Powertap: Little, yellow, different

Yeah that's the old "Nuprin" catch phrase from the 80s I think. Picked up my Powertap SL yesterday.. Not impressed with the amount of hardware your get for the money! (Talking over $1000 here) I'm assuming most of the bling-bling cost is in the hub and the 'puter. Worked out nicely that I was up in Boston yesterday, getting my ass reamed at an owner's meeting, by an architect who I have some history with at other projects.. Why can't I work with guys like John Lowenstein? or Wade Tardiff? or Tom Officer or Gulay's Husband Andy? (actually I did work with Tom long ago). (Any other racers work in carpentry, millwork, construction or architecture? Speak up! We'll form our own team!) At any rate, my sponsor calls and says the PT is IN. YESSS. I swing by on the way back to Providence and settle up. (My yellow epx bike is offered for sale, btw) The rest of the day sucked because I had to drive with wife and child down to JFK to pick up mother-in-law who flew in from Turkey. I love my mother in law, but I hate NYC.. even though I was born in Queens, and even though I lived in Woodside, Kew Gardens, and College Point until I was fifteen, I renew my vow never to live there again during every visit. Needless to say we got home pretty late. That's a lot of driving though.. Round trip to Boston, round trip to JFK, all in one day. Rode in to work this morning.. Keep seeing the same group of 2-3-4 guys on the bike path in the mornings, from the opposite direction. Can't make out the faces or the kits as we greet eachother. It's nice to see friendly faces before getting to work though.. I wonder if any of them are visitors here and think "there goes Murat". I flatter myself completely, I know. Not to pick at old wounds, but I can't help but note the irony of having so much weight given to my words, while being called a "nobody" at the same time. I guess that I'm not the only one who is prone to letting emotions cloud my judgment. Bygones. Peace.

Ninigret Criterium

That's me dead center:

Did the Ninigret Crit last night. I was very hesitant to put myself out there, having DNF'ed the last four races I started. Confidence was at an all time low. So I just stayed sheltered for most of the race, conserved myself. Seemed to be about 60+ guys there. Cool and foggy out. Our team had three, one (Neal Hull) took 2nd in the final sprint
I was so surprised at not being put into difficulty that I didn't know what to do at the end. I maintained field position through the sprint, somewhere in the front 1/3 of the pack. I have to work on being more aggressive and more assertive in the field. Whenever someone behind you detects a bit of weakness, they go around you. Next thing you know, you're blocked on both sides and losing position fast. Crashing three times in the past 3 seasons has not helped any. Getting hit by a car and having your first kid also takes some of the edge off. You tend to stay on the side of caution. I hate that.
You will notice on the chart that during minutes 53, 54 and 55, I made an attempt to bridge up to a break with another. First I had to sprint to his wheel, then he pulled for half a lap, I pulled for half a lap, he pulled for half a lap, and then I pulled through for a little bit but was so gassed I had to sit up. He connected on his own (we were close) but the field picked up speed and caught the whole break within another lap. Felt good to try something though.. Like I said, I have to find little boosts to my confidance any way I can. Opening a gap on the field for a lap and a half helped somewhat.
Another revelation: I've been racing on the hoods for way too long. This is a bad habit of mine, and I do it mainly because I find it painful to be in the drops. It's painful because I never do it, and because of my (disappearing) gut... Well some recent yard work and some recent crunches and core exercises and rest seem to have strengthened my lower back and my abs. I was in the drops the whole time and didn't even realize it til I sat up after the finish. It's a sign that my head was into the race. Being on the hoods felt weird all of a sudden.
Note to self: I race, sprint and accelerate much faster in the drops. Duh.
A team mate who raced there last Wed says that tonight was much faster. I don't know how "slow" it could have been last week, but tonight we averaged 26 mph. We'll be doing in the 27s by mid June.

Time Trial Umbilical Cords

What ever became of those cords which the Italians started using around 1990, to attach their torsos to the stem of their bikes using a wire harness? I remember it being a controversial enhancement to performance in time trials. Banned I suppose. Was designed to give added leverage, but when you think about it, clip-on TT bars sort of do the same thing.. Instead of having one point of contact (hands only) the aero bars give you two (hands and forearms), hence the leverage. As one who has never used such TT bars, please forgive my ignorance. I am not a good time trialist, but that could change. Did the Bob Beal TT last year with no aero enhancements whatsoever, got a shit time of 7:12. This year I might use a set of clip-ons, wear a skinsuit and maybe borrow a rear disk. Maybe not. Getting a shit time is one thing, getting a shit time with all the aero toys, is another. 

A Hopeful Sign

I skipped the ride to work today because I overslept. After work I went out for an hour to test the legs on my favorite gradual climb up Seven Mile Road. I'm in the habit of timing myself on this 2.2 mile stretch. It's not hard at all, in fact it's a big ring hill, if you can even call it that. Just a beautiful scenic piece of road that rises about 240 feet in a little over two miles. Intending to do a recovery ride in the 130-140 bpm range, I took exception and pushed it a little on the "hill", timing it out at 7:13 to the top with an avg HR of 162 (See chart, inset lap 2). Previous personal best was 6:51 last August 26th (HR avg 172). Sure there was a tail wind, but all my best times are with a tail wind on this stretch. It seems that the past many days of rest and sleep have given me benefits. I took it easy for the rest of the ride of course. Loving this weather. Will ride to/from work tomorrow, maybe meet the church riders on the way home for some social riding. Had fun with them last week. Want to do Ninigret Wednesday. Will probably record the race with cam in forward position. That way I can at least reach the start/stop button.

Jiminy Peak

I see the usual suspects among the lists of results.. but one thing was really happy about was the outcome of the Elite road race at Jiminy Peak. Third place: Mike Mathis of the Preferred Care Racing Team, centered in Rochester NY. (A link to their team site is in the sidebar)

I don't know Mike, but he's clearly an up and comer, poised to grab himself a Cat 1 license before too long. What I'm stoked about is that Mike Mathis' coach is a long time friend from of mine from the late 80s. I've mentioned him before: Todd Scheske.

Have I mentioned that Todd has agreed to coach the never before coached Murat? It's true. So what am I so excited about? Well I'm happy for Mike Mathis' podium finish, even though I don't know him personally. I'm happy for Todd, who can take a lot of credit for putting him there. and I'm happy for me, because I hope to claim some top 3 results with Todd's help as well. It might take until the late summer or fall, or until Bob Beal or Topsfield or Jamestown.. but I think my chances have doubled compared to trying to go it alone, using my failed "train when and how you feel like it" program.

I took notice that FnF finished 22nd on Saturday, just behind my old friend Tom Officer. Tom and I are both in the millwork/store fixture business, and know eachother through a former mutual employer and through doing business together back when I was remodeling COACH stores across the country. Good times.     

Resting as much as possible

Saturday: Slept in until 10:30. Took a 3 hour nap at 3:00. No ride. No heavy lifting. Nothing.
Sunday: Slept in until 9:30. Spent 4 hours working around the house, ripping out small tree stumps, grading and landscaping (arms, back and abs got a work-out) Topped it off with a one hour spin on the bike path, 131 bpm avg, no speed. Beautiful out, couldn't resist.
Should I ride to work at all this week? Is my employment one of the main culprits in wearing me out so early this season? Perhaps.. but there's little I can do to avoid that. It's only going to get worse in the summer months. I'm in the business of fitting up the interiors of high schools and colleges with woodwork, casework and laboratory fixtures. Most of the action is in the summer, when there's no class. I have my eye on trying Ninigret Wednesday.. Might have a Powertap installed by then. Time to retire the old Polar 710i? Shouldn't need it with a Powertap, eh?

Burn-out?

I am really slogging through my last few rides. HR doesn't want to go up. When I force it, the whole body screams STOP! I can't help but feel like I was more fit, more fresh back in February. I did the Long Beach Circuit Race in CA back then.. Caught behind a crash and eliminated 1/2 way through.. but we averaged 27-1/2 mph for that first 1/2 hour I was in it, and I was not in any difficulty at all. Now it seems I can't get out of my own way in crits that are not nearly as fast.. The death spiral began at Rick Newhouse I think. Figures. DNFed twice that day. Didn't have it. Naturally, I train harder, longer, faster in frustration.. and DNF again at the GVCC Classic and at Palmer. Something's not right. Do I rest my way back into shape? Forget the bike completely for 1-2 weeks? Does such a rescue plan put me even farther behind the curve? Does it get worse before it gets better, like a home remodeling project? Ugh. 

Tuesday church ride

Anticipating rain on Wednesday, I decided to make tonight's ride into something enjoyable. So I suited up from work and made my way to the church in Cranston. It's about 10 miles to get there. By the time I arrived, there were already about a dozen riders milling around, chatting, getting ready. As I'm told, the Tuesday night ride is easier then the Thursday night ride. That's what I needed, sincerely.. But, there was one rider there who I'd seen at past Thursday rides.. one who was real cool to talk with and one who says he's never raced. Could have fooled me! because on the first hill (Rocky Hill- my first time down that road- liked it) he took off on his own and hammered to the top solo. I was looking forward to an easy ride, nothing intense, but on this very gradual climb I put it into a comfortable gear and spun my way up nice and steady. Someone was on my wheel, don't know who, but I wasn't interested in dropping anyone, just going at my own moderate pace. Felt good, unlike Thursday where I'm turning myself inside out to hold a wheel on the climbs. So we meet the non-racer at the top, me and my anonymous companion. The rest of the group catches up shortly after, all strung out. Later on, we're on route 102 headed toward route 12. Kind of rolling terrain.. me and the non-racer (note to self: ask people their names!) we start to wind it up and push eachother a little bit. This guy's srong as hell in my opinion. We traded pulls down Carpenter Road, leaving the group behind. Rather, I took "a" pull and he motored the rest of the way while I kept looking down at my cassette and checking for flats.. You know what I mean.. By the time we reached Hope Furnace, I was in cool down mode and he just kept cranking all the way to 116 on his own. I caught up, a moment later the rest of the group caught up, and I had to screw to get home before the future ex-wife started packing her bags.. (or mine?) Very fun ride. Great people. Looking forward to next Tuesday. I still feel like I'm ina rut physically. Felt more energetic today for sure, legs felt heavy and stiff, but it was a good day on the bike for a change. Ninigret tomorrow? Will it rain? Should I join the big boys again on Thursday and subject myself to another thrashing?
Today I discovered that our man Arik Jon Holm won the 35+ race at Palmer! That news pretty much made my day.

Palmer Library 35+ Road Race Video

Palmer Library RR Video...

Sorry for the delay! My home wireless network kept failing, so I humped my computer downstairs closer to the router and finally got it done. Mind you, it takes about an hour to compile the video in Moviemaker, add titles, music etc.. It takes another hour to save it to disk. It then takes another hour to upload to Google, and then another hour for them to process and approve it. We're almost there. Thanks for patience.

I've hired a coach

No more riding my ass off just because the weather is nice, and then resting only on the rainy days. No more "winging it" when it comes to training frequency, duration and intensity. No more "racing my way into fitness".. No more fooling myself into believing that I have it "all figured out" just because I started started racing 20 years ago. Time for a serious gut check.. 

I have selected a coach who I believe will get me out of this death spiral, straighten me out and have me flying straight. I'm cautiously optimistic. And yes, this also means I am getting myself a power meter too.    

Palmer Library Road Race DNF Report

Grrrrrr. I continue to be eluded by the finish line of a road race.. It's no coincidence that all of the races I've ever won were criteriums. Why I continue to bash my head in trying to do an event I suck at, G-d only knows.. Maybe it's the fluke result (if you can call it that) which I earned at Topsfield last year in the P-1-2-3 race. Gave my confidence some wings.. but a few weeks later at Jamestown P-3, I quit after the first 54 minute lap. I was gassed. Seems that on a really good day, I can finish a road race. Anything less, and my heart isn't into it. The head prevails.. It says.. "You are suffering like a dog on the first lap, you shouldn't be in difficulty.. You are pack fodder today with no hope of even riding at the front, much less cracking top 20.. Three, four or five more laps of this will make you feel even worse.. and for what? To say you finished? 80th? DFL? Stop punishing yourself.. You're better than this.. Go home.. lick your wounds.. rest.. toss your training/rest plan in the circular file and start over.. Anything worth doing, is worth doing right.. All or nothing.."
Story of my life, those last three words..
After the first lap, a few miles past the finish, we were cresting a rise and I couldn't see the top.. I'm in the big ring and I notice a lot of others are in the little ring.. Should have followed suit, but I felt committed. After the top, I'm fading, dangling at the very back, legs sloshing with lactic acid, they don't want to go anymore.. It's at this point when a switch is thrown, one which illuminates the "This isn't fun anymore" sign.. I'm not a masochist, I race because I tend to enjoy it immensely, and polluting that enjoyment by forcing a bad day into a death march, isn't good for my future in the sport. After I begin to coast, a very friendly racer passes by, slows down and asks my name. In times when I want to turn invisible, I forget my manners- I didn't ask his name.. Hopefully he visits here and says hi. A few seconds later, Gewilli comes bombing down the road and the two of them try to rally me into a 40 mile training ride.. I consider it as I produce more acid trying to accelerate.. but my mind was already made up. The fire was smothered completely.. would not re-ignite. I pulled a u-turn back towards my wife and kid who were waiting for me at the Warren School. Regrets for that guys.. Thanks for trying and I hope you got more out of it than I did.
I think I'll clear my calendar of all road races for the next 30 days. "Stick to what you know" seems to ring true right now.
"All or nothing".. Destructive behavior? or not?

Palmer Library 35+ Road Race Video, Coming Up

32 minutes of footage.

Ready for Palmer?

As ready as possible I guess.. I rode 30 easy miles today.. and got to thinking.. whatever I've done in the past 30 days has a much bigger effect on tomorrow's performance than anything I do today.. So why fret about anything? What's done is done. You either have it or you don't.. Going easy today was the right move, because the most important thing of all tomorrow is to feel rested at the start.. The camera is installed, this time aimed a little lower so I don't end up recording so much sky.. I am going to turn it on at the start and we'll get about 30 minutes of continuous footage out of it- one lap or more. If it were possible to start it on the third lap I would, but it's not possible to reach under the saddle, power it up and hit the start button, not without stopping. I could lower the quality of the recording and get an hour or more out of the 2 gig SD card, but that might end up looking pretty bad on screen.

Recent charts: Loud Road & Tunk Hill Road

The first chart shows you a ride in the Pittsford/Victor area of Rochester, NY this past weekend. The hill which you see in the profile is the infamous "Loud Road" which climbs 319 feet in 1.4 miles. Then a fast descent and another 172 foot rise in 1/2 mile. I lived only five miles from this road as a junior, and used it very often to work on climbing. Back then I'd grind it out in the 42x16 seated, as I was 30 pounds lighter than present. I always feel at home on that climb. The GVCC used the two climbs for a prologue TT one year, part of a stage race we organized. I got 4th.

This second chart is tonight's ride from the Church. Big turn out, especially after we connected with another group of 6-7 riders. Towards the end of my ride, peaking in the 78th minute, is the Tunk Hill Road climb.. (I had to head towards home after this climb, hence the mirror image) This is another rise which I'm pretty familiar with, having climbed it dozens of times in the past few years, but always by myself, never in a group. I always wondered how I'd fare in a fast group like tonight. Truth is, I can't climb very well right now. Felt really good on the steeper first half, then I came apart about 100 meters from the summit. This one rises 220 feet in one mile, but the 2nd half isn't steep at all.. Looking back on my Polar records, I find that my fastest time up this hill is 4 minutes flat, using the big ring back on Oct 2nd... Today was the same exact time of 4 minutes, except using the little ring and very early in the season in comparison. I'm hoping this means I'm ahead of the curve in 2007. Thanks for reading.

Palmer Library Road Race: I'm in

Confirmed Rider List

Junk Miles?

After my meltdown at the GVCC Classic, I didn't get to see Todd Scheske again, but he called me in the evening to make sure I was okay. I love that. Says it all about him doesn't it? Anyway we get to talking about things for almost 1/2 hour and I explain that I weigh 25 pounds more than we did back when we were juniors (I'm 174) Todd, on the other hand, seems to have lost weight since that time somehow.. Todd's like "holy shit dude! Drop ten pounds and your power/kg will go off the chart" Duh! I've known this.. but no matter what I do I can't get under 170 so far this season.. Maybe I will soon though because of the daily bike commute becoming a regular thing.. Hope so.. although Todd refers to such riding as "junk miles". (Ouch) Todd's a Cat One who definitely has his stuff together, going to Master's Nationals, winning at Chris Thater et al... We're the same age. He uses a power meter and trains smart.. So smart in fact that he offers coaching... The Cat One (Mike Mathis) who won the GVCC Classic is Todd's pupil. With my recent lack of results and getting my nose rubbed in it publicly, I'm thinking I'll take him up on it. Insanity can be defined as continuing to do the same thing, and expecting different results. Could I be beyond help? At my genetically pre-disposed limits of performance? I doubt it.    

GVCC Classic

My five or so readers might want to know: I got my ass handed to me in Sunday's race. If they had a 35+ race, I might have had 1/2 a chance.. They did 40+ instead.. so I had to try the 1-2 race. Out of over 40 starters, about 18 finished. Guess I'm not the only one who needs to "turn down the suck knob". Results
My buddy Todd got 7th.. Judging from the times, the small field was pretty much shattered at the end..

Click here to visit Murat's myspace page

...NOT! Except for his anti-Semitism, I consider it a privilege to share the last three letters of my name with Borat. (yes, they are r-a-t.. go wild with that one)
IAGSHEMASH!!!

GVCC Spring Classic Prelude

Today's weather was awesome.. enough so that I took a 2-1/2 hour recovery ride in anticipation of tomorrow's death march of 66 miles in the 1-2-3 event. A good friend since 20 years ago, Todd Scheske, is the organiser (and president of the Genesee Valley Cycling Club). Today I rang his wireless kind of frantically to tell him I was on my way to Rochester, but that I couldn't find my license. No worries, he says. We made the trip in 6-1/2 hours, including one 1/2 hour pit stop. Upon arrival at my mom's, I suited up and hit the road with my younger brother Ali. He accompanied me for the first 90 minutes, then I continued on my own after that. The straight flat wide shouldered roads of northeast Monroe County are nice, especially when you want to take it easy. HR got up over 125 only once or twice, otherwise I was just doing 90-110 bpm, what a recovery ride should be.. So now I'm alone while wife, son, mother and brother are all out with friends. Sipping an Amstel Light, which I know I won't finish.. Legs freshly shorn.. I was like, wow, it's been a while hasn't it? Actually I'm on the once a week program.. Little secret: use good quality hair conditioner instead of shaving cream. So much better for the skin, no cuts or nicks, ever.. Anyways, I notice some veins have finally reached the surface! Some of the veins had veins of their own popping out.. Kidding. It's just encouraging to see that the layer of fat on my legs has gotten thinner, that's all. What will tomorrow bring? It's a rolling 11 mile loop with 1000 feet of climbing per lap, and we're doing it six times. I'm excited to be racing back in my home town.. together with some old friends here in Western NY. To be honest, a lot of the people I used to run with aren't in the sport anymore. Too bad... but many others still are.. My goal is to finish tomorrow without popping. Get to the end of the sixth lap without any stupid strength wasting maneuvers. I tend to get ahead of myself on the short climbs, pushing 100% to the top and then expecting to recover on the other side. I need to use my energy in carefully metered doses if I am to last 66 miles without cramping up. It will be a disappointment if I get shelled.. but let's not confuse humility with a lack of self-respect... I intend to have a great time and come away with a great day of training among friends, if nothing else.