Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Training Article #3 is up ready for viewing and comments. The last of 3 instalments tock a bit but I hope we can all get through it without scratching our heads too much!
check out article 1 HERE
and 2 HERE if you missed them.

have a safe and fun New years every one!
a christmas skiing pic for everyone. as you can see i'm tired!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Silverman Half ironman




This was really a fantastic weekend. I meet and hung out with some great people. the race was run very well, per usual, competition was high and the racing, epic. I could go on forever about all the non-race stuff but I’ll get right to it.
Race morning was the normal, are we really getting up this early?, deal. On the bus, down to lake mead to get thing organized. Plenty of time, stretching, food, hydrate. The Full athletes were out on course and I began my quick swim warm up 5’ before the start.
The weather was great when we got there… to good. As it got closer to go time the wind picked up, a lot. White caps formed, it hailed, rained and got sunny all at once. The kayakers were calling in saying they couldn’t see anything let alone help someone if need be. then we saw lightning. “everyone out of the water!” crap! I thought. This blows. A hour delay of huddling in the tent with a few hundred others. Mean while the full IM race was battling 4 foot waves and 30+ mph winds. The storm cell passed and we went for it. As I knelt down at the edge of the water to do my usual; set of hail Mary’s before a triathlon swim I looked out at the rough water and felt really good. “I am gona crush this swim!” my swimming had come along way in the 2 month prep. I was ready. the count down began as we all did the “creep”. Maca yelling “hold, hoooold” in Braveheart fashion with his huge smile gleaming out. Every one was happy, nervous and fired up to go. I lined up in fount, like normal, acting like I was the next Phelps, needing to get the best start possible. Hey… it only takes 1 sec. to lose. I found my rhythm quickly, a good sign and never really got into the burn phase. I felt strong and pushing into the head wind in the second half I was catching people. nice! Get me to my BIKE!!! I kept thinking…

T1. normal chaos. People trying to take my wet suit off, “are you Ok? Do you need anything? Are you cold, hypothermic? Cramping?” Dude! I have only been in the water for 33 minutes! I’m fine!
Off on the bike:

This year they added the relay to the half. This made it hard to figure out where I was. But I went with my normal motto. ABP. Always Be Passing. The roads were wet the sun was out an the tail wind in the first bit had me cruising nicely and kept my intensity down. A tip for you all, don’t ride in the gutter on race day! there is all kinds of “stuff” in there! Along with wet roads people were getting flats all over the place. I felt bad as I would never wish a flat on anyone but come on your kinda asking for it.
Approaching the turn around at mile 22 I counted the riders in front of me. It seemed that Maca had only about 10’ on me at this point. Less that last yr I thought. However there were still 16 people in front of me. Ok steady EK, lets dish out some rodie wattage! My alter racing ego “Chris” starting to wake up. From here to the finish was head wind, head wind and more head wind. Add in some hills and I was now passing people. Every time I did Chris would yell 15!, 14!, “sit down poser, 13!” Chris is a great racer, very knowledgeable, and knows me very well, of course, but the guy would knock a baby carriage over to beat you to end of the aisle in a grocery store.
The hills got bigger and I pushed harder. I was hurting but the watts kept coming. Up the 3 sisters (3 short, 18% hills back to back) I push more, harder, faster. I was passed by a relay guy about 15 miles from the finish. “are you a relay?” I said. “Yeah, I am. I think your 3rd right now?”
3rd!?! I’ll take that!. Chris chimed in. “3rd! you F#@** sally! That sucks, you gona settle for that!?! Lets get on it!!”
I push more coming into town. I tock every second I could. I scared one road marshal pretty good with the speed of one of my turns. I almost hit a cone in the road. Almost ran into a fence on one turn, went up on a side walk, and did a fair bit of drooling.
Stats:
257 avg. Power
269 norm
VI 1.05
Avg. Cadence 91
Time 2:46:00
Bike place, 1st amateur
avg. HR 172
effort on a 1-10 scale. 11

T2 was pretty smooth. Off pretty quick. I was glad to have Infinit this yr. on the run. so key. First mile was pretty chill. Flat to down hi. I clocked a 7:30 or 7:45 somthing. to fast but it was down hill and I was feeling good. I had to pee but didn’t want to stop then realized that I should tighten up my left shoe. My foot hurt. Mile 2 came, quick pee, forgot the shoe. My foot still hurts.
At mile 3 I was still under 8’ miles. Nice! I thought. HR was good. felt good. At mile 4 I was passed by, who was now, my AG leader. I held him at 30” for some time, a few miles. Right on 8’ miles now. Chris said, “that guy is going down! Hold him until the last ½ mile! There is no way he has a bigger VO2 than you. You will DESTROY HIM!” good plan. I kept pushing. Approaching half way I started feeling it, big time. That last mile or so of the long windy hills that are the Silverman run really got me. As I crested the last bit and turned onto mile 6 he was gone. No way I could get him. I fired down the last bit of my go-go mixture and kept yelling at my self. Finally to the down hills and I could let the legs go now. More, stronger, quicker, faster faster, FASTER!!! started grabbing Coke but decided I didn’t need it. The Infinit had me totally toped off. With 2 to go I was on full auto pilot, trying to not crack. Head up, big breaths. Comprehension was gone, I couldn’t understand anything anyone was saying. I grabbed some water as I passed a huge crowed a people yelling and parting like crazy at the last mile marker (a local bar throws a huge party, its get pretty rowdy there) around a corner water spilling out of my mouth, I was at top speed, this was it. I was passed by a relay guy. “I’m a relay” he said, “blah, blah, blah, he sounded like the teacher in Charlie Brown. “the next guy is REALY far back”. I was glad to hear that. I relaxed and ease up just a tad…
Yep, you got it Chris chimed in right away! “Hey! What the F%#** are you doing!! What does “really far back” mean? Who is that guy anyway? He doesn’t know you run like a injured walrus!” get on it! We don’t slow down just cause we can! This is a RACE remember! Go your own pace on your own time! This is MINE TIME!
As I said before Chris is smart. In the last half mile rounding a turn I looked back. And I’m glad I did. A tall figure wearing all back was there, hunting me down like a lion chasing that old or weak zebra, lagging at the back of the pack. You’ve seen it happen, you don’t want it to, you pray and yell for the under dog but you can see it in the hunters eyes. He gona get dinner. Its just a mater of time. For the hunter chasing me (a guy who beat me last year) time was running out, the finish was in site and I was now killing the pace. Longer strides EK, quicker, push more, knees up up UP!!
Down the chute, I was still clear.


Run:
7:57 miles, 1:44
164 avg HR
Very hard.

Over all:
4th amateur, 6th over all
http://www.silvermannv.com/downloads/08_RESULTS/SILVER08A-overall-half.TXT

I treated my self to a massage, a beer and a few rounds of food as I waited for my new friends to finish. Trading stories feeling pretty bad ass about my 4th place, over all, amateur effort we saw an “operation rebound” athlete finish. These are Guys and gals who have been injured in the line of duty. I Iraq mostly. Watching some one with 1 arm or no legs finish this race is humbling to say the least. Very humbling. When this guys came trough every one cleared a path. They all got the biggest applause, and everyone would walk by put there hand on there shoulder to say congratulations. As I left the venue I passed an operation rebound athlete. I put my hand out to shake his, he shock my hand without hesitation, “Thanks” I said, looking straight into his eyes. He nodded. I said nothing else, nothing else needed to be said.
On the way back to the hotel I instantly had a bus full of new friends. We shared stories of the race, the wind, the hills, we joked, laughed, complemented each other, you know, the whole deal.
The whole weekend was great. As I said I could write for ever. Getting lost in the hotel casino, going out in Vegas the night after, texting, the yoga class, “what is this bag for”, it goes on forever.
Thanks to all who supported me and every one else. The race directors and volunteers. Congrats to everyone who showed up and gave it 110%.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Silverman Triathlon

The Silverman Triathlon took place this past weekend in Epic fashion. As if the usual winds and terrain wasn't enough Mother nature through in a few strong storm cells that saw the 1/2 race delayed for an hour, 3 foot plus swells on the swim that came up out of no where while the full distance racers were half way through the swim. hail, some rain, sun, and some serious wind.
full race report HERE


This is a phrase I have tried to live by for a long time. It is the back bone to EK Endurance Coaching and has served us well. However, when see a veteran with 1 leg or 1 arm or no legs finish this race as the "operation rebound" athletes did... it takes on an even higher meaning.
Checking out the bike course the day before. Where I would have to lay down my big effort to be up there with the leaders.
Vegas! I caught up with a friend that nite and celebrated Las Vegas style!

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

VO to the Max!

Yesterday I spent some time with my new company partner, Nick Ranno at the Boulder Performance lab.

unfortunately this time was not spent chatting over coffee and pastries. it involved my getting blood drawn several times, riding to failure with a tube in my month, nose clipped and drooling like a rabid cow.

After the testing was over I sat down with Nick to go over what we had just done. I knew, for the most part, what things would say. However there was much data that I didn't even know was possible to obtained. The usefulness of this info made my mind explode with ideas and it wasn't long before Nick and I were pointing at the data and getting giddy at what this all meant.





My spin scan. a little right leg dominent, nothing major. my hips are a bit twisted and i expected this. Mechelle at Releaf Therapy is working on this issue. A pluss about my pedaling was that it was most efecient AT theshold wattage



A clip of me pedaling around FT wattage.

VO2 MAX
Last clip of me about 3 minutes from failure. Link to good vid. above. I can't get it to embed? The data that BPL gets from this is remarkable. The ratio of fat to carbs I am burning at any giving intensity! “Gotta be kidding me!” I said to Nick. The implementation of this lactate test and V02 test goes very deep into a long term training plan. I used to think that a VO test is cool But the number it gives is not nearly as trainable as FT wattage and therefore more of a bragging number. However when all of this info is put together it paints the most complete picture of an athlete one can ask for. The bottom line, It’s worth it. Also having Nick, a scientist and former Pro athlete him self, you really get the full experience. He knows what’s its like to be an athlete, and he knows this data inside and out.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

New Site!

Hello every one. The new web site is UP!!

yeah!!!

http://ekendurancecoaching.com

“The Off season”


Training article number 1 in my 3 part series. This will be a 3 part series guiding you through this time of rest, recovery and planning. It will help you identify and define what the Off Season is for you, how to manage it, find your weakness, plan for next year and get started with your preparation so that your at 100% for your next big event!

aslo see it on Road Bike Review and XTri.com

Friday, October 03, 2008

the wins start to pile up!



Tim case RAAm solo racer, friend and client is recovering and doing well. after a 100 mile road race this past Saturday Tim saddled up on his single speed mountain bike and scored another win for the EK Endurance Coaching team! nice work Tim!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

It's Cross Time!

In the spirit of this time of year, client, Brandon Eifrid rocked his second big race of the season by placing 3rd in the Eldora MTB race this past weekend.
Brandon said to me “I pretty much think that was my best race this season, my legs just felt "fresh" all through that race!”
Congratulations B you deserve it!

Also I have put up a cyclocross article is up HERE. If your wondering whether or not to dive into this after a hard season of road racing or triathlons check it out.
Sample training plan attached!!
It can also be viewed on road bike review. HERE.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Fall Training Camp

here's the details:


Train like a pro for a week in Boulder, CO.
Welcome to the 2008 Fall edition of the EK Endurance Coaching advanced cycling camp. During the 5 days of concentrated training in Boulder, CO you will ride some of the most classic rides in the US. See the most amazing vistas and get in some of the best, most effective training ever! This is a great opportunity for anyone training for late season races, like Silverman, IM AZ, IM Hawaii, late season RR like the Everest challenge stage race or to build base for cyclo cross. Or… lets face it, for those who just love to ride!!

Included in this camp:
1. Hotel accommodations, including breakfast and pool
2. Full Soigneurs support through out every ride. Food, drink, extra clothing, mechanical support.
3. Nightly analysis of your ride and training consultation by the coaches.
4. Massage (30’) every night by a pro team soigneurs, Jeff Cole.
5. Infinit Nutrition, (nutrition sponsor) free product and discounts for you after camp. 6. Free Schwag from our other sponsors.
7. Guest pro rider will join us for a day of training.
8. Boulder, CO. you ask for more than that!!

Dates and Itinerary
· September 7th to the 12th 2008
· Sunday, Sept 7th arrive at DIA airport.
· Mon. Sept. 8th. Morning briefing and breakfast. Ride 3 hr.
· Tue. Sept. 9th Mountain. ride 4+ hr.
· Wed. Sept. 10th Mountain ride 4+ hr.
· Thursday Sept. 11th Mountain ride 3-4 hr.
· Fri. camp debriefing, short ride, depart.

Fitness Level
You should be comfortable riding for 3 or more hours a day for several days in a row. Be an accomplished pack rider in all types of terrain. Know how to take care of your self on the bike in bad weather conditions, rain cold, heat. Be able to change a flat and do simple on the road repairs. Most importantly have a good sprit! While you need to be an advanced cyclist to participate in this camp you should be searching to get there. This is NOT a camp for the beginner or novice athlete.

Camp Cost
Flights not included.
We will be making 1 or 2 pick ups at Airport. There is also a shuttle for off time flights.
Deposit of $350 will hold your spot.
Contact Eric to find out about discount for Boulder area athletes or athletes not needing housing.
$1100 (Register before 8/25/08)

Eric's contact info at right.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Mt Evans Hill climb data report and client update

This past sat was the Mt Evans Hill Climb.
check out my report and wattage data thoughts HERE!
Additional thoughts are welcome!
(just made a few edits and adjustments...)

Also a big congratulations to Helen King for finishing IM SW. a brutal day of rain and tough winds. Helen training was falling short with the UK weather, traffic and work responsibilities. after some talking and analysis we revamped her training and she crushed her first IM!! Nice job Helen!
Also to Gavin Docherty for a great IM USA in tough conditions as well!! way to be tough!!

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Interview with Tom Case RAAm soloist

I had a great chance to grab Tim Case while out training about his experience of racing the RAAm. yes he is back in the sadle training again for the rest of his road season!!
check it out!

From Tim: "Eric Kenney's expert advice and input prior to and after the Race Across America helped me speed across the country and is now helping me prepare and train for the remainder of the cycling season, and beyond. I'm looking forward to his assistance throughout the coming months and appreciate his attention to my very personal training and nutritional needs."

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

RAAm up date

Is case you have been sleeping, unlike our man Tim below, I’ll give the quick run down.
Tim has over come trouble with his crew, rain storms, sever wind, a case of saddle soars that brought on bad knee pain and had him doing a pedal, pedal coast for almost a full day! forcing him to almost pull out of the race.
After some TLC a new saddle, check out the web site for that, he is feeling better and riding strong again. 3 people have already pulled out in the men’s solo category, due to injury or accident!
Keep plugging away Tim! Never give up!

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Client starts RAAm



Client and friend Tim Case has started the 2008 RAAm. The Race Across America is his number one goal of the year. Could you imagine doing it as a C race? I guess not… Keep up with his progress HERE on the RAAm web site and his site HERE.
When you to bed tonight send him a prayer as he’ll need it riding through the night, barely sleeping for 7 days or so!

Tim is a full time fire fighter in Boulder, CO. his sch. is all but normal. Working 24 hour shifts every other day makes for an interesting training plan. This was hard to over come but his focus and determination were of the highest I have ever seen. I except to see good things from him!

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Another Client report

I can't keep up... With so many clients kicking butt! Think I need to start drinking even more of my own kool aid!?!

This past weekend Client and friend Dan Schutez moved into a break away early in the very windy, 78 miles Hugo RR. His rivals dwindled and he roared to the line for a great second place finish over coming cramps in his left leg that kept him from getting out of the saddle for the final sprint! With his confidence hi he awoke Sunday morning and put the hurt on again in down town Denver with another second place! Nice work Dan! After a frustrating start to his road season his legs are coming around. He is now a cat 2 and will be racing with the big boys!! Dan trains and competes for cross country ski racing all winter. His impressive results are proof that he is a man of many talents and much determination.
We will now be working on Dan’s sprint…

Saturday, May 31, 2008

riding at 12,000 feet

Pics from a training ride up trail ridge road.

some power data and analysis coming soon!

some interesting things to look at.







































Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Client report


NH bassed athlete Alex Indeck competed in the Crank the Kank TT this past weekend.
This is one of the hardest ITT’s in the country. Rising some 2300 feet over 22 miles, the ride starts off with long flat and false flat sections before hitting the final accent of 7 miles averaging about 7%!
Alex executed his race plan perfectly, scoring him a 10th place over all, 3rd in his age group and taking over 2 minutes off his best time despite windier conditions and a heavy field! Nice work Alex!


A letter from the man:
"Even with the wind this year, still cut over 2 minutes from last year’s time. I ended up 3rd place in my age group. I had a strong start, but took about 6-7 miles to get my heart-rate down to my upper tempo zone. I came into the finish with the tanks just about empty so I think timing and effort were good. The training plan worked about as close to perfect as could be. Thanks for a great spring training schedule!!! "

Remember to have fun out there everyone!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Tour of the Gila wrap up.


Been getting more couch time than normal lately...
***
***
On may 4th the last day of the Tour of the Gila was complete. My final results were 13th over all. I was a “factor” in ever stage, being active but never got into the top 10.
After a tactically bad first stage and very hard stage 2 I was feeling good and ready for the TT. With the work I had done on the discipline this year I was feeling confident on moving into the top 10 over all. The TT, as you know, was dismal. The last day was my cold was in full affect and I had to change hats from, “I am tearing the leg off everyone and moving way up” to, trying to convince everyone that the easier the pace the better! I have done enough big races to have learned how to do damage control pretty well.
I held on to 13th over all and really can’t complain to much with my performance.
So lets take a look at the preparation. What worked what didn’t…

Max Power: This has been an issue lately. This winter I addressed this in my training.
Weights. I hit the weights over the early winter, trying to build some strength for the hard work to come on the bike.

Sprints/ stomps: Something I never do. I incorporated these into my winter riding as well. Not for speed really but as more of a strength workout, enabling me to handle the repeated accelerations we must do riding in an aggressive pack.

Going faster/ more top end: over all this was my main focus. In every power zone I am strong up to my Critical power. I can ride at or just below it very well for many repeated efforts. After 2 years I was sick of telling stories like “I was only 15 feet from the wining break and just couldn’t finish it off!” After much data and analysis I realized that my endurance and ability to go “fast” after lots of miles and Kilojoules was extremely high it is my “fast” that just is not fast enough. To address this I spent more time working the upper end on my zones. Threshold work was focused on shorter intervals pushing that limit up. 340 watts, to 345, to 350 etc… More 10’ intervals after a warm up instead of 20-40’ intervals after 2-3000 kj’s.
Group rides were added. The sat., winter group ride in Boulder was in full affect this year. 2.5 hours of fast paced action. This was normally finished off with a 30’ climb. not all out but pretty hard. This simulated day 1 of the Gila well. Fast and flat, with a steep killer climb at the end.

More Time trialing: with a TT bike I could now spend more time in that position, at that cadence at that power. This meant a little less climbing but there are only so many hours in the day.

These were the main focal points this year. Does that mean I abandon my strengths? No way. There were still a few super secret training rides in there.
Did it work? I would say yes…
Over all, the race was extremely competitive and hard. The cat 2 only status makes it the hardest race you’ll ever do. I would say all but 5 guys in the field were thinking “this is it. This is my day, my race” it is insanely fast. The attacking was non stop. Stop go stop GO!! Hard, hard attacks all day every day, sands the last. We dropped 20-30 people in the first 20 miles on day 2. Guys who rode well on day 1! The 2 riders right behind me on day 1 were out of any GC hunt. While the extremely unsteady riding may not have suited my strengths and surly softened me up for the final I can only imagine what it would have been like without the strength work outs and group rides I did this year compared to last? Maybe like last year?

Day 1: I did miss the “move” that tock off with 20 miles to go, but I did ride away from the rest of the pack…
Day 2: Despite the relentless pace and non stop attacking I was attacking on the last climb. However I still could not drop my rivals and missed Summerhill when he bridged to the early brake.
Day 3: Everything failed here. Getting sick? Still not enough top end, or was I not “fit” enough to survive the 2 pervious days well enough? I estimated I was 1’ off of what I should have been able to do. No clue on my wattage.
Day 4 Crit: pretty easy for a crit. As can be the case for a stage race crit that is not on the last day.
Day 5: despite being sick I hung tough. I wasn’t “sick” sick, just congested. With a hand full of decongestants, and other miscellaneous pills I was breathing well but a bit foggy in my head and my top end was totally gone. I think I was very lucky that one, we rode pretty easy 90% of the time until the last 15 miles and two our race leader was riding conservatively and slowed after the last big climb allowing my small chase to catch back on preserving my GC position.

Over all, I feel like my prep and training was better. I did better on each stage and in GC in a collectively harder race. While I came up short of what I am capable of and my weakness are still my weakness they are not as big. This is a good example of how training ones weak areas, even if they are not race specific, will result in improvement.
Any ideas or constructive thoughts are welcome.
Happy training every one!

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

What it takes.

Final Tour of the Gila race report up.
For full results go HERE.

What does it take? I get asked this allot. What does it really take to do an Ironman? What does it take to ride the RAAm? What does it take to complete or win a stage race?
Well… it takes allot of things. It takes a lot of food! I found it amusing to look at everything I ate during the 5 days of racing. Here is an estimate of what I ate from the morning of the first stage to the end of the last stage.
...And still lost weight.

6 bagels
½ loaf of bread
½ gallon oj
½ gallon soy milk
8 cups cooked rice
18 eggs
½ honey bear of honey
6 shiner bocks
1 package Oreo cookies
1.5 lb’s pasta
20 oz pasta sauce
½ lb chicken
1 avocado
2 cans tuna
2 package mac& cheese
1 lb’s grape nuts cereal
4 tortillas
½ lb cheese
8oz hot sauce
16 oz pico
6 cans coke
1.5 lb's of coffee

Race food:
25 bottles of sport drink
6 bottles of recover drink
9 power bars
3 cans Go Fast
19 gels

Sunday, May 04, 2008

The race of truth

"When I was your age I walked up hill to school both ways."

"The snow was up to my neck back then!"

"when I did the TT at the Gila in 08 there was a head wind on the way out and the way back!"


believe it or not it was kinda like that...

~me trying to kill the pre TT nerves...

After 2 tough days I was feeling surprisingly good. A nice morning spin had me loosened up and I was feeling motivated. I was going into today 12th on GC and with all the TT work I had done I was thinking of moving into the top ten on GC for sure. However, the wind and more so my legs had other things in mind.
A pic here of me warming up. (coming)
my warm up was good but it didn’t deliver, I finished a horrible 30th place. I wasn’t so upset about the placing on the stage but more the fact that I lost 1 placed on GC instead of moving up. the guys that got dropped early lost a lot of time and I am sure had an easier ride than the front 2 groups. I was expecting a good ride from a few of them.


This had me pretty down but a local pooch came by to cheer me up as I laid down out side of our cottage trying to get through my after noon bonk.
Mistakes today…
None really to note. I could have eaten more maybe but I was very nervous and couldn’t put any more down.
The consensus is that our race is much, much harder than last year. I was thinking this but a few peers have come and said it out loud. Our pack that started out with a perfect 70-75 is now down to almost 50. 50 riders makes the pack, what I call, difficultly small. Meaning there is no where to hide. Gaps open a lot and don’t get closed. Case in point on day 2, by the first feed zone we had dropped 25 guys or so which never got back on.

Friday, May 02, 2008

Gila stage 2

The inner loop RR. Today felt like an a 88 mile hilly crit. The way I felt riding across the rolling road over the divide and the huge leg spasm I had at the bottom of the last climb I was very surprised to attack the final selection on the climb in an attempt to bridge to the early 9 man break. Holy run on!! I am tired, sorry.
The head wind was to much and perhaps more so the ridiculous amount of non stop on and off attacking I had to contend with. I wish I was in the break all day I am sure it was easier than what I did. As the 15 man, what was left of the pack, came back to me on the climb the race leader jumped and bridged to the break. I couldn’t respond at the time. Bad for me as I was left to play armature hour trying to chase with 7+ guys sitting on getting ready to sprint for 14th place.
I finished in the top 20 and the lead break was inside 30 sec. a long effort in the break away for 20 seconds, you say, but as I said, the way things went in the pack I think it was easier in the breakaway. Only tomorrow will tell.
I moved up to 12th. today. the TT will be key.

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Tour of the Gila, Day 1





Windy tough, heavy roads and tactics that made it hard for everyone. Well, some said it wasn’t tough in the pack but I thought it was. I saw Ryan Blew's power file but he is biger than me by alot. I would say i did over 3500Kj's today.


With 25 miles or so to the finish (18 or so to the base of a very nasty finishing climb) a big group, 14, finally got away after a whole race of half ass attempts. When we did hit the climb I felt like my legs had been in an oven for the whole day. You know how you feel when you wake up after sleeping on the beach for 3+ hours that how I felt. But… seems like a few others felt that way too. Up the first kick I was OK. At the front and in control. On the windy plateau there was only 12 guys left or so! OK nice! I thought. I tried to keep it steady. Not long after the finishing 3 miles kicked up I was with one other, then alone. I felt like I was gona crack at any minute but I just kept steady, talking to my self. keep goin EK, just don’t stop, don’t stop.


So 15th on the day. Hopefully the guys in the move burned allot of gas today. Well, more than me. It built my confidence to ride that well. If only that break was pulled back… what would have happened?? I can only hope to keep this up. at the very least its gona be fun.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Air force academy race weekend.

At this point for me racing and even my training sessions are about execution. This weekend I executed poorly. It was not all my fault, never is in cycling, right? “That guy let the wheel go, the tactics were bad, I was behind the crash, flat tire, broken chain, blah, blah, blah. I am not one for excuses so lets talk about what I did have control over and how I could have done better. The pro’s did a great job turning the “climbers” RR course into a non climbers race, sort of. Nailing it in the cross wind and riding easy up the climb. With a dead on head wind it made it very difficult to get away on the climb and very easy to sit in. well maybe not very…
The RR was a tactical game of energy conservation and positioning.
Being able to crush the watts didn’t hurt either…

race reports up!

Sunday, April 13, 2008

I always think I am gonna get caught. Always.

I do. Its a genuine fear. Thats how I run. I'm scared. Scared of making a mistake, scared of falling, blowing up, losing, everything.
It keeps me sharp, focuesd the more scared I am the more prepared I become. Its more a respect I have. For the task at hand, the difficulty of racing in 25+ mph winds on a course I don't know, my teammates, every other ride and the sum that is "The Pelaton" you just never know whats gonna happen.

More pics and video updates from the weekend races.


The drive out...








Day 1 win in the road race. The next day my break away companion told me he did just shy of 3000 Kj's and avg. 300 watts over the 2 hours and 45 minute race.















RR podium

















our eating room. where we spent most of our time when not racing.















My sleep aid..





















This was the best soup I have ever had.

everyone enjoyed it and it was key to our recovery after a long 40 degree, 30 mph windy RR.







Me, hanging on to my main rival in the Circuit race. I was able to drop his teammate while bridging but it burnt a lot of matches. It was worth it. Dealling with one of these guys was hard enough. 2 would have been impossible. The last 45' of the race was a tricky affair of engery conservation and tactics...













This weekend things worked out well. I haven't won a race in some time and while it wasn't the toughest field I have raced in the guy that came in 2nd (whom I was in a 2 man break with for much of the RR) certainly was. Being able to win not the RR but the Circuit race on day 2 as well was something I was not expecting . The team raced well and we took a few more top ten places.

The place we are staying at is pretty sweet! I was expecting to be sleeping on the floor at a frat house but my teammate’s friend has all the fixings. The food and hospitality is over the top. My room even has a sleep enhancer in the room! can't ask for more than that!


race reports coming soon!

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

The Koppenburg







Race report up. check "race report" link at right...



I once heard a sports director say “to win Paris- Roubaix you don’t need good luck, you need to avoid all the bad luck”.
The koppenburg race in Boulder, CO is similar. There is lots of that around. 85% dirt roads, a rutted, dirt, 18% grade, narrow climb and just enough big boys to make things interesting.

Sunday, April 06, 2008

April means Race!



Look out Mt TT.
I was really excited to do this race this year. Last year it tock place while I was at the Gila. I had a short video of the course but I can’t get it to the computer. I was motivated to do a good ride but after a long evening with my better half and some friends on her B-day and some serious training this week I didn’t know how I would go…

Check out the Race Report!

Koppenburg Curcuit race in 5 hours!

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Spring training




It doesn't take long for your view to turn into this when riding east from Boulder. In fact the other day when it was an unusual cloudy day with a bit of bite in the air I was pretty unmotivated to ride. Tired from training, busy with coaching, etc…

The sun came out for about 10’ and I jumped. Felt OK after I got going but after some time of dosing off in a tail wind on my TT bike I looked up and saw this. “What the ?!” I had no clue where I was. Nebraska? Kansas? Well the views were nice and it wasn’t to cold… After checking wind patterns, bird migration and some earth contours I figured out where I was and headed home.

Hey Gang! Its spring! Crazy weather time. Snowing one day sunny the next. Raining and cold one day sunny and down right hot the next. Don’t get down about it! Plan ahead!
~plan your training week.
~plan your work and personal week.
~check the weather, adjust…
~plan for the highest QUALITY training possible!

1 day before this it things looked like this!


Thursday, March 27, 2008

Easter Crit racing


The race this week was better than 2 weeks ago. With a bit of a cold coming on I wasn't sure how well I would go...

As you can see from the pic we did get to the sharp end of the race a few times. however with our key man having 130 miles and a 3rd place in his legs from the day before we missed the move. with 4 Toyota United guys in the move and 4 more or so still in the pack in was turning into a "how race critieriums clinic". I did get up front to chase with Stefano for a while but at 30 MPH I can only ride for so long with 1 other guy. After my futile attempts Tommy D. put the hurt on and brought the move back to a within striking distance but it was to late our hour of fun was over.

Not a bad weekend over all Jim “the man” Mohan scored a 3rd place on sat in a rather stacked field. And while we didn’t hit the podium on Easter Sunday we raced well as a team and showed promise for the rest of the summer!

Saturday, March 08, 2008

Ride the Rockies

The grand Puba of bicycle rides is inching its way towards us.
Ride The Rockies

This ride is said to be one of the in America if not the world!



time to get in shape for this 435 mile killer ride that will leave you more alive than you thought possible. what a training plan thats more than just, "this many miles this week, that many miles that week"

Complete with documents on training zones and how to get yours. tips for self managment with a training plan and for traveling to and riding at altitude!

check out the "Ride the Rockies training plan HERE



First race today stay tuned for a race report later tonight!!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Ride of the day at Tour of Cali


Chipo! (on left) 40 years old, hasn't raced in 3 years and still gets up front for a third place in some wet conditions! a role model for anyone.



Tuesday, January 29, 2008

The Tour of the GILA!!


The tour of the Gila is still pretty far off but if you plan to contend there... or just survive for that matter you better start planning now. This article will be up on a few mosre visited web sites soon. It has first hand tips and info on race logistics, training tips and the major obstacles laid out for you stage by stage! Check it out HERE.

Update

Been getting allot of request for personal up dates and what I actuley do for training.

little vid for you below.

last week was good. got in almost 17 hr. I did do a big block of lifting weights in the gym but that has just past and now its time to turn that muscle into cycling specific strength!!

Peace!


Thursday, January 10, 2008

winter


Things got a bit...snowy on my ride today. But at 6,000 feet the snow was still dry despite the almost 40 degree temp!! Today was good I am finally feeling better and am finally able to get in some good quality miles. Today I did a little sharp shooting, killing 2 birds with one stone. I was able to get in a very solid strength workout while still getting in a good 4 hours of endurance riding. and best of all it kept me warm!
below is an article on this "one workout, two effects" issue. being able to identify and produce high quality workouts like this is vital for the time restricted athlete. which is every one, unless your a pro, and even they get busy. Monitoring my recovery I was able to do 25ish (lost count) stomps or over geared sprints. If any of my old rowing buddies are reading this they are probably laughing there butt off right now and my counting handicap is an old one! Improving my strength and A.E. is a something I simply HAVE to do this year. I was able to do all of these around 80-90% of my max wattage. While still putting out a good avg. wattage for the day. 189. by making sure I tock enough rest 10+ minutes I was able to get max power out of each effort with out fatiguing my self to much and sacrificing the endurance part or my endurance ride.

One work out two effects.
With busy schedules, many athletes just don’t have enough time to work on all the aspects necessary to reach their full potential. Let alone the Triathlete who needs to be effective in “all four sports”, see that article here
www.performancetrainingsystems.com/newstips/article_ek_foursports.html .
Because of this, it is of great value if one can combine workouts. I am not talking about a brick workout or double sessions either. I’m talking about maximizing your time. Even pro’s whom train for a living need to be effective with there time and training. Do you think lance logged any junk miles while training for the Tour? Don’t think so. A great way to do this is by focusing on more than one aspect of your training in one workout. By placing workouts within workouts one can get a double whammy effect out of his or her training. Consult your coach before concocting your own “double whammy” workouts. One of the best ways to do one of these is to place tech. drills or hard intervals into a longer endurance workout. For example: In your 3 hr. ride, focus on your technique while riding up hills. Keep pedal cadence high and concentrate on pedaling “perfectly”. Talk to your coach about that too. Alternate standing and sitting. Stand up on one hill; for the whole hill, sit on the next. Hone your skills. Do fast pedal drills in your long ride or strides in your long run. Another option is to do intervals or some kind of harder effort in your work out. If you are looking to increase your power or speed, do your intervals after a solid warm up. Cool down easily, hydrate and fuel up appropriately, then continue with a low intensity endurance workout.
Bike example: 20’ warm up. 3x10’ level 3-4. (rest 3’). 10’ cool down, continue cool down at level 2 for 2 hours.
Looking to focus on more endurance for that IM. Do the intervals after 2 hours of riding at level 2. BAMB! Two birds with one stone! Please consult your coach or a coach before doing any of these as they are a bit more taxing than your normal single aspect workouts that mere mortals do. There are some “double whammy” workouts that are a bad idea. Example: working two different maximal effort zones in the same work out. Working long tempo, cooling down then doing 1minute intervals. Not effective training here. With proper planning there is no reason that anyone can’t finish that IM, be a contender in there age group, or win the big one.

Happy training!