Good Training Block

I'm glad to report that I've been getting in some great training lately. The week of the Rocky Hill Race was the first big week at almost 9 hours, followed by a week just over 9 hours and then 10 hours this past week. I dialed in a good route from home to the great trails at Cypress Creek and Cypresswood, and I did that once last weekend and twice this weekend. That gets me 40-50 miles depending on how much trail I ride before coming home. I've also commuted to work a few times, it's ~20 miles each way so it ends up being a 40 mile day when I get home. I'm definitely feeling great on the bike, strong on the road and putting in some fast times on the trail segments. Yesterday at Cypresswood at the mid-point of our 40 mile ride, I put in a good effort on one of my favorite segments, No Brakes. I was rolling fast, knowing I was on track for a great time, and calling "rider!" every few seconds hoping to alert anybody who might be coming backwards. I came around a blind corner and was face-to-face with a girl and her mom pushing their bikes. I came to a nearly complete stop and barely managed to avoid them. It was too close for comfort. I probably wasn't thinking straight because I just told them it was ok, warned them more riders were coming and kept going. But it all happened so fast. When I uploaded my ride I ended up 1 second slower than the KOM, which I currently share with another rider. I was bummed my run was interrupted and I barely missed the KOM, but mostly thankful that nobody was hurt. Putting down a fast run with an interruption like that is also a good sign for my fitness. Here's a video of my effort, the incident takes place at 0:57. I did come across 2 more riders at the end of the trail, but we were both able to make room for each other so I don't think they affected my time too much.

The next race on the schedule is the Mellow Johnny's Classic, this weekend in Dripping Springs. This is also the first round of the USA Cycling US Cup & a UCI C1 event, so lots of big name pros will be out racing on Saturday. Names like Emily Batty, Georgia Gould, Catharine Pendrel, Jeremiah Bishop, Geoff Kabush, Max Plaxton, Sam Schultz, Ryan Trebon & Todd Wells to name a few. We will be there in time to watch the Pro races and get in a preride that afternoon, then I will race on Sunday. This is a tough race, with lots of loose rock and some hard climbs and it usually draws a lot of competitors, but I'm really looking forward to the race and seeing how I can do. I think I will relax a little this week, reading Friel he recommends to take a rest week every 4th week or so. That doesn't mean stop riding, just back off a hair. Hopefully it'll set me up fresh for the race as well.

Rocky Hill Race Report

This weekend was the season opener of the TMBRA XC State Championship Series, held at Rocky Hill Ranch. As I turn 30 this year, this would be my first race in the Category 1 30-39 group: a fast, deep field often referred to as the Pro lite class. I have only really been doing base training up to this point, with my focus more on the Ouachita Challenge than on the XC series. I had a good couple of weeks riding leading up to the race, riding my SS exclusively as my BMC was down for a wheel repair. This was a lot of spinning, good for the aerobic fitness but I was worried it would leave me down on power for the climbs.

Saturday I got a ride in with Patrick and Richard, helped the Loucks move into their new house, then went to a Robbie Seay/Josh Garrels concert that evening with Raine. A busy day with lots of stairs and being on my feet, not the ideal lead up to a race but you can't put your life on hold and lay around all day either.

My race started at noon so I had a relaxing morning leaving home about 8:30. I grabbed the usual McDonald's breakfast on the way and got to the race at about 10:30. I got my number, kitted up and rode a lap of the course. We were doing 4 laps of a 4.5mi UCI style course, so it wasn't too hard to see the whole course. After a few clothing adjustments back at the car and hearing they'd delayed our start by 30 minutes, I took one more lap then started focusing on race time: eating a little bit, finishing off my first bottle of Skratch, and double checking everything.

I got called up in the first 15 riders probably, and took a spot on the 2nd row. At the gun I got off the line well and slotted in about 10th. Up the first few climbs the pace was lower than I thought, but I wasn't complaining as I was able to hold my place well and even pick up a spot or 2. I started battling with a small group, they would generally put time on me on the climbs but I would pull it back on the downhills and faster sections. I was having a hard time pushing a big gear up the steeps as I feared, but I was able to use my little ring to my advantage and simply spin up the climbs, keeping pace well enough without hurting my legs.

At the start of the 3rd lap I got together with 2 guys I know from Houston, we would stay together for most of the rest of the race. We rode that lap together, I never led but just followed to keep my pace on the climbs and catch back up on the descents while resting. At the start of the 4th lap I surprisingly gapped them a bit on the first climb, I knew better than to attack this early but I kept the pressure on to see if they would come back. They did about a quarter of the way through the lap, so I latched back onto their wheels. The lap ended with a long, mostly downhill section after a steep climb, and I knew I needed to be in front for this to pull away before the long flat finish. I managed to get around one at the top of the climb, but still had the other in front of me. I was on his wheel in the early part of the downhill, really needing to get by. I saw an opportunity after a fast down/up dip with a sweeping off camber turn afterwards, so I hugged the inside and made the pass. I put the hammer down on the downhill and managed to open a nice gap that kept me well clear to the finish.

When the results went up, I was surprised to see my name in 7th, but behind the 2 guys I knew I'd beaten. After they got that straightened out, it put me up to 5th! I was stoked to finish on the podium in my first race in this tough class, and have such a great race when not really expecting it.

Pretty sure I stood in the wrong place for 5th, I'm new to the podium thing!

Looking forward, I need to work on building some leg strength while maintaining the spin fitness the SS provides. My BMC was perfect, climbing well and ripping the downhills. I drank 1 bottle of Skratch during warmup, and 1 during the race: it was the warmest ride I'd done in a very long time and the hydration was perfect! Many thanks to Sugar Cycles for supporting me, I'm looking forward to seeing what else the season brings!