Hmmm...

I'm thinking this could be fun...Death Valley Stage Race

Pics of pain...

Hi All! Here are some pics from Saturday's TT in San Elijo...

Yeah, it hurt...

Hi All! Well, the San Elijo Time Trial is in the books. What a great event, especially considering it was the first time it's ever been held. The promoter did an excellent job of organizing and promoting the even, even getting a nice write up in the San Diego Union Tribune this last Thursday..San Elijo TT article

I showed up to the parking lot at San Elijo Elementary School about 6:30am, and set up the trainer, and went through the usual check list of getting ready for a race. After getting my race number and timing chip, I hopped on the trainer around 7:15 and began warming up. I had planned to ride the trainer for a good hour, getting really hot for the race, considering it was only 3-miles in length, but due to the high humidity and early morning heat, thirty minutes was more then enough!

Right on time, at 8:15, I was out of the starting gate. The course started slightly downhill, making it's way towards downtown San Elijo, where we made a hard right hand turn on to San Elijo Road, where the pain began.

I started out in the big ring, not wanting to lose any precious seconds at all on the easiest part of the course. As soon as I made the right hand turn on to San Elijo Road, I immediately put the bike in the small ring, and attempted to settle in to a rhythm for the remaining 2.5 miles to the summit of Double Peak Park. This proved to be not so easy.

Even though I'm a pretty good climber, I fair much better on longer steady climbs then I do on shorter climbs that require an all-out effort, (such as an uphill 3-mile TT!). I had set my bike computer to show only my heart rate, heart rate max %, and time. My heart went to 175bpm within no time, and I knew I had to keep it right there, no higher to survive to the summit.

I passed quite a few riders as I made my way up San Elijo Road, all the time thinking about my pace, concentrating on my heart rate, telling myself I needed to save something to make it up Double Peak Road.

After about 8-9 minutes, (I can't remember through all the pain!), I reached the left turn at Double Peak Road, where I was immediately greeted by a nice 8% kicker. I remained in the saddle, trying to conserve any power I could for the 16% grade that awaited around the corner. All too soon, I rounded the corner, and there it was.

About halfway up the 16% grade, I felt a sensation I've never really felt before in a race...my legs went completely numb. The effort I was putting in the pedals was so intense, I lost sensation. I guess that could be looked at as a good thong, but in this case it worried me for second. A thought crossed my mind that I might not be able to make it to the top, but as soon as that thought entered my mind, I immediately pushed it out, knowing that family and friends were waiting around the corner to cheer me on. There was no way I was going to let them down!

Part of the difficulty was due to the fact that on my training wheels, I run a 12-27 cassette in the back, and on my racing wheels, I run a 12-25. Although I have a climbed to the summit numerous times while dong my hill repeat workouts, I had never climbed to the top with a 25-tooth. I figured before the race, that I've always ridden stronger in races then I ever could in training rides. I'm sure it's that way for most racers. The combination of excitement and adrenaline, seems to propel you faster then the usual training pace. That's exactly what happened in this case.

I pushed on, out of the saddle, the only way I could turn the cranks over on that steep a grade. I heard people shouting my name, but there was no way I could make out who it was through the suffering I was experiencing at that time. Just past the large water tank where I told my family and friends to watch from, (the last steep section, where they could see the most pain!), I knew the road leveled off a bit, so I grabbed two gears, stood up again, and gave one last push for the finish line.

It was about this point that I thought I wasn't quite sure where the finish line was, a right around the area of the water tower, there was quite a large gathering of people, so I looked back to make sure I hadn't just crossed the finish line, and was suffering for no reason. Kind of a stupid move, because just that little lapse of concentration, may of cost me a few seconds, not something you want to give up in a time trial, especially one so short.

I didn't notice anything, so I kept pushing on. Sure enough, right around the bend, there it was! As I crossed the finish line, I could hear the buzzer ring, tripped by the timing chip on my ankle. It was then, I knew the pain and suffering was over!!! How did I finish???...

2nd in my division (38-47 years old). 5th overall out of 69 riders. 14:12 for the 3- miles. Who won my division? Matt Sherameta from Celo Pacific, with a time of 13:56. Overall winner's time...13:46. Close race!!!

Next up, the Mt. Charleston Hill Climb. My favorite race of the year! September 25th, I believe. Plenty of time to get ready. Hope all is well! Until next time...

This is gonna hurt!!!

1st Ever San Elijo Time Trial!!!

Up, up, and away!!!

Hi All! How's it going? Just sittng here, enjoying more morning cup of coffee and getting caught up in what's going on in the world. Yesterday capped off a solid week of training that I'll be repeating for the next three weeks in an effort to keep, and improve the fitness that I have in order to be competitve at the Mt. Charleston Hill Climb in late September.

I've decided that instead of letting the fitness go, and then trying to regain it before the event, it would just be easier to keep what I have and build off that, slowly ramping up the intensity of my training leading up to the race date. My current training schedule looks like this...

Monday: Rest Day (no riding at all)
Tuesday: 60-minutes on the trainer (2x20min FTP intervals)
Wednesday: Repeat Tuesday's workout
Thursday: 60-minute tempo ride
Friday: Recovery Ride
Saturday: 3-4 hours fast-paced group ride (Swamis)
Sunday: 3-4 hours hill work

I just completed that work out yesterday, and feel pretty good considering. The weekend was great, I was able to get 8.5 hours on the bike, beginning with the Swamis Ride Saturday morning, then adding additional miles with my training partner Mark up in Valley Center, and throwing in Cole Grade Road for kicks!

Sunday was an incredible day on the bike! Over the last year, my good friend Art, a gentlemen who lives up in Valley Center, and rides two days a week with the
North County Cycle Clubs Cruisers, has invited to take me up in the hills around Julian, Lake Cuyamaca, Mt Laguna, etc, to show me the hills he use to ride back in his bigger mileage days. Not to ride with me mind you, but to follow me in his truck! That's a rare opportunity for any cyclist, to have someone volunteer to provide SAG support for a training ride! Truly a great gesture from someone who really appreciates and loves the sport of cycling.

We began our ride at the beginning of Wynola Road in Julian, and made our way through Pine Hills, up and over Engineers Road down to Lake Cuyamaca. From there we climbed up to the top of Mt. Laguna, where we stopped at the Laguna Lodge so I could get some calories in me. From there we back tracked to Highway 79, and finally back to Julian. 4 hours, 62 miles, 6000ft of climb, 2200 calories. A great day on the bike, covering miles of some of the best roads I've ever ridden! Thanks again Art!!!

Hope all is well! Until next time...

Palomar Challenge...

Hi All! Well, another event is in the books. I competed in the 2010 Palomar Challenge yesterday. This is an event I had heard about over the last few years, but for one reason or another, had never competed in. After the State RR Championships, I was feeling pretty good with where my fitness was and figured I might as well look for something else to compete in while I still had the fitness. With hill climbs being my favorite events, I decided to do a little searching on the internet and see what I could come up with.

Sure enough there it was...the 2010 Palomar Challenge, being held in less then two weeks after States, and just a week after my vacation. I figured why not? I checked last years results, and saw that the winner ran a 48:26, for the 11.5 miles up Palomar's East Grade Road. I've never timed myself up East Grade, so I really didn't have an accurate gauge as to how I compared, but knew that to finish high, or win, I needed to at least break fifty minutes.

Needless to say, that's exactly what I did...49:56, for 2nd place overall. Could of ran better? Yes! Didn't think it was necessary to win. I was pacing SDBC's Herb Johnson, thinking he was the leader of the race, not realizing the leader on the road was somewhere up the road out of sight! He finished in 44:56, exactly five minutes faster then me! I felt great yesterday, and had I seen the leader, I'm pretty sure I could of held his pace. Oh well, that's racing as they say! Here's a link to the results...2010 Palomar Challenge Results

That's all for now. Hope all is well, until next time...

Tour de Food...

Hi All! Well, my wife and I just got back from our mini vacation Sunday evening, and all is well, and a great time was had by all! Las Vegas, Lake Havasu, and Palm Desert were on schedule, and we managed to get them all in, and have fun along the way. I've discovered that I definitely have a thing for food. As you know, my last post was focused on what I was going to eat on the trip, and that turned out to be the focus for sure!

I'm sure owning a restaurant for the last eight years has played a large part in the reason I've become a self-proclaimed "foodie". My gluttanous adventure really began Tuesday afternoon with a trip to a local Mexican cafe, where I've heard they serve up a great street taco, and given the fact that I'm a competitve cyclist, I've always reframed from trying them out. The verdict...well worth the wait! On to Wednesday, the first official day of our vacation. We hit the road around noon, and made our way up the 15 headed towards Vegas. We reached Hesperia where I decided that a trip to In & Out Burger seemed liked a good idea. Tasted great, but not worth the gluttony.

We arrived in Vegas, made our way to Treasure Island Hotel to check in, cleaned up, and made our way by foot to Ceasar's Palace and Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill. Now this is a restaurant I've been wanting to go to for years, and just have never been able to for one reason or another. Again, well worth the wait! My Ancho Chile rubbed Pork Tenderloin literally melted in my mouth! I won't even get in to the ridiculuosly good Chocolate Corn Bread Pudding! Dinner was at 6, the follow up Veggie Burger, Onion Rings and Fried were at 11! I could go on, but you get the idea.

Needless to say, I took six straight days off the bike, and managed to gain exactly six pounds in that time! Not bad really, considering the excessive amounts of calories I took in over that time. Yesterday, it was back on the bike for a little 45-minute easy jot around town to get my legs use to the feeling of pedaling again. I figured I wasn't going to lose that much fitness in six days, but my legs would definitely soften up a bit. Today was 90-minutes on the bike, pushing it harder, and I could definitely feel the effort in the legs! I've also been dieting to the extreme as of yesterday, taking in very little calories, and attempting to lose the six pounds I gained this week before the Palomar Challenge this Saturday. My engine is good, but there's no need to be carrying any extra weight up the mountain if not necessary.

Hope all is well, until next time...