Last test of the YEAR!

Ok, I did my 20 minute power test last night. It didn't go as I had planned. It went up, but only by 3 watts. I guess I should be happy that it went up, but honestly I was hoping for more. I performed it well, my TSS is good and where it should be, just not powerful enough. I am sure I am not the only one, but at this point I am second guessing myself, in what I am doing. Do I train more Z5 tyring to boost some VO2 for testing? More training? WHAT do I do. I will stick with the plan for the most part, with outside rides on the weekends when the weather permits. Doing so, I hope that my January test will improve more. I am putting in the work, it is wether or not that it is good enough. Having a coach does take the guessing out of it, because you just do as the coach says. Comparing my data from this year to last year, I am doing about the same with more fitness. I really didn't start making a good gains until March & April anyways, so, I am not going to beat myself up and just stick to the PLAN.

It is currently raining and I am pretty sure that I just saw Jeff M. riding his mountain bike outside on the trail. What an animal, guess he doesn't want to get on the indoor trainer yet.

Happy New Year!

Take Advantage

Ok, I didn't stick to my training plan on Sunday. The weather was actually to nice to pass up. Plus, I had the ok from my wonderful wife to spend extra time away from home. How this actually came about was that Brian P. my team mate was going out for a ride and posted it. The timing wasn't great when it came to football, because the ride was going to start at 10am and probably wouldn't be back till 1-2pm ish. And he actually ended up pushing the start time back another hour, so, we didn't start till a 11am. This was actually nice because it allowed the temperatures to rise a little more.

We rode out towards Holy Hill. There was three of us to start, myself, Brian & Jeff. Jeff didn't ride with us the whole time, it great seeing these guys again. I haven't seen them in quite some time and it was good catching up.

My training ride was actually suppose to be an hour long. I actually put in 3 hours, but nothing to hard, some good tempo and endurance stuff. I like riding with Brian, he knows how to ride. Meaning he doesn't kill it up the hills in the off season, it is all about steady power. What does this extra time mean with my training? Well, my lifting will stay the same for today (Monday), but my Tuesday ride will change. I had a harder/higher intensity ride for Tuesday, but I will now do Sunday's easier/shorter intensity on Tuesday. This should allow a little extra time for my body to recover and should be back on track for Thursday's ride.

I had a good week of training and looking forward to this weeks training and of course Christmas. Next week I have my LT test and I am looking forward to that short sufferfest. Have yourself a Merry Christmas!

TRUST

I am a bit disturbed by my so called friends and the choices that I have made. I had posted via email and on facebook asking someone to pick up my criterium championship jersey. Bad idea, should have picked the dam thing up myself, because it is gone. No one let me know that they have picked it up, so I have to assume that someone stole it. Seems a bit ridiculous if you ask me, and why I am up set? It is something that I have accomplished! I guess that is what I get for trusting everyone, I forget how evil people can be. I hope that it does show up, but it is not looking good so far.

On a better note, December training is going good so far, a bit early to know how good, but seems good. The body seems to be reacting well and recovering well. Really enjoy lifting two days a week too. My stregnth is coming back quickly! I am keeping an eye on my weight to make sure I don't let it get out hand. I am getting stronger and and I have only put on 5lbs from my racing weight earlier this year. I am doing well with the weight and shouldn't be to hard for me to keep in control.

Goals for December are 1) Raise my FTP by 10% (this may be a reach), 2) Consistent training (follow the plan, don't do to much to early), 3) Weight (stay in control). My FTP test will be on December 29th and trying to get it back up to where it was in September. I have lost some fitness it the past few months and now it is time to start gaining some of that back. When I looked at my WKO on Sunday my fitness was still on a slight decline, that should start rising slightly pretty soon. I know I don't want to rise to quickly to soon, so for me I need to stick to the plan, other wise I know I would train to hard to quickly and burn myself out to early. Looking forward to see how progress this coming year.

The Fix

Ok, should have posted this one before my last post, but hey it is my blog and I will do with it what I want.

Anyways, the fix to my bike noise which I thought was my bottom bracket, turned out to be my rear wheel, probably the hub or free wheel. How it was determined? I took my bike to the shop (Extreme Ski & Bike) along with my rollers and rode in the shop. Rode it until it started making noise and the Karrie listened to it and said "I think it is the rear wheel, lets try a different one". Ok, sounds good to me, so we put a different wheel on and no noise. She then took my old wheel and gave me a new one. I haven't had a problem/noise since. So, a big thanks to Karrie for figuring it out!

Next post will probably be about how my December training is going.

Getting Organized

I have started to ride more. Getting ready to start my December training that is going to be structured which helps keep me focused. I have been getting help from my previous coach and I am hoping that I can do good job coaching myself. He has given me all the tools and now it up to me to use them correctly. Thanks for these by the way, it will certainly help me.

Thanksgiving was great, I didn't over do it with eating so bravo to me. I did get a ride in with my wife in the basement. Friday I had a small group, Ryan, Jeff, Jim and myself. We rode out to Holy Hill, the winds were a bit strong and the company was good. Saturday I rode to the coffee shop in Kewaskum and Sunday I rode in the basement again with my wife. So, 4 straight days of riding and now time for a little break, just getting the body ready for December training. I have made my December training plan and I will keep track of my TSS and make sure I don't dig myself a big hole.

Looking forward to improving on all fronts! I have a positive outlook for the 2012 race season.

Mechanical Hiatis

I have been having issues with my Trek Madone. I get an unpleasant sound coming out of my bottom bracket. I have been dealing with this for a long time and it is getting worse. Something needs to be done with it and I am not sure what is going to be done to resolve this problem.

What I have done so far: I have cleaned the bottom bracket many times. Had an over-sized bearing put in on one side because there was to much play. This was done last week and was hoping that, that was going to solve the noise, no such luck. I know that it is the bottom bracket for sure, because I can take the same crank and put it on my Giant which has a threaded bottom bracket and that bike doesn't make any noise.

I am hoping Trek has a solution for my problem and can be resolved in a timely manor.

I am going to be kicking in my training this week with a power test, so I can officially start my training in December and I need to make sure that my power zones are correct. I know I have lost some fitness, but I also know that you need to loose some in order to gain some in the next season. I also know that I am stronger this year than last year, because last year I had surgery on my wrist and leg. My current training looks to be on my Giant until Trek figures something out.

Back & Forth

I mainly race WCA races and when I first started in 2009 I raced M4/5. Then in 2010 they changed the age bracket for Master races from 30 years old to 35 years old. So, then I forced to race Cat. 3. Then in 2011 they changed the age back to 30+ to race Masters, so then I raced a bunch of Masters races.

WCA currently did a survey and from the looks of it, the Masters age bracket is going to get pushed to 35+ again. This again will force me to race Cat. 3 or P1,2,3. I am a bit disappointed about this, I really like racing the Master because it is much smoother and the racers don't typically make bone head moves. On the plus side, though, looks like they are going to have more road races.

I need to come up with my 2012 goals! Still thinking about these, and will post once I figure them out.

Becoming Smart

I recently bought a smart phone. Now I am finding out all the cool things that can be done from my phone. Phones are not phones anymore, they are so much more. Basically a hand held computer. So, be looking for more posts and more pictures. Been screwing around with this trying to figure out how to download pictures from the phone, I can't figure it out. So, here is a post from my mobile.

Just for FUN!

I have been taking much needed time off the bike this off season. I have been only riding on the weekends and for the most part just one day. My rides consist of having fun, no specific training goals, except maybe a duration in the saddle, but not paying huge attention to my wattage.

This past weekend I actually went out twice, Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was beautiful out, so I wanted to get out. I did a house chore first thing in the morning, which allowed it to warm up a little before going riding. I left around 11am, but quickly noticed that my bike was having a mechanical, so now when I was planning a longer ride, turned into a shorter ride. My rear shifter cable was about to break, so I shortened my ride and upped the intensity. I made it home without my cable breaking.

When I arrived back at home I took my bike to the basement and fixed it right away. I had replacement parts in stock, so not a huge deal.

My wife came home and wanted to ride, but in the basement. She said why don't you ride w/me? I said I don't really feel like riding in the basement, but I did it anyways. I rode in the basement for an hour and my ride outside was about 45 minutes.

Sunday, since Saturday didn't go as planned and my wife was going to be gone all day, I went for another ride, managed to get in a nice long ride in. The weather wasn't near as nice as Saturday's. Sunday was very breezy and overcast. I rode to Holy Hill Church and then headed a little more southwest before returning home. I rode around 3hr45min., bike worked good, but I do have this annoying sound coming from my bottom bracket.

I am taking my bike into the shop tonight and they are going to be putting in a new over sized bottom bracket bearing. The current one has some extra play making my bottom bracket make extra noise. This will be really nice if it all works out.

Future training, I think I am going to take the rest of November to weekend rides and some weight training. I was in the gym last week and was having fun with that, so keep that going through November. December I am going to start doing specific training, nothing crazy, but start getting a routine going.

The 2011 'Loberg Centruy'

I have been taking some well needed rest off of the bicycle. The past week October 10 and the 11 I rode a bit. Not much though, due to shorter days and not being equipped with lights keeps weekly rides shorter. The two days during the week were with Ryan and Monday was completely an easy ride and Tuesday had some intensity, then I was off the bike till Sunday for the Loberg Century.

The Loberg Century is a ride that Erik invites all of his friends and then some too. He has snacks a sag vehicle and a planed course with certain stop points. It is always held early fall, so weather could be a factor. This is my third year in it, first year I rode it three years ago and last year I was injured so I drove the sag car and this year I was able to ride it again. This year the temperature was in the 50's which is pleasant, but very very windy.  It was a small group of 11 riders, which I believe is the smallest group so far.

There is one road that is gravel with some tarmac which is really fun! You are going down hill and has some pretty sharp curves and adding the gravel makes it a bit tricky, but if you have some skills you get through it easily, as long as you stay in your comfort zone. One kid rode out of his comfort zone and crashed on this road. He is okay, and has some road rash. We stopped at a gas station and he was able to get cleaned up. He then rode in the car for a while until rest stop #3, then he rode with us to rest stop #4. Not sure how long he rode with us after that.

This year we stopped at Erik's house and he had someone grilling hot dogs, this was rest stop #4. This was very nice of him to do this!

After rest stop #4, Ben and Dan were putting the hurt on me with the tailwind. We only had about 15 miles till we were finished and they were pushing the pace, OUCH.

All in all what a great ride and hopefully more people can make it next year!

Weekend?

Where do the weekends go? It is truly amazing how fast they go! Saturday I started the day out right, with a ride with a good friend (Ryan). It was cool (@40 degrees and wet), and believe it or not, I did over dress a bit. I had on some embrocation jersey and a jacket, bottom half I had just leg warmers on. We rode up to Greenbush and then over to Plymouth where we got a quick bite and I stripped off by legwarmers. We were both on a bit of a time crunch so I had to push the pace a bit on the way back. I rode just under 70 miles and was pretty much finished after the ride. No break after I got home though.

As soon as I got changed into some dry clothes I had to go to the store to get some fertilizer for my yard and get that laid down, before more rain moved in. That got finished and then I had to make some Lemon Bars for a block party that we were suppose to have, but was cancelled due to the weather. Which I managed to fail according to my wife's standards. I didn't use the right pan and I laid the crust wrong. WTF! You are welcome by the way! HA HA. They tasted really good and didn't make it through the weekend, so I couldn't have messed it up that bad. So, since our party was cancelled, Tammy and I did some laundry went shopping and watched a movie.

Sunday, I opted to ride in my basement since the weather was very unpleasant. I got started and then my wife joined me 10 minutes later. I didn't ride as long as I wanted to but, it was a good ride. There will be plenty of time to ride in the basement, no need to start by drilling it in the basement yet. After the ride it was time to get ready for the Breweres game. We met at my sister-in-laws place and then went to Cache 22, had lunch and then went to the game. Good game, they won, and then back to my sister-in-law's place to finish watching the Packers. Went home right after the game, ate supper watched a little TV and then bed.

Another weekend come and gone! It was a great weekend, just to short.

On the Rise

My training is going well. This month I have tested different zones to see where I am at strength/weaknesses. For being a Cat. 3 racer all my power zones 5 sec., 1 min., 5 min., and 20 min F.T. the program says that I am a strong Cat. 4 racer. WOW, that is like a kick in the balls, that will put a person into perspective if they/me are feeling strong.

Anyways, I did a 20 min. F.T. (functional threshold) test last night and by the way the last one I did was at the end of March. My training this week lead up to this meaning that Monday was off, Tuesday I did a little warm up for the test and Wed. I did a short workout keeping the legs fresh and ready to work. So, with the prior workouts I didn't have a very good feeling about my test, felt weak or well at least felt that I wasn't going to be as strong as I was in March.

I did my little warm up before doing the test and I still really wasn't feeling it. I am still practicing the pacing of this workout, which can make or break you. The first 5 min. I started 15 watts lower than what I thought I could hold for the whole this. The next 5 min. I ramped it up just a little and did it again the next 5 min. and then the last 5 min. I went even harder all the way to the end time. These workouts are very hard physically and mentally. Wow, that was tough, but WOW I beat my power, new high for me this year.

My power didn't go up a lot, went up 8 watts, but in my mind up is always a good thing. I know it is the end of the year for me and I don't have any races in the near future, so I need to watch myself not to over train at all and give myself a break.

How am I doing this? By using my Training Peaks Software and watching my TSS (train stress score). I am very new at this program and am still learning how to use it and having it make sense to me is even more of a challenge.

So, with this software I download my workout and then I can analyze just about everything in my workout. I compared this FT test to March's and what I did notice was in March I jacked my HR up and held it there. This time it was on the rise the whole way and never maxing out. What does that mean? Not sure, but if I were to guess, I would think I could have gone a little harder. My avg. hr for this time was @ 10 beats lower than March's. My cadence was high this time, which makes sense, because I have been conscious about working on upping my cadence, and my power was up, so all in all, I will call this a win in my training. I am hoping to rise my F.T. through out the winter with out over training and only time will tell how this work out for me.

Roller training

Last night the weather was a bit wet, so I opted to stay dry and train in my basement on my rollers. I know.....it is a bit early to want to train in the basement, but hey, I didn't want to get wet, and it was a bit cool out. I didn't feel like putting on some of my cooler riding gear.

Anyways, I only rode for 1hr 15min. and tried to do some sprints. This doesn't work properly on rollers. I tried to stand and do one that didn't work, and I kept playing with what may work best and what I came up with was to do them sitting and play around with the gearing, so I wasn't shifting.

I managed to get it figured out, not producing the watts that I can outside, but hey I am doing these sitting down. Still a workout right? I do have to say that you could only try do produce enough power with my roller set up. What do I mean? Well, I have Kreitler rollers system and the drum size is 2 1/4"dia. with the head wind. Having the smaller diameter drum and the head wind gives me more resistance to produce higher watts.

Workout went well, need another big fan though.

Kind of wish I was racing Gateway Cup this weekend, but will be missing it this year and hopefully do next year. My mom is flying in from Arizona today and will be seeing her this weekend. My little bro turns 22 too this weekend, so will be celebrating that too.

Thanks for reading and sorry for wasting your time.

2011 Goal Met

Sunday August 21st was my third Race the Lake expierience. The day starts very early, alarm went off at 3:45am, I get out of bed and started preparing my food and drinks for the race. Then I put all my stuff outside sipping my coffee and waiting for my ride (Ryan Pokorny). We were on the road by 4:30am and up at the races in Fond Du Lac @ 5am. We parked by some other team mates, and then we went and had them mark us with our numbers.

We lined up @ 5:40am and were off by @ 5:50am. This is third time doing this race and this year is the slowest start so far. We were going so slow that wave 2 caught up to us. I am not going to complain becasue you won't catch me going to the front and do any pulling, well at least not until we are passed High Cliff Park. This is the dredded climb about half way through the race. I didn't loose any bottles this year, I put 2 in my jersey pockets and one in my down tube. This kept my seat post cage open, this is the one that it falls out of. I did run someone's bottle over in the race. Once we were passed Oshkosh I put a bottle in the seat post cage and put the other bottle into the middle jersey pocket.

I saw one really bad crash that I was able to avoid, by just squeezing through a hole that openned up at the last second, otherwise I would have been in that pile. I knew I had a team mate by me and hoped that everyone made it through ok. Before High Cliff they ramped up the pace a bit and one of my goals for this year was to make it up the climb with the main group. On the climb I kept it in the big ring knowing that if I would put it in my small ring that I would be going even slower up the climb. I kept passing people and mentally telling myself to keep pushing, I was with a very small group at the top, but we managed to catch back onto the main field. I am going to say that this is close enough to the main field on the climb and say that my "GOAL" was met. I guess there was a group of 6 that got off the front after the climb.

The rest of the race was pretty fast and I just raced smart for the most part. There were a lot of surges and guys trying to start a chase group, but nothing was working. At one point I did feel strong enough and was in a short lived pace line. Getting towards the end of the race it was a very big field, probably close to 80 racers and I was a bit concerned on how this was going to finish out. Crash or no crash? I made it through the last two corners up right and started sprinting, well, if that is even what you would call it after 90 miles in the saddle. Not an impressive sprint, but I did pass people before I crossed the finish line.

I finished 39th overall, 6th in my age bracket, my time was 3:25:23.7, and my average overall speed was 26mph. All in all race went very well for me and I am really excited on how I finished. Coaching really helped, so I would like to thank Jeff Melcher at Cycling Form and Fitness for his service.

We also placed 2nd as a mixed gender team!

Down side, Ryan was involved in that one crash and didn't finish the race, his was smashed with a chain ring and need stitches and may need a MRI if he doesn't get any better in about 3 days. So, I hope he recovers quickly!

What is next, don't know, just going to have some fun!

Later

Menasha Crit. 8-14-11

What a beautiful day! I headed up to Menasha with my coach Jeff Melcher from Cycling Form and Fitness, we did the M1,2,3 race. Weather was perfect, not crazy winds and temperature was perfect. The venue was great, they had food and beverages for purchase, a pace car and a stage with podium boxes(for a WCA race that is nice). The O2 guys did a great job!

The course was flat with one false flat straight, was a nice course with good roads.

I haven't raced since T.o.A.D. and that was back in June, so I was brushing up on some of my pack skills before the big race this coming weekend (Race the Lake). Not, that it was a big pack by all means with only 22 or so racers in my race.

The race was very tactical with guys trying to make a break work, guys were constantly attacking and chasing and finally one got away. It definitely takes the right combination to make it work. I did my fair share of trying to bridge and was successful a time or two, but I was getting tired. I also spent quite a bit of time on the front too. Didn't do a great job of stacking zero's.

If you find your self on the front, I find it positive, because that means your fitness is good enough to be there and you are riding/racing fast enough to keep other racers from coming around. When I was on the front I was staying with in myself, so I was trying to race as smart as possible without completely blowing up.

Anyways, back to the race, so there were attack after attack, until finally a small group of four where of the front and then there was a chase group and they didn't succeed and where all absorbed back into the main pack of about 18.I was on the front of the main group for a lap or two around 5 or 6 laps left and this is not where I wanted or needed to be. So, what did I do you ask? I started going slower and slower until finally someone attacked and then I jumped and got into someones draft. With two to go I was in a decent position and had a good position again with one to go. The last lap was relatively slow for half of it and then it took off, I was kind of boxed in when guys started to jump, but I did manage to pass a couple before the finish line. I finished well (10th), that is a best for me in this classification, so I am very pleased with the results from myself and my coaching. Jeff finished 7th and was in the money.

Up next is Race the Lake, this is August 21st and it is a 90 mile road race around Lake Winnebago.

Switching Gears

I am getting geared up for Race the Lake on August 21st. This is a 90 miles road race around Lake Winnebago. This will be the third year that I will be doing it, I like this race a lot, I think it is really FUN! I like it because the field size is huge and it reminds me of a Pro tour stage, because it is cyclists from should to center line with 100 plus racers in the first wave. It is such a rush the feeling you get from being in such a big group and just being pulled along in the draft.

So, my training has changed a bit and I have been putting in longer rides especially on the weekends.

I have not been racing and it feels like my last race has been forever ago. The last race I did do was the State Criterium Championship. I am going to keep trying to get long rides in on the weekend and get some good recovery during the week. I am actually going to pre-ride the course on Saturday, looks to be a good weekend for riding.

Later

WI State Criterium Championship

The state criterium championship was held in Menomonee Falls this and it was a super flat course with wide corners (4). The race fl yer says it was 1.1 miles long, but I beg to differ. The temperatures where hi and the winds were light.

I decided to race the M3/4 and go for the title. I had many team mates in the race that where willing to help me out and boy they did. They chanced down any breaks and kept taking me towards the front. I had a huge piece of mind knowing that I had all this support. The goal was to have a finishing sprint and have me up towards the front and have a blue train string it out with 2 laps to go. In my eyes we succeeded very well, but lost horsepower with 1/4 lap left. I was not in perfect position, but I did feel very strong (didn't have to do much work in the field).

I finished 6th overall, passing many on the long finishing straight. I won my age bracket 30-34, but this is bitter sweet. I was the only 30-34 racer, everyone else was 35 and older, wtf? I still had a lot of fun and it was great for the team fundamentals. I also got to put on the State Champion Jersey and get a picture on the podium!

Up-coming, keep my training going and pick and choose races according to time,money, and what my wife wants to do. There is one race that I am looking forward to having good form in and that is Race the Lake in August. So, not sure when I will blog next, may be after Race the Lake, but probably sooner.

Later

Disappointment

Tour of America's Dairyland is OVER! I raced this past weekend in Milwaukee on Downer on Saturday. The weather was perfect for me, not windy and temps in the low 70's. I had family and friends that came down to watch.

Race went like this for me, started about 3 rows back and when we started I was able to clip in right away and move up quickly. I stayed to the front the best that I could and found it quite easy to move up. At one point there were 3 guys up the road and I managed to bridge up to them and pull ahead hoping to start a break. These guys were just going for the prime, oh well, was feeling good. We were getting close to the finish about 4-6 laps left (I have heard both), but anyways in turn one I was behind my team mate and I heard yelling at the guys in front of him and then I crossed his wheel BAD, I went down and tucked holding me head as I got pelted in my back and piled onto. Free laps are over and so was the race, well at least for me and a few others.

I took a look at my bike and my lever was moved 90 degrees inward, both my wheels are out of true, my rear derailleur is bent, and who knows what else is wrong with it. I gave my bike to shop owner John Timm to take to the shop and have them fix it. Not sure when I will be getting it back, but hopefully soon. For myself, I have road rash on my left elbow, left hip, left shoulder and big bruise on my back, but hey no broken bones and I didn't injure my hand or wrist. So, that is good.

Not sure what to think about this criterium racing, well at least T.o.A.D.'s 2/3 category. I think I might have to change my mind set and start racing races that I think I can win. What does that mean, well this year for WCA races I have been racing much harder races using them more for training and not concentrating on winning. Been racing M1,2,3 and P1,2,3, I only raced one Cat.3 race in the series and really haven't done that many WCA races total, well, not like in the past years.

So, do I try to get upgrade points by racing M3/4 and Cat. 3 races in WCA, and hope to hold onto the P1,2 field next year, or just skip T.o.A.D. races next year?

Upcoming races, WCA TT and State Criterium Championship? Depends on when I get my bike back and how much it will cost me to fix it.

Later

T.o.A.D. (Thiensville, Grafton, Waukesha)

Team Extreme hosted the Thiensville race for T.o.A.D. This is also the same team I race for. I was there early helping set up and was there late helping flag and clean up. The weather was perfect! The course was new this year and I loved it, 6 corner course with a very slight ascent on the back side. For the ToAD races I am racing Cat.2/3 which is new this year. Last year the Cat. 3's where seperate. Having this new category has upped our pace a bit. So, anyways onto the race, I had a terrible starting position. The race started fast and stayed fast for the most part, and there were also a lot of crashes. I was behind a pretty bad crash on the start/finish straight and had to ride onto the sidewalk to avoid it. There was a bike that was flying through the air that wanted to take me out, but I was fortunate to avoid it. By the time I got back on the road I couldn't chase back on. I should have tried to get a free lap, but didn't think of it until a lap later. I then hooked up with 2 other guys and we were working well together, but not enough to catch the field and we were eventually pulled. You are welcome for my donation! I was hoping that riding with 2's would make the racing more strung out and safer, but that is not the case.

Grafton race, weather again was perfect, well at least for me. No crashes in this race that I recal, just one person getting a flat and trying to get out of the field in the last turn. I was on the front once for a 1/4 of a lap and I felt good, but couldn't get to the front at the end of the race, finished 36th.

Waukesha race, weather was 100% humidity, this made it a little bit harder to breath. I did feel ok, but not great, and never really got to the front. Avoided the crashed here too, so finished rubber side down, this is always a good thing. Finished 33rd.

I am not racing again until this weekend, Downer and Madison. Looking forward to it and looking to stay upright and get a little bit better results.

Later

Snake Alley and Quad Cities 2011

Tammy and I drove down to Burlington Iowa Saturday morning. We left at 5am and actually had a pleasant drive down.

We arrived at Snake Alley around 10am and I immediately picked up my registration packet. I said, if it is raining that I wasn't going to do the race, well guess what? It was raining while warming up and guess what? I still raced, I should have stuck with my gut feeling and not have raced.

On the first lap I was clipped in right away and was the first one up the "snake" and was finally being passed on the finishing straight. Second lap I was getting gapped already but feeling ok and then on the descent at the bottom of the hill on the right hand corner I crashed! I may have done a rookie move, but at the time felt like I was making the right decision. I didn't want to hit the manhole cover so I was going to use a parking lot to slow down and get back in it, but I didn't see the fence that they had up and I hit the fence and tumble into the parking lot. It happened right by the medic's so I was able to get cleaned up right away. I opted to DNF the race. I thought I had broke my pinky finger, but turns out to be sprained.

Sunday, I skipped racing and hung out with my wife who is sick and having terrible coughing symptoms.

Monday, Quad Cities was in the 90's, I thought this is going to be a hot race. I took two bottles with me, one was my hammer for drinking and the other was ice water for dumping over my head. At one point during the race I was on Travis, my team mate and I told him I was there. He told me to follow him through turn two and he brought me up to top 10 or so. That was awesome, but it did hurt a bit, but it is going to when the pack is going that fast. With 5 laps to go I was a bit far back in the group and needed to move up. I made my move with 2 to go and started moving up, but didn't move up far enough, I should have kept going, but it is easy to say when it is all over with. I managed to squeek out 13th place, not the top 5 I was hoping for, but I did place better this year than last year.

Most important this is that I had fun and I am ok.

Next up, finishing my yard on Sunday and maybe racing Fitchburg on Saturday.

Past/Present/Future

Past: I have been sick for a week, actually felt it in my throat on Monday the 16th. I had a cough that really hurt and then it moved to head. Being sick made me change my "plan" a bit. No racing this past weekend, but I did get some yard work done, but still have a lot to do yet. If the rain on Saturday would have held off, we could have done the whole yard, but instead we are only about half done with the yard. One side is graded and seeded along with half of the front yard. Still need to get the back and the other side of the house. What is done so far does look nice. Sunday one of my team mates wanted to go for a ride, so I thought that would be a good idea and the weather was beautiful. It was in the low 80's with a south west wind. He wanted an easier ride and I was good with that. We rode from West Bend to Sussex and hung out at the bicycle races and saw another friend who also rode form West Bend. We rode back together getting about 60 miles total, but nothing hard. Yesterday I felt a little better and went for another easy ride meeting up with my brother in putting in two hours total.

Present: I feel much better today and having an off day from training will be nice.

Future: This weekend Tammy and I are going with the Heller's to Snake Alley and Quad Cities. Travis and I are only doing two races this year down there. We will get a recovery day in between the two races. Hoping the weather will be good and that we will be strong and have decent results. Me personally am hoping to finish the Snake this year and really shooting for a top 5 at Quad Cities. Competition is really tough, but I do have a little more experience this year.

Wheels on Willy

Wheels on Willy I believe is held in Madison, but there is road construction this year and they held the race in Fitchburg. I have been on this same course last year and it is wide open turns and very fast. The weather was in the upper 50's and very windy (wind gust around 40mph).

I car pooled with team mate Travis and his family and he was doing two races Cat. 3 and P1,2,3. I decided to race with him also, my first double of the year. I have been racing the M1,2,3 class and this was going to be a hard day.

Category 3 race was full of break away attempts, and that is all they were attempts, nothing stayed away and on the final lap I was bit further back than I would have liked, but managed to pass many racers to the finish.

P1,2,3 race was VERY FAST from the word go and I was dropped about 25 minutes in, I kept going though not to hard waiting for the field to lap me and then jump back in. I was able to stay with the field again up until the last lap when I was shelled again. Oh well, I will take it as a good training day and hoping that some good will come out of this butt whopping.

Off topic a little bit, on Saturday I did a little motor pacing. I had my brother drive my car and I followed him. This was our first time doing this and I think with some more experience this could be a good thing.

Later

Muskego Criterium

Muskego Criterium was held in Muskego Park. This was a 1.1 mile loop w/100 feet of climbing per lap. I did the M1,2,3 race with my coach, who I also car pooled with. Weather was cool, cloudy, but hey at least it was dry. Well, it did sprinkle a little bit on and off, but not hard enough to make you wet at all.

After a decent warm up I took a one lap warm up. I have ridden this course before, but it is still nice to just go through it once to see if there are any holes or cracks to worry about. Also good to feel out the wind direction.

My goal for this race was to do better than Whitnall. I did a really good job staying out of the wind and following safe wheels. Everyone rode safe and smooth, the climb was a bit slower than I would have thought, but that was ok with me. On the last lap I was a bit far back in the field and passed quit a few people on the finishing hill. I managed to still have some left in the tank, so bad positioning by me. I managed to finish 16th, so that was a lot better than Whitnall Park, so job well done.

Hopefully I will be going down to Monster of Midway with Travis on Saturday for a criterium their. But, I may have to help out with the yard on Saturday. I have topsoil, but need to pcik out the rocks and spread the topsoil and plant grass. We are still trying to figure out what we want to do for our patio. Maybe be able to race on Sunday if I can't race on Saturday.

Going with the flow, and we will see what happens.

Later

Criterium Practice

Last night was the first Criterium practice that myself and Jim organized. Weather was less than pleasant for sure. It was about 40 degrees and we had some sleet/hail also from time to time. The course is short, held behind Piggly Wiggly and by Stocky's. It is a perfect location with very little traffic. It is very flat with a little roller, we ran it counter clockwise and the finish was at the top of the roller. There were 12 of us and ranged from rookie's to Category 3's. We did 3, 3 laps of tempo and then 3 laps live racing. There were some tactics that were dealt and people playing their strengths. I had a lot of fun and looking forward to doing it again May 17th.

Brian and I finished the night by eating at Stocky's!

I would like to thank everyone for coming out and participating! Please invite friends and lets grow this event!

Later

Yesterday's Ride

The weather was nice so I wanted to get outside and ride my bicycle. One of my team mates met me at my house and then we went and met up with OBC. OBC was it's typical smaller Monday night group, but I was surprised to see Brian (team mate) riding with the group.
When Ryan and I met up with the group and started to climb the first hill off of Hwy O (Grafton-Newburg Route) the group hammered up the hill and I said to Ryan that I am not worried, but if Brian gets to the front, he could pick up the pace and make it difficult to get back on. Well, Brian went to the front and had a huge gap on the field, so Ryan got on my wheel and I bridged that gap and the three of us had a huge gap on the field. We kept a hard tempo going for a while and then we stopped in Newburg to let it re-group. Then we did some more tempo work and then we headed back once we got to Hwy O again. I had 2 hours in the saddle and 40 miles in, that makes for a good weekday ride. I did more pulling than sitting in, so I could get a good workout in. I was very chilled (cold) by the time I got back home, and took my body a good hour to warm up. Well that is it for now.

Later

Whitnall Park Circuit Race

Yesterday I ventured down to Whitnall Park to race my bicycle. I was fortunate enough to car pool with an ex-team mate. We had good conversations to and from. The weather was quite pleasant and a bit windy. The race was put on by KS Energy and there looked to be strong showings in all races. The course was in Whitnall Park in Hales Corners, and you basically were going up or down. It was 1.1 mile loop and shows to be about 80ft of climbing each lap.

Warmed up with Brian, Rick, and Jeff. No strategy talk, to early in the season for that, well at least for me. My personal strategy was to finish. We raced the M1,2,3 which was one hour long. For me the race was pretty much a suffer fest and I was just trying to survive to the end. I remember at one point looking at the time and we have only been racing for around 20 minutes and I thought to myself, will I be able to finish? I kept pushing lap after lap, looking down again with about 15 minutes to go, I can do this. That climb was challenging for me, and on the last lap I was shelled on that 80ft climb. Hey, I finished, goal complete!

It was a tough fun race and my first M1,2,3 race and was really nice to ride with guys that are very smooth. I felt very comfortable going into the corners with others surrounding me. All in all, at the end of the day I had FUN!

Later

Life Disrupts

Last night I went down into my pain cave and attempted to do a 20 minute test. Why outside you ask? I know it is the end of April and I should be riding outside, but this is Wisconsin. Temperature last night after work was in the low 40's and a bit windy. Besides, I missed my test last week.

I did my warm and felt ok and then started my test. 5 minutes went by and I was already hurting. I made it to almost 10 minutes and then pulled the plug, there was no way that I was going to make 20 minutes. Why do I feel so weak? My best guess, is that the week of vacation in Arizona without a bicycle really hurt me. Then the first week back I didn't get a whole lot of saddle time in either because I was getting ready for moving and then moving. I am still unpacking and trying to get organized, but it is coming around. Little by little I am getting closer to being done. But, then the smaller projects will start, like building shelves in the garage. Oh, but a big project that needs to get done is my landscaping!

I am racing on Saturday, it is at Whitnal Park in Hales Corners and I will be doing my first M1,2,3's race. I am looking to be a pack fodder, and do what I can. Looking to get my training back on track, and hopefully the weather will start getting better, but doesn't look too promising right now.

My brother Larry is still in the hospital for his C.F. and is waiting to see if he qualifies to get on the lung transplant list. I hope the best for him and that he gets it and recovers well and quickly. I love you Bro!

Look for a race report early next week.

Later

Vacation=Recovery

Went to Arizona last week without my bicycle, but still had a blast. My mom flew us (Wayne, Michelle, Tammy and I) out to visit her. She lives in Tucson, what a beautiful place to live. The unfortunate part was that we brought some Wisconsin weather with us. A couple of days were beautiful and in the 80's, but we did have one day that it rained all day. My mom has a pool and it was very cold! This did not stop me and Wayne from dipping in it a couple times. I managed to get sun burned too!

Mt. Lemon was awesome, saw a lot of cyclists making the climb, but there was fresh snow towards the top. We drove up it and that took a while and then on the way back Wayne and I wanted to descend on the back side which was unpaved, but Tammy and Michelle didn't want anything to do with it, so we drove down the same way we came up. When we made it back to the house Wayne and I took my mom's Jeep and went up the back side! Well worth the extra trip and had so much fun! This is a must if you have a four wheel drive vehicle, don't think you would need one if you were descending though, but would be nice to have the ground clearance in some spots.

Exercise was not on the top of my priority list, but managed to get some in. I ran/jogged two with my wife, one day was 5 miles and the other was 3 miles. One day we all did a hike up Seven Falls which was about 7 miles and beautiful. I need to give big props to my mother for making the whole thing without to much complaining. I do have to say it was a bit challenging and my legs and feet were beat.

Went for a bicycle ride last night and started from work, because I commuted in. I met OBC just north of Saukville and then rode with them through Newburg and headed home on Paradise. I had a lot of fun and was working really hard a couple times on the climbs and tried to keep the pace steady if I felt it slowed to much. I had a good time and I did blow myself up before I turned off from the group.

Tomorrow is a big day, we are closing on our house! Yeah, so excited and we are moving in on Saturday, so very busy here for the next couple days. Looking for helpers to move on Saturday if you are interested.

Thats is for now.

Hillsboro Roubaix Road Race

What a well organized race! There was four of us that rode down to Hillsboro Illinois Friday night. The drive was about 5 1/2 hours and the first part of it was rainy and crappy, but did clear up the closer we got. We went to bed at midnight and I was up at 6:30am, I couldn't sleep anymore, being a morning person that I am, wish I could have though. Brian, Travis and went to Denny's for breakfast and then after breakfast went back to the room and Erik was ready, so we packed up and headed out.

The weather was a bit cool in the morning, but pleasant and warmed up quickly once racing. We arrived at the race and then picked up our numbers and timing chip. Then we started getting ready.

I put on embrocation and wore just bib shorts and a jersey. We warmed up a bit and checked out the brick pavers and I decided that I should put my computer in my jersey pocket because it was flapping pretty bad and I was afraid that it would break off the mount, so I put it away. Now, I am racing blind, but people do it all the time.

Start of the race, we (Travis, Brian and I) timed it terribly and started basically last place. Once we were going it was many accelerations and then slam on the brakes. I wish we would have started towards the front, I think it would have helped a lot with being smoother. I tried to stay on the edges to help avoid any mid pack crashes. I had a hard time staying out of the wind, was very difficult to figure out exactly where it was coming from. The course was rolling, but we had strong winds that kept you moving around trying to find the sweet spot to help stack zeros'. I was feeling ok for almost the whole first lap which was about 28 miles. We came back into town on the first lap and started, what I think the hardest climb, before the bricks. I made it about 1/2 to 3/4's the way up with the pack and then fell off. I couldn't get back on, but I could see them. When I was crossing the start/finish line my right calf started to cramp up.

Second lap started with this calf cramping, I thought to myself that I should just pull out. But, then I thought, drove all the way down here to race that I should at least get a good workout in. So, I kept going and put my computer back on to help pace me. Then Brian passed me and said get on and I said I am cramping and he rode away with another racer. Wish I could have, but my calf was pretty bad. I watched him and the other guy he was working with ride away. There was another guy ahead of me too, that I was slowly reeling in. A guy came from behind and passed me and I got on his wheel and was working with him. We eventually caught up to someone else and he got on our wheels, but didn't take a single pull. I eventually rode both of them off my wheel without trying, I felt like I was riding really slow, staying in my power zone that would allow me to finish the race. I was passed by quite a few people, but I think they were in other classes. I ended up riding at least a half a lap by myself, but it was nice with the sun shining. I was starting to run out of fluids towards the end, but managed to make it ok. I saw the big hill in town and thought YES I am almost done. Went up the hill and then flew down the first street of bricks and then made the left turn and only had one more Left turn onto the finishing straight. I looked down at my computer and it was GONE, broke off, so instead of finish the race, I turned around to look for it. I didn't see it, so I asked the officers if they saw it go bouncing down the road. Nope, no one saw it. I kept looking for about 5 to 10 minutes and then decided to finish the race. I then saw it as I was heading back sitting on the grass. Whew, thank god, my wife would have been pissed if I would had to buy a new one. In this amount of time screwing around, I know I have lost some spots, but that is ok. Well that is racing, luck needs to be on your side too, but if I would have remembered to put my computer back in my jersey I would have wasted that time looking for it.

All in all, a great race and would like to do it again. Great learning experience and I have to remember that it is still very early in the season.

I have a couple days before I leave for Arizona for a week. Then we close on our house April 15th and we will see if I have time to race on April 17th. If I don't make it, it won't break my heart. I am sure I will be plenty busy. I just hope to keep my training going according to plan.

Changes

I had a power test on Saturday and let just say that it didn't go as well as I would have liked. But, it did still go up, so I guess I shouldn't complain. Anyways I think it could have gone up a little more. Couple things that may have contributed to my results; trainer (was on my Kurt Kinetic and not my rollers), supplements (used some, normally just use water), computer (was making up its own laps). This is just my thought of what might have kept me from gaining more. Anyways, I busted my ass trying to gain what I did and then when I was done and was trying to recover I was getting some cramping in my left calf. This did eventually go away, but this test really hurt.

Yesterday I went out for almost 4 hours and met up with two team mates (Brian & Jeff), Jeff pulled off and headed back, he probably had 1 1/2 hours in when he headed back. Brian and I kept going, we had a good ride with no specific route. I like doing these kinds of rides it makes it more fun, get to venture out on roads that you haven't been on before. Weather wasn't the greatest and I did not dress appropriately either, this made for a discomfort when going into the COLD headwind. My finger tips went numb a couple of times, I should have warn warmer gloves. Other than that my body was pretty comfortable.

We (Tammy and I) are currently house/puppy sitting and this is a huge change in our routine. We are not liking the situation at all, but we will get through this and then we can get back to our routine. We are sitting until Wednesday evening, but I am doing what I can to get my workouts in.

My first race of the year will be on Saturday and I am heading down to Hillsboro Illinois with Travis, Brian, Erik, should be a good time. Not expecting anything big out of this race, just the experience!

Next week I will be going to Arizona to visit my mother for a week. Unfortunately will not be taking my bicycle, but will still be a lot of fun. And we are totally looking forward to it. When we get back then we close on our new house on Friday, looking forward to it, time is going to fly bye.

So, I have a lot going on lately, but that is how I like it. Keep moving, stay busy.

Till next time.

Later

Race Bike 2011

Well, this is what my bike looks like this year. It is all ready to go, tuned by yours truly and I even did the handlebar wrapping myself. These are the new wheels that I recently purchased.

Looks like the first race of the year for me will be Hilsboro Roubaix, April 2nd. I might try to get down to Kenosha this weekend, but, not likely.

Weather is not great this week, cold, windy, and rainy! I am on a recovery week and am getting ready for another test. I think with my past 3 weeks of training, my test should go good.

Closing on the new house is still on target and we have started packing up things that we don't need right now. Moving date will be here before you know it.

That is it for now.

Later

Daylight

What is great about daylight savings? Well, you get start riding outside after work if it is warm enough. I do have a lot of cool weather riding gear, so I can still have a pleasant ride outside and break up the monotony and get out of the pain cave. I also have a cheaper rode bike that I also use, so I don't have to worry about salt destroying my good bike.

I have been outside a few times now with in the last week. This is great for the mind and body. I am still trying to still to the training plan as much as possible. This is a little more difficult to do, but I think with time, I will be better at doing my workouts correctly outside.

Last night I went out for a ride and met up with a group and boy let me tell you what. When the group climbs they hammer, and then on the flats it is way more mellow. What is with that? It is like everyone is recovering on the flats and it is a race to the top of EVERY hill. When I finally met up with the group, the timing by the way was terrible. I had just finished climbing a hill and descended down the other side and then there they were. Now, I had to turn around and sprint back up the hill and latch back on. I haven't put in an effort like that since last year, but anyways that wasn't so bad, kind of felt good to push out some cob webs. So, as we went on now on a flat section of road, the pace was pretty slow. I really didn't care I am suppose to be on recovery ride, but couldn't resist because the weather was good. Anyways, I believe that the group was getting recovered for the next hill, which on the map was a sprint section. I wanted to open it up again for a little bit, they were going down hill a little slow, so I went to the front and when we started climbing a started sprinting up the hill, but not a full blown sprint, but a good effort put forth. I did this as long as I could and I definitely came up short. But, hey it is March! After that it was time for me to go home. By the way, that was a good size group, my best guess would be about 20-30 riders. Not bad.

Wrist, well, the strength isn't all there and either is the flexibility, this is going to hurt my sprinting abilities.

Hilsboro Roubaix is coming up really quickly (April 2nd) and I am hoping that I am ready. I know my bike is ready, have a set of new wheels and so far loving them.

House, this is still in paper work process, but moving forward.

All in all, very busy and I think this summer is going to go bye way to fast.

That's it for now.

Later

Good things are happening!

We have been really busy lately (Tammy and I). First off, we finally had an accepted offer on a house that we want. That is a huge plus, so know we are doing the next steps of becoming a home owner. Today we had the inspection done and for the most part everything is great except for some very small things, but the radon test is still going on and will be done on Monday. Closing is on April 15th which works out perfect because our lease is up on May 1st. Hope everything goes smooth and we start moving in on April 16th. Yeah! Looking for helpers if anyone is interested.

I also had a doctor appointment today, more great news. He says it is looking great, but keep using the bone stimulator and see you in 8 weeks. He will be taking more x-rays then and see how the pain is. All good!

FTP Test

Another month on training basically done with another FTP test done yesterday. I am really happy with my results so far. My test proved that I gained another 11 watts on my FTP. I still have a long way to go, of where I would like to be. Hopefully I will be able to reach my goal, but never the less, my power is coming up, so all is good.

March is just around the corner and riding outside hopefully will become more frequent. My March training plan has changed a bit and looks like a lot of fun. A bit more pain, but fun, bring on the pain. Well that's what I say right now! Some races also start in March, but not quite sure if I will do any. Weather will play a huge factor on these, along with time.

Now, a different topic, Tammy and I looked at a house on Saturday and we are really interested in buying it. Hopefully this one will workout and we can take the next step in our lives. Check back for updates.

That's it for now.

Stimulate the Bone

I am getting a bone stimulator later today! Hoping that this will help heal my wrist. This is an expensive piece of equipment and not sure how it works, but will know tonight.

Looking at another house tonight too! Not getting to excited, but see what happens.

Training this weekend looks to be all inside. Temperatures will warm up a little tomorrow, but not warm enough to make me want to ride outside. And, Sunday well, looks like it will be cooler with rain/freezing rain. Looking forward to a rest week next week and will probably give my bike some attention that is needed. Going to replace the handlebar tape and the cables and casings. Getting it ready for the season that starts 4 weeks.

That's it for know.

Out of the PAIN CAVE

Yesterday I was able to get outside and ride. Temperatures reached into the 40, wind @ 20mph winds. The roads were really wet. I was able to manage to ride for 4hrs, this was a slow pace, but still managed to put me into the hurt locker at the end. My wrist was killing me at the end of the ride, felt ok for the most part, but once we had 3hrs in then it started hurting. The wind was coming out of the WSW. I always play the wind when planning my own route. We headed out into the wind and rode with the wind on the way back. It is amazing how fast you can go with the wind and keeping it into the lower power zones. Unlike climbing where it is almost impossible to keep the power zones down. I rode with Ryan a team mate/friend. The ride was a bit much for Ryan. He was falling off my wheel coming back with the wind while I was in my workout zones. He was good about it, and told me if he falls off just keep going, so I did, but waited at the stop signs.

Training is going well and I have another FTP test at the end of the month, hoping that my power increases again, god knows I need more power to hang! My training is very consistent this year compared to years past, so I think it will be a good year as long as my wrist cooperates. If my wrist doesn't get better, I may no be doing much racing this year. My wrist didn't hurt this bad before the surgery, so don't know what to think of that. I see the doctor again in 3 weeks, and he is going to take an MRI so we will see what that show. No, bone stimulator yet either, which is pissing me off, don't know what the hell they are waiting for. Damn insurance companies!

Oh, we (Tammy and I) put a offer in on a house and should find out the outcome today. Would be a cool Valentine's gift if we got it!

January Racing

On Sunday Jeff picked me up and we headed down to Franklin to the Multisport Expo. P3 had the equipment and T.o.A.D. sponsored the race. We were meeting two other team mates (Brian & Grant). We did a TTT (team time trial) that started at 10am. There were 5 teams total that signed up. We raced on Computrainers and were able to draft off of each other, but not off of the other team. Our first race went well and we won that one and then had to race a team that had a bye. We lost to them (Attitude Sports), a very strong TTT. They went on to beat IS Corp. We did have the second best time though! This was very painful, it was a 6.2mile rolling course. I have never done so many TT's in one week (3 total). Looking forward to doing this again next year and it should be a better turn out.

So, January's training is done and looking forward to what February will bring.

My wrist also felt really good after the rides, was surprised that didn't hurt at all.

Wait and See

I had a Dr. appointment yesterday it went how I thought it was going to go. I asked him about numbness below my knee, and he said that is normal, that is some nerve damage, but that will come back. Good news. Then I asked him about getting a bone stimulator and he said sure, lets give it try, doesn't hurt to try. Good news! But, he doesn't know if it will help or not, but willing to try it. He then tried moving it in all directions asking me if it hurts, and of course it does you are forcing it to move. He then said that it feels good, just really tight. Good news. My next visit will be in March and he will do an MRI or something on it (get a new set of films) see if we are getting any more progress. In the mean time waiting to get the bone stimulator and keep going to P.T. twice a week. P.T. twice a week is kind of pain in the ass, but it is working, so keep pushing forward.

When I do ride now, when I am finished my wrist is very sore and takes a little while before it feels better. I am hoping that I will be able to ride outside when the weather gets nicer.

Had a ftp test last night and felt that went good. Having a power meter is soooooo nice. Making it easy to gauge your fitness. Power went up a little bit, which I am very happy with and I am 10 watts down from August of last year (max 20min). Not bad considering still in a base phase. I told my February training plan will be changing and am excited to see what changes.

I am hopefully doing a TTT this Sunday down in Franklin at a Multisport Expo, this should be fun, a change of pace. This race is a four man team and there will be eight teams, riding computrainers. Nothing like racing in January.

Cobb saddle is still working great!

Thanks for reading.

Quick Update

This is going to be really short, considering I don't really don't have anything new going on. My wrist well, very little gain so far from physical therapy, but I am riding on my trainer without my splint. So, I am getting a little progress, but this is at a snails pace for sure. Training on the other hand is going good and I found some plyometrics for cycling and yoga for cyclists and will try some new things on my days off, well off the bicycle that is. That's all for now! Later