Catch up time

Ok, I've gotten a little behind so let me jump right back into it. Last weekend Char and I got up early Saturday morning to make the 7 hour trek to Pelham, AL for the Bump n Grind cross country race. This is by far my favorite race/venue and this was my 4th year doing it. I was hoping to have a good race here and finally get myself into the expert level groove. We got to the park in the early afternoon and immediately got ready to go ride the course. The course is very fun, very long and very challenging. It starts with about 7 miles of single track that ends with some steady climbing. From here there is 4 miles of jeep road and most of it is where the difficult climbing starts. And this is where my sufferening begins! At the end of the jeep road is more single track, but mostly downhill and a bit technical. Blood rock is close to the beginning of this downhill section and is very technical yet very short. There are usually tons of people here watching during the race. During pre-rides, there is a lot of people practicing this area and watching other people get through it so it can get rather congested. I didn't have any problems zipping right though the giant creek rocks and drops and then headed down the screaming fast and bumpy downhill that followed. The course ends with quite a bit if up and down single track with the last few miles being mellow and fast. I felt really good after completing the 16.2 mile lap and felt good about the race on Sunday. After the lap I met up with Drew and Martin, my coach and his fellow semi-pro, chatted a bit and then chatted with Char as she rolled up from her pre-ride. I was very pleased to see Char come back unscathed after her little spill last year. Rad also rolled up around this time after he got that central time zone thing figured out =) Anyhow, from here we headed to the hotel, cleaned up and then went to dinner at O'Charleys. My plan was to stuff myself with pasta at dinner and then take advantage of the time difference by getting to bed early. I think I got the most sleep I have ever gotten before a race. I wondered if it would make a difference in my performance...


Fast forward to the race Sunday. After a good warm up I got to the line feeling relaxed and ready to race! There was a little chatter on the line because there was a pro lined up in my wave instead of the pro wave. He says he didn't renew his pro license. Whatever sandbagger. This dude has been a pro longer than I've owned a mountain bike and he has even been racing pro all season in the southeast regional series. Like I said, whatever- he had no bearing on my battle against myself and the terrain ahead of me but he would face a slew of protests and insults after the race from others. The race started fast, as usual, and I settled into the paceline that had formed as we snaked along the lake and headed to the single track. I wasn't thrilled about my spot heading into the woods but I'm trying to worry less about my starts and focus more on the race as a whole. The pace began to settle but my HR was still off the charts and I started to fall back. I was still in a decent size group but that would change once we hit the jeep road. The group opened up on the jeep road as the real ascending began. Man, I suck as a climber. Most of the group rolled off and dudes from the other waves started to pass me. I got to blood rock feeling better after recovering on the screaming fast decent on the backside of the jeep road. I zipped through blood rock, zipped down the fast decent and then finished the lap way slower than I was hoping, about 4 minutes slower. Damn. I started the 2nd lap wondering if I was going to be able to keep any speed. Nope. As soon as the climbs started before the jeep road, I was toast. My HR was relatively low, but I had no gas. My legs just felt dead, which is what has been happening to me in all of my expert races. I slow down to recover but it seems like I never actually recover or regain any power. I crawled back up the jeep road (while getting passed by pro woman Shonny Vanlandingham), was excited to roll down blood rock amongst the cheers and cameras, and then just settled into a slow pace to finish the race. The slow pace was not only the result of a bonk but also an admission of defeat as I finished my 2nd lap 9 minutes slower than my first lap. I finished the race in 2:47 for 11th place. Ahh, that feeling of total disappointment consumed me yet again. Train so damn hard and and then feel like total shizit when you blow up during a race. Oh well- I will stay on task and defeat this! I will figure out expert races and I will progress out of mid/rearpack to a top 5er. I will, I have to- this is what consumes me- the hunger for competition, the hunger to kick ass, the desire to succeed, the desire to be a stud expert! I am also confident that Drew will get me to where I need to be. He has the plan and I have the will and motivation and tenacity to get better, WAAAY better!


The new-look crew ready to roll!





It was a great weekend overall. Char got 2nd in 30-39 sport while Rad won 30-34 sport. There was quite a few riders from Florida who did very well this weekend. It was cool seeing and chatting with most of them at the race. The day ended at the park with the awards ceremony being held under a pavillion due to the nasty storms that showed up. From here Char and I had dinner at Ruby Tuesday then hit the road. Our trips are pretty good for us because we can escape the daily grind and talk. We get to talk about so much in the car and enjoy each other's company. Those are the times when you realize what you have and why you are really with that person sitting in the other seat. Once in Florida, we stopped and had a late dinner at Waffle House, which was damn good and then arrived home late, like past midnight late.


Monday I had off from work so I slept in and then picked up Avery from school early to meet Char for lunch. From there I took Avery to Happy Acres to sign her up for summer camp. That place looked pretty cool with all of the activities that they have- such as horseback riding, archery, a lake for swimming & fishing, a pool and so on. I think she is going to have a great summer break!


This week is a transition week for me as far as training. Most of it is easy rides but I did have a hard interval session last night. As I was starting my raod ride at the beach last night I noticed that the County Line group ride was about to start. This is a very fast ride so I decided to jump in to make sure I could still hang and to check out the new course out to Nocatee. Plus, these rides are just plain fun because they are just like an actual road race. The ride did indeed get fast as soon as we crossed A1A at Mickler's. I decided to attack going up the bridge on 210 but when I got to the top I had left the group but I had to slow for them at the bottom because I didn't know the new route. Once I got back in the group, the pace kicked up and once my HR rate got in the 180's, it stayed there for the rest of the ride. Man, they were rolling! I would work then recover over and over and I then started to sit in as we headed back so I could be recovered for the sprint. But the ride came to a screeching halt for me with about 10 miles left- a FLAT! Ugh! I pulled off the road with my HR at 178 and changed my tube while being attacked by these giant yellow flies. What the hell are those mean little suckers? Anyhow, as I was putting my rear wheel back on, I noticed that the tire was flat again. Great, now I'm stuck because I only had 1 tube and 1 CO2. I always have my cell phone with me so I started making calls but I was getting no answers. About this time a woman in a car pulled over and asked if needed help. I wasn't sure what to say because I was a nasty, sweaty mess with a bike and she had a very nice, new Acura with leather and all the bells and whistles. She insisted on giving me a ride so we lowered her rear seats and put my bike in through the trunk. Wow, this lady (her name was Trisha) was too damn nice! We chatted along the way, she told me where she lived (Sawgrass) and she asked me what I did and whatnot. When I told her what I did for a living she perked up and said that her boyfriend was into the same thing and asked if my company was hiring. I asked what he did and she said he was a retired sonar tech in the Coast Guard. I said, "No way, I was a sonar tech in the Navy!" To make a long story short, I gave her my contact info when she dropped my off, thanked her numerous times, asked if I could pay her for the ride and told her (again) how incredibly awesome she was. Man, its good to know that there are some really nice people out there...