The change of the clocks brings with it the return of glorius morning sunshine. This morning I was out on the cross bike at 6:45, rolling across the sheep pasture not long after that. Now I know why sheep wear wool. At 34 degrees when I left the house, there was no ice, but I guess I'm going to have to invest in some new gloves. The good news is that on these morning rides, as I warm up, so does the day.
The fields are lumpy, and I slalommed around a bit in a weak effor to tamp the grass down. After a bit I upped my pace, but it was still too early in the morning for S.H.I.T. No running today either. My hamstrings still doth protest from Sunday's run. I ground around at low cadence, reaching upper zone 3 for several minutes before heading back home and cooling down.
Only one dog walker out there today, which is kind of surprising. It wasn't that cold, and I thought the dawn's early light might mean sharing the space with more people. I am quite lucky to have this resource right next to home. I was able to put together a six minutes lap quite easily, and I can extend this without difficulty. Some night I am going to have to go over there and clear away some loose sticks and crap, but for the most part it is good to go. The grass has grown back a bit since the Harvest Fair, but I might meet up with the guy who does the upkeep some morning and arrange for him to mow my track down.
Still waiting for word on whether or not tommorow will be my last day in Lowder Brook. The rumor is we're moving to Canton, which will be sweet. Working right in the Blue Hills will be a big bonus when afternoon daylight returns. That building also has a better gym and a 5/8 mile horse racing track that can be used for running (There are a bunch of stables on the premises, but I've never seen any horses. Long story, but basically the prior owners who developed the property agreed to preserve the farm, so now we do it). Let me know if that link doesn't work, as I'm not sure if it can be accessed from the outside world.
Farmington and Noho on tap this weekend. The forecast high's are for real cross weather, as in cold. Both courses are pretty fast. These were my two best cross races last year so I'm hoping to do better than usual. Not sure how much racing I'll do after this.
Built up a front wheel Sunday, an older 28H American Classic hub laced to a Mavic Reflex clincher rim. I've got two more of these rims, one 28H and a 32H, and I picked up some 10s Ultegra hubs to go with them. I've got spokes to do the 28, but I'll need to get some 294 and 295's for the 32H. This will alleviate my shortage of "modern" back wheels. I'm going to try using a bunch of spacers from old cassettes to convert a freehub wheel to a single speed too. Not sure which frame I'll try this on.
I'm gonna get panned by KL for writing another post devoid of wit. Sorry. I had some good ideas, but now that morning training is back, I'm writing from the cube farm, so I had to check my imagination at the elevator door. Maybe later. Thanks for reading.
since 2006
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Monday, October 30, 2006
Hey, this is hard (huh-huh)
Saturday's weather was like a hurricane around here, with flash flooding all over the place as two inches of rain fell during the daytime. The town highway crew was out in the street all day shoveling the leaves out of the storm drains to keep my street passable. KL spent the day over at the cross course in nearby Canton, where World MTB Champion Allison Dunlap was hosting a clinic. Luckily, they were able to stage some of the drills in the parking garage, but she reported the NAV host club for Sunday's race was diligently setting up the course and making their best effort to clear and control the falling leaves. Well, they did a hell of a job, because when Sunday dawned crisp and clear, the newly reconfigured course was not only clear and fast, but miraculously the mud and puddles were minimal. I am not sure how this happened; I guess the extreme high winds that blew the storm out of town evaporated a lot of water while they were at it.
Of course, my day Sunday did not begin with the cross race. First up was my annual attempt at the Canton Fall Classic 10K, which this year fell on the same day as the cross race whose venue the run race passes. My race started before I even got to the race. The logistical challenge of getting my cross stuff to the course, as well as snagging a good parking place almost did me in. I packed up my bike and race kit, as well as KL's stuff and some food. KL would ride her bike over to get a warmup. I stopped at the run race headquarters, where a larger than usual turnout of 132 for the 5K, and 280 for the 10K had registration and parking extra chaotic. I was running late, but I picked up my number and proceeded to drive to the cross race, parking in a prime spot right next to Lynchie. By now it was about 8:45, and I was almost a mile from the 9 am start of the 10K. I pinned up and started jogging back up the road, making a pit stop in the bushes on the way. My jog turned to a full on run as panic set in when my watch showed 8:55. I trotted up to the waiting throng with about three minutes to spare, enough to get my HR under control, but not enough for any meaningful stretching. On the way back though, the headwind was unreal, gusting to well over 30 mph, so the start would not only be downhill, but also be tailwind. The backside of the loop though, well, that is mostly uphill, and...
I found my old Bike Link teammate Big Mig, who also was running. Lining up near the front, off we went, along with the 5K runners who would turn off onto their course after about 3/4 mile. I was about eight runners back as things sorted out. It was fast for me, but I knew if I wanted to run a PR, this had to hurt. One or two passed me as the course started downhill at 1/2 mile, then a few more. The first mile caller reported 5:44 as I passed. Hmmmmm. I knew there was no way I could run splits like that the entire distance, but since it was downhill with a tailwind I had to put time in the bank. Every time I checked the Polar it was in the high 160's or over 170, which is redzone, but I felt OK, so focusing on form, I soldiered on.
There was no marker for mile two, but I think it was at the water stop, which would have given me a split of around 6:05. The course meanders through a neighborhood before going up a 300 meter wall that leads to the next long downhill. Last year I blew by a lot of people on the wall, but this year I was already at my limit and didn't want to strain a quad. I was still in the top 15 at this point. Going by mile 3 the split was 18:30. The 6:10 pace would easily put me under 40, but the second part of the course is almost all uphill, and the wind would be an issue. Luckily the first section of road that takes you back up through millionaire's row is shrouded with trees and the wind was not too noticeable. I lost another spot or two and felt like dog meat. I knew I was slowing down. The 4th mile took 6:42. The fifth mile brought more uphill, although there was one downhill roller before it turned up a wind-exposed wall to finish it off. The stiff breeze was not hitting us head on however, and the final 1.2 miles would be run with a crosswind. I went by the watchholder and he called out 32:18. Mile 5 had taken 7:07, but now it was just a very gentle grade the rest of the way.
I did a lot of math in my head then next few minutes, realizing I could at least do a course record for me, maybe a 10K PR, and if I really humped it, 40 minutes was within reach. I was dyeing though, and one more runner came by at about a half mile to go, and he offered some encouragement. It flattens out at the last turn, but there is still a bit more from there. I gave it everything, but when I finally turned into the temple parking lot and the finish clock read 40:14, my heart sank. I ran it in, thinking I did a 40:24, which would at least be a 10K PR by two seconds, but later I found my official time was 40:27. I missed my spring Cohasset time by one second. For this course though, I took off about a minute from last year, and considering the wind and pine-cone littered streets this year, that is encouraging.
Cooling down afterwards, I also met up with Kent Landrum. Kent was one of the first bike racers I ever met when I started out twenty years ago. He used to captain the Boston Road Club cat 3 team, and was the ride leader of our old Wednesday night training ride in the Blue Hills. It was good to see him, and he ran a good race, finishing right near Big Mig in the 46 minute range.
On to the cross course. KL had ridden over and rolled alongside me as I walked back to the other venue. The wind was really howling now, and even though it was sunny and in the fifties, it felt chilly. I was pretty toasted and briefly thought about bagging out, but in the end I registered for the A masters and got dressed. I fitted my tubulars, as the course did not have many rocks or roots, consisting instead of mostly fast grass and pavement. The B masters was going on, so I dropped off my pit wheels and just barely had time to ride a preview lap as the finishers came across. Knowing I was cooked, I knew I'd be lining up at the back anyway. The A Masters field was smaller than usual, only 62 riders. At the start, I finally met and introduced myself to Murat, who was getting his feet wet in his first ever cross race.
The gun went off and I rolled out DFL, riding at a warmup pace. Spotting the next to last rider almost 50 meters by the first hurdle, I continued on, knowing a big bottleneck awaited at the end of the paved sidewalk through the woods. Sure enough, spying the total clusterphuck of tangled bikes and fuming tempers ahead, I actually had to slow myself down to let it clear so I could ride up the little hill. Once we got through there, things were strung out enough for real racing, and I tried to make an effort. My legs were toasted from the 10K though, and my general energy level wasn't exactly off the charts either. At the top of the "big" runup, all the other NEBloggercross suckage competition participants heckled me from the sidelines, assuring me that my last swinging dick field position would make me a lock for this week's top suckage points getter. I showed them though, passing two riders going around the running track, unleashing the kind of big-ring power these pantywastes can only dream about.
I made up a few more spots as one or two riders fell by the wayside with mechanicals. The friggin' barriers were more like 50cm high than 40, and both my calves would nearly sieze each time I made my lethargic leaps over them. Once I stumbled and nearly took one face first. Laps 2-5 were pretty uneventful though. Believe it or not, I kept up good intensity and my average HR for the race ended up at 166, about normal. I held my spot and finished five from last, doing my five laps in 50:08. Gewilli, take note that your time in the B Masters was 50 minutes flat, so you are just about as pathetic as I was, even without running a 10K prior to the cross. Thanks to the extended course which took even the leader almost 9 minutes/lap, I finished on the lead lap. The rest of the day was spent going on a cooldown ride with the Cronoman and heckling KL, Amanda, the Menkenator, and Jen in the woman's race. Big Mau kicked ass and won by a huge margin. Way to go Mau!
Last but not least, thanks to Todd C (as opposed to C Todd) and the entire NAV team for pulling this thing off. There wear a lot of dickheads warming up on the course during the women's race, and I wish the officials would get some balls and actually take some names and DQ these losers, but that won't happen. The barriers HAD to be way over height, but other than that the course was in amazingly good shape, and the new additions were excellent. They took out the sucky off camber section too, another plus. All in all an excellent race, and close to home too. Thanks for reading.
Of course, my day Sunday did not begin with the cross race. First up was my annual attempt at the Canton Fall Classic 10K, which this year fell on the same day as the cross race whose venue the run race passes. My race started before I even got to the race. The logistical challenge of getting my cross stuff to the course, as well as snagging a good parking place almost did me in. I packed up my bike and race kit, as well as KL's stuff and some food. KL would ride her bike over to get a warmup. I stopped at the run race headquarters, where a larger than usual turnout of 132 for the 5K, and 280 for the 10K had registration and parking extra chaotic. I was running late, but I picked up my number and proceeded to drive to the cross race, parking in a prime spot right next to Lynchie. By now it was about 8:45, and I was almost a mile from the 9 am start of the 10K. I pinned up and started jogging back up the road, making a pit stop in the bushes on the way. My jog turned to a full on run as panic set in when my watch showed 8:55. I trotted up to the waiting throng with about three minutes to spare, enough to get my HR under control, but not enough for any meaningful stretching. On the way back though, the headwind was unreal, gusting to well over 30 mph, so the start would not only be downhill, but also be tailwind. The backside of the loop though, well, that is mostly uphill, and...
I found my old Bike Link teammate Big Mig, who also was running. Lining up near the front, off we went, along with the 5K runners who would turn off onto their course after about 3/4 mile. I was about eight runners back as things sorted out. It was fast for me, but I knew if I wanted to run a PR, this had to hurt. One or two passed me as the course started downhill at 1/2 mile, then a few more. The first mile caller reported 5:44 as I passed. Hmmmmm. I knew there was no way I could run splits like that the entire distance, but since it was downhill with a tailwind I had to put time in the bank. Every time I checked the Polar it was in the high 160's or over 170, which is redzone, but I felt OK, so focusing on form, I soldiered on.
There was no marker for mile two, but I think it was at the water stop, which would have given me a split of around 6:05. The course meanders through a neighborhood before going up a 300 meter wall that leads to the next long downhill. Last year I blew by a lot of people on the wall, but this year I was already at my limit and didn't want to strain a quad. I was still in the top 15 at this point. Going by mile 3 the split was 18:30. The 6:10 pace would easily put me under 40, but the second part of the course is almost all uphill, and the wind would be an issue. Luckily the first section of road that takes you back up through millionaire's row is shrouded with trees and the wind was not too noticeable. I lost another spot or two and felt like dog meat. I knew I was slowing down. The 4th mile took 6:42. The fifth mile brought more uphill, although there was one downhill roller before it turned up a wind-exposed wall to finish it off. The stiff breeze was not hitting us head on however, and the final 1.2 miles would be run with a crosswind. I went by the watchholder and he called out 32:18. Mile 5 had taken 7:07, but now it was just a very gentle grade the rest of the way.
I did a lot of math in my head then next few minutes, realizing I could at least do a course record for me, maybe a 10K PR, and if I really humped it, 40 minutes was within reach. I was dyeing though, and one more runner came by at about a half mile to go, and he offered some encouragement. It flattens out at the last turn, but there is still a bit more from there. I gave it everything, but when I finally turned into the temple parking lot and the finish clock read 40:14, my heart sank. I ran it in, thinking I did a 40:24, which would at least be a 10K PR by two seconds, but later I found my official time was 40:27. I missed my spring Cohasset time by one second. For this course though, I took off about a minute from last year, and considering the wind and pine-cone littered streets this year, that is encouraging.
Cooling down afterwards, I also met up with Kent Landrum. Kent was one of the first bike racers I ever met when I started out twenty years ago. He used to captain the Boston Road Club cat 3 team, and was the ride leader of our old Wednesday night training ride in the Blue Hills. It was good to see him, and he ran a good race, finishing right near Big Mig in the 46 minute range.
On to the cross course. KL had ridden over and rolled alongside me as I walked back to the other venue. The wind was really howling now, and even though it was sunny and in the fifties, it felt chilly. I was pretty toasted and briefly thought about bagging out, but in the end I registered for the A masters and got dressed. I fitted my tubulars, as the course did not have many rocks or roots, consisting instead of mostly fast grass and pavement. The B masters was going on, so I dropped off my pit wheels and just barely had time to ride a preview lap as the finishers came across. Knowing I was cooked, I knew I'd be lining up at the back anyway. The A Masters field was smaller than usual, only 62 riders. At the start, I finally met and introduced myself to Murat, who was getting his feet wet in his first ever cross race.
The gun went off and I rolled out DFL, riding at a warmup pace. Spotting the next to last rider almost 50 meters by the first hurdle, I continued on, knowing a big bottleneck awaited at the end of the paved sidewalk through the woods. Sure enough, spying the total clusterphuck of tangled bikes and fuming tempers ahead, I actually had to slow myself down to let it clear so I could ride up the little hill. Once we got through there, things were strung out enough for real racing, and I tried to make an effort. My legs were toasted from the 10K though, and my general energy level wasn't exactly off the charts either. At the top of the "big" runup, all the other NEBloggercross suckage competition participants heckled me from the sidelines, assuring me that my last swinging dick field position would make me a lock for this week's top suckage points getter. I showed them though, passing two riders going around the running track, unleashing the kind of big-ring power these pantywastes can only dream about.
I made up a few more spots as one or two riders fell by the wayside with mechanicals. The friggin' barriers were more like 50cm high than 40, and both my calves would nearly sieze each time I made my lethargic leaps over them. Once I stumbled and nearly took one face first. Laps 2-5 were pretty uneventful though. Believe it or not, I kept up good intensity and my average HR for the race ended up at 166, about normal. I held my spot and finished five from last, doing my five laps in 50:08. Gewilli, take note that your time in the B Masters was 50 minutes flat, so you are just about as pathetic as I was, even without running a 10K prior to the cross. Thanks to the extended course which took even the leader almost 9 minutes/lap, I finished on the lead lap. The rest of the day was spent going on a cooldown ride with the Cronoman and heckling KL, Amanda, the Menkenator, and Jen in the woman's race. Big Mau kicked ass and won by a huge margin. Way to go Mau!
Last but not least, thanks to Todd C (as opposed to C Todd) and the entire NAV team for pulling this thing off. There wear a lot of dickheads warming up on the course during the women's race, and I wish the officials would get some balls and actually take some names and DQ these losers, but that won't happen. The barriers HAD to be way over height, but other than that the course was in amazingly good shape, and the new additions were excellent. They took out the sucky off camber section too, another plus. All in all an excellent race, and close to home too. Thanks for reading.
Friday, October 27, 2006
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Solo the Pooh-Pooh and the Blustery Day
I heard you missed me, I'm back! No post for two days, so I need to get going so Zoo will have something to plagurize. Monday, no training, slept in before work and then went for a massage after. I guess I didn't really need one, as the usual "good pain" just wasn't so intense. That's ok though.
Tuesday morning I went out for my typical morning run around the woods and the sheep pasture. With the Canton Fall Classic 10K coming up this Sunday, and since I'm fully recovered from the duathlon last weekend, I tried to run a good pace over my bread and butter loop, which is somewhere around 4.5 miles, maybe a hair more. Right away, my legs felt great (well duh, just had a massage) but I was sucking wind, or so it seemed. Passing the first time check (which is around a mile out) in 7:20, I thought OK, not so bad. For the rest of the run though, my HR hovered in high zone 3 and low zone 4, with my PE quite high and me feeling noticeably winded. I ended the loop in 34:15.
Now, my training this fall has been pretty haphazard. I haven't really had a plan or goal since way back in August. This time of year I'm just transitioning to running and off season training, and trying to milk my fitness as long as possible. The two duathlons were my main events, meaning only that I made sure I stayed rested for a day or two prior to each. Well, the fitness milking may have reached the bottom of the udder. First, at Gloucester two weeks ago, I finished behind Zoo. Next, on Saturday, Gewilli drops me on Big Blue, a climb he has never seen before. Now, I'm sucking wind while running 7:30's on fresh legs. Anybody home? Sure, I had dropped my chain at Gloucester, and Gewilli was taking pace from my girlfriend, but it just might be time to start a little hard training if I want to enter any more contests this year.
Undaunted, today I decided to start up with some Special High Intensity Training (S.H.I.T.). My pathetic little 30 minutes zone 1 spins on the trainer just aren't cutting it. After a grueling four hours at the keyboard, I headed out on the Slim Chance for a lunch ride, where howling winds and swirling leaves awaited me on the October roads. Clad in just (XL yet somehow still too short) knickers and LS team jersey, the chill in the air motivated me to crank it up and forge into the wind with my head and shoulders down (unlike my losing sprint at Sunapee). I sorta TT'd over toward Moose Hill in Sharon, and got the HR all the way up to zone 5C on the little climb leading into the center. Ditto on the Moose itself, and I kept it rolling over the crest and back toward Wolomolopog Street for the tailwind home. Clunk. WTF?
My right cleat had other ideas, and three of four screws had fallen out. Slipping my foot out of the stuck to the pedal shoe, I was forced to stop. I borrowed a screw from the left foot and refastened the cleat, heading back at a more sedate pace so as not to rip the bottom of the shoe out. Oh well. Got in an hour twenty.
So yeah, I guess I'm rested and need to train with some feeling, at least for the next few weeks. At Canton I'm planning to do double duty and race the 'cross after the 10k, and then next weekend we have double Verge races at Farmington and Noho. Then it looks like the UNH and Putney races on Veteran's day weekend, Lowell after that, and then some running race on Thanksgiving. Of course, I must avenge my losses to Zoo and Gewilli. Now it's off to practice my dance moves in front of the mirror, just in case Meg ever shows up with a video camera and a forty of OE 800. And oh yeah, screw the Tigers. I know we're an AL city, and I learned baseball watching Gibson and St. Louis crush the Impossible Dream in '67, but I still appreciate NL-style play and was always an Ozzie Smith fan. Besides, the Detroit fans showed zero class at player introductions on opening night, and Rogers is a friggin' meathead. Go Cardinals! Thanks for reading.
Tuesday morning I went out for my typical morning run around the woods and the sheep pasture. With the Canton Fall Classic 10K coming up this Sunday, and since I'm fully recovered from the duathlon last weekend, I tried to run a good pace over my bread and butter loop, which is somewhere around 4.5 miles, maybe a hair more. Right away, my legs felt great (well duh, just had a massage) but I was sucking wind, or so it seemed. Passing the first time check (which is around a mile out) in 7:20, I thought OK, not so bad. For the rest of the run though, my HR hovered in high zone 3 and low zone 4, with my PE quite high and me feeling noticeably winded. I ended the loop in 34:15.
Now, my training this fall has been pretty haphazard. I haven't really had a plan or goal since way back in August. This time of year I'm just transitioning to running and off season training, and trying to milk my fitness as long as possible. The two duathlons were my main events, meaning only that I made sure I stayed rested for a day or two prior to each. Well, the fitness milking may have reached the bottom of the udder. First, at Gloucester two weeks ago, I finished behind Zoo. Next, on Saturday, Gewilli drops me on Big Blue, a climb he has never seen before. Now, I'm sucking wind while running 7:30's on fresh legs. Anybody home? Sure, I had dropped my chain at Gloucester, and Gewilli was taking pace from my girlfriend, but it just might be time to start a little hard training if I want to enter any more contests this year.
Undaunted, today I decided to start up with some Special High Intensity Training (S.H.I.T.). My pathetic little 30 minutes zone 1 spins on the trainer just aren't cutting it. After a grueling four hours at the keyboard, I headed out on the Slim Chance for a lunch ride, where howling winds and swirling leaves awaited me on the October roads. Clad in just (XL yet somehow still too short) knickers and LS team jersey, the chill in the air motivated me to crank it up and forge into the wind with my head and shoulders down (unlike my losing sprint at Sunapee). I sorta TT'd over toward Moose Hill in Sharon, and got the HR all the way up to zone 5C on the little climb leading into the center. Ditto on the Moose itself, and I kept it rolling over the crest and back toward Wolomolopog Street for the tailwind home. Clunk. WTF?
My right cleat had other ideas, and three of four screws had fallen out. Slipping my foot out of the stuck to the pedal shoe, I was forced to stop. I borrowed a screw from the left foot and refastened the cleat, heading back at a more sedate pace so as not to rip the bottom of the shoe out. Oh well. Got in an hour twenty.
So yeah, I guess I'm rested and need to train with some feeling, at least for the next few weeks. At Canton I'm planning to do double duty and race the 'cross after the 10k, and then next weekend we have double Verge races at Farmington and Noho. Then it looks like the UNH and Putney races on Veteran's day weekend, Lowell after that, and then some running race on Thanksgiving. Of course, I must avenge my losses to Zoo and Gewilli. Now it's off to practice my dance moves in front of the mirror, just in case Meg ever shows up with a video camera and a forty of OE 800. And oh yeah, screw the Tigers. I know we're an AL city, and I learned baseball watching Gibson and St. Louis crush the Impossible Dream in '67, but I still appreciate NL-style play and was always an Ozzie Smith fan. Besides, the Detroit fans showed zero class at player introductions on opening night, and Rogers is a friggin' meathead. Go Cardinals! Thanks for reading.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Race Free Weekend
We avoided the race scene this weekend. End of the month poverty forced me to even skip the Brockton 5K Sunday morning. Food seemed like a better option as a use for the $20. Saturday morning we had a little blogger mountain bike ride at Blue Hills, with Gewilli coming up from Providence to join KL and I. CTodd was snowed in at Montreal airport, and Zoo didn't make it either. There was not a cloud in the sky, so the views of Emerald City from the top of Big Blue were quite nice. The same can't be said for the condition of the trails though. The trail system, which confines MTB's to certain areas of the reservation, is looking quite overused and what used to be sweet trails now consist almost entirely of exposed rock. Still fun, but it's a shame they don't open up the Chickatawbut side and spread out the use a little.
Sunday KL and I continued the MTB theme with a trip down to Freetown State Forest. This time I brought my crappy old camera, yet I failed to take any pictures of the people training sled dogs (they have sleds with wheels) or the enduro crazies we shared the trails with in the ORV-friendly facility. At least there is no hunting on Sundays in Mass. The trails at Freetown are all flat, but very gnarly. I won't say technical, because there isn't really a specific line you need to follow; you just forge your way along, bounding over watermelon sized boulders for as long as you can make it. There was some bike-a-hiking involved for sure, but all in all it was almost three hours of fun at 5 mph. Here are a few lame pics, including my attempts at the Gewilli panda shot (who made that up anyway?). Thanks for reading.
Sunday KL and I continued the MTB theme with a trip down to Freetown State Forest. This time I brought my crappy old camera, yet I failed to take any pictures of the people training sled dogs (they have sleds with wheels) or the enduro crazies we shared the trails with in the ORV-friendly facility. At least there is no hunting on Sundays in Mass. The trails at Freetown are all flat, but very gnarly. I won't say technical, because there isn't really a specific line you need to follow; you just forge your way along, bounding over watermelon sized boulders for as long as you can make it. There was some bike-a-hiking involved for sure, but all in all it was almost three hours of fun at 5 mph. Here are a few lame pics, including my attempts at the Gewilli panda shot (who made that up anyway?). Thanks for reading.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Peanut Butter and Jelly - Breakfast of Champions
This morning, instead of just toast with butter and Pollaner, I decided to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Sometimes I do this on race day too, as the PB has more substance and fends off my morning hunger longer than just toast. Lately I've been getting pretty hungry mid-morning, so I went with the PB&J to see if it might help me make it till noon withoug heading down to the caf.
I still toasted my bread. In fact, today I used one slice of russian rye, and one slice of Baker's Inn multigrain. I keep my Smucker's reduced fat natural peanut butter in the fridge. Spreading it is not easy. Today I put a glob on a saucer and gave it 15 seconds in the microwave. Perfect, nice and easy. KL prefers crappy old Jif, Peter Pan, or in a pinch Skippy peanut butter because their sweet taste makes her feel like a kid again. But how best to make the sandwich? Do you need PB on both slices of bread?
Sheldon Brown seems to disagree with noted authority Paullywog. For Sheldon's link, see the part about prevention. For the 'wog, see the Q&A at the bottom of the page.
Gewilli seems to be just as anal about his food as the 'wog. I am not sure if the lowly PB&J is beneath him or not. The 'wog loses a lot of credibility with me, because he believes any flavor jelly is OK. Me? No way, gotta be grape, although Pollaner grape is not easy to find. I'll sometimes cave an use blueberry in a pinch, but never apricot or orange or apple, no way.
This is an important topic. What are your opinions? I'd love to see the 'wog and Gewilli throw down in a food critic jamboree. Any other race morning food recommendations? Thanks for reading.
I still toasted my bread. In fact, today I used one slice of russian rye, and one slice of Baker's Inn multigrain. I keep my Smucker's reduced fat natural peanut butter in the fridge. Spreading it is not easy. Today I put a glob on a saucer and gave it 15 seconds in the microwave. Perfect, nice and easy. KL prefers crappy old Jif, Peter Pan, or in a pinch Skippy peanut butter because their sweet taste makes her feel like a kid again. But how best to make the sandwich? Do you need PB on both slices of bread?
Sheldon Brown seems to disagree with noted authority Paullywog. For Sheldon's link, see the part about prevention. For the 'wog, see the Q&A at the bottom of the page.
Gewilli seems to be just as anal about his food as the 'wog. I am not sure if the lowly PB&J is beneath him or not. The 'wog loses a lot of credibility with me, because he believes any flavor jelly is OK. Me? No way, gotta be grape, although Pollaner grape is not easy to find. I'll sometimes cave an use blueberry in a pinch, but never apricot or orange or apple, no way.
This is an important topic. What are your opinions? I'd love to see the 'wog and Gewilli throw down in a food critic jamboree. Any other race morning food recommendations? Thanks for reading.
Darkness
Not much to write lately. This week I have not been motivated to train. The late sunrise isn't helping at all, so I've decided not to worry about it and just wait another two weeks for the clocks to be adjusted. Monday and Tuesday were nothing days. Wednesday was telecommuting but I had a busy day and didn't go to head out on the bike until 4:30. I was dressed and picked up the cross bike only to discover I hadn't put the pedals back on it, so quickly changing plans, this became a one hour road ride. For some reason, probably the warm temps, I felt good. After coming back home and working for a bit more, I went back out for a short run just as it got dark. My legs felt like shit at first, but by the end of twenty minutes I was striding normally and felt much better.
This weekend the rumor is that the infamous Gewilli will join KL and I for a mountain bike ride at Blue Hills on Saturday. If anyone else is up for it, let us know. We will be avoiding the nastiest rocky sections as the purpose of this two hour jaunt will be to get reaquainted with off road riding after a summer season away from it. On Sunday there is a flat 5K right over in Brockton and the course is USATF certified, so I want to run over there to get some idea of what my pace is on a legit course. Next weekend the Canton Fall Classic 10K falls on the same day as the Canton cross race, and I may attempt the double. We'll see. Thanks for reading.
This weekend the rumor is that the infamous Gewilli will join KL and I for a mountain bike ride at Blue Hills on Saturday. If anyone else is up for it, let us know. We will be avoiding the nastiest rocky sections as the purpose of this two hour jaunt will be to get reaquainted with off road riding after a summer season away from it. On Sunday there is a flat 5K right over in Brockton and the course is USATF certified, so I want to run over there to get some idea of what my pace is on a legit course. Next weekend the Canton Fall Classic 10K falls on the same day as the Canton cross race, and I may attempt the double. We'll see. Thanks for reading.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Pinnacle - Gory Details
Here we go. I did this to get the feel for a multi-sport event a bit longer than the three short duathlons I've done in the past. Even on the bike, the longest TT I've ever done is 40K, and I've never done a running race longer than 10K, nor even run for more than 8 miles for that matter. With the suffering from run two of the Eliot duathlon last week still fresh in my mind, pacing was a big part of this weekend's plan. Originally I thought I would get up to the venue on Saturday for a pre-ride of the MTB loop, but instead I enjoyed a rare Saturday at home, getting stuff done like changing the oil on the Geo, taking out my AC, and putting down the storm windows.
Sunday morning I left the KL North training center before dawn to head across New Hampshire on unfamiliar, dark, deserted secondary roads through moose country. Luckily the drive to Newport only took a bit over an hour, and the sun was rising toward the end of the trip, where passing the Lake Sunapee bank the digital thermometer was announcing the temp as a balmy 30 degrees F. The race was at Newport High School. Shortly after registering, I met fellow bike racer and local guy Chris Naimie, who was nice enough to fill me in on some of the course details. He tells me "Make sure you ride out back and check out the ski jump. We have to go up the stairs at the beginning of the MTB and trail run legs." Huh? That's right, in NH, the high schools have ski jumps right alongside the football field.
As you can imagine, this thing was pretty steep. The photo does not do it justice. The stairs, as my teammate Jay described them, "looked like they were built by the freshman shop class twenty years ago." Not so good in MTB shoes. Luckily, Jay was also wise enough to determine skipping the stairs and running up the grass would be better. Nice trick.
With the sun blocked by the surrounding hills, it was still pretty cold as we setup the transition area and attended the rider meeting at around 9 am. The start was at 9:30. It's been a while since I race MTBs, and I didn't realize what an oddity my rigid Yo Eddy was going to be amongst the fleet of tricked out dual-suspension bikes chosen by many. Here is my aging beast alongside Naimie's rig in the transition.
The run start was on some lumpy grass across from the school. They announced the actual distance would be 4.92 miles. I had only had time to inspect a tiny portion of the MTB course, which also served for the trail run, but it was enough to realize this was going to be much tougher than I had expected. The race flyer noted the significant climbing, but it also described a lot of double-track, which generally means passable by a jeep. There was not much double-track... The course was not the tame, geared toward multisporters track that I had planned on, it was typical gnarly north country single track, just like any MTB race up here. Not quite as greasy, but still chock full of off-camber roots, rocks, and reggae, super twisty and turny, and of course steep as a mofo, both up and down. The trail run took a few shortcuts to reduce the distance, but covered the same vertical, so it was even steeper. With the amount of suffering I did on the pancake flat run two at Eliot, conservation and survival were all I could think about as we lined up for the start.
The gun went off and we headed across the field. The grass was pretty deep and turning an ankle was a real possibility. I was at least halfway back as we headed onto a trail and over a wooden bridge. Jay came by me at that point and moved ahead. Not sure how many of those ahead were from teams, I just let them go and ran by heart rate, intent on staying in zone 4, roughly 5-10 bpm below LT. The course turned onto an old RR line converted to a multi-use path. The surface was pretty soft and sandy in some places, and ideally firm in others. There were supposed to be mile markers, but I never saw them, so I had no idea of my pace. After about two miles we came out on the road, where a small climb met us. Eventually we turned back toward the start, and ran over the requisite covered bridge. I was apparently not photogenic enough for the race photogs, but here is Jay displaying the typical Team BOB All Business attitude.
The leaders were way the fuck ahead of me as the transition came into view. Checking my watch and seeing only 34 minutes had passed, I had to wonder about the legitamacy of the distance. Either all these races are short, or I'm running a lot faster than I used to. I made it a point to run very easy into transition, as with the ski jump coming right at the beginning of the MTB leg, I felt the "run" phase wasn't over yet. I wore my gloves on the run to save time in the transition, but I ended up fumbling anyway, trying to get my inflator into the back pockets of my vest. Being mid-pack, there was plenty of company as I rolled out and across the athletic field to the ski jump. Jay's plan worked great, as going up the steep grass I passed at least three competiors who were struggling up the rickety stairs. Remounting at the top, I reeled in a bunch more people on the uphill portion of the single track. The Yo Eddy was last used for commuting to work, so it carries unorthodox 28-38-46 chainrings. Even with a 12-32 on the back, I could not use the "big" middle ring, and rode most of the climb in my 28/28. There were several stone wall jumps and other obstacles, and being unfamiliar with the course, I portaged most of the hard stuff even though it should have been rideable. Reaching the high point, my goal became getting down in one piece. A few fast kids caught me on the way down, and part of the way I was able to follow them, which helped. Still though, I am pretty rusty on the MTB, and did not make up much time on this leg. Jay blitzed the course as one of the fastest, about five minutes quicker than me, on top of the minute or so he pulled out of me on the run. I went into T2 with in about 16th place among the solos.
This guy was loaded for bear. This one's for you Bold. Notice this knucklehead is not wearing gloves either. He must have read that article too. He probably got frostbite on the descent.
It was warmer by then and I gulped some Gatorade and took off on the road bike. The MTB specialists who had passed me were within sight, and I reeled them and two others in before we hit the significant climb on Loverin Hill road. This ascended about 100 meters over the course of 1.5k or so. I hadn't thought about gearing at all, but was glad to have a 36x27 low gear as I spun up the climb, passing a few more. On the descent my Vision Tech mini clipons were not ideal, and the unpadded metal armrests got pretty cold. Keeping up a good pace, I still cooled it a lot during the final portion of the 14 mile road leg. Over the last k, I sat up, stretched my back, and shook out the legs in anticipation of the brutal trail run. Still no sign of Jay, but I was pretty sure I must have taken back some time, even though I again kept my HR about 10 bpm below normal TT pace.
T3 was fast and uneventful, just pulling on my shoes and ditching my vest. Running back out to the ski jump, I felt much better than at Eliot. This time, in running shoes, I took the stairs. The uphill single track was brutal. In a few spots I had to walk, putting my hands on my knees and pushing my way up. There was one "big rock" we had to scramble up on our hands and knees, and here I passed one woman from a team. Nearing the summit, I spied Jay up ahead, alternating between walking and running. I focused and tried to run all the way up the hill, although in some spots my baby steps seemed slower than walking as my lower back and hips screamed in agony.
Once the trail starting going down, I felt better, and I ran as fast as I dared. I'm not exactly quick-footed, but with all the roots and wet rocks, navigating the twists and turns while freefalling out of control down the mountain was rather harrowing. I'd saved a lot though, and I started doing OK, found a rhythm and passed Jay about halfway down. I asked him if anyone were within reach ahead, and he said he didn't know. I really flew on the lower slopes, where the trail opened up a bit. Going by the last marshal, I heard her cheer on a runner behind me, close behind me. It wasn't Jay... Down the last pitch out onto the fields, I started sprinting, as over my shoulder I could see a Hi-Tec runner closing fast. Luckily, I was not dead, and I held him off into the transition, where I finished in 2:36, 8th solo overall, 2nd Master 40. Jay was about a minute back.
The races site has detailed time breakdowns. I discovered that I was 16th in the road run, 15th in the MTB, 3rd in the road TT, and 8th in the trail run. I finished strong, maybe too strong. Nobody passed me on either of the last two legs, and I took eight people for postions in the overall. I don't know, maybe I did it right. I conceded almost 6 minutes to the winner of my age group in the first run. Maybe with more guts I could have held this closer and not paid for it too dearly later. The MTB I can handle because I was so rusty and out of my element, I know I can take off a lot of time next year if I practice.
So that is that. Here is the polar chart, ignore the end as that was my cooldown ride. I didn't get any speed or cadence data. My HR stayed in zone 4 for over 75% of the time. So that is that, time to go to work. Congratulations if you made it this far. Thanks for reading.
Sunday morning I left the KL North training center before dawn to head across New Hampshire on unfamiliar, dark, deserted secondary roads through moose country. Luckily the drive to Newport only took a bit over an hour, and the sun was rising toward the end of the trip, where passing the Lake Sunapee bank the digital thermometer was announcing the temp as a balmy 30 degrees F. The race was at Newport High School. Shortly after registering, I met fellow bike racer and local guy Chris Naimie, who was nice enough to fill me in on some of the course details. He tells me "Make sure you ride out back and check out the ski jump. We have to go up the stairs at the beginning of the MTB and trail run legs." Huh? That's right, in NH, the high schools have ski jumps right alongside the football field.
As you can imagine, this thing was pretty steep. The photo does not do it justice. The stairs, as my teammate Jay described them, "looked like they were built by the freshman shop class twenty years ago." Not so good in MTB shoes. Luckily, Jay was also wise enough to determine skipping the stairs and running up the grass would be better. Nice trick.
With the sun blocked by the surrounding hills, it was still pretty cold as we setup the transition area and attended the rider meeting at around 9 am. The start was at 9:30. It's been a while since I race MTBs, and I didn't realize what an oddity my rigid Yo Eddy was going to be amongst the fleet of tricked out dual-suspension bikes chosen by many. Here is my aging beast alongside Naimie's rig in the transition.
The run start was on some lumpy grass across from the school. They announced the actual distance would be 4.92 miles. I had only had time to inspect a tiny portion of the MTB course, which also served for the trail run, but it was enough to realize this was going to be much tougher than I had expected. The race flyer noted the significant climbing, but it also described a lot of double-track, which generally means passable by a jeep. There was not much double-track... The course was not the tame, geared toward multisporters track that I had planned on, it was typical gnarly north country single track, just like any MTB race up here. Not quite as greasy, but still chock full of off-camber roots, rocks, and reggae, super twisty and turny, and of course steep as a mofo, both up and down. The trail run took a few shortcuts to reduce the distance, but covered the same vertical, so it was even steeper. With the amount of suffering I did on the pancake flat run two at Eliot, conservation and survival were all I could think about as we lined up for the start.
The gun went off and we headed across the field. The grass was pretty deep and turning an ankle was a real possibility. I was at least halfway back as we headed onto a trail and over a wooden bridge. Jay came by me at that point and moved ahead. Not sure how many of those ahead were from teams, I just let them go and ran by heart rate, intent on staying in zone 4, roughly 5-10 bpm below LT. The course turned onto an old RR line converted to a multi-use path. The surface was pretty soft and sandy in some places, and ideally firm in others. There were supposed to be mile markers, but I never saw them, so I had no idea of my pace. After about two miles we came out on the road, where a small climb met us. Eventually we turned back toward the start, and ran over the requisite covered bridge. I was apparently not photogenic enough for the race photogs, but here is Jay displaying the typical Team BOB All Business attitude.
The leaders were way the fuck ahead of me as the transition came into view. Checking my watch and seeing only 34 minutes had passed, I had to wonder about the legitamacy of the distance. Either all these races are short, or I'm running a lot faster than I used to. I made it a point to run very easy into transition, as with the ski jump coming right at the beginning of the MTB leg, I felt the "run" phase wasn't over yet. I wore my gloves on the run to save time in the transition, but I ended up fumbling anyway, trying to get my inflator into the back pockets of my vest. Being mid-pack, there was plenty of company as I rolled out and across the athletic field to the ski jump. Jay's plan worked great, as going up the steep grass I passed at least three competiors who were struggling up the rickety stairs. Remounting at the top, I reeled in a bunch more people on the uphill portion of the single track. The Yo Eddy was last used for commuting to work, so it carries unorthodox 28-38-46 chainrings. Even with a 12-32 on the back, I could not use the "big" middle ring, and rode most of the climb in my 28/28. There were several stone wall jumps and other obstacles, and being unfamiliar with the course, I portaged most of the hard stuff even though it should have been rideable. Reaching the high point, my goal became getting down in one piece. A few fast kids caught me on the way down, and part of the way I was able to follow them, which helped. Still though, I am pretty rusty on the MTB, and did not make up much time on this leg. Jay blitzed the course as one of the fastest, about five minutes quicker than me, on top of the minute or so he pulled out of me on the run. I went into T2 with in about 16th place among the solos.
This guy was loaded for bear. This one's for you Bold. Notice this knucklehead is not wearing gloves either. He must have read that article too. He probably got frostbite on the descent.
It was warmer by then and I gulped some Gatorade and took off on the road bike. The MTB specialists who had passed me were within sight, and I reeled them and two others in before we hit the significant climb on Loverin Hill road. This ascended about 100 meters over the course of 1.5k or so. I hadn't thought about gearing at all, but was glad to have a 36x27 low gear as I spun up the climb, passing a few more. On the descent my Vision Tech mini clipons were not ideal, and the unpadded metal armrests got pretty cold. Keeping up a good pace, I still cooled it a lot during the final portion of the 14 mile road leg. Over the last k, I sat up, stretched my back, and shook out the legs in anticipation of the brutal trail run. Still no sign of Jay, but I was pretty sure I must have taken back some time, even though I again kept my HR about 10 bpm below normal TT pace.
T3 was fast and uneventful, just pulling on my shoes and ditching my vest. Running back out to the ski jump, I felt much better than at Eliot. This time, in running shoes, I took the stairs. The uphill single track was brutal. In a few spots I had to walk, putting my hands on my knees and pushing my way up. There was one "big rock" we had to scramble up on our hands and knees, and here I passed one woman from a team. Nearing the summit, I spied Jay up ahead, alternating between walking and running. I focused and tried to run all the way up the hill, although in some spots my baby steps seemed slower than walking as my lower back and hips screamed in agony.
Once the trail starting going down, I felt better, and I ran as fast as I dared. I'm not exactly quick-footed, but with all the roots and wet rocks, navigating the twists and turns while freefalling out of control down the mountain was rather harrowing. I'd saved a lot though, and I started doing OK, found a rhythm and passed Jay about halfway down. I asked him if anyone were within reach ahead, and he said he didn't know. I really flew on the lower slopes, where the trail opened up a bit. Going by the last marshal, I heard her cheer on a runner behind me, close behind me. It wasn't Jay... Down the last pitch out onto the fields, I started sprinting, as over my shoulder I could see a Hi-Tec runner closing fast. Luckily, I was not dead, and I held him off into the transition, where I finished in 2:36, 8th solo overall, 2nd Master 40. Jay was about a minute back.
The races site has detailed time breakdowns. I discovered that I was 16th in the road run, 15th in the MTB, 3rd in the road TT, and 8th in the trail run. I finished strong, maybe too strong. Nobody passed me on either of the last two legs, and I took eight people for postions in the overall. I don't know, maybe I did it right. I conceded almost 6 minutes to the winner of my age group in the first run. Maybe with more guts I could have held this closer and not paid for it too dearly later. The MTB I can handle because I was so rusty and out of my element, I know I can take off a lot of time next year if I practice.
So that is that. Here is the polar chart, ignore the end as that was my cooldown ride. I didn't get any speed or cadence data. My HR stayed in zone 4 for over 75% of the time. So that is that, time to go to work. Congratulations if you made it this far. Thanks for reading.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Pinnacle Challenge Results.
Brief report: It was cold, it was hard, the MTB and trail runs were hillier and more technical than expected, the road TT also had a fairly hard climb in it. Several near misses but no crashes. Full report to follow, but since I know you can't wait, here are the results. Thanks for reading.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Just say no.
The Maine UCI Cyclocross races and NEBLOGGERCROSS won't have solobreak to kick around this weekend. My second place standing in the Which Blooger Sucks the Worst at Cross competition will surely fall. No worries. Last year I went to the Maine race for the mud bath, and I vowed never again, and I'm sticking to my vow. Sure, the promoter has no control over the weather, and mud is a part of cross, but last year was ridiculous. The rain was pretty bad all week, and the race course was at the lower end of the sprawling, converted mental institution office park/rec center which was the venue. So some things can't be helped. However, the depth and length of the mud bog they ran us through was downright dangerous. Breaking a leg was a real possibility while trying to run through shin-deep muck, with no idea about what lay underneath. There were ample options for re-routing the course to lessen the danger and obscenity of the situation, but the organizers chose not to. Furthermore, part of the course was pretty dry, and to me, the mud bog looked like it may have had some artificial help in forming. Whatever, but I'm not taking any chances this year. I ruined several hundred dollars worth of clothing and equipment in just fifty minutes of "racing" last year, and at the beginning of cross season, I don't need that, so I stayed away. Hmmmmph.
My reward is a rare Saturday morning at home with no set schedule for getting anyplace. I need to get up to NH to preview the MTB loop for The Pinnacle Challenge tommorow, and before heading up my MTB is going to need a little TLC. The Yo Eddy looks like she was ridden hard and put away wet (don't remember when this was), so today I'm going to have to wipe the mold off the saddle at a minimum, and probably throw on a new chain and apply some lube as well. Then I've got to put MTB pedals on the road bike so that I won't need to change shoes during the MTB to road TT transition. All that shouldn't be too bad.
The bad news is the forecast for tommorow in Newport, NH is a high of 51 degrees F. Yikes. I'm not looking forward to working up a mad sweat on the first run and MTB leg and then getting on to the road bike to freeze my ass off. Last week at the Eliot Duathlon I wore a skinsuit and arm warmers for the entire event. My upper body was fine, but my legs were frozen during the bike portion, and it was probably in the low 50's by that point. Luckily, I didn't get any wierd ass-rash from running in the skinsuit, so the Verge chamois might be OK for tommorow too.
At last check there were 36 solo entries, plus about 15 teams. This could double by tommorow. My plan is to go out on the first five mile road run as easy as possible. I think running 8:20-8:40 would be smart, but when starting with a group I know it will be hard to hold back. If I can finish the run in the low 40's without really pushing the legs, I think this will be adequate. The MTB loop is short, only 5.5 miles, but from the sounds of it the course goes straight up a 525 foot climb on double-track out of the transition. The fastest split by the host club's testers has been 39+ minutes, so it must be rather slow and technical. I plan to go fairly hard on this leg, then continue hard on the road TT leg. They have $25 prizes for the fastest split on each leg, and I know the road TT prize could be within my reach, but in the interest of doing a good overall and not dieing a thousand deaths on the trail run, I think I will take a lesson from Eliot and cool it quite a bit on the second half of the road TT leg.Cliff noted the same calf cramps I experienced at Eliot when getting off the bike at his last duathlon. These really killed the first mile of my run at Eliot, and that was flat as a pancake. Since the trail run at Pinnacle also goes straight up the same hill as the MTB leg, I know I've got to be ready or else I'll be reduced to walking. So I'm going to use the second half of the road bike ride to stretch and relax a little, rather than pounding a huge gear all the way into the transition only to crumble up into a fetal ball on the run.
There you have it. I should have some more mechanical tales for Gewilli this upcoming week. There's no TV at the KL North Training Center where I'll hang my helmet tonight, so I'll need to live without the torture that is Joe Buck and Tim McCarver this weekend. WTF is Fox trying to do anyway, make the playoffs as painful as Fox News? Thanks for reading.
My reward is a rare Saturday morning at home with no set schedule for getting anyplace. I need to get up to NH to preview the MTB loop for The Pinnacle Challenge tommorow, and before heading up my MTB is going to need a little TLC. The Yo Eddy looks like she was ridden hard and put away wet (don't remember when this was), so today I'm going to have to wipe the mold off the saddle at a minimum, and probably throw on a new chain and apply some lube as well. Then I've got to put MTB pedals on the road bike so that I won't need to change shoes during the MTB to road TT transition. All that shouldn't be too bad.
The bad news is the forecast for tommorow in Newport, NH is a high of 51 degrees F. Yikes. I'm not looking forward to working up a mad sweat on the first run and MTB leg and then getting on to the road bike to freeze my ass off. Last week at the Eliot Duathlon I wore a skinsuit and arm warmers for the entire event. My upper body was fine, but my legs were frozen during the bike portion, and it was probably in the low 50's by that point. Luckily, I didn't get any wierd ass-rash from running in the skinsuit, so the Verge chamois might be OK for tommorow too.
At last check there were 36 solo entries, plus about 15 teams. This could double by tommorow. My plan is to go out on the first five mile road run as easy as possible. I think running 8:20-8:40 would be smart, but when starting with a group I know it will be hard to hold back. If I can finish the run in the low 40's without really pushing the legs, I think this will be adequate. The MTB loop is short, only 5.5 miles, but from the sounds of it the course goes straight up a 525 foot climb on double-track out of the transition. The fastest split by the host club's testers has been 39+ minutes, so it must be rather slow and technical. I plan to go fairly hard on this leg, then continue hard on the road TT leg. They have $25 prizes for the fastest split on each leg, and I know the road TT prize could be within my reach, but in the interest of doing a good overall and not dieing a thousand deaths on the trail run, I think I will take a lesson from Eliot and cool it quite a bit on the second half of the road TT leg.Cliff noted the same calf cramps I experienced at Eliot when getting off the bike at his last duathlon. These really killed the first mile of my run at Eliot, and that was flat as a pancake. Since the trail run at Pinnacle also goes straight up the same hill as the MTB leg, I know I've got to be ready or else I'll be reduced to walking. So I'm going to use the second half of the road bike ride to stretch and relax a little, rather than pounding a huge gear all the way into the transition only to crumble up into a fetal ball on the run.
There you have it. I should have some more mechanical tales for Gewilli this upcoming week. There's no TV at the KL North Training Center where I'll hang my helmet tonight, so I'll need to live without the torture that is Joe Buck and Tim McCarver this weekend. WTF is Fox trying to do anyway, make the playoffs as painful as Fox News? Thanks for reading.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Friday Links
Another quick and easy post. Too bad I didn't make more of an effort to find stuff that was interesting. Next week... yeah, sure.
The Pinnacle Challenge
Funny Tan Lines
Nas-Track (annoying audio on intro
Ooops!
Joel's Self-Referential Home Page
Chainbiter 2005 Photos
Sorry Bold, the tool in the Kazooo helmet was not me. I've searched my archives and I don't have a digimage of me in my ridiculous Giro Aerohead, but if one turns up, you got it. Thanks for reading.
The Pinnacle Challenge
Funny Tan Lines
Nas-Track (annoying audio on intro
Ooops!
Joel's Self-Referential Home Page
Chainbiter 2005 Photos
Sorry Bold, the tool in the Kazooo helmet was not me. I've searched my archives and I don't have a digimage of me in my ridiculous Giro Aerohead, but if one turns up, you got it. Thanks for reading.
Monday, October 9, 2006
Gratuitous Foliage Photos
Did a mini-D2R2 with KL today. We managed to ride almost three hours without ever straying more than ten miles from the KL North training center. We doubled back a few times when the roads turned into deer paths, but we never did the same road twice. We got in over 1000 meters of climbing - it was nice to have the 38x32 on there today. Everyone knows how awesome the weather was. Here is some photographic evidence:
Lake Winnisquam and the White Mountains in the background
Showing off
Every side road is _________Hill Road up there. Thanks for reading. PS - Two other new posts below.
Lake Winnisquam and the White Mountains in the background
Showing off
Every side road is _________Hill Road up there. Thanks for reading. PS - Two other new posts below.
Gloucester CX Race Report
There's not much to write about this one, but since I need to get established in the Which Blogger Sucks the Worse at Cross Competition, here goes.
I entered the B Masters at Gloucester. Normally I do the A Masters, because after all, I am a studly Team BOB hombre with at least a smattering of road racing palmares, and the B Masters are for graybeards and fatties. (Here is photographic proof, check out the Maxxis dude, now you'll understand how Feltslave podiums in these things. And of course, note my sense of style. Meg claims the knee sox are her thing, but anyone who was at Lynnwoods in '88 knows I've been doing the support hose since she was still in her training thong). Of course, I don't take cross too seriously, and last year I only managed to crack the top 50 once or twice. As a Cat 3, I am entitled to choose between the A and B masters, and being 45 and all, there should be no problem with me doing the B's. It's not like I have a wall covered with medals or anything...
So for Gloucester I decide on the B's. The A Masters were already almost up to the 125 rider field limit, and since I start slowly, the sixty or so in the B's was sounding good. Last year they wave-started the four fields in the 9 am race, so I had every reason to believe they would do it again this year. But they didn't. Not really anyway. They started the C-men (huh-huh) with us, so I got to participate in a 125 rider group grope after all. The 55+ men would start 30 seconds behind us, and the B-otch women after them. In this group, there are no callups, so dopes like Feltslave and Zoo were camped out on the starting line like Sox fans at the ticket booth on Yawkey Way for days before the event. I wandered down there about twenty minutes before the start and ended up 55 riders back (I counted), still better off than the herd behind me.
The gun went off and we roared up the hill. I'm pretty much stroking it, and lose at least ten spots to guys who charge up on both sides. Predictably, we hit the bottleneck going onto the dirt and carnage ensues, but I slide by relatively unscathed. We wind around the grass and onto the dirt highway along the water, and now I'm rolling by a few. Through the chicanes I opted to run rather than risk getting knocked into the tape by one of the numerous pinheads whose only hope is to take out half the field. I make it to the hurdles in one piece. Here is the video:
3 MB Quicktime Movie courtesy of The Cronoman, aka Roman Pulansky Marro.
That was the end of the highlights. On the way down the big sweeper, I went to go back to the big ring, and overshifted. Of course, this is a 47T on the cross bike, so there is no pin to keep the chain out of the crank arm. Flying down the hill, I frantically work the front changer in a futile attempt to get the chain back on. It's total chain suck time, and things are looking bad for your hero. Forced to dismount, dozens of places are lost as I struggle to untangle the mess. Every swinging dick in the field is by me, as well as the not-so-swinging 55+ field, and even a few of the leaders in the B-dickless class before the chain gods finally relent and let me get going again. The Polar shows me at one elevation for 45 seconds. FUCK! I start motoring, and honest to god I am thinking, shit, at least now I'll rack up some points in the suck competition.
Of course, being able to easily pass people is a tremendous motivator, and since the riders around me are all AARP-eligible, I start flying through the field. For a lap and half I passed everything in sight, about 50 riders in all. By then I was getting a little blown, and one guy in a THF kit actually passed me back. The lead bee-ootch was also keeping pace, because I could hear here incessantly screaming at every one behind me "race leader coming through." So I settled in for lap three, sitting on a group of about six, including Mister THF, who seemed really fast on some parts of the course, but slow as shit on others. So he became "the guy" as in the guy that I am going to dust in the sprint up the hill. The Cronoman is screaming at me to take the entire group of six, but my motorcycle is low on fuel so I stayed put. THF dude is barelymuven the last time through the sandpit, but I stayed behind him rather than use energy going around through the deeper sand. On the remount I took off, and torqued it up the little climb just past the pit to make sure he was dead. The remaining five from the group had splintered; I went by one or two during the surge, but there was one more way up the road as I got back onto the pavement. I sprinted like it actually mattered, and took this guy back for about 10 seconds in just 100 meters, garnering my reward of 31st in the B Masters, 12th out of around 25 who were over 45.
Not sure how the Vegas judges are going to score this one. IMHO B Masters suck at least as bad as C men, and I should get a 50 point suckage bonus for finishing behind Zoo, who did a stellar ride after an inspirational visit to the race by his parents on Saturday. Thanks for reading.
I entered the B Masters at Gloucester. Normally I do the A Masters, because after all, I am a studly Team BOB hombre with at least a smattering of road racing palmares, and the B Masters are for graybeards and fatties. (Here is photographic proof, check out the Maxxis dude, now you'll understand how Feltslave podiums in these things. And of course, note my sense of style. Meg claims the knee sox are her thing, but anyone who was at Lynnwoods in '88 knows I've been doing the support hose since she was still in her training thong). Of course, I don't take cross too seriously, and last year I only managed to crack the top 50 once or twice. As a Cat 3, I am entitled to choose between the A and B masters, and being 45 and all, there should be no problem with me doing the B's. It's not like I have a wall covered with medals or anything...
So for Gloucester I decide on the B's. The A Masters were already almost up to the 125 rider field limit, and since I start slowly, the sixty or so in the B's was sounding good. Last year they wave-started the four fields in the 9 am race, so I had every reason to believe they would do it again this year. But they didn't. Not really anyway. They started the C-men (huh-huh) with us, so I got to participate in a 125 rider group grope after all. The 55+ men would start 30 seconds behind us, and the B-otch women after them. In this group, there are no callups, so dopes like Feltslave and Zoo were camped out on the starting line like Sox fans at the ticket booth on Yawkey Way for days before the event. I wandered down there about twenty minutes before the start and ended up 55 riders back (I counted), still better off than the herd behind me.
The gun went off and we roared up the hill. I'm pretty much stroking it, and lose at least ten spots to guys who charge up on both sides. Predictably, we hit the bottleneck going onto the dirt and carnage ensues, but I slide by relatively unscathed. We wind around the grass and onto the dirt highway along the water, and now I'm rolling by a few. Through the chicanes I opted to run rather than risk getting knocked into the tape by one of the numerous pinheads whose only hope is to take out half the field. I make it to the hurdles in one piece. Here is the video:
3 MB Quicktime Movie courtesy of The Cronoman, aka Roman Pulansky Marro.
That was the end of the highlights. On the way down the big sweeper, I went to go back to the big ring, and overshifted. Of course, this is a 47T on the cross bike, so there is no pin to keep the chain out of the crank arm. Flying down the hill, I frantically work the front changer in a futile attempt to get the chain back on. It's total chain suck time, and things are looking bad for your hero. Forced to dismount, dozens of places are lost as I struggle to untangle the mess. Every swinging dick in the field is by me, as well as the not-so-swinging 55+ field, and even a few of the leaders in the B-dickless class before the chain gods finally relent and let me get going again. The Polar shows me at one elevation for 45 seconds. FUCK! I start motoring, and honest to god I am thinking, shit, at least now I'll rack up some points in the suck competition.
Of course, being able to easily pass people is a tremendous motivator, and since the riders around me are all AARP-eligible, I start flying through the field. For a lap and half I passed everything in sight, about 50 riders in all. By then I was getting a little blown, and one guy in a THF kit actually passed me back. The lead bee-ootch was also keeping pace, because I could hear here incessantly screaming at every one behind me "race leader coming through." So I settled in for lap three, sitting on a group of about six, including Mister THF, who seemed really fast on some parts of the course, but slow as shit on others. So he became "the guy" as in the guy that I am going to dust in the sprint up the hill. The Cronoman is screaming at me to take the entire group of six, but my motorcycle is low on fuel so I stayed put. THF dude is barelymuven the last time through the sandpit, but I stayed behind him rather than use energy going around through the deeper sand. On the remount I took off, and torqued it up the little climb just past the pit to make sure he was dead. The remaining five from the group had splintered; I went by one or two during the surge, but there was one more way up the road as I got back onto the pavement. I sprinted like it actually mattered, and took this guy back for about 10 seconds in just 100 meters, garnering my reward of 31st in the B Masters, 12th out of around 25 who were over 45.
Not sure how the Vegas judges are going to score this one. IMHO B Masters suck at least as bad as C men, and I should get a 50 point suckage bonus for finishing behind Zoo, who did a stellar ride after an inspirational visit to the race by his parents on Saturday. Thanks for reading.
Elliot Duathlon Race Report
On day one of the Gloucester CX Grand Prix, arguably the biggest race event in New England, I elected to race in what may be the smallest event - The Eliot Duathlon. Billed as a 3 mile - 17 mile - 2.6 mile event, this was my last chance of the season to try another straight up duathlon, so I got up early and headed to Maine. Fortunately, Eliot is the first town, and in fact the race is held on the picturesque little area you can see below if you look north off the bridge crossing from New Hampshire. The race was promoted by the First Congregational Church of Eliot. What I don't know about religion could fill a library, but from what I've seen of congregational churches, they seem to have a better plan than most. As far as I can tell, they congregate, and put on things like duathlons. Not just an ordinary duathlon, but one with more volunteers than racers, and extras like t-shirts, prizes for half the field, and a full buffet with deli sandwiches and hot pizza after the race! Yes, they had the orange slices and bananas too, but even the bagels had something like five kinds of cream cheese to choose from. Amen brother!
There were about 70 individuals and five teams that lined up. The run started fast, at least it seemed that way to me. In fact, I got friggin' blown off in the first half mile. I didn't know what was up, but I checked my HR and it was 165, so I knew it wasn't my imagination. I settled in and tried to keep pace with the lead woman and another guy in a tri-suit, but soon they were gone too. The distance was suspect, probably a little short of the advertised 3 miles, and I came into the transition with an official time of 18:18, about 4 minutes behind the fastest. I got changed into my cleats reasonably quickly, but fumbled for a few extra seconds putting on my gloves and sucking down a gel before heading out on the bike. My avg. HR for the run was 161, right at LT, and I timed myself for the transition at 1:28. I started passing riders right away on the mini loop (which also served as run number two), taking at least ten before even getting onto the main part of the bike course, which we would ride twice. I found my rhythm here and picked off more riders one by one. The course wound along the bay for a bit before heading back inland on rural roads. On the second lap I picked it up a bit more, as now I had seen the course and knew there were no major climbs, just a few shallow grades. I was riding my regular road bike with the Shimano aero wheels and a pair of Vision Tech mini clipons installed the night before the race. They are a little short, but OK for this as the course was not bumpy.
I caught more riders on the second lap. The lead woman took the longest to reel in after coming into view. She was fast and smooth and must have been a real triathlete. Nobody passed me. I rolled into T2, forgetting that I had cleats on, so I initially tried to do a cyclocross dismount at the mandatory line, but quickly thought better of it. My bay was was on the far end, and at first I tried to trot across the parking lot, but that was dumb and so I stopped to pull my shoes off, at which time my right calf started to cramp. I made it to my space, racked the bike, pulled on my shoes and headed out after just 44 seconds. The official times don't break out the transitions, so T1 is included in the bike split, and T2 is included in the second run time. My Polar showed the bike course at 27.5 k in length, and my average speed at 37.3 kph.
I'm no duathlete, and so I wasn't fully prepared for the shitty feeling I got when I tried to run out of there. I'm not totally clueless, and I realized that since I only saw a couple of bikes in the racks, I must be doing OK. I had to suck it up and deal. But man did I feel like shit. After less than half a mile, one guy came running by me like I was standing still. Well, maybe that was because I practically was standing still. Forget him, keep going. Another guy comes by me a bit later. This one is not going so fast, and I am feeling a little better, so I try to pace off of him. He still pulls away, and it later turns out that he will win my age group (40-49). I manage to keep him in sight, and going into the last mile I am feeling like I am really running again. One more guy comes by me, but he is absolutely flying and must be part of a team, or so I tell myself. He is that last one, and I make it to the line with a run time of just over 19 minutes, and an official total of 1:23:14, the 8th individual, and about 8 minutes behind elite duathlete and winner Corey Boilard. He was over 9 minutes ahead of me at the Rye Duathlon earlier in the year, so I guess this is progress. I went for a little cooldown spin on my cross bike, then picked up my neat trophy and a nice base layer jersey that I got for second in my age group. After a little post-race nutrition at the buffet, I thanked the crew and headed down to Gloucester to spectate and see what awaited for Sunday. Thanks for reading.
There were about 70 individuals and five teams that lined up. The run started fast, at least it seemed that way to me. In fact, I got friggin' blown off in the first half mile. I didn't know what was up, but I checked my HR and it was 165, so I knew it wasn't my imagination. I settled in and tried to keep pace with the lead woman and another guy in a tri-suit, but soon they were gone too. The distance was suspect, probably a little short of the advertised 3 miles, and I came into the transition with an official time of 18:18, about 4 minutes behind the fastest. I got changed into my cleats reasonably quickly, but fumbled for a few extra seconds putting on my gloves and sucking down a gel before heading out on the bike. My avg. HR for the run was 161, right at LT, and I timed myself for the transition at 1:28. I started passing riders right away on the mini loop (which also served as run number two), taking at least ten before even getting onto the main part of the bike course, which we would ride twice. I found my rhythm here and picked off more riders one by one. The course wound along the bay for a bit before heading back inland on rural roads. On the second lap I picked it up a bit more, as now I had seen the course and knew there were no major climbs, just a few shallow grades. I was riding my regular road bike with the Shimano aero wheels and a pair of Vision Tech mini clipons installed the night before the race. They are a little short, but OK for this as the course was not bumpy.
I caught more riders on the second lap. The lead woman took the longest to reel in after coming into view. She was fast and smooth and must have been a real triathlete. Nobody passed me. I rolled into T2, forgetting that I had cleats on, so I initially tried to do a cyclocross dismount at the mandatory line, but quickly thought better of it. My bay was was on the far end, and at first I tried to trot across the parking lot, but that was dumb and so I stopped to pull my shoes off, at which time my right calf started to cramp. I made it to my space, racked the bike, pulled on my shoes and headed out after just 44 seconds. The official times don't break out the transitions, so T1 is included in the bike split, and T2 is included in the second run time. My Polar showed the bike course at 27.5 k in length, and my average speed at 37.3 kph.
I'm no duathlete, and so I wasn't fully prepared for the shitty feeling I got when I tried to run out of there. I'm not totally clueless, and I realized that since I only saw a couple of bikes in the racks, I must be doing OK. I had to suck it up and deal. But man did I feel like shit. After less than half a mile, one guy came running by me like I was standing still. Well, maybe that was because I practically was standing still. Forget him, keep going. Another guy comes by me a bit later. This one is not going so fast, and I am feeling a little better, so I try to pace off of him. He still pulls away, and it later turns out that he will win my age group (40-49). I manage to keep him in sight, and going into the last mile I am feeling like I am really running again. One more guy comes by me, but he is absolutely flying and must be part of a team, or so I tell myself. He is that last one, and I make it to the line with a run time of just over 19 minutes, and an official total of 1:23:14, the 8th individual, and about 8 minutes behind elite duathlete and winner Corey Boilard. He was over 9 minutes ahead of me at the Rye Duathlon earlier in the year, so I guess this is progress. I went for a little cooldown spin on my cross bike, then picked up my neat trophy and a nice base layer jersey that I got for second in my age group. After a little post-race nutrition at the buffet, I thanked the crew and headed down to Gloucester to spectate and see what awaited for Sunday. Thanks for reading.
Friday, October 6, 2006
Friday Links
This has to be quick and easy, as I am starting to think that functional brakes for Sunday might be more important than a fantabulous blog entry.
Team Harris Cyclery
Helvetia Sports
CBRC Cross Page
GeWilli's Race Results
Zoo's Race Results
The Cronoman's Race Results
Feltslave's Race Results
KL's Race Results
Solobreak's Race Results
Solobreak Rips up Gloucester in 2005 Check out the shoes! Blame the stinking muck at Maine the week prior.
Cross Fashion Statement, not quite as hip as CTodd, but pure eye candy just the same.
See you over the weekend. Any of you deep pockets mofos that have an old digicam that you no longer use, bring it along and help a po' brother who is down on his luck out. Thanks for reading.
Team Harris Cyclery
Helvetia Sports
CBRC Cross Page
GeWilli's Race Results
Zoo's Race Results
The Cronoman's Race Results
Feltslave's Race Results
KL's Race Results
Solobreak's Race Results
Solobreak Rips up Gloucester in 2005 Check out the shoes! Blame the stinking muck at Maine the week prior.
Cross Fashion Statement, not quite as hip as CTodd, but pure eye candy just the same.
See you over the weekend. Any of you deep pockets mofos that have an old digicam that you no longer use, bring it along and help a po' brother who is down on his luck out. Thanks for reading.
Thursday, October 5, 2006
Wind up workin' in a gas station
Gloucester (Glawe-stah! for you out of statahs) weekend is almost upon us. Why is this a big deal? Is it because all the best 'cross racers in North America are descending on the home of The Perfect Storm for a perfect pair of UCI C1 cross races? No. Is it because several hundred of the not-so-best 'cross racers in New England are going to line up for the group grope clustaphuck that is the start of one of these things? No. Is it because after 12 months, I'm finally going to pay off the Woodsman and Callahan with the 40 oz bottles of OE 800 that I promised them last year? Not quite. Then why is this a big deal? Simple, because we are all waiting to see if Logan is going to emerge from hiding and come up with a new cross video! He's not on the start list though, so I guess we shouldn't hold our breath (breaths?). That's too bad.
If you're one of those who was not lucky enough to take in last year's festivities, and you also haven't seen his videos, click on over for a treat. As a public service, I'm also revisiting the following link, which contains a cameo by none other than solobreak himself: The KL 2005 cross movie.
In other news, I pulled off (huh-huh) the double cross ride yesterday, taking to the fields a second time for an hour after "work." Some of the mates have expressed interest in tackling The Pinnacle Challenge next weekend, and I think I'm going to go for it. This conflicts with the Maine cross races, but since last year the organizers elected to run us through 300 meters of shin-deep mud in order to avoid paying for landscaping repairs on the perfectly good field right next to the bog (bitch, bitch, bitch...), I don't think they'll be honored with my presence this year. So the Pinnacle it probably will be. For that matter, I didn't get in to Gloucester on Saturday, so if I can get my sorry ass out of bed early enough, I might head up to Eliot, Maine for a 3-17-3 duathlon in the morning before going to the big dance to watch KL. Ok, that's it kids, enjoy the videos, even if you've seen them before. Those of you in Logan's inner circle, give him a slap and convey how much we miss his work! Thanks for reading.
If you're one of those who was not lucky enough to take in last year's festivities, and you also haven't seen his videos, click on over for a treat. As a public service, I'm also revisiting the following link, which contains a cameo by none other than solobreak himself: The KL 2005 cross movie.
In other news, I pulled off (huh-huh) the double cross ride yesterday, taking to the fields a second time for an hour after "work." Some of the mates have expressed interest in tackling The Pinnacle Challenge next weekend, and I think I'm going to go for it. This conflicts with the Maine cross races, but since last year the organizers elected to run us through 300 meters of shin-deep mud in order to avoid paying for landscaping repairs on the perfectly good field right next to the bog (bitch, bitch, bitch...), I don't think they'll be honored with my presence this year. So the Pinnacle it probably will be. For that matter, I didn't get in to Gloucester on Saturday, so if I can get my sorry ass out of bed early enough, I might head up to Eliot, Maine for a 3-17-3 duathlon in the morning before going to the big dance to watch KL. Ok, that's it kids, enjoy the videos, even if you've seen them before. Those of you in Logan's inner circle, give him a slap and convey how much we miss his work! Thanks for reading.
Wednesday, October 4, 2006
This is getting creepy
From Moveitfred today:
In a final bit of still other news, after a most excellent run through the woods and 30 minute spin on the rollers yesterday, Moveitfred intends to break away from this computer right now and go out for about an hour on shitty cross bike.
Yesterday, after an easy 26 minute run in the woods, I rode the trainer for 30 minutes. This morning, I took the cross bike out for an hour...
OK, actually it was only a half an hour. I wanted to try out the new Thudbuster ST seatpost. Yes, it is heavy, but I don't race well when my lower back is in agony, and after 20 years I figured out that most of it was due to bouncing over frozen tundra on skinny tires. The ST feels really sweet, so much so that it makes the front end of the bike feel harsh. On smooth pavement, it feels a bit like riding a soft tire. I have the middle elastnomer in there now, so on courses with lots of pavement I suppose I could put the higher durometer one in.
The harvest fair was last Sunday, and it rained like a mofo. Well, instead of just packing down the grass, they used it for a parking area, and now the field looks like we already held cross nationals, or a tractor pull or something. Very muddy today, but once it dries out and packs a little, it could be better than ever. Now I need to get back to work and see what I can accomplish before lunch. I'd like to get out for another ride. Oh yeah, and BTW, despite living in LI, I see no reason to exclude Moveitfred from the stupidity competition. Long Island is at least as worthy as Connecticut. How many bozos do you think are going to be interested anyway? Second BTW, did someone already do a cross bloopers video? That would be a lot more entertaining than boring race footage. Thanks for reading.
In a final bit of still other news, after a most excellent run through the woods and 30 minute spin on the rollers yesterday, Moveitfred intends to break away from this computer right now and go out for about an hour on shitty cross bike.
Yesterday, after an easy 26 minute run in the woods, I rode the trainer for 30 minutes. This morning, I took the cross bike out for an hour...
OK, actually it was only a half an hour. I wanted to try out the new Thudbuster ST seatpost. Yes, it is heavy, but I don't race well when my lower back is in agony, and after 20 years I figured out that most of it was due to bouncing over frozen tundra on skinny tires. The ST feels really sweet, so much so that it makes the front end of the bike feel harsh. On smooth pavement, it feels a bit like riding a soft tire. I have the middle elastnomer in there now, so on courses with lots of pavement I suppose I could put the higher durometer one in.
The harvest fair was last Sunday, and it rained like a mofo. Well, instead of just packing down the grass, they used it for a parking area, and now the field looks like we already held cross nationals, or a tractor pull or something. Very muddy today, but once it dries out and packs a little, it could be better than ever. Now I need to get back to work and see what I can accomplish before lunch. I'd like to get out for another ride. Oh yeah, and BTW, despite living in LI, I see no reason to exclude Moveitfred from the stupidity competition. Long Island is at least as worthy as Connecticut. How many bozos do you think are going to be interested anyway? Second BTW, did someone already do a cross bloopers video? That would be a lot more entertaining than boring race footage. Thanks for reading.
Monday, October 2, 2006
Boned
Well, apparently I did not get in to Gloucester. I signed up for the Sunday B masters. At the time, Saturday was showing sold out, but Sunday was open. The transaction went through, they charged my credit card, and my name appeared on the confirmed rider list. I got my email confirmation. Now today, I check the confirmed list, and I've been moved to the waiting list! WTF? The fucks never notified me either. Very, very, very, very sleazy. Needless to say, I will be disputing this charge.
UPDATE - De-Boned
Well, the promoter got back to me and says I am in... Not sure what to think.Boring Training Stats
The 3rd quarter of calendar 2006 quietly drew to a close Friday. My September saddle time totaled a mere 31:30, bringing the annual number to 305 hours so far. September also brought the resumption of running, and I managed to get in seven short runs before the end of the month, adding three hours to the thirty that I got in during the spring season. My legs seemed to be adapting well, so after Sunday morning I made the two minute trip over to the start of the NRT 5 mile road race. This event is pretty small time, and seemingly getting smaller, as only about 110 runners showed up this year. The weather was drizzly, so that may have hurt. Nobody wanted to line up in the front row, so I started near the front and took off just behind the leaders. The start is a bit downhill, and my HR wasn't too high, so mile marker one came up at 6:12. By now my HR was up around LT, so I tried to settle in.
I'm not a real runner, and my pace is all over the place. The second mile was 6:37. The third mile is slightly uphill. I felt a runner on my shoulder, and tried to really stick on the shallow grades. At one point he was next to me, and I glanced over and saw it was Rightcoast's Uncle Bruce. Continuing on, at the mile three marker, which comes at the high point of the course, brought a split of 6:38. I later found out that my average HR for that mile was 170 (red zone baby) and peaked at 176. This may explain why I fell apart, cracking and running the predominantly downhill fourth mile in 7:04. Pulling it back together on the homestretch down Sheridan Street, the final split was 6:52 for an official finish time of 33:20, 12th place. Certainly a CR for me here, as I've gone as slow as 45 minutes in this early season race. This year I'm trying to step it up, as the Canton 10k is in 28 days and I'd really like to do well.
Last week also saw a grand total of 55 minutes on the bike. I was losing enthusiasm and my legs needed a break. Running might not be the best medicine, but I took some time and setup my cross bike for racing, and I just got into the B Masters field for next Sunday at Gloucester before it closed. I'm looking forward to all the race reports from the weekend. Thanks for reading.
I'm not a real runner, and my pace is all over the place. The second mile was 6:37. The third mile is slightly uphill. I felt a runner on my shoulder, and tried to really stick on the shallow grades. At one point he was next to me, and I glanced over and saw it was Rightcoast's Uncle Bruce. Continuing on, at the mile three marker, which comes at the high point of the course, brought a split of 6:38. I later found out that my average HR for that mile was 170 (red zone baby) and peaked at 176. This may explain why I fell apart, cracking and running the predominantly downhill fourth mile in 7:04. Pulling it back together on the homestretch down Sheridan Street, the final split was 6:52 for an official finish time of 33:20, 12th place. Certainly a CR for me here, as I've gone as slow as 45 minutes in this early season race. This year I'm trying to step it up, as the Canton 10k is in 28 days and I'd really like to do well.
Last week also saw a grand total of 55 minutes on the bike. I was losing enthusiasm and my legs needed a break. Running might not be the best medicine, but I took some time and setup my cross bike for racing, and I just got into the B Masters field for next Sunday at Gloucester before it closed. I'm looking forward to all the race reports from the weekend. Thanks for reading.
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