Training Log Archive: igoup

CX practice in the parks near home. It turns out that this involves remembering all the bike ninja skills I had when I was 12.

"Yoga!" sung to the tune of Michael Jackson's "Beat it!"

2.5 x ( 1k / 3min + 2k / 5min)
2 x Fisher Rd Hill sprints

South wind either w/ or a/.

rep) pace
1k w) 3:04 (rolling start)
2k w) 3:16
1k a) 3:30 (standing start)
2k a) 3:35
1k w) 3:14

HR only maxing out in the low 150s. I sure as heck felt like I was working a lot harder than that. Getting up Fisher Rd was tough.

These are new rskis. They should be pretty close in speed to my previous Pursuit rskis but I suppose there could be minor differences in rolling speed.

Drills and thrills. And thrills and drills. And the coldest morning so far at 34F. So chills too. But no spills because I ski like a boss.

2x: Lift this
3x: Lift that
4x: wiggle that thing
3x: Woof.

52 and sunny turned into 44 and dark. Cool turned to, "Yowsa! I'm freaking cold!" Other than that, nice sunset and nice ride.

w/ Pat at Fort Worth Nordic. Easy. Felt pretty decent. However, at 2:10 I got really hungry and light headed. Pat was nice enough to seem me home with some extra food. LIsa and I did some errands and them around 3 I got really sleepy and hungry again.

Course recon = 30. The rest was short WUs and CDs.

Resolution Cup CX. My first time ever doing CX. I guess this is a pretty big event in non-Covid times but today there were probably about 70 riders spread out over the 4 races.

The weather was predicted to be cold and raining, tradition Belgian CX weather. However, I was not really looking forward to such crap conditions for my first time out. Lucky for me the reports were way off and we had cool, windy but DRY 50s. Perfect for me.

I got there early for open course time and did two laps. That was useful as I was prepared for the 2 climbs I would have to run up. When I went to check in I ran into Chris Peasley who encouraged me to ride the morning Cat 4/5 race. Hadn't thought to do that but what the heck. So I rushed back to the car and got myself ready. Ended up forgetting my timing chip though.

I guess there were around 20 in this race. I think I finished around 15th. I finished 5 laps to the winner's 6 but at least I didn't get lapped.

Followed CliffShot guy for 3 laps and by watching him learned how to dismount efficiently. I think I got pretty good at it by the end of the day. I'm not so quick and hopping back on and getting clipped in again. I felt decent carrying my bike up too.

The grass was energy sucking! I had to spin it and didn't feel like I had a lot of power. I had enough to hang with the guys I was with but not enough to make a pass.

Took one slow speed spill on a turn in the woods. Got a little dirty and my left elbow is bruised.

I eventually passed CliffShot guy.

M40/50/60 race. More of the same. About 15 guys and gals this time. Worked with Cliffshot guy again (Greg Murph). I think I would have been faster in the woods but it was impossible to pass there and I didn't have the power out on the grass. Did 6 (instead of 5) this time because we made it by the finish line just in time. Cliffshot guy was pooped so I pulled ahead and away. Had a good sprint for the finish just for fun -- there was no one to catch.

This was a lot of fun. It is really challenging both physically and with bike handling. Turns out I will get another shot at it again next weekend.

I think I need a longer stem. I feel a little cramped. It's fine when just cruising but when I want to work I naturally want to get lower and longer. A bigger expense would be CX wheels that I could swap in. That's a longer term item though.

Non adventurous lunch at a nearby Chipotle. My burrito included beans.