22.8.11

RACE: Kissena Twilight Series 8/17

I know I'm on a roll here with updating this blog, but...eh, i'll finish this later. Have some data:


EDIT: the full report. more or less.

Alright, so we're near the end of the season, i'm about cooked. Karl didn't seem to be feeling much more excited about racing than me. We get to the track and do the usual routine.

The first race was a nine lap scratch. I saw Jared warming up and figured he would be the stiffest competition, but just before racing tadeusz showed up as well. He had some bike problems in the first race though, not sure what that was about. I don't really remember much about what happened anymore, but I was able to barely outsprint Jared for the win. Hooray.

Second was a 3 lap point-a-lap. On the first lap I tried to outsprint tad, but he edged me out by a wheel. For some reason instead of keeping the pace hot, I swung uptrack to get back to the group. I didn't really see any action after that. I think the sprint in the previous race toasted me.

The final race was a 7 lap tempo. Again, don't remember what happened anymore, but I didn't really play a big role.

All in all, I managed to get second overall for the night. I'll take it.

2011.38: 8/15-8/21 - Something or other

Sunday: nada.

Saturday: Another short ride to the lighthouse. I was having trouble riding hard. Suddenly my gut would just burn. Like heartburn, but more stomach level. gut-rot, i guess. Maybe I need to start doing crunches again or something.
Time: 01:51:42
Distance: 32.69mi
Speed: 17.6/37.7mph
Cadence: 86/175?rpm
HR: 156/190bpm
NP/IF: N/A(still got the race tubs on. i'll change eventually)

Friday: Thought about doing the Kreb race, but there was a constant threat of rain and thunder if I remember correct-like.

Thursday: After finishing Andy's bike, we did a short ride around the area to loosen up the legs and diagnose any possible problems with the build. Fortunately, none were found, though I think we went a little hard in the beginning. Andy was hoping to do Rockleigh crit later that day, so he didn't want to go too crazy.
Time: 00:51:46
Distance: 13.86mi
Speed: 16.1/39.1mph
Cadence: ...n/a? musta had a sensor issue or something. weird.
HR: 137/181bpm
NP/IF: N/A (race tubs)

Wednesday: raced at the track with Karl. See the race report if it ever gets written. Afterward, I headed back to my house with Andy to help him build up a new road bike. We hit a couple of snags with FD clamp sizes and crud like that. The usual, so we finished it the next day.

Tuesday: Rode around with my race tubulars on my bike. Risky, but I am lazy. Too lazy to change wheels and brake pads. Short ride, nothing much to talk about.
Time: 01:18:56
Distance: 23.30mi
Speed: 17.7/38.0mph
Cadence: 88/118rpm
HR: 160/187bpm
NP/IF: N/A

Monday: nada. rest day, etc.

9.8.11

2011.37: 8/8-8/14 - Race Week 3??

Well I seem to have fallen into a bit of a slump again. I don't really have any big races left and so I'm just riding for fun when I can, but nothing structured or with any motivation. Which is fun and all, but I just don't want to start next season too far out of form. And I'd still like to do well in the wednesday track series. This heat is really kicking my ass though. But on the other hand, is it really so bad to just relax, take an easy ride to the beach and sit with my feet in the water? Who knows.

I do have some races on the radar that interest me. This weekend is Tokeneke classic, a pretty cool road race in CT. I might see if I can get up there just to see how my climbing legs are nowadays. There's also Green Mountain Stage Race, but that thing is like $200 to register for. Also, I could potentially do Elite Nationals for track. There are no qualifiers this year, you just have to be a cat 3. So I might do that. I'm still up in the air on that one, just because I know I won't podium or anything and so I don't want to just be wasting everyone's time. It would be cool to go just to gain experience at another track though. And who am I kidding? I'd love to tell people that I went to elite nats. Beyond that, I'm going to do some touring in September with a friend along the Katy Trail in Missouri, so I guess I should keep some fitness up for that.

Sunday: rain, rain, go away. It poured and poured. And when it stopped it poured some more. No tokeneke for me. No road race this year, looks like.

Saturday: nada. went sailing with my Uncle aboard his piratical ship.

Friday: Rode to syosset to pick up some new tires that I had ordered. Had a headwind riding in to syosset, so I went hard to minimize time losses. I was looking forward to the fast return home with the wind. Well, I guess I went just a little too hard on the upwind trip, because I hit the wall pretty hard on the way back. I actually had a slower average speed with the wind than against. I had to stop in king's park to pick up some snacks from 7-11 so I could limp home. boo.
Time: 02:08:52
Distance: 41.06mi
Speed: 19.1/37.5mph
Cadence: 93/122rpm
HR: 171/192bpm
NP/IF: 190w/0.731

Thursday: Decided to ride to Northport with Soap in order to check out a new cafe. The caffe portofino. Good espresso, nice atmosphere. I love northport. and hate consistent capitalization. Anyhow, on the way there soap was complaining about a wobble in his front wheel on the downhills. Turns out the sidewall on his front tubular was bursting. whoops. I let out some air and we limped back home for him to put on his front wheel from his track bike. Headed back out without problem this time. Well not for me, at least. I think soap almost died on a few of the climbs. Gravity's a bitch.
Time: 02:25:40
Distance: 36.80mi
Speed: 15.2/37.7mph
Cadence: 81/125rpm
HR: 145/190bpm
NP/IF: 180W/0.692

Wednesday: nada.

Tuesday: Did some AE intervals at night. Could only manage a 6 and then 5 minute interval at 250W

Monday: rest day. Rested. because I've been training so hard and all....

1.8.11

2011.36: 8/1-8/7 - Race pt.2?

Sunday: bummed around the neighborhood for a little. no data.

Saturday: short ride to the beaches. nothing to write home about. hopefully next week i'll get back into training again.
Time: 00:58:16
Distance: 17.03mi
Speed: 17.5/33.9mph
Cadence: 88/113rpm
HR: n/a
NP/IF: n/a

Friday: watched other guys race tandems at t-town.

Thursday: nothing. on vacation headed to pennsylvania. Was planning on racing tandems at the track tomorrow, but found out Steve couldn't make it. boo.

Wednesday: apparently nothing again. I think I was aiming to hit the track, but it got rained out.

Tuesday: nothing. lazy.

Monday: rest day. interviewed. again with the interviews. Also did some squats. 3x10 with the usual amount of weight. whatever that amount is.

2011.35: 7/25-7/31 - Post-Race

Well here we are again. My second A race is done, so now I'm stuck trying to figure out what to do with myself again. Steve had been talking about doing tandem track nationals, so I might have that coming up. Otherwise, I am eligible for regular track nats this year. I'm just not sure if it'd be worth it for me to head out there just for the experience, or if I'd just be wasting everyone's time. I'll have to ask Colin what he thinks. In the meantime, I'm just gonna take it easy for a little. Possibly do some road races.

Sunday: nothing. man, i'm lazy.

Saturday: Felt the need to ride again. I felt really tired and slow the whole time. Maybe this whole epic road race idea is not so smart. I did get to take some little side trips though, so it worked out well in a just-riding-around-for-kicks kind of way.
Time: 02:26:40
Distance: 43.39mi
Speed: 17.7/28.9mph
Cadence: 90/118rpm
HR: 161/180bpm
NP/IF: n/a

Friday: also nothing.

Thursday: nothing.

Wednesday: Rode out to Port Jeff to do some hills and stuff. Created some new Strava KOM's.
Time: 01:41:09
Distance: 29.13mi
Speed: 17.3/37.8mph
Cadence: 85/127rpm
HR: n/a
NP/IF: n/a

Tuesday: no riding. job interview. what a waste of time.

Monday: Rest day. rested.