Gary David Training/Racing Log

Migration

2007-12-16T11:51:00.000-05:00

I decided to migrate my blog to gcdavid.wordpress.com. After reading some other posts at Wordpress, I liked the look and function of that site more than blogger. But, I am keeping my gdracereport.blogspot.com at it current site with Blogger.

Later!

Blame it on Thailand

2007-12-12T14:21:00.000-05:00

Those astute observers of my race on Sunday would have noticed that I won the thing on a pit wheel. While Zipp 404s aren't bad, I do like my Ksyriums with the Challenge Grifos on them. I glued them with help from a team mate, and they have served me well all season. However, a major drawback of the Grifos was one of them came with a long stem, while the other came with a short stem. This is a problem since I could not get a pump on the short stem one without losing lots of air or using an adapter.

So, I am pumping up my tire on Sunday and trying to take the adapter off when the valve snaps. About 15 minutes before my race. After a quick visit to the pit and a trial run of the Zipp, off I went into the history books.

Today I cruised by Landry's to see if anything could be done for the tire. Verdict is that the stem can't be replaced. Let's call Bikeman and see what can be done since this is where I bought it. I'm told by the very helpful people at Bikeman that they get the tires they way they are produced at the factory in Thailand. The batches that they've been getting have short stems on them. The only way to fix them is by taking the valve core out, putting an extender on it, etc., etc., etc.

However, all is not lost! I am told that there is a service called Tire Alert that will fix your tubbies. So, I am left with a tubbie that is in need of a new tube and resew. It just so happened that when the tire was deflated there was some peelage going on at one part of the tube. I was actually able to peel the tire off the rim by hand in the store. Hmm, looks like I was living on borrowed time. But, they lasted a whole season without rolling off the rim, which is more than I can say for A LOT of people, and you know who you are.

Searching around the web for some OUTSTANDING deals on the Grifos didn't turn up anything too spectacular. But, it is the end of the season. I have plenty of time to think about it and plan my next move.

Take Two!

2007-12-10T06:47:00.000-05:00

That's a long day driving back and forth to Warwick to race. By the time I got home on Saturday, it was daddy time, with no time for a nap or much rest. Plus, it is my wife Lara's b-day on Monday, so we dropped the kids off with friends and went out for dinner. Didn't get to bed till about 10:30pm, with a 4:00am alarm set. Ugh. Another long day on Sunday.

Thankfully, I didn't have to do the drive alone. Picked up Scott S. to trek down for Sunday. Good thing about going down to the same venue location is that you don't have to worry about getting lost. When we got down, the course from yesterday was now today's parking lot. So I guess the course is going to be different.

Fate would have it that we parked basically next to Skip Medeiros and the crew from Scottee's Westport Bicycle. Skip and I battled all day yesterday with me taking the win and Skip pushing me all the way. We would end up spending a lot of time together during the race today.

Course was pretty different, although some of the sections were the same. A lot more twisty in between trees, with longer sand sections and shorter road sections, with a downhill finish. You can check out the course and the first lap of the 3/4 Masters from Mike Lowry's buttcam.

Doing the warmup, I couldn't figure out where I was going because part of the course from yesterday was run in the opposite direction today.

I registered early so I was on the front row again. I looked around to see who was where, and saw Skip who gave me a nod. The start was a little hairy in that we rocketed on road into a 180 degree turn left into another 180 degree right turn that went into the first sand section and first run-up. Getting into the sand in good position would be key. Since it was an open road start, I was able to be about 8th wheel going into the sand.

A common theme for the course was a little technical skills went a long way, especially on the sand. Drawing from my repeated viewing of cross races on cycling.tv, I felt pretty comfortable on the sand despite not having raced on it for all year in this form where it was actually rideable. I was able to ride past other guys in my group, hit the run-up with momentum, grab the bike by the down tube, shoulder, sprint, and remount into around first place.

The run-up was followed by a steep downhill onto the road and into a set of uphill barriers. I was now in the lead, with a group of three right behind: Roger Goulart (Scottee's), Matt Theodore (Cape Cod Cyclist/E-Caps), and Skip. Having two guys on another team was a little disconcerting, so I decided to really hit the gas on the power sections. I noticed that I had the sand dialed in better than the other in our group, so I used that as an opportunity to put in a gap, while they were able to rail the corners faster.

I was hoping to push the gap and the pace so that others would make mistakes by taking risks trying to catch up. This happened around a hairpin from dirt to pavement where Skip lost a wheel and slid out. This was right before the finish line and long road section. So, I went into time trial mode and hammered the biggest gear I had, almost overcooking the corner.

I had a pretty good gap going into the sand and into the run-up. On the remount, I spaced out and missed my f'ing saddle. In the process, my bike twists and slams into the dirt and I end up on the ground. Rule number 1: Do not lose focus!! I grab my bike and remount, only to notice my left shifter is now at a 45 degree angle on my handlebar from the 90 degrees it should be. Uh oh. And my left shifter is set up Euro style, meaning that it controls my back break. And I'm going into the steep downhill into barrier section.

I don't need to shift out of the big chain ring since I've been running that all day. But, the brakes could come in handy. A quick check shows they work, but I have to position my hand at 45 degrees to use them. Now I'm back into second or third place after the group caught up to me, and we have 2 laps to go. It's going to be a dog fight.

Roger goes in front on a fast section, so I'm thinking they're going to do the 1-2 on me. I am able to gap them again on the second sand section into the lead again. I'm holding the lead into the bell lap, trying to build my gap. The bike is holding together, although it is a bit awkward to brake. Into the barriers the last time, and Roger shoots past me like a rocket. After the race, he said he didn't hit the brakes. I guess not, because now I'm second.

Thinking about the rest of the course, I know I've been a lot faster on the sand, so I sit and wait, saving some energy. We hit the sand with me in second wheel, and I hammer it, riding up until the short hill. I notice out of my peripheral vision he had to dismount much earlier. So, I'm now back into first. I have to keep the pressure on.

I rail a corner a little wide and brake a stake. I go into the steep downhill uphill mulch pit, and my right foot clips a stake. I hear Richard Fries say "And Gary David baubles on the descent, but keeps it up right!!" I know Roger is on my tail pretty close, but there are not real good sections to pass me from here on out. I am trying to keep it fast but in control while he is trying to catch up. Keep the door closed on the inside into the turns, accelerate hard out. Repeat.

We hit the final turn onto the pavement and I have enough of a gap to now that he is not going to pass me. Richard Fries announces my back to back wins and I pump two fingers into the air. Matt takes third.

Best moment of the race (besides winning) was when I hear Richard announce that the Minuteman Road Club is leading the 3/4 Masters and the Cat 4 race, with Steve Wright earning the BadAss award for winning with a broken wrist that he did half way through the race. Unreal stud.

I was able to celebrate with my MRC team mates. Rob had a nasty cut on his knee. Steve a broken wrist. I had a few layers of skin taken off my shin by my back tire grinder on the missed dismount. But, we had two victories, which would turn into three when Tommy Gougen won his race, with Christina taking second in her race. A great performance by the MRC crew, which has now turned into some kind of cross team.

Here are the partial results:

3/4 Masters
1 Gary David (Minuteman Road Club)                                   32.41
2 Roger Goulart (Scottee's Westport Bicycle)                            
3 Matthew Theodore (Cape Cod Cyclist/E-Caps)                          0.11
4 Chris Brown (Corner Cycle)                                          0.27
5 Mitchell Medeiros (Scottee's Westport Bicycle)*                       
6 Christopher Cyr (Bikeman.Com)                                       0.50
7 Jack Hayden (Essex County Velo)                                     1.08
8 Derek Griggs (Recycled Sports)*                                     1.10
9 Robert Carmen (Team International Bike Club, Boston)                1.28
10 James Paterson*                                                    1.39

SHAZAM!!!!

2007-12-09T04:37:00.000-05:00

The last time that I raced CX in RI was Nationals, when a double flat saved me from the a$$-kicking I was getting in the 35-39 race. With those happy memories, I ventured back down for the first of a two day adventure at Goddard Park. I hadn't had time all week to ride my CX bike, putting time in on the trainer watching World Cup races on cycling.tv. Lack of prep time means one of two things: Good race or bad race.

This was a new course at this park, so no one knew what to expect. Rich P. and I arrived at 7:30 to see the course still being strung. There was a coating of snow on the frozen ground. I've never ridden a bike on snow (almost literally true). This is going to be interesting.

After changing in the heated (and still relatively unused) heated bathrooms, Rich and I made our way to the course. Our start was tenuous at best. Not being sure how fast or sharp to take the corners meant a slow warm-up lap.

The course itself was very cool actually, and had my name all over it. It was wide enough for almost constant opportunities for passing. There was not too much elevation change either. It started on a road that was slight uphill that went for about 1/2 mile until it hit smooth grass. A series of tight turns in trees followed up a tricky tight off-camber right (made the more tricky because of the frozen tundra). Straight section into a tight left-right combo, followed by another straight section into a hairpin-right turn combo. This led to another straight (more or less) that was slightly downhill into a sweeping right leading us to the beach.

The beach was very rideable in warmup because it was frozen. But, by game time, it had loosened up meaning you had to do a quick run and remount. A few more turns into a tricky off-camber steep downhill into a run-up and hairpin steep downhill. This led to a long road section (yeah!) followed but a short climb, series of turns, another off-camber, round the gazebo, down to the road again, two lefts and to the finish.

All in all, this course should be blazing fast. But, the snow and icy ground was going to complicate things immensely. After a decision to go to the spikes, I made by way to the start as they were starting the call-ups. Have to work on that timing.

Front row start, which really didn't matter because the road was so wide there were only three rows. I commented to another person that it was the most starting room we have had. We start and I am shocked to find myself third wheel. I always wondered what I could do if I had a decent start, and now I get to find out. As we approach the grass, I think to myself "Self, you've never led onto the grass before" and accelerate around the two guys to be in first place. And I'm building a lead. And, as the Europeans say, I had good sensations in my legs.

But, we hit the Cat 4s right away. Way in God's name do they have us start behind the Cat 4s is beyond me. Now, it is not a Cat 3/4 35+ race; it is a Cat 3/4 35+ AND Cat 4 race. This shuts down my forward progress and I try to go around people and a few guys in my race catch back up.

Hitting the beach, I decide to ride it after watching the race in Koksijde 5 times. I actually do ride the sand and steep grass hill out of it, but I have to go so wide that I lose two spots and am not in third. Whoops. I jump back on second place and we're hammering through the 4s, when he skids out on an off-camber. I narrowly miss riding over his hand and arm. Luckily, because it was an off-camber, he slid out of my way. I just on first place and away we go.

We're railing around the course pretty good, a classic match-up. He is strong in the turns and I am strong on the power sections. We keep getting caught up with 4s who insist on cutting between us. Note to any 4s reading this: if people from another race pass you, and they are leading, do not interfere with them! How do you know they are not in your race? LOOK AT THE GD NUMBERS ON THEIR JERSEY!!!

We're going into the steep off-camber downhill-uphill combo. A 4 go skidding down in front of me, and another piles into him. I stop in time to avoid going down, but my back tire is out of the drops and rubbing. After I run-up I have to stop, undo the skewer, re-align the wheel, tighten the skewer, and go. Now 1st place is away from me by about 20-30 seconds. Damn! Time to time trial.

I am able to make some ground up little by little, and then "Ding-ding-ding" bell lap. WTF??? We have only been racing for 20-some minutes. It is supposed to be a 40 minute race. And we are not doing 10 minute laps. I power up the hill, with Richard Fries yelling "THE PROFESSOR IS RIPPING THROUGH THE PACK." Arms resting on the center of the bars, I am all in. Time to catch 1st place.

I get to his wheel just about as we're getting to the grass. Decision time: do I sit and let him lead, or throw down and go past him? Again, a voice from cycling.tv says when Bart Wellens caught the group at Koksijde, "My favorite tactic is to go right to the front after chasing back on." Alright then, away we go. I rocket past him hard, drawing from a running tactic of trying to demoralize by putting in an aggressive surge. I gap him as we go into the trees.

I know that he is better in the turns, but if he wants to pass, it is going to hurt. Out of every corner I hit the gas. Those intervals on the trainer are starting to pay off. Rev it up and go. We are now flying as we pass more 4s. I've never led into the last lap. I am just focusing on the course and the ride, running clean lines and accelerating like mad. Once we hit the road, I am gone. I look back and I see a bigger gap. Time to move and put it away. Through the off-cambers, round the gazebo, and back to the road. Time to look back, adjust the jersey, arms in the air as Richard says something like "The Professor gets an A for this race today!"

Only a 33 minute race! We could have had time for one more lap, but that's cool. I talked to second place afterward at the podium, and he said, "When you went by me, I thought "Oh F--k, where did he come from? I thought you were done." Turns out we had about 1:00 on the rest of the 3/4s 35+ crew. And he's 45+. Absolutely a strong technical rider. But today, it was my course.

Page Finding Traction

2007-12-07T08:46:00.001-05:00

I don't know who else where there, but this is good to see:

Ciclocross Internacional Asteasu - C2

Asteasu (Guipúzcoa), Spain, December 6, 2007

Results

1 Sven Nys (Bel) Rabobank
2 Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Sunweb Pro Job
3 Radomír Simunek (Cze) Palmans-Cras
4 Jonathan Page (USA) Sunweb Pro Job
5 Constantino Zaballa (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne

Hopefully some more good results for NE's (or New Belgium's) own. Check out his site.

Transitions Part III

2007-12-05T21:15:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again for an identity change. Off with one uniform and on with another. I've been thinking about the transition from crosser to runner and getting into the Boston Marathon training. While by racing has been good, my running has been lousy, and my swim non-existent. Hard to juggle everything all year long. Even the pros take time off, right?

Went for an 8 mile run today, trying to remember how you dress for a cold weather run. Rule of thumb: you should start the run feeling a little cold. If you start warm, you'll overheat. Ended up doing the 8 (actually 8.13) in around 56:35. Felt pretty good for most of it, with somewhat snappy legs. But, the form definitely isn't there. Only about 17 weeks till Boston. Time to get that base together.

That said, I'm looking forward to RI this weekend, and hopefully Natz Schmatz after that. I've had a lot of fun this season, met some nice people, and had some success.

Am I a crosser who also does tris and road races? Am I a runner who also does cross and tris? Am I a triathlete who also does cross and road races? Hard to say. I definitely appreciate the cross vibe at the races. At the same time, triathletes are extremely supportive. It is weird when you are running past people and they are cheering you on, as you pass them. When was the last time you saw that at a cross race? Roadies forget about. Take themselves waaay too seriously. MUST SPRINT FOR 17th!!! You have to appreciate runners. No special gear, no frills, just pain. Nothing like getting on the track for interval training when it is 95F out. Or, going out for 20 miles when it is freezing and sleeting. Just a shrug and a start of the watch.

It's all good. Better than doing nothing. Why do we do it? We do it because we can, and we know it always won't be this way. Hopefully later rather than sooner, but that's only a hope.

Wrentham CX Exploits

2007-12-03T19:32:00.000-05:00

For anyone that hasn't had the pleasure of showing up at 6:00am to set up a cross course, and then stand around for the next 6 hours waiting for your race to start, in below freezing conditions, only one thing to say: don't try this at home; we are professionals.

Most people have said what there is to say about the day: cold. At least there was no wind, but it seemed to get colder as the day progressed. Racing was a relief compared to standing around. How cold was it? Plenty of beer to go around, and I didn't want to drink any of it. The coffee, however, looked pretty good. And I hate Dunkin Donuts coffee (I think you have to be a native to tolerate the stuff).

It is very rewarding to be in a position to give a race back to people and see them enjoy it. Everyone seems to like the course and the small changes we made to it. I got to add my own imprint by doing the "corkscrew" feature at the top of the hill where neutral support was located. It is a lot of fun looking at a landscape (or canvas) and letting your creativity work.

My race was decent for a time. I was seeded 13th based on Colin's point system. Whatever. I was still in the second row. Start goes and I head to the back. WTF!!! What is my deal? I'm pathetic.

A Masters 35+ race is an interesting thing compared to the 3/4s. Generally in the 3/4, once I pass people, they stay passed. Plus, people don't usually come up from behind and pass me into the race. Not so here. Much more fluid and dynamic. Makes for a more fun experience.

I settled into a good group of four guys, and we were about 9-14th places. I was feeling pretty good lung-wise, but the legs were a bit dead from being there so long. Not much snap to them. More like a diesel engine: once I got going, I was good. But, it took some time to get there.

Funniest moment was when a rider from Corner Cycle had his child there, who yelled "Go faster daddy!" Even though we were well into the race, everyone in our pack had a chuckle at that.

I was starting to feel stronger when my chain popped off the front chain ring going down the bumpy hairpin by the second barriers. I didn't panic and tried to shift it back on. But, my cassette wouldn't turn. I dismount to check out the damage, and somehow my chain is inside my cassette AND outside my chain ring. Huh, that's different. No panicking, I fix the problem, but lose about 30 seconds in the process, and lose my group. Time to chase, but with 1 1/2 laps to go, not much time to do it.

I was able to make up some ground, but nothing substantial. I checked behind me and saw Doug A. from Joe's Garage behind me. He can ride, but I had a good enough gap that he wasn't going to catch me. I rolled into 13th place, which is exactly where I was seeded. That's symmetry. Mildly disappointing given the mechanical. But, at least it wasn't like Bart Wellens from this weekend. After watching the race on cycling.tv today on my trainer, I think he had a pretty good shot at Nys.

One more major race weekend in Rhode Island, and then maybe Natz Schmatz if enough people sign up. I am hoping that they do. I am also hoping to podium at least once this weekend. I've been close at Sterling, Noho, and a few others since upgrading. It would be good to bag one. Need to pull a better start and give myself a chance. Then let the games begin.

Half full or half empty?

2007-11-29T08:52:00.001-05:00

The results for Palmer were finally posted, and they were very interesting on a number of levels:

Masters 35+ (cross Cat 1-4)
PLACE   BIB  FIRST         LAST NAME        TEAM
1       379  John          Foley            MTBMIND.COM
2       367  Mark          Gunsalvs         Bikebarn Racing.com
3       370  Jeff          Molongoski       Joe's Garage
4       375  Brant         Hornberger       Fitchburg Cycle Club
5       380  Michael       Patrick          Gary Fisher/Subaru/GU/Kenda
6       366  Ian           Modestow         Joe's garage
7       355  Matt          Domnarski        Horst-Benidorm-PRC
8       372  Wade          Summers          Horst-Benidorm-PRC
9       353  Gary          David            Minuteman Road Club
10      354  Dominique     Desmonts         Tokeneke Road Club
11      364  Jack          Madden           The Hub
12      373  Mike          Spangenberg      Cyclonauts
13      374  Christopher   Evans            NCC
14      368  Joe           Rodrigues        Cyclonauts
15      365  Patrick       Brandon
16      371  John          Slyer

So, I either had a Top Ten finish in a Masters 35+ race (not too bad), or I was more than half-way down the results (uh oh). Got me to thinking about how we measure "success" or what we look for when we tally up the ledger sheet at the end of the race day.

I am currently involved in a research project looking at performance metrics for companies engaged in medical transcription. In a data-driven world, there are any number of measures that we can construct and contrive in an attempt to portray "what happened". Behind the veneer of any "objective measure" is a subject judgment that is made regarding what goes in and what stays out. When we think about "success" or "failure", we likewise enter into the same exercise. Is the glass half full or half empty?

Our humble MRC club is trying an experiment in our Wrentham CX race start staging using Colin R's crossresults.com as a way to line up. That should be interesting. I do not know the methodology Colin uses, I'm sure it is "sound" in a relative way and makes "sense" on some level. Kudos to Rob Bauer for trying to find an "equitable" way to line up the races. Given that the fields are not likely to rival the 80+ fields at a Verge race, the methodology probably won't matter too much in the end, but it will be an interesting experiment. But, again, it is just one measure among many that could be used.

I find it interesting how we become fixated on certain measures of success that are somehow meant to convey "success" or "failure" across experiences that are relatively individual. Was Palmer a success (Top 10) or a failure (bottom half)? These measures place me relative to other people who were there at the same time as me in the same race. However, were we in the "same" race? It was my third race of the weekend, I am lousy at technical stuff, my cleats were shedding dirt less well than others (making it more difficult to reclip), I had different people to pass at different moments, I had no team mates to ride with in my sub-group, etc., etc., etc. How are these variables factored into the ultimate equation of success and failure? Are these "factors" or "excuses"? How does a factor (something that has legitimate impact) became an excuse (something that has a diminished legitimacy)?

I was reading the blog of Christine Vardaros regarding her exploits in Europe, and the travails of Jonathan Page in regards to his team's "disappointment" with his "results." Christine just did a couple of races after experiencing two concussions. A factor or an excuse? Jonathan has been sick, as well as had some "bad luck" (factor or excuse?). I would say legitimate factors for sure, but how easy would it be to turn these things into excuses?

Even though we are racing at different levels, with different stakes, and in different geographies, we are all going through the same calculus of the end-of-the-day ledger sheet regarding success or failure, factor or excuse. But then we should also remember the ultimate equation: A day on a bike > a day not on a bike. When put in this perspective, having the chance to fail on a bike is better than not having that chance at all. I hate to say "We're all winners" because that always sounds hollow when I hear it at a race. Or, to paraphrase George Orwell, "We're all winners, some are just more winners than others." In a sense, though, maybe that is the most accurate way to look at it.

Was Palmer a success or a fail? Top 10 versus bottom half? The answer is: Yes.

Wrentham and Shot Clocks

2007-11-28T06:06:00.000-05:00

Only a few days till Wrentham MRC CX. Fun course with cold temperatures. Sign up while the signing is good.

Random thought: Shot clocks at the check out registers in stores. 35 seconds to complete your transaction, ask your questions, use your coupons, swipe your credit card, whatever. If you can't complete the transaction in that time, you turn the cash register over to the next person in line. Might have to have a longer shot clock in grocery stores. I'm still working out the details.

Glad that's over

2007-11-26T14:53:00.000-05:00

Three races in four days. Not exactly a stage race, but tiring nonetheless. But what fun we had.

To imagine Palmer CX, take Sterling and do the exact opposite. A small intimate affair on a lot of single track with roots, step run-ups, technical riding. Even Mr. Paul Curley was riding without his disc wheel in the back. It was like Bizaro-world.

I saw this course on the pre-ride and thought "What in the hell am I doing here?" Technical riding is not my thing, and this was definitely not my thing. But, you should never judge a course on the pre-ride, and a course has a much different feel "at speed" than just riding around. It is amazing how speed can transform a course. Not that I have a lot of speed, but you get the point.

I was wondering at the start of the day how long it would take for someone to utter the words "old school" or "before the UCI" or some such derivative. I heard it first right before the Cat 4 race at 9:00. "This is what all the courses used to be like before the UCI turned cross into grass crits." Bing, bing, bing. We have a winner!

I was glad I got there at 7:30am, even though my race wasn't until 10:00am. I was able to go around 4 times, each time picking up the pace a little bit. There were definitely harder and easier lines, and trying to discern which way to go.

You have to love low key races. Not that people don't race as hard, but it is a totally different vibe. You have about 30 guys toeing the line, all kind of laughing and hanging out (at least until the official say 30 seconds).

Got a moderately decent start and hit the single track. There was no crowd to speak of. We disappeared into the woods, only to miraculously reappear at the end of the lap. That's okay because there wasn't a lot of time for distractions. I was riding fairly well considering I suck at single track. I have been doing a lot of rides with other guys on the area trails, and that definitely helped. Had to ride light over the roots, balance through the corners, let the bike run downhill, sit back when climbing, etc.

There was one section where you rode down a steep grade into a 90 left which then became a steep run-up. I rode it a few times during the race, but opted to dismount at the top, run down, and run up. It wasn't a bad strategy. I didn't lose much time, and actually passed a few people who had to slow way down to dismount and then run-up. I had the advantage of cutting inside of them. It is important to know your limitations.

Oh yeah, can't forget the triple barriers, the river crossing over the palette "bridge", and the run-up from hell. This was like a 20 foot wall. By the last couple of laps, it was as if we were summiting some 8000m peak, one foot in front of the other, eyes cast downward. The people yelling encouragement didn't help either. One of my teammates was screaming to go faster. I almost hit him. But I was too tired.

There have only been two races this year where I was thankful for the race to end: Mansfield and Palmer. Both will absolutely kick your butt. The total body-wrenching pain is quite different from other anaerobic crit-type courses. Everything hurts. But, strange thing is that we call this fun!

Oh, and I finished 9th in the Masters 35+ 1/2/3 race. Basically I am very happy with that result. I got everything I could out of that course, and I left not bleed and not crashing (it wasn't for lack of trying). I got to race some guys hard, and experience a type of ride you really don't see all that much anymore. And the sad thing is that if you look at the New England Bikereg Cyclocross race section, we are down to one page. Three weeks left kids. Then what?

Could've been much worse

2007-11-24T17:25:00.000-05:00

That about sums things up for today. Could've been better, but could've been much worse.

Butt cold of course. About 20F when I arrived at 7:00am for the Bay State CX in Sterling, MA. Holy crap. The ground was frozen solid. Not much wind, but enough to make you want to take up bowling or something warm. At least the sun was out, with the tease of warming up. It did get warmer, probably up to 25F. The warm-up was more to see the course than to actually stay warm. As soon as you stopped, the warming effect was lost. Good thing the Super Strength Greyhound Juice was in effect. Kept the legs moderately toasty while surveying what Tom Stevens had in store.

Many of the old features with some new features. All in all, fun stuff. The run-up (frozen), the horse jump (frozen), the newly dubbed Subway and "Mind the Gap" barriers, and gravely tight turns. Plus, a few new items to break up the long straights, and a start on the track.

The first bit of contention started with the Verge staging guy lined up the 3/4s behind the 4s. Bad move. The race director came up to him and said that he had it wrong, that of course you put the faster guys in front of the slower guys. But, we were already staged, which meant a lot of traffic.

I had my usual so-so start. Some guy was leaning on me, and I wanted to flick him into the tape. But, not a good idea at the start. Made it around the track safe enough and into the downhill-run-up combo. I saw a pile up happening, so I figured to dismount early and run past people. As soon as I started down the short hill, my feet flew from under me on the froze ground. I slid down the hill, and so did other people behind me. I fell pretty hard on my right side, mostly back, and it is pretty sore right now.

After that debacle, I started to try to move through the crowd, which was not easy. It was as if there was someone in the trees with a gun the way people were going down around me. The course wasn't very technical, but icy and lots of inexperienced riders to go through. By this time I had no idea where I was in my race because we were all mixed together.

The next bit of excitement happened on a hairpin downhill by the pits. Guy in front of me goes down, and I have no where to go but over his bike. This was where riding over roots and such came in very handy, as I was able to ride directly over his bike very cleanly. However, by the time I was over his bike, I was in the trees, which presented a problem. After extracting myself from the trees, I was back on the course and able to find some room to groove.

Into the last lap, I heard a couple of clubmates who weren't racing yelling that the "leaders" were right in front of me. I didn't quite believe that, but figured I was in a decent position so I had better keep the gas on. I was able to catch a few more people, including a teammate on the last lap toward the end. Generally, I was powering past people on the straight sections pretty easily. I was almost able to catch the guy that was next, but ran out of real estate.

I looked at my watch and saw that I only raced for about 36:30 out of a 40 minute race. That was a major drag, as one more lap and I could have made up some more ground. What made it more depressing was that I was 4th in the 3/4 35+, missing the podium by one. I know that one more lap and I would have had 3rd. Tends to be a common feature of races now that I get short-changed on time.

All in all, it could have been a lot worse. I'm a bit disappointed for missing the podium. Second week in a row that I finished one spot "out of the money". But, I'm happy I was able to pull through so many people during the race. Gives me some confidence going forward.

Positives: Not giving up when things got sucky. Racing more aggressive. Riding over someone's bike.

Negatives: Lousy start. Not knowing how to ice skate. Still need to work on turns.

Two races in three days. One more to go!

Pedifile (sic)

2007-11-22T15:51:00.000-05:00

There is a gymnastics facility in Stow that was in the news recently. I guess there is an accusation of an instructor there raping former students of his while they were students of his. This was supposed to have happened at other facilities, I think. I don't know the details. Anyway, all I do know is that driving home there were four news vans parked at the Stow House of Pizza ready to beam to their satellites from on location.

I drive by the sign for the facility and someone has sprayed "Pedifile" on the sign. Great, something to take down my property values. Thanks a lot! Plus, if you are going to deface private property, at least have the common courtesy to consult a dictionary first so that you don't make yourself look like a bigger yahoo than you already do by spray painting on a sign. What a nimrod. But, I guess people that would spray point on a sign would be those who do not own a dictionary or any reading material beyond The Star or something.

In other news, did a 5k today, the Stow Gobbler 5k. First in a long time. I haven't been running at all since the bad toe incident. I wanted to go 18:00 and damned if I didn't go 18:00. Nothing stellar. Just enough to get a workout. Finished 6th overall and 2nd in my age group. Given the long weekend of racing that I have to deal with, I didn't want any heroics. Mission accomplished.

Product Review - Shave Deluxe

2007-11-21T18:41:00.000-05:00

Alright guys. You know how you hate razor burn, bumps, and stubble that comes from a not-so-satisfying shave. No matter the type of blade or gel or foam, we just can't get that smooth feel. And, we haven't quite crossed that bridge to waxing. So, what is a guy to do?

Enter Shave Deluxe. a new product that claims to "dramatically reduces razor drag allowing the razor to glide over your skin. At the same time it moisturizes and conditions the skin."

I became aware of this product through Bicycling Magazine and a review of the product in the Lab Rat section. There, it received 4 1/2 rats (out of 5 rats) and glowing reviews from the testers. So I decided to give it a try.

When I received it, I thought I had been had. No way this little bottle was going to work. Plus, the instructions say to use only about 5 drops of the product per "area". I defined an "area" from my foot to my knee, and another area from my knee to none-of-your-business. So ten drops per leg. Rub it in your hands, on your leg, and let the magic begin.

It was strange at first to use because there is no lather to guide your shave. Kind of like losing your place when reading. But, I persisted. The results? I have to say fantastic. It delivers everything that it offers. No burn, bumps, stubble, and a nice close shave. The only downside is that it can gunk up the razor a bit (being made of oils), so you need to clean the blade often. Other than that, it works really well. If you don't believe me, check out my legs at the next race.

The other positives are that it is a "100% natural blend of essential and base oils with a hint of menthol. Nothing artificial." Plus, no animal testing.

So, get some and try it out. I'm working on getting samples for all registrants at the MRC Wrentham Cross Race.

RATING (out of 5 )

Running with the big dogs

2007-11-19T06:01:00.000-05:00

Due to the timing of the races, I opted to do the Masters 35+ (1-4) race at Lowell. I started this season as a 4, upgraded to 3, and now I am racing against guys who really know how to race. Uh oh.

The course was really nice and fun. I'll post more at gdracereport.blogspot.com. But overall there was a little of everything. The bottom half was just like last year, with single track through the woods. Same barriers. But the top half was completely different due to the recent improvements made to the park (which is a very nice park!).

Race started on the cinder track at turn 3. When I arrived at 7:00am, it was frozen solid and fast. By 10:00am, it was soup. Thick cinder soup. With mud puddles. At the starting line, I was wedged in between cyber-luminaries Gewilli and CTodd. I've raced against both before, so that provided some comfort when looking at some of the other powerhouses in the race. On the front line, we were pretty widely strung out and had to funnel into a narrow track. By starts are usually lousy, but couldn't be today.

Bang! Of we go, sliding through the soup. I was about 10-15th wheel approaching a quick uphill 180 degree turn around a tree into the first barriers. Of course, some guy wipes out, blocking the whole field. While straddling my bike, I shimmy through the carnage to keep going. That loses me some time, but I don't have great expectations today anyway.

The addition of a steep hill that you enter through a 90 degree turn was a nice touch. The designers said they hoped this would be a runup, but it was definitely rideable. However, not when it is clogged with people. So, I enter the hill trying to ride it, see there is not way, and jump off, pumping up the hill with my bike. Thank you toe spikes.

There is nothing better in cross than getting into the rhythm of the course. As you go on in the race, you start to remember what is coming, know what gearing to use, and find lines that work (all in a course that is constantly changing due to other riders and wear). I was able to find a nice rhythm here. While some people were passing me, I was passing a lot of people as well. Other guys from MRC were cheering like crazy, so I figured I must be doing okay.

Two laps to go I am able to reach another group. It was very strange to be hanging with people that I had watched when I started racing when I thought "I'll never be able to hang with them." I found myself on a very familiar solid disk wheel, thinking "Holy Sh*t, that's Paul Curley." For those not in the know, Paul has been National Champ in various age categories many times, and continues to put people into difficulty on the course. To be on his wheel was just WEIRD.

When I bell lap hit, I was shocked because time was flying by. I had not been checking the lap cards because the track was so soupy it required pretty constant concentration. I was tail end of a pack of about 6 guys. Going into the final steep hill, I wanted to be closer to the front. I shot around most of them to get second wheel and hit the hill hard, able to ride up it with another guy from NEBC-CycleLoft. I knew I thought I could outsprint him on the track, so I was satisfied to sit on his wheel through the single track, just trying to avoid mistakes.

Once we hit the single track, it was big chainring time. People had been riding the extreme outside line because it was dry. I had been riding a middle inside line. We were hammering next to each other pretty good. I was trying like crazy to keep my line because the momentum caused by our speed and lack of traction caused me to start to drift to the outside. I was able to nip him at the very end.

I ended up with 6th place overall, which was HUGE for me. Slight bummer in that I finished one spot out of the money (would have won $10 for 5th). But, not complaints here. Everyone on the team was pretty impressed with the performance, which was nice to hear. I was impressed to. Fellow MRC'er John Smith said to me once, "You're never happy after a race." That is generally true. I'll typically find something to obsess on after a race that casts a pallor over the experience (John, being from Scotland, said that would make me a good Scotsman). This time, I'm pretty happy.

Positives: Running with the big dogs and not getting bit.

Negatives: My uniform is a disaster.

Things done well: Putting together things I've learned and been working on. Learning as the race went on. Start was smoother than previous ones.

Things that need improvement: Still everything. A little slow going into the barriers. Need to get in and out of the corners better. Was behind Wayne from NEBC-Cycleloft for a little bit, and he was great at it. Small things make for big separations in this group.

Back to the Treadmill

2007-11-16T07:15:00.000-05:00

After my toe healing enough to sustain running, I was all set to head to BC and hit the hills for a little running. But, the monsoon made me think better of it. So, off to the gym and the treadmill. First time I've been on that thing in quite some time. Some things to think about when running on a treadmill for the first time in a while:

-Try to find one that has some air circulation. I notice that some treadmills at my gym are in dead air, and you really start to heat up fast. Some air circulating is important

-Bring a towel. Don't want to have sweat flying off onto the person next to you. I hear a hat too (backward of course) to avoid constantly having to wipe off my face.

-Some people go for a slight incline as a standard approach to simulate air resistance, etc. I typically run flat. I only run once a week (or twice at the most) on the treadmill, so I don't feel the need to elevate.

-The first few times out, don't expect to run as fast indoor as you do outdoor. It will probably feel harder. It takes time to get used to the movement of running on a conveyor belt. Ease into it.

-If you are watching a tv that is to your right or left, there is a tendency to drift that way. Keep making periodic checks with your hands to see how far you've gone off center.

-I find treadmills a nice tool for easy runs and tempo runs, but not speed work per se. Anything shorter than a 1/2 mile pickup is too hard to manage with the speed control. Longer interval training is perfect for a treadmill.

-I tend to run off of heart rate more than pace on the treadmill. Your body doesn't know if it is going 6:00/mile or 6:20/mile. But it knows 90%MHR regardless of how fast you are going.

-I find gym treadmill running is a perfect opportunity to incorporate more stretching and core work. So, if you want to go 8 miles, but are getting bored out of your skull (or tired) dump at 7 miles and spend the next 20 minutes stretching and working on your core.

-Enjoy the scenery (but don't be too much of an obvious perv)

The Lonliness of Cyclocross Training

2007-11-15T05:48:00.001-05:00

Hit Thoreau club solo after posting a workout and having no one respond. A bit like high school when you have a party and no one shows. But, the truth is I enjoy training alone much of the time. It is great to have the camaraderie of others to push you hard, but at the same time going alone provides you an opportunity to do a workout that is structured and tailored to what you want to achieve and how you feel. I especially enjoy being solo on easy days. Just you and the bike/wetsuit/running shoes and time to spend without worrying about anything else.

Was able to get a solid 85 minutes of work, messing around with sprints, uphill dismounts, barriers, and starts. I spent ten minutes just working on dismounting. I read an interview with Jesse Anthony where he describes doing a workout by starting slow and getting progressively faster. On the first dismount of the day, I thought my legs were going to buckle. I just got a massage and my legs were feeling it. So, rather than trying to go faster, let's slow things down and build. By minute 8 I was starting to spring over the barriers and back onto my bike. What started as a horror show ended as a confidence builder. The cross adage: To go fast you have to slow down.

Much like being at Walden Pond in the early morning with no one else around, there is something transcendent about being in the woods on a fall day with no one else around, or riding across a field. Through any pressure for a hard training session out the window, or any expectation of what you should be doing. Just ride.

How to Go From DFL to 6th

2007-11-11T17:30:00.000-05:00

I was pretty fired up for this race. I had a decent week of training, Jeff the Supermechanic at Landrys tuned by bike while replacing my 105 shifter (more on that debacle later), and I have been racing pretty well. I wanted to get the race early, get my early laps in, warm-up on the trainer, get my game face on, and go. I even loaded up my IPod with tunes to get me in the zone.

Arrived early, met up with Bad Brad, and road off to check out the new course. Amazing how the first time around a course can seem like an eternity.

The lay-out was pretty nice. Bad Brad took a look at the course from the parking lot and said "Looks pretty flat". Um, yeah, around the parking lot. But that made up a short portion of the race. Plenty of fun to be had around the corner. I will have more on the course at my race review blog.

I was getting ready to get to the start, and CCC pulls up looking like hell, and very late as we were 20 minutes to the start. Asks me if I am going to be around to pin on his number.
Being the good teammate that I am, I say sure. I told him I would take him around the course once since he hadn't seen it yet due to his lateness. He comes rolling up with a number that looks like it was pinned by someone who was born blind and without thumbs, but whatever. Of we go.

Good thing to see the course right before the race, because it got chewed by the first race pretty good, altering some strategy.

We roll back and I go to the car to drop off my long sleeve jersey. CCC says the line up is starting so we go to the line. Cort managed a front row spot, but I was one over from him next to Rob and behind some other guy. No worries.

I'm feeling good and ready for action. The bad toe is pretty much healed, the bike is tuned, I have my embrocation on my legs, and it is a beautiful day. 15 seconds to go, hit the timer on the watch, right pedal at 2:00 position, body tensed, WHISTLE

Guy in front of me doesn't move. I mean not at all. Far be it from me to criticize someone else's starts, but I typically at least try to make forward progress. Nothing. He sits there. One thousand and one. One thousand and two. Now he realizes the race has started, and I am totally flummoxed. I try to clip in and go, and everyone is flying by. I finally get things going, hit the first turn, and enter the grass pretty close to Dead F'in Last.

Time for plan B. Lets see how many guys we can pass in the race.

I figured that it would take about 6:00 per lap, and I was pretty close to dead on. The first lap was around 6:15 because of the fence gates and trying to get around people. Things were stacking up, and I had to weave off my line quite a bit. After the first lap, I settled down into between 5:59 and 6:07 per lap. I started to race some people, especially one buy from Cox Communications. He made a nice move to get the good line through the second sand pit, I took the Line of Death, fell, and had to struggle to catch back up.

By two laps to go, I was totally grooving and feeling good. I was able to reel in more people, including Mr. Cox, and put the hammer down and finish around 6th. Overall, it was a solid race despite the Start that never was. CCC took 4th. You would think that given my sacrifice he would have at least got on the podium. Nope. Big let down for the team, but we'll soldier on.

Fun was had by all.

Positives: Sticking in there and sucking it up, and playing cheetah with the other cyclocross gazelles on the Plymouth Serengeti.

Negatives: Getting stuck behind a guy who did not understand how these races start.

Improvements made: Downhilling without braking. Hitting the corners harder and sprinting out of them. Creating space in order to get a better run on people.

Improvements needed: Not chopping my steps over barriers. Riding sand.

Next week: Lowell Masters 35+. I'm doomed.

Bad Toe

2007-11-07T06:52:00.001-05:00

When my first daughter was about 4 months old, I fell asleep while holding her. I woke up running a little late getting to the Wednesday night Stow ride. Stumbling from the chair, I fully caught my pinky toe on the door jam. It didn't really stub as much as pull away from the rest of my foot. Of course, I went on the ride.

So, in the interim from that moment till Monday morning, I was very careful about not making the same mistake twice. In some ways, I have been living in fear.

Monday morning, I was getting ready to go for a ride. I happened to clip a pair of shoes that were on the floor, resulting in the carnage that you see here. I didn't hit it hard, but obviously enough to cause some considerable pain and discoloration. I can only conclude that I have a very bad toe.

After falling to the floor, I was able to collect myself enough to go on the ride (which was very nice). But, here is the aftermath. No running for this week.

Here we go NoHo

2007-11-05T14:30:00.000-05:00

After running Northampton last year, I was looking forward to this year. I think it was one of the few races where I didn't flat last year and scored a 17th in the C (cat 4) race. This was going to be my first race as a Cat 3, racing against other underachieving older guys. The great thing about having a Cat 3/4 35+ race is that it allows us to take very seriously something that almost no one else cares about.

Adam Myerson and Cycle-Smart do a great job with this race. It is an awesome venue and a fun course. It was pretty much like last year, except for our entry and exit into the sand pit. Variance on sand pits seems to be the theme of the year, as evidence by Gloucester.

I was lined up in Row 2. The hole shot here isn't as important as other place because things can accordion because of the hairpin right and then S turn into the downhill. There is a stretch where you can pass a lot of people, which is what I did since my start was less than stellar, but not sucky like usual. Entering the sand I was about 15th. Gewilli had the hole shot, and Coley was placed well using his daredevil sprinting skills.

Things started to separate pretty quickly, but not as quickly as in the Cat 4s. Here people that are behind don't necessarily stay that way.

I ran a pretty clean course, except for some minor screw ups which can cost major against better competition. On the steep ride/run up, I got stuck behind people on laps 2 and 3, meaning that I lost all momentum on my dismount and basically stopped. I also had a problem behind someone on the run up where I lost momentum. This was my fault because I had the opportunity to pass people and not be behind them, but did not because I was content to ride behind earlier in the race, biding my time. Loser mentality that I need to change.

In the last two laps, I was paired with another guy and we rode together pretty tightly. I was taking better turns, and making up time where I would lose time before. On the last lap, I was in front of him, and decided that if he was going to stay with him, I would try to make it hurt as much as possible. I would sprint hard out of every turn and try to keep the hammer down. He was strong into the barriers, and passed me at the barriers on the last lap. Fine by me because I wanted to either drop him completely, or be second wheel into the sprint.

In the sprint, I was able to just put my head done and hammer. Last week I lost the sprint by half a wheel, so I was determined not to do the same this week. I put the turbos on (as much as I have), and was able to drop him and take 7th pretty comfortably.

Results from the race can be found here:

Positives were developing a "killer" attitude during the last two laps. Negatives were not having that attitude from the start. Another positive is feeling the flow of the bike and the course, and feeling connected to the whole thing. Hard to describe, but the sense that you are riding and not fighting the course.

Coley won second place in a sprint, or lost first place in a sprint (depending on your point of view). A lot of other MRC'ers in attendance. Funny to think Cross season is half over. But, still more fun to be had.

2007-11-03T10:27:00.001-05:00

Ryan Shay
05/04/1979 - 11/03/2007

US Olympic Marathon Trials

2007-11-03T09:07:00.001-05:00

Great race despite the lousy video feed. Thanks again NBC for completely screwing up coverage of everything that is not gymnastics or figure skating.

Ryan Hall is the man, running a 2:09 and breaking away to finish solo. Dathan Ritzenhein hung tough for second at 2:11. The story of the day is Brian Sell, who embodies the ethic that hard work can buy you talent. Not slated as one of the top prodigies in US running, the guy puts in 160 miles a week, works part time, and sucks it up daily. Nice reward for Keith and Kevin Hanson and the Hanson-Brooks Running Project. I had the pleasure of running with Hansons when living in Metro Detroit, and they are great guys. Kevin is flying back to Detroit on a private jet that he hired to coach one of his female high school runners who made the state X-country finals. And then he is flying back to NYC for the celebration. Too cool.

Khalid Khannouchi hung in there for 4th place, and 1st alternate. I would love to see him toe the line for the US after disappointments over the past years with injuries.

NBC will have coverage at 2:00pm if you want to check it out. Great way to get psyched for Noho tomorrow.

Here is your Olympic Marathon Team:

1. Ryan Hall (Ascics) 2:09:02
2. Dathan Ritzenhein (Nike) 2:11:06
3. Brian Sell (Hansons-Brooks) 2:11:40
4. Khalid Khannouchi (New Balance) 2:12:33
5. Jason Lehmkuhle (Saucony) 2:12:54

UPDATE: RYAN SHAY DIES DURING THE TRIALS
Wow. This is just awful. I read on one of the blogs during the race that he was having CPR administered to him off the course. Too reminiscent of Pat Bell at Ashland. A superb athlete in top physical condition dies of a heart attack. Thoughts and prayers go out to his family and those who knew him.

Now That's Entertainment!

2007-10-28T18:38:00.000-05:00

Canton happened today, and it was to be my last Cat 4 race before the big upgrade to 3. I had 25 pts., with 23 of them coming this season. So, time to make a move. I was hoping to go out in style.

This whole week I've felt like absolute dog crap. Not sick, but just lethargic with no pop in the legs. Last night, I decided to make the bold move and buy a six of Guinness. I have had Guinness at the top of the Guinness factory with a shamrock in the foam, in small pubs in Galway, in large pubs in Dublin, in Irish pubs in the Boston, and nothing compares to Guinness poured properly. I normally wouldn't commit such sacrilege, but desperate times call for desperate measures. After downing two, I went to bed and hoped for the best.

Got to the course early (as usually), hit the head, and off to the course. First race in the skinsuit, so I was sure I would be jinxed and wreck. Plenty of leaves to make the pavement interesting, loose stuff, tight turns, and long laps. I discovered it is a good idea to pre-ride the course when it is getting crowded. Helps to get a sense of what is going to happen during the race, such as where to pass, what lines you can take when you have to, and how best to avoid trouble.

I was first to the line before the race to reserve a front position. 100 guys in the Cat 4 race. Unbelievable. The road was wide enough to have 18 in a row. More fun. We had a flotilla of MRC guys on the right side.

I had another flying start. Absolutely beautiful. Struggled to clip in while people were flying by me. Once I got clipped, I went all out trying to save some spots. Thankfully, a bad start at Canton isn't the end of the world because you are basically diving from wide pavement to a wide dirt road. So, I was able to make it up and pass people.

Into the first stretch, I decided I would bunny-hop a deep groove in the course. I did it in practice no problem, and figured it would be a better line that trying to cram on the right side. I almost paid dearly for my hubris. After nearly going over my handle bars and wiping out in spectacular style, Mike Lowry commented on the beauty of my near impact. No time for complements; time to move on.

As we reached the pavement for the first time, I was about 7th wheel. As I made the turn, I heard behind my someone scrapping metal on the pavement. Assuming this was not intention, I gunned it, thinking that we would now have a gap.

Was able to start passing people through attrition and a few sharp efforts. Guy in front of me was taking really good lines, so I tried to follow. My desire was only limited by my skill level, which still is low. I would catch back up on the power section, and he would gap me anytime we turned. Until, of course, he bunny-hopped the low barriers. What an a-hole.

Ended up racing with the same pack of 5 guys for the entire race. What a blast. Trading leads, trying to attack, going too hard in corners and ending up in the weeds (again). Digging back. Mr. Rabbit was off the front, and I was with a group of three going into the last set of barriers. Guy in front thinks they lowered the barriers from 40cm to 37cm and takes a face plant. This leaves me and another guy up the finish hill. I figure he is all mine. I shift for the sprint, shift too much, legs say F-you, and I finish third by half a wheel. Bummer, but given the fun I had, I couldn't complain. I only wish they would have thrown one more lap, as we raced 37 minutes.

Great race and a great day.

Brrrrr!

2007-10-26T07:45:00.000-05:00

Woke up "late" this morning at 4:30 because of the Red Sox game last night. Temperature outside was 37. Good thing I have my new Thermal Jacket and Winter Bib Shorts from Capo Forma. Good Stuff. Nice and toasty for my 80 minutes of riding in the dark. The full moon was pretty amazing, as was the steam rising off of Delaney Pond. It's great to get out in the dark when no one else is around and the world seems to be your own. Sometimes I like to ride and run with an Ipod (I know, dangerous), but not in the morning like this. I like to hear twigs snaps, leaves rustle, owls hoot, and other unidentifiable noises. Saw a deer hanging out, sleeping horses, and came home in time to see the sun start to rise. Pretty cool.

Otherwise, lousy week of training. My legs have felt like scrap since the 12 mile run Sunday morning. Did some riding and a little running, but nothing consequential. Tried to do hill repeats on the bike on Tuesday and felt awful. Did some easy tempo last night and felt awful. When it ain't fun, it ain't easy.

Onto Canton this weekend. Likely my last race as a 4. Doing the 3/4 35+ for Nhampton. Time to step things up a bit. Hopefully the body comes around a little more. Tri + Cross = Long Season. Should be a fun course, though, and a good time.

Mansfield Race Review

2007-10-21T04:09:00.000-05:00

Each category out of 5

Parking:
Open-field grassy area after a day of hard rain has disaster written all over it. However, you park right next to the course. Was able to shuttle between car and warm-up very easily. Only major drawback as stepping in some kind of animal feces with my Crocs.

Registration:
Being early, it was not yet opened, but was going after one warm-up lap.

Race numbers:
Basically thick paper on a damp day? C'mon guys.

Bathrooms:
Two port-o-johns, but plenty of woods! (Sorry ladies)

Course:
Ask me this last year, and you would have had a much different response. If a cross course is supposed to make you hurt, this one fits the definition. A little too much grinding perhaps and not enough flow given the up and down. Plus, a damp field sucked with long grass sucked the life out of you quick. While the run down to the beach is fun, it could be lost to maintain some speedy sections. Does a course need four run-ups?

Pits:
A little tiny, but dual access. Not much room to stash bikes. Good thing I didn't need it.

Post-race Refreshments:
Stellar. Fresh-baked goodies galore. This race is a caloric break-even at best.

Prizes:
Seven deep in the Cat 4 race? Unheard of.

Overall:
Great race and great vibe. Definitely worth making the trip to check out, especially if you want to test your technical skills. You'll be feeling it in the morning for sure.

BONEHEAD - The Mansfield Report

2007-10-20T19:56:00.000-05:00

As my wife told me when I told her about going back down to Mansfield for the cross race, "That race is your Newman." I remember going down there last year and thinking, "This is a cross course? You've got to be kidding me." Dismount after dismount. Steep downhills. Steep run-ups. A crazy off-camber. I'm told "this is what cross used to be like." I guess the phrase is "old school." When everyone was caught up in the kumbaya moment of Gloucester, we were all going to race in CT this weekend. When the dust settled and the alcohol worked through the system, there were three of us from the club.

I was determined not to make the same mistake as last year, which was screwing the first off-camber. When I drove in, I saw my nemesis taunting me. After getting my stuff together, I went off to pre-ride the course. Pretty much the same as last year. Much of the pre-ride, I stopped at the lip of something that I would normally walk down (given my lack of technical skills). I was thinking to myself, "What the hell am I doing here."

But, I have a new bike, tubulars, a year worth of experience, and a can-do attitude. "No problem" I say.

Doing the off-camber the first couple of times in the pre-ride, I was able to work high and low no problem. I hooked up with Andy from Landry's and got his downhill advice. As he would go blasting over lips, trying to make things more challenging for himself, I would EASE my way down. But, at least I saw things were possible, and how to best attack it.

Got to the line-up in the front row. Not a big field with about 30 riders. A few familiar faces, some new guys who have never done cross before. One guy asks me, "How many water stops are there?" Water stops? "What pressure are your tires? About 80?" 80? Hmm. Better keep an eye on him. Important to get the hole shot.

As we line up, I'm brimming with confidence from my last races. I have my right crank at 2:00 (thank Jorge) and looking to go all out to the first turn. Bang! Away we go, with me cranking about second wheel. I keep digging to get the hole shot, and actually get to the first corner second wheel. I pass that guy going over the first barriers, and BAM, I'm in first place. Time to starting hammering the first lap hard and make people hurt. I'm going to sail through the off-camber, hit the down hill, pound the straight-away, and go all the home to VICTORY.

Wait, my wheel is sliding out. What's going on? I'm not going down on the off-camber. I am going down on the off-camber. Same spot as last year, people cussing behind me. I'm trying to unclip. I'm running with my bike. My bike is hooked on the course tape. I have to unhook my bike. People are sailing by me. Sh*t.

I finally disengage and start going like a madman. Of course no matter what else happens, I blew my first lead in a cross race by pulling the same BONEHEAD maneuver as last year. Priceless.

The rest of the race hurt like hell. The first place guy was off the front a good ways. I was able to pass everyone else on the first lap with my adrenaline rush, which wore off two laps too early. Coasted in for second place. You gotta love it.

Sandbagger Fallout

2007-10-18T19:19:00.000-05:00

After Cort has been skewered regarding his top-notch performance at Gloucester, I'm feeling left out. No one accused me of being a sand-bagger, which can only mean their comments originated in pangs of pity for me and my fellow Cat 4 brethren who were slain at the alter of the cross gods. DON'T PITY ME!!! FEAR ME!!! Whatever.

Signed up for Mansfield, to make my triumphant return after taking out the entire Cat 4 field on the off-camber from hell. Ah the memories. Hard to live that one down. We'll try 'er again this year with the tubulars and see if there is a different result. Only two more upgrade points needed before I can move to Cat 3. Not that I will of course. I still have 10 points to burn until I HAVE to upgrade. Might was well kick sand in the faces of the other Cat 4s before I end up in moderate obscurity at the hands of other seasoned Cat 3 (read "old"). If I do race 3/4 35+, at least I can be the young punk at 37.

Onto other news, thank god for saline nose spray. With the dry weather, I have been absolutely dying from nasal drip and a burning sensation. I can roll through a box of tissue no problem once the irritation starts. A few squeezes of this magic potion, and I'm right where I need to be. Better living through chemistry.

Early morning riser

2007-10-17T01:41:00.000-05:00

I'm typically an early riser, but this is ridiculous. 2:43am and I'm awake. I'll pay for this later. Hailey work up at about 1:20am, and I went in to see if I could help. The downside of that is, once I am up, I'm can't get back to sleep very easily. Also, my intense guilt won't let me go back to sleep when I know my wife is up with the baby. So, I'm hosed. The cat keeps wanting attention, and she is about to get launched. I'm usually a very caring and compassionate person, but not at the moment. Being nurturing without sleep is not one of my strong points.

No need for more Gloucester race reports. Short story for Sunday, I finished 4th. It is amazing the difference between third and fourth. While the other guys were on the podium, I was washing my bike. I could hear the call-ups to the podium as I'm trying to clean crud from my dérailleur pulleys. Nice. At least I got to see the crash in the Men's 3/4 race at the start. Nothing like scrapping metal to get your attention.

I was battling with another guy for third the last few laps, struggling to get his wheel, getting it, passing him, trying to drop him, trying to let him lead me out in the wind, then face-planting in the sand pit. Gotta watch those high-speed dismounts. I guess if you're not crashing, you're not trying. The other side of that is if you are crashing, you need better skills. I still keep running the last lap through my head. Gotta learn to let things go a little more.

The upside was everyone from the team hanging out and doing well, telling stories from their races. This is the great side of cross: the social and community nature. It has a different vibe from other types of activities. That's why you see such a strong on-line presence as well. Adam Meyerson had an interesting interview once about the virtual and co-located cross community. There is a lot to be said for it, and something people should experience more.

I was able to open the training back up after taking Monday off. Track work on Tuesday, with 1 mile and then 4 x 800. I dropped the last scheduled 1 mile. I figured 3 miles of speed work two days after Gloucester was good enough. Plus, cross practice tonight. I don't know what kind of shape I'll be in after 4 1/2 hours sleep, but what the hell. It's cross season.

Gloucester Day 1

2007-10-13T18:02:00.001-05:00

Arrived at the course nice and early, like running down stairs on Christmas. A few other cars were there, including two teammates. So, after getting myself dressed and situated in the cold wind, I went out for a warm-up with Cort and Rich. It's always fun to explore a course for the first time to see what the designers dreamed up in their diabolical minds. The course was FAST. The front section was basically the same as last year. Except for a lot of bumps and one hairpin, it was downhill all the way to the water. They changed things up a bit on the rest of the course. You had to go into a steep lip left turn, followed by another really fast downhill toward the rock monument. This is where the barriers were located, as you had to make a short "climb", into a short downhill slop to a tight left set of run-up barriers. The barriers already seemed tall, but given they were on a slope they seemed taller. Downhill fast toward the rock, along the grass pass the pits, tight turn left, toward the rock, sweeping turn along the water, other end of the
park, a few turns, and into the sand. The sand had turns in it and was rideable, but also runable. Down past the pits and into a short uphill and hairpin downhill into an off-camber and the SRAM corkscrew. Fast along the baseball field, turn right onto the road, and uphill to the finish. Repeat.

At registration, I was told that I was in the 4th starting position, which put me in the first row of 125 guys (and evidence of a quick finger for registration). The start is uphill, so I worked out my gearing before during warm ups. Everything was set for a good start. Of course, I had a bad start, not being able to clip in. On a flat start, clipping in right away is not so important; on an up hill it is very important. I go into the grass in about 10th or 12th. Not horrible, but not where you want to be when the lead guys are gassing it.

I was able to pass some other people right away, powering through the downhill and flat sections. A group of about 5 or 6 quickly formed. With me toward the back. Cort was up front in this group, and I was about 4 or 5 seconds back. This is the way it stayed for most of the race, with me chasing Cort. The guys I was with peeled away, as Cort was leading with another guy in tow. I was trying desperately to bridge up to them to give Cort some help, but ended up stranded in no-man's land fighting the wind. I had two guys behind me and two in front. Somehow I always find the gap. I was surprised to see me in third place by a good margin. Coley kept yelling "You're 15 seconds back. You can catch them." Yeah, right.

I was riding when I heard Richard Fries yell "There's been a lead change". Uh oh. Cort went down in the sand. I didn't see it happen. But I could see Cort a short distance in front. If I could catch him, it would be a bummer to have to pass him after he led for so long. But, that dilemma never ended up being an issue, as I couldn't quite get there. Ended up with a fist-pumping third place.

Overall, I was happy with the race, minus the start which cost me a chance to be with the leaders. The positives were less breaking, no crashing, and keeping it pegged riding solo "against the wind" which was pretty strong the entire race. Negatives were my start, not being able to bridge, and my start. Another positive was the tubulars stayed on (Tim Johnson can't say the same). At the end, I thought I was going to start dry heaving, which is another sure sign of a good cross race. Hung out till 2:00 watching the other races on a beautiful day in Gloucester.

Radiohead "In Rainbows"

2007-10-11T17:51:00.000-05:00

The new album is out, pay what you like, direct download from their website www.radiohead.com. You gotta love the direct marketing and sales. While you can download it for free people are still anteing up money. I know I did even though I didn't have to. It is an interesting social experiment to watch.

Making progress

2007-10-11T12:21:00.000-05:00

Decent week of training thus far. I have no idea what I did on Monday, although I am sure I did something. Who knows. The days tend to run together, punctuated by the 6 hours or so of sleep that I am able to link together.

Tuesday did a nice workout on the track: 8 x 800m. To make things interesting, I tried to put surges in the 800s to simulate cross efforts. First 200 really hard, settle in for 400, last 200 really hard. Was able to hit around 2:41 per 800 doing this. Not too hard of an effort; just enough to get the heartrate up and work the turnover. It was depressing in that the light was disappearing rather quickly, even though we started at 5:30. Winter in NE bites.

Wednesday we had a nice cross ride in Concord. About 7 of us screwing around, going hard, easy, riding different terrain, etc. I finally got my tubulars mounted, and wanted to test them out. Seemed to work fine. Thanks to Jorge for hooking me up with the final step of mounting. Very helpful and educational. Of course, if I race poorly, it is his fault. I reserve the right to make whatever excuses are most suited to account for any abysmal performance. Also good to have some excuses pre-race. And if you having an exceptionally poor race, it is a good time to think about what excuses you will use at the end. Saying something like "I don't make excuses" is just evidence of a lack of originality or creativity.

Thursday a wonderful 8 mile run at 4:45am. My legs felt below empty. But, it was nice to do an easy run in the pitch black and drizzle. I watched Ghosthunters last night, so that made running in the dark fun. I wish I had a graveyard to run by. Good for speed work.

Onto Gloucester this weekend. I have a Belgian-stew recipe in the slow cooker for tonight. Calls for 2 12oz beers to cook in. Can't wait to taste it. I love cross season. I have no idea what I did before it that was meaningful (oh yeah, marathons).

How to make 20 gears into 4

2007-10-07T20:38:00.000-05:00

Traveled up to Biddeford on Saturday for the Casco Bay Cross race. No bay to be seen, but a pretty fun cross course. Having to leave at 5:45am was painful, but having raced tris all summer, I'm used to the early hours. Poor roadies were suffering though.

Wanted to arrive before the Cat 4 race to preview the course. Good thing, because it was a course that you could cook through if you knew what to expect and where to go. This would be my second Cat 3/4 35+ race, and I was hoping to stay competitive after Bedford. After riding the course with my Minuteman teammates, I felt pretty comfortable. A nice uphill start into a section with tight turns, followed by a barrier run-up into a steep descent with a tight sandy corner. More downhill into a hairpin uphill (proper gearing essential). A nice and fast twisty downhill into a flatish section where you could carry a lot of speed. More flat with some turning into a beach section. Rideable, but also runable. More turns, a barrier log, and then a tough uphill grind on a dirt road. Repeat.

Got to the start line in plenty of time to get a prime spot. I wanted a hole shot and to be in good position to be with the leaders. At the whistle, I was able to hit about 7th, which wasn't too bad since my starts are typically awful. Things were looking good was we went through the barriers and the downhill. I wasn't hitting the brakes much, trying to put into racing what I practiced during the week. Hitting the brakes has been costing me time and effort, so this was what I wanted to focus on. The fast downhill section was where I was going to make up some time and stay with the leaders.

Going into a left-hand turn I overcooked the corner a little. Nothing major, just went off course a touch into some tall grass and weeds. As I peddled out of it, I noticed my chain starting to skip and would catch the cassette. I looked down to see my entire cassette engulfed in weeds that had become wrapped around the cassette. I was starting to lose spots as I tried to figure out what to do. Some guy goes by me and says "You're all wrapped up." Thanks for pointing that out.

Decision time. If I stop and try to fix it, game over. Might as well turn this into a training ride. If I keep going, might still be game over. I figure people ride single speeds all the time. I was able to find two gears (21 and 23) that seemed to work. Coupled with my big and small chain ring, this gave me four speeds. Alright!! Here we go. I started to catch back up to the end of my group as I worked these gears. I also noticed that if I worked the gears that were skipping, the teeth of the cassette would eventually chew through the weeds. This was a promising development. So, if I was behind some people and "coasting" a little, I would work a gear that would skip, hoping to break it free.

This was the strategy throughout the race, and I started to get some more gears back. By the end of the race, I had about 8 gears to run (out of 20). Not too bad. I started to pass people, and found myself in 7th overall (4th in age group, not counting the two juniors that were ahead. By 3/4 of the way through the race, shifted from offense to defense to preserve my position.

This worked, as I held off two guys that I had passed that were working together to chase me down. Finished 4th in the 3/4 35+, which is an improvement over Bedford. Happy with the way I rode, not having gone done at any point, and working the corners aggressively. During practice, I was able to ride the sand, but opted for running during the race, which was as effective. I was cooked at the end in the heat, but happy with the result.

Overall, a nice race with a lot of potential. Parking was a tad out of the way, but not bad. Pit location was brutal. Even though I had pit wheels, getting to them would have lost too much time. Plenty of port-a-johns in the area. Nice features on the course. Perhaps next year the family can make it a cross weekend by camping or something. Definitely worth considering.

Made it a good training weekend by running 13 relatively easy on Sunday. Looking forward to logging some time on the bike this week working on some technique, and then onto Gloucester.

You can't go home again

2007-10-05T08:20:00.000-05:00

Just returned from a quick trip to Detroit, doing some consulting work. I wondered how long it would take before "home" stopped feeling like home, and I found out on this trip. From the moment I was walking through the airport, things felt weird. I can't put my finger on it, but it seemed less familiar even though nothing in the appearance of the place had changed. Driving to Warren, I took note of the lack of trees compared to here, the number of people smoking in their cars compared to here, the lack of people exercising compared to here, and on it goes. The grid streets that exhibit careful planning but lack any quaintness or character. The whole thing just seemed foreign.

I got the chance to watch my nephew play waterpolo. A completely undecipherable game. No idea what was going on, outside of the goals. I can tell that water polo referee seems like a pretty good job. Basically stand in one place, blow a whistle, and make hand signals that no one understands. No one can get in your face to complain about a call because they are in the water. Plus yelling and treading water at the same time takes too much energy.

Went to the Olive Garden. Endless salad and endless pasta. Only problem is, endless amount of lousy food doesn't make it a better dining experience. The highlight of the night was the guy with the cigarette in his ear. I don't know why it was in his ear. Could be his lucky cigarette. Might be whispering things to him. Could be his way of saying to the world, "Even though I am sitting in the non-smoking section, I am in fact a proud smoker and sit here under protest." Hard to say what it meant, but this is another way to divide up the world: people who would wear a cigarette in their ear and those who would not. Now, I have known people who have worn cigarettes in their ear. I have enjoyed their company and some have been wonderful conversationalists, spinning yarns of how many people per cell at the county lockup, best remedies for persistent unemployment, and their views on matters of public policy. But, in this instance, the cigarette-in-the-ear guy just was a symbolic exclamation point on my trip back to Detroit.

Where does the time go?

2007-10-02T09:12:00.000-05:00

My 2 1/2 year old Amelia just got her first haircut. I didn't expect it to hit me like it did. She came back cute as ever, but I feel like I lost a the baby that I knew and got a little girl in return. For some reason, her haircut put an exclamation point on all the changes she has gone through. Amazing what a good haircut can do. Of course, Hailey still doesn't have that much hair, so they balance each other out.

Did a skills workout last night. The new bike felt very good, even without the new tubulars on yet. When am I going to get a chance to glue? Who knows. Hopefully this weekend. Working on braking less, turning faster, and reclipping in shorter times. Cross is like working on your golf swing (if I had a golf swing).

Carl Edwards got jobbed. Race should have stopped after the second rain delay, and he would have been sitting pretty in the Chase. Onto Talladega.

Say it Loud....

2007-09-30T19:08:00.000-05:00

The new ride finally came in. Well, the new ride actually didn't come in. But, the good folks at Landry's let me go with the Felt since the arrival of the Cannondales was delayed. So, I no longer will be riding the beautiful "Nubian Queen" that was the Surly Cross Check. Now, I will be riding the Nubian Princess Felt F1X. Slightly better components than the Cannondale, and it was here and fit. Bonus!! Plus, I picked up a used pair of Ksyrium SL Tubulars on a long drive to Plymouth, NH (thank you Craigslist) and got the Challenge Grifos. Look out! Now I just have to put the damned things on. Hopefully by Gloucester I'll be locked and loaded.
No racing this weekend. I was on kid duty. Was able to ramble out of bed at 4:00am and get 10 miles of running in. Running in the dark and quiet is really lovely. No distractions, no cars, your own world. Getting out of bed is the hard part, but worth it if you can do it. Hard to do anything high intensity (for me at least), but it gets the job done on a tight schedule.

I heard interesting things about Amesbury. Lots of roots and such. Still wish I could have been there. I was able to spend four hours cleaning two bikes. The tri bike is now put away and sparkling clean. The Surly is returned in pristine condition. Special thanks to Diane T. who loaned me the bike I sold her. "How about you give me $500 and I continue to ride the bike?" What a great deal.

I did take the Felt out at Delaney Pond. Can't ride too fast, but it has some nice features to do a skills workout. The bike handled well, looking forward to next week in Casco Bay.

Cross Weekend Part I

2007-09-23T18:55:00.000-05:00

First weekend of cyclocross racing took us to E. Falmouth and Bedford. You couldn't have two more different tracks to race on.

Coonamessett was tight and technical, with limited passing room. You are basically racing through apple orchards and farmland. While USAC regs. state the course is supposed to be 3 meters wide, we had handlebar width racing for many sections. That said, the barriers went right through the "beer tent" and cafe setting, which was a great plus. You could hang out, eat fresh baked scones, have a Harpoon, and cheer people jumping and falling over the barriers.

I started in the middle of the pack, and that was pretty much it. It was a race to the first downhill section, where we starting stacking up. The front got away as we were waiting to file through these tight sections. Being my first race, I was fine with that, opting to work my technique and fitness in the Beginners race slated for 30 minutes. I was happy to start passing people through the race, mostly through attrition than any major bursts for speed. I hung in for 10th overall, after getting hung up in some lapped traffic and wiping out on plastic edging on the last lap.

Bedford was a great event with a nice cross course. Asphalt start, wide lanes, challenging run up, fast descent, long grass power section, uphill finish. The run up and subsequent descent took its toll on the course. I ended up dismounting on the right to make remounting at the top from the right easier. I had a great start (for me) and was able to be in the top ten. As people fell off, I was in fourth overall, which was pretty hard to believe given it was my first 3/4 35+ race.

This was I think a first race that I didn't flat or crash. I was able to hold my position until the last lap, until a guy from IBC passed me. I had a hard time reclipping on the descent and this gave him a gap that I couldn't close. Also, he was much smoother in the turns, something I need to work on. My fitness kept me in the mix, but I need to work on the technical much more. But, considering I only have a handful of cross workouts and this is my second race, I'll take it. Everyone seemed to really like the course and the venue, and Quad Cities did a nice job putting it on. I hope they can hold onto it in the future.

On the Shelf

2007-02-28T05:35:00.000-05:00

After a good race and finally starting to feel strong, the inevitable happens: injury. While doing a speedwork sesson on the treadmill (2 x (4 x 800), I started to feel a burning sensation on my right Achilles. Having been there before, I backed it off and ended the workout early, hoping that it was just rubbing on my ankle from my shoes. No such luck at the next day it was pretty sore, and proceeded to remain sore. I took Wed - Fri off from running and hit the treadmill on Saturday to test it. I was able to do four miles, but it was still sore. Of course, I went to the long run on Sunday, which left from Hopkinton with the BAA. I was really solid for 9 miles, and then it started to bother me again, so I shut it down.

No more running for a few days. I'll hit the bike and the pool instead. One of the good things about doing triathlons is cross-training. If one this is hurt, then you have two more things you can be doing.
Achilles Tedonitis can be a real bear to get rid of it is progresses too far. Soft tissue injuries in general can be difficult to get rid of. So, it is better to address them early than delay them and be on the shelf for a longer period of time.

Some good websites for Achilles Tedonitis:

http://www.mydr.com.au/default.asp?article=2369
http://www.drpribut.com/sports/spachil.html

2007 Racing Season Begins - Old Fashion 10 Miler

2007-02-18T21:51:00.000-05:00

I can say that for once in a long time I was pleasantly surprised with my race results. I went into the race with zero expectations, other than trying to get a good, long workout. It was nice to go to a race where all I had to do was run. No biking, so swimming, no equipment that could fail, no chance of drowning or crashing. Just a matter of lacing up the shoes (or tighting the zip laces) and off you go.

This is a pretty nice race course, one that we could count as "fair", meaning not overly simple. There are a good number of rolling hills along with two good size hills. But, there is a long straight finish that one (not me) could use to really sprint down. I have done this course a number of times now, as it is one of the BAA runs that most of the club turns out.

I always end up going out too fast, especially here since it is a downhill-ish start. I went through the first mile at 6:08, which was fast, but what I expected. I figured I would just roll out the miles until I fried. To make matters more complicated, I had forgotten my heart rate strap due to a last second bag switch before leaving home. But, I did have the GPS on, which helped to check my pace.

One of the things about a race like this, it is not about getting faster but not slowing down. Oddly enough, I got faster. I went through the first five miles at around 30:40. This put me at a 6:08 pace, which was consistent (which made me very happy). My legs continued to feel strong throughout the race, and I kept passing people that had passed me initially. I was able to keep this up throughout the race, finishing strong in 1:00:28 (6:03/mile pace). This means that I did the second half in 29:50. This was pretty startling, but I'll attribute it to some pretty fast downhill miles.

I don't know what this says for Boston. Probably not much. Too much time has to past between now and then. Two weeks from now is another race, Stu's 30k, and that will add another piece to the puzzle. But, even if all the pieces come together, it doesn't mean that the picture is what you want it to be.

My starts are horrible

2006-11-23T06:32:00.000-05:00

Slick Willy / BRC knows how to put on a nice race. Situated at Shedd Park in Lowell, the course had a little bit of everything. And, demonstrating the popularity of cross, the C race was stacked with close to 80 people, which made it the largest field. One of those people was a running friend who took a co-worker's challenge to do a cross race without even knowing what was involved. On his stripped down hybrid (which I stripped of the kick stand, rack, water bottle cage, and reflectors), he was set to go with a couple of other co-workers who similarly had no idea what they were doing.

Even being situated in the first row doesn't seem to matter in terms of my start, because I was adeptly able to go from first row to middle of the pack in a blink of an eye.The course started around a cinder track, which made eyewear somewhat necessary unless you want to be blinded by cinders. After the cinders, we went to a brief three step run-up, which some riders (like MRC's own Michael Cole) actually jumped without dismounting. But, he has skills and I don't, so off the bike I go.

The course then proceeded on a slight uphill to a fast stretch of path, leading to a steep hill. Choose your poison: run-up or small ring slog. Riding the thing was a lot easier than running it, but it did call for some strength. Being able to ride it on every lap was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.

The top part of the course was pathway that was not technical, but also not terribly wide to pass people. A few sharp corners that led into a technical downslope hairpin section. The "Slick Willy" turn was an interesting addition, having riders go downhill into an immediate hairpin uphill. Didn't take long for this to get chewed up. On the first lap, I unclip my left foot to do the corner and, bam, the guy in front goes down and I proceed to ride over his back wheel. This took some skill, as I am not accustomed to riding over wheels. Rider and wheel were unhurt as I moved up a place!

A short fast section awaited us after we emerged from the downhill switchbacks, which then led into more path through woods. With some rocks thrown in, line selection was important and again, not much room to pass. After some up and down through the woods, we emerged into the only set of barriers. Being short, they were rideable to the better skilled, but since again I have no skills, off the bike and over the barriers (demonstrated here by Rob Bauer).

Then the fun began, with a fast lap around the cinder track past the finish line. I was able to really open the throttle on the cinders, passing a lot of people.

Other than the start, the race went well, with me riding aggressively and passing people on each lap. I was feeling very good, which made the poor start all the more painful. Also painful were the cries of my teammate Rob during my race "Don't touch the brakes! Why are your braking?? Don't brake!!" every time I was by his spectating position. Further adding to the pain was the lapped riders we started to pick up from the women's C race, the men's older guy race, and the C men who have never rode cross before (like my friend). There was some satisfaction in lapping my friend, even though he caused a gap to form between myself and a pack of three that I was going to take down on the cinders. This is the guy who always passes me at Mile 16 of the Boston Marathon. Revenge is sweet, even if it takes half a year and a change of sport to do it.

I finished 15th overall in the C race, which isn't horrible. I'm hoping to do better at Sterling, which is going to be hard because of the large field again. Then it is our club race in Wrentham. Dubbed the Lazarus Race because we cancelled it and then two days later secured a venue, a flyer, approval, and up on Bikereg it goes. We rode it yesterday and it will be pretty decent. Only three weeks to Nationals and then sadly season over.

A Tale of Two Races

2006-11-15T07:38:00.000-05:00

Due to my inability to post last week about the Northampton cross race, I'll compare notes between two races that were very different in every way. Northampton is a "classic" comptemporary cross course, with lots of grass, a sand pit, a couple of run-ups, and brief pavement (and one set of barriers). Brockton is flat with no run-ups, some semi-technical single track, dirt paths, and one barrier. From what the Race Official told us at the start, this is what cross used to be like. The word of the day was "old school".

Adding to the discrepancy was the weather. Northampton started out pretty chilly. As I made the 1 1/2 hour trek westward, the thermometer on the car hardly budged. Once I got there and was able to hit the course, we were warming up on frost-covered grass. Although, the sun was showing and things were get a little warmer. At Brockton, we were treated to a monsoon. Rain was supposed to hold off until later in the day, but it only managed to hold off until the start of our race. It poured the first two laps, trailed off to just rain the next couple of laps, and then by the time we finished it was just a "misting", which was interrupted by the monsoon. But, at least it was a warm rain.

Both races went fairly well. At Northampton, I was able to get a decent start, despite getting hit in the face by a pine tree branch in the first turn. Beyond that, it was just a matter of sitting in and suffering like crazy. There was no room for rest as you were always trying to gain a position or defend a position. This was also a stacked C field, with about 85 other people racing. It was a smooth course with good terrain variation, which only added to the physical distress. Being only a 40 minute race, the suffering was short-lived, but intense. I ended up only doing 35 minutes with the way the lap count worked out, which was a little disappointing. That is the odd thing about cross: during the race you want it to end, but after the race you think you could have gone another lap. Although, as I stood at my car with my legs shaking from the effort, I was happy it was over.

At Brockton, the field was much smaller, perhaps 40 people. With the rain and long sections of pavement, people were going to be cautious. The single track actually ended up helping because it provided some recovery as you couldn't pass or be passed. But once out of the single track, it was back to full-speed ahead. There were a few tight turns on the course, but mostly full throttle. People were dropping out constantly either due to mechanicals or crashes. One guy ended up in the pond during a downpour section. The crowd was very supportive, yelling at him to get out of the pond and start racing again. It was an absolute mudfest, with pe0ple caked with mud after the race. It took one pre-soak cycle, one wash cycle, and one rinse cycle to get things clean. A good metric for a cross race.

In both races, I raced with teammates. The first was Steve Wright and myself going through the course together. At Brockton, it was Tom Ball and myself. In both races I ended up finishing pretty well. Top twenty in Northampton, 11th in Brockton. Onto Lowell next weekend.

Canton Cyclocross

2006-10-30T05:50:00.000-05:00

We received a pretty pounding rain on Saturday, which all but guaranteed the course for Sunday would be a mess. Of course, it wasn't, thereby proving the importance of "all but" in the previous sentence. While the ground was soft and did get torn up a little, there was only one puddle on the course, and that could barely be classified as a puddle. Otherwise, it was a beautiful course in Canton, at least for me since it did not require great technical skills (but good skills would be helpful).

There were around 85 people signed up for the C race. The course was pretty wide open, going through some grassy fields, some brief single track, onto a cement walkway, back onto some grassy areas, down a hill, up an embankment, around a running track, back through grass, then uphill on a road to a finish. Pretty long loop and it seemed pretty easy.

I had a pretty good warmup, getting a nice feel for the course. Then someone says, "Let's do another 1/2 lap." Stupid me says fine, and off we go. Rule number 1: Don't do any more warm-up when you feel warmed up. Rule number 2: Don't go tearing off with one of the A master's guy for a warmup when you're a C. Everything was fine until on right turn on the concrete when my bike goes skidding from underneath me. Rule number 3: Cross tires and pavement don't mix. It wouldn't be a warmup if I didn't crash. I was fine despite some road rash, bike was fine despite some road rash, and off to the starting line bleeding once again before the race starts.

I had a decent start. I wasn't trying to kill myself since it was a 40 minute race. Plenty of time for that on lap 4. But, very soon after the start, my bike started to feel funny. The back end of a little squirrely. BINGO! A flat tire. No problem because I put my spare tires in the pits. However, one small problem in that the pits are on the other end of the course and I now have to ride the course with a flat back tire. It was fine as long as I was on the dirt. Once I hit the pavement, it was like being on an ice rink. The running track was worse. I'm trying to make my way around, not getting in people's way too much, and getting passed a lot.

I finally make it to the pits, and the mechanic pops the tire off, new tire on, off we go. I've never ridden on my pit back tire, so let's see how this works. Everything seems to be shifting okay, but now I am hopelessly out of the hunt. So, might as well work on passing technique and get a hard workout in. Rule number 5: There is always something to be learned from a race. The next three laps went by pretty fast, considering I lost 2 minutes on the first lap, what was 12:18. The next three laps were 10:12, 10:10, 10:08. I was having a good time and it was a beautiful course. It was also a beautiful day, despite the 20-30 mph wind gusts.

Despite the appearance of a smooth course, there was a lot of carnage out there. People were going down all over the place on the cement. Rule number 6: Despite the appearance of a smooth track, you can't lose your focus. One guy washed out right in front of me on the first lap, and I had to swerve around him (with a bad back tire) lest I run over his head. I saw another guy in the shower with major road rash. He hit a bump in the pavement while looking behind him. Launch. Rule number 7: Don't look behind you.

I have no idea where I finished overall. It was good experience at a larger race. We had a ton of MRC guys there doing different races, and it was good to see everyone enjoying themselves. I figure I could have held my own toward the top 15 if I wouldn't have flatted. Live and learn. Possibly doing Northampton next weekend, but that depends on family variables.

Footage of the race can be seen at:
https://home.comcast.net/~james_kiley/images/canton.wmv

Thread City Cyclocross - Mansfield, CT

2006-10-26T05:43:00.000-05:00

Third cross race, and it was going to be a chilly one. It is interesting to have a up-close and personal view of the weather and lighting changes as we plummet toward winter. We are now scrambling to get our rides in before sundown, which in New England is now around 6:00pm. Come daylight savings time, it will be around 4:30pm. Ouch. The air is getting a bite to it, and those humid days of training early in soupy air is over.

I had no idea what to expect from this race, but had heard that it was a good, low-key affair. I was hoping for a confidence builder as my cross skills get better. The C race was going to start at 9:00am, so I was there are 7:30am, one of the first cars in the lot. By the time you get there, get oriented, get the bike out, set the bike up, get your stuff sorted (what to wear, etc.), get to registration, get your number, get to the bathroom, get to the car, ride the course a few times, get back to the bathroom, tune the bike if necessary, get back to the bathroom, 1.5 hours doesn't seem like a lot of time.

I asked one of the guys on our team who pre-road the course what it was like. At this point, a significant pause before his answer can mean only a few things. A) it is soo good that it is beyond description; B) we're all screwed. It was B. He then proceeded to tell me it was not a cross course, but a MTB course. Great.

I tried to pre-ride the course with another teammate, but we couldn't figure out which way to go or where the course was going. Not a good sign. There was no less than 6 points where you HAD to get off your bike (unless you are that breed of psychotic cross rider who things everything is rideable). Two barriers, two beaches (one downhill and uphill), and two run-ups (one of which you should have roped in and used ascenders). Then there was a particularly sadistic off-camber which was otherwise known as a road embankment. During the pre-ride, I actually managed to crash and cut my knee open. Not a good sign.

At the start of the race, I actually had a pretty good hole shot and was placed well going into the first barrier. No problem. Then the off camber. At this point, I am positioned around 5th and trying to hammer this thing and get through it. No such luck as I slide down, taking about 90% of the field with me. Trying desparately to unclip, the front guy were rapidly getting away. Luckily for our team, we had two guys placed in the "break". No, this was not a plan ahead of time, but it worked out well for those guys.

After scrambling back on my bike, I was able to give chase without having lost too many positions. The effort was HARD the entire way as we caught the field in front of us. I went to that primal place of survival as I went around the course. At this point, finding a "line" gave way to staying upright. Everyone in my race was suffering as we went up and down and through sand and woods and other unspeakable horrors. The funny thing was, as the first lap went by, the course actually became fun. I don't know if I was happy or upset at the one lap to go sign from the officials. This would mean we only had done two laps of the course in a 30 minute race!

After seeing one lap to go, I figured it was now or never as I tried to up the tempo and pass whoever was around me. This strategy was working, and it was an interesting case of fitness versus skill. I have a lot of fitness (althouth not as much as I would like) but not alot of skill. There are folks in the race with a lot of skill, but not as much fitness. One this course, fitness was prevailing for me as I was able to keep it together and pass a few more people in front of me.

I actually almost caught the back of the breakaway, and given one more lap I would have made it. But, I'm not going to complain. I was able to do the off-camber the next two times around and not kill myself on any other section. As a team, we did very well with three guys in the top five of the C 35+ race. Other people had decent races as well, although one person vowed never to race in CT again.

Now, onto Canton Cyclocross this weekend.

Back on the Marathon Course

2006-10-16T05:22:00.000-05:00

Yesterday marked my first return to the Sunday morning run on the Boston marathon course since Hailey was born. It has been a challenge rebuilding my fitness since then, and I still feel slow. Putting on winter weight doesn't help much. But, it was a nice day, and it felt good to hit the Newton Hills. We ran out to Mile 12 (just past Wellesley College) and back, making for a 19 mile day. Other folks getting ready for NewYork opted for longer. I was finished. Ended up doing 2:14 for the entire trip, 5 minutes faster on the way back. We were able to pretty much keep it under 7:00/mile pace coming back, with some miles being in the 6:40s. Surprising thing was it didn't feel too hard once I got into the groove. What hurt the most was the 1:45 it then took me to mow the lawn once I got home.

I guess that Dean guy was out there with a large crew, doing his 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. Fortunately, we didn't run into him. It would have been a hassle trying to navigate around whatever traveling circus was there. Plus, when you can run into Karen Smyers and other such luminaries on a weekly basis, seeing Dean isn't all that impressive (sorry Dean). I once saw Elena Meyer at my chiropractor's office, and someone else saw Meb Keflezghi running on the Newton Hills. Lots of celebrities come to our humble running course.

Saturday was a killer cross workout at Ghiloni Park in Marlborough. We spent some time spinning through the trails, generally screwing around. Then we set up a short course that included 5 hills in a row, each of increasing size. It is amazing what you can do in a park in terms of a workout. After doing 3 sets of 3 laps, I was cooked. Got off my bike and collapsed on the grass. Ouch. I'm sill somewhat lousy at cross, but my fitness helps get me through as other people are falling off the back.

If anyone is interested, check out the new evidence from Floyd Landis regarding the doping accusations. After reading what's on his webpage, you might think differently of his guilt.

Gran Prix Gloucester Cyclocross 2006

2006-10-09T06:31:00.000-05:00

On a perfect autumn day in New England, the 2006 Gran Prix of Gloucester took place at Stage Fort Park, located right on the ocean in Gloucester, MA (of "The Perfect Storm" fame). Last year's Saturday day was witness to a perfect storm of sorts, as snow blanketed the area resulting in challenging race conditions. This year, the difference couldn't have been more drastic as partly sunny skies and a light breeze welcomed cross riders from as far as Portland, OR and the UK.

The setting was absolutely spectacular, with a course that had elements of fast single track, technical switch backs, and challenging run-ups (oh, and the dreaded sand pit). Being only my second cross race, I was just excited to pay only about $20 to ride around a course for 40 minutes. As people parked their cars, you could see them scurrying about with the excitement usually reserved for children on Christmas morning. Everyone wanted to unwrap the present that was the Gloucester course. I set about trying to get things together. It is funny no matter how carefully I pack my car the night before, it always ends up in a shambles as I throw gear around trying to find what I need.

After a good warm-up and getting my race number figured out, I went down to the start line. The race bible said that there was going to be a call up based on UCI points and registration (or race number). I figured I had a little time, and got down to the start with 10 minutes to spare. N0 call-up, no registration line-up, and the Men's C (my race) and B Masters were all thrown together, which meant that I was in the very back.

I decided to take it easy at the start, not wanting to be "that guy" who causes a major pile-up. Being at the back meant I was essentially screwed for any placement. This was doubly secured when going onto the grass off the pavement, there was a crash and we got held up as the front of the field roared ahead. My main concern was getting into a rhythm and riding my race (and having a good time). The course was great, the weather perfect, I was riding the Gran Prix race, and I wasn't doing housework. All in all, a good bargain.

I was basically red-lining the whole way, trying to make my move through the field as much as I could. I had a very solid race for my second race ever, passing a lot of people and not killing myself. I was a little slow in some of the technical sections, but that's to be expected at this point. I was very happy that I could get on and off of my bike without too many problems, and actually was able to use my mounting and dismounting to advantage and pass people on the run-ups.

The race went by way too fast. In fact, I only ended up racing for 38:30. The race is done by calculating approximately how many laps the leaders are going to do in a set time. So, it is not an exact science. The highlight was coming into the finishing area, which involved a fast section across dirt and grass, transitioning into a uphill climb on pavement. I was behind three other people coming onto the pavement into the climb (a short hill). At that moment, no matter where you are in the race overall, it becomes a dogfight to the line. As we wound up our sprints, we might as well been the leaders of the race. Digging furiously to the line, we were all trying to beat each other into the ground. I was able to sprint ahead, screaming out loud, and nip the other three guys at the line for 19th place overall. A small victory, but I'll take it.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out, watching races with the family, who came up later in the day. Both Amelia and Hailey liked the race immensely, although Hailey was more interested in a bottle and Amelia more interested in picking up stones. The men's and women's races were great to watch, and humbling to see the skill that they have. Lots to work on between now and Nationals in December.

There are some great photos out there of the race to see. Mine are at

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/gcdavid/album?.dir=/640are2&.src=ph

They are a little small in Yahoo Photos, which is too bad because some of them are nice. Another good source for photos is http://cyclingnews.com under the Gloucester Gran Prix section.

Looking forward to the next race, and to next year in Gloucester when I am for sure going to race both days!!

Cyclocross Season and Family Distractions

2006-10-06T05:56:00.000-05:00

Since my last blog, I had a baby. Not just me of course, but my wife did most of the work. Hailey Harris David was born at 4:15pm on September 8, 2006. A very welcome addition to the family, and she's been enjoying her new environment and doing baby things.

Of course, this cuts into the training time a wee bit, so it's been tough to get things done. I haven't seen a swim in a month, despite having my wet suit in the car. I'm afraid to take it out, feeling as if that will be some kind of acceptance of the end of open water swims at Walden Pond. So, I keep it in there in some misguided attempt to hang onto summer. At some point, it will have to go under the bed and hibernate till next year.

The bonus of this time of year, however, is cyclocross season. I just started it this year, buying a bike from a clubmate. I keep wondering where this has been all of my life. It is the best time I've had on a bike. There is something about autumn in New England that compels you to ride a modified road bike (or cross bike if you have one) on the side of embankments while jumping over barriers and jumping back on the bike (risking all that men "hold" dear).

My first cross race was at Milford, NH. All went extremely well, except for not being able to unclip before the second set of barriers on the first lap, which of course meant that I went down hard, my Surly Crosscheck went down harder, and thanked me for my efforts by embedding a crank in my calf. First race, first lap, first wipeout. The cosmic forces were aligned.

But, I was able to use my base fitness to claw my way back in the always competitive beginner's race and finish top ten. I even had to do a sprint down the finishing straight and beat another guy buy a bike throw (pushing your bike forward in order to have your tire cross the line first).

Tomorrow, the big time: Gran Prix of Gloucester. This is cross in New England, in Stage Fort Park, on the ocean, with people coming from all around to do this race. Post to come.

Last Race, First Place (in my age group)

2006-08-29T16:58:00.000-05:00

Surprising day at Cranberry Country Tri, that's for sure. We were racing in the middle of the EEE mosquito infestation zone, so first things first: put on the bug dope to avoid any mishaps. This is a nice race in a good venue. Lots of fast people show up here, so I was expecting nothing (coupled with it being my last tri of the year). A sold out field of around 522 added to the atmosphere on a pretty cold day for late August.

The race is set up as a .8m swim, 24.9m bike, 6.2m run. The bike course was altered for our "safety" right before the race, so the bike was a little long

Our group was wave 5 (out of 6), which is brutal because that means there's going to be a lot of traffic on the swim and the bike to weave through. The swim was an odd L shaped thing. I was hoping to have a fast swim, and had a decent start beside being pummeled at the beginning by legs, arms, elbows, the usual. Finally getting in my groove, I thought I was making good progress. Turns out that I "blazed" a 24:38, which was pretty disappointing (148th/522). At the time I didn't know it, but I had my suspicions. Not a great way to start.

Into the transition, I got out pretty quickly (by my standards) to get on the bike and start motoring. Just so happens that so did another person who was exactly the same speed as me. So, I had to ride with this other guy the entire way. Usually, company is great on the bike. But, not when you're not supposed to be drafting, and have to observe a three bike length zone. That meant I had to keep coasting at various points to stay out of his wake. Also, we were passing a ton of people, and over sometimes lousy roads. I tried to go past him, but he would pass me right back. So, I just sat in an figured I would conserve energy rather than waste effort repeatedly sprinting ahead. Ended up with a 1:03:16, good for 7th overall out of the pack.

Quick transition in T2, and onto the road. I was hoping to blitz the run in strong fashion. The legs turned over pretty well, and again I was passing a lot of people. It is a great feeling passing people in your age group. Pretty soon, I didn't see any other guys in my age group ahead of me, which meant (I thought) that the lead age group guys were way up the road and out of sight. I just tried to keep my own rhythm throughout the distance, keeping the effort high. My right Achilles started to twinge, a new feeling this season. I was attributing it to a chip strap that was too tight around my ankle (for timing purposes). Not time to waste to loosen it. I figured it's my last race, so even if I completely screw it up, I have some time to heal. Coming into the finish area, there was another guy in front of me in another age group. I had the momentary feeling of letting him finish ahead, but then dispelled it to race pace him in the finish chute. Went through the 10k in 39:18 for 14th overall.

This gave me a total time of 2:09:32. I wasn't terribly happy with the day after the race, and that feeling kept creeping in after the race. After I looked at the results and saw 1st in the age group, I was shocked. First, my time wouldn't have even placed in the age group last year. But, as Yogi Berra might say, "This year ain't last year." Second, I wasn't happy with my race overall. But, what the heck, someone has to win. The guy who came in second congratulated me and said he couldn't keep up with me on the run when I went by. That's a nice thing to hear. But, on the other hand, I was 14 minutes behind the winner. I know I'm not going to be that fast, but I figure I should be able to limit those loses.

Now that the season is over, there are a lot of positives to think about. I might get Honorable Mention in the USAT rankings. Maybe an outside show at All-American. But, there is a lot of room to improve. Back into the pool. Back on the indoor trainer. Another winter trying to grind out the hours preparing for next year.

In the interim, it's time for cyclocross season!!! Good times, muddy bikes, cold beer, steep hills, high barriers, and overall screwing around. Time to "transition" from tri-geek to cross-geek.

No Hilltowns - Onward to Cross Season

2006-08-21T20:23:00.000-05:00

Hilltowns ends up being cancelled due to lack of volunteers. Just shows that without the volunteers, races do not happen. Period. Renews my determination to thank at least one volunteer at every race I do. Really too bad for a classic race to be cancelled. Hopefully next year will turn out different.

But, that did allow me to crank up a solid training weekend, with about 14 hours of work between swimming, biking, and running. Plus, I had the chance to start learning how to do cyclocross. I haven't been on trails in about 15 years, since I went head first over my handlebars and really had bad road rash on my shoulder. It was something to get back on a trail, on a cross bike no less, and try to attempt flying dismounts and mounts. The dismounts are easy because in tris this is how I get off the bike going into Transition 1. However, we never get back on the bike. This meant that the remounting proved to be somewhat of a challenge. But, after two practice sessions I started to get the hang of it. It is really nice to have a diversion from the roads after a whole season of road riding. I'm starting to catch the cross bug, and hopefully soon can try a race without killing myself or someone else.

This weekend is the Cranberry Country Tri, an olympic distance race which could be my last one of the season (baby pending). I was able to borrow a pair of Cosmic Carbone SSCs from a teammate to try and potentially buy. I am very fired up to have something resembling aero wheels on my ride. I'm going to give them a try tomorrow and see what happens. Hopefully speed to burn.

Greenfield Tri - New England Club Championships

2006-08-08T20:12:00.000-05:00

I'm a little late in getting this post up after the race on Sunday. Truth is, I was pretty dead to the world on Sunday after I got home from the race, and didn't have time to do it yesterday. Here's the summary.

The Greenfield Tri takes place in an ideal location, with a wonderful transition area and a swim in a small river. I've heard a lot of good things about this race from people who have done it, including a covered bridge and a hill with switchbacks on the course. The profile of the course isn't bad, with some steep uphills followed by a lot of time to build speed and recover.

I was particularly hyped up since this was to be the New England Club Championships. My club, the Minuteman Road Club, has been having some pretty fantastic results this season, and I expected we had a pretty good chance to do well in our division. But, we had some people out because of having just done the Lake Placid Ironman, plus the usual summer traveling. So, we went with a smaller than usual crew, but one that is stocked with some great athletes.

I approach all my tris the same: survive the swim, hammer the bike, hunt people down on the run. This was going to be no different. My swimming has improved volumes, but it is still not my strong suit. But, at this point, I am used to being hit and kicked, and that is a major part of the battle. As the gun went off, I tried to get in a groove. Because we were swimming in a river, there was little need for sighting because all you had to do was follow the shore or the "lane line" that was in the middle of the river marking the out-and-back. Plus, the river was so shallow you could see the bottom and thus get your bearings easily. I was able to keep a decent rhythm, and was out of the water in 16:59 (covering 800 meters). Not a great time, and slower than I would have liked, but good enough for 21st out of 173 competitors.

My T1 was not great either because of some problems getting my leg out of my wetsuit. But, after a minor delay I got out of there in 1:20 and hit the road on the bike. I was hoping for 1:20 to cover the 30.4 miles, which meant 20 minutes per lap (four lap course). After the first hill, I was getting into a rhythm and starting to peg people who had finished ahead of me in the water. My cycling has been pretty strong from riding with roadies and doing road races, plus putting time on the bike in training. Through the covered bridge I hit the major hill with the hairpins. From my watching of professional cycling, I know to stay to the outside of hairpins, as it is less steep. I guess most of the competitors don't watch cycling, as they took the inside line and I cruised by more people. End of the first lap in about 19 minutes, ahead of schedule.

As I built my rhythm, I was able to really start to crank on the bike. One of my teammates who is a powerful cyclist passed me, but I was able to reel him back in and we yo-yo'd each other the entire way. I then passed another super fast teammate, who was pretty shocked to see me go by. I was totally grooving on the bike, having a good time on great pavement on a very nice day. Can't get any better than that! It is the best feeling having traffic stopped for you so you can blitz into corners, power through them, and generally hammer down the road. I was disappointed when it was over, but happy with my time: 1:17:41, good enough for 3rd fastest time overall and a 23.48mph average.

Now for the run. As I came into the transition area (with two of my teammates in two), another teammate who was spectating yelled out "You're all racing for second". That meant someone was waaay up the road, and the rest of us were going to battle it out. I knew I needed a good transition, and decided to forgo the socks for my running shoes. I've never run 7 miles sock-less, but drastic times call for drastic measures. I flew out of T2 in 43 seconds, but 17 seconds behind on of my teammates who was now up the road. He was the least of my worries as another guy went flying by me with the kind of stride that said "Don't even think about it."

I know 7 miles is a long way, andthe best thing that you can do is hit your stride and run your race. I wasn't worried about catching anyone initially, but getting in my rhythm and getting comfortable after the bike. My ankles were pretty tight after my bike, and it took a while to loosen up. My plan was to keep my teammate in sight until mile 5, and then make something happen. As the miles went by I felt progressively better, until mile 5 when I had to do something or settle for fourth (number two was still up the road, but faltering a little bit). I quickened my pace and locked my eyes on the back of the person in front of me. At one point he turned around and looked behind him, and that was it. Never turn around unless you can do something about it. At mile 6 I passed my teammate, who gave me words of encouragement, and I continued to hit the gas. By the time I hit the finish line, I was feeling my stride and hammering downhill. End result of the run: 45:22, or 6:18/mile, and 4th fastest run time.

My final time was 2:22:00. I was hoping for a little faster, but couldn't complain too much. The best part of the whole thing was I took third place overall, the first time I've ever been on the podium in a tri. I was pretty fired up, as it is the culmination of a lot of hard work (especially in the pool). It's nice to have a good result and have no regrets.

Actually the best thing was the award ceremony, as my club took honors in most of the categories. Then, for the club championship, we edged out a team victory in Division 4 (based on club size). Annie, another teammate, also took third for the women, and we had a good time comparing trophies.

It was a heck of a race, one that I would recommend to anyone and would like to do again. But, the race is over, and this week it was back to training. Big bike race coming up: Tour of Hilltowns. It's an epic event with an intimidating profile, and I gotta get ready for the suffering.

Pat Bell Time Trial

2006-08-02T05:23:00.000-05:00

Went and did the Pat Bell Time Trial last night to get a good effort in before racing this weekend. I think it was about 95 degrees, which didn't help matters much. I've only done this once before when there was a massive wind on the course. I don't know what was worse.

The time trial is an informal affair where people keep their own times over a course that is about 11.7 miles with a lot of rolling hills (www.patbelltt.com). There is a nasty hill toward the end. Definitely favors someone with a lot of explosive power, which is not me. I ended up with a time of 28:20, which is 24.8mph average. Not great, but an 8 second improvement over my last time here.

I think part of the problem was my fatigue from the race on Saturday, coupled with a 17 mile run on Sunday. Those things can catch up with you. I also need some new wheels! The once that came with my Cervelo are not very aero or fast. I swear I was towing an anchor.

Overall, it was a good workout in the heat. I went out this morning to try and beat the forecast of triple digit temperatures. Was out for about 45 minutes before a mechanical brought me home. That's okay because I need the rest.

Cyclonauts Road Race

2006-07-30T20:21:00.000-05:00

Saturday was the Cyclonauts Road Race in Monson, MA. The race is 56 miles long, with some decent hills and an uphill finish. Along with myself were about 9 other guys from the MRC in the Cat 4-5 race. This was my first race against Cat 4's. Since I have had decent form in the hills, I was hopeful of a good finish. Here is the profile of the race:

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.do?episodePk.pkValue=992931

The day was going to be hot, and the race started out pretty easy. Being a Cat4-5, there were a few sketchy rides who were having a hard time maintaining an even pace and holding a straight line. But, that smoothed out after the first 45 minutes or so. Plus, the pavement was pretty chewed up in spots, with some big holes. One of my teammates hit a hole hard and had his handlebars rotate about 4 degrees. Another guy flatted, and he wasn't the only one. I think the SRAM car was pretty busy all day with neutral support. Given that they had Zipp 404s as replacements, I should have aimed for some holes myself.

Things were mostly casual during the first half. We had a few gradual climbs, but nothing that bothered me much. The first major climb was the one through the finish line. The finish is about 1.25 miles uphill, but the climb continues past that. The climb got pretty steep up towards the top, but again nothing too crazy at the pace we were going first time around. I knew that the next time around for the finish would be a lot more difficult.

After the first loop, things heated up a bit. There were some attacks off the front, including some guys from our team. At one point, one of our guys got off the front with two others who were unattached, and a few of us starting blocking and slowing down the pace. I thought they were going to have a chance to get away, but they were gradually brought back, as all the breaks were. It became pretty clear that the race was going to come down to the last hill, so I started to sit in and conserve energy.

The hill started after a sharp right-hand turn. Going toward it, I got on the wheel of one of my teammate, who then promptly took off like a rocket toward the front with me in tow. It was a great move, and I was at the front positioned perfectly for the last climb.

As we started up, I went to attack and then everything went badly. Both of my quads started to cramp massively and I couldn't get any power. The pack I was trying to stay with was moving away, and I couldn't do much. Myself and another teammate were working together to bridge to them, with the peloton behind us not gaining any ground. I tried to relax my legs and get into a rhythm, which I was barely able to do. I had another teammate up with the group, so we had 3 guys positioned in the top 10. I was gunning as much as I could toward the finish line, but couldn't go much faster, and ended up either 9th or 10th. We had one teammate 7th and another 8th. So, three MRC guys in the top 10, which isn't too bad.

I'm disappointed at the result, because I was hoping for and positioned for much better. I have not idea what happened to my legs. I have been doing mostly tris, and this was my first road race since the Hartford Crit in May. So I don't exactly have race legs right now. But, I should have done a little better if the circumstances were better for me. Oh well.

I did learn some nice lessons as a result of the race, though.

1. Again, big thanks to Rob my teammate for sprinting me up the side going toward the final corner. It worked really well. I yelled to Rob that I was on his wheel, and he took off. I just wish I could have done something better with it. So, lesson one is communication is key.

2. I'm still pissed I didn't place better. I was RIGHT THERE with the front group and feeling pretty good. Don't know what happened, but what are you going to do. A positive lesson was don't give up on it no matter what. I was able to regroup and give it another go before the end of the hill. Lesson two is don't give up on the race until it is over.

3. The race is an organic, ever-changing thing. It is hard to have "a plan" at the start that is going to be executed exactly as expected. That said, it is important to be able to recognize what is happening at that time and react. When either Todd or Rob went off the front, Kevin and I immediately were at the front and starting slowing the pace of the group. That was pretty cool. Lesson three is recognize and react.

4. Despite "only" being a Cat4-5 race, there were still some strong guys there at the end. I know there was talk before the race about it not being challenging enough, but I didn't hear too many people complaining about the pace being too slow. Things were firing at the front toward the end. Talking with people in the other races, it seems like they had a similar experience to ours in terms of tempo and pace. Lesson 4 is don't judge a race or cyclist by the category.

5. It was really cool seeing everyone at the finish line cheering the team on after their race was over. I didn't see any other teams there doing the same. And we cheered everyone over the line no matter how far back. That is why we race with a club. Even though we didn't win, we were there in numbers and people saw that. What's more, we were there after the race was over as well. Lesson 5 for me is it is better to belong to something than to nothing.

Two Races - Two Results

2006-07-26T20:33:00.000-05:00

Since the last post, I've done two tris and had two pretty good results. In Holliston, I was able to finish 5th overall and 1st in my age group, which netted me a free bike fitting at FastSplits (score). They do a really nice job there, and I highly recommend it.

Then this last weekend, I did Newburyport Sprint Tri. I was hoping for a good result, and was able to net a 6th overall (2:00 behind 5th). There were a lot of really fast people there. The swim was in the fog, in between boats, without being able to see the buoys. I was glad to get out of the water alive. Plus, with all the flooding into the Merrimack River, I was happy not to have broken out in a rash afterward (sewage issues). The bike was fun, despite the rain. I've actually become so accustomed to riding in the rain, I look forward to it now. Amazing what you can get used to. I averaged someone in the 23 mph range, which was good considering the conditions. I thinik I was in the top 10 bike splits. Then, on the run, I was able to power through the 3.3 miles (it was advertised as 3, but the GPS doesn't lie) doing 5:55/mile pace. The whole experience took 1:09:00. But, for 6th overall and 3rd in my age group, I left with nothing in terms of prizes. What a drag. At least it was good training.

Two more tris left for sure: Greenfield and Cranberry Country. Then hopefully Firman 1/2 Ironman for the last one. I can't believe there aren't that many tris left. I'm knackered from the training and racing. This weekend a 56 mile hilly bike race (CAT4/5). Probably followed by a 17 or 18 mile long run on Sunday. Ugh.