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)