This morning's ride was an easy affair. Nine showed up and the pace stayed in the 22-23 mph range on the parkway. When it came time to take my pull, I didn't ramp it up very much and barely stayed over 24 mph the whole time...I saw no reason to make everyone work too much to keep up. I did a quick 1.2 mile (2 kilometers) run after I got back, doing it about a minute faster than I had just seven days earlier. That was a surprise.
Jonnene is starting her second week at work but she'll be busy all day...an hour's swim practice at LSUS, work all day, and a PT patient to work with tonight after work. Then, if she wants, she could go to a ladies-only bike repair seminar at the local bike shop later. She might want to sleep late tomorrow morning! She is also in training mode for a triathlon in early August and will most likely do two tri's during July as part of the training (Jefferson, TX and Dallas, TX).
I'm looking at spending most of the rest of the summer training up for the district time trials in September, with a goal to break an hour in the 40 kilometer distance (24.8 miles). I've never done it and I'd like to do it at least once in my life. It's tougher as you get older. I think I'll do the Texas district age-group championships in early August to see how the training is going, plus a couple of smaller time trials in Monroe and Shreveport. I might do a road race in Tyler, Texas in July but who knows?
I also have a time trial that I'll be race director for on July 7th. With less than two weeks to go, I have to get things together and get 'er done. It shouldn't be a problem to run the actual event, just getting prepped will be the big deal. And I'll have to reserve a port-a-let!
It was a slow weekend for me. I opted not to do the Tour de Louisiane in south Louisiana due to overall costs, time constraints, doggies, and other stuff. However, members of my team did make it down to Covington and they did pretty well. We took 1st and 7th in the GC in the Cat. 1-2-3 stage race, and got 3rd, 9th, and 10th in the Cat. 4's. A most excellent result and I applaude the guys on their success! If I had gone, I would have done the Masters 35+ races and based on the results, I think I could have finished 15th or 16th overall...all things being equal. I would have done pretty well in the TT stage based on the times I saw, and then it would have depended on my fitness in the road and criterium stages.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Rain, rain
For a day that started out with a 40% chance of rain, it's been 100% since about mid-afternoon and it's still coming down. Good thing I took today off from riding and running. Unfortunately, I didn't get a lot done and should have been more involved in a few projects. I just couldn't get motivated enough. Maybe it'll be better tomorrow.
I've decided not to do the Tour de Louisiane stage race in Covington, LA this weekend. After adding up all the costs for Jonnene and me to go, it would have worked out to almost $400 for the whole weekend and I couldn't see spending that kind of money to have my butt kicked around over three race stages. The cheapest hotel I could find in the area was at the Best Western at $180 total for two nights...otherwise it was $109/night w/o taxes or more anywhere else! You add in food, gas, etc., and it's a cost that's better spent on a pleasurable weekend, not one where I'm trying to stay upright on my bike and keep up with a few (or more) superior athletes. Plus we'd have to drop off the dogs at a friend's house, so there's the time involved in dropping off and picking up.
Trust me, I'd love to go...it'd be fun...but the financial cost is too high for this trip. Both of us have things going on the following two weekends so maybe this time we should stay home and enjoy some time together. I'll knock out a long ride both Saturday and Sunday, but we'll go to a movie or two and putter around the house. If Jonnene wasn't working yet, we could go down on Friday morning and have time to make a quick jaunt into New Orleans. That would have worked pretty well.
Anyway, I guess my next race will be the Texas state road championships in Tyler on July 21st, or the Texas state time trials in Houston on August 4th, or a time trial in Monroe on September 9th. I better start spreading my riding out a bit so I don't get burned out in the meantime. I'm really aiming at the LA/MISS district time trials on September 16th 'cause my main cycling goal this year is to break an hour in the 40K, which I've never done. I intend to work really hard thru August and most of September to prepare for that.
I've decided not to do the Tour de Louisiane stage race in Covington, LA this weekend. After adding up all the costs for Jonnene and me to go, it would have worked out to almost $400 for the whole weekend and I couldn't see spending that kind of money to have my butt kicked around over three race stages. The cheapest hotel I could find in the area was at the Best Western at $180 total for two nights...otherwise it was $109/night w/o taxes or more anywhere else! You add in food, gas, etc., and it's a cost that's better spent on a pleasurable weekend, not one where I'm trying to stay upright on my bike and keep up with a few (or more) superior athletes. Plus we'd have to drop off the dogs at a friend's house, so there's the time involved in dropping off and picking up.
Trust me, I'd love to go...it'd be fun...but the financial cost is too high for this trip. Both of us have things going on the following two weekends so maybe this time we should stay home and enjoy some time together. I'll knock out a long ride both Saturday and Sunday, but we'll go to a movie or two and putter around the house. If Jonnene wasn't working yet, we could go down on Friday morning and have time to make a quick jaunt into New Orleans. That would have worked pretty well.
Anyway, I guess my next race will be the Texas state road championships in Tyler on July 21st, or the Texas state time trials in Houston on August 4th, or a time trial in Monroe on September 9th. I better start spreading my riding out a bit so I don't get burned out in the meantime. I'm really aiming at the LA/MISS district time trials on September 16th 'cause my main cycling goal this year is to break an hour in the 40K, which I've never done. I intend to work really hard thru August and most of September to prepare for that.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Tuesday Night Worlds
Tuesday Night Worlds...that's the name we give our Tuesday training ride. Basically it means that we ride as hard and as fast as we can with no letup until we puke, cramp, or finish hard to the end. This is usually done along a route we call the "Linwood Loop" which is about 30 miles of half-smooth, half-rough roads with adequate hills to make it interesting, lots of flat areas, and a few really fun downhills. It's been more interesting this year because a group of tri-guys called Team Psycho races with us and really challenges us. Of course, they're on their tri-bikes with the aerobars and fast wheels so we have to take it to them with pure muscle and racing smarts. But they're quick learners and it's actually fun to have them out there with us...makes us work harder.
Tonight was probably the fastest we've done the Loop. Our speed was constantly in the 27-30 mph range, just plain crazy fast, and I was surprised at how well I did even without a warmup (and usually I NEED a warmup). I took a few pulls at the front when we were on Ellerbe Road, including one where I glanced at a 31 mph reading on the bike computer...was that me doing that? When we turned onto Highway 175, there really was no letup. Patrick took a long flyer off the front and some of us tried to slow the pack to give him a chance but he was reeled in eventually. Bolt tried one, too, but he wasn't really giving it much effort...we brought him back in. So basically the pack stayed together and stayed fast. You'd have to really pump it to get away. After we went over a small rise on the way to Frierson, Dave S tried a nice little move but the Psycho guys covered it. That was when Calvin (a member of both LaS'port and Psycho) made a huge jump around the pack while we were still about a kilometer from the village. I saw him start that from the beginning and I latched onto his rear wheel. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Bolt swing in behind me and off we went. We were hitting 35 mph and Calvin was totally in time-trial position with me stuck to his wheel. With about 200 meters to go, I was wearing out fast and I motioned to Bolt to go around me which he did. I looked back and there was nobody else even remotely close to us! That was fun and eventually everyone caught me before we got to the railroad tracks.
The rest of the ride was, again, just plain fast. It drives me crazy that Russ, Patrick, Bolt, and Sinkule make it look so easy....they can sit in the back and whenever they decide they want to go to the front, no matter how fast it is, they just go ahead and do it. Meanwhile I'm killing myself to stay in the group and look for whatever draft I can find, making an appearance at the front so I can do my fair share within my abilities. But I love doing it and I wouldn't have it any other way. About 2/3's the way down Linwood my right quad started cramping bad enough to make me lose the group, unable to catch back on. My computer was showing an average speed of 26.2 mph at the time! I finally rolled in about 1:11 after we started (I took it easy the last couple of miles) and I heard the leaders made it in only 57 minutes which I find hard to believe because that would mean they averaged about 30 mph for the route...I don't think they did if we were averaging 26.2 when I dropped off and we still had about 7 miles to go. But it doesn't matter...it was most likely the fastest the Linwood Loop had ever been ridden in my memory and I had had a blast doing it.
Tonight was probably the fastest we've done the Loop. Our speed was constantly in the 27-30 mph range, just plain crazy fast, and I was surprised at how well I did even without a warmup (and usually I NEED a warmup). I took a few pulls at the front when we were on Ellerbe Road, including one where I glanced at a 31 mph reading on the bike computer...was that me doing that? When we turned onto Highway 175, there really was no letup. Patrick took a long flyer off the front and some of us tried to slow the pack to give him a chance but he was reeled in eventually. Bolt tried one, too, but he wasn't really giving it much effort...we brought him back in. So basically the pack stayed together and stayed fast. You'd have to really pump it to get away. After we went over a small rise on the way to Frierson, Dave S tried a nice little move but the Psycho guys covered it. That was when Calvin (a member of both LaS'port and Psycho) made a huge jump around the pack while we were still about a kilometer from the village. I saw him start that from the beginning and I latched onto his rear wheel. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Bolt swing in behind me and off we went. We were hitting 35 mph and Calvin was totally in time-trial position with me stuck to his wheel. With about 200 meters to go, I was wearing out fast and I motioned to Bolt to go around me which he did. I looked back and there was nobody else even remotely close to us! That was fun and eventually everyone caught me before we got to the railroad tracks.
The rest of the ride was, again, just plain fast. It drives me crazy that Russ, Patrick, Bolt, and Sinkule make it look so easy....they can sit in the back and whenever they decide they want to go to the front, no matter how fast it is, they just go ahead and do it. Meanwhile I'm killing myself to stay in the group and look for whatever draft I can find, making an appearance at the front so I can do my fair share within my abilities. But I love doing it and I wouldn't have it any other way. About 2/3's the way down Linwood my right quad started cramping bad enough to make me lose the group, unable to catch back on. My computer was showing an average speed of 26.2 mph at the time! I finally rolled in about 1:11 after we started (I took it easy the last couple of miles) and I heard the leaders made it in only 57 minutes which I find hard to believe because that would mean they averaged about 30 mph for the route...I don't think they did if we were averaging 26.2 when I dropped off and we still had about 7 miles to go. But it doesn't matter...it was most likely the fastest the Linwood Loop had ever been ridden in my memory and I had had a blast doing it.
Monday, June 18, 2007
First Day on the Job
This morning's ride was a slow one but that wasn't a bad thing. There were only five of us cruising the Fant Parkway and we just couldn't seem to get the speed above 23 mph more than a couple of times. The wind out of the south had something to do with it but I think we just didn't feel like putting out the effort. That was okay with me this time. When I took my two pulls, I sat up to provide some extra draft for the folks behind me and make myself work a little harder.
Jonnene had her first day at work and had to attend orientation all day. It would be truthful to say she was bored out of her mind and that probably half of the discussions really didn't apply to her. But that's the price you pay for the first day on the job. She has additional orientation on Tuesday but it's more specific for her PT job...and she could get her first patient as early as that afternoon!
I'm still trying to decide about going to the Tour de Louisianne this coming weekend. Part of it is the cost to travel down there, get a hotel room for two nights, put the dogs up while we're gone, etc. I'll have to decide by tomorrow for sure. The race is going to be tough as it is but I'm entering the Masters 35+, maybe the only member of my team to do that classification. We'll see, and I'll know how good a race I'll produce after I see how I do at Tuesday Night Worlds.
Jonnene had her first day at work and had to attend orientation all day. It would be truthful to say she was bored out of her mind and that probably half of the discussions really didn't apply to her. But that's the price you pay for the first day on the job. She has additional orientation on Tuesday but it's more specific for her PT job...and she could get her first patient as early as that afternoon!
I'm still trying to decide about going to the Tour de Louisianne this coming weekend. Part of it is the cost to travel down there, get a hotel room for two nights, put the dogs up while we're gone, etc. I'll have to decide by tomorrow for sure. The race is going to be tough as it is but I'm entering the Masters 35+, maybe the only member of my team to do that classification. We'll see, and I'll know how good a race I'll produce after I see how I do at Tuesday Night Worlds.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Winning Tri's
I know, I know....I was going to keep this thing updated a bit more often. Sometimes I don't feel like hitting the keyboard and make a post, but I usually think of things I could write about.
It's been busy around here. The wife has done two of the local tri club's races in the series and won her age group in both. Today she covered a sprint distance race of 450 yards swimming, 16 miles biking, and 3 miles running in about 1:20:12, getting first in her age group. About two weeks ago she won the Masters Women's division in the sprint distance at the Red River Triathlon which was changed to a duathlon because the river was too high and too fast to be safely used as part of the course. So she has to do two runs and she wasn't keen on five total miles of running because of her knee. But she made it okay and was also the 7th overall woman to finish the distance. Well done, as the Aussies would say, as well as "Good on ya!" I was proud of her.
Last weekend I was down in Natchez, MS to do the LA/MISS district road race championships. I competed in the Masters 45+ on Saturday afternoon....which was hot enough....and we were combined with the Masters 35+ to cover 47 miles on a 5.1 mile loop course through the Natchez State Park. We had about 40 riders overall that was big on horsepower. I only hoped for a decent result. I knew I couldn't match legs with many of the guys in the lineup so I had to minimized my losses the best I could. There were 16 racers in my 45+ group so I knew I had 16th place locked up! As soon as we started I realized the pace was going to be fast and it stayed that way throughout the first lap, pushing hard on the early uphills (155 feet of elevation gain in the first mile) and flying fast on the curving downhills. I heard that it was like that the first four laps.
I say I heard that because I got shelled early into the second lap on the uphills. Sad to say that I was climbing pretty well for me but not well enough to stay with the stud hosses in the pack. I latched onto two other OTB guys from the NBO (New Orleans) and S3 (Alexandria) teams and we rode together the next five laps, picking up other stranglers, and at one point we had about seven riders together keeping up a good pace. The NBO and S3 guys were riding against me, I began to think, 'cause they were talking to each other and not to me, and I wondered if they were coming up with some plot to drop the north Louisiana guy. We would drop the other riders on the uphills but both of them couldn't seem to shake me until it was just the three of us again. Then the main pack came upon us, about to lap us, and they were going strong. On my 7th lap, they caught us at midpoint of the uphills and I decided to latch onto the back of their group. I thought I could keep up at least one time on those hills and we'd see who, in my little group, could stay. It worked...I latched onto that pack and we powered up the hills. By the time we leveled out I looked behind me and the NBO and S3 guys were gone. I was the lone survivor of the dropped riders (I heard later that the S3 guy DNF'd). I hung onto the back of the pack for 1/2 lap, saw that most of them were 35+ riders and notice my teammate, Brian, was still in the group which made me very happy. He was having a great ride.
But their pace was a bit much for me and I dropped off again, eventually catching a 35+ rider who is very good but wasn't having a good day. We rode together and talked, and as we finished the final lap, I let him have the sprint to the line. He wasn't in my age group so I really wasn't competing with him. I ended up 9th in the 45+ group which was much better than my 15th place last year. I get a few cycling cup points for the team and I finished the race. I was satisfied with my effort for the shape I'm in. I skipped Sunday's races and we headed home after watching the first few laps of the Cat. 1-2-3 race.
It's been busy around here. The wife has done two of the local tri club's races in the series and won her age group in both. Today she covered a sprint distance race of 450 yards swimming, 16 miles biking, and 3 miles running in about 1:20:12, getting first in her age group. About two weeks ago she won the Masters Women's division in the sprint distance at the Red River Triathlon which was changed to a duathlon because the river was too high and too fast to be safely used as part of the course. So she has to do two runs and she wasn't keen on five total miles of running because of her knee. But she made it okay and was also the 7th overall woman to finish the distance. Well done, as the Aussies would say, as well as "Good on ya!" I was proud of her.
Last weekend I was down in Natchez, MS to do the LA/MISS district road race championships. I competed in the Masters 45+ on Saturday afternoon....which was hot enough....and we were combined with the Masters 35+ to cover 47 miles on a 5.1 mile loop course through the Natchez State Park. We had about 40 riders overall that was big on horsepower. I only hoped for a decent result. I knew I couldn't match legs with many of the guys in the lineup so I had to minimized my losses the best I could. There were 16 racers in my 45+ group so I knew I had 16th place locked up! As soon as we started I realized the pace was going to be fast and it stayed that way throughout the first lap, pushing hard on the early uphills (155 feet of elevation gain in the first mile) and flying fast on the curving downhills. I heard that it was like that the first four laps.
I say I heard that because I got shelled early into the second lap on the uphills. Sad to say that I was climbing pretty well for me but not well enough to stay with the stud hosses in the pack. I latched onto two other OTB guys from the NBO (New Orleans) and S3 (Alexandria) teams and we rode together the next five laps, picking up other stranglers, and at one point we had about seven riders together keeping up a good pace. The NBO and S3 guys were riding against me, I began to think, 'cause they were talking to each other and not to me, and I wondered if they were coming up with some plot to drop the north Louisiana guy. We would drop the other riders on the uphills but both of them couldn't seem to shake me until it was just the three of us again. Then the main pack came upon us, about to lap us, and they were going strong. On my 7th lap, they caught us at midpoint of the uphills and I decided to latch onto the back of their group. I thought I could keep up at least one time on those hills and we'd see who, in my little group, could stay. It worked...I latched onto that pack and we powered up the hills. By the time we leveled out I looked behind me and the NBO and S3 guys were gone. I was the lone survivor of the dropped riders (I heard later that the S3 guy DNF'd). I hung onto the back of the pack for 1/2 lap, saw that most of them were 35+ riders and notice my teammate, Brian, was still in the group which made me very happy. He was having a great ride.
But their pace was a bit much for me and I dropped off again, eventually catching a 35+ rider who is very good but wasn't having a good day. We rode together and talked, and as we finished the final lap, I let him have the sprint to the line. He wasn't in my age group so I really wasn't competing with him. I ended up 9th in the 45+ group which was much better than my 15th place last year. I get a few cycling cup points for the team and I finished the race. I was satisfied with my effort for the shape I'm in. I skipped Sunday's races and we headed home after watching the first few laps of the Cat. 1-2-3 race.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Last Saturday at the Races
The Racing Rapides stage race was in Alexandria over the weekend and here's my recap of the fun:
Due to losing Frenchy to a flat tire in the first lap of the road race, and Brian and I getting dropped 2/3's of the way through the second lap, Tim didn't get much help in the Masters 35+/45+. Then Tim and I weren't there for Sunday's crit to defend our 4th and 8th place GC standings in the 45+.
Brian took charge of the peloton most of the first part of the first lap of the road race. He was out there punching the wind with a couple of other guys, staying around 26-27 mph most of the time. Being my first road race since September, I sat in and played it safe to regain the feel of a pack. I had two goals: be with the pack after the first lap (which I did) and, if I was going to get dropped, to finish the 44-mile race in under two hours (which I did in 1:58). The first lap of our Masters race was only two minutes slower than the Cat. 1-2-3's, meaning the breakaway that PMarr was in. We crunched the first 14.5 miles in 37 minutes or 23.5 mph average.
The fastest we went was on a flat stretch of road at 38.3 mph while we were chasing Tim on his first breakaway attempt early in the second lap. I'm spinning 110-120 in my 12 but we only held that for a few seconds, bringing it down to 32 for a good while longer. For several miles after that, Tim, Brian, and I occupied the front 4-5 positions in the peloton. No formal rotating pacelines (can't do that in a pack anyways)...whoever got up front just drove the pace for a while 'til the next person came up. No breaks were succeeding for long. We drove up the first hill of the second lap at 28 mph and I was thinking this was only going to get harder and less fun for me.
We lost Joe when he flatted and he took himself out of the race. The pack didn't slow down a bit and Joe would have never caught back on solo. Then halfway on that long stretch of hills on Lap 2, I couldn't stay with the pack even though I was climbing way faster than I usually do which would be good enough to stick but not this time. A while later I see Brian and V Liberto (NBO) off the back and I bridge up to them. The rest of the race would be us three picking up stranglers, especially a number of Cat. 4 riders from the race ahead of us. At one time we had nine riders all together although we'd lose three of those (one of them was a guy from ProBike who was 2nd GC after the TT in the 45+) by the end of the three laps. My quads started hurtin' & crampin' the last two miles and I was barely hanging onto the group. I gave it one more shot to get past for a chance at the sprint but it wasn't happening. I just rolled in since time was not a factor in these races, getting 11th. That left me in 8th place GC with 10 points.
The time trial was a little tougher than I thought it would be. A couple of nice hills to climb over after some screaming decents which usually left you in the wrong gear for the climb. I ended up doing the TT twice...the first time a truck/boat combo got in my way at the start, leaving me doing a trackstand for a few moments, but I continued on in case I couldn't get a re-start. I got an estimated 7:18 on that run and I used up a lot of calories to even get that. The officials allowed me the re-start so I lined up behind the 1-2-3's as the last rider and gave it another go. I was still tired from the first run but I was lots braver on the decents and smarter on the gearing, so I ended up with a 7:04 for 6th place of 16 in the Master 45+ group. I was happy being only 9 seconds slower than this guy from New Orleans who was in 5th place, and within 11 seconds of 4th place. Tim, of course, won the TT with a 6:36 but it was not one of his better rides.
It was nice to get back in the peloton again. Hopefully, I'll do okay in Natchez next weekend.
Due to losing Frenchy to a flat tire in the first lap of the road race, and Brian and I getting dropped 2/3's of the way through the second lap, Tim didn't get much help in the Masters 35+/45+. Then Tim and I weren't there for Sunday's crit to defend our 4th and 8th place GC standings in the 45+.
Brian took charge of the peloton most of the first part of the first lap of the road race. He was out there punching the wind with a couple of other guys, staying around 26-27 mph most of the time. Being my first road race since September, I sat in and played it safe to regain the feel of a pack. I had two goals: be with the pack after the first lap (which I did) and, if I was going to get dropped, to finish the 44-mile race in under two hours (which I did in 1:58). The first lap of our Masters race was only two minutes slower than the Cat. 1-2-3's, meaning the breakaway that PMarr was in. We crunched the first 14.5 miles in 37 minutes or 23.5 mph average.
The fastest we went was on a flat stretch of road at 38.3 mph while we were chasing Tim on his first breakaway attempt early in the second lap. I'm spinning 110-120 in my 12 but we only held that for a few seconds, bringing it down to 32 for a good while longer. For several miles after that, Tim, Brian, and I occupied the front 4-5 positions in the peloton. No formal rotating pacelines (can't do that in a pack anyways)...whoever got up front just drove the pace for a while 'til the next person came up. No breaks were succeeding for long. We drove up the first hill of the second lap at 28 mph and I was thinking this was only going to get harder and less fun for me.
We lost Joe when he flatted and he took himself out of the race. The pack didn't slow down a bit and Joe would have never caught back on solo. Then halfway on that long stretch of hills on Lap 2, I couldn't stay with the pack even though I was climbing way faster than I usually do which would be good enough to stick but not this time. A while later I see Brian and V Liberto (NBO) off the back and I bridge up to them. The rest of the race would be us three picking up stranglers, especially a number of Cat. 4 riders from the race ahead of us. At one time we had nine riders all together although we'd lose three of those (one of them was a guy from ProBike who was 2nd GC after the TT in the 45+) by the end of the three laps. My quads started hurtin' & crampin' the last two miles and I was barely hanging onto the group. I gave it one more shot to get past for a chance at the sprint but it wasn't happening. I just rolled in since time was not a factor in these races, getting 11th. That left me in 8th place GC with 10 points.
The time trial was a little tougher than I thought it would be. A couple of nice hills to climb over after some screaming decents which usually left you in the wrong gear for the climb. I ended up doing the TT twice...the first time a truck/boat combo got in my way at the start, leaving me doing a trackstand for a few moments, but I continued on in case I couldn't get a re-start. I got an estimated 7:18 on that run and I used up a lot of calories to even get that. The officials allowed me the re-start so I lined up behind the 1-2-3's as the last rider and gave it another go. I was still tired from the first run but I was lots braver on the decents and smarter on the gearing, so I ended up with a 7:04 for 6th place of 16 in the Master 45+ group. I was happy being only 9 seconds slower than this guy from New Orleans who was in 5th place, and within 11 seconds of 4th place. Tim, of course, won the TT with a 6:36 but it was not one of his better rides.
It was nice to get back in the peloton again. Hopefully, I'll do okay in Natchez next weekend.
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