I know I said 50 miles a week, but I put in a hard 47 miles.
Ride 1: BuRP 15 miles
Ride 2: SMP 12 miles
Ride 3: Trainer town, 20.x miles
Trainer miles aren't that hard, but I must have been tired because I only averaged 15mph on the trainer. Or maybe I'm just weak. Probably weak.
Saturday I was able to squeeze in a couple hour MTB ride out at Shawnee Mission Park. It was fantastic. I remembered why I thought SMP was so rocky, because it is. It doesn't have a lot of larger rock features that the more tech trails at BuRP have, it's just relentless rocks that you have to power through. I just kept turning my pedals over and it seemed to work pretty good.
I can't believe how much technical skill I've lost since I used to race MTB. I was thinking about that while I was riding, and the thought that maybe I am remembering my skill more favorably than it actually was occurred to me. I smirked to myself, and thought, "yea, that's probably it".
I'm sure not fast, but my fitness is very meh right now, and my skill is at about the same level. I'm loving riding though. I always have, and always will.
I was thinking of a ratio to ascribe to off-road riding and running mileage. Both are clearly more difficult than road cycling, at least as far as getting miles in. I thought a 2:1 ratio for MTB mileage, and perhaps a 4:1 ratio for running. That's probably a bit conservative, because I know how trashed I'd be after a 25-mile MTB ride is way more painful than a 50-mile road ride. I think I'd be crawling at the end of a 12.5 mile run!
Nevertheless, I thought I'd get on the trainer last night, and try and use my new Toshiba Thrive to stream YouTube over HDMI to my trainer TV. I quickly remembered that since the TV is old, it only has a DVI connection. DVI is video only, so then I tried running a headphone to RCA y-cable to the audio inputs, but the Thrive wouldn't send the video down HDMI-DVI and then the audio out the headphone jack. So I scrapped the whole thing, and set up a little table in front of my bike, put the Thrive on it, and then listened to it over headphones. It worked pretty good, although disappointed to watch on a 10" screen vs a 50" screen. (www.whitewhine.com).
I watched the NBC 2010 Ironman World Championship, which is 1:30, and I was ready to be off that basement-torture device by then. I just did a steady grind, 80rpm cadence, and thought that was a decent session. Between now and the end of March is nothing but base miles. No specific interval sessions, but that doesn't mean I can't ride up hills hard or whatever to break up the monotony. I can't imagine using the 34T front ring everywhere I go. Ack.
I went ahead and swapped my road stem back on to get my Blue bike out of cross mode, and still need to swap on the 50T front ring. I think I'll race out at the Dam again, and at the Tour of KC and Lawrence. Otherwise, probably a few MTB races and then cross again. At least that's what I'm thinking. We'll see how things go. I think some 3 hour "enduro" races would be fun too. Maybe even a trail run race would be cool. Or the Lawrence off-road duathlon. Yea, I got a few ideas.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Taco Tuesday ride
Ride #1 of the 2012 happened last night out at BuRP (Blue River Parkway). I got out of work a touch early to pick up some riding gloves from my mother-in-law (THANK YOU!) and got in some miles before meeting up with the rest of the group behind the Sand Trap at 6pm.
I usually ride some of the harder trails like the "wagon wheel" since my tech skills are so poor. I figure if I can be decent at those trails, anything less should be cake. At least I hope so. I managed to completely flip over the bars after getting into a deep rutted downhill and trying (unsuccessfully) to get out of it. Thankfully I'm a good crasher so I just got a little dirty and was able to laugh for a bit about it.
When all met up a 6, we headed over the section of trails that are further north than I go. I just didn't quite know where to find them, although I rode them about a decade ago. The trails up there are super fun, and pretty tech too, so I had quite a bit of walking. It was at night, so I got to use my new trail light, a MagicShine 808-E. It worked great, but I seemed to be having some balance problems, maybe that was due to it being night. I've never felt like that before, but hopefully it's a one-time occurrence.
At some point up on Highline I got lost from the group. I ended up taking a wrong turn on to Blue River Parkway (the road), and then decided to back track and climb back up the hill. I'm not sure how I got separated, but fortunately after hustling back, one of the guys we were riding with, Travis from Bike Source, backtracked into me. Some of the guys were getting a little beat, so I think they appreciated the break although I apologized for pulling some rookie stuff like that. Happens to everyone at some point...
Travis was also kind enough to check out my cassette that had a gear or two slipping under load, and he was able to ascertain that I need a new cassette. That is what I was starting to think, and a little bummed about having to shell out more dough, but this isn't a cheap sport. And to think I started riding to save money because golf was too expensive in college. Ha!
I ended up riding for almost 2:45, which was great. I was pretty tired at the end, and starting to get kind of sloppy. Probably a good thing we stopped when we did, before someone (like me) got hurt.
Hopefully I can find some time this weekend to head back out there since the trails were in nearly perfect shape.
I usually ride some of the harder trails like the "wagon wheel" since my tech skills are so poor. I figure if I can be decent at those trails, anything less should be cake. At least I hope so. I managed to completely flip over the bars after getting into a deep rutted downhill and trying (unsuccessfully) to get out of it. Thankfully I'm a good crasher so I just got a little dirty and was able to laugh for a bit about it.
When all met up a 6, we headed over the section of trails that are further north than I go. I just didn't quite know where to find them, although I rode them about a decade ago. The trails up there are super fun, and pretty tech too, so I had quite a bit of walking. It was at night, so I got to use my new trail light, a MagicShine 808-E. It worked great, but I seemed to be having some balance problems, maybe that was due to it being night. I've never felt like that before, but hopefully it's a one-time occurrence.
At some point up on Highline I got lost from the group. I ended up taking a wrong turn on to Blue River Parkway (the road), and then decided to back track and climb back up the hill. I'm not sure how I got separated, but fortunately after hustling back, one of the guys we were riding with, Travis from Bike Source, backtracked into me. Some of the guys were getting a little beat, so I think they appreciated the break although I apologized for pulling some rookie stuff like that. Happens to everyone at some point...
Travis was also kind enough to check out my cassette that had a gear or two slipping under load, and he was able to ascertain that I need a new cassette. That is what I was starting to think, and a little bummed about having to shell out more dough, but this isn't a cheap sport. And to think I started riding to save money because golf was too expensive in college. Ha!
I ended up riding for almost 2:45, which was great. I was pretty tired at the end, and starting to get kind of sloppy. Probably a good thing we stopped when we did, before someone (like me) got hurt.
Hopefully I can find some time this weekend to head back out there since the trails were in nearly perfect shape.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
1 month's worth of posting
Did you know the world was flat? I fell off the edge, that's how I know.
I left you wondering how things went at the State Championship, and let's just say it sucked. The whole weekend sucked. Friday was my 35th birthday, and it didn't go so hot. AB had pink eye, Kieran impacted one of his teeth, my back issues persisted so I didn't get to race, I few other things occurred that just weren't as hoped for. So that just kinda stunk. Badly.
So once that disappointment was over, I decided to hang it up for the race season. Two CX races in 2011 was not what I had hoped for. I really just spent too much time off the bike to make it worth going out there and getting flogged for 50 minutes and $25. I had a plan coming into the year, and it got all messed up once I applied the rest of the family's schedule to it, so I lost a lot of impetus. Instead of making the best of what I had, I just hmmphed my way into mediocrity.
I was able to get out to the Boxing Day CX race as a spectator, and cheer on some of my teammates and a few of the guys on other teams. It was fun. It's funny watching CX, because it looks so slow, but you realize that these guys are fast and you know how much it hurts when you are racing. It's definitely not what it seems from outside the tape. Casey B. had a strong race in the Open class, and David N. and SC had excellent races in the 3/4 race. Peck and I had a good time shooting the race as well. I got to play with some different lenses and different settings on my Nikon D80. It really makes you appreciate good photographers, because it isn't easy pulling off great shots.
New Year's Eve/our Anniversary came and went quickly. We had our annual party, the kids destroyed the downstairs, we cleaned up all day New Year's Day, and we all ate and drank too much.
Fast forward to 2012. I am not making resolutions, but I am enacting some lifestyle changes starting on Jan 1. My weight has been creeping up and fitness has been sliding down, so I've decided to make some small, sustainable changes to prevent a recurrence of 2011.
1) Ride at least 50 miles every week. This isn't a huge number, but it would be a vast increase over what I rode last year, sadly. I think this should also keep me from sinking too far and taking too much time off the bike. I've made some allowances for trainer time/miles, because sometimes it's just too cold out.
2) Drink more water. I was pretty good at the beginning of the year, but started getting pretty inconsistent once summer ended.
3) Eat more protein. Protein helps curb over-eating as it makes you feel full, and stay full.
4) Alcohol and sweets once a week. It's amazing how many garbage calories you can consume by having a little bit of sweets and a drink a night.
Well, that's all I got for now. I'm going for a ride...
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Peanut Butter Mud
Seeing as Sunday was my first true "mud" race, I finally got to experience first hand the different types of mud, and why they are important to racing in inclement conditions. Saturday was raining for a great majority of the day, thus it was a runnier form of mud. That's ok. It just gets things dirty, but doesn't collect and clog.
Sunday on the other hand, was peanut butter mud. It had started drying out, and if you rode some of the high lines on the course, you were instantly slowed down by this. And then you'd go on to a grassy stretch, and your sticky, muddy tires would rip the grass out and put it everywhere, your drivetrain, and those tight spots around your brakes and bottom bracket. So it'd create little grass huts all over your bike, and SIGNIFICANTLY increase drivetrain drag as well as cause rear derailleurs to seize, and then snap. Fortunately I didn't run into this, but quite a few people in the later races did.
So it was interesting experiencing something I've only read about.
I finally got my bike cleaned off last night. I hosed it off in the car wash for about 7 minutes, and then last night I chipped a bunch of stuff out and cleared tons of grass out of my drivetrain. Everything looked trashed, but after an hour or so, I got it working again. What a mess. Racing in the mud is awesome until you stop. Then the clean up begins.
As for the race, I almost pulled out before it even started. I go to air up my tires, and my rear is completely flat. I thought that was weird, so I aired it up again and started getting changed. I come back to the bike, and it's flat again. I can hear air leaking by the valve stem, but the valve is tight. I figured that I had a hole in my tubeless strip on the rim, and later I found out I was correct. I only had about 20 minutes before the race, and wasn't sure how I'd even fix it. I went to go get my money back and the promoters hooked me up with a spare SRAM rear wheel. Super generous of them, and they are definitely the best race promoters around. I kinda thought that before that nice gesture...
So I get the rear wheels swapped out, and my friend Ryan Mulbery shows up to cheer me on. Very cool of him, and I know he's going to get to witness quite a spectacle. People are coming back from a single lap of pre-ride just caked in mud.
So I start pre-riding, and end up hanging out at the start line with ample time to line up. That's a first. I think everyone trashed their bikes the day before, because the Master's 30+ and 35+ classes are very small. I lined up with JP Brocket, Chuong, Jon Sink, and me. So I knew from the get go, that it'd be a battle for the last podium spot between Jon and I. Last year we were pretty close in results, but this year I've been not quite as competitive. I figured it'd be a good goal to keep him close and try and finish strong.
The whistle blows, and as expected, JP blows the doors off. He's a fast dude, with fast spawn as well (his daughter Karen is pretty phenom at just 16). I can't remember if I got ahead of Chuong, but it didn't matter, as about half a lap in, I'm flying down this super thick muddy down hill and start edging my way off to the side of the track, hit a big rut, and end up Tango Uniform. Looked like a had a blow out. Chuong got by me at some point, and I hustle it up, and about 3/4's of a lap in, Jon squeaks by me. I'm having a tough time hanging on to my left shifter as it's coated in mud, as is my glove. So there were some difficulties going on.
I keep Jon pretty close, and let him out a bit, then reel him back on the flat soupy parts. I think we raced maybe 6 laps (?), and by lap 4 or so I started to fade and he started getting further and further away. This is why they say base training is so important, right? On the final lap, JP laps me, sitting up riding on the tops of his bar. He is one fast dude. I don't get mad because I realize that I've been pretty deficient in my training.
So at the end of the day, I finish 4th out of 4, but have a smile on my face because the race was super hard, yet fun. It was a real cross race. I had to hustle home to get errands done, so I couldn't stay and watch. I cleaned off my borrowed wheel as best as I could, pulled some long underwear over my muddy legs, and headed back to cupcake land to trash my shower. ;-)
I'm looking forward to KS State on Sunday. I don't have any gigantic aspirations, just to race stronger and harder than I did last week. The weather is looking to be around 40*, so that should be a bit warmer than last Sunday. Now I just gotta watch what I eat with my birthday on Friday, and get some decent training in still.
Sunday on the other hand, was peanut butter mud. It had started drying out, and if you rode some of the high lines on the course, you were instantly slowed down by this. And then you'd go on to a grassy stretch, and your sticky, muddy tires would rip the grass out and put it everywhere, your drivetrain, and those tight spots around your brakes and bottom bracket. So it'd create little grass huts all over your bike, and SIGNIFICANTLY increase drivetrain drag as well as cause rear derailleurs to seize, and then snap. Fortunately I didn't run into this, but quite a few people in the later races did.
So it was interesting experiencing something I've only read about.
I finally got my bike cleaned off last night. I hosed it off in the car wash for about 7 minutes, and then last night I chipped a bunch of stuff out and cleared tons of grass out of my drivetrain. Everything looked trashed, but after an hour or so, I got it working again. What a mess. Racing in the mud is awesome until you stop. Then the clean up begins.
As for the race, I almost pulled out before it even started. I go to air up my tires, and my rear is completely flat. I thought that was weird, so I aired it up again and started getting changed. I come back to the bike, and it's flat again. I can hear air leaking by the valve stem, but the valve is tight. I figured that I had a hole in my tubeless strip on the rim, and later I found out I was correct. I only had about 20 minutes before the race, and wasn't sure how I'd even fix it. I went to go get my money back and the promoters hooked me up with a spare SRAM rear wheel. Super generous of them, and they are definitely the best race promoters around. I kinda thought that before that nice gesture...
So I get the rear wheels swapped out, and my friend Ryan Mulbery shows up to cheer me on. Very cool of him, and I know he's going to get to witness quite a spectacle. People are coming back from a single lap of pre-ride just caked in mud.
So I start pre-riding, and end up hanging out at the start line with ample time to line up. That's a first. I think everyone trashed their bikes the day before, because the Master's 30+ and 35+ classes are very small. I lined up with JP Brocket, Chuong, Jon Sink, and me. So I knew from the get go, that it'd be a battle for the last podium spot between Jon and I. Last year we were pretty close in results, but this year I've been not quite as competitive. I figured it'd be a good goal to keep him close and try and finish strong.
The whistle blows, and as expected, JP blows the doors off. He's a fast dude, with fast spawn as well (his daughter Karen is pretty phenom at just 16). I can't remember if I got ahead of Chuong, but it didn't matter, as about half a lap in, I'm flying down this super thick muddy down hill and start edging my way off to the side of the track, hit a big rut, and end up Tango Uniform. Looked like a had a blow out. Chuong got by me at some point, and I hustle it up, and about 3/4's of a lap in, Jon squeaks by me. I'm having a tough time hanging on to my left shifter as it's coated in mud, as is my glove. So there were some difficulties going on.
I keep Jon pretty close, and let him out a bit, then reel him back on the flat soupy parts. I think we raced maybe 6 laps (?), and by lap 4 or so I started to fade and he started getting further and further away. This is why they say base training is so important, right? On the final lap, JP laps me, sitting up riding on the tops of his bar. He is one fast dude. I don't get mad because I realize that I've been pretty deficient in my training.
So at the end of the day, I finish 4th out of 4, but have a smile on my face because the race was super hard, yet fun. It was a real cross race. I had to hustle home to get errands done, so I couldn't stay and watch. I cleaned off my borrowed wheel as best as I could, pulled some long underwear over my muddy legs, and headed back to cupcake land to trash my shower. ;-)
I'm looking forward to KS State on Sunday. I don't have any gigantic aspirations, just to race stronger and harder than I did last week. The weather is looking to be around 40*, so that should be a bit warmer than last Sunday. Now I just gotta watch what I eat with my birthday on Friday, and get some decent training in still.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Boss Cross #5 Pics
Big thanks to Ryan Mulbery for coming out to cheer me on and photograph the misery. It actually wasn't that miserable, it was pretty fun. I'll post up a race report tomorrow, as there is a lot to talk about!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Prepping for the MO State Championships
Training has been pretty good. I've realized that I've lost a LOT of base fitness, but I'm feeling a little stronger. I wasn't exactly riding that well during radcross, and I took in a big swig of defeat during that race. I was way off the back, and am riding several levels below where I was last year.
That all being said, I'm trying to recover some modicum of ability, and salvage the season with a strong race or two. Boss Cross #5/MO State is my final tune up race before the KS State Championship next Sunday. I need to ride strong and not have any stupid mechanicals. I think I have the mechanical thing under wraps, and like I said, I've been training hard. Last night, I blew my legs out doing The Sufferfest, Fight Club. See below. I love the Sufferfest, and they love me.
My legs are still achy today, which is pretty good for a one hour workout. I'm lifting tonight with core with some more moderate spinning efforts, and then recover on Wednesday. Blow the legs out again on Thursday night, lift/core/spin on Friday, and then easy spin with some openers on Saturday.
CX weather is finally here, and it looks to be a high of 38 on Sunday. Brrr. Maybe I should have bought that thermal skinsuit. Oh well, there's always next year.
That all being said, I'm trying to recover some modicum of ability, and salvage the season with a strong race or two. Boss Cross #5/MO State is my final tune up race before the KS State Championship next Sunday. I need to ride strong and not have any stupid mechanicals. I think I have the mechanical thing under wraps, and like I said, I've been training hard. Last night, I blew my legs out doing The Sufferfest, Fight Club. See below. I love the Sufferfest, and they love me.
My legs are still achy today, which is pretty good for a one hour workout. I'm lifting tonight with core with some more moderate spinning efforts, and then recover on Wednesday. Blow the legs out again on Thursday night, lift/core/spin on Friday, and then easy spin with some openers on Saturday.
CX weather is finally here, and it looks to be a high of 38 on Sunday. Brrr. Maybe I should have bought that thermal skinsuit. Oh well, there's always next year.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Shawnee Family RadCross
Yesterday was a mixed bag. I didn't have high hopes for yesterday, but wanted to establish some sort of baseline to which I could improve upon for Boss Cross #4 and then, ultimately, the State Championships on Dec. 11. I really wanted to give it everything I got, because Britton has implored upon me that if you aren't near death at the finish line, you left something out there. I wanted to cross the line feeling near death, if nothing else.
It's tough to say what goes through my mind during a race. The pain hurts. Of course. But other than that, I think it's the realization that my training is pretty bad. I take too much time off and that negates nearly everything I do. I definitely need to be more consistent going forward. I think I've said that before. So anyway, on to the race.
The course was set up perfectly for me. Lots of turns you can carry with speed, minimal climbing, and a good power course. At 186 pounds, I don't need any extended climbs, that's for sure. Before the race started, I'd been having a hell of a time getting my right foot clipped in, and my left foot wasn't that great either. Stupid rookie mistake. Check your equipment before the race. So I needed cleat shims, but of course, who carries spares with them? I wadded up some of the wrapper off of my gu shot, and then put it between the shoe and cleat, hoping it would raise the cleat enough I could cleanly engage. Well, that didn't work. It was better, but no where near where you would want it for a race. But, I was going to race regardless.
I lined up what I thought was 2nd row, but ended up being third row. I really love it when asses come to the line late, come through the front row, and just turn around making a 2nd row. Douchebags, if you want a good spot, get there earlier. That ticks me off, but I'm a pacifist enough not to say anything. Plus, it's not like we're racing for big money here. So the official blows the whistle, and we're off. Bam. I get around a few people, and am about 10th in a group of 40. Not bad. I just need to hang with the fast guys for a lap or two, and then I can probably hang in there for a top half finish. I knew I had no base training at all, so wasn't expecting to go set some course records. My cleat came to haunt me again and again. I'd be JRA (just racing along, in this context), and bam, my foot would go flying off the pedal. I'm glad I didn't sink one of my eggbeaters into my shin. There aren't many things that are as painful as that.
Slowly but surely, I start getting passed. I keep having issues, and I'm going redline fast. I keep pushing though. My legs hurt, and lungs hurt, I'm having fun but suffering terribly. I notice that some of singlespeed guys start passing me. They started 15 seconds behind my class, but there are some fast dudes in there. I tried to jump on some wheels, but my legs fail me. My mind is definitely faster than my body.
We were supposed to get 9 laps in, and I had about 2 laps to go when I burped my rear tubeless tire. I knew it immediately, because my rear end was slithering all over this off-camber turn. In hindsight, I probably should have ran a few more psi to keep that from happening. I really need to pull the tire off, pull of the Stan's rim seal, build up the rim with some Velox, then reapply the Stan's. That'll help keep the tire bead from sliding away from the rim hook, letting the air escape.
So I had about 5 psi in my rear tire, my cleats weren't working, and it was close to the end. I decided to throw my first DNF. Ug. I hate to see that, but somehow, I still came away pretty happy. I learned a few things, and still accomplished what I had hoped to do. I just didn't finish.
I have two weeks to get some more training in, and to get my mechanical issues sorted out. I didn't even come in the house before I was at my work bench fixing my cleat issue. I think I got it sorted out, I just need to double check it in the next day or so. My legs are tired today, so I know I got a good workout. I am excited for the next race on Dec 4th, and hope to do well (at least better) there.
It's tough to say what goes through my mind during a race. The pain hurts. Of course. But other than that, I think it's the realization that my training is pretty bad. I take too much time off and that negates nearly everything I do. I definitely need to be more consistent going forward. I think I've said that before. So anyway, on to the race.
 |
| Lap 1 scrum through the sand. |
 |
| Lots of sand. The fast guys rode this, which was impressive. |
 |
| Charlie Bartel and me on lap 1 |
Slowly but surely, I start getting passed. I keep having issues, and I'm going redline fast. I keep pushing though. My legs hurt, and lungs hurt, I'm having fun but suffering terribly. I notice that some of singlespeed guys start passing me. They started 15 seconds behind my class, but there are some fast dudes in there. I tried to jump on some wheels, but my legs fail me. My mind is definitely faster than my body.
We were supposed to get 9 laps in, and I had about 2 laps to go when I burped my rear tubeless tire. I knew it immediately, because my rear end was slithering all over this off-camber turn. In hindsight, I probably should have ran a few more psi to keep that from happening. I really need to pull the tire off, pull of the Stan's rim seal, build up the rim with some Velox, then reapply the Stan's. That'll help keep the tire bead from sliding away from the rim hook, letting the air escape.
So I had about 5 psi in my rear tire, my cleats weren't working, and it was close to the end. I decided to throw my first DNF. Ug. I hate to see that, but somehow, I still came away pretty happy. I learned a few things, and still accomplished what I had hoped to do. I just didn't finish.
 |
| JPeck and I looking into the future |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)