I Think

I think I am ready to see this season come to a close.  It's been that full gamut of adjectives you could use to describe something like a racing season.  I will have a very clear focus going into 2009, but it's getting close to being time to focus on relaxing.  I'm sick of looking at the weather and seeing "high of 94 with 71% humidity".  All I have left is the Vista Crit next Sunday if I can snag a bike to ride, camp at the OTC (the reason my bike will be absent), and the state Time Trial on the 4th of Oct.  The weather in CS is to die for, the high is slated to be 72 when I arrive next Tuesday.

I'm just tired.  I think I failed to take a long enough break from killing myself along the way.  That will be something to schedule in for next season.

I'm not Sayin'

Yesterday's trainer ride was as follows. Spin for a while. 4x1 minutes single leg, alternating between legs, 2 minutes rest between sets. Since my hams and hip flexors were sufficiently angry I only did 2x5 minutes in my biggest gear, the 50-12.
I have to preface this next part by saying that I was on the trainer, there was no wind resistance, trainer resistance is not the same as rolling resistance, I was not on a fixed gear bike, and any other caveat you can think of for riding the trainer.
I wanted to see how long it would take me to ride 3km on my second 5 minute big gear effort. I rolled over that mark in 4:07. Now, I'm not sayin', I'm just saying.

Silly Season

It is upon us.  In the pro ranks you have teams dissolving, riders switching teams, new sponsors, bike manus switching teams, lots of juicy gossip for us crazy bike fans to talk about.

There is, apparently, a local silly season as well.  The future of my current team seems to be unknown.  I can't go into detail because I don't know a lot and I don't feel like turning the rumor wheel.  So who will I be riding for next year?  I could potentially race unattached, but I think I would prefer to ride with a team.  

In any case I feel I should increase my stock so I could prove to be a valuable asset to whatever team I ride for, or to get picked up by by a team if I'm riding unattached.  

Here's a question.  Weight?  I'm up a few pounds from my season low of 131 to 133-135.  I was pretty gaunt but I didn't feel like eating, something to do with heat and probably mild burnout.  I will gain weight some as my mileage decreases during early base, but I am pretty good at controling it through diet (it's easy if you know what you are doing and have discipline).  I could maintain or I could break 140 for the first time in my life.  The added weight and power would help in TTs (my ticket onto the Paralympic Team), crits, the flatish races around the region, and my fantasies of being a Pursuit Racer.  Maintaining weight goes along with my fantasies of being a climber, but there are no hilly races in this area.  I guess climbing is just the romantic side of cycling.  The logical path is to gain weight as my aggregate gain will be higher.  And I'm just rambling by now.  I just need to come out of the offseason strong and ready to get stronger as the season moves along.

All Antsy

I have some sort of of massive desire to race.  They cancelled the races in Augusta because of the Hurricane, but she bypassed us altogether.  I want to race, I want to feel that competitive animal.  It's been a month since I last felt like that.  I didn't have that feeling at the State RR, I just wanted to hit the line and stop.  I did have that feeling in Elberton, which I did not blog about.  It was a 60 miler in near 100* weather, 2 man break stuck, I launched with 800m and overcooked the last corner, cyclocrossed through the grass, and finished 11th.  So I missed my first podium and my first upgrade points.  I had the pit bull feeling that day and I liked it, I want to feel it again!  I'd be up for a Du, a Tri, or a 5k if it started in the next hour.  

In other news, I am sick.  I have a head cold and a running nose.  I didn't train today because of it.  

Yesterday sucked hard, it was 95* and I couldn't sweat.  I was probably dehydrated.

The season is so close to being over.  I'm sad and happy.  The next thing I do will be the Training Camp at the OTC, it's 2 weeks away.  Then I have the state Time Trial, and I'm considering the G'Ville Crits.  I don't know if I want to do them or not.  Then it's over.  I'll go into base mode.  I'll have a somewhat more normal life, but I still intend to ride.  I didn't ride for 5 months last offseason and it cost me a lot.  I want to hit the Spring Series rolling, and I want to be white hot by the time Athens rolls around.

So Freaking Proud!

My little brother just graduated from Boot Camp and is now a Marine! I don't think it's possible to be more proud.
Get Some Mark!

That Little Twinge

The Paralympic Team is in Beijing and prepping to race. The Opening Ceremony is Friday. I'm just a little sad because I want to be with them. I know I haven't earned it yet, but it serves as good motivation.

Tuesday Night Worlds

The weather was beautiful!  It was 80 degrees and I was happy.  We rolled out for 45+2 since the sun is setting earlier.  I was feeling good (much better than Saturday) and because of my performance Saturday I was feeling feisty.  I saw a move go up the road with Jay and Toby and I thought it would behoove me to get in on it.  I took my pull and looked at my computer; 13 minutes, I was ready to settle in for 35 minutes of serious pain but it was not to be.  We were pulled back after a lap.  Then a little counter move went and Jay jumped after it.  I settled in to recover and that's the difference between a Cat1 an my little Cat4 butt.  I did some pulling and chased a few breaks, but my heroics aren't all that epic yet, I didn't go in any more breaks.  
We got around to the last lap and I tried my little move from the top of the backstretch (1000-1200m if it sticks).  I was caught 50m past turn 4.  

Augusta RR this weekend.

Labor Day Weekend Part 4: The Hincapie After-Party

So after racing Saturday, riding Sunday, and watching the Pro Race for several hours it was time to party.  Hah, I wasn't too sure if I would get there and curl up in a corner to sleep or hang out.  I also haven't been out and mingling in over a year, so I didn't know if I could talk to anyone after 10PM.  Fortunately, my people skills remain somewhat intact and I talked to a cute girl about her endurance horse racing.  I had no idea you could put a HRM on a horse, but hers has a max heart rate of 260bpm, wow.  Other than talking to girls I met George Hincapie and thought about talking to Dave Zabriskie but the poor guy looked like he had more than drained himself during the 2 races.  I noticed that Allen Lim (the physiologist for Garmin-Chipotle) was at the party and I wanted to meet him since I'm a nerd and think his work is terribly interesting.  He was sitting next to DZ when I said hello, and he asked if I realized he was sitting next to DZ.  I did, and I wasn't trying to snub him.  I just didn't want to be the annoying fan to the guy that looked like a zombie.  Allen is a cool guy, and it was nice meeting him, and he has such a cool job.  Why did I choose Economics as a major?  We rolled out before 11 and it felt like it was 2am, I'm an old person.  
This weekend was absolutely amazing!  Big shout out to Rick and Gail for putting me up.  Good luck to John in his first Ironman.  And congratulations to all the locals that raced so well this weekend.

Labor Day Weekend Part 3: The Pro Race

After 3 hours in the saddle we were all ready to clean up and eat, so showers were had and we ate some burritos.  Tasty.  Downtown Greenville was HOT and a little crowded, I was excited to see a crowd gather for a bike race in SC!  Garmin-Chipotle was well represented in the race with 14 riders, one of whom won the National Champ Time Trial the day before.  Big shout out to Dave Zabriskie on that victory.  I also need to apologize, but that's for "Part 4".  The hometown hero was also racing, George Hincapie has become a local legend in Greenville since he lives there.  
Those guys are fast.  Wow, is all I can say.  
I saw Casey and Rob while I was sitting on the sidewalk, that was cool.  She's really fast, I'm kinda jealous.
I had to climb a tree to get a good view of the finish, but it was worth it.  I saw Tyler Hamilton of Rock Racing with a national title at the age of 37!  The year of the old athlete?  Garmin had 3 riders in the final break of 5 and managed 2nd.  I have to admit being a little surprised they didn't take the jersey.

Labor Day Weekend Part 2: Ceasar's Head

Sunday was shaping up to be a long day with a 7:30am start to the festivities (meaning my non-morning person self was away at 6am).  A group of 30 rolled out of Furman U. towards Ceasar's Head including Rick, Gail, Jim, and John Lockwood who will be doing his first Ironman next weekend in Wisconsin.  It's 22 rolling-to-lightly-hilly miles from Furman to Ceasar's and we were moving at a leisurely pace.  It was no problem for me because I was still feeling the race from the day before.
I came to realize that a really really hate partial zip jerseys.  I was wear a 3/4 zip and was taking a leak at the base of Ceasar's Head.  That requires the jersey to come over my head so i can get my bib straps pulled down.  My helmet had to come off as well.  The group had become strung out and was regrouping as I was trying to pull my jersey onto my sweaty, sticky body.  It's a tight fit, and as I'm wriggling around the group up and leaves.  I was 200 meters back already so I tried to catch up, then I realized we were going up a mountain and I would have to ride at my pace to survive.  Ceasar's Head is 6.2 miles from top to bottom, it doesn't mess around.  I have no idea how long it took me but I loved it!  It hurt, but there is something about climbing, real climbing, that I eat up.  The return trip was on the painful side; my quads were feeling all sorts of beaten to a pulp, and Greenville isn't flat.  We were going to ride up Paris Mountain, but having rode 57 miles by the time Furman arrived made the decision to skip Paris an easy one.  

I love climbing.

Labor Day Weekend Part 1: State Champ Road Race

I did enough this weekend to warrant a whole bunch of separate entries, so here's the first.

I got to Greenville Friday without too much trouble, I had Jim's kids with me but Caroline was well behaved.  I got to Rick and Gail's place and went for a little spin on the trainer to loosen up.  Dinner was pasta and chicken.  I settled in for some Tour of Ireland action before turning in.  Cavendish won the stage going away, again.  Amazing, but his bitterness over the Olympic Madison is off-putting.  I ended up in bed about 10:30 and didn't have to be up 'till 7!  I loved not waking up at 5am for a race.  I was a bundle of nerves trying to go to sleep, I have no idea why I get so freaked out the night before a race.  I wish I would just fall asleep.
So they sent us off at 11 and it was hot and humid.  We did 3 laps of the 15 mile course for 45 miles. I just sat in the middle of the field for most of the race which was a little packed with 60-70 riders starting.  A few flyers went, but nothing serious.  I started working my way forward early in the last lap and made it to about 10th before getting swarmed and failing to hold my spot.  I wasn't feeling very good the whole race so I didn't put up a fight.  I just sat there rolling along.  The final stretch was pure mayhem.  2 separate crashes claimed a number of riders and I rolled in 23rd and disappointed.  I sucked that day.  

Casey Gail finished 2nd/1st SC in the W1/2/3 race.
Rodney, Phillip Hare, Rob K, and Eric Cash raced the 4s with me.  
Lad Lumpkin finished 2nd/1st SC in the 35-39 race and Jay Charles was 6th/2nd SC.
Don finished 10th in the 50+ race.
Anna from the Sippy Cups (City of Forest Acres Jr Team) was 10th in the W4 race.
A whole bunch of local guys started the 1/2/3 race, but it was brutal.
Other local people raced, but I can remember the particulars.

Nap

I just woke up from an afternoon nap and I feel great. I was watching the 2006 Liege Baston Liege and I zonked out hard. I still don't know who won that race.

The Future of US Para-Sport

The future is likely to be wounded veterans out of the wars in the middle east.  I'm not sure that the Cerebral Palsy classifications will see a large influx, but the amp, SCI, and maybe the Visually Impared classes could see a large increase in participation over the next few years.  Programs such as the Wounded Warrior Project are encouraging disabled veterans to get active and involved in sport and life.  I think it would serve US-Para well to encourage these types of programs, and I think they are.  An influx of veterans into the program could have significant impact on the visibility of Para-Sport in this country, visibility that is desperatly needed.  Heck, I've had Cerebral Palsy since I was 4 months old and didn't know about the Paralympic Team until I was 21.  It's not widely enough supported because it's not widely known about.  Take a country like Australia, population: 20.5 million, they won 10 golds in Cycling at the 2004 Athens Paralympics.  We, the US, has a population 15 times that of Australia and we came away with  3 golds.  The difference is that Australia's Para-athletes are very visible and well supported.  More visibility and support here in the US could go a long way in returning us to the top tier in Para-sport.

One More Day

Tomorrow is the last day of the Olympics, so I will be able to get back to my regularly scheduled sleep program.  Of course, the Paralympic Games start in 2 weeks and I will be following cycling and T&F closely.  It won't be on TV, but it will be broadcast online.  I'll provide links as it draws closer.  

The Athletes Village

Just imagine you are living in the Athlete's Village for 2 weeks.  You will be surrounded by 11,196 of the finest physical specimans on the planet, bodies and minds honed to the razor's edge of the demands of being elite athletes.  Now imagine that 4,746 of them are women.  Yeah, it's phenomenal to think about.  Those women aren't gym bunnies, they are competitors, the Triathletes are actually racing and the T&F athletes and Marathoners are running.  I would feel like I was in heaven!  

I Totally Picked the Wrong Disability

Cerebral Palsy is just not as cool as some of the other disabilities.  Seriously, why would you ever use someone with CP in a commercial or rags to riches story when you have perfectly good amputees and SCIs rolling around!?  CP just doesn't make for good TV.  CP4s usually don't look that disabled, so you have to pan the camera close in to the fingers that are curled up and look funny and bent out of shape in extension.  It really isn't as sweet as having a carbon fibre arm or leg, because you just say "My leg is carbon fibre."  Then everyone goes "oooh".  You can totally build one in the shape of an aero fairing, I'm green with envy.  I spend all this money on carbon bike parts and the LC2s one up all of us with carbon legs, pfft.  I'm not sure if LC1s are as cool as LC2s from a TV standpoint, but they still get this neat little arm/claw thing that a camera picks up pretty easily.  On top of that, they are the fastest category in Para-cycling; so not fair.  CP4 tends to be the third fastest single bike category behind LC1 and 2, a pure reeep-off (in the spirit of Bela Karoli).
Then you have the hand-cyclist.  They look all swole with their broad shoulders, lady killer guns, and low slung chariots.  And then they break their cranks.  Tell me this is not a great "made for TV story";  "Yeah, I was going to win, then I broke my cranks, WITH MY ARMS!"  WHAT, who does that?  I don't break cranks with my legs.
So clearly, I need to pick a new disability.  It's all the doctor's fault.  They didn't have to prescribe medicine I would end up being allergic to.  I'll even makes suggestions.
1)  They could have just chopped my arm off, that way I'd be faster.  
2)  They could have chopped off a leg; this is probably my pick.  I'd get into laying up carbon so I could make totally killer new legs.  I'd do one that was super aero and one shaped like a Lord of the Rings Sword, I'd call it "the dagger".
3)They could have just broken my knee caps or something so I could be a handcyclist.  I'd get way more girls because I would knock them dead with my guns.

PS: This is a humor piece, please read it that way.

Having fun on Tuesday

The Tuesday Crit was modified due to a section of our backstretch being ripped up (what's up with that?). So we had to come up with something to do. A certain individual decided to lead a group down Bluff Road. Well, this sends up 2 huge red flags. Riding Bluff Rd is a death wish during the week, and that individual is the most miserable person to ride with; ego, bad attitude, big mouth, miserable. Tom Sunday was going to stick around with his Junior team and whoever wanted to stay. So it was Tom, me, and 3 other guys along with the Juniors. We were going to be doing the loop with 180 degree turns on the 1 mile course.
The first race was a warm up lap with 5 hard laps. We went out of the gate with conviction and traded pulls among the masters (myself included). It was hard, we jumped out of the turns and did a lot of work in the small group. I was 4th or 5th wheel on the home stretch and jumped from a good ways out. Tom came charging hard at the line but I got him by a tire width, it was close.
Race 2: Tom was pulling into the home stretch and I was 3rd wheel (2 of the guys had dropped off). I got a good jump and took that one.
Race 3: Tom got a huge gap and I tried to pull him back, but blew myself up.

I saw a max HR of 196, haha.
Max Cadence was 151, not bad, but I want to get that up.

It was a painful day, but it was amazing! I fell in love with my bike again today! It feels so good to ride well and be able to go fast.

2 for Sundays

Since I am self coaching I've been reading the Friel Book on training and looking at my "limiters", those things that limit one's racing abilities.  I'm pretty sure that my biggest limiters are force production and speed.  Speed as in sprinting, spinning is a strength, but I suck at producing raw speed.  Honestly, I do not see myself winning races with a crank-snapping sprint.  Force Production is an area of hope for me.  I think that improving this weakness will provide the biggest racing gains for me from a fitness standpoint.  I can put up some decent numbers in the Deadlift in the gym so I need to translate that into power on the bike.  
Enter Today:  My early workout was 4x6 minute big gear intervals.  I put the bike into the 50-12 and slugged away until time was up.  Didn't feel much at all in the heart or lungs, but my legs were protesting.  This was day 3 in the new aero setup (yes, a compact on a TT bike) and I feel like I'm adapting well and beginning to reach a point were I can comfortablty produce power.
My late workout was in the gym.  I was doing Front Squats and going by feel with weight since i haven't lifted in over 3 months.  115lbs was good for the legs but it killed my wrists so I moved down to 95.  I'm not sure if I'll feel it in my legs in the morning but my wrists and shoulders are pretty tender right now.  
So force production:  The big gear teaches the muscles to push a big gear, eventually I want to be able to spin bigger gears and go faster.  There is nothing like big barbell lifts to teach the muscles and the Nervous System to operate against big loads, now I just have to translate it to the pedals.

Tinkering

I've been getting out on the TT bike recently as I have set the State Champ Time Trial on Oct 4th as my priority race for the rest of the year.  I've been a little frustrated because I didn't feel I was getting the full advantages that the aero bars should produce so I started to tinker.  Now, I've been intrigued by the skinny elbow, high hands, body forward position since I saw Levi Leipheimer use it last year.  
2007 Tour de France: Stage 19

2008 Tour of California

Notice how close the elbows are and how his face is near his hands.  His hands are high enough to close the gap  that would exist in his chest cavity.
In contrast, Fabian Cancellara rides with wider elbows, and keeps his hands very low.

2007 TdF Prologue


These positions do work for the specific riders but they have vastly different builds as is evidenced by the pictures.  Fabian is 6'1" and weighs 180lbs; Levi is 5'7" and weighs 140lbs.  Levi is benefiting from aero, Fabi is benefiting from power.  As a side note, Fabian won the Olympic Gold, Levi won bronze.
I don't make much power, I'm working with one good leg and one smaller, less powerful leg.  I need all the aero help I can get.  I started looking at my bike and pondered how I could get more aero.  The first thing I did was to slam the elbow pads as narrow as they would go.  Then I angled the whole bar up a little so my hands would be higher.

Previous set-up with flat to slightly downturned bars.


I went out to Hopkins to ride the new set-up and found that I REALLY liked how aero I was.  I literally felt like I was cheating the wind.  I was very unstable, but a slight outward shift of the left elbow pad fixed this.  The odd bend in my elbow necessitated this.  After I got the position correct I was able to freaking motor.  I am looking forward to training in this position and taking it out to the State Champ TT.  If I ride the 40k, we'll see how I stack up against the other U23s.  If I ride 20k I'll be gunning for a qualification time for next years Paralympic World Champs.

Accepted

My application for the Training Camp at the Olympic Training Center was approved today!  Now I just need to get permission to be gone from my professors.