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.