Product Review - Shave Deluxe

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

US Olympic Marathon Trials

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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.