Bike mech in training, and the Green Valley TT

On Thursday, Emy and I swapped out my old, rather crusty and rotten bottom bracket for a new one. I had to buy some new bike tools (wahoo!) and even a long-handled 1/2" socket mechanics wrench, so we would have enough leverage. My old BB had been in there for roughly 7000 miles, through the entire winter, and all other training since I started riding last June. It was definitely due!

Here's Emy and I using the BFC and LFC (that's Big F-n Crescent and Little F-n Crescent) to get the crankarms off. They were well attached, but our combined power was sufficient:
We were both sporting our aprons from Hot Tea Apparel to keep off the grease. When it came time to remove the very stuck bottom bracket, Emy held on to the frame with all her might while I yarded on the 1/2" socket. We both squealed with delight when it finally came loose!

The instructions for the new BB said there might be some friction for th first ride or two. I rode on Friday, and if my ride in to work was any indication, I was experiencing much MORE friction with the dead BB! I was really looking forward to the TT the following day.

The Green Valley TT
I barely made it to the race on my preferred schedule. I rolled in and parked about 55 minutes before my start time, nervous that I would not be able to register, pin on my number to my skinsuit, and warm up in time. The registration process took a little longer as the staff running the race were really stoked by my wallet from, you guessed it, Hot Tea Apparel. Being the good husband, I indulged them a bit in how cool the wallet is. I gotta find a way to market this to the bike racing community...

I did manage about 30 minutes of warm up - 15 minutes of spinning, 5 minutes at 160 bpm, 5 easy, 1 hard minute, and then 4 really easy. I was sweating like crazy! I had my knee warmers pulled on over my shorts, intending to remove them before the start. But, in my craziness of getting to the start line and throwing the trainer in the back of the car, I forgot. I didn't notice until about 30 seconds after starting that my right knee warmer was falling down by my ankle! Ugh! I hastily pulled it up with one hand and stuffed it under the leg cuffs of the skin suit, and then did the same for the left leg. This process cost me at least 15-20 seconds in my final time, I am sure. Anyway, I learned my lesson from the Icebreaker TT on the same course, and went out a bit easy, knowing I would have a slight uphill and headwind on the way back from the turnaround. My teammate Cole, who was supposed to start one minute ahead of me, was a no-show, which meant I had no "carrot" to chase. I did well to the cone, and after the turnaround was able to keep it about 0.5 mph slower than on the way out. I got passed by my teammate who started one minute behind me, but after letting him get the required 100 feet ahead of me to avoid getting flagged for drafting, I was able to stay even with him for the last 3 miles to the finish.

My goal had been to beat 30 minutes, and I handily beat that with a time of 27:56. I was pretty happy with this time, although upon reflectiong, I suspect I could have gone harder. When my teammate Niels passed me, it was hard to elevate my pace, but not really unbearable. I guess I am still learning what my limits are.

Here's me, in a picture from teammate Derek's mom (Beki):
(I'm a little out of focus, but overall I am happy with how my position looks using the shorter and lower stem.)

I'm starting to yearn for a disc wheel and a fancy TT helmet!

This Friday is the first night of pre-season track racing at Marymoor. I'm so excited! I picked up silver bar tape to match the silver saddle on the new Fuji Track Pro and dialed in the position as best I can without riding it. I'll post a picture tomorrow. It's time for bed.

New Addition - My 2008 Race Schedule + Results

I added my planned race schedule, plus results so far, to the right side of the blog. The 2008-2009 Cyclocross Calendar isn't posted, so I can't add anything other than that I KNOW there will be a cross race on Labor Day. If cross starts a bit earlier, then I will need to slide my two week break up in order to make sure I have at least a week of riding in before the first cross race.

My legs are finally recovering from the soccer game a week ago. I think that, unfortunately, this means I am out for extra-curricular soccer as cross training. I know my body would adapt after a few games, but since we only play once or twice a month, I think my body wouldn't ever really get to the point where I could have "fresh legs" for bike racing on the same week as soccer.

Yesterday was an abbreviated interval ride, with two 5 min intervals at 155-160 bpm with 5 min rest between. This week is supposed to be a "rest week" in that I should only put in 6-8 hours of training. Since I will ride tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday (my training week runs Monday - Sunday), today is an off day. However, next week is the first track race of the season. I will need to move my rest day from Thursdays to Wednesday for the first two weeks of track racing in May. I like to have my rest day two days before a targetted race day in order to let the legs recover, but also to use the day before the race to get in an easy spin and check for "good sensations" as the Euro pros say...

I'm biting my nails waiting for a new bottom bracket to arrive for the road bike in time for Saturday's Green Valley TT. My BB is so shot - you can grab the crankarms and rock the whole spindle + cranks back and forth with an audible clunk - the bearings are toast. Hopefully the lower friction in the new BB will be an added boost to my TT speed. I'm also going to pick up a shortened stem with less rise to see if I can bring the bars a bit closer and lower - should be more aero.

How will the stem make me more aero? If you look at the picture below, thecloser I can get the hands/arms to the front wheel, and the further below the "hump" in the mid-back I can get my shoulders, the better, as it will lower my frontal area, thus reducing drag. From the picture, it looks like there's still some space between my thighs and my torso, so I should be able to go down a bit without giving myself intestinal distress from banging the abdomen with my legs.

(yes, it is a crappy pic, but it is a still screenshot from a YouTube video from the Icebreaker TT, so cut me some slack)

Contest Winner for Onion-esqe Headlines

OK, there were nto an enormous number of entries, but among the 5 entries in the "Interview for the Onion" post, I, chief judge and referee, choose the entry from Crazy Moss Lady:

"Bush Admits Iraq Invasion Was a Typo; He Meant Iran."

For the rest of the entrants, don't feel badly, there were a lot of qualified candidates, yada-yada. Crazy Moss Lady is celebrating her birthday today - Happy Birthday! You win!!!

Time for a new contest, later this week. I'll lead off with a few headlines to get the juices flowing...(in the next post)

Racing Plans
This weekend I have the Green Valley TT (PDF). 12 miles on the same course as the Icebreaker TT. The goal is to be under 30 min, ideally closer to 28 minutes. I'm stoked, but the legs are tired from recent training, so we'll see. I've got a few days, and today is a day off. I played soccer for 90 minutes on last Thursday and the legs haven't been strong since. I got in a nice 50 miler on Sunday, but yesterday I felt trashed.

And, April is almost over and I haven't done the 40k test for this month. The TT might have to do double duty, since it is roughly 20k in length.

An Action Shot

Beki, mother of my teammate Derek (local junior racer with a lot of promise) was taking pics at the race, and here's a decent one of me on the semi-chicane around the water tower:

(click the image for maximum size)
That's me on the red bike, roughly center of the picture.

Still no results posted, so I cannot confirm my solid pack finish as yet!

Volunteer Park Criterium and Summertime

Yesterday we had a record high and glorious sunny weather for the Volunteer Park Criterium. I had intentions of scoring a top-10 placing in this event, and was pretty well primed for it all race long. But, my crit skills are rusty. I spent way too much time working to the front, losing my position, and then working back to the front. But, I was "in there" the whole race, which appeared to have a significant amount of attrition by the end. It was a great time, even if I didn't manage a good result. I did have Bree and Emy providing an incredible cheering section. I looked forward to their yells on every lap.

As you can see below, post race, the sun was out, and the short-sleeve skinsuit was all that was required. Sorry, Bree didn't manage to get any action shots, so all I can offer is my backside.


At least I know my fitness is there for the start of track season - just three weeks away! The track bike has a too-long stem and a too-deep and too-reachy handlebar, so I sold some ice climbing gear to fund a new bar and stem. Once I get em, I will post a picture of the new steed.

Despite the great weather on the weekend, it looks like we're back to rain. Oh well, at least it is 50's and rain, instead of 30's or 40's and rain.

I promise I'll post some more "The Onion" articles this week - apparently they were well received. Actually, I think Bree and my mother in law have goaded me into creating a new blog, tentatively titled "The Shallot", or maybe "The Tuber", or possibly "The Scallion". Definitely not "The Leek"!

I will also announce the winner of my favorite comment on the Onion-eske headlines post.

Thunder, Lightning and March Totals

Yesterday I had an amazing run. I left the house at 4:00 PM and it was 53 F with a light wind. I could see some dark clouds on the way, but they looked to be a way off (I guessed 20 minutes away). As I loped along the trail to the north, I could feel that the tailwind was getting a bit stronger. I took a turn off the trail in order to do a short hill on dirt (I'm trying to work in some hills every week now), and on the way down I noticed the dark clouds were a lot closer. When I got back to the paved trail, which is in a valley and has no trees to block the wind, I was hit with a strong headwind. My hands immediately got cold - I had left the house properly dressed for 50+ degrees with a t-shirt and shorts - now the temp felt at least 10 degrees colder, and the wind was intense. However, in running, as in riding, I love the challenge of a headwind (I know, I'm sick in the head), and almost always attempt to match the pace I would run/ride if there were no wind. Yesterday was no exception, but it was harder than usual, and within a couple of minutes I started getting pounded by hail and sleet. I gritted my teeth, knowing that I only had to suffer through it for 10 minutes or fewer (especially if I ran faster). Just at the point when I turned off the trail for the final two blocks to our place my hands went numb and my cheeks were burning from the wind. After I got inside, we were all shocked to hear the boom of thunder - that never happens around here, unlike in Minnesota. I'm sure there was lightning, but we never saw it. The temperature, 25 minutes after I left the house, was now 40.9 F. I was expecting it to read below freezing!

Today was the opposite - foggy and cold in the morning, and then sunny, 50 F and awesome in the afternoon. I got in a great 35 mile spin after work.

March Total Training Log

Bicycle
Time: 40:02:00
Distance: 733.4 miles
Longest Ride: 58.0 miles, 2:30:00 (Market Street RR plus warm up and cool down)
Rest days: 4

Running
Time: 1:35:00
Distance: 16.5 miles
Longest Run: 3.0 miles, with hill repeats

Three Month Total (Jan 1 - Mar 31, 2008)
Time: 113:23:00
Distance: 2000.2 miles