Wednesday I went out to do jump intervals but my lungs felt funny ad my legs were smoked. I couldn't get warmed up so I spun for 2 hours and then went home. Active recovery, anyone?
Thursday I felt like shit. My lungs were rough, my head was swimming, and I was tired. Even after 10 hours of sleep. I guess that's what I get for pulling rookie mistakes (see previous).
So I took some mucinex, took it easy and took a nap. Friday I felt awesome and have been back at it since. 4 hours Friday, and 1 hard one Saturday were a good lead-up to a really hard 1.5 hour ITT Sunday.
I averaged 24 MPH in a 45 minnute 19-mile ITT around sun Prairie. I didn't feel great, but I didn't feel too shitty. Not bad to get in a ride before work. Tomorrow it's off to Jim's trails for 3 hours of XC and grilling with the Shawzam and TBSOM crew. east and West will both be present, and with our powers combined we will become Captain Planet.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Practice Crit, or, Rookie mistakes I've made
Certain things happen when you race a crit on 4 hours of sleep. Like you don't pay attention to the lap counter and totally miss the final sprint. Sure, you are able to respond to the accelerations just fine because your legs are present, but you don't realize when it's 100% go time. Maybe your legs even feel awesome, in spite of the lack of sleep and the fact that you did a comp MTB race two days before, but when you're dumb enough to stay up til 4 in the morning you're not gonna get on the podium.
After the neutral lap, you are able to sit in any time the group speeds up, and you can even stay in the attack group when they go without getting your HR up too high. So once over half the field is blown off the back by the fast kids who are controlling the race, you just kind of hang out in the breakaway.
You notice the preem bell, and you notice what you think is a second preem bell. Because you forgot your watch and aren't paying attention to the lap counter (because you're doing this on 4 hours of sleep) you don't realize that on the 2nd to last corner you should have jumped harder. Or that maybe you should have sprinted instead of waiting for the inevitable regrouping of the Bs field that happens after preems.
So you get pinched off the back and end up in 6th or 7th because you made a rookie mistake and raced on 4 hours of sleep.
After the neutral lap, you are able to sit in any time the group speeds up, and you can even stay in the attack group when they go without getting your HR up too high. So once over half the field is blown off the back by the fast kids who are controlling the race, you just kind of hang out in the breakaway.
You notice the preem bell, and you notice what you think is a second preem bell. Because you forgot your watch and aren't paying attention to the lap counter (because you're doing this on 4 hours of sleep) you don't realize that on the 2nd to last corner you should have jumped harder. Or that maybe you should have sprinted instead of waiting for the inevitable regrouping of the Bs field that happens after preems.
So you get pinched off the back and end up in 6th or 7th because you made a rookie mistake and raced on 4 hours of sleep.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Race Report: Iola
This was interesting. I learned many things and know what I need to work on.
6th in age group, 20th of 112 overall in Comp.
My legs felt strong. They've never felt nearly this strong.
I pre-rode two laps Saturday. The first was with the learn-to-race clinic, as an assistant. That lap took over an hour. The second was supposed to be with gehling, but I had derailleur problems and did it on my own. I got the problem sorted out and kept riding, though I think my freehub is a bit jacked.
After sleeping 12 hours Saturday night I woke up to a beautiful sunny day and temps in the upper 50s. Perfect for me!
Breakfast was two bananas, two lattes, lots of Quaker Oat Squares cereal, dry, and some Accelerade. I warmed up with Gehling on the trainers and spun for baout 20 minutes with a few short bursts to get sweating and ready.
Don yelled go(oooooooo...), and we were off.
I felt very focused from the gun. Got clipped in, and stayed with the pack. Up the first climb, around the tower, and back through the start area and into the bowl. Still in the top few of my wave as we hit the second climb before another descent into the bowl.
I kept my hands off the brakes and carried lots of momentum into the short climbs. I also stayed aero on open secotions and passed tons of people without really working. That article on getting aero was spot on.
I've still got it in singletrack, at least compared to most Comp racers. Granted, I felt very focused and was taking risks one takes in races, but I was pinning it. My confidence was way up.
Then we hit the last nasty climb, and I learned that my riding style has changed. I am no longer a super speedy climber, and on the first lap this caught me off-guard. However, I soon learned where I can put the hurt on people and was making up spots.
Any open sections were an opportunity for me accelerate and move up a few spots. I still struggled on climbs, but keeping off the brakes in singletrack and hammering in the open sections made up for it. I kept making up spots on the last few laps and finished strong. Had I known how I needed to race I think I would have approached the first lap differently.
My legs did not get tired, although my lungs did. I think I could stand to lose some fat up top, as I have visible excess still around my stomach. Even though I'm doing the core workouts I'm having a hard time cutting that fat. However, I don't want to lose too much, so I think I won't worry aotu it and just keep riding and maybe watch what I eat a little better. I do need to work on power climbing. Maybe I can incorporate some more climbing into my workouts. I've never had my lungs hurt that badly in a race. While it was dusty, they were taxed before my legs.
Maybe coach Whalen can tell me if I need to do more hill climbs at high cardio effort. Also, I'm not used to having the power I have, so maybe I should just quit bitching an dpush a harder gear.
I ate one Accel gel on each lap, and one in the start chute. I also did one bottle every 1.5 laps.
I felt good. Bring on Rhinelander.
6th in age group, 20th of 112 overall in Comp.
My legs felt strong. They've never felt nearly this strong.
I pre-rode two laps Saturday. The first was with the learn-to-race clinic, as an assistant. That lap took over an hour. The second was supposed to be with gehling, but I had derailleur problems and did it on my own. I got the problem sorted out and kept riding, though I think my freehub is a bit jacked.
After sleeping 12 hours Saturday night I woke up to a beautiful sunny day and temps in the upper 50s. Perfect for me!
Breakfast was two bananas, two lattes, lots of Quaker Oat Squares cereal, dry, and some Accelerade. I warmed up with Gehling on the trainers and spun for baout 20 minutes with a few short bursts to get sweating and ready.
Don yelled go(oooooooo...), and we were off.
I felt very focused from the gun. Got clipped in, and stayed with the pack. Up the first climb, around the tower, and back through the start area and into the bowl. Still in the top few of my wave as we hit the second climb before another descent into the bowl.
I kept my hands off the brakes and carried lots of momentum into the short climbs. I also stayed aero on open secotions and passed tons of people without really working. That article on getting aero was spot on.
I've still got it in singletrack, at least compared to most Comp racers. Granted, I felt very focused and was taking risks one takes in races, but I was pinning it. My confidence was way up.
Then we hit the last nasty climb, and I learned that my riding style has changed. I am no longer a super speedy climber, and on the first lap this caught me off-guard. However, I soon learned where I can put the hurt on people and was making up spots.
Any open sections were an opportunity for me accelerate and move up a few spots. I still struggled on climbs, but keeping off the brakes in singletrack and hammering in the open sections made up for it. I kept making up spots on the last few laps and finished strong. Had I known how I needed to race I think I would have approached the first lap differently.
My legs did not get tired, although my lungs did. I think I could stand to lose some fat up top, as I have visible excess still around my stomach. Even though I'm doing the core workouts I'm having a hard time cutting that fat. However, I don't want to lose too much, so I think I won't worry aotu it and just keep riding and maybe watch what I eat a little better. I do need to work on power climbing. Maybe I can incorporate some more climbing into my workouts. I've never had my lungs hurt that badly in a race. While it was dusty, they were taxed before my legs.
Maybe coach Whalen can tell me if I need to do more hill climbs at high cardio effort. Also, I'm not used to having the power I have, so maybe I should just quit bitching an dpush a harder gear.
I ate one Accel gel on each lap, and one in the start chute. I also did one bottle every 1.5 laps.
I felt good. Bring on Rhinelander.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
packing
I'm packing for Iola. I'm thinking of the long leadout to the first bit of singletrack and how hard you have to go for the first part so you don't get pinched in the singletrack.
Monday I did 3 hours on the MTB at Jim's.
Tuesday I didn't ride due to work.
Wednesday I did sprints on the trainer because the weather sucked.
Thursday I rode to work and felt awesome. Tomorrow's going to be an easy day, and Saturday I'll preride.
I've been doing lots of sit-ups faster and faster now. My 100 don't take long. And the planks are getting easier. Not quite at six-pack status, but getting there.
Monday I did 3 hours on the MTB at Jim's.
Tuesday I didn't ride due to work.
Wednesday I did sprints on the trainer because the weather sucked.
Thursday I rode to work and felt awesome. Tomorrow's going to be an easy day, and Saturday I'll preride.
I've been doing lots of sit-ups faster and faster now. My 100 don't take long. And the planks are getting easier. Not quite at six-pack status, but getting there.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
one week until Iola
Between some faily events and my bike getting stolen (and returned), I haven't ridden this week since Monday. Now that it is Sunday, I thought I'd better at least go for an easy spin to get the legs ready for a week of racing.
So I did, and it was fun. And I stretched, and did sit-ups.
Tomorrow I'm headed out to Jim's trails for an attempt at four laps in a row. I don't know that I've done that before: 4 complete laps. I'm taking a lot of food and two water bottles and wearing my racing kit. I'm not treating it like a race, I'm treating it like an endurance ride, but all the same I'm going to use it as mental preparation for the race next Sunday.
Speaking of which,
Iola was the first place I went mountain biking in 2002. That race was my first ever, and my first time on real trails. I love the course and although it's not a goal event of mine, I'd love to at least step on the podium. The pine section toward the end is one of my favorite parts of mountain biking.
I dislike most cycling magazines (except Dirt Rag), but this month's Mountain Bike has an article on speed, cornering, and braking that is extremely helpful. Check it out if you get a chance.
So I did, and it was fun. And I stretched, and did sit-ups.
Tomorrow I'm headed out to Jim's trails for an attempt at four laps in a row. I don't know that I've done that before: 4 complete laps. I'm taking a lot of food and two water bottles and wearing my racing kit. I'm not treating it like a race, I'm treating it like an endurance ride, but all the same I'm going to use it as mental preparation for the race next Sunday.
Speaking of which,
Iola was the first place I went mountain biking in 2002. That race was my first ever, and my first time on real trails. I love the course and although it's not a goal event of mine, I'd love to at least step on the podium. The pine section toward the end is one of my favorite parts of mountain biking.
I dislike most cycling magazines (except Dirt Rag), but this month's Mountain Bike has an article on speed, cornering, and braking that is extremely helpful. Check it out if you get a chance.
Friday, May 8, 2009
The return of the Madone
Without my road bike it's been a frustrating week. Beyond commuting and a few laps at a demo day at Jim's Trails on Monday, I simply haven't ridden much.
Then on Tuesday I got a call from Homer, my outside sales rep at Trek. It went a bit like this:
"Hey Andrew, Homer here."
"Hey Homer! What's happenin?"
"You used to have a Madone 5.2 Pro, right? 58cm Carrera blue?"
"Yes, I did. Until it was stolen."
"You want it back?"
Monday morning a man named Kevin (whose last name I don't even know) was biking to work from his house in the Atwood neighborhood, when he passed the corner of Atwood and Dunning, where he saw a very nice road bike leaning against a dumpster, unattended and unlocked. It looked lost, and Kevin knew that such bikes do not attend to themselves.
He stood in thought for about half an hour. Something about this situation seemed wrong. So he called his wife saying, "I think I should grab it." After she agreed, they called the police, although each agreed, the police probably wouldn't do much. They asked if the police had a database, and they said no. So they called Machinery Row Bicycles.
And that is where bicycle karma struck with brilliant force.
The folks at The Row told Kevin they hadn't sold the bicycle, but they could give the serial number to their inside sales rep, Homer, who was standing in the shop when Kevin had called. After hearing the description, Homer (who knew my bike had disappeared) thought it might be mine, and so he ran the serial number through Trek's system and found that the bike had been shipped to Boehm's cycle in St. Paul, Minnesota. The same shop I'd worked at for two years in college.
Thursday evening I drove over to Kevin's and picked up my bike, completely intact and functional, save for some torn bar tape. What a strange series of events, that Kevin would go to such lengths to get it back to me, that Homer would be in the right place at the right time.
I owe them both quite a lot. Tonight I'm doing a victory lap.
Then on Tuesday I got a call from Homer, my outside sales rep at Trek. It went a bit like this:
"Hey Andrew, Homer here."
"Hey Homer! What's happenin?"
"You used to have a Madone 5.2 Pro, right? 58cm Carrera blue?"
"Yes, I did. Until it was stolen."
"You want it back?"
Monday morning a man named Kevin (whose last name I don't even know) was biking to work from his house in the Atwood neighborhood, when he passed the corner of Atwood and Dunning, where he saw a very nice road bike leaning against a dumpster, unattended and unlocked. It looked lost, and Kevin knew that such bikes do not attend to themselves.
He stood in thought for about half an hour. Something about this situation seemed wrong. So he called his wife saying, "I think I should grab it." After she agreed, they called the police, although each agreed, the police probably wouldn't do much. They asked if the police had a database, and they said no. So they called Machinery Row Bicycles.
And that is where bicycle karma struck with brilliant force.
The folks at The Row told Kevin they hadn't sold the bicycle, but they could give the serial number to their inside sales rep, Homer, who was standing in the shop when Kevin had called. After hearing the description, Homer (who knew my bike had disappeared) thought it might be mine, and so he ran the serial number through Trek's system and found that the bike had been shipped to Boehm's cycle in St. Paul, Minnesota. The same shop I'd worked at for two years in college.
Thursday evening I drove over to Kevin's and picked up my bike, completely intact and functional, save for some torn bar tape. What a strange series of events, that Kevin would go to such lengths to get it back to me, that Homer would be in the right place at the right time.
I owe them both quite a lot. Tonight I'm doing a victory lap.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
sleep, the kettles, goodbye Madone
It has been quite the week! First off, my Madone got jacked out of the garage Saturday night, so my training plan has changed a bit. If I get any insurance money I'll just buy a new one. If not, I'll use the store demo bike for a while and get a new one later this summer. It's unsettling, and I keep trying to tell myself that a bicycle is merely a thing.
My training last week was as follows:
Wednesday: Intervals. I felt great and they were almost fun, even though I was tired by the last one. At the end I threw down a sprint just to see what I had left.
Thursday was a recovery day, so I cruised at an easy pace.
Thursday night I couldn't sleep. After work Friday I got home and went to bed instead of riding, so I shifted my schedule back a day.
Saturday I did a 2 hour ride at Jim's, and Sunday I went to the Kettles with Matt (Gehling) and Clare and Ashley and got my face melted for about fifteen minutes by Nathan Guerra. Then Matt and I kinda cruised the rest of it. I was fried by the end, but I popped an accel gel with 3 miles left and just drilled it to the end.
We werent' even going that fast out there and we passed tons of people. I feel good about the season. Gehling is faster than me, but that is a reality I have come to accept. 26 miles with somebody faster than me on mountain bikes is a good workout. Monday I rested.
My training last week was as follows:
Wednesday: Intervals. I felt great and they were almost fun, even though I was tired by the last one. At the end I threw down a sprint just to see what I had left.
Thursday was a recovery day, so I cruised at an easy pace.
Thursday night I couldn't sleep. After work Friday I got home and went to bed instead of riding, so I shifted my schedule back a day.
Saturday I did a 2 hour ride at Jim's, and Sunday I went to the Kettles with Matt (Gehling) and Clare and Ashley and got my face melted for about fifteen minutes by Nathan Guerra. Then Matt and I kinda cruised the rest of it. I was fried by the end, but I popped an accel gel with 3 miles left and just drilled it to the end.
We werent' even going that fast out there and we passed tons of people. I feel good about the season. Gehling is faster than me, but that is a reality I have come to accept. 26 miles with somebody faster than me on mountain bikes is a good workout. Monday I rested.
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