Second Cat 5 Race In The Books!

It has been a little longer between races than I wanted but this past weekend I completed my second Cat 5 race. This week's race was the Kirkwood Road Race. It was a 3 loop circuit of 7 hilly miles each loop. I was a little surprised by how hilly the course was especially with a hill that was 2.8 miles long with an elevation change of 254 feet. That hill was also the last 2.8 miles of each loop, so yes, basically an uphill finish. Until official results are posted, I finished somewhere around 5th or 6th in the race. Unfortunately, I missed a break in the first loop on the descent and 4-5 guys stayed off the front. I was a bit tentative on the first descent as it was congested and the guy next to me kept locking his brakes and mentally still somewhat nervous after crash with the car in The Mon Tour, I found myself towards the back of the pack being to cautious. Once at the bottom and starting the climbs, I dropped everyone else but could not get any closer to the 4-5 guys who broke away early. Because of missing the move and dropping most others on the climbs, I found myself alone on the windy day which made it even tougher to gain ground on the lead group. Now the Cat 5 under 40 group started 5 minutes before so I had the motivation of passing nearly 75% of that race to try and pull myself closer to the leaders of my race. I think to still average 21.1 mph given the amount of climbing (1240 feet total) is a very good result.

I know as I continue to gain my confidence back from the crash, I will be better able to mark these breaks and stay closer to the front. I also feel the way workouts have been progressing, I will be the one initiating some of these breaks. That will be nice since Cat 5 races can be dangerous as everyone has told me.

Workouts continue to go exceptionally well and definitely continue to grow in focus. I am also starting to get a bit more aggressive in my attacks of descents which will go a long way in racing. July was my biggest month to date of training. I easily rode my bike further than I have driven my car the last 3-4 months.

New training totals:
Week - 7 rides/ 280 miles/ 13hours 32minutes/ 20.7mph/ 7396 feet of climbing
July - 32 rides/ 1346 miles/ 65hours 51minutes/20.5mph/ 39,470 feet of climbing
Year - 215 rides/ 7585 miles/ 354hours 54minutes/ 21.6mph

This week's goals:
325-50 miles/ 15-16 hours of riding/ 9-10,000 feet of climbing

I have been looking for a race to do this week but there is nothing to close to here this weekend. I have decided to hold off on the stage race until I feel 100% comfortable about attacking descents, especially if in a crowd.

Here's to hoping I can find a race as I feel anxious to get back out there!!!

TdO '11!!

My Own Tour Complete!

Today marked the end of one of the most exciting TdF's in quite some time. Cadel Evans put in the Time Trial of his life to take back 57 seconds from Andy Schleck to win the tour by 1:34. The Schleck brothers managed to hold podium spots and finish 2nd and 3rd. It was the 3rd consecutive year that Andy has finished 2nd. With the amount of possible GC contenders there are now in cycling, unless he learns to Time Trial, I am not sure if he will win the TdF. The highlight of the the TdF for me was the 10 day stretch and defense of the Yellow Jersey by Thomas Voeckler. He and Team Europcar did an amazing job of bringing back the pageantry of the tour. I was happy to see him hold his 4th place position after the Time Trial. I know possible positive samples may be found out later but for now the tour seems more popular in years.

The hardest part of the last day is now waiting till the next TdF. It is always a great motivator everyday to get out there and train. This week was a brutal week of training with the weather. We just went through a huge heat wave in Central PA. We had a heat index reading of 122 two days ago. The humidity was some of the worst have ever felt since I moved here. The other day when I started my ride at 8am, the heat index was already 96 and when I finished 2 hours later it read 110. Today was humid but the heat index was only in the 90's during my ride. This week wound up being my biggest week of training to date. I have never felt so strong on the bike.

New Training Totals:
Week - 8 rides/ 342 miles/ 16hour 25minutes/ 21.0mph/ 6511 feet of climbing
Month - 25 rides/ 1,065 miles/ 52hours 19minutes/ 20.4mph/ 32,075 feet of climbing
Year - 208 rides/ 7304 miles/ 529hours 02minutes/ 21.2mph

My Tour de PA/NJ Totals
1023 miles/ 50hours 15minutes/20.4mph/ 31,283 feet of climbing

I am looking forward to racing this weekend but I have also looked into a possible stage race. Tomorrow I will begin to add weight training back into the schedule. I can definitely use a little more power on the pedals when climbing the hills. This week's goals with the race - 250-275 miles and 8000 feet of climbing.

This week's race:
http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?EventID=11667

Possible Stage Race:
http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=12479


TdO '11!!!

Biggest Week On The Bike!

Week Two of the Tour de France is now in the books and what an interesting week it was. Surprisingly, my boy Voeckler is holding on to the Yellow Jersey. He has been a true champion in defending the "maillot jaune" and hanging with all the expert's GC contenders. I am not sure if he will be able to hold it through the Alps but if the GC contenders are not careful he could win it. His true downfall could be the Time Trial next Saturday should he hold the jersey that long. The stages through Alps include some of the greatest climbs in TdF history: Col du Galibier and the 21 switchbacks of Alpe d’Huez. It promises to be a great last week to the TdF.

This past week was my biggest training week since I have been on the bike. I have been incredibly strong on the bike and sometimes find myself searching out some of the biggest hills and climbs in the area. This past week I made to treks up the cross-country teams favorite hill: Dam Hill. My next major climb is to tackle Jack's Mountain. I just have to figure out a nice route to get there so I can tackle it relatively fresh. When I do ride the flats it seems to come with a lot of ease. Like today, after my early big climbs, I had a 25 mile stretch in 1:05:19 or 23mph with my heart rate only at 79%. New training totals:

Week: 7 rides/ 320 miles/ 15hours 28minutes/ 20.7mph/ 9867 feet of climbing
July: 17 rides/ 723 miles/ 35hours 53minutes/ 20.2mph/ 25564 feet of climbing
Year: 201 rides/ 6962 miles/ 324hours 55minutes/ 21. 5mph

Goals for this week:
7 rides - 300+ miles- 10,000 feet of climbing

I am having a tough time finding races for this weekend, that are relatively close but the race for July 30th is a definite. I am also cleared to start adding weight training into the training schedule. The back finally feels good enough to start and also get back into some good core work.

http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?EventID=11667

TdO '11!

Some Major Climbing And The Craziest Tour Start!

About to watch the TdF replay on Versus! What a crazy week on the Tour. I have never seen so many crashes in the early stages like this. Unfortunately the silly crashes are starting to take out some of the GC contenders as well as some well know cycling names. I feel I am with a lot of people when I believe there are just too many riders on these narrow French roads. The organization seriously needs to look at reducing the number of teams in the tour or reduce the number of riders a team can start. As for my Team Lipstrong (my fantasy team) it has been a very strong week. The first full week ends with one of my riders in Yellow (Voeckler) and one in Green (Gilbert). As the tour heads to its first real climbing days later in the week, I look for some big points out of Voeckler, Sanchez and Conego with Gilbert battling for the Green.

The TdF definitely makes one motivated to get out and ride. This week was a very good week with the first four days riding the hills of the Poconos, including my first Category 3 climb with a 600 feet climb in 3 miles. On one of my days in the Poconos, I had my biggest day of climbing with 2993 feet of total climbing. In told this week was my biggest week of climbing with 13326 feet of total climbing in 7 rides. Coming back to Selinsgrove to finish off the week of training made the hills around here feel so easy.

New Totals:
Week - 7 rides/ 289 miles/ 14 hours 49minutes/ 19.50mph/ 13326 feet climbing
July - 10 rides/ 404 miles/ 20hours 24minutes/19.80mph/ 16157 feet of climbing
Year - 194 rides/ 6596 miles/ 309hours 27minutes/ 21.50mph

I know I wanted to race more often this summer but I do have my next race picked. It is scheduled for July 30th.

Kirkwood Road Race - 34KM
http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=11667

I am hoping to find something the week before but for now this is the next one.

This week's goals:
300 miles/ 10,500 feet of climbing

Back to watching the craziness of the tour!!!

TdO '11!!!

Great Riding & Great Motivation - TdF '11 Has Started!

No better motivation each summer to train, than the start of the Tour de France! This Tour is already shaping up to be a very interesting after just two stages. I also feel I have my best Fantasy Team in all the years they have had the Fantasy Challenge. Yes, they have a Fantasy League for the TdF!

Training continues to go well and I am now searching out all the hills in Central pa. My new Garmin is the greatest invention in the world. It makes logging all workouts so easy and gives me so much pertinent information such as elevation, grade of hills, heart rate, cadence and total elevation gain throughout a ride. I also joined Strava.com where I am involved with the King of the Mountain Contest. I currently am the KOM on nearly every categorized hill in Central PA. I have become the biggest tech and training information junkie...lol.

This past week was an amazing week of training. With the Garmin, I can actually do true workouts as I can better monitor them. I did end up back on the trainer for one day as it rained and thunder nearly all day here. It was tough to be back on the trainer after 4+ weeks on the road. This week was also my biggest week of climbing as it nearly totaled 10,500 feet giving me 24,955 feet of climbing in 3 weeks. New training totals:

Week - 8 rides/ 298 miles/ 14hours 46minutes/ 20.40mph
June - 31 rides/1,160 miles/ 55hours 44minutes/ 20.90mph
Year - 187 rides/ 6353 miles/ 294miles 37minutes/ 21.60mph

I am looking forward to the next 4 days of training as I am in the Poconos for the week. I am hoping to tackle some of the biggest hills around. It is going to be so much fun and it's my first true vacation in years. I am also searching schedules for my next race. I really need to race some more but just wish CAT 5 races were longer. Also, staring to plan the TdO '11 as my brother is hear on this vacation.

Keep training hard and smart!

The Epic Cycle continues!