Recovered

I am back! I had to work hard to restrain myself over the past couple of weeks and not race. I skipped a Wednesday night, Friday night, and the Redmond Derby Days criterium in order to let my head and skin recover. I'm not completely healed, mind you, with still a bit of jaw discomfort, and my teeth are slowly coming back to normal, plus some of my road rash was pretty deep. But, I managed two hard training rides on the weekend without any symptoms that I was overdoing it, so I showed up for Master's racing on Wednesday, and tonight I will race with the cat 3's, two weeks after the crash.

Speaking of those training rides, they were real kickers. The Climb4Cancer Time Trial up Zoo Hill is in a couple of weeks (register if you haven't yet - it's only 2 miles!), and I want to trounce my time last year, 14:17. So, I rode to the base of Zoo Hill (starts near the Cougar Mountain Zoo) and did three repeats of Zoo Hill -> Lakemont Blvd -> Newport -> Zoo Hill. My first time up was 14:20, with two full water bottles, etc, and I was keeping the heart rate at 160 or less, so that bodes well for the TT. The next two repeats were 15:15 and 15:49. I then finished the ride with a loop around Lake Sammamish. That was last Saturday. On Sunday, since I was missing the Derby Days crit, I did a two hour sprint ride. I did a warm up, and then two sets of 10x15 second sprints. Each sprint exceeded 32 mph, which I owe to the track racing - the first set was even into a headwind! I really felt strong the whole weekend.

I took is off on Monday, and then did an easy 20 miles on Tuesday, with two short sprints. Wednesday night was the big return to the track. I got in a break in the 10 lap scratch race with a woman who has joined the Master's field a couple of times this season. We worked really well together, and only just got passed by about 6 riders in the final straight. I really thought we were going to stick it out to the end. But, it was a great effort.

Then, in the chariot race (one lap from a held start, in heats of 4-6 riders), which I have always thought was not my event (see an earlier post), I was sprinting with the top two guys in my heat, just not able to come around them. I didn't feel so bad, since one of the guys was Woody Cox, a former Master's World Champion, who excels at this kind of thing (plus each of his thighs equals both of mine together), and was happy I was right along side him in the sprint! Getting third put me in the consolation heat, where I still did well (for me) and narrowly missed another 3rd place (which would have been 9th overall in the chariot races).

my teammate Mark took this shot before the points race
- can you tell I am happy to be racing again?

The last race was a 6x5 points race, and shortly after the first sprint (where I got 3 points) I found myself in a break of three, chasing the aforementioned Woody and Mike Burdo who were a break further up the track. My break of three included my companion from the scratch race, plus another strong rider from the Benaroya Research team - I think they are all cat 2 or better riders on the road. We worked really well and stayed away from the pack for the rest of the race. The Benaroya guy (Pat Gray) was ripping our legs off every time he was at the front of the break, and had no trouble out-sprinting me for points on each sprint lap, but I was really enjoying myself being "on the rivet" for the remaining ~23 laps. Eventually Woody dropped back, and joined our break. Of course, he outsprinted me for the finish, but still, it was a great effort and shows my sprinting legs are still improving.

Tonight I am going to try new gearing. Up until now I have been using a 50x15 (50 teeth on the front chainring, and 15 on the rear cog), which amounts to 90 gear inches. I'm going to step it up to 49x14 for tonight and see how it goes. That pushes it to around 95 gear inches. For the layperson, this means it will be harder to pedal at a given speed, but assuming I am strong enough, it will mean I can ultimately hit a higher top speed before my legs are spinning out of control.

Overall, our team is doing super well - we've got three more additions to the regular track racers, including two of our top road riders (Travis and Jason), which means all of our road cat 2's are racing the track. I think we are going to be able to top the team standings by the end of the season!

Ouch. Friday Night Track Racing (7/4/2008)

I was doing well! Really well. Bree and Emy got to cheer for me, and got some of the nearby crowd cheering for me too. Emy had fun in the Kiddie Kilo:

I'm ready Bilko! I'm ready!

And I had fun in the cat 3's too. I got 7th in the 10-lap scratch race, and then in the 2-lap heat I actually managed a 2nd place, which meant I would get to compete in the 5th-8th place final for the 2-lap races. Except for some surprising bumping (mostly on my part, trying to move around the two guys in front of me to sprint) with Brian who started sprinting behind me and happened to be even with me as we were both trying to pass - I was happy with my result. I managed 2nd in the final, which meant 6th place in the 2-lap race.

Then, in the 5x5 points race, I sat in for the first sprint, and attacked two laps after the first sprint, and stayed away solo for 2.5 laps to get the 5 points for 1st in that sprint. I saved enough energy to make sure I could just rejoin the group when they caught me (not long after the line). We were then rolling around, racing, and I sat out another sprint, biding my time, when my teammate Mark attacked! I was just thinking I should move near the front to block when I felt movement at my right side, and saw the guy in front of me start to crash. A split second later, I too went head over heels, and all was dark while I heard the officials fire the gun three times and yell that the race was neutralized.

The next thing I recall was Bree walking me to my chair in the infield, despite my protests that I was "fine!" And then I have about 15 minutes missing from my life forever. Apparently people were asking me how I was doing, but I said, "I don't know what you are talking about!" Luckily, I had the onsite medic checking me out, and Bree defending my mental state to the well-wishers ("He's got a concussion.") When I came to, it was dark outside, and the 1,2's were doing their final race. The medic was checking my pupils, and shortly thereafter some paramedics arrived and asked more questions. They were satisfied that I was mentally back to my self, and Emy challenged me to recall all the names of her classmates (luckily I was interrupted by someone else after I started struggling with names following Ruby and Hannah). Bree got us all loaded up, and we drove home.

I didn't sleep too well that night, partly because I think my brain didn't want me to go sub/un-conscious. I'm doing a lot better, but here's some gory photos for your pleasure (or, don't look, if it's not your pleasure):

There is a lot of road rash under there

My face bore the brunt of the impact,
after my helmet and sunglasses absorbed the worst of it

both elbows are pretty awful

the loss of skin between the knuckles actually hurts the worst

my chin has a strange pattern, even after two days

face all cleaned up after a day has passed - it doesn't look that bad!

as of today, a black eye is brewing

There's more, but most of it is upper body. I've got a good chunk of skin missing from my right hip, but this pic isn't work safe.

I'm taking a day or two off work to try and heal up - I'm not nice to look at, and I hurt all over.

But don't worry - I should be ready to race again by this coming Friday night! I just need some new handlebar tape, and a new helmet.

June 2008 totals, Friday night track racing

Friday night, 6/27/2008
The previous Wednesday I had discovered my saddle had slipped backward about 6 mm. The trouble is, I have no idea when it happened. It could have been a month ago, and I will never know! Those who know me know that I am OCD about my bike position, so I was freaked, to say the least. I slid it back to the marks on the rails, but, of course, everything felt "wrong" now that I was hypersensitized to every sensation. After my warm up and the first race on Friday, a scratch race, where I managed 7th in the final sprint (out of 27 riders), I became convinced my right cleat must have moved too. Luckily, my teammate Jerry had a screwdriver in his car, and he was kindly willing to go grab it for me.

The next race was my first attempt at the Keirin, which is an odd race that is quite the gambling rage in Japan. A motorcycle paces the group for 4.5 laps, pulls off the track, and then the sprint is on. We draw straws for position, and I drew the spot behind the motorbike. Bree had warned me that this bike tended to stink, since she had practiced Keirin racing the night before at women's training night (that's right, Bree has a shiny new track bike, and is planning to give racing a shot). All I knew was that I was supposed to draft it for the 4.5 laps, and then I didn't really have a clue what happened next (or what the rules are). After the bike pulled off, I pulled up track, thinking "I am not going to pull them for the next 600 m", and another rider (Cooper Lang - very strong) attacked. I sat on the chaser, but was passed for the finish and came in 4th in my heat. Only the top two advanced to the final, so now I had a lot of sitting around to do while the other races went on.

I messed with my cleat, and discovered it had not, in fact, slipped. So, I just had to assume my bike was back in my preferred position, even though everything felt weird.

The final race was a 5x5 points race. I attempted a solo attack with 500 m to go, but got nipped in the last turn by a group of ~6. I barely caught back on, and was pretty winded from doing 500 meters at about 34 mph. Two sprints later, there was a break fo two off the front, and I attacked solo from turn 2 and got the 2 points remaining in that sprint. I just barely hung in the pack for the rest of the race. My two teammates in the race, Niels and Mark, both managed to get some points too, so overall it was a good race for Team Cucina Fresca! We also had a great crew of teammates hanging out, giving us some love from the sidelines. It sure is nice to be on such a friendly and supportive bike team.

I took it pretty easy on training since Friday, so hopefully I will be good and fresh for Wednesday night racing with the Masters group. Bree should be there too! My mother is in town and can sit with Emy and watch while Bree and I compete. It will be the first time Bree and I have both been in a racing event since May 2000. Wow.

June 2008 totals

bike
Distance: 543.9 miles
Time: 30:34:00
Longest Ride: 38.7 miles (2:05)
Rest days: 5

run
Distance: 7 miles
Time: 0:51:00
Longest run: 4 miles
(took two weeks off of running, just to see how it would go)

I'm planning on the 40 km TT test this coming weekend. I expect it will be roughly the same as last time, since I have not been doing much threshold training. In fact. most of my "training" is racing on the track these days. With two nights of racing, I do only one other structured training ride a week (intervals, hills or sprints, usually) - the rest of my rides are easy spinning (17-18 mph, 1-2 hours, <130 bpm HR max) with one rest day a week. I'm definitely not in shape for road races, but I should be fine in the summer crits. I'll need to switch over to some more threshold intervals of 10-20 minutes before cross season (in less than two month now!).

Husband discovers wife's "therapist" is actually a male phlebotomist

Cat 3 is faster, but luckily, so am I

I raced in the Master's races on Wednesday night, which contains all riders 35+, and consists of many cat 3, 2 and 1 riders. It was the hardest night I've done on the track this season, but I managed to do well in two of the three events and took 7th in the omnium out of 19 riders!

Here's the report I sent to the team on Friday night's racing:
If you haven't been checking http://velodrome.org/cms/node/85, you might not know that the Pasta team is holding down 2nd place overall for the season so far. And based on the continuing success of our track riders, I don't see how we can go anywhere but up!

Friday night had the best spectator turnout so far this year, owing in part to the first Kiddie Kilo night that was not cancelled due to rain. Some of you may know hat Team Cucina Fresca member John Klupar, our representative on the MVA board, is now running the Kiddie Kilo, as part of his ongoing duties to ramp up and grow the Junior Program at the track. He's done a fantastic job taking a disorganized and directionless program and given it some new hope for real development. Give him a hand if you're able. The kids (especially the girls!) are the future for our track.


On to the racing:

The 4's had both a Tempo race (sprint every lap, two places deep for points) and a 4x5 Points race (four sprints, one every five laps for points, 4 places deep). The Tomatoes were represented by John Klupar and Jerry Shafer, both of whom were active and scoring points. I believe Jerry had his best night ever, scoring on at least two of the points race sprints. He was grinning the whole night!

The 3's had a 10 lap Snowball (progressively increasing points, 1 place deep, sprint every lap), a Miss n' Out (pulling down to 5 riders, one rider out per lap, then two laps to the finish), and a 25-lap scratch race (essentially a crit on the track). The number of Cat 3's Cucinas grew by one this week with the arrival of Niels to the ranks. This makes four of us in total, with a field size usually in the upper teens, which means we are able to "be a team". In the Snowball, Mark snuck away for a point, was reeled back, then I attacked on the 5 point lap and took it solo, pulled up (should have kept going), and attempted to block for Niels, who was stuck in no-man's land between the field and a break of three for a few more laps, before it all came together for a field sprint on the 10 point lap.

Chris Hill put in his second appearance this season in the 1,2's, despite being recorded as "Chris Cunningham" on at least two occasions other than the ones in which he actually appeared (but hey, Cucina Fresca got the points). He got this all straightened out, and was out there duking it in the field that was missing both Kenny Williams and Grant Boursaw. I didn't get to see much of Chris's first two races, but in the points race he scored on multiple occasions, despite still running his 50x15 (will someone give Chris a 51?).

The start of the Miss n' Out - finally, heat and sun!
(that's me, just left of center, in the red/white/black with a tomato)

In the 3's Miss n Out, my plan was to not get dropped on the first lap. Amazingly, I met this goal, as did Niels, as we made the final selection of five riders. I stayed on the front for the remaining two laps, hoping Niels was the sound on my wheel, and while he did get an excellent 4th, a sneaky Gibb Clark of Garage was actually enjoying my draft, and later sprinted by me. Still, this gave Niels his first omnium points in the 3's, and I now had two 5th place placings from the first two races.

And then there were five...

Our last race in the 3's was a 25 lap scratch race. Somewhere around lap 10, after a prime on the 1st lap, and another prime had gone by, Niels got away with a guy from Recycled and a guy from HB. Brian and I moved near the front and added to the blocking being done by Recycled Cycles. A few laps later, when Niel's breakaway had almost a half-lap, the Recycled guy popped, and now the blockers became the chasers, for about two laps. They gave up, which allowed Brian and I to patrol the front, sitting on and slowing down. At one point, the break of two was nearly lapping us, and despite another prime, the field never got closer than a half-lap. The sprint began to wind up in the field, and I was sitting in 4th position, ready to pounce for 3rd place when my chain bounced off! Initially my reaction was that of the roadie and I tried pedaling a bit (as if my derailleur was going to recover my chain - except for the distinct lack of a derailleur). Frustrated, I coasted from 200 meters out to the finish and went from hero to 10th. All was not lost, as our intrepid Niels sat on his companion for the final lap and took the sprint for 1st place! As Mark was saying, he'll "probably do much better when he gets over his first race jitters!" Niels enjoyed his envelope of cash, I whined about my chain to whomever would listen, and overall we totally rocked for the night. My wife, Bree, reminded me that I should just be happy my wheel didn't lock up at 35 mph for what could have been a horrendous crash. OK, honey, I get it...

J-Dub's taking the track class tomorrow, and Travis starts his Monday night track hazing period next week. Soon we will be well over 10 riders strong at the track and if all goes as it has been, we'll occupy that #1 team spot by the end of the season!


Emy finally gets her Kiddie Kilo Night!

Emy in the Kiddie Kilo - not afraid to ride on the banking!

After having been rained out the last time, this was the first running of the Kiddie Kilo (one lap around the track for the sub 8 year olds, dived into age groups, and by number of wheels (2, 3 or 4). Emy was riding with my boss Bruce's daughter Alex, who recently took off the training wheels, and had a great time. She is especially proud of her pink "Cupcake" cycling jersey she picked out with Bree at REI earlier in the day. I'll try to get a picture posted tomorrow. Bruce's son Chase was in the Kilo too, as was another coworker's (Chris's) son and daughter. Bilko, the announcer, was pretty excitedly cheering on Jasper Gallagher as he cleanly took the >2 wheel category, an ear-to-ear grin beaming on his face. Future track star there, for sure!

OK, I probably won't win the Chariot Race

But I couldn't help including some stomps in my training regimen for the weekend. I felt so embarrassed by my standing start sprinting ability on Friday that I had to do something to improve in this area. So, today I did a two hour tempo ride (yesterday was a two hour hill interval ride) in some glorious sunshine and HEAT (finally). I spent the first hour at tempo running a HR of ~140-150 with a fairly high cadence. Then after I turned about to head home, I switched to the 53x14 and coasted until I was below 3 mph before I grunted out a sprint to 32+ mph. I rested two minutes between each of six of these. My knees definitely can tell I was putting out, but it felt good. Hopefully I can squeeze these in every week or two weeks to build up a little more explosive power.

OK, so now I know! Cat 3 is faster.

Below is my report I sent out to my team. I can say that upgrading to Cat 3 on the track is nothing like upgrading to Cat 3 on the road. When I upgraded on the road I hardly noticed a difference, except that races got longer. On the track, there is a clear difference in speed, ability, and speed. Plus the guys around me have a lot more hardware, as in, the cost of the bikes around me in the field has gone up considerably!

On to the report:

Since my last report I've upgraded to Cat 3, so I will have a little
less I can report on the 4's racing. But, Friday night was a great
night of tomato power!

Jerry, John and Niels represented us in the 4's, all of them getting
invited to the "big show". They had a tempo race (points every lap,
two places deep, 2 pts, 1 pt). This is one of those races that a lot
of people don't enjoy, since the racing is fast and furious from the
get go. But my friends, if you didn't see it, you would be amazed by
our tomato trio - they were scoring points left and right! Niels took
the lion's share, and came away with 2nd place.

The Cat 3's began with a 12 lap scratch race. This being my first 3's
race, I didn't know what to expect, other than a sneaky suspicion it
would be faster than the 4's. But, everyone's been talking about how
fast the 4's field is this year, so I had an inkling it wouldn't be
too different. I could not be more wrong! We hit it from the
beginning, and strung out single file at high speed about every other
lap, then a brief respite, followed by more hammering. I got gapped
when the final 200 m sprint began, but I saw Mark up there among the
group. Brian and I strolled in to the finish. I checked my computer
afterward - the fastest sprint I'd seen in the 4's races was 35.6
mph. In the 3's scratch race, we hit 33.2 mph, and it was not a
sprint - just cruising along single file.

The 3's had Chariot heats next, which is a one lap, all out sprint in
a group of 3-5 riders, from a held start. I didn't expect to do too
well in this race, as "explosion" is not one of my talents. Mark, on
the other hand, excels at this kind of endeavor, and handily took to
the front of his group, and held it all the way to the line! It was a
thing of beauty. Both Brian and I, um, let our groups beat us. I'm
sure we were saving ourselves for the points race later, right
Brian?

Next up, the 4's had the ever popular 4x4, and Niels had high hopes.
This is definitely his best event, and he showed it once again by
cleanly taking two sprints, and a couple of 2nds (right, Niels?).
John and Jerry also looked great out there - Jerry is definitely
starting to adapt to the track with a number of "cheeky" moves that
will no doubt pay off soon. I was pretty sure John got 2nd or 3rd in
one of the sprints (and he thought so too), but a protest after the
race came to naught. Niels won this race, and so he was assured of
taking the omnium for cat 4's.

Niels has now earned enough to joined Mark, Brian and I in the 3's!

While Brian and I got cold and stiff, Mark was in the finals of the
Chariot - he blasted away from the line again, this time accepting a
bit of a draft, and he took and amazing 2nd, beating Hyun Lee into 3rd
by a small margin, and only half a wheel off of 1st place. We were
screaming our lungs out for the entire finishing stretch.

Last up for the 3's, while John was already enjoying the beer garden,
was the 5x5 progressive points race. This is run just like the points
race, with a sprint every 5 laps for points, but the value and depth
of the points increases with each sprint lap. I had joked to Brian
that I was hoping for 1 point, as this was the only race in which I
might be competitive in the 3's, but when I didn't attack for the 1st
sprint (1 point, 1 place deep), he took a flyer and scored the point.
I was sitting in second wheel of the pack, doing my best blocking
imitation, in case Brian wanted more pain, but he eased up and we
assimilated him. The next sprint went by without me noticing much,
other than trying to stay near the front, and then Ryan Miller
attacked, and I jumped on his wheel. He didn't seem to be fully
committed, so I past him in the finishing straight and encouraged him
to actually make his move stick. We did two half-lap rotations before
we were joined by 2 other riders, and I was thinking "Yes, four
riders, and the sprint will soon be 4 places deep! I'm going to get
points!" However, within short order we were joined by 3 other
riders, one of which happened to be Mark. I was leading the break
coming down the backstretch, and when I saw a flying tomato, I eased
up just a bit (he didn't really need the help) and Mark took the
points. They break wasn't super interested in chasing, and I sure
wasn't in good shape, as they all blew by me snatching up the
remaining points. But we stayed together, absorbed Mark, and then
were caught the lap before the last sprint. By then I was spent, but
I saw Mark again up in the lead pack for the final sprint.

So, results for the night - I know I need to get faster. Niels rocks
and will be joining me soon. Mark is flying, and took 4th for the
omnium, earning him some cool, hard $.

I hear Mr President will soon be joining us in the 3's after a little
time in the 4's, right Travis? And, rumor has it J-Dub is taking the
track class next weekend. We are going to have so much fun this
season!

Headline I just thought of

Coworkers getting really tired of Jeff always talking about "Constant Comment" tea

Cat 3 I be

From Monty Python and the Holy Grail: "Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three."

I earned the upgrade on Wednesday (see below post). It's official - now I am a cat 3 on the road, track, and cyclocross. I expect to get schooled for a while, as the 3's race appears to be much more tactical, and definitely a bit faster. I'm excited about tonight's racing, as I get to do two events I've never done before, the Chariot Race, and the Progressive Points race.

The Chariot race is from a held start (someone holds your seat while you clip in to the pedals, and then without pushing, lets you go at the gun for a one lap sprint against anywhere from 2-7 other riders. The race is done in heats, with a final. I suspect this will not be one of my top events, as I just am not that explosive of a sprinter.

The Progressive Points race is very similar to a Points race, with a sprint every X number of laps (in tonight's case it is a 5x5 race, which means there is a sprint every 5 laps), only the points get bigger and go deeper at each sprint. So in the first sprint, the 1st rider gets 1 point and everyone else gets nothing. By the 3rd sprint, the 1st placed rider gets 3 points, 2nd gets 2, and 3rd gets 1 point. I'm hoping to get at least one point, since in the cat 4's the points races were my best event barring the snowball, which has its own element of progressive point increases (see this post for a description of the snowball).

As before in the 4's, I will have teammates. I'll be helping Mark and Brian as much as I can - I am the "new guy" after all.

Wednesday (6/11/2008) Track Racing Report

Here's what I sent out to the team:

Last night was very frustrating. The intention was for me to get my 1 point needed to upgrade, and then work for John to get his 4, or at least some of them. In the unknown distance, we were definitely going to score a top placing for John, as I was driving a fast leadout with him on my wheel, and only two slower riders we were about to pass, only to get stymied by the guy (one of the slower riders) who took 1st for the omnium with some dangerous riding! He pulled up track out of the sprinters lane right as we were attacking on the backstretch in the final lap. Luckily, John and I went in opposite directions to go around him, or we might have had some squashed tomatoes. I was able to continue my sprint well enough to get 3rd, as I was lucky enough to get around the guy to the inside, but it brought John pretty high up the track, and out of the draft. Jeff also managed to get a 4th (?) in this race, which shows if we can get him to keep showing up (there will be plenty of time for dirt during cross season, Jeff!), we'll have yet another strong tomato!

Then, in the miss n' out, John and I were destined to be in the final 3. However, when Jerry got pulled (nice job making it to the final 6, by the way, Jerry!), and they called number "445" there was some confusion as to whether they said "445" (Jerry) or "405" (John). Mr Brun (#1 for Omnium in our group, same guy who almost took us out in race #1) told John that the announcer said "405", so John started pulling onto the apron and slowing, as I was frantically saying "No! No! They pulled Jerry! You're still in!" Unfortunately, this meant John was stuck down in the sprinters lane, with no chance of getting unblocked before the finish line, where he got pulled. I managed 2nd in a very tight sprint, beat by the ever-green Bill Walker.

In the 4x4 points race, we wanted to take advantage of the 4 tomatoes in group B (John, me, new arrival Jeff Anderson, and Jerry) with a dramatic 4-man team Cucina breakaway. Alas, when riders went hard from the 1st lap (that never happens in the points race!), our plan to attack the 2nd lap went awry, and while Jeff gave it a go to get us away on the first lap, and just after the 1st sprint, it just wasn't happening. I'm not sure if it was just the high pace (we didn't let up for pretty much the whole 16 laps), or an actual collective brain in the field that kept an eye on the 4 tomatoes (they had to assume we would do something), but all our attempts at glory failed. It was pretty much a sprint-for-all where I managed a few minor placings.

Niels was the sole tomoato in the group A, and as you can see, he did just fine on his own. He was up against two of the stronger 4's (Kroll and Cole) and got solid top 3's in each of the 3 events. Kroll will be upgrading, so your life just got a little bit easier, Niels :-)

May Totals, and 40 km TT test

It's been wet and cold. I see that according to the National Weather Service we had a record cold maximum temperature today:

... Record low maximum temperature tied at Seattle-Tacoma Airport...

a record low maximum of 55 degrees was recorded at Seattle-Tacoma
Airport today. This ties the old record of 55 set in 2002 and 1950.

Bree was supposed to have her "intro to track racing" class today, but it was canceled. She should get her chance tomorrow if the weather improves. It's June! I want sun!

Wednesday was some good track racing. 28 Cat 4's showed up despite threatening weather, so they split us into two groups to keep the field size "manageable" and safer. Here's an edited version of the email I sent to the team:

***********************
It was a great night of racing by the team. Niels and Jerry were in the Cat 4 Group B, and John, Ernie and I were in the Cat 4 Group A.

In the 8 lap scratch races, the field pretty much hung together in my group, and while there were some heated attempts to lift the pace (including by John), it came down to a field sprint, in which I got beat by Ross Spero, yet again, and another guy from Recycled whose thighs are as big as my torso. But, I was happy with 3rd. Niels scored a nice 2nd in Group B, again in a field sprint. There was some fast dude from "Brazen Dropouts", Ryan Gist, who appeared to be the Ross Spero of Group B.

In the 200 m flying TT, many of us were looking to John and Mark for advice, since none of us had ever done it. The general strategy is to wind it up for the first lap, head high on the banking in turn 1, and then fly down the banking of turn 2 toward the 200 m line, sprinting to the finish. I definitely need to work on the timing in this event. I did as described above, but continued to accelerate through the final 200 m, and felt like I had much more to give. Next time I will try and hit max speed right when I cross the 200 m mark and hold it to the finish. I may have had a decent time, but I'm sure I could have done better (I suspect we all felt this way). Seems like gearing is a big question too. John had the biggest gearing (94 inches?), and I was running 90 inches. More to learn about this particular event. My time was 13.8 seconds, which means 52.3 km/h, or about 32.9 mph. I know I can beat that.

We all froze while we waited for all the groups to do the 200 m TT. I was shivering, with teeth chattering, even though I was under a blanket and wearing a sweater!

The final 4x4 points race - Niels and Jerry will have to comment on theirs. I only know that Niels did a good job and scored some points. In our group we had a solo flyer from Wines take off from the gun (or maybe it was the 2nd lap) and hold it through the first sprint. With 1.5 laps to go to the next sprint, I took off in pursuit, and barely held on for the 5 points after passing the previous breakaway at about 150 m to go. I sat up, and then a lap later John Caprica (sp?) took off. Many of us in the field figured he wouldn't last. But he was joined by some guy wearing a PEZ Cycling jersey, and I am sad to say they outwitted us and took the remaining top-2 placings in the last two sprints. I did manage to collect one more point in the last sprint, which put me in a tie with my nemesis.

Thankfully, Ross will now upgrade!
*******************

I should follow him shortly. By my calculations, I have 19 upgrade points, and I need 20. That makes last Friday getting rained out an extra bummer. I want to move up - it's so close! I am having so much fun at the track. I'm surrounded by a great group of teammates and competitors every race night, and it is just a blast.

May Totals
The totals are lower since I was off the bike for 10 days...

Bicycle
Time: 25:50:00
Distance: 461.6 miles
Longest Ride: 48.9 miles, 3:00:00 (hill repeats on Zoo Hill)
Rest days: 11 (some of the vacation days were running days)

Running
Time: 2:25:00
Distance: 18.0 miles
Longest Run: 5.0 miles

40 km TT test for May (OK, early June)
My previous best time from April has fallen yet again. I was skeptical that I would have it in me today for two reasons - yesterday I did a hill run, and I haven't really been doing long intervals since track season started. Even so, after 2.5 miles of warm up, I hit West Lake Sammamish with hopes of at least equaling April's time of 1:07:00. By the time I was looping around the south end of the lake, I was running a good time, but not better than 1:07:00. However, the east side of the lake is much less undulating, and the shoulder is a lot smoother. When I made it to Marymoor, I was slowed down by heavy traffic. It's a bit sketchy passing cars on the right side of the speedbumps, but I wanted to get an accurate time! I hit the 24.8 mile (40 km) mark at 1:05:11, a substantial improvement over last month. Also interesting is a comparison my winning time for the Cat 5 men in the Minnesota State TT, in 1999. The course was pancake flat, and my time was 1:05:25. It's both comforting and sad that my time is better, but not by much over the same distance 9 years ago. As Bree told me, though, you really can't compare the two races since the terrain is so different.

Next time I do the test I will instead attempt to beat an hour, rather than limit my HR to sub 160 bpm. I think it is totally possible, and would be a good benchmark in my training.

Track Racing, since we got back from Europe

Some of the characters in the stories that follow
Image courtesy of Amara Boursaw, WheelsInFocus.com

I've written a couple of email recaps for my teammates, and rather than re-write them for the blog, I will post them below, in chronological order:

Wednesday, 5/28/2008
What a fun night of racing. The rain held off, and the 4's field was
20 strong. By strong, I mean they were all strong. Niels and I asked
Mark if anyone was getting dropped off the field during the 2nd race,
and he said that no, we were all together. Pretty remarkable, since
it was one of the fastest, if not the fastest night so far this
season. I recorded a max speed of 35.6 in one of the sprints in the
4x4, and I didn't even win that sprint, so we were moving! I felt
generally pretty solid, but some of the "snap" is missing from my legs
after 10 days across the pond with no riding. I'm hoping to be back
to full strength next week.

Cucina Fresca is definitely garnering attention at the track. The
announcers can't help but point out the presence of the tomato, and in
last night's case, we had three racers in the cat 4's: Niels, Jerry
and me.

The first race of the night was an 8 lap snowball. I love the
snowball, but as the first race of the night, it proved to be a rude
awakening. A guy from Wines went for the usual glory hunt on lap 1,
but he actually managed to stay away for 4 laps, giving him 10
points. Niels and I planned on going on the 5 point lap, and Niels
followed through with the plan with aplomb, only I wasn't on his wheel
at the right time! I got stuck in no-mans land between Niels and the
pack, and so I dropped back rather than give the field a jumping off
point to catch Niels. He flew the coop and scored the 5 and 6 point
laps before he was caught. I was intending to go at that point, but
"allowed" myself to get boxed in with a momentary mental lapse (two
guys in the field seemed intent on boxing me in for each of the three
races - some guy from Greggs, and Alden from HB (who was helping Ross
Spero - that guy can sprint)). This worked out well for Niels,
though, so I was not too upset. Niels ended up with 2nd in the race,
as another guy got the last two laps. Not bad for Niels debut on the
track for the season! He was also a bit surprised by how winded you
get when off the front for a couple of laps :-)

The second race was the win n' out, which is my least favorite race.
For those who don't know, the bell rings with 4 laps to go. If you
win the next lap, you win the race, with the next lap's winner getting
2nd, on down. The last lap is for 4th thru however deep they go. The
race was pretty piano until 5 laps to go and then it picked up. Both
Niels and I were no where near the front for the win, but Niels had a
well times sprint and took 2nd. I tried for third, didn't get it, and
then just got nipped for 4th. But I was happy to get "something" this
time. After the race, Jerry commented on how quickly the races get
going, and how quickly they are over. I'm sure this is mostly true
for the 4's, since the races are so short, but it's definitely a theme
to the track - if you make one small mistake when the field is heating
up, chances are you are out of it since the race is over in the blink
of an eye.

So, so far we've got Niels with two 2nd places, but Niels and Jerry,
being the good souls, asked me what I wanted from them for the last
race, the 4x4 points race. We agreed that a lead out for the first
sprint would be a good start, and man, we did a nice lead out. Niels
took me up to about 100 m to go, and I had a good sprint, but Mr Ross
Spero was on my wheel and nipped me for the 5 points. The second
sprint lap we weren't particularly organized, but Niels and I both got
some minor points. I was out for the 3rd sprint, and I don't actually
know if Niels got anything, and then Jerry took to the front, with
Niels on his wheel, and we were all duking it for the last sprint.
Niels and I both got something (I think you got the 1 point, right
Niels?), and Jerry was just out of the points.

Final for the night - wow - the field was so deep last night. The
winner for the night had 8 omnium points. This is in stark contrast
to the pre-season Fridays where I won the omnium with 15 points, and
got 2nd with 14 points on another night. Last night, the top rider
had 8, Niels had 7 (2nd place!), and then it pretty much went one
point or fewer between rider placings. I got 9th with 3 points. The
Cat 4's have a really strong field this season. Did I say that
already?

I got my invite email to race on Fridays. I'm trying to recover!
John, I assume you got an invite. Niels, did you get one based on
your performance last night? Did you get the email from Hyun that you
now have 5 upgrade points? 15 more to go! John is really close to
cat 3 with 16 points, and I have 12. Hopefully we will soon be
swelling the 3's with tomatoes, as some new cat 4 tomatoes come
online. I think Dave will be in the 4's soon, Jerry is going strongly
now, and even Mr Z-Dog intends to make some appearances. I hear that
Travis and J-Dub are taking the track class, but unless they feel like
doing the time in the 4's, they will be able to debut in the 3's.


Friday, 5/30/2008

Bree and Emy joined me in the infield for the first time.
Emy may need a little practice keeping calm and out of the way,
but in general it was a good experience.
It lets both of them be more "a part of the action"

In this shot I am thinking, "Nah, those cat 3's aren't so fast."
John, behind me, is thinking, "Man, I can't wait until they open the beer garden!"

I am starting to run out of superlatives! Friday was the largest
number of CF riders so far this season at the track. We had Brian and
Mark in the cat 3's, John, Niels and me in the 4's, and our lone "duke
it out with Kenny" cat 1/2 rider, making his first appearance at this
level, sporting a smaller tomato, with a puny 50x15, "It's not the
gear", Chris Hill. The critical mass at the track makes for some
great camaraderie; it's so much fun.

I can really only detail the 4's race, but I will begin with some
highlights I observed from the other categories:

In the 2 lap cat 3 heats, Brian P had an awesome performance - he was
sitting in 4th (last in his heat) coming into turn 3, and was on the
"right wheel". He pulled out a sweet sprint right at the line to move
on to the final. I know he was pleased - those two lap heats were
speedy, so to come in 1st in your heat looked tough.

Watching the cat 3 scratch race, while pontificating from the beer
garden, John, Niels and I were quietly chiding Mark for sitting at the
back, lap after lap, ignoring every breakaway, the epitome of
patience. He sure shut us up - right at the bell he blasted from mid-
pack (he had silently moved up in the 2nd to last lap) to an immediate
5 bike length gap, which he held all the way to the finish (the full
400 m). A couple of riders were closing, but he gutted out an amazing
finishing sprint. Also, since this was the feature race (last race of
the night) for the cat 3's, his winning performance netted Mark the
omnium! That's two omniums so far this season for Mark. I'm thinking
Chris will soon have some company in the 1/2's.

In the 1/2's 6x5 points race, again in full pundit mode in the beer
garden, we cat 4's watched Mr Hill hang on to Kenny's wheel for dear
life for the final sprint. He was definitely in the right place, and
even though he claims "it's not the gear", I think a few more gear
inches would have helped him cling to the cash register a bit longer.
Chris looked strong out there in his debut with the big boys, (but he
needs a skinsuit with a bigger tomato).

OK, to the 4's. Friday night racing for the cat 4's has switched to a
"by invitation only" mode, but thanks to John and my pre-season
performances, and Niels incredible Wednesday this week, we had three
CF invitees! With a field size of 17, this meant we could play the
team card in each of our two races. However, it also means that the
cream of the 4's comprises the field.

The 10 lap, point-a-lap: (I don't think anyone actually likes this
race)
Each lap there is a sprint for 1 point, kinda like how they used to
run Derby Days at the turn of the millenium. Final lap goes three
places deep, 3, 2 and 1 point. I had told Niels and John I would
attack from the gun, and I did, but this was not a surprise tactic,
and they don't give me much leeway these days anyway. I pulled the
field around for most of the first lap and crossed the line in 2nd
place. Then, Ross Spero of Hagens Berman attacked, and got the next
three laps solo before we caught up with him. In the sprint for the
6th lap, both Niels and I were duking it out with one other guy. I
was actually on Niels' wheel coming out of turn four, but I wasn't
sure Niels was going to get it, and unfortunately (fortunately?)
nipped Niels at the line to put myself on the scoreboard. A couple of
other riders took the next two laps, and then Spero went off again for
the 9th lap. John hammered it at the front, and I had his wheel,
which pulled me around nicely to turn 3 where I moved ahead and passed
Mr Spero in the final straight to get the 3 points on the last lap.
(Note: we didn't actually know the last lap went three deep until we
saw the final results, so for a long time we thought I had two
points). I owe Niels a beer, for sure.

The 20 lap scratch race: (a crit at the track)
There was a rumor we would have a prime during the race, and so Niels
was patrolling the front like a hawk, patiently waiting for the bell
to ring. Sure enough, right as we were all getting complacent, just
trying to hold a good position high on the track (to allow for the
ability to accelerate past riders), the bell was rung. The pace
heated up, but I was holding back focused on the finish. Niels was in
the hunt, I think, but Spero again flew past us all to take the $20.
John and I were both laughing inside, "Yeah, you go ahead and get that
prime - now you won't win the finish!" With a little more than 1.5
laps to go, John lit up like a candle and I got his wheel, with Niels
on my wheel. I could hear Bilko say something about "three Cucina
Frescas..." but I missed what he said. Little did we know that all
three of us were off the front with a few bike length gap! A dream
situation, had we only been aware of it. I didn't know Niels was on
my wheel, either, since I was just trying to stay glued to the Klupar
fire engine. John started to fade a bit with about 250 m to go and I
was urging him to pull up, but he rightly stayed in the sprinters lane
(track rules). Just as I was thinking I should pull around him, a
white and blue missile blasted past us - Spero again! I took off in
pursuit, but there was no catching that guy. I got 2nd, and Niels was
right behind me in 3rd. John gets the hero award for giving us a 600
meter lead out, full gas. (to top it off, he bought me a beer after
the race - now I owe him two beers!)

We were a bit embarrassed to get schooled by this "one guy". I have
since learned that he's a cat 1 on the road. We don't feel so bad
now. And, he barely beat us in either race. At least we are giving
him some good competition!

In the end, I got 2nd for the omnium behind guess who, and Niels got
4th. This now puts John and I one more good omnium result away from
cat 3. We are going to work for Niels for at least another night so
he can catch up with a few more upgrade points. Soon the three of us
will join Brian and Mark.

P.S. Doesn't track racing sound fun? Why not sign up for a track
class: http://velodrome.org/cms/node/21

P.P.S. Derek, disregard all the discussion of drinking beer.
Milkshakes are fine too.

Euro Trip and a Training Break

The Netherlands has Windmills

We just got back Thursday from a wonderful vacation in the Netherlands and the UK. The Netherlands was our first time visiting with my father and his committed life partner, not quite married, but with some legal status, girlfriend. We arrived at Amsterdam (Schipol) airport after a long flight, and were all quite tired, but it was 7:40 AM Netherlands time, so I attempted to stay awake until a more normal bedtime. Bree and Emy both napped, and they probably made the right call. Anyway, I either caught a virus, or was experiencing intense allergic reaction to something in the Dutch air. The malady stuck with me for the entire 10 days of our trip, unfortunately.

We had a nice couple of days in Gouda (pronounced HHHowda) adjusting to the time change, dipping in the North Sea, eating pastries, and marveling at how everyone rides their bike to/from work, to/from school, to/from town, and just about everywhere else. It makes me so envious that the infrastructure provides for bike travel as a first-class mode of transport, in some cases to the exclusion of drivers. Amazing! We then took a short weekend trip to visit our good friends the Knopfs, who have relocated to Marlow, UK, somewhere west of London/Windsor area.

I am hooked on euro style cappucinos

Emy reunited with her friend Molly, and they had a grand ol time for the next couple of days. Emy had her first two sleepovers, the first night, and the second night. The two of them did so well together, despite being only children and having to share all space and time for 2.5 days. We traipsed around the town, and made a super-fun trip to Legoland (dads plus girls), which is an amusement park plus lego mania. It was great - Emy and Molly were roller coaster crazy, and with it being a weekday, they got in lots of runs. Both Molly and Emy got their "drivers license" on a ride at the park. I had to encourage Emy to lie about her age (yes, I know!!!) and say she was six so she could do it. She passed and now has a license. Unfortunately, she learned to drive on the left side of the road! While Aaron and I had the girls, Bree and Jenny went in to London to see Westminster Abbey. You can read about it on Bree's blog.

Legoland taught Emy to pilot a boat and drive a car

We said goodbye to England under rainy skies in Windsor, and headed back to the Netherlands on a short British Airways flight (one hour flight, and they still give you food - BA is awesome).

We spent the next 5 days doing fun stuff in Gouda, a trip to Efteling, which is the Dutch version of a Disneyworld, but far superior in style and substance (and a distinct lack of humans in constume). Emy again took in the rides like a kid at an amusement park. She was very egalitarian - some rides with me, some with Bree, some with Grandpa Burt, and some with all of us. It was a long and fun day.

Emy Loves, Loves, Loves the Pirate Ship

The next day was a day trip to Amsterdam, with the explicit goal of not trying to "do everything" in one day. We had a nice boat tour as introduction, and then walked around the central area of the city, Madam Toussou's Wax Museum, and the famous Rijksmuseum, where we took in some Rembrandt, Vermeer, and others. Luckily the museum is under renovation, so we really could see all they had on display in a short hour. We had a great Indian dinner at my dad's favorite place in Amsterdam, and then took the train back to Gouda. The trains are also awesome. Why do we suck in the USA? Bikes and trains are perfect, and yet, we have essentially neither as an easy and encouraged mode of transport - we need some serious urban planning, and some tax revenue being spent, I say!

I really don't see it, but some say there is a resemblance

Bree rides with Lance

Did I mention there are bikes everywhere - Amsterdam has parking lots

Emy did SO MUCH WALKING on this trip, and handled it well.
Sometimes you just need a piggyback ride, though.

The following day was the flight back to Seattle, which went well, except for an hour on the runway to "cool the brakes".

We can't wait to return to both countries, this time with separate trips for each. We didn't get to see Windsor castle, which was high on my list, as the Queen was presiding over a royal Tattoo! No, the Queen was getting a barbed wire around her arm, or a celtic knot on her left butt cheek - apparently a Tattoo is some sort of military party/event. So, of the five days the castle is closed per year, one of them fell on our planned visit to the castle.

Training Break
So, I used the vacation as an excuse for a mid-season break. Yeah, I commuted by bike a few times in Gouda, but that doesn't really count. I got in three good runs on the trip to make sure I didn't completely atrophy, and they were all nice.

When we returned on Thursday, I went for a one hour ride, but between jet lag, and being completely exhausted, it was like riding drunk. It's a good thing it was 7 PM and there was no one on the trail. I was probably all over the place. Strangely enough, I still averaged a fast pace, so the exhaustion was really in my head.

I took the next day off and tried to sleep. Luckily, with the jet lag, I have no trouble getting up early to watch the Giro d' Italia streamed on the internet at 6 AM.

We Have a Winner, and April Totals

Friday night was the first track racing of the season. I was pretty relaxed, as I wasn't expecting much other than to be better than last year. I had ridden the new track bike on Thursday to make sure my position was good, and that the bike was functional, but was dismayed to discover that the 15 tooth cog it came with was awful. The chain would skip, bounce, and sometimes feel like it was going to lock up on me (not a good prospect with a fixed gear!). Luckily (sort of), another teammate was having similar issues with the same new bike, and when our friend John set him up with a nice Phil Wood cog, the true problem was discovered.

I cut my ride at the velodrome short and made a stop at our sponsor, Sammamish Valley Cycle. They had two 15 tooth cogs, so I scored one, and my team mate with the same problem got the other. Here is my new ride, with the road bike above and behind:
I don't have a lot of track bike experience to compare to, but the Fuji is awesome compared to any other track bike I have ridden. I pedal, and it goes.

Back to Friday night
We had three races slated - a 10 lap scratch race (10 laps, first one across the finish line wins), a 10 lap snowball (progressively increasing points, 1 pt to the winner of the first lap, 10 points for the last lap, winner is the one with most accumulated points), and a 4x4 points race (sprint every 4 laps, 4 places deep for points, winner is the one with the most accumulated points).

In the scratch race, the most basic of track races, I broke away on lap 4 and held it for a couple of
laps, after which my teammate John took off. He didn't quite realize that he had a good gap, and didn't continue the move for long (which I think he regrets - he was looking great, especially for a guy recovering from a broken elbow). I managed to sneak in for 3rd in the sprint. Those initial scratch races are hard - I always feel like I am "still warming up", and our first lap after a neutral lap was at around 28 mph. Still getting 3rd was my best result in a track event since 2000!

In the snowball, John and I had discussed making a move for the 6 point lap, and trying to keep it going as long as possible, trading off for the 6, 7 , 8, 9, and 10 points on the remaining laps. He, however, wasgetting mixed up in some of the earlier sprints (and managed to take one of them), while I bided my time in the pack. I attacked solo just after the sprint for the 5 point lap, and managed to get a solid gap by maintaining 34 mph for about a lap and a half. From then on, I just put my head down, kept the heart rate at 178 bpm and churned. I managed to get the 6, 7, and 8 point laps, and while the pack was closing on me, I eeked out the 9 point lap as well - mathematically, I could not be beat. I discretely pumped my right fist as I crossed the line, and after that I just pulled up track to watch. This was the first track race I'd won since 2000, so I was basking a little bit :-)

In the 4x4, both John and I tried to get involved in the sprints, with no long solo breakaways this time. I got the first sprint (5 points) by just keeping the pace at the front fast enough that no one came around me, and was out of the second sprint, recuperating. Then both John and I were in a break of four for the 3rd sprint, and I got 5 points, with John getting 3 (which means we went 1-2 in that sprint), and then I hung in there in the pack, but was pretty tired for the last sprint, and so looked John.

In the end, I had a 3rd, 1st, and 2nd, so I took the omnium by a substantial margin, which
sure feels good compared to last season. John also slotted into 9th for the night, which again is pretty darn good for a guy who can't even pull up on the bars for a sprint.

It feels great to win!


April Totals
April numbers are a bit lower than March, which is by design, since I am focusing on being solid on the track. That means I do more sprints and shorter length intervals, and less long steady riding. Each ride is more intense, on average, so there just aren't as many hours in, since I also increase the number of rest days to accommodate the intensity. Oh, I also bumped up the running miles in order to be fit for a soccer match:

April Total Training Log

Bicycle
Time: 33:34:00
Distance: 604.7 miles
Longest Ride: 50.0 miles, 2:47:00
Rest days: 7

Running
Time: 3:15:00
Distance: 21.0 miles
Longest Run: 9.0 miles

April/May 40 km TT test
Today, even though my legs were pretty tired from Friday, I decided to notch up another 40 km TT test on the loop around Lake Sammamish. If you recall, my best time so far was 1:08:00. Today, even though the TT ended with an uncharacteristic north headwind, I managed 1:07:00! I would have gone even faster, but I didn't decide I was doing the TT test until I was 5 miles in, and felt good enough to give it a shot. Might have been able to post a time under 1:05:00...

Point of all this is that I am going well right now. I have one more Friday night of track racing before we take a 10-day holiday in The Netherlands to visit my dad and London to visit our friends. I'll be bringing the running shoes, but it will be good to take a bit of a break.

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