Depression and Bitterness...

I should have never lost the tough guy routine. Look what happens when you let your guard down...

On a training ride this past Saturday, I hit a patch of sand/pea gravel (perfectly positioned in the apex of the turn and around 4 inches deep) and went down. Robert wrecked in front of me and by the time I saw what happened to him, I was down. It was the slickest stuff I have ever hit on my bike and my entire front end went out with no warning. I did not skid at all... I hit straight down on my left hip, knee and elbow. Besides a lot of road rash, I fractured my greater trochanter which is the bony protrusion of my femur at my hip. It is very painful because the bony protrusion serves as a tie in point for many muscles and tendons so any movement of my left leg causes pain in the fracture.

Obviously, I am very disappointed... I was riding into the best form of my life. I would have peaked in two to three weeks based on my training program schedule and I was very excited, based on the slope of my improvement since the build cycle, to see where that peak would have been. I will now try not to be a baby, sit on my ass for four weeks, weep when no one is watching, and start the rebuilding process.

I have already started to research my retraining plan and it looks like I will need around 4 weeks off with a 7-8 week retraining cycle. Luckily, the guy (Howe) that laid out the training program I followed all winter, also laid out a "recover from injury" program for a 28 day break from training due to injury. Yes, I know, it sounds a little too coincidental, but it is true. With this plan, I would be back in form for the Tour of Atlanta and only miss one race that I had planned to do... the Athens GC and crit. Not to say that I cant do those races... I will just be out of shape...

Anyway, I will be out of pocket for a while with nothing to report... I will be having a nice pity party each and every day... you are all invited...

Enough is Enough...

Alright... enough of the tough guy routine...

Time to talk about the other things that I am obsessed with, my wife and my kids. They have been to both races so far this year and have been awarded the prize for our team's biggest fans (by me!).

My daughter, Eliza, is almost three and talks about bikes everyday. She has been supporting her dad on Tuesdays for the group ride (it passes by her grandparents house and by our house coincidentally) by sitting by the road with Mommy and Baby Jack and ringing her bell.

My son, Jack, is almost 5 months old. He has Down Syndrome and has finally been scheduled for open heart surgery next month to repair a major heart defect. I am often reflective on the fact that I pour so much time into athletic endeavors, yet he can't hold up his head for more than a moment without losing his breath from the effort. Feeding is a full workout for my son... he needs a break halfway through a 4 ounce bottle to regain his strength. I pray that this surgery will help his stamina... we have heard from other patient's parents that this surgery will change everything with Jack... he will be much stronger and finally start to thrive.

I have always been drawn to cycling... since the first time I learned about it. It was the summer after my freshman year in college... the summer of 1994. I was an avid runner... only 25 miles a week, but to my lazy college friends, I was a freak. Two things happened in the span of a month... 1) I met a lady that had started riding a bike... she was a friend of my Aunts and told me that she rode 50 miles the day before... I was blown away... she was eating a ton... she was really lean... I was in love... with cycling not with her... she was old (probably 35- but that was old to me)... 2) I went on vacation and a hurricane ran us away from the coast... when we were inland, my folks stopped at a Books A Million and I was looking at the magazines... I spotted a Bicycling Magazine... It was a special issue called the "SuperFit Cyclist"... it was a series where they broke down every body part and discussed what happened as you trained it on a bike... it also had a coaching section where Mike Walden broke down every aspect of training and racing... I was sold...

So I got my folks to buy me my first road bike... an old cannondale with downtube shifters... for my 21st birthday... I still have the magazine that I bought that day... my wife laminated it years later as a Christmas present since the pages were worn through and tattered. Ironically, the information is mostly outdated and in Bicycling fashion it was very lack luster (not to me then... it was awesome then)... to date it properly I will give an example... the cutting edge technological training method... heart rate monitors... they don't mention power meters at all.

I tell this story because all that led me to here... I think for a reason. Jack could be a great athlete... he could play basketball or tennis or golf or baseball... who knows. But most certainly he will be able to ride a bike. Most certainly I will be able to get a tandem and me and Jack could ride together. No matter how challenged he is... we can have this. It happens to be my passion and it happens to be one of the best pastimes/sports for disabled children and adults. God works in mysterious ways and I am thankful that regardless of Jack's interests, he can always hop on the bike with his old dad... and hopefully ride him in the ground.

Perry Roubaix Race Summary

I think that bike racing is 50% physical and 40% mental. There are a lot of other factors that go into racing, but most of them fit into those categories. What is the other 10%? Luck... it is a major player in winning races. "Bad luck" comes in a few ways during a race... two race ending bad luck issues are crashing and mechanical problems. Great racers make their own luck. They position themselves toward the front to avoid crashes and they avoid road hazards and are meticulous in their bicycle maintenance. Sooner or later a crash or a mechanical will turn a good day into a bad day for even the best. For a guy like me... I cant complain when bad luck finds me and it is a mechanical... I am just glad that I didn't crash when my luck turned south yesterday... that can ruin a season rather than a single race...

Alright... the weekend...

We started out with a 10 mile TT with rollers and one climb to work through. This was my first time on my new TT ride and I really did not know what to expect. I had ridden it three times and made major adjustments to the bike each time through. I did not have my computer set up on the bike, but used my HR monitor to gauge effort... or at least make sure I was working as hard as I felt like I was. I felt good... in a lot of pain... and really worked my tail off... I felt like I left everything on the course for sure. In hindsight, I probably took it too easy on some of the uphills... I was trying to make sure that I didn't blow up, but I think my mind was on the FTP efforts of the offseason, rather than an all out 20 minute... that is not the same as a 45-60 min effort and I have got to get that through my head. Anyway, the results came out and put me in 8th position for the TT. The good news is that Robert killed it with a 2nd place result and the Security boys took 5th through 8th places in the TT. A great team effort that has us all looking forward to the team time trial later this year...

The circuit was a mile long loop that had a few bumps but was mostly flat. The overall classification would be determined as an omnium rather than as a stage race format. This means that points are awarded for finishing places and MARs and KOMs. It really turns it into a sprinters weekend if you are willing to go for it (not a climbers weekend... the climbs are too short and there are not enough of them to have a major impact). I decided to make a run at the general classification and go for MAR points during the circuit. I worked my tail off. I received points on almost every MAR sprint, but worked myself over in the process. Doug got in a break with a couple of strong guys and stayed away. I worked for position on the last lap and found myself around sixth or seventh into the last corner... I thought this was probably too far back, but it was all I had left. I found my legs in the sprint and worked the left side passing 3 riders and securing a 6th place finish. Jake was 4th (3 in a break) with other teammates close behind us. Evidently the guy in between me and Jake was bumped down due to an infraction, so I ended up with a 5th place finish in the circuit race. The MAR points I raced for ended up bumping me into 4th place in the GC heading into the RR on Sunday.

The RR is a 14 mile loop that we were to complete four times. KOM and MAR points would be awarded on each lap to help determine the omnium placement for the GC. Our strategy was our typical... kill it up front from the word go and get to the dirt first. The KOM was 2 K from the start line and we hit the hill hard. I raced for points and got second on the KOM. After the hill, there was a long rolling section with a agricultural field to the right. A stout wind coming across the field hit the pelaton so we positioned ourselves at the front on the left edge of the racing lane to keep everyone working in the wind. When we hit the dirt road, me and all of my teammates were on the front. We got some help on the dirt road from other teams and came out the other side with our entire team in tact. The pace was crazy fast and everyone was in difficulty. There was a 2-3 mile section back to the start... about 3/4 of a mile from the finish line (MAR), a guy breaks out of the group to capture the points. I hesitated just long enough in my chase to give him a nice gap and give a few sprinters time to get on my wheel... PERFECT! I chased to about 300 meters from the line and realized that I was pulling the guys behind me into perfect position to kill me in a sprint. I sat up, moved to the left and made a hand motion for the guys to come through... as expected they sat up so the guy in front of us got first... at the last second, I jumped up and sprinted and captured second from the wheelsuckers. It was a nice point reward but at an extremely high cost. I was in trouble... tired from a sprint and the all out two minute effort to close the gap... pretty stupid really but I wanted the points. Guess what... the KOM is 1 K away.

Right when we hit the hill, I see my MAR friends shooting backward in the group... they were feeling it the same as me. I was working back when suddenly there was a gap between me and the pack... I look back and realized that our group consisted of only around 20-25 riders. I guess that we started with 50-60 or so... they must have all quit... they were no where behind us. I struggled up the hill, and started to regain composure as we went past the ag field. I worked up through the group to the front and found myself in perfect position again to hit the dirt (third man). Doug had broken off the front with around 7 other riders and they had around 5-10 seconds on the chase group I was in. There were a lot of guys around me that were energized to chase at this point and I was doing no work since I had a guy in the break. Perfect situation and I suddenly felt strong. Then... a look ahead... we were at the end of the dirt... the break was right in front of us... I felt great... I chose the wrong line through the turn and hit a 6" deep hole that ended in an asphalt wall. I avoided the indo, but managed to pop my front tire so bad I could hear it whistling. I waited for the tire truck... they had decided to sit behind a 250 lb guy that entered this race thinking it was a "ride". By the time I got back on the road, the race was over... I was over 5 minutes back without a soul in site except the fat guy who was stopping for a sandwich. DNF...DNF...DNF...

Good race though... I am really ready to go again...

Tuesday Worlds and more Roubaix...

Tuesday Worlds is back. A little different than last year... the racers went out pretty well alone today and rode together while some of the other guys that typically go out with us formed their own group and rode together. My group hit it hard and had a competitive ride/race with plenty of attacks and failed breakaways. I felt good most of the time... it was tough at times, but I was able to recover between big efforts so that I was never thinking I would get dropped.

Of interest... in the RR at Albany, I noticed that my one hour normalized power maximum was at 311 Watts. Some people swear that this is as good as a one hour test (using average power) in determining FTP. Today, in the group ride, I hit 317 normalized for one hour. Does this mean that my FTP is now up to 317 Watts? Probably not that high, but I wonder if it is now higher than 302 Watts... probably... maybe I will test in a month or so and see where we are at...

OK... more on the race this weekend. The Perry-Roubaix is a three stage race... typical setup... a TT (around 10 miles), a crit (around 25 miles) and a RR (around 50 miles). In spring classic fashion and in the spirit of the real race, we race "the cobbles of Georgia"... otherwise known as a dirt road (picture right there). Last year it was crazy... it was loose and there were a lot of wrecks. Supposedly it will not be bad this year... time will tell...

Race Week... Perry Roubaix...

Recap of the last week or so...

Took off the day after Albany and then had three hard workouts in a row. One was an interval workout (8x1min... around 475Watts)... the next one, an old cycling friend came in town and we took turns killing each other for 1:15... the next one, I took the TT bike out with the lunch group and hammered for 1:15. All of these were better than 100 TSS. At first, I felt fine and energized for more work, but by weeks end, I felt a little beat down. I went out Saturday in some of the worst weather of the winter (20 mph wind with 30 mph gusts... oh, also below 40 degrees) and only mustered a 2 hour ride. Sunday, I went out on the TT Bike with a new position (a little more aero than my first set up)... I felt like I compromised a little comfort and a little power, but I think it is workable... I did that for around 45 minutes... Then me and the lunch boys rode 45 in windy conditions... my legs were dead during and after this ride. They are still sore and I dont really know why. I think that maybe the hard efforts of early last week and the race weekend caught up with me at once. I was remarkably unaffected by the races... my legs never felt tired, but they do now.

OF NOTE: I checked my power files to see if the numbers would tell me why I felt fried. They didnt, but I do notice one thing. My legs seem to be around a week behind my workouts. If my TSB goes above 0... up to maybe +10, my legs feel good... but they feel great if I stay above 0 for a little while... maybe 4-5 days... that is when I really feel strong. Maybe the same goes for big efforts. I was able to put in six- 1 hour or longer, above-threshold workouts over 6 days and perform them all with intensity. I am now taking around 4 days to recover (while riding each of those days in a lackluster fashion).

Either way, I am still not in race/peak phase... I have got to remember that and continue making progress toward that part of the season. Even as strong as I felt in Albany, it was only a B race for me... the true test is yet to come...

Group rides start tomorrow. This will be a time to test the racing legs weekly against some of the best racers in Georgia. Everyone will come out with the guns blazing tomorrow and I will do the same. I figure that I will watch what happens and have fun... these are meant to be training rides and I will ride them that way... it will be some nice midweek TSS to add into the schedule any way you look at it.

This Week...
Monday- Off today
Tuesday- Worlds
Wednesday- Tempo to L2 (80 TSS) and TT practice (on Perry course)
Thursday- Microinterval workout
Friday- off
Saturday- 10 mile TT and 25 mile crit
Sunday- 50 mile RR

More about the upcoming race to follow later...

TT Bike Tune in...

Alright, I got the TT bike ready tonight. My experience with TT is that I bought a bike through an ebayer that was selling me a computrainer. The guy had a litespeed with 650c wheels (disc in back) that looked pretty sweet. I know nothing about TT bikes other than it looked good and fast and I needed a bike and it seemed like a good deal.

I got the bike and never felt natural on it. I rode it in two or three TTs and really underperformed in all of them (I thought). Over and over, I hear friends talking about riding their Cervelos... like that was something different from my TT bike... like riding a Cervelo was fun or rewarding or fast or something. They actually seemed to like it.

So, of course, I sold the old TT litespeed for a Cervelo... monkey see, monkey do...

I got it set up for me tonight... dialed it in... reset the components from shipping... set the handlebars...set the saddle fore aft position and height... everything...

I went out for a test run tonight... 10:00 with a head lamp on Pate Road in the 30 degree weather with some wind and my TT helmet. It felt extremely fast and extremely comfortable. Was it in my head... maybe, but I don't think so. It just felt powerful. No matter how many adjustments I made to my old bike, I could not get it right. Within 5 minutes of playing with my new bike... it felt right...

It might turn out to be a very interesting season... my mojo is back if you haven't noticed...

Albany Recap...

Yes, I know the manimal before Albany thing was a little weird... especially for anyone who didn't watch the show. But now it is after Albany and time for a race recap...

First off... Albany was a blast and not just because I got my legs back. Racing again was like seeing a long lost friend return home after giving them up for dead. The energy of it... seeing old racing buddies... the speed... the intensity... measuring up your competitors by the size of their guts/arses... checking your gear... registering... switching your race number from your left side to your right side between stages knowing that you will never get it as tight as it just was... pain and anger... elation... and finally... adrenaline. I loved every second of the entire weekend. On top of everything else, it seems that my 3 year old daughter loves watching daddy race and ringing the TDG bell I gave her for the race last year. My wife tells me that she rang it as hard as she could each time around and screamed for her daddy every time. It is really cute, she thinks that all the guys on my team are her daddy because she is used to seeing me in the race kits we are wearing now. Each time I would finish a race, she would want me to pick her up and hug her... she would not let go and she never does that... I don't know what she thought or why she did that, but of course I loved it!

The races...

The prologue was great... perfect race for me... plenty of turns and plenty of burn. I felt strong throughout and only wasted time in a couple of turns and a jerk got in my way crossing in front of the roundabout and cost me a few seconds. Other than that, the race was without major problem. Of note... my lungs burned after that race worse than I have ever felt. Two hours later they still hurt a little and I had a raspy cough for the rest of the day... it was great... mostly because I had heard Leggit, Sherwin, and Roll talking about the "cyclist cough" that would follow the prologue (of almost identical distance) of the Tour of California a week ago... it made me feel like a pro. Well the results were great... I took 4th in the competitive category and my team had 4 of the top 7 places with the other guys all placed well overall. Our team had a great day...

The crit was along the same course as the TT so we knew the terrain. We planned to work the front of the crit and try to get someone in a breakaway. We were all positioned to gain a major move in the GC if we got someone in a break. Another goal was to get Jake up to the front and set him up for the sprint. The crit was great fun. I worked a lot on the front until Doug got in a three man break and then I tried to stay on the front and be disruptive. Toward the end, I tried to pull the last few laps and keep Jake out of trouble and keep any breaks/attacks down. I put in a good effort, but could not muster the strength to get him around the last lap and died to the back of the pack... or so I thought. I sat up a second and let the first 10-15 guys come by me and all of a sudden there was a gap of 4-5 bikes between me and the group... we had shattered the race to pieces and what I thought to be a pelaton of 50 or so was now only 15... anyway, I could not close the gap and rode in the final half lap by myself. Doug took 2nd and Jake took 6th I think... a lot of our guys were well placed in the top 15-20 so it was a great day...

The RR was a 31 mile flat effort. We had plans to attack all day and make sure we protected Doug at the same time. We attacked all day and protected Doug at the same time. I dont know how else to describe it. There was not a time during the entire race that we were not pushing the pace or attacking. Every guy on our team dug deep and went all out. We got Jake to the finish line and Jake did his thing and took 1st in the RR... we all rejoiced in his victory. As a funny side note... they had a KOM on the course that I sprinted for and picked up. No one was paying attention and for once, I actually saw a sign... I never see them on group rides and miss the jump, but I saw this one! So... I guess the big boy in the pelaton will be wearing polka dots in the next Ga Cup race! They probably will not give out a jersey, but it is fun to think they will!

Our team is awesome and we are going to have a lot of fun this year!!!!!!!