2011 Sunset Series Race 4

Been looking forward to racing for a few days now. Thunder showers and up to 10 mm of rain expected for the day clearing in time for the race. Perfect conditions for me as I like it sloppy as my technical makes up more ground than the climbing motor on days like this.
Got to the hill around 1 hr and a bit before race start. Had the van today as the expected muddy bike was not something I wanted to stuff back into the sports car. Setup was pretty fast, pop on the plate and throw on the kit, top off water bottle. Took about 5 minutes. Was tossing the idea of water in the bottle so I could spray myself as I only seem to drink half the sport drink. It seemed cool enough but the sun came out and the rain went away and it started to get hot and muggy. Next race for sure, sport drink before I pull up to the start line but water and ice in the bottle on the bike.
Warmed up with a couple laps of the last part of the course. Legs felt like lead and was loosing my interest to race.
Chatted with a few guys at the start line and ended up on the second row. I got a good start as I consistently clip in fast. Was a bit tight on the first two turns with everyone bunched up. The road was freshly graveled and very smooth, for gravel. I was in the middle ring as we started to climb and had some trouble shifting down and lost a ton of places. As we turned 90 degrees up the steep climb I grabbed 5-6 places back and was onto the wheel of a few guys. Took it easy here for the next minute as we will hit a bottleneck shortly and always slow through there til the next climb which really spreads out the groups. At the first bottleneck was a few guys crashing as it was a bit slippy. Had to dismount and re-mount but actually passed two more guys.
Next up was the long set of semi steep and loose access road climbs to the final really steep technical sections to the top. I was started to stretch it out over the few guys behind me. I had a couple teammates just in site before the turn in to the technical sections but was now behind a couple of struggling guys and I lost site of them for the rest of the race.
I was now behind a couple guys on hard tails slowing me down on a faster technical section. There is a split just past a bridge and they both took the left lane and I bombed downed the right passing one and almost had the other but elected to ease up. I called for a pass and the young lad stepped on the gas only to crash in front of me. I rolled onto his bike, dismounted and jumped past him and started to pull a good gap from the kayos behind me.
For the most part I was on my own for a while, during lap 2. I had a battle with two of the ladies. One was slow technically and let me pass. Put on a good gap in the technical but I knew she was slower technically and fast on the climbs. We traded places a few more times. Another girl closed up on me just before the top and we started the technical and I looked back to let her by and I had dropped her and didn't see here any more.
On the final lap I was all alone with no guys in site ahead or behind on the first climb. At the top of the first climb there is a long switch-back and just at the last possible moment I saw thru the trees the guy that I beat by 1 sec on the last race. He was about 45 seconds behind at that point. So much for having an easy 3rd lap. I knew that he saw me and would probably be motivated to catch me so out of easy mode and hammer time. I figured I would put the hammer down for a bit so to keep him out of site, out of mind. Things were working out great and every time I looked back I didn't see anyone.
Unfortunately, thus the name Came Fortune, I managed to flat right over the top of the mountain! I was pissed. I think I rode for 5-6 minutes on the rim. I will have some filing and sanding to do. I finally conceded the fact I would not be able to stay out front riding the bike on the rear flat.
I tried to put in my spare tube but alas it was leaking around the valve stem and the tube.
On a final note about the tire combo, Nev 1.95F/2.0 Karma R. I find this a pretty good combo for racing. I forgot my good tire gauge at home so used one on pump. As I knew Fortune is quite rough compared to Albion I added a bit of pressure for the race, up to about 30/30psi.
We had rain off and on all day with semi heavy rain from the storms but it had stopped and the roads were dry on the way up to the race. The course was basically perfect. No dust and not much water or mud except where it had puddled.
I found the front really felt good with very controlled sliding on the odd times it occurred. The rear spun a bit in the odd spot but was otherwise very good and I was still able to clear all sections.
On lap 2 I almost stalled, spinning, on a bit of a steep rocky section as they were starting to be covered with a thin layer of mud/sand/soil. On the 3rd lap on the sections I had problems with I paid more attention and cleared most sections really well. So I'd have to say I am very happy with the race setup. With a front tire of about 550g and a sub 400g rear I had overall great traction and what felt like a fast rolling tire setup. And also I think you can't always blame the tire for poor traction, there for sure is rider error in there :)
3 races to go and need 2 more finishes. Lets hope for no more flats. Getto tubless is looking like an option :)

Cheers,
Paul

Clarence−Rockland Classic 2011

First race for 2011 under the belt.
The course was pretty wet til the week before the race when we finally got some nice weather, which continued right up until 1 hr after the race was over. Perfect.

I broke my rear derailleur the week before on a similar race pre-ride. I used an old XT MTB derailleur with a new chain. I didn't want to break the chain because I was thinking of using this newer one on my MTB and swapping over a slightly used one onto my cross bike. Here is a pick with the worst chain slack gearing. I figured I would never be totally crossed in this gear anyhow so was not worried. Shifting worked close to flawlessly. Had no MechanicalsPunctures so this is always a plus.


While I had been training over the winter I never seem to get as much time on the bike as planned, but I did do more than I have ever done. Been starting to wind it up over the last 2 weeks. Hopefully I will peak for Summer Solstice Tag and Hot August Nights Solo. On the plus side I am definitely improving altho a bit slower than I hoped:)

My mood was good before the race, chatting it up with some of the guys. I knew I would not be in the front group and that I should not have any problems beating my time last year which was my only real goal for this race.

As per usual the race started off pretty fast with a big climb in the first km splitting the peloton into several smaller groups. I was feeling pretty good and was in a chase group that seemed to be closing in on a larger group. I was with a couple of team mates, but a couple other team mates I was hoping to ride with were fading a bit from the group I was in.
I had a hat on under my helmet which was fine in the warm up when the sun disappeared for a short while but 10 minutes into the race I had to take it off. So while trying to take my hat off I managed to drop my sunglasses so had to stop and lost the chase group I was with. My guys I had intended to ride with where not far behind so I elected to sit up and ride with them.
I was with David Wright now and we had a couple others with us but soon we were on our own. Not sure when but guessing 1 hr in we picked up a couple Kingston boys and Ian. We started working really well together. We had hammerfests on the pavement with each doing hard pulls and a very good rotation going. It was about this time that my knee was starting to bother me.
I think around the second hour we lost Ian when he stopped to help someone. So our group was down to 4. We were going along well and we picked up a few stragglers but none could hang on with us long and we spit them out the back. My knee was in a world of hurt and both legs felt like they were about to cramp up. The worse was easing up after a pull on the front when I could start to feel the muscle ball up a bit.
There was a climb near the end of the race I was thinking of attacking this small group I was in, just for fun :) My knee was hurting very badly at this point and if I got out of the saddle I felt knots starting in both legs. Otherwise I felt like I had a bit left to go. David was getting stronger as the race went so I was not sure I could hold him off if I went so I elected to stay with the group.
With the last 6 kms to go David spotted a few people ahead he wanted to catch. I was on his wheel when we made a 90 degree turn and David started to put the hammer down. We traded off pulls but I think Davids were longer than mine. We started to gap the Kingston boys and we reeled a few more people in and we caught Brian McPherson 100 meters from the line, who was David's target :).
I had fully intended to cross the line side by side with David as I had a great ride with him. Brian had other plans and rode by us right between us. I looked over at David and he didn't react. He had said he wasn't going to sprint for 100th place earlier haha. With the line coming up fast I decided to try take the line over Brian as I still felt good. With not much real-estate left I put the hammer down and made the pass. Beat Brian by .6 of a second with David 1.74 seconds behind him.
In retrospect maybe I should have kept the hammer down and hopefully would have towed my teammate in in front of Brian. Well it was fun and thats what its all about.
After the race my knee was quite sore and I hobbled around for the rest of the day and it was pretty stiff the next day. This happened the previous two Sundays but each time I seem to be less sore and recover sooner.
In summery it was a great race. I improved close to 30 minutes over last year. Next year I should make the sub 3hr mark and for now that will be my goal for next year.

Results
http://www.ridewithrendall.com/race-results-2011-crc/

Cheers,
Paul

Week 16 of 16 Coaching

It's a wrap. My first time with a coach and just finished my first coaching session. It was a 16 week program that started shortly after Cx season finished so was perfect timing.

How did it go?

Well it went pretty good. I improved about 10%.

While this doesn't seem like much the first half of the training I did only 1 other training session a week because I was busy getting ready for Christmas. Then over the holidays I got a nasty bug that kept me in bed and out of work for a week. Lost 5 pounds and was feeling pretty crappy for about 3 weeks after this. I ended up missing a couple of weeks of the program right after the Christmas brake.

I figure I lost the first half of the training program due to this nasty bug. I figure most of my improvement was done in the last 6 weeks so the 10% for 6 weeks seems good.

There are about 8 weeks til the season starts and I am optimistic I can add close to 10% more power in this time. I have finally dedicated 10 hrs a week to training, will have a coach set program and a power meter to train by.

If I can get that next 10% I will be pretty happy with my LT numbers.

Cheers,

Paul

PowerTap

I finally pulled the trigger and ordered a power meter. Its a PowerTap PRO+. Wireless and with HR. I am hoping that it will give me the motivation to train more and harder and more precisely.

I am hoping to get it for the weekend of the 19th-20th Mar. The hub is actually already in at the shop. It took me 2 weeks to decide on rim/wheel combination and the extra $ along with it otherwise I would probably have it right now.

So the wheels have been ordered, RHUS Elements I believe. Not too sure on all the details except they should be 500g lighter than my current wheels and I will be able to use them for cross and road. I trusted Mike on picking the wheels :) Looking forward to the surprise.

Because the rims come in a set I will be getting a matching front wheel. A little more than I wanted to spend but still a steal of a deal for the wheel set.

The timing is working out perfect as next week is week 16 of 16 of my coaching session at the shop. I have already planned on starting a training program with my coach , Jim Glover. http://www.peakperformancecoaching.ca/html/jim_glover.html

The great thing about using a power meter such as a PowerTap is that it is easy to make a training plan that is easy to follow with power and it is also easy to e-mail training sessions to the coach for analysis.

I won't babble to much about it today, but rather keep an up to date log of how it all works out.

Till next time,

Cheers,

Paul

Week 15 of 16 Coaching Session.

Another great, but extremely tough, coaching session has come and gone. I'd have to say this is the toughest sessions thus far. We did sort of a race type simulation for 1:45 plus the usual 15/15 warm up and cool down.

The session consisted of some LT and VO2 for some climbing with some 10 and 20 second max efforts at the top for the first bit. Then we did some sorter LT sections followed immediately by some short anaerobic to max downhill efforts which required some leg speed to keep the power on.

Things get a bit blurry after this as I went from felling great to feeling really faint after these efforts. We had some more sessions with LT then 20 sec Max effort.

After this I was thinking it was over but then we had some rolling hills and back to LT and VO2 max if I remember correctly.

The last minute or so was like a hill top finish that got steeper and steeper. I managed to recover enough to give the last 7 or 8 minutes a decent effort and finish the climb of 20-30 seconds in the 300-400 watt range :)

I can see that the training is definitely improving my performance. My average wattage was above my 1 hr LT by 4 watts and this was over 1:45 minutes.

Next week is the last week in our 16 week session.

The gang is looking for an extension month by month and I told them I was in for that.

All in all was a very tough session.

Winter Blues

Once again been neglecting the Blog. Been a tough few months health wise. This cold crappy weather had my motivation in a deep freeze but I am finally thawing out :)

At any rate been training more than I have ever before. Currently have been doing a 16 week coaching session. Getting near the end but the whole gang is hoping to add 4 weeks as I think we only have 3 weeks left.

I pulled the trigger on a power meter and it should be in this week. Have to decide which wheel to build it in. I am hoping the meter will allow me to optimism my training as I think it will be a struggle this year to get more than 8-12 hours of training/racing a week.

I did a tough week last week so this week I took it a bit easy after Tuesdays training session to recover. Planning a two hr roller session shortly.

Also picked up a special usb cable to charge my MP3 player so will be working on some playlists for training and up coming 24 hour events.

Hoping to pic up a portable camera tomorrow so I will be able to take more pics:)

Cheers

Paul

Halloween CX Race

I said a few days ago when possible snow was in the forecast that 'I hope it snows!'. Well I got my wish. We had a cold front come in and dump a couple inches of snow on the ground Saturday evening before the race.
We got to the race venue and the whole course was still under the snow. The few people warming up had not caused a path yet in the snow down to the ground yet.
While I was really looking forward to riding in the white stuff Megan was already sure she wasn't going to like it at all.
We got out with enough time to do a practice lap. I was finding the snow fun with lots of traction. Of course is was a bit slippy but I knew I would have no problems riding everything fairly quickly. Megan, on the other had was really struggling to keep forward momentum and she was sliding a fair bit. I guess those fatter 20" tires where clogging up. On top of that her hands were cold.
I sent her off to warm up in the van while I did most of the course. I then went and got Megan and we barely made the start. It wasn't long and she was really tired and wanted to toss the bike in the trees and go make snowmen. I did the first lap with her and kept her going. At one point she was starting to tear up. We took a minute break and got going again. It was nearing the finish and she managed to clear all the tough slippery sections including riding up the hill to the start/finsh. Awsome !!!
I then got to go on my own and did 3 pretty good laps. I was chasing Darrin for the last 3 laps. I was hanging on tight til the last lap when he gave it a shot of gas and passed a couple people in our small group. I was at the back of the group and was hanging on hoping someone would respond. No one did and I waited to long to go, but I went anway. I think I was closing the gap back up but ran out of real estate, and energy as well.
My biggest issue was clipping back in. My SPD's were clogging bag enough I had to knock my feet against the pedals to clear snow from the clips and pedals after every remount. I guess I was lossing close to 20 seconds a lap from this.
From the results I would have made teh lead lap had I did the whole race on my own, though I was happy to ride with Megan and keep her going.
It was a fun course and I really like riding in the snow :)