Eye of the Beholder

       We wrapped up winter with one more backyard cyclocross. We pushed it a little more this time with a more difficult course and also going longer. I did 80 minutes just to see if I could hold my pace for a few extra laps. I was able to keep up the speed for the full distance. My endurance is getting better and so is my core. I had minimal back pain today with all the running. Transitioning the bike from ground to shoulder and shoulder to ground is what torques my back and causes the pain. I've worked hard on the core and glutes to eliminate this. Below is a picture of me on our run-up in the woods. On the left is me in January, on the right is from the last weekend in February. You can see a huge difference in the amount of hip drop I have when carrying the bike. Glute activation is what stabilizes the pelvis and keeps the hip from dropping. I have definitely improved, but I still have a long way to go to get to where I should be.

Left is January with some significant hip drop. Right is the end of February with much less hip drop. Getting better!

      The best thing about this last cross race was that I had no issues at all with either gastroc! I am finally starting to beat this injury and put it behind me. Here's a few pictures and one short video from our last backyard cross.

Dina did every backyard race she could. She has been really motivated all winter.

Creek crossing

Video: Backyard cross clip of a run-up. Dropped my chain on the remount.

     I've also been working on harder race-simulation efforts on the road. I'm up to comfortably doing 60-70 miles with a lot of efforts. I feel stronger, but have nothing to really compare to yet. I did another night ride with the Riverside guys and did well, but other than that I have not ridden with anyone other than Shannon and Dina. We caught a warm night for that night ride and logged 78 miles! I was surprised my old light lasted that long. We got in a lot of hard efforts and even rode through a barn at one point.

     All these winter efforts were in preparation for the third and final race of the Montgomery Bell Winter Time Trial Series. I knew I had to step it up after February and I trained very hard over the four week period between races. Everything was looking good. I felt strong, had dropped a few more pounds and was no longer having issues with the gastroc. Then things tried to fall apart in the days right before the race. We did a maintenance massage on the gastrocs and it made the left one sore for several days. Then I got sick with some stomach issues in the two days before the race. We went to the Nashville temple the day before the race and I felt pretty bad the whole time. We had planned to go mountain bike shopping at MOAB Bikes in Franklin afterwards, but I felt so bad that we just went home.

       I was feeling normal when race day arrived. Even though I had been sick for a few days, I did not feel weak and I really don't think it affected my performance at all. As for the left gastroc, it was sore and got tight after the race, about the same as in the February race. Overall, it is improving, but it's still there. And still annoying. The right side I would grade at very near 100% better.

     The race went very well. We caught another beautiful day, making it three for three on perfect race conditions, which is hard to believe for a winter series. It was dry, warm and fast. I had to start farther back this time, which gave me a lot more traffic. I'm not sure exactly how I ended up farther back since the start order was supposed to be the same for each race, but I was quite a bit further back, again behind a bunch of Juniors. 

Michael Edens was first rider on course

Edens

Scott Schlapman

Kyle Taylor

Kyle

David Carpenter

Dustin Burkeen

Burkeen

Grant Wilson

Bobby Jones

Me underway

Clint Burkeen

Simon Lewis

Barry Reed with some style

Me at the first tabletop bridge. Tough one to jump with a sharp right turn just after the downside.

photo by Nashville Local Cycling

Photo by Nashville Local Cycling

Photo by Nashville Local Cycling

     I started fast this time and just tried to hold the highest pace I could for the full loop. It didn't feel like I was going any faster than before, but I caught my 30 sec man in just a couple of minutes. It was Harrison Klapheke, who I had a hard time catching last month. He let me by and I continued to burn up the trail. I rode very well, hitting all my lines and railing the corners. I got held up about halfway through the loop by one rider who didn't want to let me by, but then I had a good stretch of riding alone. Bobby Jones started a minute ahead of me and my goal was to catch him. He beat me in February. I knew if I could catch him, I could have a shot at the win. There were some faster riders here today as this round was the first race of the TBRA series, so it brought out a few riders that did not race in January or February.

Pushing hard on the early climbs

Josh Lewis

David Jones

     I was faster up the climbs today, but still feel that is my weak point. I caught Bobby and another Junior with about five miles to go. I was faster than them on the descents, but they were equal to me or slightly stronger up the climbs. It was a bad combo for me and I couldn't pass them. It really frustrated me because they wouldn't let me by. At one point, I was mobbed in a group of five riders and could not get through the line. Nobody would move over. Even when I would pass one rider in the line, he would try to pass me back. There was no time trial ethics going on out there. Nobody cared that you made up three minutes on them. 

Taylor

Dustin Burkeen

Me and David Carpenter behind Bobby Jones

In some traffic near the end

Dustin Burkeen

Me and Carpenter still together

Schlapman

Jaron Wood

Mike Taglio

Simon

Speaking of traffic, John Carr went through A LOT of it today after they accidentally left him off the start list

Josh

Nearing the finish with Bobby Jones on my wheel

     I had to get a little more aggressive in the end. It took me hanging it out on an off-camber corner to get to the front of the line with a mile to go. It was a move that any supercross rider would have been proud of. I hate having to pass somebody like that, but they didn't give me much choice. At least I didn't have to make contact with anyone. I always seem to come out the bad guy when that happens. 

     I had a good run all the way to the line, clocking at 1:06:28. That was 3:50 faster than my time in February! I ended up catching all but two of the riders that started ahead of me by the finish line. I really did step it up today and I was very pleased with that effort. I gave it all I had. It was a smoking-fast time, but still wasn't good enough to take the win. Kyle Taylor logged a 1:05:23, besting me by 1:05. Kyle was rocking it for sure! I may have lost some time in traffic, but not that much. I just got beat by a better rider. Our times blew out the other two rounds, so basically the finish order today decided the series order since your best run counted for the overall. So, I took 2nd overall, which put me in the money! I made more money in this series than I made all of last season so things are already starting off better this year. It sure is nice to get something back to help cover expenses.

Marsha Williams

Joe Grubbs

Jason Campbell was having fun today

Gib Morehead

Craig O'Neil

Robert Ledford

Butch Carter

Kevin Bohanon

Jon Harrison

Duane Leach

Jeff Scott

     I still felt good afterwards, so I took another lap. The weights have really helped with fatigue in my upper body and core. I had no fatigue issues in either area today. Dina was out riding the course with my Dad. I rode with them for a few miles, then hammered on through the hilly sections to get in some more race efforts. Again, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the Junior girls out on course. They were just as nice as last month. They seemed to really be enjoying the race, which just shows how fun mountain biking can be. If you have fun on this course at 12 years old, you really do love riding your bike. 

     My Mom went a bit crazy with the pictures again, so there's plenty for you to look at. There were a few others who also contributed to this post with pictures. Thanks everyone!

David Jones

John

Steve Moneymaker

Tagz in the rockz

Carey Dincauze rockin' it

Jena Cook

Marsha

Karah Lewis

Jennifer Beech

Me with one of the baddest dudes I've ever met, Mike Taglio. He has been a machine of an athlete his whole life. Mike schooled my Dad in running when I was a kid. Now he schools people in mountain biking. he schools me in life. The guy is beyond inspiring.

photo courtesy of Mike Taglio

Open Men Series podium

photo by Nashville Local Cycling

     That was a good way to end my winter block of training. Now it's time for the season. I plan to split time between the road and mountain bike this season. I'm more excited to race mountain bikes than I have been in many years. I'd say I will spend a lot of time in the dirt this season, especially if I can finally get a new bike.

     I will end this post with a few observations I have made during this whole journey of losing weight. I've dropped 10 pounds now since mid-December. I can feel the difference in myself, especially when on my bike, but I don't see all that much difference in how I look in regular clothes. At work, everyone always comments on how much I eat and how thin I stay. When I was at my heaviest, I got way more comments on how lean I was than I ever did when I was actually lean. Now that I have dropped these 10 pounds, I've had several people tell me I look like I've gained weight. It really shows how people can't tell your weight based on appearance. The funny part is that when the person says I look like I have gained weight, I usually tell them that I've actually dropped a few pounds recently. That is always followed by some lecture about how I don't need to lose weight and I look unhealthy...even though they just said I looked like I was gaining weight. Sure, I'm thin, but far from unhealthy. I find it sad how people can no longer recognize what a healthy weight is. We have become so accustomed to seeing obese people that we cannot recognize what proper weight is anymore. 

     I am so tired of hearing about how it is not fair that I eat so much and stay thin. It's because I work it off. You can too. Sure, my lunchbox is overflowing each day, but it's what's in my lunchbox that allows me to eat so much and then what I do after work. I eat a lot of fruit and lower-calorie items while my coworkers regularly eat pizza and order from O'Charley's. Look at the nutrition of some of those restaurants and you will see why you can't lose weight eating that stuff. It's ridiculous how many calories are in some of those meals. 

     A few weeks ago, a woman told me that the most unattractive thing any man can ever do is count calories and watch what he eats. She said I was gross and an embarrassment to all men because I wouldn't have an extra piece of cake at a birthday party. That kind of logic will make you hate most bike riders because most of us are constantly watching our weight. It's just part of the sport and part of being a great athlete. I don't know her point of telling me that because honestly I don't know why I should care what she thinks is unattractive because I didn't marry her. I'm worried more about what my wife thinks. Shannon likes me fit and riding well. Talking weight loss is like talking pregnancy. It's like an open invitation for everyone around to share their opinion and tell you what they think you should be doing. Every woman that has ever been pregnant will know what I'm talking about! People go out of their way to tell you what to eat, what kind of birth to have and how to raise your child.

     Thanks again for reading and being patient with how far behind I have been lately. I'll get things updated. The season is now underway and it has been exciting thus far. Hang in there for the details to come!