"West and Wewaxation...uh.uh.uh.uh."- Fudd

As promised to myself and family I've settled into the first week of a two week Rest period. This sucks! I imagine there are a lot of athletes out there feeling the way I am after finishing up the last races of the season. This is exacerbated by the fact that Normann Stadler just gave a talk/interview to the triclub on Thurs. It's like losing in the playoffs and having to watch the World Series on TV (I don't think I even made it to the playoffs). The thing that I took away from that night the most was how much fun it must be to be the "best". I am not a Normann fan at all. I think he's a big baby but it was fascinating to listen to his background and how much inate raw talent that guy has. It's both inspiring and depressing. You just have to go with what you got and make the best of it.

I've been having some brief discussion with Jim about next year and the races I will have on the schedule. This is where I have to live somewhere between fantasy and reality. There is so much I want to do but striking a realistic balance will be the difference between satisfaction and frustration. The first thing I will do is include the wife in all discussions of race planning. The more she knows and is involved, the less grief I'll get when the schedule gets tight. I'm going to plan some destination races on the B or C (if there is such a thing) level. This way we can get out, travel and have some fun while Daddy does his thing without the stress of A level racing.

XTERRA

I did my first full Xterra this year at Temecula. I love it and will hopefully be able to focus on this style of racing next year. It's gritty, wicked hard, and adds a double dose of adrenaline. There are less newberries that do this style of racing and sets itself apart from the TNT tri trend. I figure if I train for this style of racing, I can race anywhere. Maybe not as effective for dead flat courses, but where's that around here? It also puts me where I want to train. In the mountains/hills and away from the crowds. The pinnacle of the sport for me would be the World Championships in Maui. Some people dream of Kona, for me, Maui! This is a long term goal, aka pipe dream, and I am pretty honest with myself about qualifying in 35-39AG, especially when I've got the little one in diapers. The more obvious goal would be to qualify for Nationals in Tahoe, which I could pretty much do next year if all goes reasonably well. The only caviat to that is I've got a really big problem with the COLD. Not just getting cold easily but premature numbing of hands and feet associated with Raynaud's Syndrome, not good to MTB with numb hands. Feeling doesn't come back unless I've got a warm water soak or can eliminate exposure. Whether this is a complication of the Chemo is unclear but it's appearance is more than coincidental. Anyway, I deal with it and avoid the cold.

That's the update and I'm looking forward to getting back on schedule.

Paydirt.

Yesterday's Time Trial went extremely well despite less than optimal pre-race preparation. We had a birthday party for my one year old on Saturday and I was dragging balls all day wondering if I could make it through and also if I would feel better come race day, with the 5am wake up call. It's becoming apparent that on about the third day of some taperlike workouts I feel like crap, plain tired. I recognized this familiar feeling and didn't panic just got to bed early after a jacuzzi and a good Yojah session. It's my twist on Yoga with a little bit of jah.

Here's the numbers:

Official time: 29:48 (2nd by :01 M30-39)
average speed: 25.02 mph
Average watts: 264
Cadence:101
HR max: 180
HR avg: 172
HR start: 128

Temp:~70F
wind:NNW 3-5mph
RH:~50%

Pre-Race:

I woke up around 5am and drank 20oz water befor standard 2 cups strong black coffee. Took in a banana and PowerBar and headed over to the island. After a long wait at the check-in, I allowed for a 45 minute warmup. This was not enough time. I'm still fine tuning this important part of short course TT. I kept it in aerobic zones allowing cadence and Power to slowly rise on their own for 20 minutes. It's amazing how easy it comes if I don't rush this. I did 4 surges to Low LT~245W for 1 minute 2:1 recovery, then 3 20s jumps to ~400 W w/ long recoveries. I showed up to the start with 5 minutes set my watch then just rode near the start and tried to keep the HR in solid Z1. I think I could have done at least 2 intervals at race pace to heat it up a little more. I'll count on 60 minute warmup next time with 5 minute break. Oh yeah, prerace nutrition was 1.5 scoops CPro with 1motortab at 45-30minutes. JW's Rx-5Vantage Tabs +2 Energ-Ease(secret weapons) and 1 gel @ 15 minutes w/20oz H20.

Race:

I started off a little hot in one gear too high. I was pushing 320 for the first 30 s then settled in around 280 trying to ease up. Apparently it's appropriate to negative split these races but I still don't have the confidence. I was flying hitting the first lap at -25s off 6min pace. I started to hurt a little earlier than expected part way through lap 2, I backed off a bit and focused on keeping it above 265, deep steady rhythmic breathing and staying aero. This meant adjusting the helmet back, staying low, and not staring at the P-meter especially into the wind. I waved slightly at my wife and baby girl on the first two laps then I had to dig in. I was still above pace and just had to hold it until the last lap. I had some surges on the last lap but was panicking slightly trying to find a gear and get comfortable. I missed the finish chute slightly and had to dodge some cones in the sprint to the finish. (maybe the :01 s differential?) I barely had over 300w even out of the saddle! Stoked with my finish time It took a while before I felt like I could have gone harder maybe with a team car and a bullhorn. Faster you pussy!

All in all I was fast yesterday. I think it was a combination of the new helmet, wicked fast wheels w/135psi and freshly waxed spokes. But also some solid workouts from Jim and really getting the power training zones wired. My PR for this race was 31:36 on 10.8.06 so almost 2 minutes in a year is pretty good considering a roller coaster year for training and racing. I got to give props out to James Walsh for joining me on some long hard rides this year. You can do intervals, long easy rides and hill repeats but nothing makes gains like 4+hour rides in the mountains. It's tough to do it alone.

I'm off now for a couple weeks, I think then I'll do some fitness testing for the run, body compostition then it's time to get running. I'll probably do some swimming, biking and running while I'm off just nothing over 30 minutes and probably not consecutive days. I think I'd go crazy if the wind doesn't blow and the surfs flat.

It feels good to end this season on a solid PR.

All fired up.

Today is a day off in preparation for the Time Trial on Sunday. Tomorrow I'll blow the legs out with some short, hard stuff and then be ready to race. I am psyched. I've never felt fresher for each workout leading up to a race. My pedaling is smoother than ever easily hitting 130 rpm on some descents. I'll be setting up the bike today, tying cables, and putting on the 11-23. The TT is dead flat and the smaller cassette will give me an extra gear in my power band. Hopefully I'll be racing in my new Giro Advantage 2 helmet (on its way?) and skinsuit thanks to Len at Canari custom. The focus on aerodynamics, with position and equipment, becomes more critical heading over the 24mph mark and beyond. I went well above 24 in the 20 minute test and hopefully with a solid warm-up, my Zipp 404/808 and a solid dose of adrenaline I'll be able to hold it for 20k. Racing is exciting and it should be fun to start the day in dry clothes for a change.

It was my baby's first birthday yesterday and she's stoked on my race too. Helping me clean my bike and turning the cranks to make sure the derailleur is adjusted properly. We're actually going to go down on Sat. morning to watch the B+L boys in the TTT. That's a killer event, and should be fun for her.

Looking forward to posting some good numbers on Monday.