Sunday's Hines Time Trial

Since my move to Plymouth, Hines has now become my home training turf. So one of my big goals this year was to win this event and really just prove to myself that I could get back into better fitness then before my Achilles injury. The main thing lacking post injury had been my endurance and the motor to really push hard for a time trials. While endurance had been covered earlier in the year, I wasn't 100% sure the motor was back to 100%. Hines is always a somewhat illusive out and back 20k run. You really never know what the wind will do, it often swirls and always feels like its in your face. Luckily this year I had gotten lots of practice riding the course and knew exactly what to do given every scenario...mostly. The weeks leading up to the race have been hard, I have been working hard to push myself to levels I have never been to. The main goal is Cherry Roubaix this weekend, but this race was a key component. Like Milford I choose to train through the race meaning I didn't really hold back during the days leading to the race. This actually worried me a bit since my mountain bike ride in Kentucky Thursday seamed to hurt the legs a lot. It could of also been the 11 hours of driving I had to do and walking in a car assembly plant for several hours on my busted foot. From my own diagnosis its pretty dang clear I have a stress fracture in my Navicular bone of m left foot. Going to a doctor wouldn't give me any better news and just cost too much money. Its hard to see in X ray and normally needs an MRI or other expensive scans. The main solution is just stop running for a few weeks...I can do that. Wednesday I had decided to run 6.5 miles, probably not the best idea since the stress fracture occurred two weeks prior when I tripped I believed. The run also proved to me it wasn't just a bone bruise and something was busted. Anyhow that along with my work trip left me really tired riding Friday. So Saturday I did the opposite of what I thought was right, instead of an easy spin I did 1.5 hours of hard tempo. So for Sunday I was never really sure what I had in the tank till I started.

My warm up was nice, but super humid. Temps were in the low 70's which was nice, however towards the end of my warm up the sky opened up and starting dumping rain. This was the only scenario I hadn't done before.  The perfect storm was brewing, Michiganders tend to hate rain...however Oregonians like me love and live for it to race in the rain. So I ditched my sunglasses and rolled up to the line knowing today was my race to lose. I started hard and just kept a nice steady pace out and then back. I managed to catch a fair amount of the Cat 4's that started before me. I didn't care I was the first Cat 3 out, no one was catching me in the rain today. When I came up towards the line I saw I was in the 27's, meaning I was gonna hit my time goal of sub 28 minutes. I ended up crossing the line in 27:52, a new PR and at the time the 3rd fastest time of the day. Later the rain would stop, however my time held up to be in the top 15 of the day and good for first in Cat 3. Without the rain and the tired legs I could have probably been in the top 5, the gaps ahead of me where not large but just hand fulls of seconds. However it was nice to get my first category win in a time trial and the first ever on the road. $50 bucks for the win was nice to.

This weekend will be the hardest test of the season. Cherry Roubaix I will be doing a 6 mile TT Friday, a 35 minutes Criterium Saturday and a 70 mile road race over some brutal hills Sunday. Hopefully all the hard work I have put in will yield some rewards. Also, the Hines TT win catapulted me to third in the Michigan challenge series. With the season nearing an end there is still some hope being 12 points shy of first. None the less though this has been my best season ever, some results could have been better but the new methods of training I have used the last two months have paved the way for me to have a really good 2013.

Catching up on the past month

This past weekend I raced the Milford Criterium.  Once again this year it was the state championship criterium race.  I have never ever done well on this race course, so I decided not to pressure myself and just focus on training for a couple other races.  My real goal was to do well the previous weekend at the Flint criterium and later in the season.  However Flint never really went as planned and I missed out on a great opportunity.  My legs felt really good that day, however I missed the break away.  At the time that was ok because a team mate of mine did make it.  However a few laps later he dropped.  I spent the next 10-15 minutes killing myself trying to bring the break back.  I leveled a blazing pace that kept the whole field single file holding near 26mph. In the end it just left me dehydrated on another hot day with a lot of great interval practice.  Nobody really could help me or my team mate pace and we just couldn't catch the group off the front.  I blew up on the last lap of the race to finish 20th.  I was bummed at the end of the day, but there is always next year.

So my real focus has been the Hines time trial and the Cherry Roubaix weekend.  Cherry will be a really tough test for me with a lot of climbing.  Hines TT is now my home turf so my expectations is first or bust.  My training for the two coming weekends to end my road racing season has gone really well, it also has caused me to overlook Milford.  I probably trained to hard during the work week, before the race I could tell I just didn't have the pop in my legs to fight hard for position.  It wasn't a horrible day though, last year I DNF'ed and the previous year finished a lap down due to a wheel issue.  So just finishing the race was a good goal.  Once the race started I could tell finishing with the pack wouldn't be an issue, it would just be about how well I could keep myself towards the front.   Well I failed bad at keeping myself near the front, every lap we would sprint up this little hill and I just didn't have the pop to prevent people from taking spots from me I gained on the rest of the circuit though.  The other bad thing that happened was someone's tire exploded next to me and completely knocked out my hearing in my left ear.

Five laps to go I finally got some urgency to dig and try to fight.  My endurance is really good, so I took many spots from other riders that started to suffer.   I still just couldn't make any headway to get near the front.  I probably should have taken a few more risks earlier, on the last lap I just had too much ground to cover.  My sprint wasn't great, but I closed some serious gaps out of the last corner to take 18th.  After the race I wasn't tired at all.  It left me with a lot of what ifs, if I had trained a little lighter in the week I could of maybe had the pop to contend.  Then again my training would not be as good for the coming weeks.  I will just have to see how the next two weeks pan out if I made the right decision.   My new focus the second half of the season has been training more specific, leading to situations like the past weekend when I didn't have my 'A' legs. It seams to work though and I am getting faster.  I also started running again, for the past month I have been trying to run 1-2 times a week and do 3-10 miles a week.  My current goal is to do a 5k in under 20 minutes.  Right now I am around 23:30, but I did that on a blistering hot night.  Its amazing what all the cardio from cycling gives me.  When I started running I had no issues pegging 7 minute miles, the only thing I had to wait up for is my legs to adjust to the pounding of running.  I haven't ever been able to run this fast in my life though, so I am curious on how fast I can actually get.  The long term goal is to do a sprint triathlon, which is a 800 meter swim, 20 kilometer bike, 3 kilometer run, and hopefully break 70 minutes.  This winter I will just have to learn how to swim.

Michigan Time Trial State Championships

This past weekend I participated in my third State TT.  I have never raced a good 40k in my life, I wasn't expecting much better this weekend either.  My fitness was on a downswing needing a short break and rebuild phase.  So I was just hoping I could sneak through the weekend and snag a decent result. To my advantage the race was in the middle of nowhere leading to a lower turnout.  It was going to be another smoking hot day but luckily I started at 9:05 AM and it was only 76 or so with high humidity.

The race was two laps around a 20k course.  When I started I could quickly tell I went a little overkill on my intervals Wednesday, I didn't feel great.  I was just hoping that I could break one of my goals of breaking an hour in the 40k.  When I finished my first lap I was around 29 minutes, still very much on my pace I wanted pre race to finish in the 58 minute range.  The only issue was though I was gassed and the heat was starting to get to me.   I gutted it out though and finished just barely under an hour,  not quite my main goal but still breaking the hour.  To my surprise that time was good enough for 3rd in State for Cat 3 and 4th in Cat 3 overall.  The winner was from Indiana and not eligible for medals.  Overall it was still a bad time trial for me, not to take anything away from the result but my particular field was week because overall I did not place well and despite being 3rd my pacing was well off what I could have done.  It still feels awesome to win a medal and to celebrate I jumped in Lake Michigan later, pictured above.  The water was maybe 60 degrees, but felt great considering the 90+ humid day.  Hopefully after a mid summer break and a little relaxing I can finish off the second have of the season strong and finish well in the Michigan Challenge Points Series.

Lack of Motivation

The past few weeks I have been suffering from a lack of motivation or a mid season burnout.  The remedy is time off to re focus.  My last few races have gone horrible for many reasons.  My early season goals were too much, so I cut out most my MTB races till road season ends.  Less racing and more fun, I also picked up a few items to get back into running some.  Mountain biking will have to wait for the fall.  Back to race recaps though.  West Branch I only raced to get some hill reps at race speed,  I severely overdid it during the work week and came into the race beat tired.  I was hoping to at least sit in the field to get fitness for Mt. Pleasant, which I did but in the end the cold nasty weather spit me off the back and back to the parking lot.  Crashing before the race and gashing my right calf didn't help matters.

After West Branch I was hoping a week of rest and easier rides would be a cure to have a successful weekend at my second stage race of the year.   I was really amped up for the prologue TT in the days prior, but when race time came I just had no drive.  It led me to an uninspired 21st place in a discipline I normally race strong in.  Going first didn't help either, its better to chase then be chased.   The 4.1 mile distance is not a strong suit for me either.  Hopefully the state TT at 40k will suit me much better.  Saturday I was hoping for a better day.  When it rains it pours for me, prior to the race I suffered a flat on some glass.  Not only was the tire toast, it cut the tube in two spots.  I had time to fix it before the race, however it made me miss my nap time.   The race didn't go much better, my lungs acted up at the start and I slid to the back.  When things finally started to settle down I started to drive my way back up the pack.  Then a crash happened and I had no where to go but stop.  The race went up the road and I was done at 9 minutes.  I pleaded to the refs to give me a free lap to rejoin since I had to put a foot down to avoid the wreck.  However they said I needed to have hit the ground to get a free lap.  I am not gonna go to deep into this, but a major loop hole in the rules.   It's a bunch of bull shit when you can't rejoin a race because some guy can't corner and ended up doing a snow angel in the middle of a turn.  You can say I should have been towards the front to avoid it, but my body just hadn't settled into the crit.  Next time I will just flop...ride into the grass and fall over.   I was so angry after this I had to go ride around town for 35 minutes to not strangle anyone.  When you train hard for a race and find your self watching on the sidelines for reasons you can't control it maddening.

Sunday I was hoping for something, anything to cheer me up.  It was a 54 mile race, easy I thought.  I can't get a break though, the weather was clear skies with temps reaching lower 90's.  The race started good with the team making solid moves.  At mile 15 or so I looked to do some damage and attacked on a head wind section.  I stayed off the front for a good 5 miles, I mostly just road a steady tempo pace.  At this time I noticed the heat index was nearing 100.  Before the race I had joked that 2 bottles of water was more then enough.  I brought 3 to be safe.  After I was brought back the racing was erratic. There was lots of attacks and counters making for hard riding.  The terrain rolled some, nothing major, the cross wind just ate the pack alive.  Around mile 30 I was the first to blow, I had very little water and some major heat stroke.  I was a bit delirious, the master 35 pack passed us, but we passed them back almost right away.  I didn't notice the pass back and found myself out of the race.  To be honest I was baked, I rationed my few sips of water left hoping to make it the last 24 miles...ya right.   I just felt worse and worse and wish I had a cell phone to call someone to pick me up.  I was really dehydrated and started to dream of rivers, oceans and water.  I felt like I was in a desert,  it kept driving the pedals in my delirious state.  I was just about to stop at somebodies house and ask for water when a wheel vehicle went by.  The guy asked me if I was ok, of course I said heck no.   He handed me a 26 oz bottle of water, I then drank half of it...which made me more sick.  Oh well I had some water, I carried on for 10 miles to make it to the finish.  Before the finish I was once again out of water.  I crossed the line and went straight for shade and the riders tent to grab lots of water.  Hour later I was mostly ok, still very disappointed.  Turns out many others got shelled after I did for very similar reasons and almost everyone finished dehydrated and out of water. I felt good about my attack and wouldn't have done it any other way.  I think no matter what the heat would have KO'ed me, growing up on the West Coast does not prepare someone to suffer in heat over 100.

After the state TT I am going to take some time off and work on my base conditioning in extreme heat.  That just means I need to not race for a few weekends.  Hopefully some 3-4 hour rides in warm weather along with some running will cure my heat conditioning issues.  I guess its all the ups and downs of a season, hopefully the second half goes much better.  My expectations are low for the state TT, but I would love to podium.  My training numbers earlier this week show I still got the kick, I just need to find the drive this weekend.

Memorial Day Weekend

Putting aside the West Michigan Stage Race, and coming off a week of great rest...I was ready to prove myself again at Frankenmuth.  Last year I had to watch this race from the sidelines and it killed me, I enjoy this race.  This year it was setting up to be a grand day.  The weather was in the 70's and poring rain...it does not get any better for me.  I love a good rainy race.  The 4 laps and 66 miles would go by fast.  For most of the first lap I tried to get the legs firing, eventually they got warmed up.  Most the second and third lap I spent ether near the front or covering a few moves off the front.  It felt great to be on the attack again,  no nagging leg issues holding me back.  At the end of the third lap I faded a bit to eat, this was probably my biggest mistake of the race.  Up till this point pack position hadn't meant much, but boy did things sure change.  One of my teammates made it into a two person breakaway.  Due to this the pack pace eased and turned into a giant traffic jam.  I was stuck and had no where to move back up in the pack.  For 13 miles I tried and tired and to much anger got no where.  Finally with a mile to go I was able to make some progress and creep up.   To my surprise I actually made it through the final corner in the top 15.  The downhill sprint was fast and furious, I moved up near the top five only to be cut off.  In a 45mph sprint crashing for a few places is not worth the risk, after almost crashing by being cut off I coasted to the line to nab 14th.  Looking back I should have picked a better sprint line, however though I was happy with having a very successful race in my mind.

Memorial Day I also decided to do a time trial in Ada, Michigan.  A side goal of mine this year is to be a contender in the Michigan Challenge points series.  For me to be a factor I need to work my strengths in the time trails.  The rainy weather was gone though and the mid to upper 80's heat was back.  The TT was about 15 miles in length, I opted to not use a water bottle.  This ended up being a mistake but I learned a lot to take to the state TT.  My legs still hurt from Frankenmuth and despite my best efforts to stay hydrated, I wasn't hydrated enough to go 35 minutes all out.   This TT hurt, a lot...I crossed the line 6th with a average mph of 25.3.  Way off the mark I should have run, however way above what I could do last year.  I have come a long way since my injury.  For a change my pacing felt good here, I just wasn't rested enough.  Towards the end I stopped sweating and got shaky, water was the only thing I could think about crossing the line.  All and all things are shaping up decent for the State TT, hopefully I can find a way to creep up onto the podium.  Oh, with the result I slotted back into 5th in the Michigan Challenege. Hopefully I can stay up in the top 5.

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...