North Stonington Pre-ride Feedback

Seems I wasn't the only one training on the race course yesterday.. Ran into a couple of other riders.. Had to apologize to one of them for seeming unsociable, as it's hard to chit-chat while doing one minute on/one minute off intervals in rapid succession.. Also very hard to hold watts on such a rolling course. You're either getting into your granny gear or into the 53x14 to keep it pegged where you're supposed to. Still, it was great to see the course and inspect it's surface and scope out the "hill". At only five miles around, I think I can really get my head into this event. The "hill" seems to rise about 125-150 feet in 1 km, but it's really just a series of short rises with some flat relief in between them. I didn't try it in the big ring, but I imagine that with fresh enough legs, one could power to the top and easily open a gap on the little-ringers. Beautiful scenic course.. kind of narrow, no yellow line on a lot of it, might be a little hard to gain position, or easy to lose position if you're on the wrong wheel (like mine!). Kidding. I self-depracate with tongue in cheek, of couse. I think I'll have the legs to be there at the finish, which is at the top of the climb. There's a hairy fast corner at the bottom of the descent, when we turn onto Hangman Hill Road. We'll be flying through that turn.

Succinctly speaking..

I will be training on the North Stonington course later today.. caught in yesterday's rain storm while riding in Coventry after work.. pushed my luck.. got drenched.. rode 5 minutes to work this AM when I realized I forgot to take out the trash.. was under-dressed anyway, so I doubled back, took care of trash, added skull cap, wind breaker and changed shoes.. yeah my spare shoes felt too weird.. one cleat was loose.. preferred to wear the wet shoes BION.. Rode in to work late too.. one minute intervals at FT scheduled for tonight.. ten in a row with one minute recovery in between.. then another three later on at FT +5% for good measure.. one min recoveries.. fretting about the hill at Stonington a little bit.. maybe better not to see it?.. but I hate surprises. This one is supposed to be about 1 km.. I should be able to handle it. The watts will be interesting to see.. comparing today to race day.. 170.5 pounds! Almost there.. 160s here I come! Weight loss has been slow and steady since February.. There's a 150 pound person beneath all of this flubber. Ciao!

North Stonington Classic: I'm in (?)

I've been directed to do the Pro-1-2-3 event at the North Stonington Classic this Sunday. I'm apprehensive, nervous, wringing my hands about it, yet still cautiously optimistic. Road races are not my thing, especially if they're over 50 miles and include a 1 km climb. Coach says it will do me good to give it my best shot AND complete it at tempo pace if/when I get shelled. "Finish what you start" ;)
So I will pass on the 35+, which is potentially just as fast, but half the distance. Voice in my head thunders that this is the wrong move, but I guess it's for a training benefit, more so than a result. I hope not to be an early casualty. Every ounce of my being will go into selecting a solid wheel and not letting go, especially on the climb. I do like the start time very much though: 2:00 pm. Means I can get a full 8-9 hours of sleep, which is rare.
I don't know what I'm so afraid of, my form isn't that horrible right now. I'd venture to say that I'm not that far from my condition at the Topsfield race last September, where I got 23rd in the P-1-2-3 event. (I know I keep bringing that up, but realize that was only the second road race I'd done since 1995, so it was huge for me to finish something other than a crit for a change, even if it required me to sit-in the whole time in order to survive) Yeah, I know, I don't do that great in crits either, but I enjoy them a whole lot more.

Introducing: Haluk Sarci, 3rd place at Bear Mountain

Who? Haluk Sarci. I don't know him personally myself.. but the name sort of stands out for a guy like me, one who sometimes feels completely isolated from the homeland we call the Turkish Republic. So when I discover another Turkish bike racer who has earned a solid result (any result!) in a race here in the US, it's a special occasion. Forgive me if this comes off as racist, it's not. I'm a Turkish nationalist, it wouldn't matter if Haluk were a Kurdish-Armenian Sephardic Jew, as long as he's a Turkish national, that's all that matters in my eyes. That said, let me draw attention to Haluk's recent podium finish in the 40+ Bear Mountain Spring Classic. (Take note that 55 year old Tom Officer is also tearing it up in the 40+ event, in 4th place) It appears that Haluk is a very successful triathlete and also a coach. You can view the particulars here. I salute him for his great result and look forward to meeting in person, maybe at a venue in CT sometime.

Haluk Sarci was born in Istanbul, Turkey and began his athletic adventures as a member of the National Track and Field Team in Turkey. An Olympic qualifier for the 1980 Olympics, Haluk held the honor of representing his country even though they were eventually boycotted. In 1984 Haluk immigrated to the United States where he participated in six New York City Marathons and five Boston Marathons where he set his personal record of 2 hrs. 35 min. Haluk has experience in the sport of Duathlon, Triathlon, Running, swimming, and road cycling. He has been participating in triathlons for more than nine years and has competed in many national and international events.

Another quickie.. HR vs Watts

What an eye-opener this Powertap device is. Took my first ride home from work with it yesterday, at the CORRECT "active recovery" pace. Seems that I haven't really done a proper recovery ride in the past three years! Typically, my goal on recovery rides was to simply keep the average heart rate in the 135-140 range. All the while I was in "endurance" mode.. Last night riding home from work, I averaged 125 watts and 114 Avg HR. And this morning, more evidence that HR is not as useful a measure as we thought: Ride to work this AM was 118 watts, 121 avg HR. Why? Maybe because of the tail wind? Maybe because it was 20 degrees cooler out than last night? Morning vs evening? Most likely, riding to work is more stressful than riding home, me thinks.

Coach says...

No training races for the next month or so (Grrrr..) at least until after Keith Berger Crit.. (which is one of my "A" events- I am aiming to do really well there) Will be hard to keep away from Ninigret. Need to focus on other training goals right now. Next few weeks are going to hurt.

Reak quick..

Powertap lacks many of the features of my Polar 710i. (temp, altitude, lap time, start/stop) Maybe I just need to find better instructions.Not happy about that. I did my "field test" on Saturday and discovered the unsurprising/disappointing results.. Rode myself into the ground last week at 13-1/2 total hours, 245 total miles including commuting. Probably won't top that again for a few weeks. Drove in to work today. Will probably drive home and back for lunch to stock up on this week's work clothing, grab the bike and the gear and take an easy ride home. Weight is down to 171. Worked around the house all weekend pulling tree stumps, grading, moving earth, shoveling, spreading 4 cubic yards of landscape stone. Plan to race Wed night at Ninigret. I now have a definite training program in place, thanks to coach Todd Scheske.. It's nice to have a plan.

At the risk of getting soaked..

..Gewilli convinced me to ride home tonight. It's going to be a bittersweet ride too.. Saying goodbye to the old Polar 710i.. being the last ride I will use it for a while, if ever. Three years old and still works perfectly. Odometer has 10,632 miles on it, 575 hours of ride time, over half a million calories burned.. But not a single watt recorded... My 57cm epx is offered for the insane price of only $1200. A fast ride for the dough. If no interest in the next couple of days, it's going onto ebay to help replace the Powertap money.

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?