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Blog 2/21/2006
Greetings! The off-season has been a long one. My last race was the
San Francisco Grand Prix at the beginning of September. I took
a couple
weeks off and then started training for 2006. I began with some
running
and easy spins on the bike. Then I started putting in the real
mileage
on October first. So if you do the math, and I've been doing
it the
whole time, that makes nearly five months straight of training.
In case
you were wondering or just don't know any better that is a lot.
I
didn't do anything but ride.
In
preparation for last season I changed up my training program
and did
a lot of weight lifting and intense intervals on the bike.
I neglected
to ride the long miles, however, and as the season got going
I found I
was always tired at the end of races. I was usually fatigued
and unable
to raise my game when it was time to go for it during the
critical part
of a race.
When
I started training in October I knew I had to make some changes.
I'm a big boy compared to most bikers. My legs are big and
my upper
body is big as well. There isn't a lot I can do about it,
but there is
one thing I knew I could stop doing. I could stop lifting
weights. My
problem with the weights is I like them. I like grunting and
straining
and cranking the iron. Last year I really overdid it and put
on too
much muscle. That coupled with my low mileage led to poor
results. So
this year I decided to go old school and just log the miles.
I've
logged nearly 6000 miles since October first and I feel quite
different
than I did at this time last year. I'm a little bit trimmer
and the
endurance is WAY up. I've put in many weeks excess of 25 hours.
I
haven't done a lot of specific interval training or sprint
work, but
I've done lots of climbing. I'm trying to arrange for my best
fitness
to come at the Tour de Georgia in mid April. Last year I got
completely
hammered in Georgia when the race hit the mountains. My goal
is to finish that race. If I have the fitness to drag my carcass
over those climbs then I figure I'll also be good enough to
help my teammates who can climb for real. Of course I'll be
looking for opportunities for myself along the way as well.
There are opportunities for success in every road race if
you are willing to stick your neck out there and go for it.
In
fact, I kicked off the season with the Cherry Pie Road Race
on Sunday. It went pretty well. I broke away with Derek Archibald
at about the halfway point. Together we built a large lead
over the field and had a little sprint at the end to see who
would win. I came across the line first to start off the 2006
season with a win!
My
next race will be a little time trial next week in Vancouver,
WA called the Jack Frost Time Trial. My TT bike is in disarray,
but I should be able to get it into working order after a
couple hours in the garage. Then on March 3rd I fly to Georgia
for training camp with my team. There I will receive all my
near gear including my new bike. Training camp will be short
and sweet. The team this year has nine riders, but only three
of us from last year's squad are still here. On the 8th of
March we fly to California for three weeks of racing. I'll
send more updates once I get on the road.
But
before I wrap up this extensively long blog I would be remiss
if I didn't mention the contribution my beautiful girlfriend
Marjorie has made to my preparations for the coming season.
I moved in with her in September and due in no small part
to her generosity I have been able to quit delivering pizza
to focus solely on training (And on her too, of course). Her
support and timely nagging have been instrumental in my accumulation
of mileage. When this season turns out better than last year
I will have her to thank for putting up with and supporting
me and my itinerant schedule. Thank you for everything, Margie.
I love you dearly.
Until
next time . . . Cheers! |
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