A Day In Hell

     My first double weekend of the year came just over a week ago when I raced the Hell of the South Road Race and the Cedar Hill Criterium. After a week of rest, my gastroc felt recovered and up to the challenge of two hard races in a row. I was still unsure if it would last through the road race, but I was ready to give it a try.

     My legs were tight and flat after the week off. I knew the first lap of the road race would be the hardest part for me. My legs would likely take a while to get going. It was a new course for this year's Hell of the South, moving to the town of Lewisburg in the southern part of Tennessee. The Pro/1/2 race consisted of three laps of the 22-mile course. We had at least 32 starters, more than 20 of them being Cat. 1 riders. It was looking like a fast race, so I tried to get in a good warm-up to loosen my stale legs, but also not fatigue myself.

     The race flyer did not tell the exact location of the start/finish, but the course map had it labeled. I went to the spot on the map only to find nobody. Luckily, I was planning to line up early, so I had enough time to sprint back to the parking lot, where I found everyone lined up. It turned out that the start and finish were not in the same spot and the finish was in the opposite direction around the course than where it was labeled on the map. The panic sprint actually made my legs feel better, but it did put me starting at the back of the group. I don't understand how important things like the start/finish are not more clearly labeled on your flyer and maps. You would think a race that has been around for a few years would not overlook such crucial things.

    I did not have a chance to pre-ride the new course. The profile showed three main climbs on the route and I had heard about a rougher stretch of road on the third climb followed by a technical descent. I never know about the descriptions for this race. In the past, they made it sound much worse than it actually was. The old course had one short stretch of gravel and no big climbs. It was far from worthy of the name "Hell of the South." Speaking of the name, I found it funny that the local newspaper wrote an article about the race and spent considerable time explaining that the name "Hell" was meant for race difficulty and not to describe the area. I guess somebody thought the race was saying that Lewisburg was the Hell-hole of the South. I never thought of it that way! John Carr gave me a brief run-down of the course, telling me not to hammer into the climbs as they got steeper near the top. He also told me the descent was rough and worth paying attention to.

     The start was slow. We cruised the first few miles, letting one rider go up the road solo. The first hill came at mile 4. While I may not have pre-ridden, I did do some research on Google Maps and I found a few landmarks to let me know when the climbs were starting. The first hill was much tougher than I expected, but I saw my landmark and was ready for it. The climb was steep, but short. You could see the whole climb from the bottom. The attacks began here. We flew over the top and down the other side. The road was rolling for the next few miles and we stayed single-file as everyone chased the numerous breaks that formed. I saw 36 mph several times during these miles and we never dropped below 30 mph.

     We made the next turn and started climbing again. All the breaks had been reeled in, including the solo rider that had slipped away at the start. Climb two was much longer, starting very gradually for a good mile, then becoming steep with grades approaching 18% at the top. I took John's advice and saved everything I could for the top. Again, the climb was steeper than I anticipated. When I saw the steep part, I felt I was doomed. I'm not the strongest rider on climbs that steep, but I dug deep and stayed within the group, actually moving up a few positions near the top. Up to this point, I had felt like the weakest rider in the group, but now I could see there were many others suffering more than me.

     Another quick descent followed immediately. This one was more twisty on a narrow, chip-and-seal road through the woods. It was a beautiful road, but there was little time to enjoy it as we only had a mile before the third climb began on the rough surface Snake Creek Rd. The group slowed before the turn onto Snake Creek, then accelerated as we made the turn. This road was barely a lane wide. It was chip-and-seal, but very old. Gravel had settled in the middle between the tire tracks and there were numerous potholes and patches to dodge. Further obstacles were found in sticks and rocks that had fallen and washed into the road from storms the day before. It was an awesome road! I felt like I was mountain biking!

     The gravel in the center got me early on. It took a minute for the pack to split into the two lanes and I found myself stuck in the middle. I lost a few spots and then fell into line. The pace wasn't fast, but we were gradually climbing and you could tell guys were already hurting. This climb stair-stepped with breaks between each steep section. The first section went well. Nobody fell off the pace, but as soon as we hit the second section it was like a bomb went off. Guys ahead of me got gapped and I was left to chase. I knew this climb was longer so I settled into my pace and tried to save my legs. That was not a good call. Road racing is not mountain biking. You can't pace yourself and catch the group later in the race. Once you lose the draft, it's over. I went up the third part of the climb as fast as the group, but I was about 10 seconds behind. Then I saw a junkyard on the left. That was my landmark that the climb was almost over. It was much shorter than I had anticipated! I hit the panic button and started going all-out, but it was too late. The group really accelerated across the flat section between the third and fourth parts of the climb and I lost more time. I needed a wheel to follow on the flat sections. I big-ringed the last part of the climb, but I actually think that was slower. I was chugging at the top. I was at least 30 seconds back now with only Josh Lewis in sight ahead of me as we started the twisty descent. There was nobody in sight behind me. Those that got dropped totally blew up.

     The descent was indeed technical. It was rough initially, then smoothed out and got steep before a sharp left turn. The apex of the turn was a rough patch so you had to take a bad line through the corner to miss that. Then the road straightened out and got very steep with ripples in the pavement. It was like having braking bumps into the next turn. There were more rough patches, twists, turns, mud and water flowing across the road the rest of the way down. I blew past Josh as I let it all hang out. I knew this was my once chance to get back to the group. I have always wondered how I would do in a race situation on a technical descent. You rarely get those opportunities. I'd say I passed as I was nearly back to the group at the bottom. But another small climb came at the exit of Snake Creek. I was blown up from going so hard on the descent. I started losing ground again. Josh caught back up to me and went right by, quickly getting a 10 second gap on me.

     We had another quick descent then the course hit a smooth, rolling road all the way back to the finish. I knew I had to catch Josh or neither of us would see the group again. But he was not waiting for me. It turned into a time trialing battle. He stayed 8-10 seconds ahead of me for over five miles, then he finally looked back and saw me coming. He slowed enough for me to get there and then we started working together. The group was still in sight, but we were losing time. We were nearly two minutes back after lap 1, but we kept chasing. We wanted to catch anyone that fell off the group ahead and stay ahead of those behind us.

     Things went good until the second climb on lap 2. My stomach began to cramp and quickly sapped my energy. Josh waited on me at the top, but I fell off again up Snake Creek Rd. The name of the road motivated me to dig deep into my Snake Creek Gap mountain bike strength, but the stomach was not letting me dig deep enough. I lost contact with Josh and had no strength to chase him on the descent.

The break of six that mostly stayed away. They are on lap 2 here. four of them came in solo ahead of a group sprint for 5th.

What's left of the Pro/1/2 peloton on lap 2

     I was now by myself, suffering in the sun with stomach misery. I stopped near the end of lap 2 when I saw Shannon on the side of the road. I told her how bad I felt and that I was going to be slow, but that I was going to finish. She went to wait at the car. The sun had fried her skin already. She looked like a little cherry tomato sitting on a bike. I started to feel better on lap 3, but my legs were toast. I gave what I had left, but it was a sad effort. I did feel good enough to enjoy the roads though. I loved how they flowed and the numerous wooded sections we went through. I also got to see the Masters tackle the first climb when they passed me, and the Cat. 3s take on the second climb. I even stopped to take a few pictures on the Snake Creek climb and descent.

View on the Snake Creek Rd. climb

Last rise on Snake Creek Rd.

Starting down the descent

Mud and holes

Wet and rough

Water flowing down the road as it entered the woods

    I wound up riding about 37 miles by myself. I was slow, but I made it! I never got caught by any of the riders dropped before me. I think they all quit. Many people thought I should have quit too, but I refused. I'm never going to get stronger by quitting every race. I needed the miles anyway. Today was a tough one though. It was one of those days when you have multiple thoughts about selling your bikes during the race. It definitely was a day in Hell for me. This course, while not even close to a European classic race with roughness, is now worthy of the "Hell of the South" name if for no other reason than the difficulty of the course. Those hills were tough! I liked it much better than the old course and look forward to going back next year.

     The good news on the day was that my gastroc did not hurt or get tight at all! It was totally fine. I took Shannon for a lap of the course in the car after the race. I just had to show her all the cool roads. That seemed like a good idea until we got stuck in traffic on the interstate. There were so many people on the road traveling that everything was congested. We creeped along for a while, then finally got off I-65 and took backroads home. Our drive should have been less than two hours, but wound up being close to four. We made it to the house super late and my legs felt even worse after sitting for that long. I stretched my hamstrings, propped up my legs while I watched the end of supercross and called it a night.

     I felt horrible getting out of bed on Sunday. My legs had not experienced a miraculous overnight recovery like I had hoped for. That was a good thing though, as I went into the crit. with absolutely no expectations. I was just going to give it everything I had and see what happened. I did a long, slow warm-up to ease my legs into the effort. That seemed to help because they felt pretty good by the time the race began. We had around 60 riders for the Pro/1/2/3 race on a loop that measured 1.5 miles long around Cedar Hill Park in Madison, TN. Last year, the pace of this race was ugly. Guys were popping on the first lap and I got caught behind gaps on a windy day, getting pulled after only 16 minutes of racing. I was expecting much of the same today even though the wind was minimal this year.

A group of Pro/1/2/3 Women on course

More women passing by the finish line

     The first four laps were fast with several attacks going off the front and a $100 prime up for grabs. I got a second-row start and stayed away from the riff-raff at the back of the group. People were dropped early, but I was well ahead of any gaps. My legs hurt, but I was in no danger of getting dropped. I stayed very attentive in the corners to ensure I came out with good momentum and didn't waste my legs sprinting back up to speed every turn. We average 26.4 mph for the first 10 minutes, then the pace dropped. It turned into a fairly easy race, in my opinion anyway. Several of my fellow racers did not agree. I was waiting for the big attacks, but they never came. There were a few small attacks, mostly solo, but nobody could stay ahead of the group on such a fast course. By halfway, everyone seemed to accept the fact that a bunch sprint was coming.

Pro/1/2/3 Men on the first lap

Me in the group in my white Maxxis skinsuit

Photo provided by Cedar Hill Criterium

Photo provided by Cedar Hill Criterium

Photo provided by Cedar Hill Criterium

Me tucked into the line, staying near the front

Photo provided by Cedar Hill Criterium

Photo provided by Cedar Hill Criterium

I got in several pictures today, which is very rare for me.

Photo provided by Cedar Hill Criterium

Photo provided by Cedar Hill Criterium

A Texas Roadhouse rider tries for a break

Matt Meunier makes a solo break attempt

     There were some sketchy moves made in the group. I saw several front wheels get taken out, but everyone stayed upright in the main group. I was in the top 10 the last few laps, sitting second behind Josh Lewis with two laps to go as he did a lead-out for his Red Kite teammates. I found it funny that the two guys that struggled at the back in the previous day's road race were on the front at the end of today's crit. I liked being second wheel, but I was catching too much wind, so I slipped back to 10th again with just over a lap to go. That seemed to be the sweet spot in the group.

The most serious-looking break of the race didn't last long

     A surge came at the start of the final lap and there was some hesitation by the riders ahead of me. Our line got shuffled back a bit. I found myself outside the top 25 with half a lap to go. But the pace was high and the tired legs were showing on everyone. I followed the faster wheels and moved up in the group as we flew towards the finish line single-file. The finish is very fast here and it's easy to pull out too early. I stayed patient and fought my way through to the group of riders who were actually sprinting for positions. It took all I had to hold onto the back of the sprint, but I did manage to stay there and even pick off one rider before the line. I also lost a spot in the sprint, so I came out even, finishing 16th.

Group strung out in the closing laps

Late attack from a Treehouse rider

     That was a good finish on such tired legs. I am happy with that sprint too after how bad I did on the final lap at Anniston two weeks ago. According to Strava, I did the last 500 meters as fast as the winner. I know I'm fast enough to contend in these sprints, I just need to position myself better coming into the sprint. It's a work in progress. I hit 41.6 mph across the line! We wound up with a 25.7 mph average speed for 58 minutes of racing. The final lap was by far the fastest lap of the race, and by far the fastest lap I have ever ridden in the three races I have done here. The best news was no pain in the gastroc again today! I made it through back-to-back hard efforts without pain or tightness. That's another milestone on my road to full recovery. We have some video from the crit. posted below if you want to check it out. There's also another vantage point of the finish, along with a bike cam from the Pro/1/2/3 race shot by David Howe.

Cedar Hill Criterium video

Finish video by Daniel Robertson

Part 1 of 2 from David Howe's bike cam during the Pro/1/2/3 race

Part 2 of 2 from David Howe's bike cam during the Pro/1/2/3 race

     We have been working hard to get a jump-start on our garden this year. We have a bunch of little seedlings growing. We started them early in March. Most of them did well, but our peppers didn't sprout the first go-round so we had to replant a few weeks ago. The second time I planted them in big pots, 50 plants per pot, then split them out once they got bigger. We are trying planting in eggshells this year. They make nice little holders for your soil and, once planted in the ground, the shells break down and release calcium into the soil around the plant. They're also cheaper than buying seed trays or pots. It's a win-win for sure.

Transplanting peppers from the big pot

Eggs full of peppers

Tomatoes

     Dina built a greenhouse over the winter so I took advantage of that for the seedlings. The only bad thing I have seen from using the eggshells is that the plants need to be watered more frequently, especially when in the warmer greenhouse. We were having to keep them thoroughly watered twice a day when they were in there. All was good until the day of the Cedar Hill Crit. I didn't go over before church that morning and it got really hot outside. It got to over 130 degrees in there that day and 60 of my plants got toasted. Yeah, I have a lot of plants this year. Luckily, we had some extras so hopefully this won't hurt our plans too much.

Filling Dina's greenhouse. I made the shelves from lumber left over from one of my ramp projects.

     We are trying eggplants and artichokes for the first time this year. They seem to be finicky little plants. They don't like cold at all. Even the nights in the greenhouse were too cool. Many of them died after the initial sprouting where I had them in a small, homemade greenhouse I slapped together with a box, plastic wrap and some tape. I have sustained the remaining plants by making a bigger homemade greenhouse out of a Rubbermaid container. So far so good, but they sure have been a pain in my butt. I hope we get a good production out of the garden this year, because we sure have worked hard already! I was hoping to plant this week, but it has been raining for the past 10 days so I have not been able to work the ground yet. I have been working a lot, so I may not have had the time to work it anyway.

First homemade greenhouse

Phase 2: The "luxury" model

     The next races on the schedule are this coming weekend at the legendary Athens Twilight and the fun Historic Roswell Criterium. I am excited for Athens as we will be getting a new course this year due to some ongoing construction on the usual route. The morning qualifier will be on the downtown course so we won't have to race the Oconee River Greenway course that I despise so much. It's also going to be a Cat. 2/3 race for the qualifier which should also help me out. I just have to crack the top 45 in the morning race to qualify for the night Amateur Finals. That is the goal. I'm actually more focused on Roswell as I feel that course suits me better and can be more predictable in the final laps. We shall see. Thanks for reading!

Strung Out

     I'm finally getting a chance to sit down and blog about my first crit. of the year. It's starting that busy time of the year for me. Racing and training are now fully underway. The weather is warming up so that means time to prepare the garden and start yard work. And I've been working more than ever since going PRN. Got to earn those funds so I can race and we can get a house soon!

     The Sunny King Criterium in Anniston, AL is always one of my favorite races. It's the first big race of the season so that always adds to the excitement. It was even earlier on the calendar this year, falling in March rather than it's usual April date. The weather is a rollercoaster in March, even as far south as Alabama. The forecast was sketchy all week and changed daily. It was always looking like a cold day, but rain was initially predicted as well. I was on the fence about going until Friday. Then I suddenly got excited and was ready to go no matter what the weather. Race day rolled around and it was a clear sky that accompanied the cooler temperatures. March seemed to have forgotten that it was supposed to come in like a lion and out like a lamb. It was definitely going out like a lion today. The temp topped out at a 52 degrees, but only for a few minutes. Lucky for me, that was right at the start of my race. Then the clouds began to creep in and the temperature dropped before the end our race.

     I did the Cat. 2 race in the afternoon. That gave us time to drive down in the morning. We took I-65 to Birmingham this year, rather than the usual route of I-24 towards Chattanooga. The last two years have been traffic nightmares almost making me miss my start, so we chose a different route this year. With the exception of one gas stop where none of the gas pumps were working, it was an uneventful drive...just how we like it!

    I had a decent warm-up. Time seems to fly when you are getting ready. I ended up with less time on the trainer than I had hoped for before time to line up, but it was a sufficient warm-up. We had over 50 riders even on a chilly day. The start was fast and the pace never really let up much the whole race. Hincapie had several young development riders in the race and they were launching attacks from the very start. No break really materialized the first 15 minutes, then a pair of riders slipped up the road and began to build a gap. I stayed in the front half of the group. I was working hard, but in no danger of getting dropped. My fear was that I would get shelled out the back in this race with it being the first really intense effort of the year for me. The hill up the front stretch is always a hard sprint and doing that over and over will take it's toll on under-trained legs. I could tell straight away that, like at Chickasaw, my legs were a little off today. But I was hanging tough on the hill and not getting gapped out of the corners.

An early solo move

Me at the back of the main group. I stayed ahead of all the splits today...just barely a few times.

Pack on the backstretch

Another solo move that went nowhere

The first serious move of the race

Me on the inside

     The breakaway was ahead for several laps before a real chase began. The group chased for one lap before there was a single-rider crash in turn 4. It was one of the Hincapie riders that was 4th or 5th in line. We all checked-up and that split our group. It was a small gap to four riders, but nobody wanted to put in the work to close the gap. It began to grow and then riders began jumping across the gap, eventually growing the chase group to seven riders. Up front in the lead break, one rider attacked the other and set off solo. The dropped rider was caught by the chase group, making it eight chasing one.

Solo leader

Chase group

     Things got ugly after that. It was constant attacks from the main group to attempt to bridge to the chasers. At one point our group nearly caught the chase group of eight. At another point, the main group was split into three smaller groups and I found myself in the fourth group on course! I was hurting at halfway an my legs were fading. I started to get gapped out of turn 4 and up the hill. There were a few laps where I had to really turn myself inside-out to stay on the wheel ahead. There was no way I was attempting to bridge anything today.

     It was single-file suffering for the last 20 minutes. Finally, things came back together in the main group, but we never caught the leader or the chase group. The one rider stuck the break to the end for the solo win, while the eight riders scrapped for second. We were left to sprint for 10th. I found myself suddenly feeling good again with a lap to go and I went with a surge up the hill. I got stuck out into the wind out of turn 2 and that zapped my legs. We were going around the outside of a slower rider in turn 2 and I didn't clear him before the headwind hit. I wasn't in the wind long, but it took everything out of me. When the surge came from behind before turn 3, there was nothing I could do about it. I lost several spots going into the turn and got pushed wide. My legs were toast coming off turn 4 and I had little left to sprint with. I lost at least six spots before the line.

Me behind a Columbia Paralympic Team rider

photo by Dave Gill (http://davidgill.smugmug.com/Sunny-King-2015)

Suffering in the line during the closing laps

photo by Dave Gill (http://davidgill.smugmug.com/Sunny-King-2015)

     I finished 25th, which I was pleased with considering the off-season I have had and the speed of this race. We averaged 25.6 mph for the 45-minute race, which is the fastest average speed I have ever had at Anniston. That is scooting on a course this tough on a cold, windy day. My legs may not have felt great, but I was able to hit a HR of 195 early in the race and go above 190 five times. I have not done that in a long, long time. My calf was a little sore after the race. It wasn't painful, but it definitely felt abused. Deciding to only race once this weekend was a good idea. I didn't think I was ready for back-to-back races yet and the calf soreness was a sign that I was correct. It's getting better, but it's not 100% yet. I still have to respect the injury. Doing the 81-mile Ft. McClellan Road Race on Sunday would have been a mistake for sure. My GoPro handlebar cam highlight video is posted below. Another rider from Infinity Racing posted some bike cam footage from during the Cat. 2 race and I have reposted it below as well. I saw myself on his video a few times.

Highlights of my race

Infinity Racing video from the Cat. 2 race

     After the race, we made our way over to Dad's Bar-B-Que for our usual post-race dinner in Anniston. We watched a little basketball while we ate, then returned to the course for the Pro Women's race. It was getting cold now. There were still a lot of spectators present, but more and more were moving to their cars for warmth. All around the course there were cars pulled up as close to the barriers as possible. Shannon sat in the car while I soaked up the last rays of sunshine and then walked the course to watch a rather aggressive women's race. United Healthcare drove the pace the final few laps and blew the field to pieces. It was a small group that sprinted for the win with United Healthcare going 1-2 with Hannah Barnes and Coryn Rivera. Read more about the Pro Women's race here.

My view of the Women's race. My work was done for the day.

     It was down to 40 degrees by the time the Pro Men started. I was in and out of the car trying to stay warm. It was a tough race with the conditions, but that did not keep it from being aggressive. A break of seven riders lapped the field around halfway through the race. We left shortly after that with about 23 laps to go. I wanted to stay, but we had over four hours to drive home and it was already getting late. I had to wait until the livestream replay was posted before I could see the ending. It wound up being a bunch sprint, but Hincapie tried several times to get breaks going for Mac Brennan, who was one of the seven that lapped the field. United Healthcare pulled it all back, but it was not to be for them tonight. Hincapie sprinter Ty Magner slipped by Luke Keough to grab the win, a huge victory for both Magner and the team. Read more about the Pro Men's race here.

     Our race video is posted below and you can watch the livestream replay of all the races at Anniston here. The Masters 4/5 race was a good finish, which you can find at 1:29:00 into the video. The Masters 1/2/3 race featured a high-powered breakaway with a surprise sprint finish. That race starts at 1:41:30. At 3:11:57 see the final lap of the Cat. 4 race, which featured an interesting crash in Turn 1. The last lap of the Cat. 3 race is at 3:59:12. The Cat. 2 race starts at 4:11:45. The Pro Women start at 6:37:01. The Pro Men begin at 7:50:00, complete with a marriage proposal before the race.

Video highlights from the Sunny King Criterium

    The following week was full of training, the final week in my first block involving intensity. I was pretty worn out by the next weekend, more than ready to take a rest week and enjoy Easter. The calf felt fatigued several times during the week, but never became tight or painful. It is improving, but really annoying at the same time. I am ready to be done with this. I feel like I'm always holding back, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. At least it should keep me from getting overtrained. I have been exploring some new roads in our area. It takes a long ride for me to be able to ride something new. I have ridden every road within a two hour distance of the house in all directions. I'm finding new roads just over the border in Kentucky, like the ones I wrote about in the last post. I have actually ridden some of these roads before, when I was 5-8 years old. My Dad took me to that area for some of my very first rides. First in a trailer, then on a tandem and eventually on my own. I probably have not been through those roads since I was 8. One day I'll write a blog about how I first got into cycling. I actually started at a much earlier age than most people know and had some great family experiences with it.

     Shannon and I tore up some of the roads the day before Easter to end my training block. I hammered about 70 miles while she rode the scooter, pacing me for a lot of the ride. It was a fun workout and felt more like a road race than if I had been out there alone. Though I think some of the roads scared Shannon. The small wheels on the scooter don't handle the curves and bumps very well, but she is becoming a scooter master. At least I know she enjoyed seeing some of the greenery that is popping up with the warmer weather.

A nice, green view on our ride

     Racing continued for me this past weekend with the Hell of the South Road Race and the Cedar Hill Criterium. More from those coming soon. Thanks for reading!

2015 Chickasaw Trace Classic Race Report

     My first race back from injury is in the books and it exceeded all of my expectations. As usual for Chickasaw, the weather forecast looked sketchy all the way up to, and through, Sunday. I literally waited until the last minute to sign up, registering just four minutes before pre-registration ended on Saturday night. I did manage to get in a test ride on the Titus Saturday. I rode on my backyard trail. The dirt was soft where no laps have been made on it since the end of November, but it was still good for feeling out the bike. The frame held up fine. The ride allowed me time to adjust my shifting after putting on new cables and also helped me discover a headset issue that I was able to fix later that night.

     The forecast looked good on Saturday night. There was a chance of rain late on Sunday afternoon, but it looked to arrive well after all the races. Chickasaw has a weird format with Pro and Cat. 1 races going off at 9:00am, then all other classes going at 1:00pm. With me having the morning race, I would surely be seeing dry conditions. I checked the radar Sunday morning to see a huge blob of green heading towards Columbia. It looked like it would reach the course around 10:30am. Great. We would still be racing at that point. I really did not want to drag my newly rebuilt bike through a mudfest.

    My trail was tacky, so I expected Chickasaw to be completely dry. But when I arrived, I found a slick, slimy trail. The flatter River Trail was slick in the turns. You really had to ride high on the berms to find some grip. I rode a half lap for my warm up to test the trail. It was good to see a few freshly-cut sections. I liked all the new trail, but it was still soft and hard to ride. I found it funny that the race promoter congratulated me at registration for "finally moving up to race with the big boys." You know that people don't pay attention to you when you have been Pro for five years and nobody knew it.

     I did not feel very good at the end of the week. Actually, I felt terrible during my ride on Saturday. That is not always a bad thing. Sometimes you feel great the day after a bad day. I was better on Sunday, but the legs were a little stale. I would say I was at 90%. I expected to get dropped on the start as I have lacked speed on the mountain bike for the past two or three years. After a half lap, I figured I would make up some time, then fade halfway through lap 2 and survive lap 3. The main goal for the day was just to make the distance and hopefully not have any pain in my leg. I really did not care how I finished. I just wanted to race and feel healthy.

     I was pleased to see 11 riders on the start line. Or actually 10. I rolled to the start at 8:54, just in time to hear the official fussing about us being late to the line. He said we were missing one rider still as I was getting my leg marked by the race promoter. Next thing I know, the official yells "Go!" and everybody takes off the line. It was five minutes before our scheduled start and there was no pre-race instructions or warning of any kind that we were about to start. I didn't have either foot on the pedals. I chose a terrible start spot, right in line with a huge tree. Getting smoked off the line at least took dodging the tree out of the equation. I was last off the line and last into the woods. I didn't panic though. I was expecting to get hammered in the opening section anyway. It could have been worse. At least I didn't miss the start like Michael Edens, who rolled up to the line to find we were long gone.

     There was a crash in one of the early corners and I picked up two spots to 8th. The pace was very fast around the River Trail. The group split on the first rocky climb, which was treacherous with the dampness. I cleaned the hill, but did not pick up any spots as those running were blocking the trail. The group reformed before we got next to the Duck River. We had many young riders in the group, riders in the 17-19 age range that were racing in Pro/Open for the first time. They were going so hard early on and kept things packed up. I was working hard, but I stayed with the group with no real difficulties. My confidence was building by the minute.

     In the first long field there were some big attacks. The leader was Cory Rimmer. He had gotten a gap before the rocky hill chaos and the chase was on behind him. The younger riders were attacking past Cayce Tiesler, who was riding his singlespeed today. He was spun out in the field and going much slower than the rest. All the riders in front of me got by him before a big mud puddle, but I had to wait behind until after the puddle. That opened up a gap that I could not close. I knew I couldn't go that hard or I would blow up. The pace was just too high right now. 

     A rider passed me before the entrance to the singletrack and I got a quick draft. I was happy to let him lead, but once into the woods I was about to run him over. The group ahead was still in sight, so I chilled behind this guy and watched how he rode. Everyone seemed to be having trouble with the slick corners, but I was having no problems. The group began to pull away on the next climb, so I passed the rider ahead before the technical descent of Rick's Trail. I offered to show him some lines, but he said that this was his home trail. I guess he didn't need me to show him any lines. He should have watched though because I quickly pulled off and caught another rider who had blown off the front group.

     The hilly part of the loop comes on the Trail of Tears section. I started this section in 6th, about 30 seconds off a group of four. Rimmer was still out front solo another 30 seconds up. I gave it my all on the hills and tried to close the gap. There's a big double jump halfway through this section. I have never been brave enough to launch the full jump. It's a fast section and coming up short could be a disaster. I forgot about it the first lap and got just enough air to be dangerous. I plowed into the landing jump, but luckily my fork soaked up the impact.

      On the biggest climb of the course, I caught another of the young riders who had blown sky-high from the pace of the first five miles. I was now top 5 and the group ahead was splitting. Despite my efforts, I made no dent into the size of the gap. After lap 1, Rimmer was up by 20 seconds over two chasers. Fourth place was 15 seconds further back and I was a minute behind him. That put me 1:42 down to Rimmer. My hope was that I could make up some time on the River Trail where I was cornering so fast, but the trail was much drier on lap 2. I could not believe the difference. It was barely slick, so everybody was able to push hard in the turns.

Me in one of the rocky sections

photo courtesy of Columbia Cycling Club

     I got the gap to fourth down to 30 seconds at one point, then started to lose time. I could feel my legs fading before I got to the Trail of Tears for the second time. I faded even more through the hills and was very tired by the end of lap 2. I expected to fade this lap, but not quite so much this early. Then again, I didn't plan to start that hard either because I didn't think I could run that pace at all. I attempted the big double this lap. I braked just a little before the jump and came up just a few inches short, but I made it! 

     After two laps, I was now over five minutes off the lead. Rimmer had not faded at all and was still leading the race. Second and third were still together. I lost more time to fourth place, and I now trailed him by 1:58. I knew I was not going to gain anything the last lap. My legs were gone! I just kept hammering with what I had left and tried to conserve my 5th place. I was pumped to be in the top 5 with 11 strong riders being present! The last lap hurt and my legs were completely shot after the long Dump Climb, but I held on to get 5th place and collect a little prize money. And I cleared that big double the final lap. I almost jumped over a course worker that was packing down the trail in between the jumps.

Pro/Open podium

Video: Chickasaw race footage

     My lap times were nothing spectacular, but I showed I can run race pace in the Pros and can make it through a full race without blowing up. Most importantly, I did not have any pain in my gastroc! Despite being off the mountain bike all winter, my skills felt fine. Only my power was lacking. I was a bit off on the flats and on the climbs, but less so than in the past three years. I am VERY pleased with the effort today and feel I am starting with a very solid foundation this season. My lap times were all faster than last year. It was slightly more muddy last year, so I would say my times were even. I'll take that considering the off-season I have went through this time around.

     After my race, I hung around to watch the Cat. 2 and 3 races, cheering on my friends, like Rick Harmon and Angela Lee, and just having fun watching a bike race. It was awesome to see Rick on a bike again after several bouts with cancer. The rain stayed away all day. It sprinkled a few times during our race and then again near the end of the Cat. 2 and 3 races. The rain stayed just to the south of the trails. And I do mean just. We could see the rain falling in the distance when we left the park. The temp was perfect for bike racing. It stayed in the low-60s all day. You were neither hot nor cold when racing. I jumped off Chip Purcell's car before leaving. His battery had died, so I gave him a boost. At first it did not work, then we checked the water levels in his battery and all cells were dry. We filled them up and the car fired right up. I guess you really do have to keep water in your battery! I was glad to help out an old teammate and catch up with him while we worked. Chip raced with me on the Piney Flats and Bike Shop teams in 2006 and 2007.

     I tried the local group ride on Tuesday and got dropped like a bad habit. I had no legs. Sunday really kicked my butt! I beat the group through the hills, then did a big pull. When I moved to the back of the line, the pack was exploding and I got gapped several times. I was too tired to be putting in those kinds of efforts so I'm glad I got dropped. I needed to get dropped. I turned around and rode towards the house, eventually meeting up with my Dad for a few miles.

     Nothing makes my legs feel better than a long, slow ride, so Wednesday I made a long loop on some of my favorite roads. It was a BEAUTIFUL day. I cannot stress that enough. It was 78 degrees and sunny. It was the best day of the year this far. I actually got hot a few times on the climbs. I kicked up the pace on some of the faster roads. Crawford Store Rd. is my new favorite road. It is super fast, twisty and narrow. You actually have to pay attention to make the corners and that is rare for an open road. I found some gravel for my dose of Vitamin G, and even passed by J. Bourne road again for some secret-ninja training motivation. I knocked off a slow 71 miles, then did a little fishing behind the house with my Dad. We both caught only one fish, but mine was a huge largemouth bass, definitely the biggest I have ever caught.

Vitamin G

Fast, one-lane roads in southern Kentucky feel like riding in Europe at times.

     Next up on the calendar is Sunny King Criterium in Anniston, AL tomorrow. I'm on the fence as to whether or not I will actually go. The forecast is again sketchy. There's a cold front in place bringing cold temperatures and a chance of rain. I'll make the call in the morning. Right now, I'm 90% in. I'm ok with cold, but I am not into getting sick at this point with a cold and rainy race. I'll save my money for a race later in the year that I am actually prepared for. Even if I do go, I'm not staying for the road race on Sunday because I don't think my leg is ready for back-to-back races like that just yet. The road race is 80 miles for us. That would be a tough day after a hard crit. A livestream from the crit. is supposed to be up for nearly all the races. You can watch it here starting at 12:00pm CDT. I'll be in the Cat. 2 race at 3:50 if I go. I'm a little nervous about racing in the pack. Tuesday's group ride was the first time I have ridden with more than one person at a time on the road since Gateway Cup last September. It will be exciting! If I don't go to Anniston, I will get back to it in two weeks with the Cedar Hill Criterium near Nashville.

Bourne Again

     Round two of snow came through just two days after my last post. We got a good six inches of snow with only a little bit of ice this time. It was a good snow for our area. In typical Tennessee fashion it was gone in just a few days. We had two days of sub-30 degree temps, then the sun popped out and we saw 65 degrees on the weekend.

     This snow event was full of work drama again. Both Shannon and I got to stay home the first day as both clinics closed for the day. It was our first ever snow day from work together. We had fun playing around the farm and even did a little sledding on the trash can lid. We really need to go buy a real sled.

Not a single track in the backyard this morning

The ice couldn't keep the geese out of the pond. They made swim tracks all through the ice.

View from the back of the farm

Creek in the woods

Shannon cruising on the trash can lid

Me doing a little sledding

     The snow was deep in a few places so we started piling it up to make berms for the sled. Next thing you know we have a slalom course going on the hill next to the house. It was very fun, but turned out to be quite a challenge. Every run we made packed the snow better and made us go faster. We kept having to add to the berms because we kept gaining speed and would shoot right over the berms.

Video: Sledding with the GoPro

     Last weekend, we took a quick road trip to Indianapolis. Shannon went up a day earlier than me, visiting with her family and going to a church convention. I came up to see the Monster Energy Supercross at Lucas Oil Stadium. The stadium is usually home to the Indianapolis Colts football team, but this week it was filled with dirt. I drove up Saturday with my parents. My Mom has really been into Supercross the past few years. It was past time for her to see one live. I find it funny that she is more hooked on Supercross than my Dad, considering he raced dirt bikes throughout the 80s and early-90s. That's what's wrong with me. I was at races before birth, breathing Turbo Blue exhaust in the womb.

Lucas Oil Stadium

    Lucas Oil Stadium is a monster building. I don't think there is a bad seat in that place. We had a good time watching the race. The course was a tough one with several tricky rhythm sections and some big whoops. Those sections provided plenty of spills and plenty of awe. It was amazing to see the lines the top riders were able to take. You really could see the skill difference between the top six or seven guys and the guys running 15th. My favorite riders are Eli Tomac and Ryan Dungey. Tomac won his heat race, then fell early in the main event. Dungey is the current series points leader and he did not disappoint, taking the win in the main by a large margin. Dungey lapped Tomac after his fall, but little Eli was able to keep up with Dungey all the way to the end. Tomac showed he is definitely one to watch in the future. I can't help but cheer for him. His father, John Tomac, is one of the nicest guys on the planet...and he happens to be one of the biggest legends in mountain biking history. He is one of the riders I look up to. John was one of the few riders ever who could win the Downhill events on Saturday, then ride away to the XC wins on Sunday. The guy had skills and legs.

View from our seats

Pre-race festivities

Video: Some clips from our point of view.

Video: Highlights of the 450 SX Main Event

     After the race, we drove back to Bloomington to stay the night, then got up early so we could drive back towards home to make it to Stake Conference for church. Shannon has been singing with the choir and they sang a few songs during Conference so we really wanted to be back so she could participate. It was a quick trip, but definitely worth the loss of sleep.

     Spring is here for sure. As soon as the last snow melted you could see the grass beginning to green up. Only the buttercups have bloomed, but the trees are covered with buds. Green woods will soon be upon us! We have been working hard to prepare for our garden. We have seedlings growing in our back room. Everything has been doing well with the exception of our peppers. We planted six different kinds of peppers and only one kind sprouted. I guess I will be planting more peppers soon. The goal is to get them into Dina's new greenhouse next week where they can beef up before time to put them in the ground. We dug up our carrots that have been growing all winter under the snow. They were much bigger than our previous crops and tasted much, much better.

Bigger, better carrots this year

     With warmer weather comes the race season. This is the first year the off-season has flown by for me. I guess the injury had me working hard and wanting more time. The Smashville Crit. got postponed, which was fine with me since I was going to skip it anyway. My season opener is just two days away now at Chickasaw. I am excited and scared at the same time. I've made some big gains over the past two weeks, but I am still only about 85% of being all the way over this gastroc injury. My speed is coming back nicely, and I think I have more power now than in the past, but my endurance is lacking. I think I will be able to put down some decent laps, but I don't think I have three fast laps of mountain bike racing in my legs yet. We shall see on Sunday.

     Last week, I did a big ride to test the leg. It was a 55-mile loop on the road that is very hilly. Most of the hills are steep, some topping 18% gradients. I did better than good on the ride. I crushed my personal best by almost 15 minutes and set new personal bests on two of the climbs during the loop. The next day, I did a long, slow day. The legs felt recovered, but the gastroc was feeling the day before. I had some pain before the end of the ride, which added to my misery. I rode all four hours in the cold rain. Sometimes it was a brutal downpour. I kept chugging out the miles with motivation from a road name. I passed by J. Bourne Rd. It could not be a coincidence that I passed by J. (think Jason) Bourne Rd, on an epic rain ride while doing secret ninja training. I kept an eye out for C. Norris road, but didn't see that one.

     Shannon did some massage when I got home and the pain in my leg went away quickly. Like the last time I had pain, I think it was more fatigue-related than muscle spasm due to injury. I did a similar set of rides this week with no pain on the second day. I'm seeing improvements almost daily, but I'm still on the leash a little more than I would like to be.

     My speed has been surprising to say the least. I set a new personal best on my favorite training climb this week. I was off by a single second last week when I tried it for the first time. I hit it again this week and was one second quicker than the record. That hill has always been my test to see if I'm race-ready. If I can climb it in under 2:35 and put my heart rate over 190, I'm in pretty good shape. I clocked a 2:29 this week and hit 191 heart rate. Maybe my form isn't as bad as I originally thought.

     I have two other concerns about Chickasaw. I have not been on any mountain bike since November. If I was ever going to get injured, this was the year to do it. The weather has just been terrible for mountain biking. Not to mention my bike has been broken. I finally got it fixed. The frame has been epoxied and looks good. I think now I have done about everything on a bike except fully build a wheel and service a rear shock. I'm hoping to get in a ride tomorrow to test the bike a bit before subjecting it to a race. It needs to be tested and I need to break the rust off my skills. I'm sure the weather has affected everyone so I'm likely to be one of many dusting off the cobwebs this weekend.

     My other concern is my weight. I reported in the last blog that I had gained some weight despite my efforts to maintain. I think some of it is from lifting weights regularly for the first time in my life, but I also know this new ice cream machine is a curse. I'm a bit above my goal for this point in the Spring, but I am confident I will drop these last few pounds in the coming weeks as I begin to log more miles outside and become more active off the bike. I still have some work to do to get my legs right. I'm hoping the weight will be where I want it when the legs are finally 100%. I'm aiming for good form in late-April and even better form by the end of May. It looks like most of my bigger races for this season will be later in the season so I'm not in too much of a hurry right now.

     Look for a report from the race sometime next week. The weather looks good now, but if it comes another monsoon like in recent years I will not be racing. My gastroc is definitely not ready for a long slog in the mud. And I'm not putting my brand new bearings through the slop just yet. Thanks for reading and pray for a dry race!

Pump You Up

     It's been two weeks now since our shot of snow here in Tennessee, but still some snow remains on the ground. This is probably the longest I ever remember snow staying on the ground here. The only other time we approached two weeks was way back in 1994 when we had a massive ice storm. The storm took down many trees and power lines, leaving us without power for two full weeks. As a kid, I thought it was so fun. I got to stay home from school, play in the snow and cut trees with my Dad. Our backyard had at least 10 trees down in it, so we were busy cutting for several days. In one of the trees, we found four baby squirrels that had been abandoned by their mother. We took them in for several weeks, feeding them first with an eyedropper full of milk, then later with corn and nuts. Later in the Spring, they were big enough to fend for themselves and we released them into the woods. They were fun, but very crazy. There is no playing with a squirrel. Even when raised with people from their earliest days they are still a bundle of nervous energy. They're too skittish to handle and won't think twice about biting you.

     With no electricity we had no refrigerator. But that was fine because it was cold enough to sit all your fridge items outside and they would keep just fine. My Dad brought home dry ice from work to help with the freezer items. We were building a bedroom onto the end of the house at that time. The bare floors were the perfect spot for our old kerosene heater to sit. It was like camping to me. I slept on the floor in front of the heater every night and my Mom made me Spaghetti-Os on top of the stove for lunch every day. It really was a fun time, though I hope to never see ice that bad again.

     Training continues to go well. I've had some weird sensations in the lateral gastroc at times with longer rides, but it never gets worse or becomes painful. I'm so aware of that area now that I feel every little thing. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish what is fatigue and what is the muscle attempting to spasm again. I finished up my block of base training this week and had no soreness whatsoever so I'm thinking all these sensations are just fatigue. The muscle is still weak with longer rides and intensity. I really expected length to be more of an issue than intensity, but now I am easily handling four hour rides. The only time I feel the leg any at all is when I start going harder. I kept everything limited to 80% effort until the last two workouts when I gave it 100% just to test the water. Everything felt good. Actually, I put up some of the best heart rate numbers I have ever seen on the trainer.

     This base period was 22 days long and it was the worst 22 days of weather I have seen in a long time. Still, I got in my ride time. Of the 19 rides I did during that period, 16 of them were spent on the trainer. Those three outside rides came in the first five days of the block. So, I've now been on the trainer 14 straight rides. I'm just now getting tired of it. I have found plenty of races and TV shows to watch to keep me entertained. I accepted that the trainer was my only option and it made things a lot easier. I actually like it because I can control all the variables and place the exact amount of stress on my leg muscles that I need right now. I knocked out many three hour rides and even two rides over four hours last week. That's a lot of inside ride time. If nothing else my bum will be ready for the season!

     It feels like I have not been training that much, but when looking back at the past two years, I actually put in more ride time this February. My training has been much more specific and I feel more complete now that I have addressed some of my muscular deficits with off-the-bike workouts. I'm not where I want to be yet, but I'm getting close. I've actually put on a little muscle in the past two months. I'm good with adding weight as long as that transitions into improved power on the bike. My goal this period was to drop four pounds, but I only managed to lose one. I know some of that is muscle, but it is hard to tell. Everybody wants to think that their weight gain is muscle, but it rarely is. Still, I am well ahead of last year's mark at this time.

     Even with the recent positive swings in training, I am delaying the start of my season until later in March. I was planning to begin with the Smashville Criterium in Nashville this Saturday, but I am nowhere near ready for that kind of intensity. I would rather skip it and prepare more so that my first race does not get my gastroc irritated again. Besides, I don't think I can afford the race. It has a $50 entry fee and no payout. While the entry fee does include a ticket to the Nashville Predators hockey game that night, it still does not help me out. I would want to take Shannon to the game and that means buying another ticket in the promotional section, which is an additional $60. I would love to support the Predators and race downtown around Bridgestone Arena, but we just can't afford to start our season off that way. Instead, I plan to kick of my season in Columbia, TN at the Chickasaw Trace Classic mountain bike race on March 22. I am excited to get back on the dirt.

     When my injury was at its worst, I was quite frustrated by my friends and colleagues. Nobody would take the time to help me narrow down the source of my pain. With lots of studying, diligent observation of my symptoms and plenty of prayers, Shannon and I finally found the source. Now that I have things worked out and am rolling down the path to recovery, everybody wants to put in their two cents. It really is amazing how so many of my fellow therapists have no idea how to train an athlete, especially an endurance athlete. I'm not saying I am an expert, but some of the theories I hear from people with doctorate degrees have been frightening at times. Of course, I am doing things all wrong. I have found that when I start getting a lot of opposition from people around me then it means I'm doing something right and good things tend to follow when I stick to my guns.

     I have learned a lot from my self-rehab. For instance, it takes much less intensity, resistance and reps to improve strength and stability than I ever thought. I have always destroyed myself with weights. I give it 100% effort all the time and go until I'm exhausted. That's the way we are taught. If you don't lift heavy weight, you won't make gains. I took a different approach this time due to the injury. It forced me to start light and gradually increase both resistance and volume. While I feel like I am doing 25% of the work I did before, I am seeing better results and am more motivated. No longer am I so fatigued after weights that I don't want to ride. No longer am I overly sore. Yet I continue to see huge gains in the strength of every muscle I am working. I feel consistency has made the difference. I have been dedicated and not missed a single workout. I listen to my body more and have recovered better between workouts to maximize gains. I have found the sweet spot with my volume and can see a big difference in the efficiency of my workouts. I am accomplishing more with less time and less effort.

     In therapy, we see so many injuries from CrossFit and Boot Camp. I don't think there is anything wrong with their workouts. The problem is with the people doing the workout. Basic exercises have totally kicked my butt and I am a Pro-level athlete. Take some Joe off the couch and put him in CrossFit doing power cleans, jump lunges and push ups in rings and you can see how he is setting himself up for an injury. You have to build yourself up to those more difficult exercises and it takes time. You body has to adapt and you have to learn proper form. But most people will never take that time because flipping heavy tires and swinging thick ropes is "cool." I'll see the "cool" people in therapy very soon.

     Besides the intensity issue, I want to discuss the biggest criticism that has been around my whole life. If you are an endurance athlete, I'm sure you have heard this too. "You need to put on muscle mass." Why? What good is hauling extra pounds up a mountain if it is doing nothing to help you pedal faster? Every single one of my colleagues still treats every athlete like a football player. You don't have to be a big gargantuan to be a Pro athlete, but that stereotype is still going strong. I have one friend that will argue with me on this issue until he is blue in the face. Mass is only good if it serves a purpose. For football, size can be a good thing because you get hit all day. You can use it as sort of a cushion. We don't tackle in cycling...at least not on purpose. Neither do runners or swimmers. Strength is good for football, but only if it comes with speed. A huge offensive lineman that can bench 600 pounds is useless if he can't produce that strength quickly. That is called power. A defensive back half his size who can only bench 300 pounds, but can produce his 300 pounds of force in half the time, will run the big lineman over every time. Strength does not always translate to power. You have to produce your strength quickly, especially in a sport with quick bursts like football. So, size and strength are not automatically an advantage.

     I always ask those people that say I need bigger muscles if they have ever watched any endurance event on TV. Do you ever see giant runners, cyclists or triathletes at the Olympics? No. We all look the same. And there is a reason for this. Aerobic endurance events stress Type I muscle fibers more than Type II. Type I do not hypertrophy as much as Type II, so the muscle fibers have less cross-sectional area. Serious weightlifting stresses more of the Type II fibers, which respond with greater size gains. It's two different kinds of training. You will only see gains in your sport if you train specifically for your sport. For some reason, the bench press remains a "gold standard" for how strong someone is. There are many coaches and trainers out there that believe the bench press helps every athlete. But the bench press is only specific to pushing with you arms. If your sport does not require pushing with your arms, then you are wasting your training time.

     Endurance athletes also tend to burn more fat for fuel, leading to lower body fat percentages. People get caught up in the notion that a skinny person has no muscle. That is not true. Often the skinny endurance athletes have plenty of muscle, just not much fat around those muscles to give the perception of size. Pound for pound, many endurance athletes probably have more muscle on their body than a lot of non-endurance athletes.

     In endurance events, it all boils down to your power:weight ratio. Basically, how strong are you compared to how much mass you are carrying. Therefore, adding muscle is slowing you down unless that added muscle increases your power output in your sport. It doesn't seem like rocket science to me, but everyone around me seems to struggle with this. I think that if bigger muscles were better, we would see big muscleheads winning the Tour de France...and we don't. Most of my colleagues think little of my CSCS certification, especially when compared to their doctorate, but at least I learned that there is a difference between training for football and cycling. You can't use a cookie-cutter approach to train every type of athlete.