Race Prep

Well, after twp days off I hit the road for some race prep.  I rode 20mi with a few full sprints and a couple hard, longer efforts.  I have also gotten in the habit of doing some basic skills practice the day before my races.  I did some cornering practice in a parking lot, focusing on left turns because all but one of the turns tomorrow will be lefts.  I also like to make sure I’m comfortable on the bike, so I practiced picking water bottles off the ground.  I’ve gone over the course map and took note of some important parts.  I’ve raced on this course before, so I know what to expect.  I’ve gotten my gear together, gone over my checklist, and I will be going out to check out the bike in a few minutes.

Anyway, this is all part of the pre-race ritual that I’ve developed.  It keeps me from forgetting anything and keeps me confident about my abilities and equipment.  I’m excited, it should be a fun race!  Now to check over the bike…

Rest rest rest!

I went for another easy ride yesterday, about 30 miles.  I’ll be taking today and tomorrow off for a total of 2 days off this week.  I will do race prep on Saturday with some sprints and my usual corning/handling drills in a parking lot.  I race on Sunday, then I’ll have a week off the bike for my vacation.  I’ve been waiting for this week off for a long time, but I wanted to make sure it was timed right.  After the week off I plan on keeping it very easy until probably around the middle of September.  I move back up to Davis around then and will begin the new base building period.

In the beginning

I went for a more intense ride today in an effort to get the motor running again. 47 miles with some relatively short hard efforts.

I thought I’d discuss how I got involved in cycling to begin with, as it is kind of a fringe sport. I was bored in the summer of 2004 and I saw my dad’s old Schwinn 10 speed in storage. I figured it might be fun to ride around town a bit, so we took it to the bike shop and had it fixed up. I ended up really enjoying riding it, putting in about 11 miles per day pretty consistently. The bike didn’t have a water bottle cage so I was actually riding around in cargo shorts with a water bottle in my pocket. I started reading some cycling related forums and became interested in getting a modern bike and possibly racing. I received my current bike for my birthday just under 2 years ago. I continued to ride my 11 mile loop every day before school and started to challenge myself to increase my pace. Despite having discounted their worth in the past, I ended up buying a pair of spandex shorts before my first century (Tour de Palm Springs). I figure that was the point of no return — once I wore spandex shorts there was no getting away from the sport.

Finishing that century was a pretty proud moment for me, especially considering I was never really an athletic person. It gave me a sort of confidence that I didn’t have before — it was a clear goal that I was able to accomplish. Anyway, it doesn’t seem like much anymore, but it was important at the time.

Anyway, blah blah, I ended up joining my college cycling team and here I am, still trying to get faster… 2 years and counting.

Recovering; maintaining weight

I went for an easy 20mi spin today.  It’s nice having a chance to go nice and slow and look around again.  I had an older female sit on my wheel for awhile but she got sick of my slow pace and decided to pass.  It would have been fun to push the pace a little bit, but I know it’s not what I need right now.  Speaking of which, my legs have been feeling better and better.  The time I’ve spent NOT hammering and getting plenty of sleep is really paying off.

So I’ve been keeping an eye on my weight for awhile now… I’ve been hovering in the range of 134-137lbs for quite awhile.  Lately, the average seems to actually be on the higher end of the range.  I would expect to weigh more, considering my training is at a much lower intensity now, but I think I need to adjust my diet so that I can stay around 135lbs.  I’ve never kept a strict diet, nor am I currently on one, but I think it’s going to be important for me to take charge of my eating habits beginning very soon.  If I want to really improve my racing next season, I’m going to have to improve my nutrition now.  It should be easier to keep the junk food out of sight when I move into my own apartment next month.

Oh, I’ve got a race next weekend, followed by a week off the bike.  I’ll be putting some intervals into my rides this week in order to get the motor running again.  It should be a fun race.

Hills and more hills

Oops, I was supposed to be taking it really easy on the bike, but the ride I went on with the new team member had lots of hills. We did about 40 miles at an easy pace, but the hills were still a little rough on my legs. We encountered a little harassment from an SUV driver who didn’t quite understand the rules of the road. After slowing down and yelling through his window, the driver actually pulled over to confront us, which has never happened to me before. We avoided escalating the situation by turning off the main road — fortunately the driver wasn’t in the mood to follow us. Other than that little bit of road rage, the ride was pleasant. We got an amazing view of the clouds rolling down over the green hills we were riding through.

Anyway, I decided today would be a rest day and went for 9 holes with my brother at the par 3 course. 5 pars for me.  Tomorrow the easy riding will resume.

Keeping it slow

Over the past week I’ve began to lighten my training load and lower the intensity. The season is coming to a close and it’s time to give my body a chance to recover. I’m finding it pretty difficult to keep my pace down, though. I keep an eye on my heart rate monitor to make sure I’m not working too hard, but I can feel energy available in my legs — I know I can go faster, but I have to resist. The temptation to push myself is even higher when I’m getting passed by other cyclists — I think that’s just natural competitiveness — but I know I need to focus on my own goals.

30 easy miles and my legs are feeling less sore every day.

Oh, I do have one more race left before I can totally take it easy… but I’m not too concerned about it.

2006 Race Season Review

I figure the best way to start this out is to thoroughly review the last (and my first) race season. Here are some statistics…

• 17 Mass Start Races (4 Cat5, 5 Cat4, 8 Collegiate Men’s C)
• 13 Mass Start Finishes
• 3 Crashes (2 Crits, 1 Road Race)
• Highest Placings: 9th (UCD Crit), 12th (EB Road Race), 12th (La Mirada), 17th (Ontario 4)
• Primes: 2 (Paramount), 1 (UCSB Crit)

It’s been a heck of a learning experience. I started the season having never raced before and I am now very comfortable in fast packs. I’ve crashed, been dropped, and had (small) tastes of success. There are definitely things I need to work on… cornering, descending, and my training consistency during the collegiate season. I think I was too busy building a base level of fitness during the collegiate season to really focus on becoming faster. Now that I have a solid year of riding and racing under my belt, I think the regimented training plan will benefit me much more. In addition, I have a better understanding of what my body can handle — I know when I need to rest and when I can push it a little bit more.

Overall, I’m happy with my first season of racing. I moved up from the slow end of the Cat 5 pack to somewhere in the middle of the Cat 4 pack and gained plenty of experience along the way. Let’s hope I can build on this next season. Bring on the base miles!