West Michigan Stage Race and the 12 Hours of Stony Creek

To start I will open with the 12 hours of Stony Creek.  I had never participated in a endurance mountain bike race, however doing it with a few of my teammates as a team I couldn't turn it down.  My split would be around 3 hours which is great training for a Saturday.  The course was about 10 miles log with a nice mix of single track and some double track with some killer grinder hills.   I was designated as the lead out man, meaning I had to be ready to go at 8am to start things out.  My goal was to hammer it for one lap and tag off to a teammate.  The main purpose of this was to gain course position, aka get way ahead of any traffic.   I easily took the hole shot sprinting and settled into just finding a rhythm.  That really didn't go so well since I almost crashed three times.  However I finished my lap and got to rest.  We each took turns doing the same thing.  Long story short was it was a long day, but at the end of the day we had won our category and placed 4th overall.  I think I will try a few more of these races in the future.

Now to the West Michigan Stage Race this past weekend.  Probably the best way I can summarize my first stage race was "unprepared."  This was probably the most taxing race I had ever done. Saturday started with hitting the road at 4:30 AM is order to get to the time trial in time.  The time trial was a short 7 mile, 3.5 out and back.   My goal was to podium, however I just never got the legs going full steam and placed 10th.  I still wasn't to fat out of the hunt so I was hoping to pick up time in the criterium or road race.  The criterium would be a 4:55 PM Saturday and last 45 minutes.   To put it short it was a tough day in mid to upper 80's heat.  Going into the crit I was tired and cooked.  The game plan was to stay up front.  Like all game plans that went to crap fast as a first lap wreck had me sliding to the back.  I spent the next 30 minutes trying to recover but heat stroke set in and eventually with a lap to go I dropped.  Everyone on the lead lap got the same time so I only lost two places to 12th due to time bonuses. 

Sunday I would still be in the hunt during the 60 miles road race, I just needed to recover and get some rest.  Once again Sunday is was another blistering hot day, I did my best to fight and race hard.  Halfway through the second lap though I cracked and ended up throwing up on the side of the road.  Exhaustion really had caught up with me.  I road the last 15 or so miles by myself and came in 7-8 minutes down.  That dropped me all the way to 29th.  All in all I was spent, few times in my life have I ever been so tired and wiped out.  Hopefully the fitness and experience gained will benefit me down the road.

Cone....

I guess Cone Azalia, Spring and I just don't get along.  While I was hoping to have a great race the cards just didn't go my way.  The weather was perfect, mid 60's and sunny.  The dirt roads were dusty and the pollen in extreme levels though.  All week my training indicated I would be in great form, so to start the race I quickly worked my way to the front to start my strategy.  I wanted to push the pace hard on the first section of dirt road.  This all worked great, however that's when the issues started.  I just wasn't getting oxygen, it was very clear to me then my lungs were working less then 75%.  As we hit the second section of dirt it just got worse.  I got dropped for a few minutes but made my way back to the pack before the lap was over.  As we started the second of 5 laps I pulled the plug.  I spent the next 20 minutes hacking up a lung,  2 puffs of my inhaler later I was ready to ride again.  However my throat was so raw and my chest hurt so bad I turned in my timing chip and took my number off and just went for a nice light tempo Sunday ride around the race course.  This year allergies have wrecked me non stop, it is beyond frustrating.  So I left the race Sunday very sun burnt and disappointed, I will leave it at that...

Willow!

Time trials and me don't always go as planned. This year having my own dedicated time trial bike has really paid off.   With Fisk being only two weeks prior, it didn't leave a lot of time to correct the issues that plagued me there.  Strange enough this year the weather at the start was in the low 40's, really fricking cold.   My recent training in Kentucky the past two weeks has spoiled me with warmer weather.  I really wasn't excited to race in the cold. I still toughed it out and put the skin suit on, you really shouldn't wear those under 55.   My goal for the race was to hit the 6, 2.2 mile laps as hard as possible.  So after a 35 minute warmup I was ready to roll off the start line. Due to the alphabet seeding I was once again the first Cat 3 to start.  This year I was hoping to not get past by anyone.  The race started bad for me, my pacing was horrible.  I had this issue at Fisk, by lap three I got it corrected.  However those seconds lost add up.

The only main complaint I had in the race was the cars trapped on the course due to poor timing by corner marshals.  I got impeded by a few cars, oh well...probably cost me 5-10 seconds.  Finally going into 5th lap someone past me.  I figured a Cat 1 would pass me at some point.  He would be the only to pass me, and he only got 10 seconds ahead of me in the next two laps. His passing me pushed me to go faster, further proving the point my pacing was bad if I could hang with the Cat 1.   I finished in 30:44, a new PR for me at Willow, hitting almost 26 MPH average. I though at the time when I finished my result would be poor, however it was enough for 4th in Cat 3 and 18th overall. I lost out on 3rd by 4 tenths of a second.  While I am happy about the result, I still wish I would have been on the podium, darn car traffic. I guess my time trial legs are back, now I just need to fix my pacing issues so I can be strong at the state tt.  Next up is Cone Azalia, this will be the real test but I feel ready.

Below is a little video that Marisa filmed and then I edited on my new iPad 3. 

Full Results

Fisk Knob

This past weekend I finally got my first race of 2012 out of the way.  Fisk Knob this year was scheduled for mid April, a change I defiantly like.  The weather was much warmer for the change, actually near the 70's.  Unfortunately the crazy Michigan spring has caused a whirlwind of allergy problems.  The past three weeks have been miserable for me, however the allergies finally feel like they are getting better this week.  For the most part of this off season I have dodged major sickness.  It also seams that the achillies tendon is starting to finally get better.   I was actually able to train for 14 hours one week, last year 8 was a struggle.  Breaking this barrier has allowed me to get in good shape for the start of the 2012 season.   So going into Fisk my goal was to repeat a podium like I had last year. Unfortunately with Fisk you only race in age groups, meaning that there is a chance I will race against higher category racers. 

Due to a business trip though I had to make sure I started the race earlier.  Luckily the promoter was able to move me to the 16th starter.  This is good and bad, typically the big dogs start later in the day.  That would mean I probably would have no carrots and have to just try and pace myself hard.  Everyone starts in 30 second intervals, so at least I would have 15 people ahead of me with up to 8 minutes time buffer.  

After getting in a 50 minute warmup I was ready to go.  I started hard and caught my 30 second man in the first 2 miles.  This would be a common trend, before I reached the halfway mark at 8-9 miles I had passed 10-11 of the 15 starters in front of me.   My allergies defiantly played a role though in the day, I could never get going at 100%.   I kept trying to fire the legs though knowing the last thing I wanted was to get passed and I really wanted to be the first person to cross the line.   So I kept going in the pain cave.  While most of the last 4 miles is uphill, I had a nice cross/ tailwind to help push me along.  Before the last corner I had picked off 14/15 starters in front of me.  With only 1.5 miles of uphill to go I just punched it, it hurt but I clocked in a 43:47.  Unfortunately I never caught that last person, so I was the second across the line. 

Since I had to be in Kentucky that night I left the race right away not knowing results till later.  However I ended up 5th in my 25-29 age group and 25th overall.  With the quality of competition greater then the previous year I was very happy with my results.  Time trials have been a struggle for me since I hurt my tendon, the race against the clock really exposes lack of fitness.   So for me I felt very good to be competitive even when my allergies were killing me.  All and all I have managed to take the bad of last year and make it into something good for this year.  I am very excited to see what else I can do this year.

Results

First Outdoor Ride of the Year

Recently I got a chance to ride outside for the first time of the year.  It was also the perfect opportunity to break in my new camera mount.  Last year I wasn't able to catch very much footage due to mount stability and breakage issues.  However for 2012 I have a nice new CNC'ed handlebar camera mount that should hold up to everything.  So I decided I would give it a pounding on the local icy trail.  Below is some video from the ride, I am still working out the kinks on how to best edit the video.  Enjoy!

Cross Country Skiing

This winter I decided I would hang up the bike and take up the sport of nordic skiing.   I have never been on skis much in my life, so this was going to be a new challenge.  Michigan actually is a very good state for winter XC sking, however this year the temps have been higher then normal and the snow fall has been minimal.  Despite the conditions I have still managed to get out skiing a few times and am well on my way to learning decent form.  XC skiing is a much better way to spend the winter rather then biking in the extreme elements.  Overall the off season is going well and everything is looking good for the bike racing season next year.  Check out the video below, I finally edited some video I took at the Milford Criterium.

Year in Review

Well it's about time that 2011 finally came to and end.  There wasn't just
one incident I want to put behind me but many.  Never in my life have I had
a year with so many health problems.   Bronchitis, asthma, kidney stones
and of course my Achilles.   Putting all that aside though outside of
racing my year was good.  My racing season wasn't a complete bust either, I
managed to get my first class win in a mtb race.  Iceman I also got some
redemption of the mishaps of the previous year.  My road season I just
would like to forget and turn a page to this year.

For 2012 I have a lot to look forward to.  First of which being some new
teammates that should make the road season a lot of fun. Most of all
though, starting the year healthy.   Last year gave me some new motivation
and anger.  Hopefully I can turn that energy into some good results.   As
far as goals for the new year I have only two, stay healthy and enjoy
life.

2011 Race Results
Mar.27.2011 Fisk Knob Time Trail (2/9 Mens 25-29, 16 Overall)
Apr.30.2011 Willow Time Trail (6/14 Cat3, 38/204 Overall)
May.01.2011 Cone-Azalia Classic Road Race (20/32 Cat 3)
Jun.18.2011 DanCihak Memorial Duck LakeTT - StateChampionshipTT(12/12 Cat 3, 76/116Overall 40k)
Jul.09.2011 Criterium Detroit City (DNF)
Jul.10.2011 Terry Reisch Memorial Charity Race (DNF)
Jul.16.2011 BTR Bike Race Criterium (DNF)
Jul.23.2011 Maillot Jaune Road Race (DNF)
Jul.24.2011 Le Champion Pave Criterium (17th Cat 3)
Jul.31.2011 Milford Criterium - State Championship Criterium (DNF)
Aug.01.2011 Hines Park Time Trial (9th Cat 3)
Aug.20.2011 Maybury Time Trial - Mountain Bike (1st/7 Sport 19-29, 14/101 Sport Division)
Aug.28.2011 Birmingham Bike Festival (26th Cat 3)
Sep.05.2011 Debaets-Devos Pro-Am Memorial Bicycle Race Criterium (21st Cat 3)
Sep.11.2011 Addison Oaks Fall XC Mountain Bike Race (1st Sport 19-29)
Oct.15.2011 Peak2Peak Mountain Bike Classic (DNS Sick)
Nov.05.2011 Iceman Cometh Mountain Bike Challenge (10th 28-29 Age Group, 397/3744 Overall)