might actually RACE on skis this year for the first time ever.

No more HRM until after Thanksgiving. Maybe some Madison training at the track and some "dry land" ski training at Hyland Hills for variety. Wow. That actually sounds like fun....

Sophomore Slump

I wrapped up year two of my belated cycling career on Thursday night. The first, and only, race of the night was a Bavarian, a "backwards" win-and-out, where the first sprint is for 5th place, two laps later you race for 4th place, and so on until the first place sprint. If you wait to race for 1st and don't win the sprint, you get "no place". Which is what I did, but it was fun. Adam Bergman, former pro roadie, was back for the last night of the season, still racing as a 3 at the velodrome. No idea why I thought I'd duke it out for 1st with him, but I stayed in. It's the event that I won my first track race in last year, so I felt like I should go for it. Then I couldn't get around a rider that Adam and Chris Smith had just overtaken (and who almost rode Chris onto the apron) during the last lap, so I ended up 15 meters back with less than 100 meters to go. So I didn't end up with a maximum effort, which I sort of wanted to for the final night of the year, but what do you do.

I almost didn't race, and I ended up leaving after the Bavarian anyway. I am bushed. Fatigued. Tired. Dare I say, not interested in racing. It's been an interesting Sophomore year. I actually accomplished many of my goals, in spite of the fact I only raced 3 races on the road (not counting 2 weeks at Opus) and under 10 nights at the track. I won Ken Woods. I was very well positioned for Pearl Lake prior to my off-road excursion. I got my Cat. 3 upgrade at the track. And overall, I was faster, stronger, smarter (usually) and had noticeably more endurance than 2005. So why did it feel like such a bummer of a season?

I truly believe there is something to the Sophomore slump idea. I remember my 2nd years of both High School and College sucking. You're not new anymore, but you really don't have the whole thing down yet. Look at your favorite musicians. Did any of them have 2nd albums that were anywhere near as good as the first, or the 3rd for that matter? You work just as hard, or harder to get better, to do better than you did your first year, but you are smacked between the eyes by a combination of unrealistic expectations created by a successful first year (oh, yeah! Moving the next step on should be just as easy as smacking it the first year!) and the fact that you are in fact stronger, smarter, faster than you were your first year. But all the rules change. The competition changes. It's no longer about competing with everyone else who's out there for their first time. Now you're competing against everyone who ISN'T out there for their first time, which of course is a much larger, tougher, faster, smarter, more experienced group.

More than anything, I think I over trained. Partly I got burnt out from training all the way through winter without a significant break last fall, but also bike racing began to take it's rightful place in my life, properly balanced with other priorities. The first year was so engrossing that it ruled my thoughts and time. Now it's becoming a more normal part of my life. But what's odd about that realization is that as I think about next year's goals, I discover they are higher. As if I'd had a great season and I was building on my success, and in a way I am. My goals are around track, with some focus on road time trials. I'll race the road races with the 35+ crowd, which may mean I'm pack fodder, but I consider them low priority races anyway. And I'm ampped about next year. But for now, every time I think "Gee, I should really do a training ride," I know I shouldn't. And I don't. I haven't ridden with my heart rate monitor for 2 weeks. It's staying off until Thanksgiving, when the madness starts again. I'll ski more. I'll get my century in this fall. I'll do some Madison training and make my legs and lungs scream for mercy a couple more times this fall.

Junior year was WAY better.

Wicked Fun at the Track

I love chariot races. Way too much fun. A chariot race is a two lap race from a standing start. You drawn numbers to find your starting spot, the lower the number the closer to the center of the track. Sprint rule apply, so if you're in the sprinter's lane, anyone wanting to pass you has to come around the long way. I was probably riding a ridiculously large gear for this race(52x15, or about 93.5 gear inches), but being able to get that thing going from a standing start is one of my strong points.

I won the first heat and Andy Kruse won his heat. In the final, I drew 2 and Andy drew 4, so he was two up track from me. I figured I was going to just jump as hard as I could and hope he'd jump on. Sure enough, I was quickly a couple of bike lengths up on the person who drew 1 and I was in the lane. Halfway through turn one, I hear Andy yell "Wheel!" and I knew he was on. I just buried it from there. Worked like a charm. Coming into turn 3 on the second lap, out popped Andy and powered his way to the finish.

Now, up until this point, I had seriously considered making the 31st my last track day in 2006. I'm starting to get tired of being focused (on everything, food, schedule, recovery) and riding hard. I mean, I LOVE to ride fast, but at some point you start to get a little worn out. But now there's no way I'm going to stop with only 2 weeks of racing left. If I do, I'll regret it all winter. Especially after what happened next.

The last race of the night was a 50 lap scratch race. Some guys don't like scratch races, but I kind of enjoy them. It gives you a chance to try stuff and see what happens without throwing the whole race because you screw up every points sprint. I also like a scratch race because you can hammer down and TT and the field has less incentive to catch you until it's too late.

Andy and I talked before we started. He had won the first and second events of the evening (see above) and only need to keep Chris Smith from winning in order to win the omnium for the night. We figured I could take a flyer with someone and try to lap the field. About 10 laps in, I jumped on Mike Lyner's wheel, and all of a sudden, we were 50 meters out. Then we were 100. Before I knew it, we had half a lap. With some dogged blocking by Andy, we managed to pick up the lap by 27 to go. Now I just had to hang on! This was much easier said than done, as there were a couple of attacks, but I stuck to Chris like glue and held on. With a kilo to go, Skibby was setting the pace in the lane. For some reason I can't fathom, I thought he would pull up with 2 or less to go. Of course, this didn't happen. Mike Lyner is his team mate, and with about 2 to go, Mike came up along side me and I knew I was done. He had me trapped and no way I could get out and around him in time. Oh, well. 2nd place was totally awesome in my 3rd week as a Cat 3. Plus I got $30.00 out of the deal. That covers my last two weeks of racing. Now I have no excuses.

I will say I'm in no big hurry to move up to Cat 2 on the track. I know it's inevitable, as I will be training and riding to win next year, and with a full season of racing, even with 3rd or 4th place omnium finishes, I'll have the points to upgrade. Then I'll be pack fodder. Or I won't. There are so many different types of races that there will be events where I will do alright. Chariots, Handicaps, etc. play to my strong suit. Keirin should be interesting. And I'll have a ton more experience by then. Plus, to paraphrase another 35+ rider, I'll be on the podium if the right people show up.

Starting Cross Season Two Weeks Early

Well, the 2006 Road Racing season is over. Not quite, I guess. The Henderson Time Trial is in two weeks, but as much as I like time trials and will be focusing on them heavily in 2007, it's not the same as a road race.

Gluek was a fun race. A huge thanks to Loon States Cyclists for putting on yet another great event. Friday I went out to warm up and get the kinks out of my legs, since I hadn't ridden since Tuesday at the track. Ok, it's been a LONG time since I did a serious ride on the road. I've done several recovery rides, but not really put forth even an endurance ride effort for a couple of weeks due to the time spent at the track and my crash. I was concerned about my endurance for Saturday and whether I would have any problems. I resolved NOT to check my training log to see how long it had been since I rode more than 90 minutes on the road until AFTER the race.

Turned out to be no problem. An absolutely beautiful day. Perfect weather, perfect temperature. I was nervous at the beginning, especially when I started lining up and realized that the field had 72 riders! But it was sure nice to see everyone, and I decided it would be ok.

And it was. I stayed out of the wind for the whole race until the last kilo or so and a couple times up the climb. The climb never felt too hard, although my legs did start cramping the last time up. I jumped on one attack that had Charlie Townsend and another SPBRC rider in it, but they didn't stay out, so we just rolled back into the group. I think they were testing to see who would go and who could hang with them.

So, I raced smart (for a change). I think that I race smarter when I go into the race without a lot of expectations, or when I have doubts about my ability. When I'm feeling ampped and strong, I get impatient, and then I do stupid stuff, like pulling for 40 miles.

There was a sharp right turn 200 meters from the start finish line. At about 750 meters, I jumped hard and put the hammer down. There was a Gopher Wheelmen rider who was next to me and looked like he was working pretty hard, and I didn't want to get caught up in a pack in the corner. I gapped him off a little, but needless to say, Charlie was waiting for just such a move.

I was probably doing close to 40 MPH, spinning a 52x12 at 120+ RPMs. Charlie jumped around me about 50 meters from the corner and lined up to make the turn. I had left some in reserve and I was ready to hammer the last 200 meters. It was one lap to go at the velodrome.

unfortunately, we were both going WAY too fast. Charlie swung all the way left, and I followed him. His rear tire skidded out on the exit to the turn, which left him standing still right where I needed to be to make the corner. I probably would have skidded out, too except for the fact we both ended up in the alfalfa field. At least we were both upright and laughing! If I'd been thinking harder, I probably could have rolled back onto the road and picked up a couple of places, but I even unclipped and wheeled over to see how Charlie was. Matt Anderson, the lead official, came by in the chase car and says "Nice job keeping it up right guys". I still don't know if he was kidding.

I would have been much more disappointed if I had been counting on a good finish for the race, but I learned what I needed to: that I am still in the top 5 riders in our group and might even be ready for 35+. The race really wasn't that hard. I'm going to have to start riding road races like a sprinter. Keep out of the wind. Watch the moves and set up for the finish.

Needless to say, I got quite a bit of crap about the Cyclecross season being a couple of weeks out yet. I'm not a Cyclecross rider, although it would be good for my bike handling probably. And I need a rest. Three more weeks of track season. Just enough time to get a top 3 in the omnium. I've got the burn to win again. The main thing this race did for me was get me back on the map mentally after my crash. I'm psyched. I want to win. And I'm ready to hammer.