Spring Motivation - Pecha Kucha - Coaching Biz

I've been working on finding and making time during the day to ride and get my endorphins going during the daylight hours in order to get the brain and body moving on the same horizontal line so to speak.

My weekends have been full of longer rides with the team or groups of people from 3 to 4 hours. Some of them have been painful, in a good way and others have been painful, like last Sunday, in not such a good way. Sometimes, there are those moments where you feel so good so strong, you need to get up front and pull into the wind for several miles just to feel the good pain in your legs, back and quads. Other times, you dig and dig till there is no more fuel in the tank to keep you going.THIS is spring training. Finding that balance point of pain  and suffering. Remembering the feelings of fitness and being fit, those moments of standing up and climbing with no concern for how much your legs hurt, because they don't.
---This week I got back on the training wagon and am hoping to get back my riding legs and my lungs and a quicker recovery time.

Other news: I presented at the local Columbus Pecha Kucha chapter 5th Anniversary event last week at our Museum of Art. It was a big deal (at least for me) and a tough challenge to find 20 interesting slides, the right photos and the right words (script) and text to bring it all together. I think over 1000 people showed up to celebrate this unique way of presenting your passion. With cycling on the brain, I put this together with the idea of where cycling has taken me in MY life, and where it can take YOU.



Hopefully the presentation, will inspire you to get out on your bicycle in some shape or form.


Lastly, I started a cycling coaching business of my own. I've been thinking about this for over a year, the BWE has been harassing me and so have a few other people that know me well. With encouragement and information from a few key people, I have taken on the challenge. My good friend, developed a logo for my coaching biz and I now have business cards and a nice marketing type flyer. Hopefully a small website is around the corner. I have a few athletes already and hope others will soon jump on board, so I can help them achieve their goals. My cyclocross racing, endurance mountain biking background, and road racing all provide insight into what it takes mentally and physically. Let me know if you have an interest, we can talk.

I live, I live through the Belgian's - Therefore I Blog Again

I live, I live through the Belgian's

Masters Regional Cyclocross Championship Start

Top 5 into the 2nd turn

Yes, I have been completely absent from blogiscyclesphere. The reasons are many, the largest, my employment situation - I am positive it will change soon.

Hence the lack of cycling related enthusiasm. Basically, I struggled to find motivation to finish the 2011 cyclocross season or even show up to the races I had pre-registered.
I hoped to maybe attend nationals, and see how things went or felt and then head down to Kentucky for Masters Worlds in mid January. As the air was slowly removed from my enthusiasm tank, I dug deep to stay on the cx bike, creep through and physically finish training and two cross races in December.

The first one in early December was Dec 3  Midwest Junior and Masters Regional Cyclocross Championships, Mason, OH - Kings CX near Cincy. There were miserable conditions, I had an amazing start, but as my Ridley carbon cross bike became slaughtered (weighted) with mud, I made a bike change to my Epic Carbon mountain bike (22lb 26") so my super amazing new team mate Graydon could clean my cross bike (I don't have two cx bikes). It was a great pass, and kept me moving forward, but the heavy mtb, wider tires, and life sucking mud got the best of me over 45 minutes. I finished in 5th Place - not bad considering. My other good buddy James T and I ran each other into the ground, back and forth throughout the race. I dug deep and caught up to him in the last two laps, and found something to pass him somewhere. Stats: I was almost 2 minutes behind my buddy Bill Marut, and nearly 7 min behind Cleveland fast man, Nate Loman. I have lots of respect for these guys and got to know them over the season. However, I am sure the mental stress of the job situation contributed to my lack of being fully "in" this event. Cycling and racing bicycles is a mental game.

James & I run the muck

 

My friend James Turner-we battled hard all season

Finish Line - agony of defeat - bike weighs 35lbs

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Up Next on the survival chopping block was the last Cap City Cross race at Smith Farms. In contributing back to the sport, I volunteered to help set up the course the day prior and have some influence into dishing out some pain for race day. It worked, I was able to convince Mason, Spencer and Andy to let me bring back the "Death Spiral" as it was named on the day. I hadn't ridden much or had much sleep and was stressed all week. I guess sometimes not worrying about your race can do you justice. I had amazing legs, amazing fitness and stood on the podium for a 1st place finish - My first for 2011. I was super proud of this finish and it was a big boost to my overall morale that was really in the gutter.

Thanks to my team, my CapCityCross friends, my OVCX friends, my CBUS practice peeps, my coach, my good friends and my BWE for supporting me this season. All of you helped put me on the podium and keep me motivated in 2011.

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 And Finally - My tribute and hats off to the Americans (Powers, Trebon and Drew Dillman(Jr. From Kentucky) racing at CX Worlds. The sandy beach sections got the best of the US riders it seems.

How do you slow down all cyclocross racers except for Belgian's? Dump 500 tons of sand on a course.

Drew placed in the top 10 (on his way to pro status) and Trebon finished 18th or so (1:06). I think Jpowers ended up 38th?

Let me not forget our American ladies. They had an amazing effort, and put us on the map. We do need more women racing cross locally and regionally. So, get your friends out there ladies. Develop those roadies into cross racers, get them off the pavement in August and show them what cx is all about.

Ohio State Cyclocross Championships - October 22 & 23

I line up with the fastest Masters over 45 in the State of Ohio

(L)Meredith and Chris, (r)Me and my Dad

(L to R) Team Hungry Mayor, Tony's Tan, Me and Katie

Katie and I do the 'Captain of the Ship' pose

Me and the "Cleveland" boys give each other hell

Some Guy, Tim and Kurtis

Scott, James and Doug

My finish against the CAT 1/2/3 Masters

Cap City Cross - Big Run Park - October 16, 2011

The one thing each week about cross racing, is you just never know when someone is going to have a better day than you are having. Some days, you get served...

Cyclocross Race #5 for the year

This day, I was not having an amazing day on the bike. I knew I would suffer, but suffering and having the engine are two separate things. I put in a fairly tough week of training in the days-week preceding. I knew my legs wouldn't respond with everything I needed, but I didn't know just how.

I got a good pre-ride in, but was arrived at the race way early and I think spent too much time riding around and not enough eating. No matter, the Senior Citizens club of Masters line up at the bottom of the hill, along side CAT 1 road racer, Jim B. It is an open masters race right, yea it is. Whistle. We are off, as I smartly settle in behind the leaders pulling my fat ass up that soap box hill. Over the top we go, my team mate Glen and I battle for position in the first few turns, I take a different line down into the ditch than most everyone else, it provided a smoother straight line into the next hard right turn. We head into the hillside and the barrier at the bottom of the hill, then back down towards the bottom of the Box derby hill, but over a giant dirt climb.

It was rough on the other side, and required quite a bit of focus and attention to avoid the ditch and raised sections of hard dirt and rocks. Scott Young was having a good day, and was not going ot be reeled in, however, Glen and Blair and I were riding around like we were chained together. I had a few moments where I was suffering and Glen, slowed up the pace, there wasn't anyone gaining on us, so it was going to come down to the last few turns and the run up the hill, or the grass section at the bottom....

We all stuck to each other like a kids magnetic toy train, until we rolled off the grass and onto the pavement at the bottom of the Soap Box Hill, near where we started the race (see start pic above for perspective on the sprint distance) Blair put in a dig, Glen countered, I sat on, waiting for the moment. Blair was up front, I was on Blair's wheel, I knew I couldn't out sprint Blair or let him get the jump, I had to go, I think my shift click was a trigger for him, however, I jumped flew hard left and gave it full-throttle. Blair had his gas wide open, so I swung back to his wheel and tried to suck any wind I could, I pushed and pushed, but still missed beating Blair by about a bike length.

That is the first time he's beat me this year. Glen rolled in right behind me...he didn't even bother getting up to sprint.

The BWE (wife Jen) always takes amazing photos....

I pulled a decent 6th place in, just missing 5th.


that was one long uphill sprint. I hit a high Heart Rate number for the year. Ouch.
Lots of coughing after this race.

oh, Masters CAT 1 road racer guy, finished over 2 minutes ahead of us...he was rollin.

Catch up - Gun Club (OVCX) October 9, 2011

 Pics First - write up at the bottom.

The days before the race, lots of chatter about the photo to the left. Team Hungry Cycling team (race sponsor) and Promoter Gatch pulled a fast one on the interwebs, putting stakes and tape up this crazy steep hill. It was all fake and we never had to run/ride up the thing. Hilarious non the less.

The Start line of 64 dudes crammed in there

Duane and I battle it out

I finally get to pass James Turner - he's fast...smell food

Tall barriers for this guy's short legs

my look-back finish

Metz, is killing it this year. Just got the upgrade too.

Team Mate Doug C riding super strong

 

 

After review of data from our race chips, I raced faster at the beginning, then steady, then fastest on the last lap, this is good. Especially from where I started among the 64 dudes. My split-time was the same as the winner of this race, so my turbo is there, I just faded in the first few laps, compared to their jet engines or wasn’t going hard enough. Good grief, what a bunch of weekends. I was getting pretty tired there for a few days.

 

 Split     Place   Lap1    Place  Lap2   Place  Lap3   Place Lap4   Total Time 

 0:59     26     8:53        21  8:47 21      8:54 19    8:44 36:18  

 

I fought off getting shot at the Gun Club for an 8th place in a huge group of over  60 dudes over 35 years old and up. I think a third row placement and got a decent start into the first turn ahead of the giant pile-up. Later looking at the photos, the person that caused it ended up at the bottom. I was fully gassed by the time we came around and into the double sandpit. This is slightly downhill, so getting in the drops right out of the double track sandy turn is key and not grabbing someone’s wheel, since you have no idea if they can ride a good line or not and might lead you into the tape or a stake. 

I really have enjoyed racing at the Gun Club for years, however, I am not a huge fan of adding mountain bike type obstacles into a cross course. Don’t get me wrong, I love a great wind-y, twisty, tree filled, go round and round, get you dizzy course that requires lots of power out of each corner, with some long grass or short pave’/gravel between, but running a cross race into a creek is not really my idea of cross. It's just my opinion really. Without this section I think there has always been plenty at this venue to keep us all busy and drooling.

Good guy and cool dudes, Duane Walker and Jeff Schoeny beat me at Gun Club. Duane had a great race and certainly had a solid performance. Jeff is just fast, he’s got a great run and  is like a steam ship, steady as she goes. I tried like hell to keep up and stick to Matt Stierwalt’s “Rogue” wheel. My superglue was out of date and didn’t work, his mountain bike skills and fitness were a few notch's above mine for sure.

Soapbox:  I don’t like driving to Cincy, paying 25/30 dollars to race a CAT 3 race and only getting to race for 36 minutes. Really? I am not sure why we’re getting robbed here out of the full 45 minutes. I am paying the same amount of money the Elite Masters are paying, the same amount all others are paying, but not seeing the full race time. #weaksauce. Yeah yeah - you can say, well, just move up to Elite’s then and kwityourbitchen. I say naaa, make it Like a boss, we all race 45 minutes. Cleveland and Cap City all give the CAT 3’s and up their full fair shake at 45 min and a full hour of racing. Just sayin’ Ok I am finished with that.

Another thought, I’d say with the growing fields of this series, ovcx has outgrown this super cool venue. The course can only be set up to be so wide and with masters fields this big and CAT 3 open fields growing - it might be time for a new gun club course for 2012?

Spencer (Jeni's) in the double sandpit