June/July Racing Update

There’s not a whole lot to report on in terms of racing for the month of June.  I only competed in 5 races and results were nothing worth mentioning.  Overall though June was perfect training with great weather to rack up over 700 miles.  This was the first year that I did not participate in the Tour of America’s Dairyland (ToAD) in which there were a number of reasons factoring into that decision.  The first was the lack of necessary fitness.  I unfortunately got sick 3 times this spring which significantly impacted training and the timing of peak fitness which put me into the July timeframe for the best racing.  Secondly, since Cat 3’s are required to race with Cat 2’s I figured there was no point in paying a significant amount of cash to race with little chance of getting anything in return except a hard workout.  I’m waiting on racing as a Cat 2 for a full spring before attempting to be competitive in ToAD races.  Next year…

July has been a drastic difference from June with plenty of racing.  I participated in races ranging from WCA events to Superweek.  The State Crit was the first race all year where I felt completely in control and having the fitness to finish near the top.  That race was a confidence booster which led to additional success later on.  Below are a few short recaps of the interesting races in July.

State Crit – Burlington, WI: Hot and sunny day on a somewhat technical course featuring 8 corners and a long back stretch.  Not many riders showed up in the Cat 3 field but that always makes the race more interesting.  There’s never the ability to sit in when attacks happen frequently and there is no wheel to grab.  I made the breakaway which turned into half the field.  The break stuck together until the end.  Using the advice from teammates in previous races, I made my move going into turn 4 (start of the majority of the technical piece of the course) in which I created a significant gap between myself and a majority of the others.  Unfortunately one opponent stuck to my wheel like glue and had enough to beat me in the sprint.  2^nd on the day.

Wheel & Sprocket Crit – Menasha, WI: Another hot and sunny day in which I chose to participate only in the Pro1/2/3 race.  I went into this race with the notion of testing my fitness for the upcoming Superweek races.  Field size was again not the largest but there were some strong riders that whipped up the pace quickly.  A few break attempts went off early.  I chose to go with the 3^rd break attempt which ultimately failed a lap later.  The next attempt was the winning move in which 6 riders made the break away from the field.  The field sat up and 10 laps later four riders made an aggressive attack which I managed to hold on to.  From there until the final sprint the four riders worked repeatedly to drop me but I held my ground.  The sprint was nothing of greatness for me but I did manage to place 10^th overall on the day.  Tough day but sure got some good training in along with an assessment of current fitness.

Superweek – Beloit, WI: I came into this series expecting larger field sizes but I was surprised to find out that field numbers were ridiculously low.  Beloit had approximately 14 in the field.  From the start there were a few attacks with one of them having a rider solo off the front.  5 laps into the race I decided to cover the gap.  I quickly chased on to the solo rider and we aggressively increased the pace.  We worked well together but I could tell the other rider was suffering.  We increased our lead over the field to a point where we were only 20 seconds behind.  With 6 laps to go I left the other rider take a large pull before attacking into a sharp corner.  I easily gapped the rider but quickly came up on the field and flew past while continuing my attack.  The racers in the field didn’t know I just lapped them and they chased me down, allowing my breakaway partner to sit in the back of the field and recover while they closed my gap.  I was less than happy with the guy who pulled me back and he got a few unkind words from me once my attack was shut down.  This caused me the race, the other rider was a strong sprinter and after having the ability to rest up, he quickly overcame me in the sprint.  What was a sure win changed into a hard earned 2^nd place.  What I learned though was to attack the solo partner earlier when the lead on the field is large enough to allow for a solo break.

Superweek – Whitnall Crit: This crit had again low numbers and being a course that I knew well, the odds were it would be a sprint finish.  I sat in the whole race waiting for the sprint.  So did the whole field though except from one guy who we all let go with 2 laps remaining for the solo win.  The sprint was for second and I made an early move which was only beaten by the same guy who beat me in Beloit.  3^rd place.

Superweek – Downer:  The organizers combined the Pro1/2 field with the 3’s for this event which I had my teammate Jeramey joining me for the fun.  We knew it was going to be tough and Downer is never an easy venue to race at.  It was a blistering pace from the start and I tried to remain somewhat within the first ½ of the field all night.  Once getting my legs and lungs under me I took a monster pull (which resulted in me almost being popped off the back) that was caught in the following photo.  Jeramey and I positioned decently for the sprint and both managed to place in the top 25.  22^nd on the day.

Superweek - New Berlin: Hot, hot and hot.  Small field size again and there was absolutely no way any of the riders in this race were allowing a break to form.  I attempted a break numtiple times and was reeled in each time.  I was totally out of position of the sprint and only mustered out a 6th.  I was definiteily feeling the Down race in the legs!

Superweek – Whitnall Road Race: 100+ degrees was the temperature for the entire race and I paid dearly for participating.  The pace was fairly slow but the rolling hills and heat took its toll.  On the climb to the finish I had nothing left in the tank and sat up, rolling across the line almost dead last.  Knowing my fitness was getting in rough shape I decided to take the next day off from racing.

Superweek – Oshkosh: After having the day off I was fully refreshed and ready to race in Oshkosh.  The field size was incredibly small and we all knew each other from riding in previous races.  From the start one rider went off the front while the rest of us smirked thinking it was too early.  After 3 laps or so the lead riders gap was quite considerable so I decided to make a huge pull to get some time back.  I had a teammate in the field who was on my wheel when I began my pull, but about a lap later when I flicked my elbow for someone to pull through, no one was there.  I was in “no man’s land” between the lead rider and the field.  I gave it hell at this point and caught the lead rider and we worked well together until the field started to reel us in.  From there I put my head down and smashed the pedals, dropping the rider with me.  I solo’d for about 15 laps before the field pulled me back.  With 6 laps to go I sat in the back resting up for the sprint.  On the final lap I had one of the strongest riders wheel and as we came through the final turn he just killed it as I stuck to his wheel like glue.  Half-way down the front stretch to the finish line I lit my last match and sprinted with everything I had.  That sprint was FTW!  For The Win!  It was hard earned but it felt good knowing I had a decent sprint to win a race after working off the front most of the race.

Overall July was a pretty exhausting month so I took 5 days off the bike after the Oshkosh race.   I finally threw my legs on the bike again to begin the build up to top fitness for the Gateway Cup races over Labor Day weekend.  That plan was already delayed due to common cycling injury which is nothing short of a pain in the @$s. There’s a few big races on the weekends between now and the end of August that will serve as good training though.  Below is what’s left of the 2012 road racing season.

8/4 – Tour of Elk Grove

8/11 – Appleton Twilight Criterium

8/19 – Race the Lake

8/31 – Gateway Cup: Lafayette Square Criterium

9/1 – Gateway Cup: Tour des Hills Criterium

9/2 – Gateway Cup: Giro della Montagne

9/3 – Gateway Cup: Benton Park Criterium

Resetting The Plan

Ka-pow!  Ka-bam!  Ka-boom!  That was my health taking another beating this year, this time with Hand, Foot and Mouth disease which my son William graciously shared.  While suffering with blisters on my hands/feet and having severe soreness in my throat, I spent a full week at home trying to recover.  While doing so there was plenty of time to think about how to adjust what was already a poor start to the cycling year.  Luckily with the bad comes the good.  While I’m on the mend I also established a new plan and focus for the rest of the racing season which wraps up on Labor Day weekend.  With that, the plan is to peak right at the end of the year, using all races and rides to fine tuning my racing skills to prepare for my third attempt at the Gateway Cup.  With spring racing officially wrapping up this last weekend, summer racing will surely be the battleground for enhancing my anaerobic and sprinting capabilities along with fine tuning some secret weapons not yet displayed in previous years.  Three months of road racing is remaining, it’s going to go quick.  Next up is the Lake Geneva road race (more of a 6 mile circuit course race) on June 2^nd.

On the family side of things, William recovered quickly from his case of HFM disease and was back up and running in a matter of 4 days.  He also got his second haircut this last week too, this time a buzz cut!  Handsome little fella!  Sampson’s been the crazy and lazy dog as ever.  “Playing” fetch and sunning himself has become his favorite outside pastime.  Amy has been her usual self, being the most awesome super-mom of all time!  Her hands are constantly full chasing William and helping take care of me last week while I was absolutely useless.  A big thank you to her!  Best.Wife.Ever!

 With that, back to work, training and life in general!

Antonyms for Wonderful

Terrible, awful, poor and abysmal are all antonyms for wonderful which best describe a number of elements of racing this past weekend.  “Terrible” is in reference to the weather conditions that were experienced at Saturday’s Team Wisconsin Spring Classic.  Low to mid-40 temps and a cold rain all lead to what would be a finger and toe numbing experience that resulted in only the hardcore racers showing up.  The 50 minute race on a somewhat hilly course consisted of constant attacks from various participants all being pulled back by the host team since they had overwhelming majority in the field.  Throughout the entire race I remained steady in the field and not making any attempts to get off the front.  The race was very smooth and on the last lap I positioned myself well going into the first climb (two climbs per lap).  Right before the turn to go up the hill the guy leading the field pulled off to the outside and stopped pedaling which seriously messed up my plan as I was coming into the corner carrying significant speed hoping to take the outside line and hold the speed through the corner.  To my dismay this guy was cooked and wasn’t going anywhere while I had no choice but to brake and then sprint to catch up to the field pulling away.  While I caught the field up the false-flat on the backside of the course I continued to hammer the pedals and passed a number of riders, then grabbing the wheel of two racers chasing the 5 riders that gapped the field.  Through the final corner leading to the second hill I began my sprint passing the two in front of me and catching another 50 feet before the finish line.  Nothing to complain about with that result after coming from behind!

Going back to the adjectives at the beginning, “awful” best describes my anaerobic conditioning at this point in time as I have been having a hard time reacting to moves in the field and further evidenced by my performance at Sunday’s Kettle Moraine Klassic road race.  More consistent training is on the schedule to alleviate this problem and I’m working to boost my motivation and dedication to increase my anaerobic capacity.

“Poor” is in reference to my planning and preparation for Sunday’s race in which I thought I had everything ready to go and left on time, only to find out that when I am getting ready to warm up that I forgot all of my water bottles at home.  Luckily a fellow racer loaned me one of his bottles and a teammate loaned me a second bottle.  I would have been up a creek without a paddle if these two were not so generous.  This all leads to the final adjective which is a descriptor of my decisioning during what was a 51 mile road race broken into 7 laps on a circuit course (note: also open to car traffic as this is an important piece of information later in the race).  From the start of the race two riders went off on a break attempt that to my surprise, stayed away.  That was until I attempted to cover the gap up to the break and join them.   I easily moved away from the field, even getting out of sight for a period of time until I turned the corner to the finishing straight which was directly into the headwind.  Trying to continue to hold a 25+ mph pace to catch the break I began to suffer and while only being about 200 meters to the two off the front, the field reigned me in.  I made the ridiculous decision to attempt a breakaway in the early stages of a 51 mile race.  Whoops!  The remaining 6 laps were absolutely painful trying to maintain a spot in the front part of the field.

My abysmal decision was further compounded by the confusion that occurred as our Cat 3’s field was passed by the M1/2/3 field and the ensuing combination of fields for half a lap as the 3’s worked to pass them back.  Because of the confusion a gap occurred off the front in which half of the Cat 3’s field pushed on ahead.  This further put me into the pain cave as now I had to work to cover another large gap at the precise moment we had a tail-wind and our speed on the flat easily stayed above 30 mph.  The rest of the race was just trying to hang on and position well for the finish.  And that I did, I moved through the field and chose my position on the centerline and sat there.  Unfortunately, even though a centerline rule is in effect, it is never enforce.  Because of this a number of riders decided to improve their odds of winning and moved past me on my left and over the centerline.  From there I was pushed to the middle and the field swarmed.  Through the final tight corner an on to the finishing straight everyone made it through easy until after the little rise there was a car stopped blocking half the road (according to the officials, the full road could be used after the final corner).  The immediate hard brake and swerve to the right left me with no momentum to begin to sprint and the race was over at this point.  I simply sat up and rolled across the line.  With such a bad race I didn’t even stick around to see the results all I know is that I was pack-fodder. 

On the bright side, it was a beautiful day with slight overcast, mid-50 temps, and awesome scenery.  The race was organized well, course was spectacular, everyone stayed upright and it was fun catching up with fellow racers I haven’t seen in well over a year!  Next up is the La Crosse Omnium consisting of a road race, individual hill time trial, and a criterium.  Should be another fantastic weekend hanging out with friends and family and racing with teammates.

Peaks and Valleys

Earlier this year I noted that my training has been consistently inconsistent and trend continues to remain the same today.  Unfortunately the most recent inconsistencies have been caused by a number of colds I've had in the last month.  On the good side of all this though is that my most recent cold has passed as of today.  To celebrate this occasion of better health I decided I'd join the Ozaukee Bicycle Club ride that started out of Cedarburg.  A significant number of riders participated in the ride that quickly became a race (which I knew would happen because it always does) and of course was perfect to get me jump started after being off the bike for a bit of time.  It was great to ride with friends that I haven't had the opportunity to ride with since last year.  There were a lot of strong riders that continued to drive a fast pace which really put the hurt on me by the time we were half-way through.  I put in a few big efforts of my own just to test my legs and lungs.  The first was on a flat stretch after a long downhill in which the group was flying at above 35 mph.  I moved to the front through the pace line and hammered the pedals pushing 700+ watts for about 30 seconds before beginning to back off and finally popping and quickly finding the back of the pack.  The second effort was on a stretch which the group occasionally throws down a sprint for the "stop ahead" sign.  I was rolling mid-pack while a rider came up on my left quickly and I overheard him saying to the guy behind him that he'd give him a lead out.  It was a gift at 25 mph.  I quickly caught their wheels and rolled to the front with them and before the other rider could launch his spring I attacked.  Once past the stop ahead sign I thought I'd fall off the bike vomiting.  Luckily only a few deep coughs and 4 miles of recovery before setting up for keeping pace on the final sprint of the ride.  All-in-all it was a great ride and also a new record wattage for me this year.  I finally broke the 1,000 watt barrier (something I haven't done in a long time)!  Beyond what I did during the ride, a number of my friends and teammates were riding very strong for this early in the season.  I look forward to seeing them succeed  and achieve their established goals.  Speaking of goals, I only have one this year and that is to just have fun.  Over the past few years I've been so focused on results that it has just about sucked all of the fun out of racing.  So this year, no goals focusing on results.  Just going out to have fun, do the best I can do and enjoy every minute of it.

While my training has had a few peaks and valleys this year and my confidence in relation to my fitness has swung in both directions, this ride helped to improve my confidence of being somewhat competitive going into my first race of the year this coming Saturday.  Saturday brings about the Menomonee Park Criterium in which the Cat 3 race starts at 3:30PM.  Should be a blast and I look forward to it!  The 2012 season starts here.

March Madness Update

The month of March came and went before I knew it.  Between the increased hours, travel and demand from work, the 3 birthdays, home improvements, cycling activities, and daily life in itself, it seems as though in a blink of an eye 30+ days can go by and here I sit looking back having a hard time believe all of the activities that were piled in to that time frame.  The biggest events of the month were Amy’s, William’s and my niece Allison's birthdays.  William is now over 1 year old and is growing like crazy (most likely because of all the pancakes he can eat).  Amy being the best mom ever went above and beyond planning for William’s party which was a huge success.  Some of Amy’s neatest ideas that came to fruition included “bee” cake pops, a “honey comb” cupcake cake, and a picture banner that included a picture of William each month up to his birthday.  The party was a blast and all of William’s family and friends attended.

William's Honeycomb Birthday Cake

Digging in the cake

 

Amy's Bee Pops & Pretzels

 While there was a lot of partying we also continued to work on updates to the house, ultimately working towards putting the house on the market.  Amy and I are looking to move a little closer to family but keeping the commute to work manageable.  We’re currently eying up the West Bend area while keeping the Hartford area option open.  Both areas are great “small-ish” cities that are good for raising William and there are plenty of rural roads for excellent cycling.  Also, there’s no lake breeze to keep the temps cold like there is in Cedarburg.  Last Sunday was a great example where it was 46 degrees in Cedarburg; however, when you headed further inland (10-15 miles) the temps were near the upper 60’s.  Chill from Lake Michigan is not welcomed by this guy!

On the cycling front, things have been less than consistent.  Inconsistency has been the theme for March thanks to colds and travel for work.  The beginning of the month led off with me being under-the-weather with a cold that affected my respiratory system (never good for training), followed by a week-long work trip to St. Pete, FL, and further followed by another week of recovering from the aforementioned cold.  I did manage to get some longer rides in on the weekends when I felt better and because of the lack of time to train, picked the intensity up.  The notable ride of the month was a ride that I did from Horicon to Cedarburg into a strong headwind for the entire 40 mile route.  Only plus side to the ride was the fact the sun was out and it was warm with above average temps.  Due to the strong headwind and lack of daylight I hammered the pedals kicking out big numbers.  Primary stats include: Ride Time: 1:57:27; Ave. Power: 259 watts; Normalized Power: 278 watts; Ave. Cadence: 86 rpm; and Ave. Speed: 20 mph.  This ride provide a boost to my overall morale and set my bar of expectations a bit higher.

The inconsistent nature of my training for the month however led me to what I perceived as my “poor cycling condition” (insert Amy laughing) but after Tuesday night’s functional threshold power (FTP) test, my perception was proved wrong.  While the training may have been inconsistent, it was spot on for providing physiological gains.  The gains were so much so that I was shocked by the numbers, mainly the % change in FTP.  My average power output increased an amazing 27 watts over the course of a month for an increase of 8.56%.  This FTP test was also a great motivating factor for my continued training which is becoming tougher as the weather gets nicer out but still spending most of my training hours in the basement.

 In other great cycling news, William got his first bike!  It’s a Strider bike that has no pedals but provides for kids the ability to push themselves with their feet while learning their balance.  William’s maiden ride on the bike was successful with big smiles and laughs followed by the required “I have to taste this thing” by trying to eat the handlebar.  William’s legs are a bit too short yet for him to fully utilize the bike on his own but he’ll grow into it quickly.  His bike also matches his dad’s in its yellow and black paint scheme.  Look for William to be flying by on a sidewalk or patch of grass nearby this summer.

I’m sure the month of March had many other great events taking place but I cannot think of anymore at this time.  On that note, THE END.

Working

Putting in the hours in the name of the game to get things done at work, at home and on the bike.  It's been well over three months since the last post because of just that... work.  Work itself has been extremely busy with an increased amount of work with less resources to go around.  16 key enterprise-wide projects to oversee and ensure each and every milestone is hit and objective met prior to established due dates.  Not easy to do when your team consists of your manager, your two employees and yourself.  No worries though, the annual plan I developed is in motion and moving swiftly.  Now just to get through the onsite review with the Feds.

Work at home has been progressing well too, just slower than ever expected but we're almost done with the remodel of the upstairs bathroom.  With the help of my Pa we hung the drywall and I spent the next few weeks mudding the joints.  Only a few things to finish up and we'll have the bathroom usable again.  Remaining tasks are painting (second coat), caulk around the tub, tile the floor, put in the vanity and install the toilet.  Aiming for a few weeks out for wrapping it all up.  Amy and William are getting antsy to use the new tub and shower and are getting sick of the walk downstairs.  The hours of work put into this project makes you appreciate what all goes into the full remodel of any room in a house.

Cycling has been going well also with additional time being put in to up my fitness for a challenging year of racing ahead.  I completed my first power test of the year a few weeks and the results were quite surprising.  I didn't anticipate the higher than expected sustained power output but it did provide me with additional motivation knowing that I'm not in as big of a hole than originally thought.  I'm also using new software to analyze my workouts and applying new metrics to track my ongoing progress.  I'm looking forward to having a few months of additional data to leverage many of the interesting analysis tools that are provided.  More hours in the saddle and focused attention to each training detail are required for continued progress and my eyes on strictly focused on a few important goals.  Should be interesting to see how they play out.  Until spring is here and racing starts it will be just long and tiresome hours on the trainer in the basement in front of the TV.  Can't wait!

I also can't wait to see what William will be up to in a few months.  His 1st birthday is just around the corner (1 month from today) and he's already walking fairly well with significant progress each day.  It's amazing seeing what new things he's able to do each day.  Amy and I have already picked out William's birthday present.  He will be using it in no time and it will be fun to watch him speed around!  This next year is going to be a blast with many potential changes on the horizon.  I can't wait!