Bier en modder

Little brisk out there in the early AM these days.  I really like fall.

Got a great break Tuesday night to shut the garden down.  With the forecasts calling for overnight temps in the low 40’s, any summer veggies needed to go.  So I picked what was left and into the compost the plants went.  Despite the cool start to the summer, we managed to get a decent harvest this year, the crown jewel being the 25# pumpkin.  I’ll try to snap a picture & post it later.  That’s a fine lookin’ pumpkin.

So with the cover crops planted and the garlic (130 heads) in, we’re pretty much done for the year.  The only thing left is the apples.

Felt pretty good after the race Sunday.  Still had a lingering feeling that I could have pushed it harder.  I also remember violating the Cardinal Sin of Alpenrose by getting a poor start position.  There’s only so many spots you can make up over the whole course.  Anyway, I had some solid workouts over the week, leaving me with a warm & fuzzy feeling that I’m still getting faster.

I’m mostly an AM workout person.  Up at 6, add a 90 minute workout of some type in before work, and I’m good to go.  A couple of days a week I tack on a 60 min. spin class for a second workout.

I’m not exactly sure what the general consensus on spin classes are among ’serious’ cyclists.  I can’t say I’d care but I never hear about it much.   I’m not sure if others do spin classes or care to admit it.  But if I can spend an hour on a bike at or near race intensity and get off feeling completely worked, I’m ok with that.

I tend to approach them as Fartlek or over/under workouts.  After a quick warm-up, I try to spend as much of the class in, about, or around threshold effort.  You can stand & climb, play with resistance/cadence, sprint a bit, whatever, as long as I’m pushing myself near race-pace, it’s all good.

My only issue with the classes are the instructors.  Like anything, some are good, some not so good.  I think it’s all about a) how you present the work to the class, b) keeping people motivated, and c) having a realistic workout planned.  Finding one(s) that you are comfortable with takes a little experimentation and trial & error.  Some motivate me.  Some don’t.  Some have a clear plan for how the class will go.  Some don’t.  Everyone’s different.

Wilsonville this weekend.  Alpenrose wore the rear brake pads down to the metal so those need to go.  The drivetrain needs to be super-cleaned of all the grass bits still in there.  Double-check the tire glue job and we should be good to go.

Happy fall solstice. Equinox (thanks for the correction).

Got an off-week this week.  Very much needed.  Saunas and hot tubs galore.  Time to get things in order before October.

Team picnic yesterday.  Picked up the new Castelli kit.  New colors (no more ‘Laker Girls’ comments).  New graphics.  New team car.  We got totally pimped out.  Sweet.  The Castelli stuff feels a bit weird walking around in it but once you get in riding position on the bike, everything fits like it should.  The shorts are, um, shorter.  Lots of moderately unsightly tan lines visible.  All in all, pretty excellent gear.  I appreciate that they left a black panel in front so we don’t have the sausage-fest appearance colored shorts can get.

Also picked up the new wheels and Schwalbe Racing Ralph tubulars.  Now these are worth getting excited about.  35mm size with a fair amount of volume in the tube.  I’m hoping it’ll give my fat ass a little more cushion on the bumpier sections.  Tread looks good, seems a little tight for shedding mud though.  We’ll see.  I hope to have them ready for this weekend.  It’d be great if the ground got softened up a bit over the week.

I’ve already set aside my post-race beers for the season.  It’s a mix of Hair of the Dog (Doggie Claws ‘04, ‘05, ‘06, ‘07 and Fred from the Wood ‘07), Sierra Nevada Bogfoot ‘05, ‘06, ‘07, and Deschutes (Abyss ‘07 and Black Butte XX).  I don’t know in what order I’ll have them but I’m sure it’ll all work itself out.  Sometimes I’ll stand in front of them and the right beer magically appears in my hand.  You can call me the Beer Whisperer.

Starcrossed was this weekend.  From what I heard and read, it got a little slick up there.  It brings me back to the ugly lessons of last weekend – be prepared for anything.

Pain on the Peak last Saturday.  It was dry.  It was hot, and shit, was it dusty.

I’d seen the pre-race stuff that Portland Velo put out and hit my usual GIS sites to get a better look.  I was wondering how they’d make a course out of it.  But they did.  And it was hard.  Real hard.

It didn’t help that I came in there, well, casual isn’t a good description.  Rushed.  Not focused.  I’m not sure.  But whatever it was, I didn’t mentally have my shit together for a 60 minute race in the A’s.  And it showed.  I am not good enough to just “show up” and race.

Lined up at the start next to Chris Tauscher.  We joked a bit on what the over-under would be for getting lapped by Trebon.  He had ±3.  Previous groups were getting lap times of around 5 minutes.  For a 60 min race, I was thinking 3 would be optimistic.

The A’s go off.  Usually by now I’m kind of dialing in.  Getting focused and ready to push it for an hour.  Instead?  Nothin’.  I got nothin’.

Whistle goes off.  We head down the chute and make a right turn…and I’m down in a cloud of dust.  Whether it was a cause or effect, my rear tire rolled off about 3 inches.  I jam it back on and now have to chase the group.  59 minutes to go.

By the time we get to the logs in the back of the course, I’d caught up to the rear third of the group.  Mentally, I’m a bit rattled.  I need to settle in and get it back.  The dust of the pack kicked up enough where you were riding blind – no visibility below 2 feet above ground.  Sketchy.  Hit the path through the woods and up the run-up.  I pass by the pit and make a split-second decision not to swap rear wheels and keep going.

I stuck with about 6-8 others for a lap or 2, slowly picking up spots.  Physically, I feel good.  I’m starting to get into a groove.  Approaching the run-up through the woods the rear wheel slides off again, this time for good.  100 yards to the pit.  Uphill.  I shoulder the bike and start running/shuffling back.

The March of Death

I’m officially DFL by now.

The middle third of the race didn’t go so well.  I came unraveled mentally and physically:  Sloppy riding.  Couple spills.  Terrible dismounts and remounts.  Bad shouldering form (which I’ve already been heckled on by teammates).  Blisters forming on my right hand.  Cottonmouth I hadn’t experienced since UConn Spring Break of ‘93.  I was basically hanging on but there was no way I was giving up.

Got my shit together to rally the last few laps, getting a little mojo back.  I need to finish with a little dignity here.  Rode up the run-up once and came close a couple other times.  Managed to hang with a couple of the A’s that passed me for half a lap or so.

Jeff Standish caught up on the last lap and we finished the race out.  With that, I managed to only get passed by Bannick (riding very strong) and Jeff (ditto), which kept me within 5 minutes of the field.

Between the mechanicals, the fact that I completely forgot how to race a cross race, and a tough course, I can live with the result (18th out of 24).  I don’t like it but I can live with it.

One more preseason race – Barlow – to get the kinks out and then it’s time for the Crusade season.  I’ll work on my wheels probably next week when the new ones get in.  I also need to go straight to the park – without passing go – to work more on skills.

I’ll get out a Peak summary soon, maybe later tonight.  Had a busy weekend and today is pretty full.

The Oregon Velo pictures tell a fairly good story.  Just look under the A race and find the guy carrying his bike.  That about sums it up.

Standing in the elevator heading up to work having a monologue with myself: Man, it’s getting dark now – Can’t believe I need the blinkey for the 6:15 ride in – I am so excited for coffee.

Suddenly…sniff, sniff.  Sweet Jesus, what’s that smell?

No bike clothes in the backpack (at home in the dryer).  No post-shower towels (ditto).  Then what?  Somebody drop a bottle of vinegar?

Oooo, the helmet.

Time for a little wash.  I can’t remember the last time I gave it a shower.

Got new rims (EC 70’s) and tires (Schwalbe Racing Ralphs) orderd.  Made a last minute flip-flop after trading emails with John.  I haven’t heard if they’ve actually been ordered but I e-mailed my order in.  Should be there in time for Alpenrose.

As much as I’d like to, I don’t have the cash to run tubulars for every condition.  In an ideal world, I’d have a dry (I’m not sure yet) and super-mud (Dugast) setup.  But hey, I’m glad I finally have a cross bike so we’ll just leave it at that.

What else.  Workouts are going as planned.  2-3 days of 15-20 minute intervals, aiming for 45-60 min total.  1 day of running.  1-2 days of shorter, higher intensity intervals.  I double-up a couple days so rest days are becoming very, very important.

Pain on the peak this weekend.  It’ll be my first A/35+ race at the full 60 minutes.  Course map was released yesterday.  Looks similar to Rainier HS – about 80-100 feet of elevation gain, no run-ups (from what I saw), a few barriers.  If the weather holds, it’ll probably be fast.

Not much else for now.  Our apple tree in the backyard is shedding apples at a pretty fast rate.  We didn’t spray this year so some have worms.  But I still have a shitload of good apples left on the tree.  So…it’s applesauce time!  I’ll leave you with a great recipe I’ve used for years:

• 4# apples, unpeeled but quartered & cored.
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• Spices – I use 2 cinnamon sticks and 2-4 cloves per batch.

Add all ingredients in a saucepan.  Place uncovered on medium heat for 15-20 minutes until everything breaks down.  Stir occasionally, especially near the end when it can burn.  Process through a food mill and add water if needed.  It cans and freezes well.

The fall schedule looks like it’s 90% finalized.  Couple unknowns in there but I can still make a tentative plan.

9/6-7: off.

9/13-14: Pain on the peak

9/20-21: Team pics & party.  It’s Hood River but team stuff is about as mandatory as it gets. Plus, we *may* be picking up our new unis there although we may be asked to hold off on racing with them until Alpenrose.

9/27-28: Veloshop Cross and/or Barlow.  Dunno yet.  Rach is out of town and I’ll need sitters to race.  I hope to get one in, maybe both if they’re close.  I haven’t seen any details.

10/5: Alpenrose. Always good. I’ve typically done well here.

10/12: Wilsonville. New venue (to me).

10/19: Rainier. Great course that I want to do again. I faded down the stretch last year.

10/25-26: off (rest week)

11/2: Barton. My favorite.

11/9: PIR. Ok, I’ll admit it…I’m a PIR virgin. What was I thinking??? Oh sure, it’s the closest race to town but I think I’ll skip it. What an ass.

11/16: Hillsboro (finals). New course. Too bad though.  The old stadium course, especially from 2 years ago, was one of the best.

11/23: off (rest week)

11/30: no races

12/6-7: USGP.

I’ve got a few tune-up/pre-season races in there but the bulk of the schedule is Cross Crusade.  I don’t want to go into Alpenrose cold.

So that’s it.  Depending on which races I do, there’s about 10 hours of racing spread out over 3 months.  10 hours!!

Thinking of Val Kilmer. Go back before Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. Back before The Island of Dr. Moreau. Keep going past his mid-90’s peak of Heat, Batman Forever, True Romance and The Doors. And step over Top Gun and Real Genius. It brings you to Top Secret!

There was a character in it, Latrine, who was part of the French Resistance. Latrine always burst into the scene severely wounded from one thing or another, covered in bloody bandages. Someone yelled out “Latrine!”.

This is what my week felt like.

Cut the back yard Sunday. We’ve got an old apple tree in the back yard which used to be very nicely pruned before we bought the place. We don’t know enough about pruning so we’ve let it go a bit too long. Being tall I need to crouch down real low to get around it. It’s a rare landscaping day in the backyard when I don’t drop an f-bomb about that tree.

So this week I’m picking up the dropped fruit and stood up too fast. I took a sharp 2″ thick branch point that was pruned years ago right in the back, just below the scapula. Dropped me like a rock. I don’t recall seeing that branch before but there it was. The aftermath is that there’s pretty sharp pain when I pull back…like on handlebars for example.

Yesterday I’m at home in the kitchen after work putting stuff away and getting ready to prep dinner (oven-fried chicken). Got the recipe book out of the cabinet and I’m leaning over my backpack. Again, I stood up fast…right into the cabinet door. Within a few seconds I feel blood dripping through my hair and down my head. WTF. 5 minutes later I get the bleeding to stop but there’s a nasty 1 inch gash on the top of my head covering a big lump.

Still hurts like hell.

I swear I’m more of a menace to myself than anything else in this world.

What else…

In between maiming myself, I see that the ‘cross forum is slowly starting to warm up. There’s discussion of modifying the schedule. I haven’t chimed in yet but I’d rather see the races a little earlier in the day. With a 2:30 or 3 pm race, I figure to get done by 4 and home by 5-ish. Doesn’t give much time to help with dinner and the kids. Plus the A race is a couple hours removed from the kiddie cross, which both my kids really like. I’m not sure how the logistics of having them participate will work out yet.

Been getting adding VO2 interval work in to my workouts. Did 5×5′ this morning through the cemetery. It’s just about 6 minutes top to bottom so the length works out just fine. First few were ok. Last 2 started to get very, very uncomfortable.

As I was coasting down to start one of the last couple reps, a glorious revelation came over me. Cross is almost here. It’s tough to fathom with temperatures flirting with triple digits this week, but it’s coming. And putting it very bluntly, you can’t go fast unless you put this sort of time in.

I’ve transgressed through the 5 stages of interval training over the past month or so:

1. Denial – “I feel fine. All I need to do is straight lactate threshold work. I don’t need to go anaerobic during a race”
2. Anger – “This is bullshit. I f-ing hate intervals. They suck. They’re uncomfortable. F.U. I don’t need ‘cross.”
3. Bargaining – “How about I start easy. Maybe one interval this week. Add one more next week. I’ll be at peak form in no time at all…like January. Do you think anyone will notice if I sandbag in the B’s?”
4. Depression – “Is it rest week yet? I need a break. I’m so tired.”
5. Acceptance – “It’s time to get ready. Pain and suffering are what this race is all about. I am going to be ready for whatever this season throws at me”

Yep. It’s close. You can feel it.

Seems like we’re heading into the thick of summer here. The lawns are all drying out. The garlic is harvested. Tomatoes are just shifting from dark to pale green. And the Oregon Brewers Festival was last weekend.

Also, August is just around the corner. Shit…August? Really? Like every other year, I wonder where the hell my summer went. What *have* I been doing? Riding? Check. Camping? Check. BBQs? Check.

While I’m trying to enjoy the moment, I’ve tried to make time to look ahead. The garden is planned out for the fall and winter. Plantings have already started for the fall stuff like cauliflower, spinach, lettuce & carrots. The winter stuff is going in over the next couple weeks. The new hot tub has been deep-cleaned and is full and ready for the cooler late summer and fall evenings that, realistically, aren’t all that far away.

Cycling, well, more specifically ‘cross, got me thinking about the fall way further in advance than I have in year’s past. I’m very thankful for it. I remember very clearly the past couple fall’s where I’d be starting at some empty raised beds, wishing for something – anything – to pick and eat. Or shaking my head at the teeny little seedlings that weren’t planted soon enough going dormant in the alternating crisp/wet October weather. I’m ready for it this year which feels good.

The catalyst for all of that was that I’ve been thinking about and approaching the fall race season with far more respect, planning, and discipline than I ever have. The races will be longer. The field will be much faster. I figure if I repeat last year’s training effort, it’ll be good for somewhere in the middle of the A35+ group. Unfortunately I want more than that. I simply don’t have enough miles on my legs over my short 2 year career to just show up and do well. So while I’ve put in fairly solid tempo at first and gradually added lactate work over the past few months, I feel it’s been rewarding work.

A big part of it was splurging on the used power tap wheel this spring. You can pooh-pooh them all you want but when you start seeing numbers go up and see yourself respond to training with more strength and endurance…well, I’m just saying it’s a huge carrot to stick in front of yourself as you ride. I like to consider myself somewhat of a nerd (engineer) and a motivated athlete so interpreting the data has been pretty easy. Needless to say, I’ve been drinking the Power Tap Kool-Aid.

With that, I’m ready to make a strong run at OUCH this weekend. I’m also feeling more charged up for the next phase which starts after this week’s rest week. No matter how you sugar-coat it, setting out on a ride to do anaerobic or VO2 max work – whether it’s 85°F & sunny out –50°F and raining – or pitch black and you’re indoors on a trainer – is suckalicious. It’s ugly but oh so very necessary. I’ve been talking about it for a couple weeks now but. Just. Haven’t. Done it.

Summer, at least for me, is starting to hit full-stride.  Spent the past couple weeks doing an all-out sprint to finish some projects that have been ginormous albatrosses around my neck; chicken coop, new (used) hot tub install, cleaning the landfill I call a garage, and rental house stuff.  We have a bunch of weekend fun stuff planned starting last weekend that I wanted to go into with a clear head.

Started running last week.  20 minutes to start and then hit the gym for some maintenance lifting.  That took a few days to wear off.  It felt strange.  I’ve played ultimate for years and then ran marathons, the last being in ‘02.  I used to run, well, sprint actually, for a full weekend.  Haven’t run for any length of time on purpose since.  It was mildly uncomfortable then and it’s slightly more so now.  Ah, the joys of being in your 20’s.

One other exciting tidbit is that I joined up with Presto Velo last week.  I’m excited as I’d something I’ve been looking to do for about a year or so, although I admit it was a pretty passive search.  Last fall I went on a group ride with Ironclad but that went nowhere.  This spring I’d throw out a few e-mails, talk to a few people, and then let it go.

Part of me felt that, given my current lifestyle (dad…full time job…other things, hobbies, etc going on) that I’d have a hard time making team rides and perhaps racing enough to justify it.  I wonder if that was subconsciously holding me back.  I’m obviously not the only person in this situation but trying to fit racing into my life is still a work in progress.  I guess it always will be.  I find I need to be extremely creative in how and where I squeeze training in to stay competitive.

I guess the breaking point was that as much as I like riding alone, I missed the team aspect of sports.  In the back of my mind I wasn’t looking forward to going through another ‘cross season solo.  I like teammates that you can help, work with, learn from, motivate, and support in races, and vice versa.  I’m really looking forward to that.

I’ve only started racing competitively over the past couple years and I’ve ridden by myself in that time.  I’ve been feeling that it was time to expand my community a bit.  But having joined this sport in my mid 30’s, I’ve found cycling to be, well, not entirely accessible to new riders.  This isn’t anyone’s fault and I don’t think anyone has to do anything about it.  Part of it is my personality (slightly introverted) but also that it just is what it is.  Granted, Cat 4/5 riders in their mid 30’s who also race ‘cross aren’t exactly an endangered species either.  However, I’ve noticed that riders generally tend to stick with and around their team.  This isn’t surprising nor should it be.  For someone on the outside looking in, I resigned myself to it after a while.

Anyway, I’m real happy about it.  New team kits just got ordered from Castelli.  Should be in hopefully by September.  I’m also very excited to represent a team, particularly this fall in ‘cross, but also next year in mtb and road.

Lastly, training is proceeding on schedule as I’ve been getting solid work in lately, particularly in the 2 hour rides I take on the way into work.  It’s hard work but it feels good.  I need to give a little love to the bike this week: derailleur tuning, general lubing & tuning, stuff like that.  Everything seems on track for my next race (OUCH) in early August.

Plugging through the week.  It finally looks and feels like summer.  90’s this weekend and I’m sure people will all be bitching about that.

Rach is heading out of town a long weekend to Breitenbush for a weekend of naked hot tubbing, hiking, yoga, and whatever else it is you do down there.  I’m home with the kids so I’ll be busting out the trainer for some super-early morning rides to keep a little fresh.  I can’t flippin’ believe I’m getting on the trainer in June.  I think I just threw up in my mouth.

Rides are progressing along just nicely.  I’m slowly moving away from strict base work and adding some threshold work.  I’m planning on having a solid 50-60 minutes of LT work twice a week by the time late September rolls around.  I just really started getting these intervals in and I’d forgotten how mildly uncomfortable they can be.

I added strength & core work in starting this week.  I worked fairly hard over the winter to make some strength gains and I mildly regret not carrying it through the spring.  I did the first one yesterday and this morning my legs were noticeably heavy.  This will go away after a couple more.

Running starts in mid-July.  I don’t even really want to think about it right now.

I added a timer to the side for Alpenrose.  21 weeks to go.  Everything feels right on schedule.  My motivation is pretty high.  Confidence?  Well, it goes up and down.  There are times when I feel I’m on the right path to have a successful season.  Then there are other times when I feel I’m going to get my lunch money taken in the A 35+ races.

It’s about your mojo.  I think either you have it or you don’t.  There’s not that much in between.  I’m getting it.  It isn’t there yet but I feel it’s out there.