A Quick Congratulations!

In our first formal season, we have to send a congratulations out to Cheryl! Having a great year capped off by a solid race in Maui has landed Cheryl on the 2007 XTERRA All Americans list!

From insidetri.com:

2007 XTERRA ALL-AMERICANS LIST

Wow! What a rockin' year of off-road action! Now that the dirt has settled, the mud has dried up and the lakes have frozen, we bring you the top XTERRA age-group athletes of the '07 season. We've listed the top five athletes in each category. Selections were based primarily on points scored during the 50+ race XTERRA America Tour season, taking into consideration national and world championship contests and head-to-head competition. An asterisk denotes the XTERRA world champion in each group.

You can check out the site here.

Congratulations Cheryl! It's great to have you on the team. Hopefully this gives you and the rest of us something to shoot for in 2008!

As 2007 came to a close, it found Ted as the 30-34 M XTERRA Points Series Champion in and Cheryl as the 40-44 F XTERRA Points Series Champion, both in the North Central Region.

Ted had two 1st place and one 2nd place finish to his credit in Points Series Races to give him 217 points total. Cheryl had two 1st place finishes at Points Series Races, and a 2nd in a Regional Championship Race to end 2007 with 240 points.

Tim finished in 3rd position, Brandon in 4th, both in the 25-29 M. Tim had a 2nd and 3rd in Points Series Races, and 6th in a Regional Championship to round out his best three finishes (191 total points). Brandon had a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in Points Series Races to leave him 7 points behind Tim (184 total points).

I fully expect Tim and I to both move up next year, and have my fingers crossed for each of us to work at least one Points Series win into our schedules.

Ted has already voiced his points series goals for 2008, if I remember correctly he is shooting for 232, which would be two Points Series wins and a 3rd place in a Regional Championship. I'd like to see at least 209 (one Points Series win and two 2nd place finishes), and I expect Tim to do just as well, and hopefully better.

As for Cheryl, well anything short of the 240 points she posted in 2007 just won't hold water with me! ;-)

Best of luck guys training through the winter. My running is going well so far, I hope you all can keep up come spring!

100/100 Challenge

Tomorrow will bring me to 30% complete! I just realized tonight though, that I've been posting about this challenge for a couple of weeks and I've never added a link!

Click here to go to the Google Doc and check out the progress of all of the athletes.

Speaking of Google Docs, if you haven't used them and share any documents within a group, I highly recommend checking it out. It allows a group to keep a document posted online without having multiple versions of the document floating around via email. You can edit and save online, just like you would on your own computer, and publish safely for your group to see only, or invite others to check if out.

Here is a screen shot from my computer tonight looking at the docs I share:



That's it for now. 13.4 miles today and I am beat. I had to get the miles in though, how often is it nearly 50 degrees outside in late December in Chicago?!

More than 20%!

The 100/100 challenge is well underway at this point. Yesterday was my 20th run, it turned out to be just short of 6 miles holding a steady 8:08/mi pace.

I'm seeing some improvements already, and I'm only 20 days in. I guess this "training" stuff really does work. I've heard "more is more" for quite some time, but never had the enthusiasm/work ethic/patience to test it out. With a summer PB 5k time of 20:40, I hope to see if all of this running actually pays off this winter.

Now, onto something new for me: RaceDay and TriUtilities software. I'm just in the free trial period right now trying to get the hang of it, but basically it's software that takes input from each of your training sessions, uses a training score for that workout, and logs net positive effect (fitness), negative effect (fatigue), and balances those out to predict future performance.

In the long run, it should aid in showing your fitness and fatigue, and could potentially be used to help with preparation, program design, and taper for a race. Will this work as advertised? We shall see!

Here are a few screen shots from Race Day. First is the basic home page:



Here is a shot of the "overview" page showing training effect (positive and negative) as well as performance prediction:



Next is a photo from the Training page, which is more or less a log of each days' activity level:



Where do each days "Training" numbers come from? For me, they come from TriUtilities. I have been using the TRIMP Calculator to find the net effect from each session. This is a simple plug of information and it spits out a number. That result gets plugged into the RaceDay software, and we're done!

Here is a screen shot from yesterdays run, slightly under 6 miles at an 8:08/mi pace:



That's it for now. The more I record, the more I tend to want to train the next day. Will all of this pay off in the long run? I sure hope so, but only time will tell!

Surviving (and Enjoying) the Snow!

Well, Chicago was hit with 5-6" of snow last night. Many people will remain indoors and off the roads to avoid this mess. What does one do when trying to build their best triathlon off-season after getting hit with snow? They get creative.

Check out this blast from last night:



Running in snow can be fun for a little while, but when trying to log some miles I get tired of "dancing" around trying to stay upright. What makes it even worse is having a spastic dog pulling you around wanting nothing more than to sprint, leaving me flailing to keep from landing on my back.

In the true spirit of slowtwitch.com, I found I thread of a fellow "snow leopard" sharing his secret to winter running: sheet metal screws. With the correct placement you don't stab yourself in the foot and end up with great traction.

Thank you GregX for the recommendation, I'm going to be trying your method today! Here is a photo of GregX's shoes already done:



I only hope mine turn out well. Tonight I'm shooting for about 7 miles, and if these screws work it should save me 4-5 minutes on the round trip. Wish me luck!

What a Bunch of Idiots

Today I overheard a conversation at work where one broker was asking the other guy from the office who rides his bike in to work, "Did you ride in today?"

The dude replied that it was too cold and icy today.

Then the broker said, "yeah, I still see guys out there on their bikes. What a bunch of f_ _ _in' idiots."

After work I felt like a champ riding home in the rain.

Only 10%?

I am officially 10 days into my 100/100 challenge. So far I am running injury free (thanks in part to my Newtons, a b-day gift from Nisha) and feeling good.

Last week was just a hair over 30 miles, roughly 4.5 hours of running not including warm-ups. I'm shocked at how well my body seems to be doing with this, but I keep reminding myself I still have 90 more days and at least 340 more miles!

With that said, here is a link to the spreadsheet tracking the runs:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pGfgkRUvLwmFwPN-1XWFWbQ&hl=en

Feel free to follow along! As you can see, we have about 180 people participating, I can be found on rows 117-119.

As of today, I am ranked 53rd in time, 49th in distance, 59th in speed, and 11th in total number of runs. As you can see, there is some room for improvement!!

Montrose Cross

The last few weeks I have been questioning my effort in my races. I have moments where I'm at the limit, but at the end of the race I question whether or not I could have gone harder.

This being my last race of the season I decided I was not going to hold anything back. I'm going 100% from the gun and I'll have no regrets over the off season that I could have done better.

I had extra motivation too. This was my first big race in the 1/2 ranks. As an average cat 3 crosser, if I didn't want to get embarrassed by these guys I would have to really bring it so they don't drop me at the start. In addition to that I actually had a contingent of fans out along the course cheering for me. I have to have a good race and show them that I haven't been wasting my time training all year long.

I could tell this race was going to be different because I had butterflies in my stomach. Over the years I've become so numb to the excitement of racing that it has been a long time since i had the butterflies before the start of a race.

Tristan Schouten lines up next to me and I know I'm in trouble.



Off the line I went hard to the pavement section and surprisingly I was in fifth place. From that point on I was redlining it for the next hour just trying to hang with anybody who inevitably passed me. I would lose time on the run ups and the straightaways, but could catch back up in the slippery turns.



There wasn't anyplace on the course for me to recover. I blew up about halfway through the race for riding at a pace over my head, but since everyone came to watch I kept pushing through to the end battling to catch the guys ahead of me. I don't think I caught any, but I tried.



When it was all said and done I held on for 10th place.



Afterwards, my chakra was completely drained from my body and I was utterly exhausted for the next day and half. This is how racing used to feel like and even though my result wasn't so great, I was glad to see I could still push myself to the limit.

Chris from Turin designed a short but challenging course. I liked it a lot. Thanks to everyone who came out to the race and was cheering me on. I really needed it.

Illinois CX Championship and ’07 Season Sign-off

I finally got the upgrade points I needed last weekend in WI to race as Cat3. I was in 3rd place for the Cat4 series, but out of striking distance to take the overall, so I decided to upgrade before the IL State Championship at Montrose Park. This was a no pressure race and a measuring stick before heading into the off-season.

I helped create the course for about 4 hours on Saturday. Thankfully my back and shoulder felt fine. I got a late start on Sunday and didn’t have a chance to pre-ride. I knew most of the course layout, but I never took the time to ride it Saturday.

20 people line up and I allow the CHICROSS Cat3 Series contenders to take the front row. The official sends us off 2 minutes after the Cat1/2s and I quickly find myself dropped to near the back of the pack.

It would take too long to describe the entire course, but it was my favorite of the year, even better than JingleCross in Iowa City, IA. It had everything from deep snow to slop, mud and long run-ups. I thought that I had an advantage with the long uphill runs and technical turns on slippery mud.

Back to the race … after a lap I was able to catch and pass 3-4 people on the uphill run.





Coming back down the hill we were sent underneath a soccer goal with the metal base exposed above ground. I misjudged my approach, leaning in too hard when riding over the metal base and I paid for it. My back tire slid out and I was thrown from the bike and skidded off-course across the snow. I smashed my knee against something and my shifters were bent in at a severe angle. Everyone I had passed on the hill, re-passed me as I ripped at my shifters trying to get them straight again.





The bike was fine and my knee seemed ok. I hopped back on and started my chase again. For the next several laps I held my position and was able to reel in everyone that I had lost position too. I got lapped by pro rider Tristan Schouten who fly past like he was riding a dirt bike. There were no other major mistakes and I finshed the race in the middle, 10 of 20.



I’m content with my finish (for now) and confident heading into the off-season. I have a marathon scheduled for Feb 2nd and I’ll start bike racing again in mid to late March. If I can handle freezing temps in December, March will feel balmy in comparison.

I want to thank Get a Grip for their support. Thanks Jason, Matt, Saj, Kevin and Geoff. Our team only worked with the shop for half the racing season, but they have been incredibly helpful, knowledgeable and accommodating. I’m really looking forward to doing it again in ’08.

I also want to thank Nicole for coming along for many of my races and cheering me on, including a very long day and night in Madison during the Ironman, and harrowing adventures to the far west suburbs where we nearly ran out of gas. You’re a trooper.

Best Regards to All,
Tim

Pop Quiz!

What is Ted doing in this picture?


A) Making a landing strip for Santa’s sleigh.
B) Sulking about Illinois’ OT loss to Arizona
C) Helping to clear the CHICROSS course at Montrose Park

The answer is D) All of the above. We both showed up on Saturday and helped the Turin RD clear sections of the course, drive stakes (sometimes into frozen solid groud) and tape off. Part of the course was a blank canvas that we got to decide the layout. I can’t decide if we helped or hurt our own placing with the sections of course we created. I enjoyed helping and the race was top notch.

Hales Corner CX

If I didn't crash so much and I could avoid bike malfunctions, I would be such an awesome racer.

Ha, just kidding. I might move up a spot or two but i'd still finish far from glory, fame and beautiful women.

Under dry conditions Hales corner would be a nice fast course, but the previous days snowfall added an additional challenge. The day went to those who could churn out the most power while grinding through snow and mud at 8 or 9 MPH. Guiding my bike through the worn in, muddy track was a constant challenge.

When it was all said and done I was exhauasted but i still questioned whether or not I left it all on the course. And if I did, did I expend my energy at the right times to my maximum advantage. I think the key to racing is knowing when are the right times to expend your energy and when to ease off the accelerator. After all these years of racing, I don't know if I figured it out yet.

One small rant, when a race goes off in waves everyone should start in the wave they registered for. Don't pimp everyone else you're competing against by jumping in a different wave. That's cheating and you might as well just cut the course or take EPO too. I guess the blame lies partially with the officials for not checking race numbers before each start.

WI State CX Championship

The race that almost didn't happen (for me). Chicago got some nasty freezing rain on Saturday and I was questioning if I would be able to safely drive up to Milwaukee the next morning. Thankfully temps rose above 40 and the ice quickly thawed. Against better judgement, I left my warm bed and got ready to race.

As I was driving North I noticed that WI had received much more snow and much less ice. The course was under about 3 inches of snow with an icy crust on top, it was the consistency of a snow cone. I tried a test lap on my cross bike with comical results. My hubs, rims, brakes and bottom bracket were like magnets for this snow and it quickly built up, adding several pounds to the bike. I thought that the Orbea Alma would ride better in the snow. Wrong. It just spun and spun on top of the snow, never able to get purchase. I needed skinny tires that could cut through the snow down to the ground.

We lined up and the starters told us that we will only have 2 laps instead of a 30 minute race and then sends us off. Getting some momentum took a while and hammering didn't work because you would spin out if you applied too much torque.

The course would have been nice under ideal conditions. A couple switchbacks, a sand pit, a medium length climb and barrier sections with 3 barriers instead of just 2. During the climb on lap one I hopped off the bike and ran faster than the two guys ahead of my rode/spun it. A downhill left turn was interesting because my breaks were working at about 20% efficiency; it was more of a controlled skid.

After the first lap I was in 4th place between the usual CHICROSS suspects. Lap two was a bit easier to ride as the snow was displaced, lines were created and the tires could get to the dirt. I passed Aspen who was hindered by a slipping seat, and I overtook 2nd who broke a chain (Props to "Newt" for shouldering the bike and running the next 1.5 laps instead of DNFing).

I thought that the race was over when I came in after lap number two, but the RD decided to let us go for three. I tried to chase 1st down but I couldn't do it and the race finished in the same order as the Jackson Park Chicross (Zoller, Yuska, Gorry).

Thanks to Aspen for the encouragement during the race. Unfortunately I didn't have enough in the tank, but I got what I needed, 7 upgrade points so I can move up to Cat3. It is usually the races in these crazy conditions that you will remember the most. I will always remember the '06 Chicross Championship at Montrose Harbor and the insane iced over course and chilling winds. It will be interesting to see what Mother Nature has in store for us this Sunday.

Check In

It's been a while since I've posted. No racing to speak of has turned me into a visitor of the site rather than a participating member!

With that said, I have my phase of burn-out out of the way and training is going strong. I've joined the 100 in 100 Challenge, 100 runs in 100 days, all a minimum of 30 minutes or running (no walks!), you can do two-a-days if you like to give yourself a day off.

This whole disaster started 12/1, so I'm 4 days in at this point with 5 runs under my belt. I figure since I am brimming with enthusiasm to train, I should get some extra work in. Tomorrow I have the morning off from work, so I'll get run #6 in then, and #7 tomorrow night.

I've been keeping the runs short, no more than 40 minutes, to allow for the possibility of a second run and to be sure the next day I feel fine. I've been doing a lot of speed work as well to keep my mind occupied on the "dreadmill".

As a final note, check this out:



The new Alma for 2008! Now I don't have to feel left out! This guy will look great next to my Oiz and I can be a part of the Alma Team with Tim and Ted.