3.18.2008
3.17.2008
Tucson Training Camp
It's that time of year again when all my friends head out to Tucson, Arizona for their annual training camp and I get stuck here in Ohio to deal with this lousy March weather. Well, to make myself feel better, I like to have fun with the pictures that they send back. I pray to God that they never learn PhotoShop.
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2.29.2008
Could I be doping?
I don’t know if I’m like most people in this world but typically I wait until the very last minute to do certain things like purchase my race license. Usually it’s about a week before my first race when I realize that I will need it and this year was no different. I had been planning on racing the Arnold Classic on Sunday down in Columbus (I came down with the flu last weekend and have yet to make it back onto my bike so I’m in question right now) so I jumped online last Friday evening to purchase it. Like clockwork, my race license arrived within a week and showed up yesterday in the mail. Has anyone ever looked on the backside of the card that the license is attached to? I don’t typically, maybe because I’m usually ripping it off in a hurry to catch my first race but this morning while eating breakfast I noticed a warning there. Curious on what this warning said, I decided to read it.
Do you mean to tell me that I need to give up taking one of my son’s Flintstone Vitamins each morning? Is that how Fred and Barney were able to power their cars with their feet because they were doping? I knew it along. It’s always your heroes that let you down, apparently that now applies to the world of animation as well.
Do you mean to tell me that I need to give up taking one of my son’s Flintstone Vitamins each morning? Is that how Fred and Barney were able to power their cars with their feet because they were doping? I knew it along. It’s always your heroes that let you down, apparently that now applies to the world of animation as well.
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2.18.2008
Great Editorial
I've recently been thinking about writing my thoughts on the current state of cycling. No Astana at the Tour or any other ASO event, the reopening of the Peurto Case and now no Tyler, Santiago or Oscar at the Tour of California. This afternoon at lunch, I stumpled on a great editorial that I wanted to pass along to everyone. It's long but in my opinion, well worth the read. Looking at the current state of professional cycling, I'm so glad that I chose Architecture as my career choice.
http://www.procyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=5670&status=True
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http://www.procyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=5670&status=True
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2.11.2008
My Progress Report
The Holiday Parties have all ended; I’ve caught my breath, have fully recovered from the Elves & More 2007 campaign and now I have nothing to do. Oh wait, there is that cycling thing that I used to do, maybe I could get started once again with that? It seems like it had been that long from when I really last rode. Sure, I’d been on the bike a few times during the fall, but that was just for fun with the kids down on the towpath and it has been months, and I literally mean months since I last did any type of serious training. With the lack of exercise I found that I had quickly gained a lot of pounds during my extended offseason. Long gone are the days when I could grab a chair, open up the fridge and sit down and just eat the leftovers with no repercussions at all. Now my slowing metabolism is nothing like the cheetah I used to be, but more along the lines of snail or possibly even a rock. I apparently can put weight on faster than Oprah. I seem to forget that problem every autumn and I quickly put the weight back on again, negating all the hard work I had previously done. This fall will be different!
So like most of America, I decided that January 1st would be the kick-off for my 2008 training program. Knowing that I was already months behind where I typically should be this time of year, I had a lot of ground to make up and quickly. As I mentioned in an earlier post, my goals are somewhat different this year with the inclusion of the Columbus Marathon. Because of this my competitive cycling season will be cut short. It’s unfortunate that I have lousy fitness now because I really need and want to start racing earlier than I would normally consider if I want to do any racing at all which of course cuts my early season preparation even shorter.
I wanted to take a retrospective look back at my 2007 season before I started training this year so I could look at my history and not be doomed to repeat it. The following image shows training info for 2007 along with a brief glimpse at what I've done so far in 08.
So like most of America, I decided that January 1st would be the kick-off for my 2008 training program. Knowing that I was already months behind where I typically should be this time of year, I had a lot of ground to make up and quickly. As I mentioned in an earlier post, my goals are somewhat different this year with the inclusion of the Columbus Marathon. Because of this my competitive cycling season will be cut short. It’s unfortunate that I have lousy fitness now because I really need and want to start racing earlier than I would normally consider if I want to do any racing at all which of course cuts my early season preparation even shorter.
I wanted to take a retrospective look back at my 2007 season before I started training this year so I could look at my history and not be doomed to repeat it. The following image shows training info for 2007 along with a brief glimpse at what I've done so far in 08.
You can see that there was a steady increase in all of my values as I went through the spring campaign. My high CTL was 58 at the end of June, and then I hit the big decline in training. That was initially caused by quickly preparing to put our house on the market and followed up by the fatigue of riding my bike. It wasn’t until I finally committed myself to racing the Fall Classic that I got back to business and trained. Unfortunately it was too little too late for me. One good thing that I learned out of that experience however was that for me to feel competitive in races, I need to have a CTL of over 50. This is reinforced by looking back at my 2006 season and seeing that I had a CTL of 60 during my planned peak in late May of that year. Now I just need to get that CTL even higher!
With this knowledge in hand, I went ahead and tried to design my training plan for the first part of the year so I could get those values up to where I was targeting. Last year things went haywire and I didn’t do this and it showed. Although I had decent fitness, I never achieved the really good form I had in 06 when I was on a strict training plan while working with Charles Howe of Velodynamics. Here’s what my training plan looks like so far for 08:
With this knowledge in hand, I went ahead and tried to design my training plan for the first part of the year so I could get those values up to where I was targeting. Last year things went haywire and I didn’t do this and it showed. Although I had decent fitness, I never achieved the really good form I had in 06 when I was on a strict training plan while working with Charles Howe of Velodynamics. Here’s what my training plan looks like so far for 08:
Getting back into it during the first week was my body struggling and resisting the hard work I was making it do. Apparently my laziness and routine of doing almost nothing was beginning to turn me into a real slacker. I resisted the temptation to become a leisure rider on the towpath that my body was telling me I could do with absolutely no training effort and I finally convinced myself to burn through all those cobwebs that had settled in my legs. Starting out with one 20 minute effort at only 250 watts was difficult (note that my typical FTP during the season is about 315 watts, well above this). It didn’t take long though before my average wattage during those 20 minute efforts really began to jump up. My final single 20 minute effort during the first block of training finished up at 278W with my 2x5’s at 300W.
I was beginning to become happy with where my wattage and weight was heading so I decided to recently step it up and transition into 2x20’s, which is where I am now. I’ve only done one workout so far, the second one scheduled to come up tomorrow night, but I was happy that I was able to maintain the 275W for both efforts. What’s important is that although I felt spent at the end of the workout, I felt good and know that with each passing week, I’ll be able to average higher and higher wattages. The chart below is a comparison of my CTL (Chronic Training Load) up to this point in 2007 and this year. This years CTL is shown in Red (Note that the ATL and TSS are from 2007). As you can see, my values are relatively close to where I was at last year. I attribute the fact that I’m higher this year compared to last year because of my starting points. Last year I started out with my CTL values at 0 since it was new software and this year I actually had a few CTL points saved up.
What’s this mean? Well, I would suggest that at this point, without making changes to my training plan, I’ll be exactly as I was last year, which I guess is good news for all the Cat 4’s reading this! I do think however that I am several weeks ahead of where I was at this point last year. That means I should be reaping the benefits of better fitness to help me be more competitive in my racing. My ambitions for this season are to be competitive and a player in each and every race that I enter. I know I won’t have many opportunities so I want to make the most of the time that I have. First up, will be the Arnold Classic down in Columbus on March 2nd, dependent upon the weather of course. I typically don’t care for crits but this one will almost be like a local race with Jen’s family down there. More updates to follow, I hope.
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I was beginning to become happy with where my wattage and weight was heading so I decided to recently step it up and transition into 2x20’s, which is where I am now. I’ve only done one workout so far, the second one scheduled to come up tomorrow night, but I was happy that I was able to maintain the 275W for both efforts. What’s important is that although I felt spent at the end of the workout, I felt good and know that with each passing week, I’ll be able to average higher and higher wattages. The chart below is a comparison of my CTL (Chronic Training Load) up to this point in 2007 and this year. This years CTL is shown in Red (Note that the ATL and TSS are from 2007). As you can see, my values are relatively close to where I was at last year. I attribute the fact that I’m higher this year compared to last year because of my starting points. Last year I started out with my CTL values at 0 since it was new software and this year I actually had a few CTL points saved up.
What’s this mean? Well, I would suggest that at this point, without making changes to my training plan, I’ll be exactly as I was last year, which I guess is good news for all the Cat 4’s reading this! I do think however that I am several weeks ahead of where I was at this point last year. That means I should be reaping the benefits of better fitness to help me be more competitive in my racing. My ambitions for this season are to be competitive and a player in each and every race that I enter. I know I won’t have many opportunities so I want to make the most of the time that I have. First up, will be the Arnold Classic down in Columbus on March 2nd, dependent upon the weather of course. I typically don’t care for crits but this one will almost be like a local race with Jen’s family down there. More updates to follow, I hope.
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2.07.2008
I'm still here....sorta
It's been way too long since my last post. I'm currently working on something now and hope to have the new content up this weekend, once my legal and marketing team have given me approval :)
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12.31.2007
Presenting my Best of 2007
This is something that I started a few years ago. It's always fun this time of year to look back at what I've accomplished both on and off the bike.
In 2007 I pedaled 3,506 miles. This was almost 1,000 short of what I did back in 2006. Not really sure why I fell so short other than almost completely stepping away from the bike for the past three months. Other than that, I've noticed burn-out in the middle of the year where it becomes more and more difficult to pedal. Seems like my training plan in the future should allow for a little more recovery prior to this happening sometime in July. In 2008 I will be focusing on the Columbus Marathon in October so my training plan will see me transitioning to running as my primary form of exercise with cycling only being used as a means of cross-training. I'm hoping this will be helpful to keep me motivated year round and that by the time the Marathon is over, I'll be anxious to get back on the bike in time for next years cross season.
Best Racing Experience this year for me would have been the Sunday stage of this years Summer Solstice Stage Race. After the experience I had with this series last year, I decided not to compete in the stage race as I didn't want to throw my hard earned coin down the tube for a mismanaged series. However, I happened to be in Columbus that weekend and knowing I had some teammates in the race, I knew I could get away from the family to race this day. The day's race was 62 miles long. By far the longest I had ever raced before so I didn't know how I would do. Probably between the combination of the majority of the guys racing having tired legs and me being fresh and on good form, I rode well to protect Darrin's position in the overall GC. It was one of those races where I simply felt unstoppable. I hope to have more of those in 2008.
Best Racing Experience Part II: This years Fall Challenge. I didn't have the fitness to really compete on a course like this, but I loved the experience. It was so close to home and Quick Road is one of the hills I do on a typical training ride so racing on really familiar roads was a great experience. I also loved the absolute downpour that we raced in. Rain typically kills the turnout for races but racing in the rain took me back to all those carefree rides I did while I was a kid. Didn't matter if it was raining, snowing or a beautiful sunny day, we were always outside riding our bikes. Thanks to Rainbow Inks (Summit) for putting on a great event, sorry I can't race in in 08 but I will come out to spectate for sure.
Best Cycling Purchase: I laid pretty low on the bike accessories this year. I did end up buying two cross bikes...one for my wife Jennifer and one for me. I'm happy to say that she has put way more miles on her bike than I have. I can't complain about this because now she sees why I love riding so much so it actually makes it a little easier to sneak away for a training ride.
Worst Cycling Purchase: I paid some money for a set of Carbon Compact Cranksets from a discount online retailer. Worst piece of sh$t that I have ever bought as the non-drive side crank arm kept stripping, even after having a bike shop install the replacement arm. Please note that the first time it was installed, a local Velo installed it who I have more faith in when it comes to bike maintenance than I do most guys in the shops so I'm certain that it was installed correctly. This is the reason why you have seen me riding a Carbon Compact on the drive side and my old Ultegra non-drive side crank arm. Look for me to replace this with a new carbon compact crankset from a reputable local bike shop.
Favorite Training Ride in Ohio: I enjoy any ride heading down into the Valley, but probably my favorite ride is my loop that goes up Snowville Road, then I work my way over to Medina-Line Road down to Bath Road and then head back to Cuyahoga Falls. It's about 45 miles long but as Rick would say...it's scenic as all get out.
Favorite Training Ride outside of Ohio: Day Two in Boone, North Carolina this year saw us climbing Beech Mountain. Riding this significant climb with the majority of my teammates this year on an epic day in the mountains was something I'll always remember. I'm hoping that a trip to Boone will be in my cards again for 08.
What I'll do again in '08: I'll continue to represent Stark Velo to the best of my abilities and forge new friendships with the racing community and strengthen those relationships that I've already created.
What I won't do in '08: Shave my legs with a razor that's been sitting in the shower unused for three months. Ouch. I've learned my lesson and have just continued shaving during the 'off season' in lieu of letting it grow back.
Most improved Stark Velo rider: My vote would have to go towards Chris Smith. In only his second year racing, he really came through with some big results. Look for him to upgrade to a Cat 3 here very soon.
What I hope to accomplish in '08: I hope to upgrade to Cat 3 at some point along the way. It's going to be a short season so this might be tough. I might end up waiting another year but I don't want to be a Cat 4 forever.
What I'll miss most in '08: I'll miss showing up to Tuesday night training rides and seeing Scott Thor show up. I knew those were going to be punishing rides if he came but they were some of my most enjoyable...in a painful sort of way. Good luck in SoCal Scott.
What I hope to do differently in '08: I hope to ride with more teammates in '08. Last year I did a lot of training on my own. While productive, it wasn't always the funnest thing to do. I hope to be crashing the House's house more often this year to take advantage of those weekend century rides that those guys do.
Well, that about does it for my best of list. Hope you had as much fun reading as I have had writing it. 2007 was a great year for me. I didn't do all that I wanted to with my racing, but sitting here on December 31st, I'm very lucky to be where I'm at. I'm happy and healthy, I have a loving wife and two wonderful boys, I have a great job and I'm a partner in Elves and More. This year, Tim and I along with countless volunteers and contributors, helped make Christmas special for over 950 kids living in the Summit Lake neighborhood. I hope to write more about this experience shortly, but in the meantime, check out my cousins blog who did a cool little write up on it here. It's good to be a part of something larger than just yourself. I would consider riding as a member of Stark Velo to be a part of this. I'm lucky to have met such great people while riding my bike and I look forward to seeing everyone back on the road soon.
Happy New Year!
brian
In 2007 I pedaled 3,506 miles. This was almost 1,000 short of what I did back in 2006. Not really sure why I fell so short other than almost completely stepping away from the bike for the past three months. Other than that, I've noticed burn-out in the middle of the year where it becomes more and more difficult to pedal. Seems like my training plan in the future should allow for a little more recovery prior to this happening sometime in July. In 2008 I will be focusing on the Columbus Marathon in October so my training plan will see me transitioning to running as my primary form of exercise with cycling only being used as a means of cross-training. I'm hoping this will be helpful to keep me motivated year round and that by the time the Marathon is over, I'll be anxious to get back on the bike in time for next years cross season.
Best Racing Experience this year for me would have been the Sunday stage of this years Summer Solstice Stage Race. After the experience I had with this series last year, I decided not to compete in the stage race as I didn't want to throw my hard earned coin down the tube for a mismanaged series. However, I happened to be in Columbus that weekend and knowing I had some teammates in the race, I knew I could get away from the family to race this day. The day's race was 62 miles long. By far the longest I had ever raced before so I didn't know how I would do. Probably between the combination of the majority of the guys racing having tired legs and me being fresh and on good form, I rode well to protect Darrin's position in the overall GC. It was one of those races where I simply felt unstoppable. I hope to have more of those in 2008.
Best Racing Experience Part II: This years Fall Challenge. I didn't have the fitness to really compete on a course like this, but I loved the experience. It was so close to home and Quick Road is one of the hills I do on a typical training ride so racing on really familiar roads was a great experience. I also loved the absolute downpour that we raced in. Rain typically kills the turnout for races but racing in the rain took me back to all those carefree rides I did while I was a kid. Didn't matter if it was raining, snowing or a beautiful sunny day, we were always outside riding our bikes. Thanks to Rainbow Inks (Summit) for putting on a great event, sorry I can't race in in 08 but I will come out to spectate for sure.
Best Cycling Purchase: I laid pretty low on the bike accessories this year. I did end up buying two cross bikes...one for my wife Jennifer and one for me. I'm happy to say that she has put way more miles on her bike than I have. I can't complain about this because now she sees why I love riding so much so it actually makes it a little easier to sneak away for a training ride.
Worst Cycling Purchase: I paid some money for a set of Carbon Compact Cranksets from a discount online retailer. Worst piece of sh$t that I have ever bought as the non-drive side crank arm kept stripping, even after having a bike shop install the replacement arm. Please note that the first time it was installed, a local Velo installed it who I have more faith in when it comes to bike maintenance than I do most guys in the shops so I'm certain that it was installed correctly. This is the reason why you have seen me riding a Carbon Compact on the drive side and my old Ultegra non-drive side crank arm. Look for me to replace this with a new carbon compact crankset from a reputable local bike shop.
Favorite Training Ride in Ohio: I enjoy any ride heading down into the Valley, but probably my favorite ride is my loop that goes up Snowville Road, then I work my way over to Medina-Line Road down to Bath Road and then head back to Cuyahoga Falls. It's about 45 miles long but as Rick would say...it's scenic as all get out.
Favorite Training Ride outside of Ohio: Day Two in Boone, North Carolina this year saw us climbing Beech Mountain. Riding this significant climb with the majority of my teammates this year on an epic day in the mountains was something I'll always remember. I'm hoping that a trip to Boone will be in my cards again for 08.
What I'll do again in '08: I'll continue to represent Stark Velo to the best of my abilities and forge new friendships with the racing community and strengthen those relationships that I've already created.
What I won't do in '08: Shave my legs with a razor that's been sitting in the shower unused for three months. Ouch. I've learned my lesson and have just continued shaving during the 'off season' in lieu of letting it grow back.
Most improved Stark Velo rider: My vote would have to go towards Chris Smith. In only his second year racing, he really came through with some big results. Look for him to upgrade to a Cat 3 here very soon.
What I hope to accomplish in '08: I hope to upgrade to Cat 3 at some point along the way. It's going to be a short season so this might be tough. I might end up waiting another year but I don't want to be a Cat 4 forever.
What I'll miss most in '08: I'll miss showing up to Tuesday night training rides and seeing Scott Thor show up. I knew those were going to be punishing rides if he came but they were some of my most enjoyable...in a painful sort of way. Good luck in SoCal Scott.
What I hope to do differently in '08: I hope to ride with more teammates in '08. Last year I did a lot of training on my own. While productive, it wasn't always the funnest thing to do. I hope to be crashing the House's house more often this year to take advantage of those weekend century rides that those guys do.
Well, that about does it for my best of list. Hope you had as much fun reading as I have had writing it. 2007 was a great year for me. I didn't do all that I wanted to with my racing, but sitting here on December 31st, I'm very lucky to be where I'm at. I'm happy and healthy, I have a loving wife and two wonderful boys, I have a great job and I'm a partner in Elves and More. This year, Tim and I along with countless volunteers and contributors, helped make Christmas special for over 950 kids living in the Summit Lake neighborhood. I hope to write more about this experience shortly, but in the meantime, check out my cousins blog who did a cool little write up on it here. It's good to be a part of something larger than just yourself. I would consider riding as a member of Stark Velo to be a part of this. I'm lucky to have met such great people while riding my bike and I look forward to seeing everyone back on the road soon.
Happy New Year!
brian
You know it's been too long when....
Yesterday I finally managed to sneak in a little ride. Looking back at my yearly training log, I can see that I managed to sneak in three rides during the month of October, three rides during the month of November and wait....only two rides this month. Not wanting to be considered a slacker, I figured I'd better step it up a bit and at least match these great numbers that I've been putting in the past several months :)
I'm usually a bit of a sissy when it comes to riding this time of the year and 40 degrees has been my typical cut-off for riding outside. I don't mind putting in two hours on the trainer so my feeling has sort of been why beat yourself up in the cold if you don't have to? Well, seeing how tough Scott Thor is out in SoCal by braving temps in the low 50's, I figured with the proper clothing I should be able to ride in the mid 30's brr...brr. Actually, the conditions couldn't have been better for this time of year (well, actually they could have). With no wind and endless dry roads, I knew the timing couldn't be better to make it out for my first ride in almost a month.
Getting my bike and gear ready, it hit me that it's been an awful long time since I've really ridden my Cervelo. You know it's been a long time when you go to inflate your tires and instead of the 120psi that you're accustomed to seeing, you see 80psi. You also know its been too long when you have to dust your bike off and knock a few spider webs down. I think someone wrote in the dust "Ride Me." Vowing to make the best of my ride, I jokingly told my wife I'd see her in five minutes and left towards the Valley. I thought I would forgo my typical iPod in favor of pure silence. In the back of my mind I also knew that during the warm months, motorists aren't watching for cyclists, I was sure that on a winters day there would even be less people expecting a cyclist on the road. Not taking the iPod also proved great because I was able to experience the calmness of the Valley. Most weekends when I'm riding the valley is packed with motorists and motorcycles wanting to get a taste of the outdoors behind their glass windows. Today, it was literally just me and the road. I probably saw a dozen cars during my two hour outing. The day ended in my putting in just under two hours. Not bad considering I had only really intended on riding 60 to 90 minutes tops. It was just one of those days, and I know we've all had them, when you just didn't want to turn around.
Here are the numbers for the day, nothing too crazy as I will be in a major rebuilding phase of my fitness for a long...long...time.
brian
Duration: 1:57:55 (1:58:50)
Work: 1289 kJ
TSS: 106.9 (intensity factor 0.738)
Norm Power: 214
VI: 1.17
Distance: 30.097 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 531 183 watts
Heart rate: 88 184 155 bpm
Cadence: 29 141 87 rpm
Speed: 2.2 43 15.4 mph
Pace 1:24 26:49 3:54 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 482 95 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 1235 192 lb-in
I'm usually a bit of a sissy when it comes to riding this time of the year and 40 degrees has been my typical cut-off for riding outside. I don't mind putting in two hours on the trainer so my feeling has sort of been why beat yourself up in the cold if you don't have to? Well, seeing how tough Scott Thor is out in SoCal by braving temps in the low 50's, I figured with the proper clothing I should be able to ride in the mid 30's brr...brr. Actually, the conditions couldn't have been better for this time of year (well, actually they could have). With no wind and endless dry roads, I knew the timing couldn't be better to make it out for my first ride in almost a month.
Getting my bike and gear ready, it hit me that it's been an awful long time since I've really ridden my Cervelo. You know it's been a long time when you go to inflate your tires and instead of the 120psi that you're accustomed to seeing, you see 80psi. You also know its been too long when you have to dust your bike off and knock a few spider webs down. I think someone wrote in the dust "Ride Me." Vowing to make the best of my ride, I jokingly told my wife I'd see her in five minutes and left towards the Valley. I thought I would forgo my typical iPod in favor of pure silence. In the back of my mind I also knew that during the warm months, motorists aren't watching for cyclists, I was sure that on a winters day there would even be less people expecting a cyclist on the road. Not taking the iPod also proved great because I was able to experience the calmness of the Valley. Most weekends when I'm riding the valley is packed with motorists and motorcycles wanting to get a taste of the outdoors behind their glass windows. Today, it was literally just me and the road. I probably saw a dozen cars during my two hour outing. The day ended in my putting in just under two hours. Not bad considering I had only really intended on riding 60 to 90 minutes tops. It was just one of those days, and I know we've all had them, when you just didn't want to turn around.
Here are the numbers for the day, nothing too crazy as I will be in a major rebuilding phase of my fitness for a long...long...time.
brian
Duration: 1:57:55 (1:58:50)
Work: 1289 kJ
TSS: 106.9 (intensity factor 0.738)
Norm Power: 214
VI: 1.17
Distance: 30.097 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 531 183 watts
Heart rate: 88 184 155 bpm
Cadence: 29 141 87 rpm
Speed: 2.2 43 15.4 mph
Pace 1:24 26:49 3:54 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 482 95 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 1235 192 lb-in
11.23.2007
Gorge Metro Park to Cascade Metro Park Run
Two blog entries in one day....I must be going crazy or something. A coworker of mine passed this website along to me www.mapmyrun.com . It's been a good site for my running because being a data junkie, I can go home and map my routes to see how far I've run. Today I wanted to do a little exploration so I decided to run down to Gorge Metro Park and see where it took me. I ended up running all the way down into the Valley to another Metro Park called Cascade Valley. I'd ridden my bikes by all of these places before but never ventured in. Absolutely beautiful. It's a shame that the parks are closed to bikes because I kept thinking how great it would be to take the cross bike down there and ride around. There are a lot more trails down there but I was just trying to find the quickest way out since daylight was quickly fading and I was starting to get cold. Anyway, an hour after leaving the house I returned, a little tired but happy I completed my route.
brian
Here's the route:
brian
Here's the route:
Elving, Training and just general Loafing
With Scott Thor's departure to sunny SoCal I'm going to have to step it up a bit with my blogging entries now that it looks like I'm the premier 'local' blogger for SV by default. Note I said local as Thor will always be a Velo at heart.
I can tell you that the past month has flown by and it looks like December is all setup to do the same. I wish I could say I've been putting in mega-miles on the bike but the truth is I've barely even wanted to look at my bike, let alone ride it. The last time I was out on the road was about three weeks ago when I hooked up with teammates Tim House and Darrin Kert for a 40 miler. I'm usually in a mindset this time of year where I welcome the break from the bike but am looking forward to kicking off my training again. This year I'm in a totally new situation where I really am not in a hurry to ride again; not sure what the change has been for me but I hope I kick out of it soon as my waistline can't take much more time off.
Elves and More has been keeping me busy and like I said previously, I'll be even busier as we begin to receiving our bikes and get ready for the assembly and delivery. If you haven't already, please go to our website to see how you can become involved. There is no better way to kick off your holidays, I can guarantee you.
In my previous blogs, I talked about my experience running in the Akron Marathon. This has me motivated for 08 to run my first full marathon. I figured that I'm turning 35 next year and what better way to celebrate (besides being race eligible in the masters category now) then by running 26.2 miles for the sheer fun of it. I'm working with my cousin who has raced several of them to setup my training program for next year. This is what it looks like so far:
It's a fairly ambitions schedule for a first timer. I think I'll know fairly early in the schedule on whether its attainable or not but my goal is to run a Boston Qualifier with for me will be 3 hours and 15 minutes. Some people approach Boston as wanting to run a few warm up marathons first before trying to qualify. My thoughts are why go through all that suffering, just go for it and see what happens. Starting off the program with 6 mile runs means that my running can't begin on day one of the program. I've made an effort to keep running at least a few days a week and hope to continue to do so through the winter and spring while trying to enter some half-marathons and 10k events along the way. One of my favorite runs that I've recently found is from my house down to a park called Babb Run. From my place, through the trails and back it makes for a very nice 5 miler. Everytime I've gone down I've always wanted to keep running and exploring but couldn't because of time constraints. That's a first for me as usually I'm always very happy to be finished running. Down there I didn't want to stop. What's amazing about this place is that its so close to home and nobody knows its even there, giving you your own private park in the middle of suburbia. About five years ago there was a lot of flooding in the area which washed out the road leading down into Babb Run. Because no repairs have been made to it, the place is completely empty. Here's a picture that I was able to find looking down into Babb Run.
Well, that's it for now. I will do my best to keep updates coming a little more frequently.
brian
10.05.2007
9.30.2007
Akron Road Runner Marathon
Yesterday, along with several coworkers, I participated in the Fifth Annual Akron Road Runner Marathon's team relay. This is actually the third time in four years that I've run this event (I missed last years event due to the birth of William), each time running the same 10k (6.2 mile) leg (the one that runs through the University of Akron and finishes up in Sand Run park). I enjoy this route because it gives me the best of both worlds, one being running through downtown with all the crowds and excitement and the other running on the trail in nature and solitude.
So this race kicks off early. 7:00 a.m. start time. Not too bad but considering that we wanted to meet at 6:30 downtown for some group pictures made it an early wake up. Running competitively is something new to me. I have what I need to do to prepare myself for a bike race down to a science, whether it is a criterium or road race. Running I just don't have figured out yet so I figured a safe bet would be to try to utilize the portions of my pre-race preparations that I could for this one which would be my pre-race meal, oatmeal and juice. I knew oatmeal is probably a little heavy but with my start time somewhere around 8:15 I assumed eating it two hours early would be perfect timing for when my body needed that fuel.
After the start, I went with two of my coworkers down another block to watch the runners go through downtown and cheer on my teammates Bob Medziuch and Ben Rantilla (Hasenstab Architects fielded two teams, a 'competitive' team that I was a part of and a 'fun team'.) Once we saw them come though as scheduled, we began the long walk to our start point for our warm up and stretching. At my start point, the place is littered with runners of all shapes and sizes. It's amazing to see how many people come out to partake in this event. It's been fun to be running in the parks and just seeing the mass of runners out doing their training runs as well. After a thorough stretch and last minute run to the bathroom, I waited in the mob for my teammate, Ed Paine to come through. We had loosely calculated times so we knew when to expect them to get there, but with the mass of people, it could get very confusing so we wanted to be safe and make sure we were attentive really early so we didn't loose any time trying to find each other in the transitions. (I noticed several teams have this issue this year). Once I received the bracelet from Ed I was off. Within the first few hundred feet I heard the shouts of support from several coworkers who came out to cheer us on. I'm glad they saw me then because who knows how lousy I will look at the end of this thing. The last time I ran this I completed it in 43 minutes, 20 seconds. This year my only goal was to complete my leg in under 45 minutes as I wasn't real confident in my fitness this year. Straight out of the gate I was running fast, too fast in hindsight but our office was having a competition against another architect in town and I knew those guys had a four minute head start on me....I was hoping to close that down and ideally gain some time in my leg. Running through the University and downtown I felt great. One thing about bike racing is that besides the few supportive spouses that come out, there's nobody to cheer you on. At this event, there are literally thousands of folks out there cheering you on and being supportive. If only cycling could capture some of that fan base....I digress. I'm running through downtown and I finally find my stride, somewhere I thought to be around 7 minute per mile pace. I'm finally feeling good and passing tons of people like they're marching in the Macy's Day parade. As I make the right hand turn onto the towpath trail by the Mustill Store I look at my watch.....just over 13 minutes. OK, this is about two miles in and I'm at 13 minutes....6 minute, 30 second pace...too fast. I might pay big time for this early effort as I know there is no way I can sustain this effort for the next 4.2 miles. It's probably best to slow it down a touch so I don't completely explode out here and leave my teammates in a bind trying to collect the thousands of little pieces that will be me stretched out over the trail. As I'm running on the trail I find myself trying to focus on the task at hand. One part of me is wondering how Nicholas is doing in the kids fun run another part of me is wishing I had my iPod with me and the last part is beginning to realize that I'm beginning to hurt a little bit. Focus Miner, focus. I switch back to the mode of concentrating on nothing else but my breathing and my stride. If I could stay focused on that I wouldn't focus on the pain that was settling in. At the halfway point I took one last look at my watch and saw just under 21 minutes. Perfect. I had slowed down a little bit too much but if I could pick it back up a little I had a legitimate shot of finishing this thing somewhere around 42 minutes. The next two miles became difficult. In cycling I know what it's like to suffer and work through this. I can honestly say that I have never suffered like I did that day running that leg. That oatmeal was settling right with me and I learned that if I didn't throttle things down a little bit, I would be getting sick. So, the trick became run as fast as I can until I feel like I'm going to get sick and then slow up a tad until that feeling goes away. It worked, I didn't get sick but next time I'm going to stay away from the oatmeal and find something a little lighter, at least for a fast 10k event. Knowing I needed to slow down a little bit I was really worried about my goal time of 45 minutes. I figured it was totally lost now because I felt like I was running a 10 minute per mile pace between miles 3.5 and 5. Once I hit that last mile I knew I was virtually in the finishing stretch and I pushed it as hard as I possibly could. Finally emerging from the towpath on Akron-Peninsula road I had several coworkers and teammates there to cheer me on which was huge because at this point I felt like (and probably looked like) the walking dead. One last tough section of my course to finish, the hill up Portage Path to finish in Sand Run parkway. After 6 miles of running, any slight change in elevation seems huge but I felt like I was trying to climb up Mt. Everest at this point. Fortunately I had another coworker further up the road to cheer me which helped carry me through to my transition point. As I made the last turn onto the parkway, I took off that bracelet in anticipation of the exchange but also as a sign of get this thing off of me...I am done. Nevermind I still had a few hundred feet to run, if only I could take off these few additional ounces maybe that would lighten the load on my feet and get me there quickly. Safely making the exchange to Chris Betts I stopped my watch, 43minutes, 33 seconds. Wow, for as badly as I felt in those last few miles, I never would have imagined that I would have finished up with a time like that.
So, there it is, my running performance and finally another blog post for everyone to enjoy. Congratulations to all my teammates and coworkers for putting in an amazing performance. In the end, Hasenstab Architect's competitive team finished with a time of 3 hrs, 10 minutes and 49 seconds. The best ever performance by our group and good enough to put us in seventh place overall in the Men's Team Relay division. I've said it before but for a bunch of non-runners who don't train more than a few months prior to the race, I think that's really an incredible effort. I also begin to question my ability. Given that I trained for this, but not intensely, would I make a better runner than cyclist? Should I consider switching my focus? Who knows. One thing I do know is that at some point in the near future, I would like to complete a marathon. Maybe next year.
brian
So this race kicks off early. 7:00 a.m. start time. Not too bad but considering that we wanted to meet at 6:30 downtown for some group pictures made it an early wake up. Running competitively is something new to me. I have what I need to do to prepare myself for a bike race down to a science, whether it is a criterium or road race. Running I just don't have figured out yet so I figured a safe bet would be to try to utilize the portions of my pre-race preparations that I could for this one which would be my pre-race meal, oatmeal and juice. I knew oatmeal is probably a little heavy but with my start time somewhere around 8:15 I assumed eating it two hours early would be perfect timing for when my body needed that fuel.
After the start, I went with two of my coworkers down another block to watch the runners go through downtown and cheer on my teammates Bob Medziuch and Ben Rantilla (Hasenstab Architects fielded two teams, a 'competitive' team that I was a part of and a 'fun team'.) Once we saw them come though as scheduled, we began the long walk to our start point for our warm up and stretching. At my start point, the place is littered with runners of all shapes and sizes. It's amazing to see how many people come out to partake in this event. It's been fun to be running in the parks and just seeing the mass of runners out doing their training runs as well. After a thorough stretch and last minute run to the bathroom, I waited in the mob for my teammate, Ed Paine to come through. We had loosely calculated times so we knew when to expect them to get there, but with the mass of people, it could get very confusing so we wanted to be safe and make sure we were attentive really early so we didn't loose any time trying to find each other in the transitions. (I noticed several teams have this issue this year). Once I received the bracelet from Ed I was off. Within the first few hundred feet I heard the shouts of support from several coworkers who came out to cheer us on. I'm glad they saw me then because who knows how lousy I will look at the end of this thing. The last time I ran this I completed it in 43 minutes, 20 seconds. This year my only goal was to complete my leg in under 45 minutes as I wasn't real confident in my fitness this year. Straight out of the gate I was running fast, too fast in hindsight but our office was having a competition against another architect in town and I knew those guys had a four minute head start on me....I was hoping to close that down and ideally gain some time in my leg. Running through the University and downtown I felt great. One thing about bike racing is that besides the few supportive spouses that come out, there's nobody to cheer you on. At this event, there are literally thousands of folks out there cheering you on and being supportive. If only cycling could capture some of that fan base....I digress. I'm running through downtown and I finally find my stride, somewhere I thought to be around 7 minute per mile pace. I'm finally feeling good and passing tons of people like they're marching in the Macy's Day parade. As I make the right hand turn onto the towpath trail by the Mustill Store I look at my watch.....just over 13 minutes. OK, this is about two miles in and I'm at 13 minutes....6 minute, 30 second pace...too fast. I might pay big time for this early effort as I know there is no way I can sustain this effort for the next 4.2 miles. It's probably best to slow it down a touch so I don't completely explode out here and leave my teammates in a bind trying to collect the thousands of little pieces that will be me stretched out over the trail. As I'm running on the trail I find myself trying to focus on the task at hand. One part of me is wondering how Nicholas is doing in the kids fun run another part of me is wishing I had my iPod with me and the last part is beginning to realize that I'm beginning to hurt a little bit. Focus Miner, focus. I switch back to the mode of concentrating on nothing else but my breathing and my stride. If I could stay focused on that I wouldn't focus on the pain that was settling in. At the halfway point I took one last look at my watch and saw just under 21 minutes. Perfect. I had slowed down a little bit too much but if I could pick it back up a little I had a legitimate shot of finishing this thing somewhere around 42 minutes. The next two miles became difficult. In cycling I know what it's like to suffer and work through this. I can honestly say that I have never suffered like I did that day running that leg. That oatmeal was settling right with me and I learned that if I didn't throttle things down a little bit, I would be getting sick. So, the trick became run as fast as I can until I feel like I'm going to get sick and then slow up a tad until that feeling goes away. It worked, I didn't get sick but next time I'm going to stay away from the oatmeal and find something a little lighter, at least for a fast 10k event. Knowing I needed to slow down a little bit I was really worried about my goal time of 45 minutes. I figured it was totally lost now because I felt like I was running a 10 minute per mile pace between miles 3.5 and 5. Once I hit that last mile I knew I was virtually in the finishing stretch and I pushed it as hard as I possibly could. Finally emerging from the towpath on Akron-Peninsula road I had several coworkers and teammates there to cheer me on which was huge because at this point I felt like (and probably looked like) the walking dead. One last tough section of my course to finish, the hill up Portage Path to finish in Sand Run parkway. After 6 miles of running, any slight change in elevation seems huge but I felt like I was trying to climb up Mt. Everest at this point. Fortunately I had another coworker further up the road to cheer me which helped carry me through to my transition point. As I made the last turn onto the parkway, I took off that bracelet in anticipation of the exchange but also as a sign of get this thing off of me...I am done. Nevermind I still had a few hundred feet to run, if only I could take off these few additional ounces maybe that would lighten the load on my feet and get me there quickly. Safely making the exchange to Chris Betts I stopped my watch, 43minutes, 33 seconds. Wow, for as badly as I felt in those last few miles, I never would have imagined that I would have finished up with a time like that.
So, there it is, my running performance and finally another blog post for everyone to enjoy. Congratulations to all my teammates and coworkers for putting in an amazing performance. In the end, Hasenstab Architect's competitive team finished with a time of 3 hrs, 10 minutes and 49 seconds. The best ever performance by our group and good enough to put us in seventh place overall in the Men's Team Relay division. I've said it before but for a bunch of non-runners who don't train more than a few months prior to the race, I think that's really an incredible effort. I also begin to question my ability. Given that I trained for this, but not intensely, would I make a better runner than cyclist? Should I consider switching my focus? Who knows. One thing I do know is that at some point in the near future, I would like to complete a marathon. Maybe next year.
brian
9.09.2007
Fall Challenge
I awoke Sunday morning to the sound of rain drops falling outside. There’s something about lying around in bed listening to the sound of rain outside, it’s another thing knowing that you plan on actually racing your bike outside in it. Living only about 5 miles from the course, my intent was to get up early and ride over to the course to get my warm up in, that was until I saw the ark floating down the street with all the animals in it. Better just drive over there, take the trainer and setup under the entrance canopy to get a little bit of a warm up. There was no doubt that I would be getting wet for the day, no reason to get a jump start on it. After my quick warm up, I was off to the start line in the Cat 4/5 race. The rain unfortunately kept a lot of people away as our field only looked to be about 20 deep and the maters field didn’t look to be much bigger. It’s really a shame that more people didn’t come out to race. Although the weather was less than ideal, the course is challenging, scenic and most of all safe. I was impressed by the amount of support that Summit had for the course. Every corner was well marshaled and the amount of support vehicles that they had was amazing, almost seemed like one vehicle per rider. The only thing that was missing was the overhead helicopters but maybe they were grounded because of the rain.
As we rolled out at the start, I was able to count jerseys and Summit definitely had the numbers with what appeared to be 6 riders. After that, it was Orrville with 2 and Stark with Jason Leaman and me. I knew going into today that if I could hang onto wheels for the entire race; that would be a substantial victory for me. As I said earlier, this is a challenging course. You’re either climbing or descending, nothing in-between. Granted, the majority of climbing besides the first climb up Quick Road is false-flat but there are some rollers in there up by the humane society that I thought could be decisive depending upon how much recovery you were able to get through the false flats. The first lap went as well as could be expected. The first true attack came from Joel of Orrville on the decent on Wetmore road. It was in the little valley section right before the little climb that takes you back down to Akron-Peninsula road. I was sitting second wheel behind a rider from Summit and knowing that this was very early in the race for any moves to stick, I made no effort to chase. I also figured with Summit having the numbers, it would be up to them to control the race which is what happened. The rider I was following brought him back and I comfortably rode wheels back up. The big test for me was just about to come as we made the right hand turn to head up Quick Road. I knew this would be where the selections were made; I was just hoping that it wouldn’t be on lap 1. Still sitting up front, I found myself almost comfortably spinning a nice cadence while sitting in the group. I knew it wasn’t going to be this easy and as the road started to level off, the attacks came from Summit. Not so much of a hard effort but they picked up the pace enough that it strung out the field and tested my legs. Fortunately, I was at the front of the group and as the field came by me, there were enough of them that I could slightly recover by the time the back of the field came by. Although my legs were stinging, I slipped in and safely began making my way back up to the front of the group again. One lap down, 3 more to go. Not sure if I can make 3 more of these with the group or not. Turns out I couldn’t. On the next lap heading up Quick Road, my strategy of starting in the front and then slowly drifting back failed as I started the climb near the back. By the time I made it to the top of the bump, the group was just a tad too far in front of me as I just couldn’t close the gap back up. I was on my own now. I thought about quitting when I got back up to the school but figured I’d ridden this course enough times solo in practice; I could at least finish it up solo during the race. After all, I paid my money and was already soaking wet, it couldn’t get much worse than this. So I joined up with two other riders who were also off the back and we finished the race together, I’m sure much faster than I would have finished by myself.
So, the road race season for me has come to a close, thank goodness. In the next month or so, I plan on writing a post on my 2007 season, the high points, the mostly low points, my training plan (or lack thereof) and what I could have done better. In the meantime, I plan on still riding to build my fitness back up so I can hope to be somewhat competitive in cyclocross this fall which will all be new to me.
brian
Data from today's race
Entire race:
Duration: 1:32:37 (1:34:20)
Work: 1250 kJ
TSS: 134.5 (intensity factor 0.934)
Norm Power: 271
VI: 1.2
Distance: 32.646
mi Min Max Avg
Power: 0 953 225 watts
Heart rate: 117 183 160 bpm
Cadence: 29 141 96 rpm
Speed: 0 42.4 21.1 mph
Pace 1:25 0:00 2:50 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 383 82 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 837 199 lb-in
Lap#1
Duration: 22:02
Work: 290 kJ
TSS: 37.4 (intensity factor 1.01)
Norm Power: 293
VI: 1.33
Distance: 8.209 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 953 220 watts
Heart rate: 117 183 158 bpm
Cadence: 30 141 99 rpm
Speed: 0 41.3 22.3 mph
Pace 1:27 0:00 2:41 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 318 75 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 837 186 lb-in
Lap #2:
Duration: 23:29
Work: 315 kJ
TSS: 35.2 (intensity factor 0.949)
Norm Power: 275
VI: 1.23
Distance: 8.41 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 868 224 watts
Heart rate: 130 179 161 bpm
Cadence: 31 141 97 rpm
Speed: 10 42.4 21.5 mph
Pace 1:25 5:60 2:48 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 311 83 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 808 194 lb-in
Lap #3:
Duration: 22:27 (24:10)
Work: 303 kJ
TSS: 28.8 (intensity factor 0.879)
Norm Power: 255
VI: 1.13
Distance: 7.774 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 692 226 watts
Heart rate: 127 171 159 bpm
Cadence: 29 141 96 rpm
Speed: 0 39.8 20.8 mph
Pace 1:30 0:00 2:53 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 319 81 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 712 204 lb-in
Lap #4:
Duration: 24:38
Work: 342 kJ
TSS: 33 (intensity factor 0.897)
Norm Power: 260
VI: 1.12
Distance: 8.251 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 720 232 watts
Heart rate: 140 176 163 bpm
Cadence: 29 141 94 rpm
Speed: 4.6 39.5 20.1 mph
Pace 1:31 13:03 2:59 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 383 90 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 813 212 lb-in
As we rolled out at the start, I was able to count jerseys and Summit definitely had the numbers with what appeared to be 6 riders. After that, it was Orrville with 2 and Stark with Jason Leaman and me. I knew going into today that if I could hang onto wheels for the entire race; that would be a substantial victory for me. As I said earlier, this is a challenging course. You’re either climbing or descending, nothing in-between. Granted, the majority of climbing besides the first climb up Quick Road is false-flat but there are some rollers in there up by the humane society that I thought could be decisive depending upon how much recovery you were able to get through the false flats. The first lap went as well as could be expected. The first true attack came from Joel of Orrville on the decent on Wetmore road. It was in the little valley section right before the little climb that takes you back down to Akron-Peninsula road. I was sitting second wheel behind a rider from Summit and knowing that this was very early in the race for any moves to stick, I made no effort to chase. I also figured with Summit having the numbers, it would be up to them to control the race which is what happened. The rider I was following brought him back and I comfortably rode wheels back up. The big test for me was just about to come as we made the right hand turn to head up Quick Road. I knew this would be where the selections were made; I was just hoping that it wouldn’t be on lap 1. Still sitting up front, I found myself almost comfortably spinning a nice cadence while sitting in the group. I knew it wasn’t going to be this easy and as the road started to level off, the attacks came from Summit. Not so much of a hard effort but they picked up the pace enough that it strung out the field and tested my legs. Fortunately, I was at the front of the group and as the field came by me, there were enough of them that I could slightly recover by the time the back of the field came by. Although my legs were stinging, I slipped in and safely began making my way back up to the front of the group again. One lap down, 3 more to go. Not sure if I can make 3 more of these with the group or not. Turns out I couldn’t. On the next lap heading up Quick Road, my strategy of starting in the front and then slowly drifting back failed as I started the climb near the back. By the time I made it to the top of the bump, the group was just a tad too far in front of me as I just couldn’t close the gap back up. I was on my own now. I thought about quitting when I got back up to the school but figured I’d ridden this course enough times solo in practice; I could at least finish it up solo during the race. After all, I paid my money and was already soaking wet, it couldn’t get much worse than this. So I joined up with two other riders who were also off the back and we finished the race together, I’m sure much faster than I would have finished by myself.
So, the road race season for me has come to a close, thank goodness. In the next month or so, I plan on writing a post on my 2007 season, the high points, the mostly low points, my training plan (or lack thereof) and what I could have done better. In the meantime, I plan on still riding to build my fitness back up so I can hope to be somewhat competitive in cyclocross this fall which will all be new to me.
brian
Data from today's race
Entire race:
Duration: 1:32:37 (1:34:20)
Work: 1250 kJ
TSS: 134.5 (intensity factor 0.934)
Norm Power: 271
VI: 1.2
Distance: 32.646
mi Min Max Avg
Power: 0 953 225 watts
Heart rate: 117 183 160 bpm
Cadence: 29 141 96 rpm
Speed: 0 42.4 21.1 mph
Pace 1:25 0:00 2:50 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 383 82 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 837 199 lb-in
Lap#1
Duration: 22:02
Work: 290 kJ
TSS: 37.4 (intensity factor 1.01)
Norm Power: 293
VI: 1.33
Distance: 8.209 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 953 220 watts
Heart rate: 117 183 158 bpm
Cadence: 30 141 99 rpm
Speed: 0 41.3 22.3 mph
Pace 1:27 0:00 2:41 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 318 75 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 837 186 lb-in
Lap #2:
Duration: 23:29
Work: 315 kJ
TSS: 35.2 (intensity factor 0.949)
Norm Power: 275
VI: 1.23
Distance: 8.41 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 868 224 watts
Heart rate: 130 179 161 bpm
Cadence: 31 141 97 rpm
Speed: 10 42.4 21.5 mph
Pace 1:25 5:60 2:48 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 311 83 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 808 194 lb-in
Lap #3:
Duration: 22:27 (24:10)
Work: 303 kJ
TSS: 28.8 (intensity factor 0.879)
Norm Power: 255
VI: 1.13
Distance: 7.774 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 692 226 watts
Heart rate: 127 171 159 bpm
Cadence: 29 141 96 rpm
Speed: 0 39.8 20.8 mph
Pace 1:30 0:00 2:53 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 319 81 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 712 204 lb-in
Lap #4:
Duration: 24:38
Work: 342 kJ
TSS: 33 (intensity factor 0.897)
Norm Power: 260
VI: 1.12
Distance: 8.251 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 720 232 watts
Heart rate: 140 176 163 bpm
Cadence: 29 141 94 rpm
Speed: 4.6 39.5 20.1 mph
Pace 1:31 13:03 2:59 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 383 90 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 813 212 lb-in
9.05.2007
Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful….
This past weekend I was fortunate enough to sneak in a bike ride in between working on the renovation of our bathroom. Because my time was limited, I decided to roll down into the Valley to get my biggest bang for the buck and tackle some of the climbs down there. One of my favorite descents there is Wheatley Road. For those who are somewhat familiar with the Valley, Wheatley will tie into Everett Road which is where the classic Covered Bridge Series is held each year. Wheatley, unless it’s an evening where there’s a concert happening over at Blossom, is lightly traveled by cars, smooth and has a fast descent which includes some s-curves on it. My point of this apparent rambling? Only to introduce the meaning behind the title of this post. When I made the juncture onto Everett, I noticed I started passing quite a few cyclists going in the opposite direction. Seeing cyclists in the Valley isn’t uncommon, in fact on the weekends the place is packed with overfilling lycra. However, the numbers of riders I was seeing was way more than the common group ride heading out from Szalay’s Farm. Turns out, these riders were taking in the morning’s charity ride called STOMP. I wish cyclists were like motorcycle riders in terms of their customs and traditions. Next time you’re out riding, take notice when you see two bikers passing each other. Without hesitation, you see their left arm drop down to the ground for a way cool sign of….hey. Doesn’t matter if it’s a 20 something on a crotch-rocket or a member of the Hells Angels passing each other, they recognize that there is a commonality between them. Even if its only riding on two wheels, they know that they’ve found a secret that most of society hasn’t, traveling through life on two wheels is just more fun. A quick google search on this even found tons of articles and discussions on this subject alone. Back to my point and all the riders I was seeing. I like to be friendly when I’m out riding, but I don’t quite get what others are thinking. I’m passing dozens and dozens of riders, I’m waving, nodding my head, saying good morning, everything but the majority of my fellow cyclists don’t respond at all. I could understand if they were in the middle of a race, but this is a charity ride for Christ’s sake, riding for the pure enjoyment of it without all the suffering. Maybe it’s my goofy smile like a virgin on prom night that scares them away. Maybe it’s my shaved legs or matching kit that they seem to think makes me “so-pro” that they mistakenly get the impression that we’re not the same. Well, we are. Just like the motorcyclists, cyclists have found out that riding through life on two wheels is just more fun.
brian
8.12.2007
Orrville - "Smith Dairy Milk Race"
This morning I woke up with that new Rihanna song "Umbrella" stuck in my head, all thanks to my 4 year old Nicholas. "You can stand under my umbrella, ella, ella, ey, ey, ey...." By the way, there is no way that Nicholas is watching that video....I had to watch it at least a dozen times just to confirm that it wasn't appropriate for children. I actually may need to watch it a few more times just to confirm....
After a quick bowl of Oatmeal and loading up the car this morning, I was on my way to Orrville to race at the Milk Race. This is the third time I've raced it. The first year, I was involved in a crash that left me chasing for 2 out of three laps. Last year I finished in the field but kept thinking about my wife going into labor (actually, I was hoping she would so I could pull out of the race). Would this year be any different? I didn't have any expectations with the little bit of training I've had in the past month, but after the ride I did with some of my teammates up in the valley on Wednesday, I was at least optimistic that I could hang in the field.
"You can stand under my umbrella, ella, ella, ey, ey, ey" Augh!!!
Rolling with me in the Cat 4 field was Darrin Kert, Tim House, Marshall Leininger, Matt Turi, Don Bunker and entering his first Cat 4 race since receiving his upgrade was Frank Kolasa. The usual suspects lined up with us this morning and our field size looked to be about 35 guys strong. I knew the guys to really keep an eye on would be Paul Kinney from Orrville and Noah Gurney from Summit. After Noah's incredible performance at Zoar last weekend, I knew he was riding, as always with good form. Paul is always good. With Breakaway up front setting tempo as we rolled out of the parking lot, one of their riders road off the front to open up a decent little gap within the first few miles of the race. I never like to be just pack fill so it was very tempting to try to bridge across to him. I just kept telling myself that this is a 30 mile race and there is no way that someone is going to go solo for 30 miles. Not in a Cat 4 field. Mile after mile ticked by and this rider would be joined by others bridging up to him. What once was only one rider now looked to be five strong. Should I have tried to get across? I kept telling myself that the objective for the day was just to finish with the group so stay put and stay patient, it'll all come back. Sure enough, as we were finishing the first lap, enough riders felt that it was a worthy move that they tried to bridge up, only carrying the rest of the field with them. Ok, so I raced the first lap smart, saved a whole bunch of matches and now I was only looking at two more laps to go until the finish. Lapped two ticked away fairly uneventful with the exception of me marking Noah's attempt to get away. Fortunately, everyone was still together and Noah didn't try to push it too hard so I hadn't wasted too much energy in the effort. What it did do however was to put me up on the very front of the group. Not the place that I ever like to be, let alone when my whole strategy for the day was to simply stay protected in the group. There were several miles on this lap where I was pulling the group around. It finally dawned on me that it wasn't really my responsibility to pull everyone around as fast as I can at this stage of the race so why not sit up, pedal leisurely and if someone wants to go faster then they can come around me. It didn't take long until someone else got the message and in no time, I was back safely in the group.
Starting the third lap, things really slowed down. I heard a lot of chit-chat and I knew things were too easy, lets face it, I was still there and feeling pretty good. Looking around I saw that the whole group was essentially all together. Not sure why I didn't stick to my game plan at this point, probably because of this stinking "You can stand under my umbrella, ella, ella, ey, ey, ey" that was still rolling around in my mind but I decided to attack shortly after starting the third lap. It was my hope that maybe I'd get a shot at it but knowing that most guys had fresh legs back there, it would be no problem to chase me down. Sure enough, they were all over my move. I knew this move would probably be the death of my plan for staying with the field, but as most of you know by now, I'm not one to be content to just sit. I'd rather race aggressively and loose, then to just sit and loose. I want to say that I left it all out on the road, no matter what my fitness level might be. OK, back to the race. It was none other than Paul Kinney who came around me shortly after the field came back together. As we rolled into the right hand turn onto Egypt road, I rolled up beside him and said ..."Remember that time at the last Chapel Race where I said I didn't have enough to get around you? Well, I don't have a whole lot more today either." He just laughed. I like to play fair, he was putting in a tremendous effort and with six other teammates tucked safely in the field, I would have had no problem working with him to thin the group out. The only problem was I just needed a few more moments to recover which is something I never got as I saw the rest of the group beginning to pass me and then shortly leaving me behind to chase on my own. Well, I made it for almost 2 1/2 laps with the field. Happy for the day that I was able to truly race. I wish I could write about how exciting the finish was, but in all honesty, I really have no idea of how it even ended up playing out. Maybe someone reading this who knows can write a response letting me know more.
Thanks to Orrville for once again putting on a good race and thanks to my competitors for making it a safe one. We all finished upright which in my book makes a successful day. I hope to be back again next year, only with more fight in my legs. It was good to be back in the saddle racing again, it seems like its been a really long time.
Here's the power data from today's race.
brian
Duration: 1:19:48
Work: 1077 kJ
TSS: 120.6 (intensity factor 0.952)
Norm Power: 276
VI: 1.23
Distance: 30.01 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 1003 225 watts
Heart rate: 88 182 161 bpm
Cadence: 29 141 94 rpm
Speed: 7.6 39.8 22.6 mph
Pace 1:30 7:55 2:40 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 401 73 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 1405 203 lb-in
After a quick bowl of Oatmeal and loading up the car this morning, I was on my way to Orrville to race at the Milk Race. This is the third time I've raced it. The first year, I was involved in a crash that left me chasing for 2 out of three laps. Last year I finished in the field but kept thinking about my wife going into labor (actually, I was hoping she would so I could pull out of the race). Would this year be any different? I didn't have any expectations with the little bit of training I've had in the past month, but after the ride I did with some of my teammates up in the valley on Wednesday, I was at least optimistic that I could hang in the field.
"You can stand under my umbrella, ella, ella, ey, ey, ey" Augh!!!
Rolling with me in the Cat 4 field was Darrin Kert, Tim House, Marshall Leininger, Matt Turi, Don Bunker and entering his first Cat 4 race since receiving his upgrade was Frank Kolasa. The usual suspects lined up with us this morning and our field size looked to be about 35 guys strong. I knew the guys to really keep an eye on would be Paul Kinney from Orrville and Noah Gurney from Summit. After Noah's incredible performance at Zoar last weekend, I knew he was riding, as always with good form. Paul is always good. With Breakaway up front setting tempo as we rolled out of the parking lot, one of their riders road off the front to open up a decent little gap within the first few miles of the race. I never like to be just pack fill so it was very tempting to try to bridge across to him. I just kept telling myself that this is a 30 mile race and there is no way that someone is going to go solo for 30 miles. Not in a Cat 4 field. Mile after mile ticked by and this rider would be joined by others bridging up to him. What once was only one rider now looked to be five strong. Should I have tried to get across? I kept telling myself that the objective for the day was just to finish with the group so stay put and stay patient, it'll all come back. Sure enough, as we were finishing the first lap, enough riders felt that it was a worthy move that they tried to bridge up, only carrying the rest of the field with them. Ok, so I raced the first lap smart, saved a whole bunch of matches and now I was only looking at two more laps to go until the finish. Lapped two ticked away fairly uneventful with the exception of me marking Noah's attempt to get away. Fortunately, everyone was still together and Noah didn't try to push it too hard so I hadn't wasted too much energy in the effort. What it did do however was to put me up on the very front of the group. Not the place that I ever like to be, let alone when my whole strategy for the day was to simply stay protected in the group. There were several miles on this lap where I was pulling the group around. It finally dawned on me that it wasn't really my responsibility to pull everyone around as fast as I can at this stage of the race so why not sit up, pedal leisurely and if someone wants to go faster then they can come around me. It didn't take long until someone else got the message and in no time, I was back safely in the group.
Starting the third lap, things really slowed down. I heard a lot of chit-chat and I knew things were too easy, lets face it, I was still there and feeling pretty good. Looking around I saw that the whole group was essentially all together. Not sure why I didn't stick to my game plan at this point, probably because of this stinking "You can stand under my umbrella, ella, ella, ey, ey, ey" that was still rolling around in my mind but I decided to attack shortly after starting the third lap. It was my hope that maybe I'd get a shot at it but knowing that most guys had fresh legs back there, it would be no problem to chase me down. Sure enough, they were all over my move. I knew this move would probably be the death of my plan for staying with the field, but as most of you know by now, I'm not one to be content to just sit. I'd rather race aggressively and loose, then to just sit and loose. I want to say that I left it all out on the road, no matter what my fitness level might be. OK, back to the race. It was none other than Paul Kinney who came around me shortly after the field came back together. As we rolled into the right hand turn onto Egypt road, I rolled up beside him and said ..."Remember that time at the last Chapel Race where I said I didn't have enough to get around you? Well, I don't have a whole lot more today either." He just laughed. I like to play fair, he was putting in a tremendous effort and with six other teammates tucked safely in the field, I would have had no problem working with him to thin the group out. The only problem was I just needed a few more moments to recover which is something I never got as I saw the rest of the group beginning to pass me and then shortly leaving me behind to chase on my own. Well, I made it for almost 2 1/2 laps with the field. Happy for the day that I was able to truly race. I wish I could write about how exciting the finish was, but in all honesty, I really have no idea of how it even ended up playing out. Maybe someone reading this who knows can write a response letting me know more.
Thanks to Orrville for once again putting on a good race and thanks to my competitors for making it a safe one. We all finished upright which in my book makes a successful day. I hope to be back again next year, only with more fight in my legs. It was good to be back in the saddle racing again, it seems like its been a really long time.
Here's the power data from today's race.
brian
Duration: 1:19:48
Work: 1077 kJ
TSS: 120.6 (intensity factor 0.952)
Norm Power: 276
VI: 1.23
Distance: 30.01 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 1003 225 watts
Heart rate: 88 182 161 bpm
Cadence: 29 141 94 rpm
Speed: 7.6 39.8 22.6 mph
Pace 1:30 7:55 2:40 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 401 73 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 1405 203 lb-in
8.06.2007
Letter to the Editor
For anyone who knows me, they'll confirm that I'm normally a fairly quite and laid back person. Part of that is just my personality and the other part is that over the years I've learned that anytime I open my mouth, I typically say something stupid so its best just to keep it shut. Well, I've opened my mouth again, this time in a "Letter to the Editor" that I sent earlier today to the Akron Beacon Journal. For those reading this who may not live in Northeast Ohio, last Friday there was a report in the Media that one of the Cleveland Browns players tested positive for steroid use and would therefore be handed a four game suspension. I awoke Saturday morning and read the sports page to find the following article.
Akron Beacon Journal Article
After reading it, I was a little discouraged in the fact that the sports writer seemed to care more about the loss of the player for four weeks and what that did to the team in lieu of the fact that here was just one more sports star who was caught cheating. I was also upset that the mainstream media can only discuss cycling when there's a doping story or scandal taking place. When its a mainstream sport, its addressed very lackadaisically in an almost 'oops' sort of way. The difference must be due to the tremendous amount of money that is generated by the NFL versus what is done through cycling. For instance, Joe Thomas's (Brown's first round draft pick) 5 year deal that he signed with the brown is worth $42.5 million, $22 million of that is guaranteed money. Joe could afford to sponsor the Tour de France winning Discovery Squad which is seeking a new sponsor and which would only cost around $15 million. I'm as big of a football fan as anyone (O-H-I-O) but like so many others, I've become turned off by the multi-million dollar athletes who I don't think realize how good they have it. Consider this; Joe Thomas will get more guaranteed money, even if he never plays a game than the average American family will ever see in their lifetime. Forget one family, make that all my aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings and friends combined.
The following is my letter which may or may not be published, but with the power of my blog, I'm able to make it public now.
Saturday’s story of Brown’s offensive lineman Ryan Tucker should have been entitled something more like “Cheater cheater pumpkin eater” since the article seemed to address the seriousness of steroid abuse fairly lightly. Nobody likes playing with the kid who cheats on the playground and that’s what Tucker did; cheat to gain a competitive edge over his colleagues in the NFL. It’s interesting that he was quoted as saying “….I am going to fulfill this punishment, if that’s what you want to call it, and get it behind me.” Ryan should consider himself lucky that he plays in a sport where the punishment for such offensives isn’t nearly as severe as an IOC regulated sport such as professional cycling or track and field. The penalty for such an offense if Tucker was a cyclist is that he would be immediately fired from the team (upon verification of the doping offense) and he would have been served a two year ban from competition. Upon completion of the ban, he then would serve two years playing in the ‘minor’ leagues before he could return to play the game at the highest level. In addition to all of that, professional cyclists are now required to pay back a year’s salary to their governing athletic bodies doping control program. Instead, Tucker will practice with his team, play in some preseason games and then sit out for four regulation games while not receiving a minimal portion of his multi-million dollar contract. You’re not alone Ryan in your assessment, this does not seem like much of a punishment to me either.
In the past month doping stories have plagued the sports world. The Tour De France saw several riders and teams be pulled from competition after riders were shown to test positive for banned substances. Currently on the west coast, Barry Bonds is trying to break Hank Aaron’s all time home record under a cloud of suspicion for using steroids. WWE Wrestler Chris Benoit murdered his family and committed suicide while reportedly suffering the effects of ‘Roid Rage’ and now the Ryan Tucker incident. These are just the latest in a long list of cheaters that begin to make it hard to cheer and support guys making more money in a single year than the average American will see in a lifetime. I applaud the NFL for conducting out of competition testing but as a sports fan I wish that the NFL in addition to MLB and the NBA would do more; certainly tougher penalties would go a long way in this effort.
In the future, I'm going to write an article that illustrates the differences between the UCI, NBA, NFL and MLB in terms of their anti-doping procedures and penalties. Until then.
brian
Akron Beacon Journal Article
After reading it, I was a little discouraged in the fact that the sports writer seemed to care more about the loss of the player for four weeks and what that did to the team in lieu of the fact that here was just one more sports star who was caught cheating. I was also upset that the mainstream media can only discuss cycling when there's a doping story or scandal taking place. When its a mainstream sport, its addressed very lackadaisically in an almost 'oops' sort of way. The difference must be due to the tremendous amount of money that is generated by the NFL versus what is done through cycling. For instance, Joe Thomas's (Brown's first round draft pick) 5 year deal that he signed with the brown is worth $42.5 million, $22 million of that is guaranteed money. Joe could afford to sponsor the Tour de France winning Discovery Squad which is seeking a new sponsor and which would only cost around $15 million. I'm as big of a football fan as anyone (O-H-I-O) but like so many others, I've become turned off by the multi-million dollar athletes who I don't think realize how good they have it. Consider this; Joe Thomas will get more guaranteed money, even if he never plays a game than the average American family will ever see in their lifetime. Forget one family, make that all my aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings and friends combined.
The following is my letter which may or may not be published, but with the power of my blog, I'm able to make it public now.
Saturday’s story of Brown’s offensive lineman Ryan Tucker should have been entitled something more like “Cheater cheater pumpkin eater” since the article seemed to address the seriousness of steroid abuse fairly lightly. Nobody likes playing with the kid who cheats on the playground and that’s what Tucker did; cheat to gain a competitive edge over his colleagues in the NFL. It’s interesting that he was quoted as saying “….I am going to fulfill this punishment, if that’s what you want to call it, and get it behind me.” Ryan should consider himself lucky that he plays in a sport where the punishment for such offensives isn’t nearly as severe as an IOC regulated sport such as professional cycling or track and field. The penalty for such an offense if Tucker was a cyclist is that he would be immediately fired from the team (upon verification of the doping offense) and he would have been served a two year ban from competition. Upon completion of the ban, he then would serve two years playing in the ‘minor’ leagues before he could return to play the game at the highest level. In addition to all of that, professional cyclists are now required to pay back a year’s salary to their governing athletic bodies doping control program. Instead, Tucker will practice with his team, play in some preseason games and then sit out for four regulation games while not receiving a minimal portion of his multi-million dollar contract. You’re not alone Ryan in your assessment, this does not seem like much of a punishment to me either.
In the past month doping stories have plagued the sports world. The Tour De France saw several riders and teams be pulled from competition after riders were shown to test positive for banned substances. Currently on the west coast, Barry Bonds is trying to break Hank Aaron’s all time home record under a cloud of suspicion for using steroids. WWE Wrestler Chris Benoit murdered his family and committed suicide while reportedly suffering the effects of ‘Roid Rage’ and now the Ryan Tucker incident. These are just the latest in a long list of cheaters that begin to make it hard to cheer and support guys making more money in a single year than the average American will see in a lifetime. I applaud the NFL for conducting out of competition testing but as a sports fan I wish that the NFL in addition to MLB and the NBA would do more; certainly tougher penalties would go a long way in this effort.
In the future, I'm going to write an article that illustrates the differences between the UCI, NBA, NFL and MLB in terms of their anti-doping procedures and penalties. Until then.
brian
7.30.2007
Where in the world is Brian?
In one of my somewhat recent posts, I mentioned being absent from racing and blogging but that I was hoping to make a change. Well apparently that hasn't happened yet. I'm not really sure what is going on right now but I can't seem to get out of this rut of not being able to do any riding, let alone racing. Apparently, Life doesn't understand that this mediocre Cat4 racer needs substantial time on my bike to be at least somewhat competitive. With what used to be 4 or 5 days of riding per week has now trickled down to maybe one day...if I'm lucky.
At the end of last season, my goal for this year was to be riding well enough to upgrade to Cat 3.....maybe next year. I'm not complaining here (well, sort of I guess) as my ride time seems to have been replaced by more family time, working with my co-director at Elves & More on the upcoming bike giveaway and of course...work. I hope to somewhat salvage something of this season shortly but there are two races that I am committing myself to race in. One is the Orrville Smith's Dairy Milk Race in Mid-August and the other is Allied Decal's (Summit's) Fall Challenge. The guys at Orrville always put on a good event and since the route is mostly flat, I have a chance of at least hanging onto the back of the group. The Fall Challenge race course is about 5 miles from my house so it's hard to turn that one down, even considering all of the climbing that will be involved. Again, the guys at Allied Decals do so much for the sport in terms of all the events that they hold, that I like to make as many of their events as possible.
In addition to planning on racing in those two events, I'm currently back into training to compete in a 10k leg of the upcoming Akron Marathon. My office always has two teams in this fun event and for the past several years I have run the leg that goes from the University of Akron down to Sand Run Parkway. The last time I ran, I completed it in just over 43 minutes. This year my ambition is to run it in sub 40 minutes. Not sure how feasible this is but because of that aggressive goal, I've been doing a lot more running the past month then I typically like to do (which by the way, I don't really enjoy running). It's always at this time of the year when I always ask myself, why am I doing this and why didn't I just continue running throughout the year as then it wouldn't hurt so much. I never seem to learn my lesson because now I am trying to come back after not running for almost two years. Ouch.
Well, I'll do my best to keep my blog updated with some relevant info over the next few weeks until I can post another race report. Here's hoping that your season is going much better than mine.
brian
At the end of last season, my goal for this year was to be riding well enough to upgrade to Cat 3.....maybe next year. I'm not complaining here (well, sort of I guess) as my ride time seems to have been replaced by more family time, working with my co-director at Elves & More on the upcoming bike giveaway and of course...work. I hope to somewhat salvage something of this season shortly but there are two races that I am committing myself to race in. One is the Orrville Smith's Dairy Milk Race in Mid-August and the other is Allied Decal's (Summit's) Fall Challenge. The guys at Orrville always put on a good event and since the route is mostly flat, I have a chance of at least hanging onto the back of the group. The Fall Challenge race course is about 5 miles from my house so it's hard to turn that one down, even considering all of the climbing that will be involved. Again, the guys at Allied Decals do so much for the sport in terms of all the events that they hold, that I like to make as many of their events as possible.
In addition to planning on racing in those two events, I'm currently back into training to compete in a 10k leg of the upcoming Akron Marathon. My office always has two teams in this fun event and for the past several years I have run the leg that goes from the University of Akron down to Sand Run Parkway. The last time I ran, I completed it in just over 43 minutes. This year my ambition is to run it in sub 40 minutes. Not sure how feasible this is but because of that aggressive goal, I've been doing a lot more running the past month then I typically like to do (which by the way, I don't really enjoy running). It's always at this time of the year when I always ask myself, why am I doing this and why didn't I just continue running throughout the year as then it wouldn't hurt so much. I never seem to learn my lesson because now I am trying to come back after not running for almost two years. Ouch.
Well, I'll do my best to keep my blog updated with some relevant info over the next few weeks until I can post another race report. Here's hoping that your season is going much better than mine.
brian
7.16.2007
Boonen & Bettini Video
Are these guys kidding me? This is just too good not to share. I found this at http://www.velocitynation.com/
7.12.2007
Chapel Series - Race 1
Thursday night began the first of a three race series hosted by The Chapel of Green. Having done this race the past two years, I looked forward to coming back out for a bit of good training as knowing where my fitness level is at, I had no ambitions other than working on raising my overall FTP. This race is a lot like the TOP series that I described in my last blog in that with a cheap entry fee, everyone seems to ride a little more relaxed and a little more tactfully. If nothing else, everyone knows that at least they’ll get a good picnic dinner at the end of the series for all of their hard work.
As has been my experience, the race usually consists of a majority of the peloton having riders from the three local teams, Stark Velo, Orrville and Rainbow Inks (Summit) with a handful of independents and first time racers sprinkled in there for good effect. Thursday night was no different with these three teams making up the majority of the field. Because three teams essentially control the race, the pattern has typically been in the past that somewhere during the first few laps (the race is 30 minutes + 5 laps) a break occurs with riders from all three in it which allows the field to settle down to let the break establish. I figured that would be the case once again for this race but I figured incorrectly. This race became a race of attrition where it was a fast and furious pace from start to finish. I was doing my best to keep myself upfront and attentive, trying to join moves, when I saw them happen but in no way was I going to initiate them as I that burns a whole lot of matches. I knew I was in trouble for the evening when I was trying to follow Paul Kinney’s (Orrville) wheel and I was struggling not to open up gaps. He kept looking for me to come around and help out but all I could do was shrug my shoulders, it was an effort just to stay in his draft. Man, how far had my fitness really fallen? With a soon to be small gap opening up in front of me, Doug Williams (Rainbow Inks) asked if I had anything left in the tank, and not having enough left to close it, I said no and moved over so I wasn't forcing all the guys behind me to burn unnecessary matches to close it back up. I think this came between 20 and 25 minutes of racing. We started the race with I believe 33 riders (some of those where riders who would be competing in the ‘A’ race who wanted to use this race to be noncompetitive and to warm up) and when it came time to contest the finish, I think there was only 6 left. At the time I fell off, I counted 9 other riders in front of me. If I could finish the race with nobody passing me, at least I could say I came in 10th pace…whatever good that does me. Although I didn’t finish with the group, I got out of the evening exactly what I wanted….good training. I’ll keep focusing now on my training which will hopefully get me a little closer to the finish line next week.
Duration: 40:05
Work: 620 kJ
TSS: 62.7 (intensity factor 0.969)
Norm Power: 281
VI: 1.09
Distance: 15.414 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 1002 258 watts
Heart rate: 96 205 168 bpm
Cadence: 32 141 98 rpm
Speed: 2.9 28.7 23.1 mph
Pace 2:05 20:59 2:36 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 320 75 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 948 225 lb-in
As has been my experience, the race usually consists of a majority of the peloton having riders from the three local teams, Stark Velo, Orrville and Rainbow Inks (Summit) with a handful of independents and first time racers sprinkled in there for good effect. Thursday night was no different with these three teams making up the majority of the field. Because three teams essentially control the race, the pattern has typically been in the past that somewhere during the first few laps (the race is 30 minutes + 5 laps) a break occurs with riders from all three in it which allows the field to settle down to let the break establish. I figured that would be the case once again for this race but I figured incorrectly. This race became a race of attrition where it was a fast and furious pace from start to finish. I was doing my best to keep myself upfront and attentive, trying to join moves, when I saw them happen but in no way was I going to initiate them as I that burns a whole lot of matches. I knew I was in trouble for the evening when I was trying to follow Paul Kinney’s (Orrville) wheel and I was struggling not to open up gaps. He kept looking for me to come around and help out but all I could do was shrug my shoulders, it was an effort just to stay in his draft. Man, how far had my fitness really fallen? With a soon to be small gap opening up in front of me, Doug Williams (Rainbow Inks) asked if I had anything left in the tank, and not having enough left to close it, I said no and moved over so I wasn't forcing all the guys behind me to burn unnecessary matches to close it back up. I think this came between 20 and 25 minutes of racing. We started the race with I believe 33 riders (some of those where riders who would be competing in the ‘A’ race who wanted to use this race to be noncompetitive and to warm up) and when it came time to contest the finish, I think there was only 6 left. At the time I fell off, I counted 9 other riders in front of me. If I could finish the race with nobody passing me, at least I could say I came in 10th pace…whatever good that does me. Although I didn’t finish with the group, I got out of the evening exactly what I wanted….good training. I’ll keep focusing now on my training which will hopefully get me a little closer to the finish line next week.
brian
Here's the data...Duration: 40:05
Work: 620 kJ
TSS: 62.7 (intensity factor 0.969)
Norm Power: 281
VI: 1.09
Distance: 15.414 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 1002 258 watts
Heart rate: 96 205 168 bpm
Cadence: 32 141 98 rpm
Speed: 2.9 28.7 23.1 mph
Pace 2:05 20:59 2:36 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 320 75 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 948 225 lb-in
7.08.2007
TOP Series - Franklin Twp. Road Race
I've been absent lately. Not riding much and certainly not blogging much. Here's one of the reasons why: Jen and I found ourselves in a position a few weeks ago where we had found a house in the area that we really, really liked. It had everything that we decided the 'next' house should have. To make the story somewhat short, we knew that there were a lot of projects around our house that had been neglected for the past few years that we needed to quickly finish up in order to get our house ready to be put on the market. So for the past several weeks, I've been busy doing things like hanging and finishing drywall, painting, etc. instead of riding. Well, we put an offer on the new house, a fair offer I might add, but they didn't accept it....so, with that we decided we liked our house well enough that we wanted to hang out here for awhile longer (unless the Owner of the for sale property comes back to reality)and get back to living life.
Barely even seeing my bike the past few weeks, I decided it was time to dust it off if I wanted to salvage something from this season. Normally when I take a big chunk of time off the bike, I like to ramp back into my training but instead I thought it would be nice to do a test on where my current fitness is(or lack of fitness). I decided what better way to do a test than to jump into a race. Today's TOP race would be the perfect place. This race also fell on the same day as the State Road race so figuring all the heavy hitters would be down south battling it out, I figured that the pain level for today would be somewhat tolerable (somewhere between watching reruns of "The Simple Life" and "The View". Summit Freewheelers do a great job of putting on these local races. If you have the opportunity to fit these into your schedule I highly recommend it. First off, they only cost $5 which is a bargain in today's world and secondly because they only cost $5, the field is usually a little more relaxed and willing to play and try tactics which makes the races that much more enjoyable.
This morning's race in Franklin Twp. is part of one of my training routes, the Portage County White Trash Ride (PCWTR) so I knew the route extremely well. The course is deceptively difficult because there are so many rollers out there. Nothing too big that they can't be powered over, but considering the race would be a minimum of 6 laps, it would take careful planning, conservation and strategy to maintain some power for the end of the race should it end in a bunch kick. My only ambition for the day would be to just ride wheels and hang onto the group. If I finished with the field, than I would consider that a victory for me. The only heavy hitter to join us that I was familiar with was Ed Delgros from Summit. I've heard a lot about him from reading Thor's race entries so I knew he would be tough and would make it much more than a normal training ride for us. My hope was that he would decide early on that he wanted some TT practice and take a solo flier off the front and leave the rest of us for a casual ride back to the finish line. Well, Ed did try several times but there were always interested people in the group willing to bring him back, bringing my pain level closer towards the "simple life" on my scale.
Half way into the race, I lost touch with the group and found myself dangling a few meters off the back. Slowly I saw the selective group leaving me behind. I tried and tried to catch back on but could never find the extra little oomph to do it. Funny thing is I can remember thinking that ok, at least I hung on this long and I was happy to ride the remainder of the race solo. After half a lap of riding solo, I noticed that they were coming back to me. Great! They slowed up just enough and I had maintained my tempo enough that they were well within a distance that I could bridge back up to them. So, pushing my tempo that much more, I finally managed to bridge back up to the group. Down to the last lap and a half, I decided to suck wheel, recover and see what can happen. As we were coming into the finishing stretch, I started to move myself up the right hand side of the group to make a move. I was sitting third wheel and was just about to go for it off the front when another rider beat me to it. The group chased hard and I was left with me legs telling me....see what would have happened if you tried to do that? Yep, my legs were done but I'm glad that I finished the race exactly how I had hoped to, with the group, sort of.
Here's the data for the day:
brian
Road Race:
Duration: 1:37:30
Work: 1365 kJ
TSS: 146 (intensity factor 0.948)
Norm Power: 275
VI: 1.18
Distance: 37.321 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 898 233 watts
Heart rate: 102 184 166 bpm
Cadence: 29 141 91 rpm
Speed: 8.6 37.4 23.0 mph
Pace 1:36 6:57 2:37 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 343 71 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 1231 216 lb-in
Barely even seeing my bike the past few weeks, I decided it was time to dust it off if I wanted to salvage something from this season. Normally when I take a big chunk of time off the bike, I like to ramp back into my training but instead I thought it would be nice to do a test on where my current fitness is(or lack of fitness). I decided what better way to do a test than to jump into a race. Today's TOP race would be the perfect place. This race also fell on the same day as the State Road race so figuring all the heavy hitters would be down south battling it out, I figured that the pain level for today would be somewhat tolerable (somewhere between watching reruns of "The Simple Life" and "The View". Summit Freewheelers do a great job of putting on these local races. If you have the opportunity to fit these into your schedule I highly recommend it. First off, they only cost $5 which is a bargain in today's world and secondly because they only cost $5, the field is usually a little more relaxed and willing to play and try tactics which makes the races that much more enjoyable.
This morning's race in Franklin Twp. is part of one of my training routes, the Portage County White Trash Ride (PCWTR) so I knew the route extremely well. The course is deceptively difficult because there are so many rollers out there. Nothing too big that they can't be powered over, but considering the race would be a minimum of 6 laps, it would take careful planning, conservation and strategy to maintain some power for the end of the race should it end in a bunch kick. My only ambition for the day would be to just ride wheels and hang onto the group. If I finished with the field, than I would consider that a victory for me. The only heavy hitter to join us that I was familiar with was Ed Delgros from Summit. I've heard a lot about him from reading Thor's race entries so I knew he would be tough and would make it much more than a normal training ride for us. My hope was that he would decide early on that he wanted some TT practice and take a solo flier off the front and leave the rest of us for a casual ride back to the finish line. Well, Ed did try several times but there were always interested people in the group willing to bring him back, bringing my pain level closer towards the "simple life" on my scale.
Half way into the race, I lost touch with the group and found myself dangling a few meters off the back. Slowly I saw the selective group leaving me behind. I tried and tried to catch back on but could never find the extra little oomph to do it. Funny thing is I can remember thinking that ok, at least I hung on this long and I was happy to ride the remainder of the race solo. After half a lap of riding solo, I noticed that they were coming back to me. Great! They slowed up just enough and I had maintained my tempo enough that they were well within a distance that I could bridge back up to them. So, pushing my tempo that much more, I finally managed to bridge back up to the group. Down to the last lap and a half, I decided to suck wheel, recover and see what can happen. As we were coming into the finishing stretch, I started to move myself up the right hand side of the group to make a move. I was sitting third wheel and was just about to go for it off the front when another rider beat me to it. The group chased hard and I was left with me legs telling me....see what would have happened if you tried to do that? Yep, my legs were done but I'm glad that I finished the race exactly how I had hoped to, with the group, sort of.
Here's the data for the day:
brian
Road Race:
Duration: 1:37:30
Work: 1365 kJ
TSS: 146 (intensity factor 0.948)
Norm Power: 275
VI: 1.18
Distance: 37.321 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 898 233 watts
Heart rate: 102 184 166 bpm
Cadence: 29 141 91 rpm
Speed: 8.6 37.4 23.0 mph
Pace 1:36 6:57 2:37 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 343 71 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 1231 216 lb-in
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