Monday, August 25, 2008

State Championship Road Race


This is me and a team mate waiting to line up to start.


Starting rollout.


Pack going by on lap one. I'm in there but you can only see my helmet in the back (behind the guy in the red and white jersey.




My team mate won the race this is him coming across the line.



This is me coming across the line. by the look on my face and the victory salute you'd think I'd just won a tour stage. haha.  I was very happy it went well. so A little victory dance just for me.




This last saturday was the state championship road race. It sounds much more prestigious that is it . It's just another road race. It's just that it's the last for the season. I went and raced. I a happy to report that it went really well, on the joel scale that is. I felt relatively good throughout the race and finished somewhere in the middle. A group of about 20 got away on down wind sprint during the first lap. I held on for about another 15 miles or so then fell off on a big climb on the second lap. 

The front group just barely got away from me. But I had decided that in this race vs previous races i would not blow up trying to stay with the front group. So I put in the hardest effort i could that I thought I could recover from well enough to finish somewhere in the mix. At durand and marty I chased the front group to collapse then got passed by everyone later in the race as I was spent. this time after the front group got away I managed my effort to keep it sustainable then waited for groups to work with from the rear to catch me and I piled on the first one. there were 3 riders from birchwood, a grand performance guy and another i didn't recognize. 

Quick note on the birchwood guys, Super good guys, very cool and good to share the burden with. Kudos and thanks to the birchwood guys.

They haven't posted the results yet but I think I finished in the low 30's somewhere. There were 49 starters. 

While my finishing place doesn't reflect it I did much much better. I was very comfortable in the peloton. I managed my effort much better. I still had some cramping issues which is odd. I've ridden further and harder with the club and not had that happen. I think it's the food and drinks that i'm taking prior to the race that may be the culprit. have to do some experimenting there.

It was nowhere near as painful as durand or marty. I was spent when i crossed the line but the agony getting there was much less.

I am looking forward to the spring races now. I think If i stay on track with my training I may hang on the the front pile in one of the spring races, cross your fingers.








Sunday, August 10, 2008

Bad days happen

So went out for a ride yesterday with the usual suspects and totally blew up.  I had no energy at all, nothing. I think a day like that is a canary in the coal mine. It's an indicator that something is going on. In the past these days almost always came at the end of a particularly wearing time or a time where I am not being mindful of recovery and rest. 

I have had so little down time after ragbrai. I am sure yesterdays debacle is nothing more than my body saying basta! So I need to go on a recovery schedule for a few days and see what happens.

I am sure this is boring for anyone who may chance upon this but if this i to be a semi record of my effort to become a middle aged bike racer I sure note this down turn for future reference.

So there you have it.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Back from Colorado

Hey all, home at last and home to stay for a bit. 

A bit up blog updatery. I finally posted a new song o' the day... enjoy!

Colorado was good. The mountains were beautiful as expected. we went for a couple of amazing hikes. One was way above tree line so everyone was huffing and puffing pretty good but we all made it. We hiked up to a ridge next to a peak and you could see up and down the mountain range to the horizon. Truly amazing and well worth the effort.

I did not get to Bike as much as I would have hoped. I only got out twice last week in the mountains. Both were high quality workouts though so not to bad. The hikes were also good workouts to i doubt I lost any fitness while I was out there. I am looking forward to settling back into a more regular cycling schedule.

 There is the possibility of one more race for the year. It's a really challenging road race. I may do it knowing I will likely get dropped. But if others on the team are going to give it a crack I will too. I don't think I'd like to go it alone like the marty MN. road race.. that sucked. 

Mostly I am totally tired from ragbrai and then going to colorado with no recovery time. So once again I'm looking forward to hunkering down into a more regular routine and getting settled a bit.

Also It august In Minnesota so it is time to start getting ready for ski season. Trail running and mountain biking as prep will start soon. I am already lamenting that road bike season is coming to a close. Like I didn't ride enough road this spring and summer.

One more race to close out the season I think..... see how we ended up for the year. Start planning for the spring races. The durrand road race is only 8 months away.... haha.  

I'll post some colorado pictures as soon as i get a sec to pull them off the camera.

until next time..

"the world belongs to those who show up"  my mom