While the mid-Atlantic states have been getting pounded pretty hard with snow, here in New Hampshire, it has been a balmy 40 or so and I have been taking advantage of it.  I’ve been out on the Pugsley a couple times, but that really hasn’t been much fun.  With all the warmth, I just end up riding through the slush.  Then on the weekends, been out on the roadie, putting in the time and mileage required for some 24 hour races..

Other than that, I have been working on figuring out my race schedule.  Every time I think I have it figured out, I change my mind and think something different.  I think I have it figured out now though.

Last year,I did a whole year of endurance races.  That took a LOT of time to train for.  It always seemed like if I wasn’t eating, sleeping or working, I was on the bike.  And some of the time, I was doing my eating on the bike.  Yes, I love to ride my bike, but I also want to spend my time doing other things as well.  So this year, in hopes of having a better cyclocross season, I am dropping some of the endurance races, now only doing 2 24 hour races, adding some shorter XC races and signing up for something completely different.

I have always been a roadie and feel that I am pretty strong when it comes to certain things.  That, along with the short time span of suffering involved in cross racing, has me believe that it is time to get out the road bike, get me some snazzy shoe covers, a cool aero helmet and do some time trialling.  This year, I am going to be doing the Maine Time Trial series.  It has 13 races, a final and should be just the right amount of torture and pain needed to whip me into shape for cross season.  At least that is the plan, so let’s hope it works out that way..and no, I most likely won’t be getting an aero helmet….or will I??

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Yes, thats right, I wear a helmet to bed.  Ya never know when the waters are going to get rough and you need some head protection….ok, I really don’t wear a helmet to bed.

Its a funny thing how sleeping in a bit different position removes all the progress for the week.

Either way, while the back is still sore, my legs are getting antsy.  Yea, I have gotten a lot of projects around the house done and have read a bunch, but I miss riding.  I don’t race because someone told me to.  I race because I have a passion for being on the bike.

I have decided that I will be taking today and tomorrow off, and with the highs in the teens this weekend, I will be doing some short spins on the trainer.  Maybe an hour, maybe half an hour, maybe even more, who knows.  I will let my back dictate what I do.  The funny thing about it is the one position I feel no pain is when I am on the bike.  It is when I stand up and get off the bike, straightening my back out, is when it hurts.  Damn you core muscles.  I think with just spinning the legs lightly, it will help put me back mentally to where I need to be.  Plus, there will be live coverage of the cross worlds, so there is no better time to be on a bike.

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I am still here, sticking with the bike, doing the things that need to be done for another year of racing.  Let’s get caught up since we last left each other.
For the end of December, I went back home to Pennsylvania, to visit the fam and got to take the bike with me.  Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t all that cooperative, so I only got to ride once.  Ohh well.  Nutting you can do about that.

Since then, I am back here in North Conway, doing my best to keep my sanity during these few months of cold weather.  I got out the cross county skis a couple of times (1, 2, 3) hit the trainer a bunch and also have been outside on the bike as much as possible.

For some reason, getting up and going this year has been more difficult for me.  I am not sure if it is because of how much time I have spent on the trainer last year and I know the amount of suck that is involved, if it is because I have a new coach (more on that), or if because I haven’t inked a partnership with a team yet.  It’s gotta be one of those three, a combination of the three, or something completely different, but the motivation isn’t there.  I need to do something to change that and unfortunately, it mostly involves the trainer.

Last year, the XC skiing was pretty good due to the amount of snow we got.  This year, it has been pretty chilly out there, but the white stuff just hasn’t been falling.  At all the local cross country ski areas, they keep grooming, but the bare spots are popping up all over the place and it isn’t something I want to run my skis through.  So trainer riding it is….I guess.

So, it seems like it is up to my new coach to get me motivated.  And that certainly adds up to problems.  You see, this off season, I did some studying up and passed my test and became a USA Cycling certified Level 3 coach.  Do I plan on doing much with the certification??  Probably not, but I did it to help myself out.  I figured that if I knew the basics of coaching, I could relay more valuable info a a coach in order to help out my current plan.  Since I am going at the training on my own this year, the feedback isn’t helping.  I think last year, when I was working with Grasky Endurance, I felt an obligation to them, not to make them “look bad”.  I felt that if I didn’t do what was prescribed, and didn’t achieve my goals, it would make him look like a bad coach, something that he certainly wasn’t.  He was a great coach and I learned TONS from him.  Either way, I am now out there by myself, and I need to get my keister in gear.  Nothing more needs to be said.

As for a team, I have some things in the works, but it just seems as if any of the final paperwork has not been passed back out for the 2010 season.  I know when I got my contract signed with GT last year, I worked extremely hard to show my team mates what I really could do.  Hopefully the paperwork will come through soon and the same effect will happen.  Which also might mean a new bike……YEAH!!!!

As for races this year, I will not be the 1 trick endurance racer I was this past year.  I have decided to branch out a little bit and do some other races, to make me a more rounded rider.  I have decided on a road race, or two, as well as some of the shorter cross country races in the area as well as as many endurance races as I can  and still have a positive season without killing myself.  With all of the different style of races thrown in, it should help when it comes to cyclo-cross season (scheduling the races with some recovery time is a VALUABLE lesson learned from last year).  Last year, when I made the transition from endurance to cross, I feel it was too late.  This year, along with the long rides, I will be throwing in some shorter rides to prime the system.  Now, I just need to look at all the schedules and races I am thinking about and put together a solid season.

That’s it for now…..off to ride the trainer….ugh..

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The last few races of the year went pretty well for me. The second to last cross race was much better than I had anticipated, and fished 2nd. Nothing to complain about there.

The last “set” of races went well as well. The race was the Porky Gulch Classic. If you have never heard of this race, gotta say, it is petty sweet. Its a 2 day stage race. The first day, stage 1 involves a climb up the first 2 miles of Mt Washington, which is known as the world’s toughest hill climb. I only did the first 2 of it and if that is an indication of what the next 5 are, I can say I don’t want any part of it. Either way, I got all geared up and took my place at the line. We stated every 30 seconds, and there were 4 people starting behind me. My only goal, as I am not known as the best climber, was to not get passed by all 4. About 5 minutes into the race, the 5th person, who was the first elite rider blew by me. It was quite impressive on how fast he blew by me. My time put me near the back of the pack for the intermediates, which is what I expected.

Garmin Data – Not so impressive

Day 1, stage 2 was the Story Land Crit. Story Land is quite the little playground for young kids. If you have a youngster, and are in the North Conway area, take them there. They will thank you. It is almost like a mini Disney Land. Either way, things were going well, and was up near the top 5. I was swapping places with another gent for 6th. I would pull him through the entire park, and he would pull me on the long flat stretch. That was, until I skipped a pedal, which made the bike hop, unseating the bead leaving me with walking the bike out on my shoulder with a flat tire.

Garmin Data – If you watch it in the player, you might get dizzy.

Day 2 Stage 3 was the cross stage of the race. Even though I was out of the running for the overall title, I wanted to have a strong showing for the cross race. The gun went off and I led almost the entire first lap. With the lead, I knew I would drift back a bit, but it put me in a good position for the rest of the race. When the dust settled, I ended up around 6th of 7th. Not too bad I guess.

Went all was said and done, I fished 13th overall. Not quite the results I was looking for, but I guess it will have to do being I am not quite built like a climber and had a flat. Being that is the only mechanical I have had in 12 races with hundreds of miles raced, I cannot complain.

Along with the Porky Gulch race, the 3rd cross race in the Great Glen series raced at the same time. So it was really tricky to gauge where I was, position wise, for that series. When I crossed the line, I believe I was in 5th, which put me in a total of 3rd overall for the series. I wasn’t expecting to be on the podium, so it was a nice surprise.

No GPs data.  I don’t like racing cross with it on my bike with fear of losing it.  Plus, I know my heart rate is pegged the entire time anyway.  If it isnt, you aren’t racing hard enough.

So there it is, the last 3 races of the year. Overall I think I had a pretty solid year on the bike as it was my first year out there racing a full endurance season.

So what have I been up to since then? Nothing really. I took some time off the bike to get mentally recharged, rode a couple times here and there. But as of yesterday morning, I am back at it with workouts getting ready for the 2010 season. This year, things will be a little different. I have on board a new coach, ME. I actually went as far as becoming a USA Certified Level 3 Coach. Pretty swanky eh? Hopefully, I now have all the tools to help myself become a bit stronger. I have been doing tons of reading on things to try and make myself a quality training plan, so I am hoping for the best.

On tap this week and next, some nice easy riding, mostly commuting, with low heart rates to just get the body used to being back on the bike before a start in with a fitness test to really nail down my zones…

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Sunday had me toed up on the line at the Great Glen cross series with the other intermediate/elite racers.  I put myself in the intermediate group because I knew there was no way I was going to hang with the big boys.  I was right.

We started off and I was in the top 5 of the group around the first barrier, but that is where the fun stopped.  I was quickly passed by people coming around and after the middle of the 2nd lap.  Being up in the lead was certainly short lived.  I ended up being DFL, having been lapped by the eventual elite winners.  The nice part about that was that them lapping me ending my suffering a lap early.  Not exactly the results that I was looking for, but ohh well.  I guess I need to switch my training over a little bit sooner to more interval based vs endurance based.

The Face of fun:

No man’s land:

Stop the pain.  Getting pulled from being lapped:

Monday night, I kept the wheels spinning by taking the mtb out (first time since my last race) on some of the trails around my house.  I have to say, I really do enjoy night riding.  I have ridden the same set of trails hundreds of times this year.  Just about every mountain bike ride starts and stops with these trails, plus, I used them to commute to work 2 years ago.  I’ve ridden them a lot.  But with night riding, those trails are COMPLETELY different.  Sure, the trails are lit up with my 2 Triden Xs, but turns come up on your quicker, and things just generally look different.  That and all of the fresh leaves on the ground made for an interesting night.

Tuesday was a nice day for commuting, so that is what I did.  I grabbed my roadie and went off.  On the way to work, I tried just to keep a steady state heart rate to work on the pacing part of cross racing.  On the way home, ladder intervals were the name of the game.  2 minutes on, 2 off, 4 on, 2 off , 6 on, 2 off and a final 8 minutes of hard effort (zone 4) to finish off the ride.  Good workout.

This morning I met up with a bunch of people from work to try and map out a few of the trails being worked on and we wanted to beat them in a little bit.  The pace certainly wasn’t break neck speeds, but I put forth a good effort on the climbs to get my heart rate up.

The biggest disappointment about this morning rides was that I keep forgetting to put my helmet cam on.  I recently bought a vholdr and it just sits there in the box.  When I head out for night rides, I try and put it on, but with a light, there is no room.  Then, on a great ride, like this morning, I forget to put the damn thing on.  I am a dope….

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You see, ever since Kelly has taken her new job up at Great Glen, she has been forced to work weekends.  After all, that is when the majority of events are taking place and visitors are visiting Mount Washington.  So we haven’t had much time together since then.  There is nothing I can do about it, so no use complaining.  She has had a few weekends off here and there, mostly the ones she took off to watch me race.  The last weekend we were “together” we spent Friday night driving to southern Vermont to register for a race.  That Saturday, she stood in the cold rain for about 9 hours waiting for me to come across a finish line, then  cleaned up a soaking wet camp site and got in the car and drove back to North Conway.  On that day we were both up from about 4am until about 11pm.  That’s a long day.  On Sunday, we both did work around the house.  Not what I would really call a great weekend together, but I have to give it to her.  I tell her I am racing, she will stand in whatever conditions for however long and wait for me to finish.  I’m a pretty lucky guy.

So, on Friday afternoon, she told me she had the weekend off, the last thing I wanted to make her do was get up at 5am on a Saturday, drive to Portland Maine, stand in the freezing cold (it was supposed to rain, but not sure if it ever did) and watch me kill myself for 40 minutes riding around in a circle, then drive back home.  As much as I want to be in every race, and gain as much experience as I can, I know my limits, and what I can push her to do.  With that in mind, I bagged it.  I didn’t even hesitate.

During the weekend, we didn’t do anything over spectacular (except going out to dinner with her work which they called “prom”) but the point is we were together.  After about 9 years of being together, I really still enjoy spending time with her.  I guess that’s a good thing being we are prepping to get married.

Other than that, motivation to do any training during the week has been super low.  I think it mostly has to do with the weather getting wicked cold and the fact it is getting darker much quicker.  In my mind, there isn’t anything worse than getting up before work, going out into 30 degree temps and getting a workout in.  Ugh, not for me, no thanks.  With the Great Glen weekly cross series starting up this weekend, I better get my act in gear.

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I call this photo…
“trash can’s demise” or “the fall of the giant”.

What you don’t see in the photo is the rest of the field, about 2 minutes behind him.  The rider in this photo was a ringer hired for betting purposes.  Betting against me.  I was bet a whole $1.50 that I could beat said rider by a minute fifty seconds.  After all, I was told “this was only the second time on he was ever on a cross bike”.  What I wasn’t told was that he currently held a semi-pro mountain bike license and the first time he rode a cross bike was  when he completely blew away the cat 4 class at Gloucester the week before. Let’s just say I lost this bet, by about 5 minutes or so.  As soon as he crossed the line, USA Cycling made him upgrade.  Lesson learned.  Always get the odds and study up on the opposition before laying down hard earned cash.

Ok, I lost a buck 50 you might be thinking. Here is the real kicker.  I rarely carry cash with me.  So, to start paying off my debt, I took a few quarters out of my car to pay “the bookie”.  Well, those quarters were quite valuable.  On the way home from Providence, there are a few tolls.  And those tolls don’t take bank cards.  So I couldn’t pay those tolls.  Do you know if you don’t have the money for a toll, the toll commission (or whoever they are) will send you a bill for them??  I did not know that then, but I do now and will have to send them a check for $0.75, plus some extra for a “processing fee” and s stamp.  This $1.50 bet is turning out to be a pain.

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Either way, drink enough of the “kool-aid” and you get back on the cross bike. This past weekend was Outdoor Demo East and the Providence Cross Festival. What a perfect opportunity to race being I was already going to be there for work.

So, I mounted up my trusty steed, signed up for a USA Cycling license (a proud cat 4 beginner) and got myself in some races. Wow, what a difference between a 30 minute cross race and a 24 hour race. I think my eyes were ready to pop out of their sockets from the beginning.

Day one, I really wasn’t sure what to expect, so I got on my Kinetic Rock and Roll trainer about an hour before the race started. After all, all of my riding was geared towards riding for 6+ hours. So, with some decently warmed up legs, we got the call ups to the line and BAM, the whistle was fired and we were off. There is nothing like a sprint up a hill to start off a race. Something that really boggled my mind was all the pushing and shoving that went on at the back of the pack of a cat 4 race. I mean, come on, throwing elbows to stay in 49th place?? Whatever. I crossed the line in 46 out of 64 about 5 minutes behind the leader. To be honest, I had no idea what to expect, so I really don’t think it was all that bad. Like I said, this was my first cross race and I had trained all year for endurance stuff. My shortest race up until that point had been 9 hours 47 minutes and now I want my body to sprint for a solid 30 minutes? I’m just glad I didn’t get lapped.

Day 2 was pretty much the same situation. Instead of warming up on a trainer, I rode around the park, just to get a different view. And just like the day before, BAM, sprinting from the beginning again. This time, I finished 48 out of 59 and wasn’t lapped. With knowing a little more what to expect, I wish I would have gone up a spot or 2, but still, I am really not all that disappointed. With a more technical course, I thought I would have moved up, but with the flats, the roadies just powered past me. Ohh well, that’s how it goes. Again, I really don’t think it was all that bad for my first 2 cross races at a national caliber event.

Out of all that happened this weekend, the biggest bonus would be the fact that I got a new nick name, trash can, which is shortened from the fact that I apparently look like a “trash can with legs”. Not too sure how I feel about that one.

Trash Can winding around the first corner:

Trash can looking good, ready to attack:

Trash can making my way up the barriers:

What’s on tap now? Well, a lot more interval training. I was going to ride outside this morning, but it was pouring (yes, I know traditional cross weather, but I only have to race in it, not train in it) so it looks like some quality trainer time and interval workouts tonight…good times. Coming up, I think at least 1 cross race this week, maybe 2 if I can find a close enough one on Sunday.

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So I sit here in the airport, finally relaxing. I knew this Interbike was going to be different from past years and it was. I wish I would have worn a pedometer to see how much I actually walked, because I am sure it was a lot.

On task now it to get all my riding gear together and head down to southern Vermont for the last endurance race of the year, the Vermont 50 on Sunday. Nothing like a race 2 days after Interbike. Once back from that, its time to get the cross bike up and running.

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