Break Time!

Jan 1 to Jul 13, 6.5mo of focused training and racing brings me to the end of MTB season. MTB Nationals is this weekend, and normally I would go but Wednesday I spent the day caring for my son as he underwent ACL reconstruction. Total bummer, this is his 2nd ACL surgery and it really makes me sad. I'm not to bummed about missing Nationals as its at altitude (Near Denver), and us low-landers don't do so well with short notice trips to races at 8000'. But it does seem as if the season has flown by, and I feel weird shifting gears into break mode... although I always make "break mode" a celebration!

For the 6.5mo I diligently tracked all my energy intake and output in an effort to chisel down to a super lean 152lbs. I might hit 150 for a few days here and there, but 152 is racing weight and it is a huge job trying to stay there. At 47 it's just plain tuff to get lean, and even tuff'er to stay lean. Mid season I bulged to about 154, but for the most part I have maintained race weight since February and I am now fully prepared to gain a quick 5 pounds!

During the 6.5mo I rode pretty much everyday, and rode with purpose pretty much every time I suited up. I had an agenda, a workout set, a goal, there was a mission with every ride. It might be to recover, or it might be to suffer, but every ride had a purpose. So between a rigid adherence to a workout schedule and an equally rigid adherence to diet, I am pretty much ready to hold-up the nearest Bakery come July!

What do I do on a break? Well first I park the bike. 2nd, I eat pastry, ice cream, burgers, pizza, and pretty much set out to put on 5lbs as quick as possible. I really gotta do this, for a few different reasons. #1, I've deprived myself of "poor choices" for months. #2, racing weight is not a healthy weight. #3, I have lived "feeling hungry" for months! So, I immediately target poor choices and weight gain, and as far as stopping the "feeling hungry", it requires at least 3-4days of limitless consumption of whatever I want.

This may seem extreme, and it kinda is, but after 3-4days I stop "just wanting to eat", and start to feel like eating meals and more healthier choices. The cravings subside, the hunger disappears and I start feeling MUCH less obsessive about food. I also have seen the scale change and the abs start to smooth, its amazing how quickly it comes on.. especially knowing how slowly it goes off! Soon I am back to eating my routine foods and its amazing that all the cravings I fought away for months seem to be totally absent. The body is happy now, and having done this before, will be happy until I chisel down again.

So what about the bike? Well, I am in pretty much the best shape of my life, so I hate to just let it go to waste. If I am traveling, well, I just won't ride. But this year I am at home, so riding is an option. I've taken a few days off but kinda feeling like taking an EZ spin tonight. Tomorrow is Saturday, the weather is gorgeous, the group rides are in full swing.. what to do? I am gonna ride, I just won't ride with purpose. I'll sit on, eat, drink, enjoy the ride. I won't hammer, I won't pull.. I'll chit chat and just cruise. The next day I might skip, I'll just do whatever I want for 7-10days and really let the chronic training load subside and the rest sink in. After 7-10days I should be feeling ready to ride hard and will probably go out and do something that sets a PB at some time duration. Breaks are usually followed by an amazing ride, tuff to predict when exactly, but usually in pretty short order.

And the rest of Summer? I'll ride hard! Lets face it, fitness is great right now. Weather is great, the only thing that really wasn't great was the chronic effects of a high training/racing load and 6mo of calorie deficit. Those 2 combined will hammer a body into a super fast MTB racing machine, but it cannot be sustained indefinitely, and I gotta be able to say enough is enough. At that point fitness can be huge, and by simply taking a short break, packing on a few lbs, and trimming back the "riding with purpose", I can hammer through the Summer with awesome form for fun! No expectations, plenty of second servings, and a whole lot of Good Times!

MTB Specificity

MTB racing requires solid endurance, your best power to weight ratio, and the ability to repeatedly deliver short high powered efforts. The endurance part is the same as any other aerobic sport, if you want to race, you need good endurance. Power to weight ratio means you have your body conditioned to develop your best power at the lowest possible weight. With all the climbs and accelerations in MTB racing, power to weight ratio is VERY important. And man, its tuff maintaining a super lean physique for months on end. But probably least understood is the ability to repeatedly produce the short high powered efforts that are required to ride fast through roots, clear obstacles and ascend the countless rises and hills featured in MTB races.

When racers launch from the line and hit the single track it may or may not be apparent that they are basically pedaling a few times, coasting, pedaling, coasting, continuously throughout the event. They also most likely do not realize just how much power they are producing during the "pedaling" portion of the ride. When you look at a power file from an MTB race it becomes very apparent! Every corner, lump, root, whatever.. requires a surge of power to maintain speed and momentum throughout the race. These surges are generally quite short, but repeated continuously throughout most sections of a typical race course.

Quadrant analysis.. what? Within WKO+ power file software you can view "how" the rider is producing power. High revs low force, high revs high force, low revs low force, low revs high force. Each pedal stroke will fall into 1 of these 4 quadrants. Generally during your basic road bike endurance ride you will be riding at a fairly middle rev speed (cadence) of around 90rpms with moderate force on each stroke. Chugging along, doing the miles, building endurance. Now say you want to accelerate, you may shift to a bigger gear and stand on the pedals in a low rev/high force style. Or you may spin the gear up with high revs eventually producing less force per rev as the rpm's increase. But on a MTB when you go to clear that root or small rise it is almost always accomplished with a lower rpm and HIGH FORCE.

I often notice that when I spend a lot of time training on my road bike that the transition back to racing on trails is not so smooth. All that power I developed on the road bike is good for those steady climbs, but when the going gets technical, rooty, highly undulating, I seem to wear out a lot faster. All those short, sharp efforts become exhausting and the next day I have soreness.. everywhere! Beat up and beaten down by the demands of MTB racing!

Why is this? I have my own conclusions, its due to the low cadence high force efforts, repeated over and over as power eventually fades away. These short, sharp efforts require a hearty push with every pedal stroke that uses more core muscle, arms and parts of the legs that just don't get worked very hard when road riding. Repeatedly delivery robust pedal strokes causes muscle contraction throughout the entire body, not to mention the upper body abuse you endure chattering through the roots and rocks, jumps and stumps and whatever obstacle may be coming next. MTB racing is much more of a full body workout, and if I've spent to much time on the road, I am going to pay for it!

So how do we train this quality up? All sorts of methods have been used, including low speed big gear accelerations, short high powered intervals, and long tempo rides with a "burst" every 5 minutes. But IMO this is all weak compared to actually getting out on the trails and riding hard.. or even better RACING! We all hear how the Pro's need racing to bring their legs around, and it holds true for us. Get out and race.. push hard, work to exhaustion and push even harder. These all out efforts will signal the body to adapt and develop strength where it needs it. I can get a bit of this by special road exercises, but nothing tops the specificity of actually getting out on the trail and riding hard!

Test Of Endurance 50

Test Of Endurance 50 is a 50mile MTB race with 8500' of climbing. The climbs are mostly dirt roads with some single track, and the descents are all technical single track.. with plenty of mud. Its a brute, and the relentless climbing makes lap 2 seem like it never ends. With Adam Craig, Carl Decker, Ryan Trebon and the likes setting the pace for this mass start event, its EZ to get caught in the wheels and try to "hang" with the fast guys.. which is everyone's first mistake!

This year I brought my rim brake Powermeter bike so that I could not only capture the file, but also use the Powermeter to pace my effort. With a 4hr+ ride time, this race has the potential to become an All-Time-Best ride file for 4hrs, and with that in mind, that's what I set out to achieve!

The start was predictably as hard as I expected, and I tried to hold back, but early position is important. I didn't need to be at the front, but definitely needed to be somewhere near the front so I wouldn't get hung up in the early single track. So, I burned a few matches early, but as soon as possible settled into an output that I knew was within my ability for the 4hr duration.

I approached every climb riding right around threshold, and was careful not to go much above, or try to follow a wheel of someone creeping away. I let everyone go, I rode my own race and really had to have faith that lap 2 would reacquaint me with all these riders that were leaving me behind.

250+ riders, plenty of fast pro's, and a bunch of Cat 1's.. that's a lot of riders to watch ride off into the sunset, but I was committed to the strategy. I have done countless 4hr training rides through the hills with a Powermeter, I know what happens.. ATTRITION! We fade, we are only capable of so much work, and when that limit is reached.. Perceived Exertion increases and Speed decreases!

The strategy worked, and on lap 2, particularly the final hour (of 4hrs), I really brought back a ton of riders. Made my way to the middle of the Pro field and Finished 13th overall and 30sec back of the first Cat-1.. dang! I thought I brought em all back, but there was still 1 Cat-1 rider, fortunately not in my age group. I finished 16min up on the next 45+ rider, and 11min behind Ryan Trebon.

So how did the ride rate? Well, I was a bit limited in my ability to let it all hang out on the descents. My wife and youngest are in Chicago, and I had my 23yo Autistic Son waiting for me at the finish line. After the finish we had a 5hr+ drive home and work on Monday, so today wasn't a day to get hurt, or initiate a crisis. With the greasy/muddy conditions, roots, waterbars, steep descents (8500ft of descents), I really had to keep in mind that dad had post race responsibilities that would not allow for injury.. so I used plenty of brake on the descents, which somewhat affected my elapsed time. But elapsed time wasn't my goal, a GREAT RIDE FILE was my goal. I wanted to capture a huge ride, and taking the descents a little slow would have minimal impact on the quality of my performance when it comes to the numbers.

So how were the numbers? For 4hr20min I expended 4094kj of energy with the highest 4hr Normalized Power I have ever done. It was the strongest 4hrs I've ever done, and is now the new "Ride To Beat". Average power was solid, but with all the descending, the Average was pulled down. that's where Normalized Power (NP) becomes such an excellent measure. NP represents the physiological load of the event, and closely predicts what one could have done with the same effort level if the event was steady power (no coasting). For efforts over 20minutes, NP is pretty much the same as the power you could generate at a steady pace for that same duration. NP is also used to help quantify the physiological stress of the event. Well, for the Test Of Endurance, both my NP and TSS (Training Stress Score) reached new highs, and raised the bar for what these legs can do for 4 hours. I like it, it was a great ride!!

Mud + Rim Brakes:

Kilojoules and Anaerobic Capacity

My son and I formed a 2-man team for the Six Hours Of MT Hood Race. Jimmie is 15, and rides a bit, but has recently picked up his interest and has been joining me at several events, both MTB and Road Racing. He loves the Road Bike! But he is really good at MTB, just needs to keep working on the fitness, and I guess nothing beats a good ol' Long Hard Ride to improve the fitness!

Our plan for the 6hr relay was 1-lap Jimmie, 2-laps dad, and I was hoping to do around 4hrs and 3200 kilojoules. I figured at a robust pace, 3200kj would be about right for me, and that's a good days work. So we set out on our adventure!

The course was tough! Technical, but flowing and featured countless short climbs that really dug deep into the legs in short order. These short, hard bursts are high powered, with power outputs falling squarely in the Anaerobic Capacity (AC) power zone (zone 6). This effort level drains the legs quick, and can make for a long day if fitness is lacking and the duration is long. And once you exhaust that Anaerobic Capacity, short bursts of power become brutally tough! Well, that's the way this race played, and Jimmie had exhausted his AC after the first lap (45min)! He agreed to do a second lap, and he slogged it out, but dad was left with the task of accumulating more laps.

My goal was to get in a good ride, have fun and not go to deep. Been doing a lot of racing, so no need to bury myself. But with the "Test Of Endurance 50" the next Sunday, a good hard ride would be excellent prep, and 3200kj of work is good hard ride. I took my rim brake Power Tap bike to record the ride data, so it was EZ to watch the work accumulate, and when I hit 4hrs, I had 3400+kj.. that's enough for me! Shut her down, ate some good food, and looked forward to the file download later that eve.

The file was startling, I haven't recorded a ton of races, but generally the amount of time spent in Zone 6 (AC) seems to be limited (for me) to around 25min. On this ride I logged almost an hour of Zone 6 time! Zones 2,3,4,5 were all equal (at about 25min each), and Zone 1 was the largest at 1hr30min. So I was either going real hard or going real EZ, not much in between. This seems pretty obvious for an MTB race, but I certainly expected much more time in the Threshold/VO2Max zones (zones 4&5). Whatever the case, it seems that my capacity to continue to take on those short efforts was real good this day, and although power did fade, I was still hitting it hard after 3hrs at a very high (for me) Normalized average power.

How did the Powertap do? Well, there was a water/mud hole that completely submerged the hub on 7-laps. The course was rocky, had running water in places (from melting snow), and a fair amount of mud. It was the kinda course that tests your bike build, and the Powertap Bike performed excellent, with no issues whatsoever!

I guess in retrospect I should try and see what I can learn from this and maybe address it in training. But the reality is, I think I wouldn't change a thing. Train a big base, work on threshold and then let racing build the capacity for high powered efforts. That's what I've done this year, and I have felt great! Lots of racing, pretty much every weekend for the last 2 months. I've done several Mid week time trials and been to numerous Mid week group rides. I really did a solid base this year, and the dividends are paying off. I am recovering well, my performance is holding, and I continue to feel motivated for another race. I contribute this to a great base. Also, my volume of intensity during training was at a level that exceeds the volume of intensity I am accumulating during racing. So the body is well adapted to the weekly workload while racing and riding. Its a great time of year.. race, have fun, let the racing sharpen the fitness, and enjoy the ride!

How Much Power?

Wouldn't it be nice to know just how much power you are producing during the difficult sections of a race.. or for the entire race? Well, all you need is a powermeter. I use Saris Powertap hubs to record my training, but due to the weight of the Disk Brake MTB version of the Powertap, I leave it at home when racing. But now that has changed, I've built up a few MTB's over the years that use the road version of the Powertap hub along with old fashioned V-Brakes on the rear. The road Powertap is fairly light, not quite as light as a racing wheel, but getting close. Built with light rims and spokes, I can get a MTB Powertap setup that comes pretty close to the feel of a full on lightweight racing wheel. Now, I just need a bike with the same feel as my race bike, but capable of utilizing V-Brakes.. and now we have it:



This frame is built by Rock Lobster Cycles, and it features Scandium Aluminum for a nice lightweight feel, and a fit/geometry that is a carbon copy of my (carbon) race bike.. SWEET! Schoolbus Yellow is the color, it really looks great. Notice no Disk Tabs? Just V-Brake Posts!

With the "Bavarian Bike and Brews" race on the calendar, I decided that would be the perfect race to use a Powermeter, for a couple reasons. #1, I just want to gather some race files, and #2, this race features 3x 1800ft ascents! Yep, a pure climbers race where steady power, and a lot of it, will be required to stay in contention with the NW Pro's. I raced the Pro class cause the field is smaller, less traffic, better and faster riders (to watch and learn), and also because I can usually hold my own quite well.

So I built the bike, but with only 2-days to get it together, test ride and race, I opted for stuff that would be quick to assemble, including a full rigid fork that was ready to go. Full rigid is great for climbing, but definitely horrible for the 1800ft decent that followed each climb. Oh well, I am more interested in the race file for the UPHILLS, I can sacrifice the downhills.

I was able to get the bike together, but couldn't get the rear brakes to work.. so those 1800ft descents would now be with a rigid fork and virtually no rear brakes! Oh well again, we're doing it anyway!

The Pro field of 18 toed up to the line, which was at the foot of the first run up the climb, the gun went off and oh my.. this is fast! I look down at the Powermeter to see we are holding pretty steady at 400watts.. and I weigh 152lbs. This is serious business, and more power than I can hold to the top, so I dial it back to what i know I can do and settle into my rhythm. Of course that places me DEAD LAST, but remember, we have 3 trips up this baby. Now here's the part to think about: I doubt that anyone in that field was able to hold 5.8watts/kg (400 watts divided by 152lbs) for the 25min climb, and for sure wouldn't be able to do it 3x, so whats the point of such a brutal pace? That's just the way MTB races start, happens every race.

Anyway, I rode my pace and by the mid-climb was bringing guys back. By the top I had passed a few and then on the descent, well I got passed back. That's OK, those young bucks are willing to take risks I can't even imagine, and in addition, I'm on a rigid fork with no brakes, and these repeated waterbar jumps are pretty scary at high speed!

So 2nd time up the ascent I bring more guys back, and of course lose some places on the descent. But, whats exciting is my average power for climb 2 was 10watts higher and a minute faster than climb 1.. and I still feel good! Can I top the power for climb 3? YES! 8 more watts to the average, a bit quicker and more riders passed. Of course I get passed back on the descent, but when it's all said and done.. I placed 7th.. not bad! Worked from last to 7th with the help of a pacing tool and a strategy, and in spite of the rigid fork and no rear brakes.. which by the way turned out to be the lever bottoming on the shifter. My friend Dan Cooley grabbed an allen wrench, twisted the shifter.. fixed! I felt dumb!

A Breath Of Fresh Air

It's almost June, many races in the rear view mirror and many yet to come. This is always a difficult time of year to predict, am I roasted from too much hard work for Sea Otter, or after the short break in training am I feeling motivated to take on the 2nd half of the year? This year I think its the latter, feelin' pretty dang good!

I have been doing our local TT series on the Cervelo P3 I picked up this year, and even did a road race.. an omnium featuring a TT, Crit and a Road Race. I've done a few more MTB races and have a few more on the calendar over the next few weeks. In fact I've raced or been on vacation nearly every weekend since Sea Otter. Been busy! But feeling good and starting to think ahead towards MTB Nationals in Sol Vista.

This weekend will be a MTB race in Sisters Oregon, followed by the next weekend with a Race near Wenatchee Washington. The Wenatchee Race is the one I'll rest up for, it features 3x 1800' climbs.. you go UP, you go DOWN x3.. very cool course and always a challenge trying to save some gas for that 3rd run to the top.

Nationals.. hummm.. I think I'm there again. The start line is near 9000 feet, so it's a whole different world when it comes to aerobic performance. Performance is definitely reduced, and the burn of going to hard is magnified.. you blow easy, and it hurts a lot! Not to mention it takes forever to recover and get back to pace. But it's Nationals and I'm qualified with my Sea Otter performance, and lifes to short.. so for now, ya, it's on the calendar!

What to do between now and then? Well, race, train, and watch the weight. It's easy to put on a few LB's with the reduced training schedule and past the peak. But if you watch the volume, keep the intensity up, and eat healthy.. the second half of the season can be great! I built a great base this Winter, I have excellent fitness right now, I just need to keep the train on the tracks. Do some threshold work, keep up on rest and nutrition and drop the hammer on race days.. good times!

Sea Otter 2010

For the last 5 years Sea Otter has been my first big goal of each season. The event is mid April, and training gets underway mid December. Like I’ve said before, the “race” is really just the Cherry on the cake, what really stands tallest as the reward is the ton of hard work we invest in training. 4 months of preparation for a 1 day shot at glory.. and if the result isn’t what we had hoped, we can’t lose sight of the huge accomplishment we achieved in preparing for the big day.

Training in December, January and February means 5-7 days per week enduring foul weather, long challenging rides at night, and a seemingly never ending battle of chiseling down the body into a lean, mean, racing machine! Week after week of calorie debt, trying to avoid the myriad of bugs and ailments that pass by, and trying to stay focused on recovery and staying as healthy and fresh as possible as you pound on the pedals in freezing rain, snow storms, relentless winds, early sunsets and a cold slap in the face every time you set out to produce fatigue.

Thank God for friends! I road with the MTB night riders Tuesday, hammered out long intervals with Greg Turpin on Wednesdays and Thursdays, joined the Coffee Shop group rides on Saturdays and slugged away at the 3-Towers Death ride with Calorie Killin’ Cooley on Sundays. Week after week of high training loads through the Winter can be mentally quite a challenge, but with friends.. I looked forward to every ride and have some wonderful memories of Chuck attacking the Tuesday night rides, Greg pushing me to new highs on interval nights and Dan making sure I was sufficiently depleting every available calorie in my body on Sundays. Sounds brutal, but it was great times!

As luck would have it, the cycling gods delivered a Sinus infection the week before Sea Otter.. and a 10-day course of Antibiotics. The meds worked quick, but in the last few days prior to launch I was still not feeling the energetic boost of my training taper, and as I lined up for the start was really hoping that things would open up and I’d feel that motivation to drop the hammer when the moment called.

We rolled out on the Laguna Seca raceway in a knobbie humming peleton to the entrance of the MTB course. It’s a short paved climb before the dirt, and always where the first surge takes place. We surged up the pavement and turned left onto the dirt where the rider in front of me hesitated into the ruts and made himself the first to hit the dirt in our event. Roadblock, as half the peleton surges by, I find hole, jump in line and make a quick effort to get back to the front. Fortunately it’s double track for a ways so I’m able to work my way up to 5th position as we enter the Single Track. A small gap forms ahead as #1 (Sho Air) and #2 (Dermot Carroll) slay away at the ST. We enter the first mild climb and the pace is moderate, feeling pretty good, and the gap to the front isn’t too dangerous. We exit the single track and I pour on the gas to start a chase across the double track and am quickly joined by Mike Hogan (40+ Masters Marathon Champ).

Mike and I work together to keep the leaders in sight as we descend the tricky beach and roll into the first sustained climb of the day. I lead our chase group into the climb and can see Dermot making his way through a switchback up ahead. This climb is where I always make my moves, and right now, I need to bridge, so yes, it’s time to drop the hammer. After about 1-minute it becomes painfully obvious that yes I dropped the hammer, but unfortunately it wasn’t very big and it’s still sitting back there i-minute from the foot of the climb.. dang! I can’t push, it just ain’t happening and I’m gonna have to ease it back. Oh well, it’s a long race, still a good 2hrs to go.. we’ll see what happens.

I forge on, but by now Dermot is gone, I managed to get by Sho Air, and Mike is on my wheel. Mike and I trade positions a few times as we grind through the course and make our way to the feed zone where I get a Dixie cup of water.. ya, a Dixie cup! Last year it was bottles (plural), this year its Dixie cups. Not good, I’m in a bad mood, my plan was to drink lots as its warm and Sea Otter has a way of sucking the water right out of you. Fortunately I still have 1 full bottle to get me through, but compared with last year’s 7x Bottles, this year is gonna be a dry run.

Mike and I stay pretty close as we start the long climb out of lap 1 (of 2). At this point my last bottle is going dry, I’m feeling like I have lead saddle bags on board, and the thought of doing 1 more lap on a Dixie cup of water sounds like it just might not be that much fun.. especially when I don’t have the legs to get out of my own way. I think it may be time to pull the plug, it’s not my day, I’ve been I’ll, I crashed bad on the pre-ride, there were about 200 reasons to DNF (did not finish) plowing through my head. BUT! And this is big, really big.. the reality is.. I don’t really look forward to the podium show, and the Jersey’s nice, but the best times were during training. What I truly look forward to is the Phat Burger’s (Monterey) Bleu Cheese Burger with Sweet Potato Fries and Chipotle dipping sauce that I treat myself too immediately after the event. In addition, I commence with a 2-day binge of Ben and Jerry’s and Pastry at every bakery from Monterey to Carmel. I mean, this is a full on eating disordered food binge for 2-days.. I’ve earned it, I like it, and yes.. that is really what I want most!

So, how is that Phat Burger going to taste with a DNF? Will I feel I’ve earned the full on pastry Binge? Will I be happy after I finish 2 pints of Ben and Jerry’s or will I lie on the floor and cry? I’m screwed! The decision was made, I must complete the 2nd lap, I will try and hold my 3rd position, and I will absolutely have the disordered food binge of my life!

During this long mental struggle Mike has managed to roll away, outa sight, but that’s ok.. I’ve committed to defending 3rd, he can go ahead and kill himself to find the leader. I am just gonna ride this lap at a pace that fits the situation. No need to die out here, I’ve found new motivation, I’m feeling good again, this will be a fun 2nd lap.

And it was, I rode a solid pace, I tempo’d up the hills, I punched it up and over the short stuff and just kept the motor rev’d up to a spot that my body was ok with. The feedzone restocked and actually gave me a full bottle of water, this 2nd lap is going pretty good, and I’m having a pretty good time on the course. The slower riders are now all behind us, so the going is fast and my rhythm is feeling good.

As I approach the final climb out, the last burn before the line, I see Mike up ahead. Wow, this is a surprise! I manage to make my way to his wheel and on the first steep I put in a surge and he gladly lets me go. Mikes done, at least too done to respond, so I’m off and on my own.. to 2nd place! I continue the pace, and roll into the finish circuit, which is new, unexpected, kinda lengthy and full of short little switchback climbs. I’m feeling good, motoring through and actually taking the climbs pretty aggressive. Definitely having a late race second wind.

I cross the line and ask Dermot if he already showered and shaved for the podium.. he said, nope, just got in! I thought, ya right, he’s just being nice. Then they posted the results.. I was only 16 seconds back! Amazing, 2hrs and 46min out on the course, of which I seen Dermot for maybe the first 30min.. now I start wondering if I may have lost 16sec while contemplating that DNF! Doesn’t really matter, what matters is how did that Burger taste, and let me tell you, it was the best Burger I ever ate.

Sinus Infection!

Yuck, woke up Wednesday morning with a throbbing headache and a completely plugged up face, geez! I am very good about using a nasal irrigator every night to clean out the pollens and dust that is currently being kicked up by the relentless winds and temperature changes we are experiencing here in the Tri-Cities. But to no avail, went to the Dr and he prescribed 10days of Antibiotics.

Living in this dusty, windy environment makes sinus infections quite common, but I haven't had one for a long time.. years. What a bummer, feeling tired, head throbs, hope it clears up quick cause I have plans to be fresh and spunky April 16.. Sea Otter!

This close to a goal race is definitely bad timing. But what do you do? Get on the med's quick, rest, cut back the ride time and don't push beyond whats comfortable. My bodies use to riding and training, so its OK to ride.. but recovery does have to take place and therefor a lesser load will allow for swifter recovery.

Fortunately I have a coach, and he will guide the training so as to not loose that sharp edge, but absorb as much recovery as possible for a fast response to the med's. It'll work.. the legs are trained and I will be ready!

2008 Was Great!

Sea Otter was the first Primary goal of 2008, and having won in 2007, the pressure was on for a repeat. Training changed somewhat as I increased my volume in an effort to reach a CTL (chronic training load) of 120. The higher CTL would carry me deeper into the season and hopefully further develop my Aerobic Capacities. Did it? Not sure, but I was certainly leaner, which helps, and I certainly was able to perform well deeper into the year. In fact things were going so well I never took a break! Which turned out to be a mistake, more on that later.

Sea Otter 2008 was huge, with a win in the XC (cross country) and a win in the ST (short track). I went onto Nationals in good form but a mechanical in lap 1 created a gap that I wasn't able to close. I bent a cog (rare), and was left with a malfunctioning drivetrain for the remainder of the race, still finishing 3rd. Short Track Nationals (30+) went better, being beat by less than a second, pipped by a Cyclocross bike! But 2nd place was a great result, especially considering the Crosser' who beat me is the 2009 Masters National Champ in Cyclocross. It was a bummer being beaten by a Cross bike at an MTB event, but at least he was a Bona fide fast Crosser!

With Nationals behind me I continued training and racing on into November.. at which time I was tired, real tired!

Training and racing all year and well into November, combined with months of low body weight, made for a bad combination that resulted in a mild case of Anemia. Oh great, December is here, time to start training for 09' and I need to rest! Well, that's what I did, I plumped up about 10lbs by Christmas, started taking iron, and began a VERY slow build for 09'. Now I was heavy, slow, and had the brakes on.. not a good way to start 09', but it turned out to be a good lesson. Fortunately I have a great coach, Travis Woodruff, and Travis put together a training plan with less volume, more rest days, and the right amount of intensity to shape me up without digging to deep. And BTW, it was fun gaining those 10lbs.. but boy what a struggle to loose em!

Diverse Week

Tue-Wed was round/week 2 of 7x3min on/3min off power intervals, definitely a workout that takes everything you can serve. Thu night rode in the wind for 3hrs and Fri took the TT bike out for 90min. Sat did 2x20min @ LT (FTP), and Sun closed with an MTB race. Seems like a lot, and it was, but the durations were relatively short so the recovery is swift. I feel good, a 3hr night ride scheduled for tomorrow (Mon, 25mph winds forcasted), a 5k TT on Tue, Recovery ride Wed, Speed intervals Thu, 2x20min @ LT Fri, and a 4hr Hard Ride Saturday. Sunday I get to take it EZ for a 1hr Spin!

I am at a point where I am all trained up, endurance is good, power is good, just need to get use to the hard stuff. But the coming week should add some spice, and hopefully sharpen the edge.. getting close to Sea Otter!

Watts Per Kilogram

w/kg or Watts Per Kilogram is a number that people like to use for comparing the strength of different riders. How much power you produce will determine your speed, and how much you weigh relative to your power will strongly influence speed when traveling uphill. In Mountain Bike Racing we have "Mountains", well, hills anyway, and w/kg is actually pretty important.

Highly competitive riders will chisel down their weight in an attempt to improve w/kg, and this is certainly helpful. But it can also lead to miss-information, which has recently played a factor in some of my workouts. I just completed 2 rounds of VO2Max workouts, which are highly strenuous efforts in an attempt to maximally stress the aerobic systems, and stimulate adaptations to improve performance. During these workouts I was performing at about 4% less power than last year.. which was quite de-motivating to say the least. Backwards performance gains are not what I'm working for!

After digging, and reviewing last years data I discovered that my weight was about 6lbs more, so if I calculate power against weight, I am actually inside of a 1% difference. Whew, that's a relief! In addition, my LT intervals are improved by about 4% not factoring weight, meaning w/kg at LT has improved a whopping 8% (year over year, same time of year).. I like it!

But, what is better, raw power or w/kg when we are talking a 6lb body weight difference? Tough to say, but I feel faster at a lower weight, especially uphill. On the other hand I feel as though I don't quite have the "punch" and maybe even the "tempo power" that the raw power seemed to help with last year.. and this is important in MTB racing for accelerating, cresting short rises, stepping on the gas to pass, and grinding out long efforts.

In the end, you can't have it all. Its always a matter of compromise, and looking back seems to be the best way to determine which compromise seemed to work out best. For example, a few extra kg's may have helped me with this sprint.. but that extra weight may have made it more difficult to be there at the finish! (vs Ben Thompson, who recently placed 3rd at Cyclocross Nationals 30-34 age group, Dec 2009) :

2007 All Trained Up

Feb 2007 I purchased my first powermeter, and in August a 2nd for my MTB. From this point forward, every ride would have a file and I could fully utilize the power of WKO+ Training Software http://home.trainingpeaks.com/wko-desktop-software/analysis-software-for-training-files.aspx .


WKO+ dices and slices, and organizes/presents the data in about every way imaginable. Its really a full-on professional level training tool. The biggest strength is that after years of data, I can review, compare, and hypothesize what works and what doesn't. Its fun to compare current progress with prior, I could go on for ever.. but lets look at 2007.


My first goal of the season would be Sea Otter, and boy, I won it! It was an amazing feeling climbing the final climb and knowing I had just risin to the top level in Masters MTB racing. I'll never forget that day, I worked long and hard for it, and in a race anything can happen, but this day was mine!


The following day I competed in the Hill Climb Time Trial, and won that as well with the days best Cat 1 time, even beating the Semi Pro best time (Posted By Manny Prado). The TT was extra cool as it was a full on power interval type climb with a very fast, somewhat technical descent. It wasn't all about legs and lungs, you had to handle a bike well too.


Following the TT was the 40+ Short Track where I placed 3rd.. the legs never really opened back up, and considering I had 2 winners Jerseys already, I wasn't as motivated as I possibly could have been. But overall, Sea Otter 2007 XC was my first big win, and the hill climb a special added bonus.

Pictures from 2007 Sea Otter Classic, (top) from the XC and (left) from the ST.

Next up, MTB Nationals, Mt Snow Vermont. My training was excellent, my form was on, and I quickly surged to the front in a completely evil and treturious mud strewn rock fest of an MTB race. It was absolutely the most difficult race I have ever competed in, and I was leading it! Of course the focus was intense, so intense that I forgot to eat during the event and on the final climb of the last lap I hit the wall and was crushed as I watched 2 guys go by me, 2 guys that had forgotten I was even leading. There was nothing I could do, and shortly thereafter we were on the descent to the finsih, so close.. but 2nd looser ain't so bad, 3rd at Nat's rocks!

2007 I reached a level of performance that is basically the best I can do. Since then I have improved somewhat, not necessarily in power, or aerobic capability, but in race finness. I'm a better racer and can do more with the power I have. Racing is a combination of fitness and skill, never underestimate skill. Power is important, but skill and racing sharp is required to step to the top. Knowing when and where you can make time and taking advantage of every opportunity is a learned skill, and it takes time. You learn it by trying to catch the fast guys! Race with the fast guys, and you will soon be racing like the fast guys.

2007 Closed with some awesome road rides in my home town and a fun local MTB race series we have in the Fall. 2008 would be another solid year, with success and plenty of hard earned lessons.

Boost The Power!

3 Months of High Volume, Long Intervals, and Massive Calories have prepared me for the step into preparations for Race Specific Speed and Power. My base phase included ample time at High Force, Tempo and more than the usual volume of LT Threshold Training. I am in great shape, smooth at LT, dieted down to race weight, and ready to do the work to develop that punch and performance required for aggressive off road racing. Crush the hills, accelerate hard, recover, repeat.. race with great legs! You only get to have it all for a short period, and I am planning to have it all on April 18, Sea Otter Classic, 1-month away, just enough time to do some hard work and find that peak!

This weeks schedule is: Tue 7x3min @120% FTP, w/3min Rest Between Intervals (RBI). Wed, the same, 7x3min, 3min RBI. Thu, 20 x30sec @ 150% FTP, 5min RBI.

OK, Tuesday was a day I had been anticipating for a long time. 3min x 7 at 120% of FTP is really hard, and the RBI is not quite enough, so they get progressively harder and if paced correctly, will ultimately end in failure on the 7th (last) interval. Failure meaning that I reach a point where no matter how hard I try, I cannot complete the interval at the prescribed power. This Hurts, but it confirms that I certainly reached max. Max meaning breathing is out of control, severe oxygen debt, burning aching legs and "please God make these end" is echoing in my head. But, they do end! And happy days, I get to do them again Wednesday! Ugh, but the benefits are worth it, these babies boost performance. Back to Back days like this are called "Training Blocks", and is typically the way I train. The composition of the blocks change, as they are focused on targeting a specific system (in this case VO2Max), and back to back days deliver a healthy dose to stimulate improvement.

The 2-day Tue/Wed block went well, power was good, I failed on the 7th rep each day and can put a big bold check mark in the "done" box! Next week, we'll do it again, but for this week, the hard days are behind me. Onto Thursday..

Thursday I needed to avoid any type of sustained hard effort, that check has been cashed. But an EZ long ride is boring, so lets add 20x 30sec efforts at 150% of FTP. Plenty of RBI, the goal is to get the legs use to punching it and drilling it for 30sec and replicate a hard (seated) acceleration or short climb where high power demands are critical. My legs felt great, but eventually wore out and were pleasantly smoked by the end of the ride, definitely a great endurance training ride. 3hrs of low intensity volume with plenty of accumulated time at high output, resulting in a 3hr NP (Normalized Power) of 3.75watt/kg. That is significant because 3.75watts/kg is a very strong pace for 3hrs, but it wasn't necessarily a hard pace that drove the numbers, it was the 20x 30sec efforts. I was able to stay relatively fresh and used short hard efforts every 5min to increase the overall workload. It worked great, it was not sustained, or laboring, and during a 30sec effort the legs just start to burn when the time is up, so the workout never digs too deep. The workout was hard, pretty fun, and left enough in the tank to feel good for the weekends Saturday Group Ride & Sundays big MTB ride. I liked that Thursday workout.. and it earned some good TSS points too!

Picture From Mar 6 2010 Echo Red To Red:

2006 Step To Expert

2006 I took the step into Expert Category, at 43yo. 40+'ers can be fast.. real fast! I raced the Indie Series http://www.indieseries.com/ , a handful of other NW races and made my first attempt at Sea Otter. I did really well in the NW races, but Sea Otter was anther step up.. I'll never forget watching the leaders ride away on lap 1, my legs burned and I was just going as hard as I could go, which wasn't enough to stay at the front. Ugh! On lap 2 I chainsucked and broke my derailleur. DNF! In the Short Track I managed 2nd, and that definitely improved my outlook.

Fitness improved and later that year I raced Masters World MTB XC Championships in Kamloops, BC, Canada. The field was faster still.. as it shuld be at Worlds! But I had a great 9th place finish, reaching the top 10 was a boost in confidence and helped fuel the motivation to improve, and I did!

EZ Week, Lets Turn Up The Heat

This last week has been a rest week of sorts, lower total TSS (Training Stress Score) than I'm accustomed to, mostly due to a reduced volume of hard work. I did a punchy group MTB night ride on Tuesday, 3x sets of 5x 30sec on/ 30sec off Speed Intervals on Wednesday, and 3x 10min LT intervals on Thursday. Closed with a 4hr group road ride on Saturday and an EZ hour today.. seems like a pretty tough week really, but compared to what I have been doing, it was cake!

After 2 back to back EZ days, i'll be back at it Tuesday with VO2Max training, 7x 3min on / 3min off Power Intervals. These babies leave a lasting impression, like being branded. But man are they effective, I always get a very fast and very powerful response if I am able to go 100% on these workouts. I'll do them Tuesday and Wednesday nights for the next 2 weeks. Mixed with some Endurance rides and Group rides on the other days. It's critical to be on top of freshness, the VO2Max work has to be full on, 100%, all you can do. The harder the better, and the work is worth the return!!

2004, Lets Get Started

After a 10yr break to raise some little monsters and play Blues Guitar, my wife's and I schedules permitted for a return to cycling.. but at 200lbs (and not so healthy) I needed some guidance! I contracted with CTS and Katie Compton became my coach for 3.5yrs. 2005 was a year of racing Sport Class and getting back in shape. 8-10hrs per week, lots of Tempo and Steady State intervals, I was slimming down and riding fast again in no time.. thanks Katie!

First Race Of The New Decade!

Mar 6, 2010. To my surprise I won the overall last year, the legs were tuned up just right.. I wish I knew the secret to making that happen everytime I race!

For 2010 I showed up well trained, but maybe a little heavy on the training load. my CTL (chronic training load) is running a little higher than last year at this time, so not packing as much freshness.. but definitely packing some great fitness. I definitely had expectations for a great ride, but winning the overall wasn't really the goal. I just wanted to feel the burn and have good race vibes with a strong finish.

The race started hard and fast, there were a ton of riders (324), so it was a mad dash to be at the front as we entered the single track. I went in 3rd, which was a great place to be.. at the front, outa the dust cloud, but already committed to a position, which can be painfull early in the race with a fast start.

The pace soon settled and everyone started metering out there efforts. A few aggressors charged off, but I was pretty comfortable following Evan Plews as he held a steady, hard pace that probably never faded till he hopped off his bike at the finish.

We eventually regrouped near the end, except for Evan, couldn't quite keep his pace. But 3 of us played a little cat and mouse as we slow rolled our way to the finish on a 2-mile drit/pavement finale. It was a full on 3-up sprint for 2nd overall that went to the camera to determine the victor.. I lost by a few inches! It was a great ride though, 1st in the 45+ and 3rd overall.

Pro/Cat 1 roll out, I'm # 244

Blue MTB

Blue = Blues Guitar, MTB = Mountain bike, 2 things I am really into. I've spent years on both, shifted my focus from one to the other over the years, and currently spend most my free time right now in the MTB zone.

I race bikes, ride bikes, and work hard on being in great shape. My main cycling focus is MTB racing, but I love road riding and Cyclocross as well. Nothing like a giant road ride, or fast moving paceline. And Cyclocross is the Punk Rock scene of the cycling world.. a bit off the beaten path, but tons of character and super fun.

Within cycling my passion is training, I love to train. These days training can be pretty scientific, and there is a part of me that is easily consumed by the technical side of things, and aerobic conditioning has plenty to offer the geeky analytical type.

I use a coach, powermeter and WKO+ software as the tools to guide, track and quantify my training. Every ride generates a file that provides data which includes the amount of energy expended during each second of every ride. This can be converted to watts, a measure of power output over time. Watts is the unit of measure used to determine how much power my legs are delivering to the pedals.

My coach, Travis Woodruff, http://momentumendurance.com/ , gives me a workout plan, with wattage ranges to target for either the entire ride, or parts of rides (intervals). After my rides I upload the files to Training Peaks for my coach to review. Travis uses this info to tune my training and help me reach my goals.. which are always a Race I'd like to do well in. My current goal race is the Sea Otter Classic http://www.seaotterclassic.com/ .

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