The Big Race

Today is the big race. Its a 25 mile ride to the start, a 28 mile race over some very hilly ground and a 25 mile return. My goal was to podium in the 50+ category so I had to beat the nearest point people, Lydons and Kevin. Currently I am sitting in 3rd in the points totals.

My race plan was to stay with my group and work as a team to keep up speed. I also planned to take very short pulls and to surf the back to conserve my energy. If I got dropped, which was bound to happened on the hills, I planned to race down the descents and reattach myself to save energy on the flats. Robbie said do not let the leaders of my group get too far ahead on the climbs because I will not be able to catch-up on the descents. My hydration plan was to drink 2 bottles during the ride. My feed plan was 1 GU or Enerviteene every 30mn and 2 Endurox every 30mn starting at the 15mn mark.

A quick aside. Camp is not only about riding but also about how to be a better rider whether it is bike skills or nutrition. Thursday night we had a sports nutritionist talk to us about race feeding and hydration. Let's just say that everything I knew was wrong. Based on yesterday's lecture I totally revamped my prerace meal and my feeding schedule during the race.

Today is a very windy day. The gusts are about 10-15mph and it will be a crosswind which is hard on the zipps. The race start is handicapped according to power to weight. Because I have had a good week of riding I was starting in the second C group about 15mn after the first riders were sent off and about 5mn after the first C group. Initially our group worked really well together. We each took turns pulling into the stiff wind. I was very careful and stayed on the non-wind side of the pace line to conserve the maximum amount of energy. I also surfed the back of my group when possible to stay fresh.

The first real climb is very long and steady. I was able to hang on for 3/4 of the effort and was only behind the leaders 15 seconds at the top. I then raced down and was able to rejoin the peloton. About that time Leigh from the first B group joined us. She is awesome strong and we were all very content to let her pull. I think we were a bit intimidated and were not willing to step up and help. I know I was and was very happy hanging on the back.

After the flat Leigh and the stronger riders pulled away and I was left to hang on to others that were around me. Very quickly I was passed by the A group. The good news that we were almost at the halfway point which is the entrance to Jalama Beach. Carefully I avoided the speed bump, totally missed it last year, and bam we were all at a stand still. I seems that there were several cars in front of us and they had to pay their entrance fee before we could advance.

Let me set the scene: I have just raced 14 miles hard. I have been dropped by my group, passed by the A group that was just totally flying by, and we are now all stopped at a guard gate waiting to turn around. There must have been 20 riders sitting looking at each other wondering what to do. It was like a scene from Blues Brothers or is it Monte Python. What a scream. After what seemed like 5mn but probably 1mn Robbie yelled turn around and we just turned and the race was on again.

Before i continue the numbers. Today I rode 75 miles, in 4:50, ave mph 15.7 max 41.6, ave watts 122, max 512 and 2116kjs. For the week I rode 308 miles, used 8800kjs in 20:30. That is a ton of riding.

After the turn there is an up hill. I had been chasing my coach Joe for a while and was finally able to catch him. We worked together for a while but I was tiring on the climb and Joe kept pulling away. I refueled rested a tad and then passed him when I was passed by another group and was able to hop on. The group worked well together, with me surfing in the back but they proved too strong and pulled away on the last killer climb.

In the last group was Elisa the VQ strength coach. She is very strong and had about 45 sec on me at the summit. I decided it was now or never and rode tempo to catch up. As I mentioned in earlier posts the zipps are lightning fast. I peddled on the decent and was able to catch her before the last baby hill. I decided that if I was going to beat her to the finish I had better ride tempo to get some distance on her before the last 500m climb to the finish. As I spooled up the zipps Elisa said I hate the zipps you can hear them for miles. Its only fair because as i started the effort i mentioned some choice words for motivation. To give a better idea of what was happenings Elisa and I traveled the last 5.4 miles at 27mph thats 2:13 minute miles. My top speed during the chase was 41mph.

I gradually began to pull away but I was in the wrong gear on the last climb plus Elisa is very strong and she beat me by a bike length. It was a very exciting finish to a very strong ride. I came in 30th which may be enough to keep on the podium in the 50+ category. I will know tonight.

I had a great day of racing and a very strong ride. I learned a ton and many of the things I had been hearing for months finally came together. Like coach Joe says, This is the most fun you can have on a bike.

Recovery Day

One definition of an amateur is someone who is willing to do a job even though he is not proficient at it. I learned today that I am an amateur cyclist. Every day at camp we concentrate on some key aspects of cycling. The coaches are all very helpful and point out weaknesses that need to be improved. Examples are core strength, climbing skills, and today the masseuse pointed out that I have weak butt muscles and will have better power and less IT band issues if I strengthen them and can recruit them during a ride. Coaches Dan and Elisa have also mentioned that recruiting the correct muscles will help me be a better cyclist.

Ruth has recently be mentioning that my butt has been shrinking, not my best feature she says, and i have to work on butt development. Now how am I suppose to tell this to my coach? Hey Joe, I need to get a bigger stronger butt. I can see it on my workout schedule: 20 butt lifts, 20 cheek tucks, and on and on. I can see that will be a fun conversation with Robbie. It also sharply reduces the people whose knowledge I can draw on when I ask about my butt. Yet as I mentioned earlier I am an amateur so I will do the asking and the developing all in the name of a bigger butt.

Day 4 was an easy day because tomorrow is the big race at Jalama beach. We rode on a beautiful stretch of road with several mild hills just to get the legs warmed-up and working. There was a 4 mile sprint race. Let's say I was not last but I was not in contention. However the big day and the big points are scored during the race tomorrow. My goal is stay with the group until I am pushed off then to ride an individual time trial, feeding every 30m. I think fuel is the key to endurance and constant pressure on the pedals is the key to success.

Wish me luck.

Reverse 4 Canyons

I totally bonked during the ride yesterday. I lost 4 pounds on the ride and I did not eat enough. Last night I shivered and I was hot as my body recovered from the ride. At breakfast I was woozy so I decided to eat as many carbs and have as much sugar as I could stand. I ended up eating waffles smothered in syrup and oatmeal. After breakfast before the ride a fellow camper and great rider, Kathryn said, “you look really bad.” I replied, “I feel like shit.”

However there was hope. This is what Robbie said: “this may be the toughest day of camp- mostly because you have 2 hard days in your legs already and most of us are used to a max of two (sat and sunday weekend rides). Although it may be uncomfortable the first half hour have confidence you will get better. When your legs are soar you feel crappy period. However if you keep riding you will be surprised how you will start to feel better once you start to loosen up and get the body snapped back into training mode again. It wants to shut down and recover right now but if you keep it going it will respond but you have to trust it will come in time. Sometimes I do not feel good for an hour or so after a few hard training days. Be patient and do not give up on yourself.”

To help me recover I dropped to group C. They ride just as hard but are less intense. As start time approached I began to feel better. I stretched for an hour dressed and carefully planned my drinking and feeding schedule. Here is my plan: 1 GU every 45mn, 3 electrolyte tablets every hour or at stops, 1 bottle every hour with 2 scoops of gatorade and a mini-coke at rest stops.

Today I had a great day. I climbed well, I rode in the pace line with confidence, I took turns pulling. The only skill I had trouble with was descending because it was real windy, however I was able to control the zipps later in the afternoon and crack the 40mph barrier again. Here are the numbers. Total time 4:18, miles 66.6, 1910kjs, ave mph 15.7, max 40mph, ave watts 125 max 518. These are big numbers for me especially after such a hard Wednesday.

The reason I had a better day was due to my feeding and hydration schedule. The speed today was a tad faster, the weather was cooler, and I think I was more relaxed. I just goes to prove you can have good days and bad days. Yesterday was a bad day today was a great day. Go figure. Robbie also gave me good advice. He said if the group starts to pull away sprint to keep up so you can get in the draft. I did that several times and it really saved my ass.

My big decision is whether to stay in C group. It’s a tad less intense; they will also have a better start time for the final race. I think the start time issue will sway me to change groups. In the end the only day that counts is Saturday.

Tonight we have dinner off. A bunch of us are going out. Tomorrow is an easy day. I am looking forward to a day of soft pedaling.

4 Canyons Day 2

Today was supposed to be an easy day, a 6 out of 10, 65miles look at the vineyards and enjoying the scenery as we ride through 4 canyons: it was an 8. There were 4 big climbs, really 5 but whose counting, including the race up the first climb. I am using the zipps and they are considered heavy for climbing but they are killer on the flats and the descents. The only problem is that they need 18-20mph to be effective. More on that later.

As I mentioned that I had been moved into a faster group and can truthfully say I could not hang with them on the climbs. Climbing is all about power to weight. My max power in an ideal setting is 200 watts for 40mn. That is a power/wt ratio of 3:1. Most of the people in the group are 3.5:1 or better. On climbs they will always win barring a mechanical.

I was last in my group for the race. I rode with the group until I blew-up while climbing at my max. I then rode at my supermaxI was closing on another person and would have passed him but I ran out of mountain. I am happy with results. For me to get faster I need to work on the weight in the equation. I think if I drop 5 pounds I will be a bit more successful. However I honestly will not be able to compete with most of these people for the present. That’s ok, to quote Popeye, I yam what I yam.

So you ask if I am out classed on the climbs how did I keep up? I descend like a stone and the zipps are killer at speeds over 20mph. On the shorter climbs I was able to make up time on the descents. Most of the time I was last on the climb, aways behind but I was able to bomb down the hill and join the lead group. Like I said the zipps are killer.

Now for the numbers: Miles 65.6, ave speed 15.6 max mph 42.6 (yikes). 1865kjs, ave pow 122 max pow 542 Norm pow 154, that’s pow with the highs and los averaged. My feed plan was 1 gel 45mn then 1 double gel 45mn later. Then an hour later repeat. I was drinking 1 bottle every 1:15. In review I was not drinking enough and probably should have had an additional gel. I bonked hard at 50 miles but recovered after a sag stop.

The conditions today were not ideal for the zipps. It was very windy, 10-15mph, and it was hot with the wind and cold into the wind. We were constantly adding to taking off different types of clothing.

To say the least I am beat. As I mentioned I was toast at the 50mile mark and dropped to the second group. They were not slower but allowed me time to recover. I also was paced to my group several times by one of the coaches. It is much easier to ride faster on someone’s wheel. The coach would come back and collect all the stragglers. I am also better about telling the leaders if I am going to crack. They would listen and slow the pace. Several times late in the day I asked if they would slow the pace, and others asked as well. Having a group of mixed abilities is a compromise.

My feeling is that I rode well, I am totally out classed but I have a ton of heart. This group is a stretch. I do not expect to win any more races but I do expect to have an awesome time. I will stay tucked in the group and will not pull long. If I am in trouble I will open my mouth. That is the only way I will survive. As for the 50+ results I am still tied for 2nd. However the competition is stiff.

Tomorrow is another long ride, 65 miles. Wish me luck.

Day 1 Mt. Fig

Today is the day I have been training for. Mt. Figueroa is a legendary California climb. Several pro teams train here and everyone had to do it. The climb is about 9.6 miles up. The first 5 miles is very steep, about an 8% to 15% grade. The rest is about 7% with some ups and downs that allow you to catch your breath. The view on the way up is spectacular. You can see for miles.

Before I continue; the numbers for Mt. Fig. Total time 1:22, I think I beat my previous time by a lot. Ave speed a blinding 7mph. At the steepest points I was at 5 mph. Total 822kjs and my top speed on the decent 33.9mph. For the whole day I did 45.5miles and 1576kjs. This was a big day and a big ride. (I checked last years data and I did the opposite side of Mt. Fig at an average of 6.7mph. I am happy with the improvement.)

My biggest issue is mental toughness. Several times I became board and my mind began to wander. As my mind wandered I lost power because I lost concentration and lost my momentum. As I ascended there were riders at the side of the road with mechanicals and injuries. I began to wonder if that could be me. To refocus I used my mantra rotation/hydration. The mantra helped me regain my confidence and focus. Once my confidence was restored I never looked back.

My feed and hydration strategy was, I had 2 bottles of Gatorade and I had GU packets. I planned to do 1 packet every 30mn. I also ate a high carb breakfast. That seemed to help and I never really lost power or bonked; bottom line was that bonking was not going to happen because the ride was too short but this will have an impact on the rest of the camp.

Tonight at dinner I learned that I was the 3rd fastest 50+ camper up the mountain. I also impressed the coaches enough that I have been moved into the B ride group. This is a huge jump. Last year I was in the D group. This improvement has me worried but my coaches said I will do fine. My strategy will be to stay tucked in the group and work as little as possible. That is going to be a challenge.

Now back to the ride and my feelings. The ride was harder than last year but not as emotionally draining because I knew what to expect and I have another year of cycling under my belt. Tonight my legs are tired and my quads are sore but I feel really good and not as trashed as I thought. I think that tomorrows 4 canyons ride will go well.

After the ride we had a few minutes to water up eat and take a group picture: then the decent began. The way down is fast and a tad scary. Your hands are on the brakes full time. The only time I was not breaking was when I saw an up section and had to build speed to help the ascent. It is thrilling to speed down a mountain at 30mph. The ride back is mostly downhill. There was a cross wind and I was able to ride at 25mph with another rider David with no problem. Now it’s off to bed so I can rest for tomorrow’s effort. My goal is to stay with the group. Bike camp is great. I am having an awesome time.

Solvang day 1

Bike camp is finally here. After getting up at 4:45am I caught a cab to the airport to catch my plane. O'hara was packed. There were people everywhere and the lines were very long. I was afraid I was going to miss my plane. However the lines moved fast and 30mn later I was on my way to the gate.

The trip to Solvang is a long long one. The trip from Chicago to LAX is 4.5 hours. Then there is a 2 hour layover and a 45mn flight to Santa Barbara. We were picked up by 2 coaches who just became engaged, way to go Dan & Elisa, and drove the 45mn to Solvang.

Of course my room and my bike were not ready. I moved my bags inside the hotel and went to my bike. The crack SRAM mechanic, Chad, got to work on it and had it up an running in 30mn. I am renting a set of Zipp 404's, which are very fast and have a new rear cassette, a 12-28. (thats the amount of teeth on each cog.) With the bike ready to go I had to finish checking in, which consisted of getting weighted fully dressed, 149 (the 1st scale had me at 151), and had a picture of my knees taken. (I have no idea why unless we are going to guess the knees with the person.)

Finally its time for the shakedown ride. My goals for the ride were to checkout my new triple and learn how to shift. I also wanted some non-race time on the 404's, to see how they handle and to see how fast they are.

We are riding the Tour of California TT (time trial) course. The TT course was just run by the professionals 3 days ago. They did the ride in 35mn. We did a similar course in 50mn, I think we missed a small 1/2 mile loop. Here are my numbers. (You non-gear heads can jump ahead.) KJs 347, Ave Pow (AP) 117, Norm P 146, Max watts (MW) 454. HR 129 max 165, ave mph, 16.3 max 32.8.

The Zipps are very fast. Several times I had to break or i would pass the person in front of me. This is pretty exciting and will help me on the long rides because i will have to use less energy. The triple worked great. My goal was to pull less watts on the climbs and have increased cadence. I was able to do that with no problem. On the climbs my cadence was 80 or better. When my watts were too high I just slowed the cadence. I never really felt I needed more gears as I did last year.

My main problem is lack of experience. I want to race when I should be taking it easy and when it is time to race I am tired because I have not been resting. I am at camp to learn and it looks like it will be a ton of fun.

Tomorrow's ride is a TT up Mt. Fig. Mt Fig is a steady 8% climb for 11 miles. I am ready: I hope. Today it is sunny and the world looks rosy. Let's see how the race goes.

Solvang is Here

I am packing for bike camp. It is hard to get everything in 1 suitcase and not forget anything. I have the check list. Shoes, nope those are carry on, gloves, glasses, nope carry on again, shirts. Hell, I'll just take everything.

Waiting to go is like waiting before a race. I am a bit antsy and a bit nervous. But once the journey starts I am fine. My big fear are my legs and my knees. I am worried that they have not fully recovered from the hard training I did several weeks ago.

My legs feel a tad tired today. I had a light ride, ave 125 watts for 1.5 hours. I stretched and will stretch again in the evening. It felt good to ride. I am tired of being inside. However, it was great to ride with the regulars, Justin, Cal, Glen and Bruce. The 1 great thing about riding inside is that you never get dropped. We just ride and shoot the shit. I feel myself relaxing already.

During camp I will be blogging every day. Time to get back to packing. Now where are my racing bibs...........

Dreams, Reality and SE pops

Its early in the morning and as lay in bed half awake I can hear the rain. As I drift reality and dreams become indistinguishable. I am climbing Mt Fig. I am dancing on the pedals. I am feeling good; my legs are like pistons. The 8% grade is slipping by along with the rain and the mud. I am smiling. It feels great to be back on a steep climb; its me against the mountain. I relish something to push against.

Then reality sets in and I am fully awake. The dream seems more of a reality because I am on the trainer starting a hard workout to prepare for camp. The ride consists of a warm up, 2 mn at 130,150,170, and 200 watts, a brief rest and the workout. The workout is SEs, slow pedaling at 180 watts for 2mn, followed by 2mn at 260 watts. I repeat the sequence 3 times or until my legs fall off. I need to concentrate, say my mantra, rotation/hydration, to make the exercise easier.

The 260 watt SE hits me like a truck. I can see the the pop coming, I can feel the stress transfer from the computrainer up my my calfs past my quads and hams through my hips until my legs are singing. I keep repeating, rotation/hydration rotation/hydration rotation/hydration. I look at my feet to make sure my form is correct. Time is moving very slowly. The 2mns takes forever. I am sure it really is 5mn and the clock is playing tricks. The dance is more like a shuffle.

Just as suddenly the SE pop is over, the 260 watts are now a blissful 180 and then a recovering 120 watts. Life is good until the next set. Somehow the 5mn interval between sets moves very fast. Reality and time are skewed again. I am getting ready for the pain season. Life is good.

Solvang is Coming

One more week until bike camp. Last post my legs were toasted and I was pretty discouraged. This week I have dialed down the intensity and my legs feel better. Dialing down the intensity means the Sunday ride was 2.5 hours at a low intensity, 130 average watts, vs. 4 hours and 140 watts and the Tuesday intensity ride was only 1 hour 10mn.

My legs still feel a tad gimpy but overall I am feeling better. I was able to do the strength training yesterday and also did the 1 legged squats and the other leg work. My main riding goal now is to stay healthy and get some time on the bike so stay sharp.

My current issue is the new triple I put on my bike. I had to send my SRM to the shop for repairs so i put on the triple to help with the climbing. My hope is that I will be able to have a higher cadence with lower watts on the big climbs and the final race of camp. I rode with the triple on Sunday and it felt odd. Shifting was way different because it required more finesse. A few times I shifted the into the small front ring from the large ring by mistake and dropped my chain. Luckily I have had practice picking up the chain while moving so I did not have to dismount but that will definitely ruin a sprint and make the ride a lot less fun.

I am also watching my weight. My goal is to hit camp at 145. Its so easy to blow that target. Eating is great. I am at 146.5 so I am not worried but not eating is a chore especially since I need proper recovery and nutrition to hit camp at my best. All these issues are swirling and with some luck should converge for camp

As bike camp gets closer I will post more often. Now off to rest the legs and dream of a big bowl of pasta.

Ride Hard JAM

Toasted

Bike racing camp is quickly approaching. I have been working out like a fiend trying to get into better bike shape. Last Saturday was a very hard workout. Here's how hard I worked. Normally I burn 450 calories an hour and on a submax, easy ride, my average watts are between 120 and 130. On Saturday i burned 890 calories and averaged 152 watts for 90mn. The rest of the day my legs were toast.

Sunday was a long ride. My assigned goal, which I completed, was 3 hours and 45mn. I did about 40% of the ride with a raised front wheel to simulate climbing a steep hill. The raised front wheel puts extra stress on your quads. At the 2 1/2 hour mark my legs felt weak, noodle like, and i had trouble maintaining 135 average watts and cadence: Toasted again.

I called my coached and complained that I was feeling like I was not in good bike shape and i will not able to compete at bike camp. I was also confused why I felt so bad. i had been training hard but i felt i had trained enough to handle the increased workload with only a modicum of difficulty. Bottom line, coach said, listen to your body. If your legs feel tired take a break on the workout stress. In other words match the exercise to how I feel.

I am backing off. The legs feel better. More on the recovery later.

The Collateral Effects of Training

I went to my brother-in-law's mother-in-law's funeral the other day. She died suddenly at 87 and had a very full and happy life. As part of the ceremony it is traditional to do one last favor for the deceased and the task is considered sacred because the person can never return the favor. The favor is to bury the individual by filling in the grave until the casket is no longer visible.

Traditionally mourners line up to put 2 or 3 shovels full of dirt in the grave. I filed through once and then waited for the rest. After everyone has taken their turn, whoever is left finishes the favor. I waited around and noticed that the last person was getting a tad tired so I stepped in. Easily I helped fill in the grave and after 10mn or so we had finished. These events are always sad but that is not the lead.

Here is the lead. As I was working I noticed how easy the task was. I was surprised that I was not really working hard but just doing the task. I have also been noticing that I am getting into really good shape, that other tasks and chores seem easier. My muscles are becoming more defined. I have better endurance. Physical tasks that use to take effort are not as hard. For the first time in my life I have upper-body strength, muscles and endurance.

I have never been a jock; I have never been close to being an athlete. I am a self described nerd, which is a badge that I wear with some pride and embarrassment. Is this what being an athlete means? Are tasks and chores are easier because you have the muscles and stamina to do them?

I have noticed that the non-training population does not react the same way to physical exertion. I have also noticed that I am having a better time working out. Huh: very odd for a self described nerd. The collateral effects of training strike again.

The Camaraderie of Competing

There are two ways to be part of a competition: competing and urging the competitors on.  At my bike club we test for fitness levels at least twice a year.  These tests are on set days but if you miss there are always make-ups.  The other day I was on the bike doing my weekly submax, a type of ride that encourages recovery, when a group of 4 started their super-max test.

The super-max test is a grueling 40mn all out effort.  The goal, as I mentioned in previous posts, is to get the highest average watts.  The reason for the test is to set training levels for the upcoming year.  This group of stragglers was primed to go and we were the spectators.  There were 4 of us old, no more mature, riders on the back row watching the drama unfold.  We did not know the people testing but submaxes are long and this looked like some needed distraction.  The typical music played during the test is hard driving rock and roll.  David Lee Roth hits, AC/DC music or any music with a strong beat and drums to help you ride harder.  

The test started and the 4 rides strained to get up to speed.  The drama unfolded slowly for us.  We watch the posse work hard for 20 minutes and commented on their averages.  One person was at 270 watts the person next to him was at 265, these are petty high and are definitely strong riders.  As the riders began to lose momentum and power we began to urge them on.  We were like the 6th man in basketball, the secret weapon.  We could see that our cheering was helping them keep their watts up. 

Time progressed very rapidly now that we were engaged.  The riders crossed the 35mn mark fading slightly .  Then we really began to cheer, hoot or do whatever to urge them on.  We could see the effects the cheers had on the riders.  At the 30sec mark we really started to make noise. Knowing the test was almost over the riders began to pour it on.  The harder they rode the more noise the place made.   

Suddenly the test was over and noise stopped.  The riders had their numbers and we had our entertainment.  More importantly we had the satisfaction of knowing that we helped the testers preform at a higher level.  That feeling is great and bonds us all more closely to the team.  For me it was the spirit of the ride and feeling that I was a part of the testers effort that made all the difference.