Ugh.... 6th again! PLRA XC

Things have been winding down. I haven't done any training in 2 weeks other than riding my bike for fun. No Plan. No intervals. Just fun. I start my new job on July 5th. So I really hope this is a new beginning for not only work, but getting mentally focused again for my life, racing, and training. I have already dropped 7lbs since Fort Custer. So I am getting back on track. And with everyday, every race, cyclocross is getting closer. Sometime around July it will be time to put on the running shoes again, and pull out the barriers to get ready for my real season. But before I get too carried away, there are still a few mountain bike races to take care of, and this is one of my favorites. Pontiac Lake XC...

Like I said, I have been basically peaked out since the Brighton Debacle. So I figured I would give it a go, and see what my fitness has done since. Surprisingly, I have been feeling great, and my Power on the flats is still high. Goal was simple. Ride as hard as I can. Don't pop. And sneak in a top 5. There were a few guys that came out of the woodwork today. Gotta love racing... So I knew it was going to be a tough race if I wanted to crack the top 5. The whistle blew, and we were off. Blistering pace into the single track for the first few miles. The trail was in awesome shape, and very fast. I settled into 5th place early on and slipped back to 6th. I was feeling good, and could really tell the difference the 7lbs made in climbing the hills! Gives me motivation to keep going. I pushed hard all the way. I caught and passed 5th place, and soon was riding by myself. Into the 2nd lap, I missed a bottle hand up. This proved to detrimental as I lost my other bottle on the bike on a bumpy downhill early in the 2nd lap. So I went the entire lap without any water and or nutrition. Ouch! On the last climb I could feel it. But during this time, I had also caught the dude in 4th, but he kept yo-yo-ing away from me. Into the 3rd lap, I got another bottle and sucked down as much as I could before the single track. Surprisingly, it helped me recover a little. Thanks Hammer Nutrition. I then got caught and passed by 2 others in my class. Not good. I was still feeling strong but was slowing a bit from the effects of the missed bottle. I pushed on knowing that anything could happen, and I was still in the hunt for a podium spot. On the last climb, I gave it all I had. I could hear someone coming up behind me, and not knowing what class they were in, I punched it. Onto the flats and into the last grass section, I big ringed it all the way home. I did not want to give any chances of getting beat at the line. Thank God, cause he was in my class. I ended up 6th... again. And missed 5th again, by 20 seconds. I was still happy with my result and my progress heading into Cyclocross and my new beginning at work. My lap times were not too bad either. 43, 45, 47. Obviously, the missed bottle hurt me in the end.

Maybe you might even see me at the Stony Marathon... It's still up in the air.

Marching On... Fort Custer TT

Its been an off year, and a year for change. And not just in racing...

I guess if you wait long enough good things will happen. But sometimes, if you just sit back and wait for them to happen, the good things will never come. You have to make them happen! Does that all make sense?

And so that brings me to the Fort Custer TT. First off, what a fantastic trail! I had a smile from ear to ear the entire time!!! Wow! If only I lived closer. Fort Custer has something for everyone, and this race is always one of my favorites. Much like my opening statement, this year the race day changed from the previous years to a much earlier time of year. And I was very welcome to it. However, as this has been a slightly off year for me so far in the life and training world, it was time for me to look forward and start making things happen again. I did not have the best racing day of my life, but it did offer a look into the rest of the year, and overall I was very pleased.

I did the usually double bagger. Geared and Single speed. I felt really good for both and mentally was ready to give it my all (first time all year). In the Expert 30-39 race. I gave it full gas. I could hang with anyone on the flat twisty sections, letting me know I have gained a lot of power over the spring, and could actually use it! However, I would lose time in the more technical sections, and of course on the climbs. but this is all great information I was able to process to make changes for the rest of the mountain bike season and especially for cyclocross. I finished up 6th place on the day with a time of 1:07:58. Just missing 5th place by 24 seconds. I am back in the hunt, and my 2011 podium quest continues! Overall I was very happy with the result especially considering the tough field that showed up.

By the time the Single speed raced rolled around, I was already spent from the first race, but was ready to give it all I had 1 more time. All the heavy hitters from the MI Single Speed world showed up to play! The filed was stacked, and it seemed like all the elites and experts that raced earlier had the same idea of doubling up for the day. With all the big names starting, I set my goal for a top 10 finish. I was riding fully rigid and the trail beat the hell out of me. So with not much left in the tank, I pushed as hard as I could and finished with a time of 1:13 and some change. This was enough for me to sneak into 10th place!

Great job to all my TSB team mates for making the trek over. We had about 10 folks and nailed a few podiums as well! See you all in a few weeks!

Mother Nature's Peak Performance; Brighton Stage Race

Not much to report. Too many things went wrong, not enough went right. What was suppose to be my first A race of the year turned south. I wont bore you with the details or the pity party, but I did take something positive from the weekend. No matter how much I train, plan, and have luck on my side, bad races are going to happen. Its what I learn from them, to get stronger and perform better the next chance I get.

So sit tight. Got a make a few minor adjustments, because the season is only just begun...

Congrats to everyone that stuck it out the entire weekend and "finished" on Sunday's Mud fest. And if you were lucky enough to end up on the podium like my friend Brad Lako and Patrick Russell, my hats off to you because it was truly earned!

See you all at the Fort!

Pontiac Lake TT

For a second, I thought summer was upon us. Well at least that's how it felt in the afternoon for this years addition of the Pontiac Lake TT. This race is always a crap shoot, and this year was not any different. Heavy rain fell the the night before, and the winter has been hanging on day after day. So it was any one's guess what the trail conditions would be like for one of my favorite races. Well Mother Nature was on our side again for the most part. The trail was in good shape considering. A few greasy corners and some sloppy mud puddles. But it got better and better every lap.

I felt real strong again for the race, and was hoping for a good result. My lap times were just a hair under last year for my geared race. But with the conditions, I guess you could expect that some what. Like I said I was feeling strong and very consistent on the bike. But was only able to snag 7th out of 16. Just missing 5th by around 30 secs. My overall race time was 1:31 and some change. Not too bad considering I am only 4 weeks into the TCTP training plan.

As always I paid the extra $10 and jumped into the expert/elite single speed race. It was a very stacked class of elite racers. Probably almost all the fastest racers in the state! So I was not expecting a podium. However, I wanted to put up the fastest time I could, and get in some more hard training miles under race conditions. I nailed another 45 min lap. Again I was happy with this, but know it should have been faster.

At this point in my season, there is only one person to blame. Me. For the good and the bad. It is time to make the necessary adjustments to get the benefits from all my training. It begins now...

On a final note. Congrats to all my TSB team mates for their hard work at earning podiums! I hope to see more. And congrats to Lako and Payne on a Podium and a great finish! See you boys in a few weeks...

Yankee Springs TT!

I have waited over 4 months to finally get my tires dirty in some single track. And I finally did it, and did it in a race to boot. As I kicked off my mountain bike race season with the MMBA CPS Yankee Springs TT.

It was very cold and even snowed. But that did not impact the sandy single track that makes up the majority of Yankee Springs. I had the same plan as last year. Race the Expert/Elite Single speed class to get in some good hard miles under race pace, and see where I stack up with the training I had put forth so far. I will have to say it went very well. I took 9th out of 24 in the class with a very respectable finishing time of 1:47:40. This would have been a good enough time to place me 2nd if I raced Expert 30-39. So I was very happy with the result. In addition, the real test for the day was the fact that the Expert single speeders had to do 2 laps this year. So my goal was to try and be consistent as possible with my lap times, and to try to keep them within 2 mins. My first lap was 52 and some change and my 2nd lap was just over 54. So I was happy with that.

Overall I felt really strong, and feel real confident going into the Pontiac Lake TT this weekend. I just got to make sure I can get off of work...

Barry-Roubaix

Finally, a bike race. Kicked off the race season this weekend by taking part in the Barry-Roubaix "Killer Gravel Road Race". Wasn't expecting too much overall. Just wanted to get in a good long hard effort at race pace, collect some good powertap data, and try to beat my personal best time. This is a really tough race, but it's a type that suits me well. So with one week of training under my belt doing the Time Crunched Training Plan, this is how it went. It was very cold to say the least, but I layered perfect considering the temps barley got above 20 for most of the day. It was a mass start, with no neutral roll out this year. So nothing like 1000 bike racers trying to win the race in the 1st few miles. It was crazy, but manageable. I felt really good for the entire race. The hills killed me! between the extra flab I'm carrying and lack of Interval training thus far, made every hill a struggle. But I was able to Hammer all the flats, and descend like a rock. I stayed near the front for about half the race, but was consumed by a very large group which I could not hang on to. Later, in the last 5 miles, I rallied back and time trialed my way up the long paved road, and made up a lot of time and positions and actually caught the group that passed me earlier. By the time I made it back to the final straight to the finish, I was in the red. I ramped up my speed and pushed all the way to the end. I finished in 1:54:48. that was 4 mins better than last year. This earned me 18th out of 84. Good day overall. I got 18th last year also. The best thing about the day, is that I was able to keep my fingers out of the wheel! It was really great to see all my good cycling friends. And there were some awesome results. Congrats to Mike W. Don C. Pete T. Mike S. Patrick R. for your efforts. And thanks to Brad Lako for letting me get one more, before he moves on to glory in the Tailwind USAC XC series. My money is riding on you.... Now on to the After party. This event marks the Rouge Racing Project / TSB bi-yearly reunion and Mayhem! We did it right. Drank as much free Founder's Ale as we could after the race. Enjoyed Jon Coleman's life saving chili! And then unleashed our fury in downtown Kalamazoo! The Kentucky boys really know how to party, and its always a good time to hang out with all of you. A couple more months and we will do it all again at the USGP of Cyclocross in Louisville. I can't wait!!!

Feeling Lucky at the Leprechan Loop?

The un-official kick off to my 2011 season has started. For the 3rd year in a row, I did it with the Port Huron YMCA Leprechaun Loop 5K. My early goal set for this year was to break the 20 min barrier, but with winter conditions being miserable the past few months, it has been hard to do any type of Sprint or interval type running to nail my high end. So in the past few weeks, I decided to alter my goal and just focus on beating my personal best of 21:56 from 2 years ago. As race day approached, I was able to get in a few really good practice runs and new I would be in striking distance of my goal and hopes of a podium. It would be tougher this year as I have moved to the Men 35-39 age group, and this group usually has some really fast guys.

But as luck would have it, within 2 days before the event, heavy snow fell again in the Port Huron area making everything a mess including the race loop.

I arrived early to pick up my stuff and meet my team mates and friends. Todd, Brad D, Brad H, Masher and family, and my work pal Curt were all ready to have fun and kick some butt. We took our spots on the line, and then we were off.

I went out rather hard, trying to keep pace with my pal Curt, but he was turning it on. So then I trailed my team mate Brad H for most of the race, as he was setting about the same pace I could hold. A little later, Todd came by and started to put in a good sized gap. Half way through the loop, the surface turned to a sheet of off camber ice along the board walk!!! This really hurt the pace as it was wise to be cautious. Several folks took spills all around me, including Brad as we rounded the old YMCA building. On the 2nd half of the loop, more ice and Brad and I pulled back Todd. As we rounded the corner on Quay Street, I was already at my max effort. Todd pulled a few feet ahead and Brad came around both of us. Down the final stretch, we all tried to kick it up a notch for the final push. Todd was able to pull ahead the farthest, then Brad, and then me just off his heels. I could not go any harder without puking! We crossed the line

Todd - 22:19
Brad H - 22:27
Me - 22:30

This was enough for us to also do the podium sweep for 1st through 3rd in Men 35-39!!!!! Way to go boys.

As for my pal Curt, he blew the doors off with an under 20:59 and took First in his age group!

Brad D also had a smoking performance with a 23 min effort, taking home 3rd in Men 30-34!

And Avery in her first ever 5K took home 3rd in the 11 and under class with a 42 min effort! WOW!

Overall this was a fantastic day for all. Great event, and I plan on doing it every year. I did not hit my time I was shooting for, but considering the conditions, I think I would have been there. So this is a good sign that my winter training has been going well overall. Now its time to hang the running shoes up until the fall, and focus completely on the bike! Barry-Roubaix will be in just a few short weeks, and with that my actual focused training plan with kick off too.

I can not wait to finally get my tires dirty!!! see you all soon...