5x5's

Today marks the first Wednesday of the year I've done intervals. Today's prescription was a 5x5 workout, with 4 minutes of rest between the five intervals of five minutes. It was downright cold this morning. As usual, I watched the temperature drop from 32 at 6:30 this morning to 29 when I left at 7:30. I still haven't completely figured that one out... since sunrise is a bit before 6:30 these days. The high winds skewed the tems even more... with a frigid windchill.

I tooled around town a bit, just warming up before heading over to the Hanging Rock area. Kessler's Mill Rd. and Rt. 311 were to be the battlefield for the intervals. The first two were directly into the wind. The wind definately made things frustrating, as I was in my 39t cog, going 16-19mph at 330 watts. It almost made me laugh. As I reached the approach up Catawba mountain, it was time to ride with the wind. What a difference a friendly breeze makes, I was flying... much much faster. It felt pretty good, although it was definately chilly!

At the end of the 3rd interval, I almost witnessed a horrible accident. Traffic was stopped on 311 (a two lane road) for a turning vehicle. A huge pickup truck didn't see the brake lights and stopped cars, forcing him to thread the needle. He slammed on the brakes, swung off the road, onto the shoulder (skidding a bit), and then continued on past the stopped cares on the shoulder. Quite the impressive display of last second handling, but something a littlle bit of attention would have prevented the situation entirely. After some hindsight, I am glad I am not one of those riders that squeezes past stopped cars on the shoulder... had I continued on the shoulder this morning, I would've been lucky to be in Intensive Care. A little courtesy and patience on the road goes a long way.

The final two intervals were tough, but completed nontheless. No big drama, no excitement, just a lot of focus and some minor drooling. Today I eschewed monitoring my heartrate during the efforts (although the PT was recording HR), just focusing on Time and Power. I also audtioned some of the new team clothing. I'm glad I ended up getting the thermal jacket... it may not be the most techincally advanced, but it kept me warm and looks good. The bib shorts remained the same; although the jersey seems to have a bit more room in the torso. I'm beginning to look forward to Sunday's Jeff Cup, making my Cat 3 debut. That's all for now.

Get the dirt off your shoulder.

implosion!

Winter is back! Just in time for Spring. Today is chilly and overcast... tomorrow low to mid 30's with a broad range of precipitation: rain, freezing rain, snow, and sleet. The weather for my rest week could not of been much better for this time of year (go figure it was a rest week!). Tomorrow it looks like I'll be a slave to the trainer. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for epic rides in extreme weather conditions; but I've already had my taste of warm weather, and my body no longer accepts the cold and precipitation.

Yesterday I did the 1:00 group ride. I imploded. It could've been due to the fact that it was faster and more climbing than I'm accustomed too at this point in the year; although i suspect it may be allergies. The symptoms seem to be the same every year, unrecoverably high heart rate, sinus crud, breathing difficulty, and a few others. Oh well, the trick is to try and get things under control... the key word being "try". Hopefully it'll work out. It is kind of ironic though... during interval workouts I have been having trouble getting the heart rate up... now it just goes up and doesn't come back down very easily!

breaking news...

I awoke this morning to find my upgrade request to Cat 3 was approved!

weekend update

Finally, a chance to sit down and type a blog. This weekend went pretty well; as I returned to my flatlandish roots.

Saturday was supposed to be a quasi-lazy day for me, a chance to catch a mid-afternoon nap and recover from a restless week. It started out with a bang... the Saturday morning ride out of Kiln Creek featured a brisk and steady pace. After emerging on Cool Rd, I turned right as the group turned left... a few, including Pete and Pat, joined me. No regrets on turning a steady temp ride into a conversation pace ride-if only for a few minutes; we eventually were reintegrated into the group. I did get a couple good sprint-like jumps in Saturday morning, which did inspire some confidence for Sunday's race. On the downside, my HR did have trouble recovering after efforts on the ride, I casually chalked this up to lack of sleep the night before. Also of note, I tried the Jelly Belly Sport Beans... although they are very tasty, and definately provide a confectionary treat... I found myself with a bit of a sugar rush not long after consumption; better stick with the Hammer Gel (and the occasional Enervitene when push comes to shove).

As for the rest of Saturday, it was filled with good cookin'. For lunch, I met Jeff at the Mongolian BBQ in Williamsburg. What a delight... it was the best it's been since I can remember. Definately a bonus, as Jeff and I (and several others) used to raid that place on a regular basis in high school (especially on half days). Between the ride, a haircut, and lunch, an impromptu appearance at BB in Kiln Creek helped burnt some time I had to kill. I found some pretty smokin' Pearl Izumi RED shoe covers using their "Aerosensor" material. DW figured I'd be among the first to buy; he was right... he had just put them out on the floor that morning. Fortunately, I was able to dodge Gilly Garlow's marriage advice 101 this time. Oh yeah... they also updated the layout of the store... it looks great. I was very impressed. After lunch I stopped in to see the 'BurgBeat people, then home to wash the car and bike, and eat dinner with the parents and bestman Matt.

So Saturday turned out to be a marathon. Fortunately I was able to get a full night of sleep... made even better with the window open. Sunday turned out to be a hot 80-something degrees with relatively high humidity.

Chris and I met at Kiln Creek to carpool down to Chesapeake for the Snowball Crit #2. We had a good team meeting and warm up. I was able to secure a front line starting position, and the the race was off! Whoa... man, is my HR really that high!? "Uh oh..." is what I was thinking fairly early on. The 3/4 race turned out to be a bit faster than the previous Snowball, but that wasn't the problem, my HR would not recover! I repeatedly tried to move up to the front, and try to join my teammates in taking turns at the front, but I just couldn't move up far enough! It was even more frustrating when I was struggling just to hold the wheel in front of me! I finally shifted up a few gears to lower the cadence and thusly try to lower the HR; eventually I started to feel a little more comfortable... although I still had trouble moving up in the pack.

I don't even t hink I was in the top 20 as we hit the bell lap... not where you want to be if you want to have any chance to sprint in the end. Fortuantely, I managed to find Chris' wheel with just about half a lap to go, "PUNcH IT CHRIS!" Next thing I know, Chris has delivered me right onto Steve Simet's wheel. Perfect! Rounding the final turn, I shot out wide, sheltered from the wind at just the right time. BOOM! The first (remotely) explosive sprint of the year for me! I was able to obtain immediate separation and handily took the field sprint for 2nd. However, I hate to admit, I did not even know that a guy solo'ed in by a large margin (refer to my inability to move up). Apparently the guy attacked on lap 20 of 35, and put 25 seconds on the field in two laps. Not to shabby considering we were flying and it was windy. I also hate to admit that I nearly dropped out of the race; although I was determined to not let my teammates down as they agreed to help me... a win would've secured my Cat 3 upgrade.

On a positive, the field sprint gave me a significant boost in confidence. It confirmed that I've been working hard, and that the power and drive is there. On a negative, I feel horrible for not pulling my share of the load up front during the race. I can't recall ever really suffering that bad in a crit before... and not having much to show during the race. The sprint was great... and as usually, after a good sprint I just want to see straight, not puke, and get off the bike. I'm looking forward to more suffering in races... although a lot more productive suffering!

Yesterday's recovery spin was maared by wind. The wind managed to kick a leaf up into my brakes as if I was mountain biking in the fall. I also tried the Gatorade Endurance Formula sports beverage (lemon-lime)... it was tasty and fit in my water bottle. I forgot my bottle before the ride... I think it's still sitting right where I left it (unless Target or Walker knocked it over)

Restin' on a Rest week!

It's go time.

The race this past Sunday went well. I ended up 6th, not what I was hoping for, but not bad. I knew a break would eventually stay away, unfortunately I didn't make that particular break. Seigler Imports, Richmond Ciclismo, and Bike Works were very well represente din the field; launching several attacks until one stuck. Wade from NCVC and I tried to cover and stick to the dangerous looking attempts, but couldn't muster the energy to stick to the one that stuck. Oh well, Wade ended up getting me by half a wheel in the field sprint. Roger Hunt deserves a lot of credit for digging deep, bringing me up into postion with just a couple laps to go. Thanks again, Roger.

This weekend brings the last race before BAR time. The Snowball Crit #2. Looks like Casey Auto Group/JRVS will be extremely well represented in the 3/4 race. Unfortunately the strategy is classified; although I hope to reveal its success Sunday night or Monday morning.

that's all for now.

strange

It was 77 yesterday, and it snowed this morning during my ride. Strange.

thursday

It's 76 degrees outside... how nice it would be to be outside. Oh well, at least it's windy, so I'm not too jealous. Of course it will be cooler this weekend, but should not be anything like last weekend. I went to Walgreen's today to have a passport picture made... it's perhaps a marginal improvement over one I had made nice years ago. Other than that, not too much to report today, although I did finish my weight lifting (other than a few more heavily reduced workouts).

Wednesday

It's Wednesday. I awoke this morning to a balmy 60 degrees. "Great" I thought, "It will be another nice arm ride," although the forecasted high for the day was in the 50's. Although my ride began at 60 degrees, the temperature dropped 13 degrees over the two hour period. It was a chilly (although still warm compared to most all mornings so far this year) 47 degrees. Strangely is was 70 degrees when I went to lunch, and 63 after lunch... strange.

This weekend's forecast looks to be much more comfortable than last weekend. The Sonny Hutchin's Memorial Crit is Sunday at the Southside Speedway in Midlothian. Hopefully I can improve on my result from Sunday. It'll be fast, and I hope it comes down to a field sprint.

Finally, the Season is Upon Us.

I'm quite happy now... it's racing season. The Virginia Cycling Association (formerly known as D42) kicked off the season with the first of two Snowball Crits yesterday. They have altered the categories a bit from last year; which I assume is from increased demand.

I did the Cat 3/4 race with quite a few teammates. It was windy, with a huge headwind coming down the Executive Dr. straightaway; I knew a break wouldn't have a chance in this race unless it was a big break. As seems to be the norm with the Snowball Crit, everybody flew down the start/finish stretch, while on the back straight of the course everybody sat up, causing swarm after swarm. I was very happy with my positioning throughout the race, despite the swarming, I was able to stay within striking distance at all times. A few guys tried to break away solo, or a couple at a time... but quickly found their efforts futile. Rick Young spent a little too much time at the front early on, he is flying for this time of year, and definately should've been there in the end. I kept myself out of the wind until the last lap, where I had to stick my nose into the breeze on the last headwind stretch (it was REALLY windy). The guy that won, shot hard out of the 2nd turn, opening a huge insurmountable gap. As the sprint started I lacked my explosiveness, but made up for it with a diesel-like effort to finish in 3rd. I'm satisfied with my result, it's early in the season, I just finished base mileage, and there were a lot of guys already flying. I'll be flying soon enough, I've learned to be very patient with my training this year.

Saturday I did the BikeBeat shop ride... a heavenly flat rout profile. It was a pretty good size group considering the windchill. Nevertheless, David Wilson was in hurt mode... although I hate to admit, soon enough just a handful of us were trading pulls... and it hurt.

congrats to Chris N. for the upgrade to Cat 3

End of Monasticism

Everywhere I went it was nothing but headwinds. I figured an out and back course would involve some sort of polarization; but I was wrong... there must have been some funky crosswinds today.

Anyways, today was my first interval session of the year. The end of the monastic base period! Although I did break the silence with one group ride, and briefly rode with some friends out at Wintergreen, I can now integrate back into group rides... especially races! The Snowball Crit #1 is this weekend, I should be up for it physically. Ah, back to the intervals. It was chilly this morning; during my first cruise interval I think my arms went numb at some point. It was just warm enough to not warrant the heavy stuff, but cool enough to be tough on the arms. The second and third intervals went well. I tried my best to keep the power (classified) consistent. I was happy to be finished after the third one. I had to get out to Elliston and Shawsville (almost Christiansburg) to do my intervals, to my knowledge, that's the closest quasi-flat stretch that suitable for 8 minute efforts ( i hate the trainer).

Thursday's 20 minute criss cross intervals will be fun. Maybe not. Nevertheless, it's a necessary evil. Throw weights into the equation, and it's going to be a long morning of workouts.

Anyways, I think that's all for now. Hello to the occasional group ride and the races.

"The Warm Pool is Closed Due to...

Accidental Defecation" That is the sign (printed and laminated) that greeted me as I signed into the YMCA this morning. Kinda disgusting, but pretty funny at the same time. At least it was the "Warm Pool" and not the Olympic pool. The "Warm Pool" is basically the kiddie pool, complete with the huge mushroom looking thing you see in water parks.

As for the workout, Mondays are now an optional recovery ride and the weights are now longer heavy... going back to the higher reps, lower sets. Nevertheless it snowed again last night, I figured a ride on the wet grimy roads would be counter productive (I'm trying to avoid getting sick). The low reps thing was cool, by the time I got past 10 reps today my muscles were cryin'. I guess all that matters is that I didn't quit, and I got everything done.

Tomorrow brings the first day of intervals this year. I'm excited. Although I must admit I am slightly hesitant, as I fear that I may have a little bit of a cold coming on. I've been lucky so far to keep illness at bay (especially compared to last year!). My resting HR has been high lately, although I am hoping it's a sleep related thing, and not a viral related bug.

Cruise intervals tomorrow, Zone 2 Wednesday, and criss cross intervals Thursday. Bring on the speed.

ice

Much like last Saturday, this Saturday brought snow into the valley. Fortunately the roads weren't as nasty as last week, save some bridges and very isolated areas. The big purple Lemond with fenders once again got the nod for the day... I love fenders on nasty days. The wheels (old Vector Comps) still have water in the rims from who knows how long ago. I weighed the bike after getting into work today... 27.5 pounds without bottles, but with some ice build up. That's quite a bit of heft right there.

The ride itself was pretty ordinary, although the occasional changeover to sleet kept my facial nerves occupied. It'll be cold tonight... I look forward to riding the Klein (hopefully) tomorrow.

max spin!

I actually got to enjoy the warm weather this morning. It was great... despite the 30 mph wind. Actually the wind worked to my advantage. Fridays are typically my "max spin effort days", meaning that I ride at a very high cadence for a period of 30-45 minutes; usually completed on my fixed gear. For 36 minutes I rode at an easy effort (although low cadence) straight into the wind. Fortunately the route is about as flat as it gets around here, so hills weren't too much of a problem or concern. While I hovered in the 35-90 rpm range heading out, I was able to maintain 120+ coming back, with long stretches of 140+ rpm. It was perhaps the best max spin session I've had this year... if not ever.

On a side note, I just about had my elbow clipped by a car going about 55 mph. Fortunately I was able to catch up to him at the light. I remained calm, and just let him now he almost hit me... and that perhaps he should refrain from cellular activity while riding. Once again, I must stress that I remained calm... no yelling, no cursing... I just wanted to let the driver know for his own good.

Other than that it's been a typical day. I've started rebuilding my time trial bike; I'm in no hurry at all, but it needs to be done eventually. Seat height and setback look to remain the same; although I've got a slightly longer stem to start out with and a different bar angle... we'll see what happens. As for TT'ing it, that's not going to be a focus this year. I still hope to put in some good results this season; however I am not anticipating any TT specific training. The Mill Mountain TT will be an aim for me (even though I don't like climbing)... it's a short (i.e. realistic) climb here in my own back yard; although I may have to go for a high placing at the Natural Bridge TT in April... we'll see.

Congrats to Ken for the upgrade to 3... hope to be there soon.

finished heavy lifting

I completed my heavy lifting this morning. Hopefully it will make a difference. I'm hoping anyways... I haven't really sprinted in a long time. Although I did do a sprint back in December while just doing light weights. The results at the time were promising, my max power output showed a10% improvement over the race season. I'd be happy with a 15% gain, but if it's 20... even better! We'll find out next weekend.

Boom Boom Boonen

base done

I'm done with Base mileage. The last week didn't go exactly as planned... part mother nature, part under the weather. I developed a little bit of a cold over the weekend, but nevertheless still pulled in a nice 3+ hours in the driving snow. Katie was hit with the cold bug a lot harder than me... probably due to her chosen profession of teaching. I have to admit, I'm pretty tired today... despite being a rest week, I feel far from rested... very tired.

The warmer weather has arrived just in time for the rest week, and sure enough it looks nasty and cold for this weekend (I have a couple longer rides planned for the weekend of course). Next week looks to be chilly, I begin some cruise intervals Tuesday, and some Criss Cross intervals Thursday, with plenty o' Zone 2 too.

Next weekend is also the first Snowball Criterium in Chesapeake. I won the first one last year (B race)... which was actually my first road race, and a great start to a full season. This year they've changed the categories a bit, and I'll be doing the 3/4 race. Hopefully I'll have the opportunity for a field sprint. After that it's the Sonny Hutchins Memorial Crit in Richmond, following Jeff Cup, I'm hoping to get an upgrade to Cat 3.

We'll see.

Winter.

Winter came back this week. Although I didn't truly get to enjoy the "balmy" winter we've had so far (it was still pretty chilly at 7am). Anyways, the Pacific jet stream is no longer dictating our weather. Welcome back winter. How much snow will you drop on us this weekend? I really wish you could have procrastinated just a bit so that I could get my 7-8 hours in on the bike this weekend! Hopefully I'll awake tomorrow morning to find the roads passable enough for my rain bike with fenders.

This week was... no... is cold. Wind chills in the teens didn't stop me from riding all week, but I sure as heck couldn't do it this morning! I just couldn't, and there was no wind on top of that! Oh well, Friday's are my max spin workouts... I'll just get a quick workout on the trainer tonight.

I'm beginning to get excited about race season... I have been for a while. There are moments I find myself with quite an adrenalin rush, just thinking about racing; more specifically the last 500 meters of a race. After all, it's my passion.

I forgot to mention

I made it into the news.

Homecoming

I've been patient. I've been isolated. I've deprived myself from riding with others. I've been focused entirely on maximizing the quality of my Base periods... a lot of solo rides in Zone 2. I decided to break the monotony yesterday with the JRVS Sunday morning ride in Williamsburg. I wanted to see how my body would react to intensity. Surprisingly, it handled the task pretty well, the power was there, at times the speed was there. Although I eventually fell off pace, I feel as though that was largely in part to some pretty big efforts I put in early on. No regrets.

In other news, Winter has returned. By Sunday I'll have somehwere between 17 & 20 hours on the bike... hopefully all outdoors; much of which will be below freezing. Joy. I am still motivated.

15 minutes!?

I rode my bike 15 minutes today. A far cry from the 2.5 hours I had scheduled in. My plan was simple... I didn't have to be at work until Noon, and registration for the Jefferson Cup opened at 9am. Assuming the race would fill up in less t han two hours (it did), my plan was to register and the ride.

At 9am on the dot, I began my resgistartion attempts, Bikereg's server was struggling to keep up with the demand of many others... except all of the categories had "closed" beside them. By 10am, Men's 35+ Cat 5, 50+, and Women 4 opened; finally around 10:30 everything else started opening. I got in; ableit a bit frustrating! By 11:30 the race was full! (a field limit of 100!). Long story short, I started my ride, shortly after starting I decided to end it.

After a very abridged amount of sleep the past few nights, I've been feeling a little run down. In addition I think I over stressed my knees Monday in the gym... they're not very happy, and quickly let me know yesterday. In sum, I figured I'd call it quits today and try to give the knees a break. Next up on the block is getting through this mental fatigue.

In other news, I spoke to Brain Sheetz last night... it turns out Nick, Matt, Jay, and Brain are reforming a new rock band. Good stuff, should be great stuff actually. It'll be interested seeing Matt as the frontman.