Maybe not Cat 1, but at least I can race against them. Say hello to a new Cat 2.

If you've read my intro, then my goal was to be Cat 1 by this year as I'm now 36.  Lord knows I didn't try.  I had a baby boy--now 5months--and a huge uptick in work.  Both are good in their own rights.  I love my wife as she's able to stay at home with my son.  My job is what gives me the ability to give my family that type of life.  My my family and my job have taken over my ability to train as much as I WANT to--rightfully and unequivocally so.  I stress "want" as cycling is just a hobby.  Cycling is many things so let me be more specific; racing bicycles is just a hobby.  With my limited time budget, my personal wants are set aside for my needs.  However, as my wife will tell you, one of those (my) needs is to continually push myself forward.  Though I am not a Cat 1, I've put in the work and was upgraded to Cat 2 this weekend.  What that means is that I will now race against the Cat 2's, Cat 1's & the Pros...I will now be racing against the best in the area.  I didn't make the Cat 1 goal, but I did make it farther than I could have ever imagined.  I didn't do it on my own.  There is a short list of people I would like to thank:


-Tonya Cobb
-Rashaan Bahati -You inspired me and I hope to race with/against you soon. I dream to be as good as you
-Derek Kidd
-Stephen Shenal

-Zac Lake 

-David Peckinpaugh
-Robert Kendrick
-Johnny Mitchell

It goes without saying that I want to thank my wife for putting up with me and letting me do this.  Letting me be me and loving me for being me.  Until death do us part.
Derek, Stephen & Zac started it all.  I wanted to be like you guys and you are to blame for getting me started in racing--thanks? David helped with his insight and laying down a solid foundation.  I really want to thank Robert for his coaching methods.  I wouldn't have been able to do it without your fine (read:hard as hell) tutelage.  Raising my FTP is what has allowed me to get to the end of the races so that I can unleash the sprint.  Your training plan pushed me to a new high and even made me a factor in P123 races so that's just dandy.
Johnny for being the best cycling teammate I've ever had.  Your work ethic, tenacity, motivation and personality set you apart from all others.  I hated you when I raced against you and didn't know you. That all changed when I did get to know you.  As of me writing this, you're a Cat 1.  I look forward to racing against you and I know that Pro is in your future if you want it.  With your attitude, anything is in your future if you want it.

There are others of course; Paul Harrell, Lucas Erwin, Dave Rosales, Gabe Hipps, Gordon Whittaker, Jay Charles, Catup.com..just to name a few.  All my friends: Thank you.

What's next is a focus on track for 2013. With the Giordana Velodrome opening up this year, I haven't figured out how to transfer my 23.5w/kg 5sec road power to track.  I've also found that FTP is just as critical here so I'll have to focus on that.  For 2014, I'll refocus on road as I hope to have my FTP to 4.3 to 4.5w/kg.  That's not a lot in the bicycle racing world, but with time and family that's the best I can hope for and a tangible goal to set.  Dream?  I would still love to see myself as a match sprinter in the Olympics for the US.  It's good to have dreams!

2011 cycling update

Many things have happened since my last post.  As a Cat3, I have won 1 race (my teammate, Johnny Mitchell,  controlled the race & then lead me out for a sprint finish).  Placed 2nd in another (there was 1 guy 10seconds off the front and I didn't have a teammate) and have have had several top 10 finishes.  I've begun to consistently place well, but as of today, only have 10points to go toward my Cat 2 upgrade.  As it stands now, I think my FTP is right around 4w/kg and my sprint power is still off the chain--but has come down.  I've given up some of the absolute top end to be able to finish the race and I'm happy with that.

I've met 2 of my short term goals for this year and I'm very happy with that.  There are only 2 races left for me this season so there is no way that I'll be able to get enough points to upgrade to a 2.  That's OK as it give me focus for next year.  I've gained valuable insight into racing, training and awesome friends.

My wife is pregnant and the baby is due March 13th, 2012.  With that, the cycling goals will go to the back burner.  I still plan on racing, but won't be as focused on it.  I would like to focus on sprint training when the velodrome opens up in Rock Hill next year, but I'll focus on the road until then.

Transpire

I've not posted in quite some time, but will try to do so more often. Training and racing have been going extremely well--much better than anticipated. With Robert assisting me, my winter training was tougher than it's ever been. The summer training hasn't been fun, but I know I'm in a better place now (physically) than I've ever been. To top that off, I've got a strong team around me. With Johnny Mitchell being a great all rounder setting a great start to the season, it helps to HTFU on the training/racing days when things are super-tough.

With the SC Crit Championships coming up in a few weeks, I'll race hard this weekend in Asheboro & Denton then begin to taper for a strong showing in Charleston.

As for goals, they are still the same. The reality is that through strong sprinting is how I'll get the points to be able to upgrade to Cat2. My fear is that if I upgrade, I still won't have the FTP to be able to content in that category. 1st things 1st though, I'll need to get the points, then worry about racing that category when I get there.

I'm really looking forward to the Velodrome opening up in Charlotte. Also looking forward to getting some time on the track this year before it opens.

Power profile since 2008

Just curious to see what the thoughts are on my power profile. This is all the data that I have since I started racing/training in 2008. This winter & for 2011, I'm focusing on muscular endurance and Functional Threshold Power. If past history is an indicator of my future performance, then I would be lucky to get near the lower 1/4-1/3 mark of the Cat 3 bin by the end of 2011. We'll see. I think that getting myself to the 4w/kg mark is going to give me the energy/confidence that I need to turn up my sprint and get me on the podium. At the end of 2010, I was able to finish with 3 top 10's in the Cat 3 field so I'm strong enough to get there...if the race is easy enough and I race smart enough. Regardless, 2011 will be a phenomenal racing season for me--barring no injuries & good luck.

Also, I never really tested 1 min power until this year. That's way the big disparity.

A$$ handed to me...

Whew. So within the span of one week, I did my 1st P1/2/3 race at BMW, Athens (cat 3) and then Walterboro (Cat2/3) race and got my ass handed to me at each one. I think at Athens, I was just tired from having to dig so deep in the BMW race. I hoped to be recovered enough for Walterboro but I was in the red 4 minutes into that race and finally popped 17mins. in. It's very humbling, but very frustrating. I took 3th place in that race as a Cat 4 last year. As a 4, the avg pace was 24.5mph and the pace of the 2/3 race was 26.2. I tried to be as efficient as possible and stay near the front, not on it. The attacks are a lot stronger in this field and that's what finally did me in. I've got to get my threshold up, in other words riding faster with less effort. That's just going to take time.

Athens Twilight AM 3 race/TNWC

I got dropped with 5 to go. I felt like I was dying out there. I knew I had more, but I didn't know why I couldn't dig deeper. When I got home, I checked my HR (attached) and it shows that I was either tired or didn't get a good enough warm up. It's a bit of both really. I did the Tuesday Night World Championships then raced my 1st P/1/2/3 event on Thursday. I went out for a WAY too long of a tune up ride (though my power number for the tune-up interval was the most i've ever seen). It all adds up to me not being able to perform at 100% I'm going to do an easy ride tomorrow and then off the bike Mon & Tue. I hope to be able to finish Walterboro (2/3 race) with the pack if not top 10. We'll see how that goes. Up to this point, my performance has been sporadic at best. I'm still trying to get it (training/racing) right.

It's funny. Jeff Corbet thought I was sandbagging at the TNWC!! Jeff, I've posted my data from the workout to show you that I wasn't sandbagging but sucking wind. My LTHR is 176 bpm (where the line is). If I keep doing rides like that with you, I'll eventually get to the point where you and Gordo won't drop me. :)

Blythewood RR

That was really, really tough. I changed my hydration nutrition strategy to try and get rid of the cramps but it didn't work. I started cramping 5 laps in and knew I wasn't going to make it. I did have 1 teammate left and he asked me to try and reel in the break. I tried the best that I could, but maybe only clawed 20s back before I popped. I collected myself and decided to ride the final two laps solo. Soon after, the pro/1/2s lapped me. On my final lap, about 1/3 of the way into it, I got picked up by a mystery rider. I think he was sent out to look for stragglers, but God bless him. He towed me to the line. Now, I had already popped, but I resigned myself to finishing the "race" or at least crossing the line. So when he picks me up, he's riding at a pace that he may have considered moderate—not me. I'm back up to threshold HR. I hand on to his wheel for dear life. We stop to pick up a pro/1/2 guy. He gets on, he's blown off. I feel better about myself, but we are getting ready to hit the 3^rd, hardest hill of the course. I give it everything to stay on, but I can't and I lock up again. It's so frustrating. He slows down at the top, and we have to take it easy going back in. I think that if I had not hooked on, I would be in better shape for tomorrow's race. Granted, tomorrow is the Forrest Acres Crit and it's only 45minutes. I know that if I can stay with the pack, I can beat the pack. I also know that I have to keep pushing myself so that I can get stronger. Today's race was the hardest race I've done thus far. I think it was more due to the fact of the mystery rider forcing me to dig deeper than I knew I could. If I want to do well at RR, I have to figure out what's causing the cramps. To be honest, it could be that I've upgraded too soon—when it comes to road racing. Let's see if the same may be true for crits. I know it's not.

My 1st race of 2010

The race went better than I expected, though I did have to drop out at the last lap due to cramps. I fought them for as long as I could, but they were immobilizing & excruciating. They started to get me on lap 3 and then lap 6 my legs stopped working.
Good things:
-With the increase in aerobic ability, I was able to follow attacks & surges and never felt like I was going to pop. There were times when it hurt, but the only thing that kept me from finishing was the cramping
-During warmup, looks like my threshold power is around 300w
-Really enjoyed mixing it up and being out there racing again

Bad things:
-cramping
-in the 1st 400meters of the race I dented my front wheel by hitting a pothole--not my Zipps thankfully!
-don’t have any power data. When I hit the pothole, my powertap flew off the mount
-I lost my backup bottle going into the 3rd lap (we had to cross rail-road tracks)

This cramping is only an issue with longer events. I may be to static in my position, but I did lose a bottle (electrolytes in it). I don't take an electrolyte tab, but I'm willing to give it a shot if it will help me to complete road races. The truth is, I'm not that concerned about it as my speciality is crits. It's more of a personal challenge than anything.

Stay tuned for next weekend's race report!

Long time no write

Sorry for not putting any recent updates to my 3 followers! I love you and thanks for hanging in there. So that you know, I have been training very hard and putting in 14-15 hours on the bike, 2-3 hours off the bike. As it stands now, I'm finishing up the build phase and I'm now in the transitional phase. On the bike so I'm doing a lot of Anaerobic Threshold intervals. 6x10 minutes with 3 minute rest between intervals specifically. Off the bike, I'm doing; core, stretching, strength & plyometric training for power. It's very difficult, but I know it will pay off. Next month, I'll begin working on my anaerobic energy system by doing shorter, harder intervals. Probably start with 2 sets 3x3s and then move into shorter maximal burst workouts with ½ recovery time. What that means if the effort is 20seconds on, then I'll get 10 seconds of rest before starting the next one. That will be repeated for a while. That's also an assumption I have based on what my coach and I did last year. This year, since we are working more on my aerobic system, it may be different. I'll just have to wait and see. He may have me doing Tabata intervals again. Either way, it's fine with me. My dear friend & one of my 1^st coaches Derek Kidd said it best, "you have to train hard to race hard."

I'm thinking of doing the Donaldson Center race on Sunday the 28^th of Feb as it looks like I'll have to work the following week. My goal there will be just to hang on, get used to riding in the pack and get a few hard efforts in. I know a lot of guys have been working their anaerobic systems so they are in pretty good form right now. Speaking about being on good form, I don't care to be in good form now—good form is another way of saying "perfect racing shape." I want to be strong for April as that is when I have my 1^st season peak planned. I hope to win again at the I'On Village Smackdown and then place well for the championships. I really want the team to have a good result and want to show the team that I'm willing to work for them. The goal for right now is to see if I'm going to be strong enough to be competitive in the National Masters 30-34 Championships races. I want to win that race in August, but I need to know if I have the aerobic power to get me to the line. I may be overzealous having only raced for 2 years, but you don't know if you don't try. How I race in the late May/June will actually be a better predictor as my threshold power will continue to rise.

If I race on the 28^th, then I promise a race report!

Cheers!

 

2010 Base Training

The training is going well. My power numbers are far better than last year and hopefully have a high enough FTP to be competitive in the 3's this year. Even if it was the same, my weight is down 8lbs so my power/weight ratio will be better. I haven't done any testing, but next month, I'll get a better feel for it as we ramp up the intensity.

I was without power data for almost 3 weeks. I had to send my PowerTap wheel to Saris to get it rebuilt. I was happy to find it showing me good stuff. I know that numbers don't make the racer, but it helps to quantify the training. Seeing the increase is making me feel better about putting all this time in.

Different Kind of suffering...suffering nonetheless.

My Father died and then my uncle. This has been a very tough Christmas. They both died of heart disease and they weren't the only ones to do so in my family. It is the circle of life though. The son should bury the father and not the other way around.

Change

Cycling being such a repetitive sport/activity that sometimes, well sometimes change is bad. I'm making some big changes and I hope they are for the good.

Goals:

My long term goal is the same: I want to reach the pro level by the end of 2012. Let me clarify: Domestic Professional. I just want to get to that level to say or quantify that I have reached that goal. My short term goals are to race and win a national level event. Next year I'm going to race the Masters' National Crit Championships 30-34 and then go to Downers Grove and race the Elite Championships. The reality is that by the time the Masters' Nationals roll around I will only have 2.5 years of cycling under my legs and that I'm not gifted with a big engine. It takes at least 3 years (Cyclist Training Bible) to realize ones potential and maybe more for those on the slow end of the curve. I'm not sure where I fall on that curve. I do know that if I can make it to the end, I can hold my own. I also know that if I don't enter the race(s), I'll defiantly not win. 90% of success is just showing up.

The 2010 season has already begun for me and the 1^st goal is to drop to 8% body fat. I'm almost there now. The second goal is to begin training in earnest when I get back from Thailand November 20^th. I would like to get my functional threshold power to around 4.5w/kg before going into race mode. That will depend on my body's adaptation rate and how well the winter/spring training goes. Last year, I had to take a January completely off the bike due to a hamstring tear and I was still able to win a race. I was able to increase my power 30 watts from 08 to 09. If I can get the same improvements for 10, then I should be able to reach target ftp.

Team:

I'm racing with Palmetto Velo for the 2010 season. I do appreciate everything that the Harrell's Bicycle World crew has done for me and I'll continue to do business with Harrell's. Palmetto Velo is a more organized team and for the results I want, I'll need a support system of guys around me in races. This is not to say that I'm not going to work for them. I look forward to playing the domestique role as I know that it will make me stronger. I also look forward to leading out my teammates and helping with the win. I just need to win and hope these guys are going to work as hard for me as I'm willing to work for them. I look forward to the new opportunity there.

 

Bike:

I've changed the saddle on my bike and I'm going to go back to 172.5mm cranks. Last year, I ran 165mm cranks. I read an article that recommended the smaller cranks and I figured I would give it a shot. I had decent results with them, but when things went uphill, I had to push really hard. I think/hope that the longer cranks will help in that regard. The new saddle is the Fizik Antares and it's great…now that I've had my fit adjusted to it. Preliminary test on the rollers show an increase in power for effort, but I'll wait until it get out on the road to really quantify it.

Barring any injuries or illness, next year will be a great one for me. I think that the adaptations will have set in by then and I will be closer to seeing what my potential will be. Also, by the end of 2011, I'll be able to see if I really do have what it takes to reach my goal. I'm appreciative of all my friends and family and look forward to them being there with me.

Brookwood Chruch, My 1st CAT3 race

Wow. I wish I could say that I had a great race and that I won it or even finished in the top 10, but I can't. I was off the back 15 minutes into it. On the bright side, my wife said, "If someone had to to it, it might as well be you." Thanks honey.

I knew the field would be strong, but I didn't realize it would be by that much. Basically, it turned out to be a 1 minute effort (uphill) followed by 27-37 seconds of rest (downhill) into the wind. Each of the 1 minute efforts sent me SCREAMING over my ftp. The lowest avg. Was 287 (only once), the highest was 397w. With my FTP being around 270 right now, it was only a matter of time before I was launched off the back. I gave everything I had and even tried to jump back in...the second time I was lapped. After 29minutes of riding solo, I decided I needed to try to save a little bit for tomorrow at the BMW center.

My shoot the moon goal for next year still stands though. It may be unrealistic, but I damn sure am going to try. I've had some other setbacks that I haven't written about here that caused me to take almost a month off of the bike so I know I'm not in form (and that's also why the FTP is a down).

I'm going to take what I've found today and tomorrow and work with my coach to build a plan that will get me there in the best shape possible. With a solid plan, consistent training and hard work, my physiology may still not allow me to reach that goal. I'm still going to do everything I can to get there.

Stay tuned for BMW results. Then I'll post my winter & next season goals.

Pear Shaped second half of the season

Wow. 10 days off the bike does a lot of things to you and none of them are good for your racing. Top end. My top end is down. For a 7min 300w effort, I usually average around 172bpm. Friday, for 298w, my HR average was 177bpm. I hope to be able to get it back to where it was by the last race of the season. If not, there is always next year. I can't complain, but I would like another 1st place finish. Going to talk to my coach about upgrading to CAT-3 before the end of the year so that I can race 4 races as a 3 before the season is out.

Off the bike

One of the things I haven't written about is the fact that I've been off of the bike since the 12th. I had a lingering issue from the crash that didn't manifest itself until I did the workout on the 12th. The injury is called a Scrotal Contusion. Yeah, It sucks as bad at is sounds. When I landed on my face, my bike landed on my "boys". The "fellas" were healing and my face hurt so bad, it masked any discomfort I was having down there. The workouts on the 11th & 12th exacerbated the problem and they let me know there was a problem. It wasn't a testicle injury, but an injury to a vein that feeds them. So the pedaling action, inflamed the area. Of course, I couldn't believe this was happening so I checked myself a couple of times that night & the next day before seeing the Doctor. The Doctor has seen this kind of injury before (guys are tough on themselves) and said that the number of time I "checked" myself just aggravated the injury even more--Great. But again, the doc said that's something that's also been a typical reaction to his patients that have received this type of injury. Rest & time off of the bike is what the doctor ordered. I can't give myself and "examination" until the 20th--doctors orders. My coach has made a plan so that I'm doing workouts off of the bike until the 23rd. The discomfort has gone away, but I'm going to play it safe and not get back on the bike until the 24th.

The doctor stated that if the discomfort/knot persists more than 6 weeks, then it's back for another examination and it's something more serious. Let's hope not.

B

From a Friend, Paul Laymon, when asked about what it takes to be a "Pro":

"You are part way there by saying it is harder to give up than not to try. Choosing things for yourself is the only real freedom we have in life. Choose that freedom and make up your own mind, then excel beyond where others stop.
It's a lonely journey, and you will lose more friends than you will make. However, those friends you make will help you "bury the body"
In the end, it isn't about the things we did, that's just another trophy, you won't remember them, it is about the people we meet along the way...good and bad."

-Paul Laymon.

I'll not for get your words. Thanks for sharing and I look forward to seeing you whoop-up the 50+ age-groupers.

-B

Hanes Park Crash 08/09/09

I had a terrible accident today. A rider shot across my front wheel (from left to right) and I went head first onto the ground. My face is trashed (30-40% road rash on right side of face), my jersey is ripped, my lip had to have two stitches, my temporary teeth were broken out and I suffered a concussion. I got knocked out I hit the ground so hard. I’ve got rash on my shoulder, knee & wrist as well. My wrists are banged up (from trying to catch myself) and my right leg has some road rash. I was rushed off to the ER in a Ambulance (pretty cool—haven’t done that in a while). The CAT scan showed everything was cool.

Shame really. I happened with 3 to go. It was around 34 minutes into the race when we were going up the hill. We were traveling around 19mph. All I remember was yelling at him, hitting the deck and looking at the curb thinking to myself “that’s going to hurt.” The EMT’s said I remembered everything when I got up and that I was coherent, but I only remember bits and pieces. I do remember yelling at the peleton as they stormed by me on the final lap so that’s a bit of a consolation. Needless to say, I’m not going to race this coming weekend. It’s 4 hours away and at the moment, I would rather train closer to home for my wife’s sake. I was over 3 hours away from home when this happened and she was at work so this really scared her. It opened my eyes as well. This was something that I could truly not control.

The thing is, my collarbone’s not broken. My wrists aren't’ broken (my teeth don’t count) and my bike is perfectly fine—I think. That being said, I don’t want to take the chance to miss my priority race because of some squirrely rider.

How was the race up until that point? Perfect. I put in a good long warm-up and my 2 minute threshold efforts were solid. As an aside, I think my threshold power is around 295-305w now. For the race, I was at the front the entire time around 10-15th spot. With 5 to go, I moved to 5-10th spot. I only had my nose in the wind once and that was short lived because of a preme. I felt great. The average HR for this race was 172bpm, speed 24.5 and it had 1 significant hill with 2 little risers. For me to stay in it shows that I am in form and smarter about hills racing in general. Also, I had a friend say that he would lead me out that sealed the deal. I crashed and my friend ended up winning so I’m very happy for him. I talked to him a bit after the race and he said I’m sure you are hurting. I told him that not being able to finish hurts more.

PTO so far

The crit wasn't bad. Ended up 12th. I had some tough breaks but I was SUFFERING! I felt like I was through the race and afterwards, I was like, well maybe that wasn't so bad. I went back and looked at the race data and my Average HR was 184bpm. 94% of my Max. My body was SCREAMING at me to quit, but I finished it. BTW, my LTHR is 176bpm. If you don't know what that means--google it.

The street sprints. The sprints where I was going to show off my 1700watt sprint....yeah. I got Eliminated after the 1st heat.....THE 1ST HEAT!!! I believed to much in my power and underestimated my competition. I got 4th in the heat, you had to be in 3rd to go to the elimination round. It is what it is.

Updated Race Scheule

July 10th Piedmont Triad Omninum Crit
July 11th Piedmont Triad Omninum TT
July 11th Piedmont Triad Omninum Street Sprints

July 11th Piedmont Triad Omninum Road Race

July 17th French Broad TT

July 18th French Broad Road Race
July 19th French Broad Crit Asheville (tight course like Dillworth)
Aug 1st Western NC Grand Prix
Aug 4th Crossroads Mocksville Crit (low priority)
Aug 8th Crossroads Harrisburg Crit

Aug 9th Hanes Park Crit
Sep 12th Walnut Cove (low priority, pretty far away)
*Sep 19th Dylan Mitchell Memorial Race*
*Sept 20th Vista Gran Prix*

Upgrade to Cat 3
Oct 10th Greenville Cycling Classic ?
Oct 11th Greenville Cycling Classic ?

There are a couple more that I may do depending on whether or not they become available.

Rested up

I'm well rested now and should be good to go for the Piedmont Triad Omnium....then comes the French Broad. We'll see how it goes. This is the 1st race I've done in a while and I've only had one VO2 Max type session since my rest period. Power is up, weight is down so it's all good.