Pick Up The Pace!
First race in a year, as Chuck would say “it was a Hoot!”. Actually the entire week was a Hoot, Tuesday I joined the night rider group and even took a swing at the beehive. Of course I got stung and drug myself home welted and wounded, but I’d expect nothing less from good friends :^) Thursday I did my first round of intervals, 2x20min at Sub LT and Sunday I paid money to get spanked at a local MTB race. Good times!
The race was at Chamna, a pan flat course with a thousand turns per lap. Each lap was 7.5 miles, we did 3 laps, so 22 miles or so of single track trails. Very cool course and even though it is flat, each corner requires an acceleration back to speed, so after the first lap you can really feel the “punch” fading quickly.
Lap 1 I worked my way up to mid field and then took a wrong turn, crap! U-turned and hammered my way back as I became reacquainted with the word “anaerobic”! It was a victory though as I didn’t launch the pre-race gel that my gut, for whatever reason was ”saving for later”. As the lactic acid levels settled back to a gentle burn we entered the Peninsula, Jimmie hates the Peninsula. It’s about a 6-8min section where you never stop pedaling, lots of grass, some slime, a few roots, your basic grinder that makes sure you aren’t slacking. I found a good wheel though and stole a tow all the way through as Mark Sturgis focused into the cross hairs. My tow picked up a stick in his spokes, so I dropped the hammer (a hobby hammer) to bridge to Mark. He musta known that I was making a move (or that I was packing a hobby hammer) cause it took me forever to get his wheel!
Lap 2 I latched onto Sturgis and basically let him do all the work for the rest of the race. Mark was defending his position against the guy behind me, so he was motivated. Mark was carving great lines and maintaining a perfect pace. When I stood up to tighten the gap I could feel the burn, so Sturgis had me right on my edge. For close to 2 full laps I stuck to his wheel like glue in hopes that he would hold the pace all the way. And he did, great pacing, I was punching laps on my computer and in the end we pretty much had equal splits (33min) for all 3 laps.. very cool!
By the finish I was fully toasted. Not quite destroyed, but pleasantly used up. I finished mid-pack (8 of 16) which is a bit better than I expected. The week has been good and my power has measurably improved. Feels good to be riding, I look forward to staying consistent and slowly working towards my goals. The arrows are pointing in the right direction, just a matter of suiting up and showing up.
Goal Sept 2012: 155lbs 4.5w/kg
Date....Weight...1hr Power......Power/Weight
12/5....166..........245w.........3.25w/kg
11/28...167..........225w.........2.96w/kg
11/14...169..........225w.........2.93w/kg
11/7....170..........225w.........2.91w/kg
First race in a year, as Chuck would say “it was a Hoot!”. Actually the entire week was a Hoot, Tuesday I joined the night rider group and even took a swing at the beehive. Of course I got stung and drug myself home welted and wounded, but I’d expect nothing less from good friends :^) Thursday I did my first round of intervals, 2x20min at Sub LT and Sunday I paid money to get spanked at a local MTB race. Good times!
The race was at Chamna, a pan flat course with a thousand turns per lap. Each lap was 7.5 miles, we did 3 laps, so 22 miles or so of single track trails. Very cool course and even though it is flat, each corner requires an acceleration back to speed, so after the first lap you can really feel the “punch” fading quickly.
Lap 1 I worked my way up to mid field and then took a wrong turn, crap! U-turned and hammered my way back as I became reacquainted with the word “anaerobic”! It was a victory though as I didn’t launch the pre-race gel that my gut, for whatever reason was ”saving for later”. As the lactic acid levels settled back to a gentle burn we entered the Peninsula, Jimmie hates the Peninsula. It’s about a 6-8min section where you never stop pedaling, lots of grass, some slime, a few roots, your basic grinder that makes sure you aren’t slacking. I found a good wheel though and stole a tow all the way through as Mark Sturgis focused into the cross hairs. My tow picked up a stick in his spokes, so I dropped the hammer (a hobby hammer) to bridge to Mark. He musta known that I was making a move (or that I was packing a hobby hammer) cause it took me forever to get his wheel!
Lap 2 I latched onto Sturgis and basically let him do all the work for the rest of the race. Mark was defending his position against the guy behind me, so he was motivated. Mark was carving great lines and maintaining a perfect pace. When I stood up to tighten the gap I could feel the burn, so Sturgis had me right on my edge. For close to 2 full laps I stuck to his wheel like glue in hopes that he would hold the pace all the way. And he did, great pacing, I was punching laps on my computer and in the end we pretty much had equal splits (33min) for all 3 laps.. very cool!
By the finish I was fully toasted. Not quite destroyed, but pleasantly used up. I finished mid-pack (8 of 16) which is a bit better than I expected. The week has been good and my power has measurably improved. Feels good to be riding, I look forward to staying consistent and slowly working towards my goals. The arrows are pointing in the right direction, just a matter of suiting up and showing up.
Goal Sept 2012: 155lbs 4.5w/kg
Date....Weight...1hr Power......Power/Weight
12/5....166..........245w.........3.25w/kg
11/28...167..........225w.........2.96w/kg
11/14...169..........225w.........2.93w/kg
11/7....170..........225w.........2.91w/kg
