- it's all about pace
- Jacksonville, FL, United States
- In Life as well as in running the secret is Pace.
Showing posts with label cyclocross. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cyclocross. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
“CHRISCROSS” on Vimeo
Chris Akrigg explains cyclocross then does a few hundred things on a cross bike that I'd not even dream to attempt.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Southern Cross 2014
My heart is pounding in my chest… I know that my heart rate must be in the 160s… 165 is redline… I can feel the lactic acid building in my legs. I look down at my Garmin… it is set to display time and distance only… it reads 16.8 miles. This is a ~50 mile race… I pedal for 5 or 10 more seconds then quickly dismount… and walk and push my bike… and wonder if I will be able to make it to the finish…
But I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself here…
We Headed North on Friday morning with a Subaru full of bike gear…
At one point I looked over next to us and saw this:
Just in case the picture isn't clear… that's a bike with a propeller… like you would see on an airboat, mounted on the back. Hmmmm
We picked up my friend John @ the ATL and made our way to Gainesville where we stayed with the best aunt evah!
She put us up (and put up with us) for 3 nights… bless her sweet heart
Saturday morning we got all kitted up and made our way over to Dahlonega for the race start.
We got lined up, once we figured out where the start line was.. and seeded ourselves about 2/3 of the way back.
The course starts with a Cyclocross course through the vineyard… and with so many people trying to squeeze through it was slow going through there…
The next section was on blacktop road and I took the opportunity to move up a bit… all too soon however we were on the gravel. The first few miles were rolling and fun. Just picking a good line on the doubletrack and keeping everything under control. Not too different from a Tuesday night at Guana Park.
Then the climb started… and that was okay… now I'm a flatlander… really flat… and came into the race about 8 lbs over race weight… but I was climbing okay at first… which takes us back to the beginning of this post. Walking and pushing… which I did for about 8 minutes on the first climb. Skinnier and I might have been able to ride it… a more relaxed gear ratio might have helped too… but I had to race what I brought. Walking brought my heartrate down and I was able to ride a bit more… but up near the top it was really steep and I did walk again for a minute or two…. I still didn't know how I was going to cover the 32 miles that remained of the race but I really didn't have much time to think about it because….
The descent… the one thing I really could not prepare for… Climbing can be simulated but flying down a 12 percent grade of rutted, rocky, hairpin switchbacks cannot… maybe watching Bode Miller at the Olympics helped… I felt that "just on the edge of out of control" but at the same time I was feeling pretty good about myself for going as fast as I was going without crashing (meaning I was being brave)… well that was until I started getting passed by all these folks with actual handling skills.
There was a road section in the middle of the race and as soon as I got there I sat up and just started breathing… seemingly seconds later a rider comes past and taps me on the shoulder and says "LETS GO!" and so we did… after picking up another rider… we killed the next 4 or 5 miles of rollers and passed many of the riders who passed me while I was either walking or making my way down the descent….
As soon as we hit the gravel again the road started going up again and I lost my friends almost immediately and did not even get a chance to say thanks. The second climb was longer but more gradual which was *much* better for me. I was able to stay in control of my heartrate and keep a steady pace.
The second descent was, if possible, faster, tighter, bumpier, more dangerous, and steeper. I managed to white knuckle my way down it without mishap and with only a dozen or so real bike riders passing me… this lead to the blacktop and my biggest mistake of the day.
This blog is titled "AllABoutPace" and when I'm running I am very cognizant of pace and what I can handle versus what I cannot… put me on a bike however and that goes out the window… especially in a race and even more so towards the end of a race. I realized that I had just a few miles to go (to be at 50 miles) and about 30 minutes to break 4 hours…
And I rode like a demon… I recruited a couple of guys to ride with me and swap a few pulls… and basically gave it everything I had… and emptied the tank just as we turned into the winery and the dismount point came into view…
Yep… I forgot about the Cyclocross course that needed to be negotiated again…
Whereas the course wasn't too hard when fresh and impeded by the pack… now that I had been on the bike for 4 hours and killing it for the previous 25 minutes I just wanted to quit on the spot. I didn't tho.. and trudge up this…
Yes those dots between the green and blue are people near the top… it was long and it was steep. Adding onto my woes I had left my bike in its largest gear which led me to slip my chain at the top… a few turns later I misjudged a corner, hit a stump, and went over my handlebars… I finally finished in 4:14… tired, shaken, and totally cooked. 132nd out of ~250
Course profile:
In summation…
The climbs sucked, the descents sucked, there were no flat parts and the Cyclocross course dang near killed me.
But… we had a great time and am looking forward to going back next year
Friday, January 3, 2014
2013
The numbers
Swim: an hour or so total
Bike: 240 hours ~4000 miles
Run: 1850 miles ( zero in December)
the first year I remember that I did not capture a Goals List
oh, I had goals just the Same but without a list it's a bit harder to reflect.
so….
what went well?
1. I think I was a better dad in 2013…. might be my best year yet… not the easiest… Parenting is hard… really hard… and not just hard to do… hard to know if you are even on the right track.
oh I do love the parents of second graders who think they have it all figured out…. I simply smile and nod… they will see one day
these days with an 18 year old… and a 20 year old I find myself listening more, asking more questions, and giving gentle advice…. a tectonic shift from the "drill sergeant dad" i once was…
2. Career is going okay too… I count myself very lucky… I have a job that is rewarding, coworkers and a staff that I really like and enjoy interacting with, yet my job does not control my life. win-win
3. I am also oh so fortunate to be married to the sweetest woman on the planet…. peace, love, and harmony at home…. the richest blessing anyone could ask for
4. RATS was once again a tremendous journey… both the training for and the trip/race… memories and lessons to hold dear for a lifetime… yet after 3 trips the desire to run through the desert has left me. I sucked at being an ultrarunner this year… yet I finished in the top 5 overall in the only two 5ks I did… maybe I should think about that…
5. I have made some new friends… after RATS my running quite literally fell apart… Cycling is what I wanted to concentrate on for a while and to that end Judi and I started riding with one of the cycling groups here in town… in the past few months I have met a bunch of people and am really having a blast riding 2-3 times a week with these guys…
Okay…
we have started this off on a positive note… good.
The one thing that will forever define 2013 is the loss of my mother…
I've lost aunts and uncles, grandparents, and cousins… even a couple of friends along the way… but never anyone so close…. And really who could be closer?
I've seen other lose their parents and while I have felt for them… in the back of my mind I've always thought… "well.. it's the natural order of things… they knew it was going to happen… they should really just get over it" and there you have it friends… in the back of my mind I'm an asshole
Nine months on… and I still tear up at a memory… a "I'm going to ask my mom about" this that or the other thought that I have…
I would write some more and try and wrap this up on a positive note but I don't really have anything else to say about 2013… so let's just do a picture show
January:
Lots o stairmilling
February:
Breast Cancer Marathon in memory of an old friend
March:
Running in the rain with Jimmy
April:
Mom
May:
Self-supported midnight Marathon
June:
Another great week with our RATS Family
July:
Golf
August:
September:
Group Ride to Amelia on Labor Day
October:
Muddy Cyclocross
November:
Bike crash on the Guana Ride
December:
Late Friday afternoon solo ride
Friday, October 25, 2013
Ridin' Dirty
So… I have been doing a lot of riding…
Group rides:
Cyclocross Races:
Trainer rides:
Climbing Mountain Passes:
I even placed in a Cyclocross race:
I know… 3rd place in the "B" race is not the Olympics or Le Tour but for me…. Being the 3rd fastest non Cat 3 or above goofy cyclist running around in a city park on a Thursday is kinda groovy
But last Tuesday… well let's just say that I found my people…
One of our local group rides (http://beachesfirststreetcycling.blogspot.com) goes off-road in the off-season…
Well actually the road looks like this:
In the daytime…. And when it is dry….
Well… last Tuesday it rained all day and the sandy dirt road was awash… but…
About 25 of us went out and rode our bikes from twilight into pitch black darkness down these roads like we were racing Paris-Roubaix
It. Was. Awesome.
Afterwards I looked like this:
And my bike may never be same
But I'll be back next week… is it Tuesday yet?
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
September
Yes kids that's a bunch of bike hours… almost like it's a part time job
Run distance is not as consistent as I would like. I need to work on that
Swimming… gotta get back in the pool. Planning on a few triathlons next year.
Kid Rodelo
The first novel that I ever read….. way back in like 1979 I found a digital copy online so I re-read it… Kind of a quick easy read.
I started reading anther book that I'm pretty excited about
If you are an athlete… I advise you to check out this guy's website:
it can change your athletic life.
His mantra is simple… yet a bit unconventional for the overmedicated masses…
In other news…
It's Cyclocross Season.
Pretty muddy last week… not my best race. I struggled a bit jumping/landing on my creaky old knee and with 3 creek crossings it was not a fast course for me… but it was muddy and we had beer so who cares.
Spinning:
Judi and I are half way to our goal of becoming spin instructors… We have taken a basic fitness course as well as CPR and First Aid
Now for the cycling part. I think that we have decided to get the Cycle Fusion Cert:
Hopefully we will be teaching classes by January
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Guess how many intervals I did today...
If you guessed 6 you are correct!
1 mile warm-up… 6 @ 3 minute intervals with a 90 second recovery interval 1 mile cool down.
In this: 
weather
weather
I'm sure this will pay off during cross season.. which starts this week!
Heck to the yeah!
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