Cycling obsession, it is a good thing.... Right?

I have stepped away from the blog for a few weeks in an attempt at the whole "moderation" thing. You see if I have always had this problem, even as a kid I would find something new that I loved, and become so obsessed with it that even my family would role their eyes, or look away when I began to talk or ask questions about the "obsession" of the month. Unfortunately this has happened with cycling, and while I am not that upset about it since it is keeping me pretty fit, I know I need to cut my loved ones some slack! After all I can only expect my wife to listen to me so many times when I come home from a good workout and go on and on about my Lactate Threshold, or the fact that I held on to a faster group longer...

The truth is I am motivated by results and in the last month and a half I have lost 10 pounds and gained quite a bit of cycling ability. I am climbing better, sustaining a high pace for long periods of time, and seeing results in competitive situations, as well as driving my love ones crazy with talk of competition and cycling. For this reason I have comprised a list of ways to NOT drive the people close to you to the crazy house during cycling season.

RULES and FACTS

1. When walking through the door after a hard days work do not talk about your lunch workout BEFORE hugging and kissing your wife.

2. Do not assume that skipping dinner for a Tuesday night crit, Wednesday night group ride, and Thursday night team ride EVERY WEEK is acceptable.

3. When a loved one asks how your day was DO NOT go into detail about your sprinting intervals, they are really just asking to be nice.

4. Do not flex your shaven legs in the mirror and ask if they looked more toned than the month before.

5. Talking about what one must do to make their bike a sub 15 pounder is not always the best dinner table conversation.

6. Sending out group text messages to your teammates daily asking "who is going to ride today" just might get a little annoying to some people.

7. Contacting the City Engineering department to find out if their are any cat 3 climbs nearby isn't always appreciated. Evidently the city has "real issues" to deal with.

Just a few things I have learned since I fell in love with the sport of cycling. In all reality I do need to say that I am so thankful for my family and especially my beautiful wife to allow me to be as obsessed as I am and still love and support me the way they do. (I know it gets old)

Stay tuned, all 2.7 of my readers, tomorrow I will post about some recent race results, and tactics I have learned along the way. Below is the race data from tonight's crit, there was a mix up with remaining laps on the board. I sprinted out a 4th place finish (best yet) and was joined by quite a few of my teammates. Seth got the win today and has been hoovering near the 1 and 2 spot for the last month (SANDBAGGER)

Managing your efforts

Today was my 3rd Tuesday night Crit, and for the 5 or 6 of you that actually read this, cycling is actually going much better for me. I have put in some really solid training the last month and lost 7 or 8 pounds. My legs have consistently been feeling good, cardio is good, and as a result of my wife working CRAZY hours the last month I have had a lot of extra time to put in hard work.

Something that has been very hard for me to learn about cycling is the strongest, most fit person with the best equipment does not always win, or place... or sometimes finish. I have seen some of my teammates go out and get blown away by people they were in much better shape than. How does this happen? The answer is their timing... when they decide to use an effort. A cyclists body is like a book of matches, and every-time they use an effort another match is gone. The key is to use these matches at the perfect time, and this has been my fatal flaw almost every single time I have competed. Granted in the beginning it was also because I was in terrible shape, but now I am starting to put myself in the right positions and actually give myself a chance to succeed.

Tonight I blew half of my book of matches at the completely wrong time. The mistake was a very stupid one. It is 11:30 on Tuesday night and I still can't sleep because I am so disgusted. It's just training, and really not that big of a deal, but when I have the right amount of gas in the tank, and just choose the wrong time to use it I become VERY disappointed. Cycling is more mental than I would have ever thought, very competitive and very satisfying. Lately I have been given a lot of good advice, and am very thankful to have the insight that I do. I am a week and a half away from my next race and can't wait to see what the outcome is.

How much will you suffer?

People that grew up with my find it very hard to believe that I have started this obsession with cycling. After all I am a bigger guy, I have always loved the rush you get from high impact sports. Football, baseball, fighting... There is a rush there when you know you have trained, you have put in the time, the hard work and its time to put it all on the line and find out if your best, is better than the next persons.

In football the competition was to die for, but what truly got me was playing linebacker, studying the offense, their tendencies and knowing, on third and short, on the right hash of the field there is a 85 percent chance that when the right side is overloaded the other team is going to run a lead through your gap, and your one job is to blow the fullback up, there is about 5 feet in between the guard and the tackle, that is where the ball is going and it is your sole responsibility to BLOW IT UP. There are very few things that can compare.

I mentioned in the past that I played college baseball, I really dove deep into the mental side which made things quite a bit more complicated, but at the end of the day as a "hitter" it was you versus the pitcher. Sure there were situations, a runner on first and your coach calls a hit and run, it is your job to to preferably hit the ball to the right side HARD. There is one out and a runner on third base, it is your responsibility to hit something deep to score him, but at the end of the day it is YOU, taking all the batting practice, all the tee work, all the cage work. All the keeping your weight, and hands back, keeping your elbows in. It is you that looks the pitcher in the eye and says "my best is better than your best" now bring it!

This is the same in cycling but even better, like anything else there are situations. Is he more "fit" than I am, is he lighter than I am? Can he climb better than me? Is his bike better than mine? But by the end it is still a competition.

What I have found I love about cycling most is taking everything in, the wind, the hills, the elevation, your team... when you are out on the road competing what it all comes down to is who can suffer the most. I realize your body has a lactate threshold and at a certain Heart rate you really start to break down, but it is so much more than that. It is seeing the person, or group that is a quarter of a mile ahead of you and saying "you will not beat me" training is very important, a person can't just go out click into their pedals and out perform you, but when the training is similar and it is down to the wire I can promise you I WILL SUFFER. It is a team sport and there is so much strategy involved but its the strategy, plus the will power, and the ability to not give up that makes someone amazing. Its not the bike, or the gear, or the technology it is the perseverance to simply not quit and challenge not only the other person but also yourself.

I haven't been doing this long but I love the competition, and I CANNOT wait to see what kind of challenges are ahead of me.

Lincoln Arkansas Road Race

Well my second road race of the season is over and I wish I could say it was a good one. My spirits were very low for this race primarily because of the weather we had been having. Winds had been consistently around 20 mph for the week and I have become a victim of trying to do too much to soon. In my recent posts I had talked about the importance of weight loss in my current situation. Well I worked very hard and have already dropped about 7 pounds. BUT to do that I had to hit the pavement a little harder than I should have with a race coming up.

My week of training consisted of Monday on the trainer for an hour and a half, Tuesdays Criterium training, Wednesday an hour and a half of hill repeats, Thursday a hard, windy hilly Cincinnati route with the team, and a Saturday of just spinning to stay loose.

I had taken enough time off that I was starting to feel back to normal the day of the race, forecast showed it was going to be 30 mph wind and a 60 percent chance of rain (it eventually dropped to a 10 percent chance) but I knew it was going to be a tough one going into it.

I felt great going into the race, and by that I mean my stomach felt great and my body felt loose and full of energy. This was the first race I was going to be able to race with my team since there weren't over 50 people in the field they wouldn't be splitting by age.

The race started fast and I quickly realized I should have scouted the course much better because it was downhill and full of turns, the racer in front of me locked his brakes completely up a few times about causing an accident. The field slightly broke apart coming up to the first of 2 large climbs in the race, just before the climb there was a gradual incline and I would say this is where I made my biggest mistake. I tried to bridge the short gap between my part of the field and the front group and my heart rate went crazy, by the time I actually got into the main (cat4) climb I was already in trouble. I got passed by about 10 people on the climb and by the time I finally got up it I was exactly in the middle of the 2 groups. After I recovered I really hammered it hard for the next 10 miles and I was actually gaining ground on a group of about 10 people when I noticed there were a few people that were dropped from the main field, I tried to get with them and regroup but they were so tired they had no intention of working with me to get there so after about 3 miles of riding with them I had to leave. The main field had broken up into two groups by that time and one of those groups contained a few of my teammates that I normally ride with and actually push very hard while training. As I approached the last large climb I made a shifting mistake and dropped my chain while switching from big ring to small ring. I tried to shift back up and get the chain back but It would not work, I had to stop put my chain back on and loose all my momentum. This actually gave one of the guys I had passed the opportunity to pass me back. I got back on my bike caught up and passed him but was too far behind the group to catch up and have the oppurtunity to advance. I ended up 27th out of 40 something... After the race was over I was very frustrated as I know I could have done much better as I basically kept the same pace as the main field by myself. I HAVE TO GET BETTER AT CLIMBING. The racing schedule doesn’t look like much fun as far as racing for the next few weeks and I am not sure what my next road race will be. This week I plan on recovering from my tough rides and not pushing it quite so hard but still getting some good time in the saddle. Until next time…

My first Crit

I will let Wikipedia explain what a crit is as it will be much better than my explanation.

A criterium, or crit, is a bike race held on a short course (usually less than 5 km), often run on closed-off city center streets.

Race length can be determined by a number of laps or total time, in which case the number of remaining laps is calculated as the race progresses. Generally the event's duration (commonly one hour) is shorter than that of a traditional road race — which can last many hours, sometimes over the course of several days or even weeks, as in a Grand Tour. However, the average speed and intensity are appreciably higher. The winner is the first rider to cross the finish line without having been "lapped."
Events often have prizes (called primes, pronounced "preems", and are usually cash) for winning specific intermediate laps (for instance, every 10th lap). A bell is usually rung to announce to the riders that whoever wins the next lap, wins the prime.
Success in road criteriums requires a mix of good technical skills — in particular, the ability to corner smoothly, while "holding your line" on the road, as well as rapidly and sharply — and riding safely with a large group on a short circuit and exceptional "sprint" ability to attack other riders and repeatedly accelerate hard from corners.
Criteriums are relatively easy to organize, do not require a large amount of space, and are good for live spectators as they allow them to see the riders pass by many times. They are the most common type of bicycle racing in the continental United States. They are also gaining popularity as a format for mountain bike events.

This wasn't just my first crit experience ever, it was also the kickoff of the summer tulsa criterium training series. which I was very surprised by the turnout. I had spoken with Justin and Jamie earlier in the week about going and they both seemed game. I pulled into the location where the training was being held earlier, there were only a few racers there at the time. I quickly gave my race license number, signed a waiver, paid 5 bucks and was ready to go. While getting ready (shedding sweat pants, airing up tires, putting on bike shoes and taking in a Gu) I got in a conversation with the guy parked next to me. This guy was built more like me than the gymnast looking guys I have been used to riding with so right of the bat I liked him! I had heard of him before, his name was Chris and a lot of the guys on my team knew him and liked him. He seemed pretty excited about the cycling season and was ready to get this race underway.

To give a little more background into the scenario I was in there happens to be 3 groups or categories of racers in this training events, A,B,C. Earlier that day I had received an email from our Race Director Jeremy (a very knowledgeable successful racer) explaining that if he were us he would sign up for the B group as some people would probably call us sandbaggers. I made the assumption Chris would be in the B group and I was perfectly happy being in C as I had never raced before and my fitness and experience were definitely lacking. As Justin and I pull up to the line I am surrounded by guys that appear to be pretty experienced, There was Chris a few guys from Toms including Seth who has been putting out some pretty good stats as well as some other good guys. Hardly the huffy riding, blue jean wearing, knife carrying group I was hoping to be riding against. If you were at NWA you know what I mean by blue jean wearing knife carrying...

A role call and short explanation of what we were doing and the bell was being rung and we were off! We ended up doing about 11 laps on a .6 mile course and it took me about 4 before I really got the hang of the quick turns and quick accelerations. My heart rate was at the top but I had expected it, I had been working pretty hard and found myself near the front whenever the bell rang, I understood this to be the one lap remaining bell and as we came to the finish of that lap I had found myself pushing pretty hard as well as being up in the top 3 (Seth sitting at 1) but something odd happened, after we crossed the finish line the race continued, I was tired and got passed by quite a few people before I realized the race was not over, and as I checked my bike computer and saw there were at least 10 minutes left I knew why. The second half of the race was miserable, I was by myself with a group behind me and in front and I had no one to work with and draft off of. I was in pain and ready for it to be over, I maintained a pretty good pace by myself but finished very weakly and let someone edge me out by a few feet. Chris ended up winning the whole thing and later told me he would be back in group C next week. I better bring my A game, I think I may suprise a few people!

My advice to you first time Crit racers, warm up well and don't get dropped on a windy day.

The naturalist

If you are reading this blog you probably know my personality and what makes me tick, I am not one of those people that can't just go exercise because I love it, there has to be a reason, a competition or a goal. My wife on the other hand is the complete opposite, she can come home from working a 12 hour day, put her shorts and running shoes on and just go, she comes back a completely new de-stressed person. She simply runs because she enjoys it. I LOVE HATE running! It hurts! and it doesn't matter if I am running slow or fast it hurts from my feet, to my ankles, shins all the way to my knees. Needless to say if I am wearing my running shoes it is because I am training for a road race or triathlon and I am equipped with my garmin 310xt, I am tracking my time, cadence and pace the entire time! I have alerts set up to let me know if I am running to slow, or my heart rate is too high, I am obsessed with the data! When I get home from exercising I drop my watch by the computer wait for it to be wirelessly transmitted to the garmin connect site, and then I compare my run time, distance, and conditions to previous runs and if I haven't improved I dont feel like anything was accomplished.

For the most part I feel the same way about cycling, so when my garmin flew off my bike a few weeks ago and started refusing to sync up with satellites it was pretty much catastrophic for me. Who would have thought that velcro would not suffice to hold the computer securely to the bike. (not my brightest moment) The last 5 rides I have been on I have been stuck with my iphone and handy strava application, which is good but only gives me distance, elevation and time. I have to admit it has been nice to just go out and ride, allow myself to feel good, take in the scenery and not worry about how fast I am peddling or the fact that my Heart rate is in zone 4 as opposed to 3 where it should be.

Last Saturday a large amount of my team members decided on a 53 mile ride, starting at the bike shop going to Avant which is on the other side of Skiatook and back. I was thrilled about the idea because I was ready for the challenge. The idea was we were going to get a good "spin" in and not push it too hard because most of us were not ready for that distance, It didn't exactly end up that way and we ended up dropping a hand full of our teammates along the way but as sad as it is to say the experience for me was quite liberating. Throughout the ride I had no idea of our pace, or distance, or my heart rate. We just rode together and moderately pushed each other, it was a great team ride which we don't get to do that often because of everyone's schedule. At the end of the ride I pulled my iphone out of my jersey and was pleasantly surprised to see our pace was over 20 mph. This was never the goal we just went out on a beautiful day and enjoyed a good workout. At this point I am by NO means a naturalist, and still feel like I need THAT DATA, but I do realize maybe I should not pay quite so much attention to it during the ride and just use it as a benefit after in comparison.

Tomorrow is my first Criterium and will be held in Tulsa, I am not sure what to expect or how I will end up but I am sure it will give me plenty to blog about.

The heavy cyclist

In my last blog I mentioned some obstacles that I would have to overcome this year. The main obstacle is the fact that I am a terrible climber. I am a very strong powerful rider and have always shown signs of power and expect that If I had a power tap I could probably put in some pretty good wattage for decent amounts of time. I recently stopped lifting heavy but my last trip to the actual gym I could still bench press over 300 pounds and was still squatting over 400 pounds. Which would be all well in good if my goal wasn't to be a better cyclist! Needless to say It will be push ups, crunches, plyometrics and bands for the rest of the year.

I read something that really opened my eyes and made me realize to be competitive I have definitely chosen the wrong sport. I found this at www.cptips.com

Question: I began riding last year and recently met my first professional cyclist in person. He's a good climber on a U.S. pro team. I'm astonished at how small he is! He looks skinny, emaciated and weak. But I know he can ride circles around me even though I'm an athletic 6-footer and 190 pounds. How can such an unimposing person put out so much power? I want to climb like him! -- Bradley N.

Comment: When you're familiar with athletes in most conventional sports, it's a shock to see how small and thin top cyclists are. The rule for climbing prowess: You should weigh (in pounds) no more than twice your height in inches. So at 6 feet (72 inches) you'd need to weigh 144 pounds rather than 190. Pro cycling tends to select lean, light-bodied athletes in the same way that the profile of a mastodon is required for football linemen. Climbing ability is crucial in racing, and it depends on the power-to-weight ratio. A light rider doesn't need to generate as much power as his heavier competitor because he has less weight to propel up hills. In the 2005 Tour de France with 189 starters, here's the profile of the average rider:

• Height -- 1.79 meters (5 feet, 10.4 inches)
• Weight -- 71 kilograms (156.2 pounds)
• Resting heart rate -- 50 bpm
• Lung capacity -- 5.69 liters (1.48 gallons)

To say I am 5 foot 9 (69 inches) is a bit of a stretch,
I started the season at 193 pounds.(yes I can still see my abs) and even while I was playing college baseball I was rarely under 185 pounds while batting lead off.

I believe it was in Lance's "It's not about the bike" where he explains how even lean upper body muscle is just extra weight that has to go up the hill or in his case mountains, and how he had a hard time adjusting coming from swimming/triathlons.

As you can see I have a long way to go for my weight to be no more than twice my height. (it will never happen)

But to be the least bit effective I am going to try to drop 20, I am currently at 188. I should have started this process months ago.

People spend thousands of dollars on a carbon bike, light wheelset and even handlebars whenever it would be much easier to drop a few pounds with a little hard work. With that being said...

BRING ON THE HILLS!