Training Week January 19-25

Tough week getting back to work after camp and having a nasty head cold.

Monday - Last day of Camp - 55 miles, 3 Hrs.
Tuesday - PM easy 1:15 ride at the Polo Fields
Wednesday - 45 min spin class
Thursday - Off
Friday - Off
Saturday - Early Bird RR - Really thought I should skip this one since I wasn't feeling great and it was thretening rain, but I was close by visiting my sister, so I decided to do it. Weather ended up being great. We had 3 of the 10 in the 35+ 1/2/3 race. It was a good simulation of the 2nd half of a race with a 10 man break. I tried to get away on the hill and hold it all the way back, but Hernando could see me ahead and was able to pull me back in a few miles after the descent. We traded even pulls the rest of the way and had a good sprint where I just went a little too far left to get around him. After my relegation we finished 2, 3 (Cole) 6, (Dyrwal). It was a fun race and glad it was short. About 3 hours total between race, warm-up and cooldown.
Sunday - Off

Weekly totals - 7:15 riding, 45 min spin class - 8 hours total.

Camp update part 2 - & Training Week January 12 - 18

Weather continued to be perfect, or maybe even too warm.

Saturday - 82 miles about 4:45 riding including the 55 minute Figueroa climb. Riding as hard as I could, I still couldn't beat 1 of my teammates, he'll be our secret weapon.

Sunday - 88 miles in 4:15, pace was real fast on the flats, I finally won a KOM on the last climb of the day.

Monday - 58 miles in 3:00 - a relatively easy final day.



Camp totals - 6 days, 25 hours riding, 475 miles.

Weekly Totals (Monday through Sunday) - 23:20 riding, 442 miles.

Camp update #1, this is January?

The weather has been too incredible to believe. No need for any of the usual January peripherals, leg warmers, arm warmers, vests, whatever. It's been about 60 at the start and 80 by the end of each ride.

Wednesday - SJ to Big Sur with extension in Pebble Beach - 112 miles, 6 hours
9 to start the ride, 5 of us rode the whole way with the others taking turns driving support.
Thursday - Big Sur to SLO - 106 miles (I took a drive shift and only got in 80 miles in 4 hours).
The coast was incredible!
I won the city limit sprint for SLO, mostly because the other guys didn't see it until I had a gap.
Friday - SLO to Los Alamos - Great riding through Pismo Beach. 55 miles, 3 hours - easy pace. Resting up for the big ride tomorrow.

So glad to be in CA. I hear the weather in the midwest is a bit chilly this week.

Off to Camp

I'm leaving for team camp tomorrow for the ride down the coast to Los Alamos with Morgan and the Stanleys. We should have 9 for the ride down and another dozen or so meeting us for the camp on Friday afternoon. Long days in the saddle and good times ahead.

I can't wait for dinner on Friday night.

Training Week January 5 - 11, 2009

Monday - spin calss was full, so went on a 40 min lunch run with Dan & Matt.  First run since Thanksgiving, but felt OK.

Tuesday - Evening polo field intervals - 4 x 6 miles, Zone 1 & 2 with hard last minute of every 2nd mile. Legs sore from run, but felt good. - 1:45 total ride

Wednesday - Spin class 50 min.

Thursday - Evening Polo field - 10 x 45 sec build up sprints with 5 min recovery.  1:45 total ride.

Friday - Spin class 50 min.

Saturday - Long Marin ride with Tim and Paul to Pt. Reyes Station & back on 1.  5 hours.

Sunday - Easy park ride 1:15

Weekly totals - 40 min run, 1:40 spin, 9:45 riding. 12:05 total, 170 road miles.

Training Week December 29, 2008 - January 4, 2009

Monday - Last spin class of the year - 45 min - only about 10 in the class. Next week will be tough to get into a class with all the new year's resolution newbies.
Tuesday - Evening on the polo field - 90 min with 3 x 15 min Z1 with last minute of each 5 at Z4.
Wednesday - easy 60 min ride with 3 x 30 sec hard.
Thursday - San Bruno Hill Climb - 15:15 - about 1 hr warm-up, 30 min cool down - 1:45 total riding. ~ 25 miles
Friday - Rain - 1 hr afternoon ride. ~ 18 miles
Saturday - Hans' Birthday ride - 6:15 riding, ~110 miles.
Sunday - Polo field Zone 1 ride - 2 hours ~ 36 miles

Weekly total: 45 min spin, 13:30 on the bike, 14:15 total.

2009 Totals: 11 Hrs, 189 miles.

Happy 48th Birthday Hans!

We had about 15 on the ride out to Marshall today.
Here are a few of the crew who came out to wish Hans a happy birthday.

Hans on the way up from Stinson Beach

Ride total from SF - 110 miles, 6:15 riding.

I think I'm ready for the Figueroa Climb at team camp in 2 weeks.

Happy New Year for Fun Racers!

Happy New Year from San Bruno!

Though "serious" racers may scoff at the idea of racing in January, especially early January, a couple hundred hearty souls decided to brave the chilling fog and start the year off right with a little "oh yeah, that's what going hard feels like".

Here are a few of the podium pics I snapped.

P/1/2 Winner Tracy Colwell and runner up Evan Pickett

Clark Foy takes the 45+ a couple days before his 45th. Ain't "racing age" great!

I decided to race the 35+ this year, so instead of being on the front line I was back behind the P/1/2, Elite 3's, W 1/2/3 and Juniors.  It took me about 8 seconds to get to the starting line, but I rode the same time as last year so I was actually a little faster.  Luckily for our group, the pace at the front wasn't Nolanesque like in 2007, so the masters guys were able to join the elite leaders at the front before any breaks occurred.  There was no one person dedicated to setting a fast tempo, so several of us traded pulls and attacks but we still had a fairly large, though a bit strung out group by the turn at the start of radio road. (thanks to gstein for the video).

As we started the climb up Radio Road, Even Pickett (Metromint) , Tracy Colwell (Webcor) and I had a small gap.

Once it started getting steeper I attacked and after a couple more surges I had a gap that I was able to hold to the line.

Thanks to Peninsula Velo, Pilarcitos and everyone else who made this event happen, it's a great way to start the year!