Since I turned 40...

You would know all this is we were Facebook friends...

I train almost daily. I really like training. At some point I may have started enjoying training more than racing. Well, maybe more than racing and not winning.

I started using Strava which is neat in its Facebook-like social aspects and has some nice training and fitness features such as Segments. It is not perfect from a technology perspective. Uploading can be painful, especially larger files. And for some reason Strava admits to being unable to correctly identify the date and time of a session without GPS data such as a stationary trainer.

We went to Montréal for my mom's birthday. It was a nice family get together and I felt the most at ease with the rest of the family as I've ever felt. I am not really regarded as a kid anymore and it's good. I had great conversations with my aunts and uncles and even good discussions with my niece and nephews. Montréal can be an old dirty place, yet its surrounding areas are beautiful.

Late last year I got a warranty road bike frame thanx to Salt Lake City Bicycles and Trek. Unfortunately the carbon failed on the front of the left chainstay. It took awhile to get used to the Ferrari red bike I had but didn't take long at all to get used to this color.
Not long after I joined the Skyline Cycle / Young Subary race team and couldn't pass up an opportunity to build a sweet new Niner Jet 9 RDO. So far I've ridden this bike a handful of times and can definitely feel some differences between it and my Trek Fuel Ex 9.8.

In late March we went to Fruita, CO instead of Moab. That was a last minute decision made as we were driving toward I-70 discussing the possible crowds brought by the Jeep festival. Fruita is less that 40 miles further than Moab and has been on our to-do list for awhile. Fruita has done a good job at advertising and competing for the Moab mountain biking crowd.

We spent a few days there and felt it is a good option with well-organized areas for all types of abilities.

Lastly I raced my first mountain bike race as an Expert, and as expected, I am not ready to compete with that crowd. I got my ass kicked. I moved up to Expert to improve my racing and I definitely have quite the challenge ahead of me.

40 it is.

December 17th was the night of my 40th birthday party thanks to Vanessa. That night was the culmination of a huge effort organizing an excellent get together with decorations, food, friends, a few drinks, and complete with a full size Quebec flag. Yeah it was originally planned to be a surprise party but that’s just not possible due to my superior detective skills.

Approximately 30 people were treated to a slideshow of way too many pictures of me – which I admit I enabled – and a music playlist of my favorites. There’s a chance that means some people can see beyond the assholeness and actually like me. Who knew? Although somewhat embarrassing the pictures were nice as a reminder of accomplishments and adventures. One baby picture got me to say “wow, that was a different life ago.” I don’t think I’d ever seen that one and must thank my mom for causing trouble from 700 miles away.

Kraig commented on the group being comprised of the old crew and the new crew which I thought about a few times since. I seem to make a few good friends along the way and keep them. I think the oldest relationship represented is from 1995 – 16 years ago – and the newest is from the 12 hours of Sundance mountain bike race just last October with plenty of people in the middle. Some of these friends grew out of the workplace and others out of leisure activities. Interestingly I think the group was split 50/50 among those two categories.

One common theme among the attendees is they all spoiled me by showing up but for some reason people felt the need to bring gifts. I truly never considered receiving gifts because by the time someone is THIS OLD they really don’t need anything, but people did awesome. Thanks to all.

Oh, and the whole “turning 40” thing? I had all bike racing season to think about it because I raced as a 40+ this year. One’s racing age is their age as of 12/31 of that year. And bike racing also helps me feel pretty good about my fitness compared to people of all ages, so yeah, I’m all good with 40. Bring it on.

2011 season

For 2011 my season goals were to complete Park City Point 2 Point under 9 hours, achieve 5 top 3 finishes in road races, and achieve top 5 overall in the Intermountain Cup mountain bike series. I reached the Intermountain Cup goal by achieving a 2nd place in the series.

I had a few decisions to make during the season, one of which was to focus on the ICup races more than road races. I actually rode my road bike quite a bit but I chose to prioritize races on the ICup circuit to maximize my chances of getting a top 5. Truthfully I started thinking a top 1 was possible during the middle of the series, but Jonas turned out to be out of my league and surpassed me.

At some point during the Intermountain Cup season I also decided to start focusing my training away from ICup events in favor of the longer Park City Point 2 Point because that was also an important goal I had for the season. As much as I wanted to do it all, my goals were a little unrealistic in their variety. I can only do well at one discipline at a time.

Miles

I rode 3035 road miles and 1232 mountain miles. Last season I logged over 1100 mountain miles but didn't believe it. This season I believe it. I spent A LOT more time on the dirt. And it was great fun. Most every mountain bike ride is a blast where some of the road miles get old and boring. I AM a variety whore though.

I do have to admit this season had plenty of lonely moments. The breakup of the SLC Bicycle Co. race team was nice in its reduction of drama but not as nice in the group ride aspects. The positive side of that coin is that I concentrated on my training even more than last years by not having the peer pressure of group rides without a training focus. I did join a lot of Rooters Bikers Edge rides and tried to integrate my training plan into them with decent success.

Best season

Results wise 2011 was my best season so far. Enjoyment wise as well. The mountain bike crowd is quite friendly while providing plenty of competition. It's really great to be cheered on by competitors - even direct competitors based on age and ability - during the race. If you're doing better than someone else they will usually encourage you. And it feels great to reciprocate as well. I really enjoy cheering someone on, and not get the ice-race-face look like some of the roadies give you. Yeah, I've cheered roadies on too. And sometimes they appreciate it but sometimes not so much.

I got a win!!!!

During the last race of the ICup season at Snowbasin I earned the opportunity stand on the top step of the podium! That felt good and of course I hope to repeat that accomplishment. The remainder of the season was filled with many top 5 finishes which also felt quite nice because as I said, the competition is pretty stiff.

Training

The Cyclist's Training Bible by Joe Friel suits me. I enjoy the structure, having a reason to get on the bike for each outing, keeping a log of my training, and the variety of workouts. This season I was also able to prove my results vs. my training peaks using SportTracks which helps me believe I am on the right track. Each A race corresponds to a high level of fitness coupled with low fatigue, resulting in the best results of the season.

Mechanicals

None! The bike was awesome. The tires didn't flat. It just worked. I am getting different tires though. As much as I enjoy the fast rolling Continental Race Kings I just can't make them stick on tight turns and it slows me down. Moving on to something else.

What's next

Maybe it's time for a coach? A TT bike? Definitely moving on to the Expert Intermountain Cup ability level, which means I won't see top 5s for awhile. And I'm moving back toward endurance events. Some on dirt, some on road. Should be great fun!

My Point 2 Point experience

See?? The bottle says I DID IT!!

It was a cold start at about 36 degrees at 7:00 am in Round valley. I woke up at 5:45, did my stuff, had very little time to dink around, and had planned it that way. I wanted to pretty much get up, eat, and go.

The start was nice and easy up a dirt road where the faster and more adrenalined filled people could get up front. I took it easy starting at the back of the 9-10 hour group. Turned out I was right in place with a 9:46 finish.

The sun came up a few minutes after the start which was quite nice as my fingers had frozen by the end of the dirt road and I didn't care for handling my bike without feeling my brakes or handlebar. I typically like to feel. Luckily everyone was pretty mellow so all went well. Until my little slide out of a fast turn. I decided my tire selection this year has caused me plenty of grief. I like how fast and light my Continental Race Kings are but I cannot make them handle corners. I have had many incidents during the season and have learned to take corners much slower than I know I can. I will go with different tires once these wear out. Note to self: commute to work with race tires :)

At the end of Round valley is a nice asphalt patch where I planned on taking off my arm and leg warmers so I started rolling them off on the double track before that pavement. I found Vanessa was waiting at the very start of the pavement, so I stopped, fumbled, struggled, and finally got those things off. I donno how I ever took those off while riding LOTOJA cause this time they weren't coming off. No biggie. They came off. It was time to eat and get to Deer Valley.

Did I ever mention how awesome Vanessa is? She took yet another day to support me while I was pummelling myself to the ground. She must enjoy seeing me destroyed.

I broke the race down into a bunch of sections for my own sanity. Round valley, to Deer Valley, first feed at Silver Lake lodge, TG, shadow lake, park city, spiro, iron mountain, and ambush. I felt getting through Deer Valley and down TG was pretty quick; the first feed went well although the placement of the support was a little confusing. I knew I was supposed to ride the practice loop section first but the placement of the people made me doubt it. I was set on my way after stopping, looking dumbfounded, and spotting Vanessa.

The most difficult section was the climb from the bottom of John's up past Shadow Lake. So much climbing, so relentless. It changed my mindset from a great day to wanting to finish. The best thing I did is tell myself I had a 22 mile home stretch after I finished that climb. All I had to do is finish that climb, see the lake, and then it's a 22 mile home stretch.

After my stop at the Park City feed zone I had the spiro climb to deal with. After telling myself about the 22 mile home stretch, I counted the number of climbs left. 3 climbs left: spiro, iron mountain, ambush. While on spiro I just cranked telling myself I had 2 to go after that one. But it took for ever. And some more. I had great company for a portion of the climb and had an excellent pace but I then got caught on a root or rock, stopped my momentum, and didn't keep up with the guy that was keeping me company. I got deflated a bit. And it kept going for-eeeever. Looks like almost an hour from the 5:13 mark to 6:09. That's a lot of climbing.

Finally I found myself at the Mid-Mountain to Iron Mountain intersection. This time I went the right way as opposed to my preride. I would have preferred to go the wrong way, add mileage and elevation, and get MUCH better singletrack. That mid-mountain section was horribly rocky: the loose shale, huge rocks that are feet in diameter, and absolutely no fun.

Once I started recognizing the trail again I saw some chairlifts. I am at The Canyons! I started looking at my mileage and it showed 11 miles to go. At 10 miles to go I had ridden for 8:15 and thought I could maybe ride 10 mph for the remainder to finish at 9:15 which would be an excellent time - for me. My legs disagreed. I tried, I pushed for the next 30 minutes, past Red Pine lodge, but there was still too much climbing to do and not enough legs remained. Finally I arrived at Ambush which I was quite mentally ready for as I appreciate the kind of sick humor needed to make someone climb back away from the finish line 3 miles from the end. I took it as a victory lap until two guys passed me like I was standing still. I congratulated them and told them they were doing a good job for finishing strong, but it was time for me to be done. Luckily I pretty much was. One more evil downhill through rutted terrain, some switchbacks, one more slide out on the second to last turn, and I'm down the road to the finish line.

Notice I didn't talk about nutrition? EFS liquid shot worked great all day, with the occasional Clif Bar for some solid food. I think I just wanted the satisfaction of eating solids; I think EFS would have worked fine. At the Park City feed zone I grabbed a bottle of Carbo Rocket and my trusty Rice Krispie treats because I wanted some variety, and still had one or two swigs of EFS. I am surprised how well it worked. Well done, First Endurance.



I finished 16th out of 56 finishers and 76 starters of the 40-49 age group.
Overall I am 118th out of 253 finishers and 311 starters.

After waking up from my much needed nap I posted "The Park City Point 2 Point bike race is by far the hardest thing I have ever done on a bike. LOTOJA, tour de park city, death ride, pfffft" on Facebook. I meant it. Tough event. Luckily it went as well as my previous 9+ hour events and I am quite satisfied with the results.

I think I heard this photographer say "Nice Job" as he took the shot ->

Park City Point 2 Point
Garmin data
Milliseconds timing

park city point 2 point is imminent

When I first heard of the park city point 2 point race I wanted to try it. To see if I could finish.

Then I got registered. Then I prepared my season goals. Finishing is not really quantifyable, so I figured 10 hours given my lotoja experience. Then I heard of people doing leadville in under 9 so I should be able to do this under 9. So that became my goal.

A month ago I prerode the course, doing in 3 days what I have to do in one day this Saturday, and changed my goal to just finishing. Right back to the beginning.

Last week I raced the mt ogden 50k, crashed, hurt my knee, and realized I should just have a goal of not dying.

I'm a lot nervous, pretty sure I'm a lot more nervous than my first lotoja. I'm excited too. If I perform like my lotoja races it's gonna be awesome.

At this point I just want to roll out of the start line. Enough contemplating. Let's go!

The end of the Intermountain cup season

Wow lots happened since I was here last. I can remember some of it.

Working backwards, I hit my goal of a top 5 in the Intermountain Cup series with a 2nd place. I really thought I could get first place at one point in the season but first place Jonas is out of my league. 2nd is great as I bested the group that competed for 2nd-5th pretty much the whole season. It was a tough series thanx to Dave, Ryan, Keith, and a bunch of other awesome and friendly competitors.

Secondly the final race of the series was at Snowbasin which I called "my house" being the closest race to...well...my house...and being the place I spend a lot of time training at. Duh. Did I really just explain "my house"?

I won my first real race that day. I say "real" race because I had previously won some races at Grouse Creek but those were not sanctioned, official, known, etc. Those were races put together by a buddy and had a relatively small contingent of competitors.

It took me years to get to this level of competition and a little luck by the series leader Jonas to decide to not race that day. I believe my training plan (thanx Joe Friel and co.) and my nearly obsessive training data analysis were excellent tools to help me push and prepare for the event. I really enjoy structured training, and this year was spent mostly training alone rather than in group rides. Although more boring it does seem to help keep me focused on the training tasks. It seems nearly impossible to find a training partner that has the same timing, plan, pace, and desires, even though we all want to race and improve our skills.

The race. Well, a little before the race. Before my warmup I found out Jonas wasn't racing and that actually made me nervous. It was my race to win and that added some level of pressure. Before this point I was interested in doing my best but ready for 2nd place because Jonas had been unbeatable all season. Even though I wanted to give it my best shot in "my house" I knew it would be nearly impossible. But now, I have to win.

Lined up at the start I get a spot on the front line, as happened quite a bit this season. Turns out people either don't want the front or give way to the known suspects, which is super cool. People have let me up to the front because I've podiumed before. Very classy. I take a few shot blocks and a moment to focus, which was caught on camera thanx to Faceshots photography. Keith and I - which will end up 1st and 2nd today - apparently have the same idea at the same time.

Then we start. There is a serious hill to climb on a service road before we hit a small singletrack section followed by more service road. I wanted to be first on the singletrack but that hill has some free rent in my head. I've raced this hill during midweek series and can never seem to be first up this thing. A few moments in I notice Corbin taking off to my right. I keep my cool and keep accelerating, then finally start overtaking him, then notice no one else is up front. As often happens, people line up behind me and take over a few feet later. I tried to avoid that this time, and since we're at "my house" I know the best lines for the best traction up this hill.

And it turns out no one took over. Just before the singletrack I look back and see there are a few people within reach but Keith is maybe 5 bike lengths back. He doesn't look that good. I can maybe put some distance on him. I get through the tiny singletrack section, up the next service road section, and into the trees of the Green Pond trail. Love that trail. I decide to step it up and disappear. No one keeps up, and I start passing the stragglers from the group that started before us. This felt awesome. Really awesome. By the end of the climbing of the first lap I am fighting for position with the eventual winners of the group that started ahead of us. I overtook a whole age group. I didn't know that at the time; I just knew I caught some people and was keeping up with some.

I descend as strongly as I can while reminding myself to stay smart because smart is fast. Second lap comes along and I crank up that service road hill as hard as I can after getting a bottle from V - the most awesome person on the planet. I know I have this pattern of slowing down at the beginning of the second lap and that little pattern has been in front of my mind for the recent 2-3 races. I didn't want to let it happen again. My Garmin data shows that I hit zone 5 during this climb so I did pretty well. I may have been able to do better.

Then started a bunch of singletrack again. Stay smart. Then a bit after passing the service road after the Green Pond trail a UMB rider comes up to me, gets on my tail, and eventually passes me. I was furious. I had done it again, let my guard down, slowed down, and got caught. Damn it. I had to let him pass and noticed he wasn't in my group so I felt a little better, but still, if HE caught up others can. Unacceptable. After about a minute of composing myself I start reeling him in and pass him back just before the south edge of the race course where we start heading back. That spot is a serious little climb in rough rocky terrain with a uphill hairpin. I get passed him, then screw up the hairpin and he passes me. Ok, fine. He better go damn fast on the flats coming up or I'll take him back quickly. He didn't go fast. I left. I had some slight uphills, flats, technical descents, and 1/2 that service road before the finish. MY HOUSE.

The rest of the race was a blur. Stay smart is all I could tell myself. Legs were pretty damn good, course was awesome, and people were nice and friendly. I probably passed a dozen people on that last 1/2 of a lap and was as courteous as possible. Stay smart is all I need to do.

The last service road climb before the finish was actually a blast thanx to the spectators. I killed myself up that hill. NO WAY is someone out climbing me to the finish. I didn't look back nor did I care to. NO ONE is going to pass. And I collapsed after the finish line. First place. Hell yeah.

Numbers are awesome

Ryan, 2nd place finisher at the last two Intermountain cup races (Pedalfest and Stan Crane Memorial XC race), asked me "what happened?" both times that he beat me. Here's what happened

This graph is an overview of my last 120 days of training. The blue shaded area is my fitness. It's going up. Good. The red line is my fatigue. It's supposed to fluctuate because you have to beat yourself up to eventually improve fitness. The greenish shaded area is a ratio of fitness and fatigue, named Training Stress Balance (TSB).

Notice at the Draper race my fatigue was going up near the highest point of the last 120 days, and last weekend it hit the highest point. That's probably what happened. Also notice the point where my TSB was perfect coincides with my best finish of the season.

As I was mentioning to someone else yesterday, I am starting to put in some long rides to prepare for a season goal of Park City Point 2 Point and it's hurting me on race day. Since I have another season goal of the Intermountain cup series points I need to decide which goal is most important because it is apparent I cannot support both.