It has been awhile...

since I have made a post.

A brief summary of the pass week and a half -

• Raced the TdHusker
• Did well in the RR
• Crashed in the TTT
• Survived the Crit
• Wounds from the crash are almost a memory
• Gearing up & Tapering down for Joe Martin

Thats it.  I have been busy at work so when I get in the office I get staight to it.  I am not quite where I want to be for fitness to race in Joe Martin but it should be fun though.  

It's Official, I am signed up...

for the Joe Martin Stage Race as a Cat 3.  It is a month away, we'll see how it goes.

This week is a rest week following Build 2. 

Last night I rode with the Trek Papio group.  It was very windy so we did the loop at Wehrspan Lake.  For the most part I kept the intensity low.

Can't Always get what you want

If you asked me before Sunday if I wanted to be dropped by the pack on the first lap, in the first mile on the first hill of my first road race.  I would of said "NO!"  Looking back though, it wasn't a wasted effort.

It was the first climb that took me out and took me by surprise.  I knew it would be tough for me to keeping up on the 11% gradient hill even at a moderate pace.  On the first tier of the climb, my hard effort wasn't cutting it.  People were passing me on both sides.  I had to pick it up.  The second tier was steeper, ... I got totally unhiched from the group. 

I thought "This can't be happening".  It happened.  I watched as small groups of rider would move off in the distance.   Initially they would be cresting the hill as I hit the base.  Then I was behind a whole hill and finally they were out of sight.

I kept riding hard, hoping that the group would slow down. Also, hoping I could catch them on the flat section before the head wind.  It was not to be.  So, I would look for small victories.  There was another dropped rider.  I'll try to catch him.  I did catch him and I did luckily before the headwind section.  It was Bryan R.  We were able to work together to catch Brandon F and then a CPC rider.  We worked pretty good together but the steep rollers into a headwind were wreaking havoc on his back.  Bryan sent us on our way.  The last 8 miles or so Brandon and I worked into the wind.

Brandon told me he was done after 1 lap but stuck it out for 2.  After 2 laps, Brandon was done fighting the hills and wind.  I kept pushing.  I had a 15min head start on the B race and didn't want to get caught.  I caught up with a couple Kaos guys.  Again, we worked together.  They finished up 2 laps and called it quits.

The third lap for me was much slower but still not a bad pace.  I had to slow down a few times to stretch my back and take a breather.  I finish the race as the last one who finished 19th of 29.  I had a respectable, for me, 19.1mph pace.

For better or worse, I got to see how I stack up against the competition.  I was getting complacent with my workout and needed a good kick to get re-focused.  I think I will do much better on the tamer hills at Branched Oak next weekend. 

As a workout the race provided me with a race pace intensity,  plenty of hill training, and long steady state efforts.  So I believe I got everything I needed from the race

Important Lessons

I learned two important lessons last night in the Bike Master's Wednesday Night Ride.  Doing a pace line into a 30mph wind is tricky and some people, no matter how nice they are off the bike, are just assholes on the bike.

At the Bike Master's ride, I get with  a group of four.  We started working together in a 30mph wind.  The speed kept increasing.  Then somebody who "thinks" he knows how to ride calls me out for "gapping the f&^!" out of the group. I wasn't the only one "gapping" people.  I check my HR monitor as I follow through on the side of the rotation.  I maintain that speed and soft pedal when I got on the front.  If I was gapping people it was because they could not hold the pace that they had set.

Two guys dropped off then it was me and this other "Pro Rider".  I was maintaining my pace, he would come around and then I would come around.  Thought we were working together but come find out that we were in a "dick-measuring  contest".

Oh well... what is that AA saying? 

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change...

Catching up

I had a pretty good build 2 week last week. Out with Craig on Tuesday to do some Hill Cruise intervals.   Then on Wednesday, I took in a few extra miles before a hard Bike Masters group ride.  Thursday, it was Spin Class in the morning.  Thursday afternoon an easy ride for the Bike Rack Shop ride.  Friday, I took the day off to have dinner and a movie with my wife Christine.

I got alot accomplished Saturday.  I didn't some intervals in my upper zones.  Hit some long and some steep hills out north of town.  Also, since it was a longer ride I did some endurance work.

Sunday, after family stuff I headed out for a long steady distance ride.  It was a near perfect day to ride.  There was no wind, sunny blue sky, the temperature was pleasent at 66 degrees, and on top of that very little traffic from the holiday.

Tonight I am going to do hill repeats on Ft Calhoun road ( I should at NP Dodge Park at 6:00pm).