Posted on

Stoney Marathon 2013

Stoney Marathon has been one of the Tail-Wind races that I have avoided in the last 3 years of racing. It used to be a double points race and, that I did not need the points. The race just does not look that enticing from the outside…and I found that it is equally hard from the inside.

Sport 50 to 59 does 4 laps of a 10 mile circuit that features just about everything you get from all the other races (sans big climb, but we even had a couple water ‘crossings’ today due to some run off). There are technical sections and board walk and stone gardens. The start temperature was a cool 53 degrees, but forecast was an accurate 70ish degrees at noon, so the weather was nice for a race. I used this longer race to continue to tune up for the LumberJack 100 in just 3 weeks. Working on race-time nutrition, hydration and the mental aspects of LumberJack are pretty key to me…I am actually not looking too forward to this race as of today. Last weekend I did an 83 mile ride on the MTB and covered a couple of the area’s mtb courses. My lower back seems to give out before my legs…I need to work on that (core every night, stretching, nutrition.)

Willy did a great job getting my bike back together on Saturday. I took it out for a spin at the Fort and after the Red loop, noticed my front tire was low on air, pumped it up and did the Blue loop. Again, when complete the tire was low, but Stands takes a while to settle in on a new tire, so not worried. Pumped up the tire, and put it away until Sunday morning.

Race day came and the tire pressure was low again, but I did not want to mess with pulling off the tire and ‘re-standsing’ it, figured-during the race the stands would firm up along one of the 4 laps, but I put my tire pump near the lap chute so I could check between laps. Somehow, I only felt that the pressure was low in the last 100 yards of the race and, when I checked, the tire was too low to register the pressure gage, so I pumped up the front tire each time…good to go. Lost some time, but I missed the podium by 3 minutes, not sure that I spent more than 20 seconds in the pit each lap…so whether I had to pump it up or not, probably did not make a difference. Another race in the books. Adam Cefai did his usual great job and finished 2nd for sport single speeds. I took 6th-just missing hardware two races in a row.

All good. Cheers. Jack Miner.

Posted on

Tail Wind Series-Island Lake 2013

Temperature was mid 50s.  Adam Cefai was in the house and it was great to see him and warm up with him prior to the race.  Experts returned and gave reports that the track was running fast.  We lined up a little before 1pm and chatted with all of the ‘usual suspects’.  I said good bye to Adam as he was going to start behind the sport class.  My good friend Gary was there, realized that I did not have my transponder on.  Starter said, no problems…they would track me based on my number.

We rolled.  Gary took a wide sprint to the right to get into a cleaner line.  Gary and I have been racing each other for years, I figured that was the last I would see him.  Nice little pitch up to start the race kept us well bunched together and I could see the front  guy run away, but the rest of us were pretty close to each other.

The new course has us going through the woods on a lopping carving path that is not hard, but is difficult to keep speed.  I stayed with the top 5 riders and pushed from the back until we had a chance to pass.  Gary was in 3rd wheel when we go to some nice straight lines.  I recovered on his wheel and chatted with him about how some fat tire guy flew through the curves like he was on skis.

We got to the first road crossing and I passed Gary and told him to take my wheel and I would pull for a while.  As we came up to a choke point in the turn, one guy squeezed by me, but I figured Gary was still on my 6.  He was actually rubbed off at the choke point and so I drove up to be next to the guy who slid past me as we hit the wash outs on the west side of the course.

No real action, one or two single speeds came by, then I heard Adam call me.  I slid over and let him pass, he was about 20 seconds behind the two guys in front of him.

I rode the wheel of a couple guys who were keeping a good pace in some tight single track and the guy behind me was calling out turns and obstacles like a rally driver’s co pilot.  We made the hard left onto the yellow course.

We looped through the Blue Lot start and were in the final stretch.  I was passed by Mr. Sharphorne.  I respect the crap out of this guy.  I pushed hard to stay with the 72 year old legend and as we came up to the finishing loop.  I hung on his wheel, could have passed, but felt it was heresy to do so.  I pulled along next to him in the last 100 yards and he saw me out of the corner of his eye.  He picked up the tempo a bit and I said I was not going to challenge him for the line and let him get in front of me.  Sometimes you don’t need a yellow jersey to get a great deal of respect.

I finished somewhere in the top 10, but had a great ride with some great people.

Jack Miner.

 

Posted on

A week in review…

Nutrition (weight loss) Power training (increasing power) and long rides (endurance) are all parts of the weekly training program for the next few weeks.  Some of it I like, some of it I dread, but in combination, I think it is all making a difference.  Tomorrow is my weigh in and today I will do my power test to see if I can add 4 watts to my power and hopefully see 2 pounds off my weight tomorrow.

Having to travel this week will throw a wrench in the specific training plan, but I should be able to work around it (running instead of riding, weights instead of TRX) there seems to be no end to the ways in which you can torture yourself with or without a bike.  Nutrition seems to be easier when I travel, though portion size is an issue in our American Eat-at-the-trough/plate the size of a boat/feed the whole family-per order for $12.99 idiotic behavior.  The good news is that it is cold enough that I can eat half of what I am given, put the rest in the car for later and keep the portion size more realistic.

Thankfully, it is 5 weeks to the Barry Roubaix and any set backs that happen now can be overcome.  I have been fighting something (flu maybe) and I am convinced that taking echinacea every day is keeping this at bay, but I am still fatigued…getting old may be what I am feeling, but I would rather blame fending off the flu than denying my age.

Winter’s end is just around the corner.  Finish Strong.

Jack.

Posted on

Nutrition, Training and Recovery

I am doing some very intensive TRX work with a trainer who tells me that nutrition is the 4th event of a triathlon.  I have no desire to do a tri-, but the same advice holds for any athlete I suspect.  I don’t wrestle with nutrition between 5 am and 7 pm, but when I get tired after 8 o’clock at night, sweets become a siren song to me and I can rarely abstain.  I have tried all sorts of tricks, but I think the reality is that it is (simple to say and difficult to control) self discipline.

At our Tuesday night indoor training last night, I got an earful from our cycling coach about not recovering enough.  He has an uncanny ability to know what my effort level is, how I am feeling and what I am up for even before my heart rate monitor or power meter is registering a byte.  I know the value of recovery, but I question the difference between pushing yourself hard to get more fit and stronger and being a wimp by not going harder than you have gone in the past.

It is very clear, doing the same thing that I always did creates the same results, so I am pushing.  I don’t think I have ever over-trained in my life (although I do know the affects of lack of motivation and this I pay attention to) and so I think my lack of energy is a combination of dropping my calorie intake, going anaerobic once a week for a very intense TRX work out and trying to ever increase my power output…most of these things are very individual and only the cyclist knows how he or she should push it….but I wonder…..

Less then 6 weeks to Barry Roubaix

Go WSI/Team Active Racing

Jack

Posted on

Thursday 2 by 20’s

Woke up Thursday morning and it felt like my legs were beat all night long with a baseball bat.  Although Advil PM helps me sleep through the aches and pains of a good day’s effort, I am certainly groggy when my alarm goes off.  I was thinking, TRX is definitely going to be a game changer…if I survive.

Packed my road bike and complement of trainer, water bottles and bike clothes into my car and headed off to catch up with a half dozen guys who I have been riding with every Tuesday and Thursday night in the off season for the last 4 years.  Without these masochists and a leader who lives in the hurt locker, I would be a puddle of goo when the first race occurs each year.

We warmed up nicely and then defined our workouts based on our abilities as measured by our power meters.  This device has kept me from becoming my historically delusional self.  Just because you don’t get dropped when everyone is on a trainer, does not mean you can keep up with them on the road…the power meter creates the mathematical equivalent of the difference between a Cat 4 and a Cat 2…just look at your watts.

20 minutes at a medium plus effort can be taxing, even if it feels relatively easy in the first 5 or 10 minutes, toward the end of the effort, I am always wishing it were over.  2 twenty minute efforts are a good wake up call when facing a 2 hour race in just over 6 weeks.  I finished my 2 by 20’s and kept my watts right about where I was hoping…the TRX put pain in my calves and quads..again, hoping that the next few weeks will change my prospects in the upcoming cycling season.

Go WSI/Team Active Racing

Jack