Friday, May 15, 2009

Goal met...part 2

After posting about meeting my road goal for the year, I asked...now what? Simple answer...do it again. Except, I didn't ride from Tuesday until the following Monday night when I got in a 1 hour trainer ride. Hardly the appropriate level of effort to sustain where I was...

Got dropped in 12 minutes the week after hanging in for 46....go figure :)

I'll work on getting in my miles and intervals a little more consistently.

The other goal is the track upgrade to a Cat 3. I've missed the last two Friday night races at the Superdrome, so tonight I'll be trying to play catch up with the rest of the 35+/Cat 4 dudes. Except Ken Munson...he can go right ahead and take off. Sooner he hits the 3s, the better :)

Tonight:

Scratch race
Snowball (I hate snowballs)
Long Scratch

Whee!

Cyclist to pray for: Paula. Went down last Friday and damaged all sorts of body parts, but is back home and recuperating.

DB

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Goal met...now what?

I have 2 "results" goals for this year:

Track: Earn a Cat 3 upgrade - in progress

Road: Pack finish in a Cat 4 race (FDM crit or otherwise) - Done!

Despite the overcast skies and threats of rain, the racing was on last night in Plano. In the B race, I decided to expand upon the testing of the bigger gears that started last week. Out of turn 1 ever lap I jumped up to a gear or two higher than I normally have in the past, and for the most part it worked.

I was too far in the back a number of times but was able to work my way up when necessary. I was also using a cornering technique I learned from Coach Steen and that was a raging success, especially given how squirelly the pack was last night. Too many people trying to force 5 wide in corners and then having to hit the brakes. Ugh.

All in all, I was still in mid-pack when the bell rang. I backed off to let the sprinters and assorted other crazy guys fight for first place or crash or whatever. Some sprinted, some crashed.

I got my pack finish, and am very happy about it. Praise God for the safety and good sportsmanship all around. Even the crashers looked ok.

Next road goal: Do it again, and decent showing at state crit in late May.

Cyclist to pray for: MG - migraines are no fun.

DB

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Strong riding

Not too much happened out of the norm for a bit there after my last post...same old crit results, track rain outs, etc.

I did experiment with a larger gear than I normally run at the Plano crit on 4/28, with some success. Sadly, I was a lap down when I did this but the results were interesting. The draft of the pack makes a lot of difference. Thanks to my spontaneous coach for reminding me I wasn't on the track and was spinning way too high...

Saturday was Day1 of the MS150 in DFW. Due to Swine Flu considerations, Day 2 was re-routed to stay out of downtown Ft. Worth. Due to weather considerations, it was later cancelled altogether. Team Coooper Fitness/IC3 started out with 5 of our team, and two others caught up at the first rest stop we hit. Then one more at lunch. We were riding really well as a team, keeping solid pace and having a great time. Overall we finished a bit apart. I was (surprisingly) in the first bunch of 4 to get to TMS with an average of 19.3 over 83 miles. By far my longest and strongest ride of the year, despite being on training hoops with a heavy seat bag full of tubes and tools. Felt strong at the end, and took Sunday off to rest and watch the Mavericks in round 2 of the playoffs. Recovery days are good. Recovery weeks? Hate 'em.

Cyclist to pray for: MTB - broken parts all over....got hit by a car when not even riding.

DB