Maillot Jaune and Le Champion Pave

Maillot Jaune, located in Fenton, MI was set to be my first real test in a road race.  The race being 4 laps totaling about 53 miles was going to be hard for me.  To make matters worse there was about 3 hills you had to climb per lap.  Last year this race was very good to me and I had some success in the sprint finish.  This year it was all about survival.  My training and ability to climb hills for this distance was in serious question,  but with any sport you just have to suffer some to get that fitness. 

So the race started out fairly easy, well until the first set of hills.  A few people attempted to make moves off the front of the pack on the hills, but all the moves would fizzle on the flats.  For the most part we held a conservative pace, with the exception of smashing the hills.  That helped me a ton.  As the race progressed into the third lap I felt my legs evaporating beneath me.  I started to get dropped on the hills and then had to bridge back to the pack.  Finally on the last hill of the third lap the generators died.  My diesels stopped working so I limped back to the start finish line and called it a day.  So I made it 40 miles with the field, a big positive in my book considering its been a long road recovering from my leg injury.  Now hopefully by August 14th I can get some more endurance to handle 62 miles at the State Championship road race.

Sunday was Le Champion Pave,  despite cracking the day before my legs were ready to churn out a 60 minute criterium.  This was another race I had really liked the previous year.  Set up in downtown Flint, MI with a short paperclip style loop with a section of bricks going down the front stretch. 

The objective of the day for me was to race aggressive, this race would be my last test before the Criterium state championship the following weekend.  As things got going I started in my usual fashion, using the first ten minutes to settle into the race and hang out in the back.  After 10 minutes it was time to take the gloves off and try some moves.  My strategy was much the same as last year, put in several semi hard attacks on the brick section to push the peleton and make them suffer a bit.  Unfortunately a byproduct of this ended up to me doing a lot more pace setting then I would have liked.  I tried my front stretch attack twice and deemed it could have a small chance of success for the finish. 

Coming out of the last corner there was a short section of asphalt before the brick starts.  Just before the brick starts the road would divide with a concrete curb.  My practice move would always be to barrel down the right side at the last second while the peleton took the left.  Leaving no chance for anyone to follow my wheel or attack.  So I waited and conserved my energy for the finish.  Going into the last lap I sized up my move.  Part of my element would be surprise, so I used the last bottleneck hairpin as my spring point.  I lagged back going into the corner so I could drive it hard through the apex and slingshot the field on the exit.  That is what I did, then I managed to just to the opposite side of the road at the last second and uncork my sprint.  I had open road and no wheel suckers.  However...not the legs.  I managed to get to the last 250 meters first, but by 100 meters to go I popped.  I went from 1st to 17th by the time I crossed the line.  It didn't work out for me for the day, but I accomplished my goals of being aggressive and finding my limits going into the state championship race. 

Kalamazoo Race Weekend

About to win my Prime!

Kalamazoo race weekend was suppose to start out with a short vacation in Paw Paw,  however that got derailed by a massive thunder storm on Monday. On Wednesday I was suppose to meet up with some friends from Chicago and stay with them through the weekend.  Unfortunately the house they had rented was damaged in the storm.  Luckily a new location was found in Fennville.   So Wednesday I started my vacation, which was good because I was still run down from the previous weekend.   Thursday I got do a nice ride around the small towns bordering the lake.  All and all a very relaxing weekend.  As far as racing goes I did manage to show up to the BTR criterium, and I was actually feeling mostly good for a change.  It was another blazing hot day though, so that would not be in my favor.  My race was scheduled to go off in the heat of the day and run for 75 minutes,  it was in the mid 90's.   For me the race started out slow, I just sat at the back taking it easy.  I also had realized that going near 75 mins in this heat would be hard for me since I am still behind on fitness.   So, I used this to my advantage.  I decided to race the day for Prime's (Intermediate Sprint Prizes).  So three or four laps into the race I went off the front solo since the pace was slow.  I quickly built myself a nice gap, but one guy bridged to me.  Regardless I took the first sprint for cash and went back to the field.  When I got back to the field I got run off a curb and then dropped.  I made a mistake though, I should have just crashed to take a free lap.  Oh well, I still had money in hand so I just decided to call it a day.  My fitness is improving, it will just take time though.  It wasn't a bad day though, I got to test where I am at and also win some cash.  Back to the curb incident though, I am a little disappointed with how this went down.   There was no reason for the field to block me like they did, 4 different riders refused to give me room to cut in line heading into a corner.  The last rider in which cut me off in the Apex of a corner sending me on the rounded curb scrubbing all my speed.  Rather then crashing several people I rode the curb/ grass.  Needless to say it was uncalled for and an unsafe move for the rider to my left to run me on the curb, he is lucky I can bike handle otherwise there would have been carnage.  As to why I got dropped, my panic/surprise/bike handling caused my heart rate to spike so I didn't have much room to recover and hop back onto the field at high pace.  Hopefully by next weekend I will find some form to race with some strength and go after finishing with a top 10.  

Food Poisoning!

While the weekend of July 9th, 10th was suppose to be my return to racing...Taco Bell said otherwise.  In the wee hours Saturday morning before I was suppose to race my body went into shutdown and expel mode.   I had manage to come down with a good old violent case of food poisoning.   Just when I thought my bad luck was over something just had to happen.   I wasn't about to let that keep me down though, I still went to participate and support the weekend races.  Up first was a brand new event, a Criterium in downtown Detroit.  The circuit was set up next to the Tigers baseball stadium.  The event was really great, however it was also super hot.  Even though I had no energy I suited up and did 3 laps, retiring on the third.  By no means should I have been racing, however I had already paid and registered weeks prior and just by being at the start I was just a number in the field.  Which is good for the future of the race.  I spent most the day in the shade trying to keep fluid down.   All and all I hope the event returns for next year, its also nice having races located close by.

I'm hanging on in the back...about to puke

Sunday I was feeling a bit better, I had managed to get some food down.  Once again my strategy was the same.  I had already paid and registered so I showed up to be another number in the field.  The race was part of the Midwest Charity Race Series and very much needed riders to show up.   So I started and almost made it the full lap of 3.2 miles before I got dropped.  Once I finished my lap though I went straight to the tent to hide in the shade and drink fluids.  While I was hoping for a much better weekend I still managed to at least have a little fun and go watch other people race.  Next up is Kalamazoo race weekend, hopefully I can get well before then.

Return to Action

This past Saturday I participated in the Duck Lake State Time Trial Championship.  I am going to say participated because by no means was I even close to in shape to actually compete.  For me though it snagged me a few Michigan Challenge points and a little bit of confidence. The course was set up near Whitehall, MI with a route surrounding the Duck Lake State Park.  The circuit was a 20k loop that for my race would be done twice.  I think the highlight of the course was the portion that ran along Lake Michigan along a sandy beach.   I think I would have much rather spent my time on the sand.  For some odd reason is was warm, not raining and the wind was blowing from the East!  Very strange... and the weatherman lied.  That aside I felt the course was biased to having no tailwind.  I always felt it at my side or face. 

So to put things in perspective I am still recovering from my achilles injury.  My training for the past 6 weeks has been next to zero, plus I had sold all my time trialing equipment in order to buy new stuff for next year.  Luckily for me I was able to borrow a team mates bike in the days prior.  So my expectations were low and I was going to use this race as an assessment.  Things started out slow for me, but eventually I got the legs going.  To my surprise I actually had a left leg beneath me again.  I was the first Cat 3 starter so I quickly gobbled up some of the slower riders that unfortunately started before me.   However soon I was to be passed.  Truth was I just didn't have the fitness or power.  Near the end of the first lap I wanted to give up, the tendon was still a bit grumpy and was not comfortable on the bike.  However I remembered why I was here.  Recovery, confidence and team points.   So I keep going till I finished.  I ended up DFL, 12th in Cat 3.  Oddly I was only 40 seconds slower then my horrid 40k I had last year.   I made it to the line in one piece, the day was a victory for me.

Its hard to put in words how demoralizing an injury such as this is.  You spends months, and I mean months of indoor training in the winter to keep in shape.  Then finally when it finally gets nice outside, you are stuck indoors.   I'm in week 6 now of recovery and I think I can finally start to see the end of the tunnel.  I am beating this injury slowly.   I still have up and down days where it hurts, but hopefully over time I will feel normal again.  My biggest issue now is the rehab, rebuilding muscle and breaking up scar tissue.  The last part will be confidence or trust in my body again.  The last thing I deal with and the biggest fear now is not recovering and rupturing the tendon.  That shouldn't happen as long as I stick to the plan.  Hopefully in the weeks coming I can work on some fitness and return to mass start racing.  I don't expect much in the first few races, but I got my sights on the State Road Race.

40k Results

Road to Recovery

It's been close to 6 weeks since I hurt my achilles tendon.  After going through 4 weeks of physical therapy things are finally starting to heal.  I'm not sure how long it will take me to get to 100%, but its nice to finally be able to ride the bike again at speed.  With the help of ART (Active Release Techniques) most the adhesion's (scar tissue) has been broken up in my left calf.  However there is still some left really...really deep.  Maybe over time that will break down.  Out of all this I have learned a lot about recover.  Also I have learned about the need to use various stick and foam rollers to work trigger points and adhesion's out of the muscles after daily workouts.  That so far has been a painful process, but over time will hurt less.  Turns out my muscles have lots of spots of scar tissue after years of abuse.  I am also now using custom orthotics in my shoes and working on a new pedal technique to prevent my heel strike by raising my saddle and using zero float on my pedals.  So far that is working out well for me.  I also recently purchased a PowerTap rear wheel to help monitor my training intensity better.  One to prevent over training, and two to help get faster.  This weekend will be the real test, I signed up to do the State Time Trial Championship.  I don't expect to do well given my severe lack of training, but a top 10 would really make me happy.   For now a time trial is perfect for me, steady go at your own pace.  My return to road racing will come in a few more works when my fitness is better and I know my tendon can handle the surges that a bike race will punish you with.  Hopefully I can avoid this kind of injury in the future,  by no means is it fun.

Broken Again

Its probably safe to say that everyday your learn something new.  Some days you even learn a life lesson.  Once again I find my racing season in doubt due to injury.   8 days ago I developed Achilles tendonitis in my left leg.  With my new stance on health I gave it 4 days of rest, re tested it and realized I needed to see a PT ASAP.  So I went to the UofM Medsport clinic to get my injury diagnosed.  From recommendations I went to see a fellow cyclist who happens to be a PT.  Sure enough he confirmed what I dreaded.  Achilles Tendonitis, the injury that can be a pain in the arse to get rid off.   The likely causes are what surprised me though.  First of all my hamstrings are not very flexible, I never noticed this though because my back on the other hand is super flexible.  Basically I need to focus on stretching better.  That was minor though and not likely the cause, the more likely cause was a certain massive contusion.  Yup, that injury I suffered at Iceman.  Turns out a bruise of that magnitude can wreck havoc on a muscle.  I thought I had rehabbed it with my bike training.  Nope, the tendon was slowly getting fed up with me.  When I left he recommended that I work on stretches for the time being.  Next week I plan to start a physical therapy plan to get me back up to speed and racing, but with the main goal of not training hard till I know the tendon is healed, strengthened and ready.  Who knows how long that will take, depends on how my body heals and reacts.  Back to the calf muscle though, the PT said I should be able to do 25 left foot calf raises easy for my fitness.  I tried two sets yesterday for kicks and failed with the left leg.  Today while using my massage roller on my calf I found a certain spot that was super sore.  Yup, right where I had the massive contusion on my left calf.  Lesson learned, if I ever get a massive bruise like that again I am going to seek an Injury clinic.  I had no idea a bad bruise could do this, now I know.

Opening Day

Saturday the 2011 season officially kicked off, which really was a huge relief for me.  This past winter has just plain sucked for me health wise.  I had problem after problem and once one healed another started.  I would like to say I was 100% coming into this weekend, but I wasn't.  The previous two weeks I had been battling a nasty respiratory cold that made my bronchitis flare up again.  To make matters worse I also injured my neck. So since November of last year I battled a hurt leg(5.5 weeks), bronchitis(2-3 weeks), kidney stone(1.5 weeks) and a nasty respiratory cold/neck(1.5 weeks).  The neck/back issues I am still dealing with.  With all that said, I felt good just to be lining up for the first official race of the year for me.  Willow Time Trial has always been a favorite of mine.  Mostly cause its a nice easy race to get rolling into the season.  The race is a flat 6 lap race over a 2.2 mile circuit, a little longer then a 20k.  The goal for the day was to improve on my time from last year.  Unfortunately there was an unfavorable wind.  This wind made the course something like 60 seconds slower. 

Despite me being stronger and having a nifty rear wheel disc cover I finished slower then my previous years time be some 40 some odd seconds.  The bigger issue for the day was my bike computer didn't work.  Since I was the first Cat 3 to start I spent most my time passing people.  I had no idea what lap I was on, luckily for me my teammate passed me right before the finish line so I knew it was my last lap.  At the end of the day I was 6th in category, which is good considering what I have dealt with this off season. Hopefully this is a good sign of a good summer.

Willow TT Results

Sunday was round two, Cone Azalia Road Race.  Pain is the word that best describes Cone.  Given my back/neck was not 100%, I probably should have not raced.  With the legs feeling good, I made a go at it anyways.  In the hours prior to the race a thunderstorm passed dropping a fair amount of rain.  Nothing better the wet dirt roads!  The race started out at a furious pace, it also started out with a mass of carnage and wrecks.  The first section of dirt road was like waging a war.  Bottles and people were going all over.  I saw at least a couple people go down.  My thought was to stay to the right and just keep hammering it.  Unfortunately the carnage caused me to lose touch with the front runners.  In the process of bridging back up I had a fellow racer collide with me.  Luckily I was able to bounce him off with my elbow and stay upright before he took out my front wheel.  After the dirt the race still remained chaotic.  Apparently two riders had slipped off the front, I had no idea since I was holding on for dear life.  I had hit many pot holes and thought for sure my bike was busted.  However at the end of the first lap I found myself as one of the small group of riders to survive the first lap.  Things turned sour for me fast though, I had hit to many pot holes and it had taken its number on my back and neck.  At the start of the 3rd lap I became unhitched from the chase group and spent 9 miles doing a TT.  At the end of the lap I called it a day before my back got any worse.  Unfortunately I also found out later I had DNFed while I was still 10th in the race.  If I had known that maybe, maybe I could have found a way to fight the pain.  I still finished 20th, and with my back intact.  I was also covered head to toe in mud, hopefully a picture will show up some day.  I would also like to thank all the volunteers including Marisa and her friends and Mom that came out to support putting on the race and cheering on the team.  Without there help we would have not been able to co sponsor the race.

Cone Azalia Results