between the grinds

Chicken Hawk Classic 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 02:44:00 +0000

This past weekend was the Chicken Hawk Classic (Bamacross #2) at Cooper Green Park in Birmingham, AL.

Going into this race and the race before, I've really only had one goal in mind and that's to learn. I'm not entering to set land speed records or see who I can beat. The only person I'm competing against is myself. Maybe if I was actually fit enough to compete, I would have a different attitude but I'm nowhere near fit.

Bamacross #1 was on the same course and boy did I eat a piece of humble pie, along with the 4 inches of dust on my teeth. Long story short, I pushed my body into an asthmatic state (throat closing) and puked about the second lap, so, it was survival mode from there to the finish (one more lap). Plus, I started in the very back of the pack, finishing 3 of 4 laps on paper but continued pushing to complete my 4 laps. Basically, riding in a race.

Fast forward to the Chicken Hawk Classic (Bamacross #2) and the main goals were to get a better start, which I did, and not puke, which I saved for after the race.

So, before we took off the race official dude said that it would only be 3 laps. What would any normal racer do? Prepare and push for 3 laps.

We're off and I'm hanging in the top 15 but I just can't seem to get a handle on the run-ups. They just kill the energy, which is the whole intent. I was constantly on the edge of puking the whole time, so, I kept the pace moderate again, surviving til the end.

What I thought was the end (3 laps), from what I'm told, was not the end (4 laps). So, I finished my 3 laps and since no one informed me otherwise, I headed to the car to not puke in front of everyone. Yeah, I'm considerate like that.

Not that I was killing it enough to really care about my placement but come on, tell a brotha'. "Hey man, I know you're about to puke your guts up but you have one more lap." "Thanks man, I deposit my thoughts on the back side of the course." - Justin

I think it took me more time to recover than my whole race effort, ha. I was pretty jacked up. I guess when you're racing totally anaerobic, it helps to train anaerobic.

All in all it was good times and fun was had by all. Hopefully there's a course in the series that I can do halfway decent. I'll know how to prepare for next year though! At least, that's what I keep telling myself

This is a sick and twisted sport, cyclocross is, and I guess I keyed in on the sick, hoping to get twisted.

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Let's get it started!

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 01:56:00 +0000

Last year at this time I was logging run miles to complete the St. Jude Marathon in Memphis, TN. Running a marathon was always on my "life goals" list. I completed that endeavor with a result that was not what I really wanted but the ultimate goal was to say that I finished it.

Well, this year, I really haven't raced as much as I would like and so I've shed the road bike for a cross bike. Although the temps will be the same (25 degrees at the marathon start) but I now a bike, sand, mud, water, grass and sweat will all collide in this new challenge called Cyclocross.

My new Trek XO1 platinum should arrive at Cahaba Cycles tomorrow and I have to say I'm pretty excited about this new challenge. If you don't know what cyclocross is, here is a sample.

You'll also notice that I've officially changed the name of the blog. This is an effort to challenge myself in writing about things other than cycling. This might include rants, opinions, cycling, business or just whatever happens between the grinds. I love some coffee, so, it might be a coffee review. Who knows. I'd like for it to be a melting pot of topics. One thing you might not see is politics.

That's about all I have for now, just wanted to get the wheels rolling and start blogging again. Hope it's of some value to someone.

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Review: SPIbelt Water Bottle and Holder Combo

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:10:00 +0000

I think it's the cyclist coming out in me or just being particular about the equipment that I use but there's one thing that I have to have in the arsenal, a good water bottle.

So, what are my standards for a good water bottle you ask? For me, a water bottle has to be pretty efficient in terms of discharging water. I don't use a water bottle that requires me to squeeze it with all my might to get water and then there's the other end of the spectrum that discharges too much and may cause choking and all that fun stuff.

Well, SPIbelt was so generous to send me their Water Bottle and Holder Combo for review. If you've read my review of the SPIbelt itself, you'll understand that I'm a big fan of their products and not because they send me free stuff but because I'm a designer/amateur athlete and I appreciate creative thinking in product design but lets get to the review.

What are the strengths?

This product is 100% Made in the USA, yes, even the bottle has "Made in USA" stamped on it. With all the outsourcing going on SPIbelt stays true to their roots in Austin, TX.

The product name explains it but this particular water bottle comes with the trademark SPIbelt storage compartment for the storage of :

Performance Gels
Car Keys
Phones
Inhalers

As far as the functionality of the combo, I found that I could comfortably fit two Hammer gels (folding the tops) and my car keys in the storage compartment and more importantly the 16 oz water bottle discharges the right amount of water with ease. SPIbelt also incorporated an adjustable, velcro strap that allows for secure hand size variation. So, it's not going to fall out of your hands. Lastly, it displays the sleek, well constructed tradition of SPIbelt products and doesn't scream, "I'm carrying a water bottle!"

What are the weaknesses?

If you take this out on your long run, you might have to find other places to store nutrition or use the SPIbelt and this combo. The storage seems a bit more restricted because of the top and bottom bands that attach it to the water bottle. making it about 1/2" shorter in length than the SPIbelt storage.

Is it comfortable?

It's very comfortable. The 16 oz bottle is not too heavy, where you feel like you're lugging around a huge weight and the elastic construction allows for a smooth customized fit. I guess it's also comforting to know where your keys are at all times, ha!

Where can I buy one?

You can either purchase from the SPIbelt website or through your local dealer.

Overall, this is a great product and I would recommend it to any serious runner looking for a great training tool to add to the arsenal. If you own one and would like to chime in on this review, please leave a comment below.

Train hard, Love harder.

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Dirt Truck!

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:50:00 +0000

[Photo Credit: joefenstermaker]

I guess to relieve fears of the blog title.....I didn't get smoked by a dirt truck and I hope that would never happen, though it's a sad reality with cell phones these days.

The past few weeks have been heavily involved in getting back on the bike; dodging the cold and rain and hitting every opportunity for a ride over 45 degrees.

Getting back on the bike comes with all the small adjustments that you take for granted when your training in the heat of the season.

Part of that adjustment, for me, has been riding on the road and hearing the vehicles (18 wheelers or dump trucks) that most road cyclists fear coming from behind, only to feel that blast of wind that almost knocks you off the bike. LOL! I cringe every time I hear the down shifting or that whistling sound. Of course, this fear comes from me riding solo recently. It usually doesn't bother me in a pack because I'm looking up the road and at the wheel in front of me.

I've been hitting up the local YMCA when the wet and cold sets in. My focus in the gym is strictly on my legs and core. Strength is progressing a little but the main adjustment is getting the legs use to that constant, repetitive loading.

Another thing that I'm experimenting with on the bike is leaving the heart rate monitor at home and working from perceived effort alone, for my initial base work. I wanted to feel my way through base this time around. Whether that's smart or not, I'll defer to the peanut gallery. I was too reliant on my monitor last year and it's kinda cool feeling your way through an effort. It seems to make me more in tune with my body and not some number range that's up for debate. I don't have the greenbacks to drop on power training so I have to do what I have to do.

I've yet to review the SPIbelt water bottle and holder because I've yet to go out on any runs. That's going to have to change though because the Xterra Southeast Championship in Pelham, AL is a go. After word of a lack of funding and it not happening, the Xterra crew will be here on June 13th. So, that means running and swimming are involved for me, if I want to add this to the bucket list.

I'm also picking up some Red Bike Coffee today, for review. I'm tinkering with the idea of starting another site for coffee. Initial efforts have been made but we'll see how that turns out. I love some coffee and it's involved in the majority of our morning routines, especially cyclists.

Keep the pedals turning.

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To Learn or Not to Learn

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:14:00 +0000

[ Photo Credit: ukultrarunner ]

This time last year I was stressing out about what training plan I was going to following for 2009 and I was starting a whole new plan of attack on my season. I had never wrote out a training plan or even knew how to for that matter. I pushed on though. This was about learning and not perfection.

I purchased Joe Friel's book, The Cyclist's Training Bible, and started devising a plan. I was pretty intimidated by the whole process and a bit worried if I could even pull off a training plan. What do I do? Do I add a weight lifting program, because some say not to? What is the "right" way to train? Why are there different methods? I had a ton of questions.

Anyways, so I wrote it all down, planned for the races to come and figured out when I was going to "peak" and all, as the book said. I didn't have a clue what it meant to actually "peak" in the physical sense of the word, although I'd heard the term thrown around by the elite level guys.

I built a huge base, relative to casual riding before and it showed early on in local training races. I felt more confident in my decisions to attack and being more than pack fill. Fitness was coming on and then I crashed during one of the training races and took a huge shot to my road psyche. Combine that with the speed wobbling issues later in the season and I just couldn't do the "plan" any justice on the road but stayed consistent on the mountain bike.

So, 2010 for me is all about learning from the mistakes that I made in 2009. Did I do everything right? Absolutely not but I learned. That's what this sport is about, learning and striving to get better in whatever areas you identify as weaknesses.

What areas are you learning and improving on this year?

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A New Canvas

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:13:00 +0000

[Photo Credit: Syed Zaeem]

The start of a new season and a new year always welcomes the planning phase in sport and in life. Although I'm a huge procrastinator when it comes to life plans, because honestly it takes all the excitement out of spontaneity, it is absolutely needed in sport.

For some reason I have haven't implemented this practice in life yet. That's one of the things that I'm working for 2010. Life is more than just existing. There is a reason we are called human beings. We are beings, we are to be something, we have a purpose on this earth.

I always have some clarity as to what I want to accomplish in sport, I guess because there is a schedule to meet, dates for events and that sort of thing.

2010 looks to be exciting on the sport front. It seems the Alabama mountain bike community is desiring to start a statewide series that stretches from Huntsville to Mobile. The majority of these races already exist, they're trying to organize them to create a series, which is awesome. This will help build the competition throughout the state and bring exposure to the great trails that Alabama offers. Bring on the heat!

When it comes down to the plan that I want to put together.....I would like to participate in the full Alabama Mountain Bike Series, get in some swimming for the Xterra Southeast Championship (juries still out on a date), participate in some of the Xterra trail runs and attempt the full Bamacross. This plan is heavily weighted in cycling (off-road) but that is my passion and I still have a ton of room to grow. With my random nature, travel and work, I'm sure there will be some that I can't get to.

This week I'm trying to get motivated to start base training and I really need to sit down, pen to paper, and plan my peaks. I want to try some other methods of training and get some advice from others as to what has worked the best for them. If you have any advice, please leave a comment. Of course, the main goal is to get faster, ha!

What are your plans for sport or training in 2010?

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10 Things I Learned From Marathon Training

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:17:00 +0000

Photo Credit: Brian Gudas

1) You don't have to be a "runner" to complete a Marathon. Although I did have some fitness that crossed over from a few years of cycling, I never ran more than a 5k, 2 to be exact.

2) Mental toughness is all of the battle. Distance running does have a component of physical conditioning, no doubt, but I experienced the same thoughts on a 3 mile run that I experienced on my 20 mile run. I always started with the end in mind and it was always the last mile that challenged me the most. It was equally as hard to push through the 3rd mile as the 20th mile.

3) Running discomfort can usually be fixed with small adjustments to form. I had to learn this through trial and error. I had to make adjustments to my upper body position because I was leaning to far forward in a sprinters position. By running more upright, it allowed me take some pressure off my shins, shin splints disappeared instantaneous.

4) Run with (or for) a cause. I showed pictures of the names on my arm, in my St Jude Marathon post. Every person on my arm, except Iris, represented some form of hurt or pain that I personally watch them endure. That allowed me to reflect on their pain when I had times for pain and suffering. This was my main motivation from miles 16 to 26.2.

5) Taking time to analyze injuries can only help your result/finish. Had I kept running in the shoe that I started with, it's possible that I wouldn't have crossed the finish line. You don't want to keep pushing through injuries when the only result is a longer recovery time for the next race.

6) Nip Chafing Sucks! I think it was after my first 9 miler that I discovered this nice nip burn during my post run shower. I soon after bought some Body Glide and applied it before every run over 5 miles but later resorted to clear duct tape. Don't laugh until you try it! I'm all about being cheap.

7) People are inspired by the efforts of others. I know for me, watching professional mountain biking, cycling or running makes me want to push myself to new heights. During my training, I witnessed several friends express interest in either running their first 5k or half marathon. Inspire others!

8) Have a realistic finishing goal. I went into this thing really unprepared. I didn't look at the course profile or consult others advice that might have ran on this course before. I paid for it dearly with all the small hills that were in the first half. My initial goal was 3:30 (flat terrain), my training time was around 3:50 (flat terrain) and my finishing time was 4:24:58 (hills). That's what happens when you don't train course specific. My calves and hamstrings were on fire! I should have ran with a dunce hat on.

9) There are different training methods. I really didn't learn more until after I finished my training but there are training methods that require less time but maybe more effort. I've read where some elite runners, like Ryan Hall, do track workouts, rather than just distance running all the time. That's what attracts me to any sport really....it's all about the learning. Do some research to see what might work for you. I think I might try another method next time.

10) I learned to love running. When I first started training, I'll admit, it sucked. I didn't want to run. I was in the boat with those that will only run if someone is chasing them. The less I thought about hating it and used this as a time to learn and just think about life in general, it was somewhat euphoric.

Thank you again for following my endeavors in running and this will probably only be the beginning. I hope that I've inspired at least one person to accomplish something that they thought was impossible. Keep the rubber side down, whether on foot or bike and strive for more than you are today.

Justin

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Review: SPIbelt

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:44:00 +0000

Before Iris and I settled in our hotel room in Memphis last weekend, we had to stop by the St Jude Marathon Expo to pickup my participant packet. There were numerous vendors there with their products on display and I started thinking about where I was going to put the remainder of my gels, good time to think about that right?

I had enough room for two gels in my shorts but how was I going to carry 6 gels comfortably in my shorts, lol! Then, I see the attractive signs of SPIbelt and went to get in on the action. I left the expo with one in my bag and that's what brings me to this voluntary review for your benefit, out of admiration for the product.
The Small Personal Item belt exists because Kim Overton (SPIbelt creator) was out on a run one fall day and had no other place to put her car key, so she tucked it in her sports top. As frustrating as this was, she thought, "There's got to be a better way!" and went home that day to create the first ever SPIbelt (pronounced SPY-belt). She filed for a patent in February of 2007 and started the "small personal item belt" business. She sewed the first several hundred by hand and hired local help to continue the process. Thanks to her innovative efforts and persistance SPIbelt is still going strong and continuing to manufacture SPIbelts in Austin, TX, yes they're Made in the USA!

What does the SPIbelt do?

The SPIbelt covers a huge spectrum of small personal item storage while active:

Up to 5 GU packs ( I stored 4 Hammer Gels )
Car Keys
iPod/Zune
Blackberry
Passport Holder for Travel
Inhalers/Insulin Pumps

Don't let this list stop you from finding new uses for it, that's just a few. For me, I used it for storing my gels and a race number belt, after I purchased the race number toggles.

What are the SPIbelt's strengths?

Besides its sleek appearance and expandability, I say the SPIbelts main strength is its broad spectrum of uses and colors. There are really no limits to carrying your small personal items in it and if you are one of those people that likes everything to match....they have your color. They even have a Reflective SPIbelt for night runners/walkers and if you're still not satisfied, get yours customized.

Once you buy one, you can use it for anything and it's washer safe.

What are the SPIbelt's weaknesses?

It might be outside the price point for those that are thifty but how much would it cost to replace a lost/broken Blackberry or the electronic unlock key for your car? Convenience is King!

Is the SPIbelt comfortable to wear?

Yes, it's very comfortable to wear. It is specifically designed to not bounce while you are running or active. I purchased mine out of sheer spontaneity, strapped it on the next day and finished my marathon without previous use. Afterwords I was thinking....."You know, I really didn't notice this thing around my waste and it was loaded down with 4 Hammer gels."

Where can I buy one?

You can either purchase from the SPIbelt website or through your local dealer. If you purchase from the website, make sure you use the free shipping code: ship09.

When/If you purchase a SPIbelt please give me feedback on what you thought about the product and what application you found it to work best for you. I will be using mine mainly for easy access to my gels while racing bikes to prevent having to reach back to my jersey pockets and during my runs. Stay active!

I Finished!

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:51:00 +0000

I can officially say that I've completed my hardest goal to date, finishing the St Jude Marathon in Memphis, TN and attempting to best my training by striving for the 3:30 hr mark.

The alarm went off at 5:30 am to the tune of 25*F outside. This was the day of reckoning, the day that I've prepared 18 weeks for. There was nothing else that I could do and if there was, it was too late now, ha!

Jason and I found the 3:30 hr pace group and decided that this was where we were going start and we would fade back if need be but not let the 3:40 hr pace group pass us. Those words would continually run through my head.

We started and the pace seemed pretty stout to me but I was hoping that my legs would get under me (usually happened around mile 6) and that I would get into a comfortable rhythm.

From the start we were hitting hills that I really couldn't bring life to by looking at the pre-race profile. The profile showed a gradual increase in elevation but the real life experience didn't compare to the profile. It seemed like every mile had a hill to it and I did absolutely no hill training, zilch!

I never felt strong. I never felt like I did in training. Did I start too fast? Was it because it was 25 freakin' degrees outside? Who knows, there were no excuses to comfort.

I hit the 13.1 mark on target but the half marathoners were pilling off to finish and we were only half way. Talking about a lonely feeling. The wrath of the effort behind me was becoming evident at this point and when I reached mile 16 the mental training took over. The reality that I wasn't going to finish what I started began to wear on me. I would stop for water and the start back was a constant reminder of weakness and pain. My calves and hamstrings wouldn't go anymore and I had 10.2 miles to go. I was broken, more than I'd ever thought of being on a bike.

The miles got longer and even trying to empathize with the pain the St Jude kids were in and the pain that I witnessed through the people written on my arm couldn't bring me to run, I was now walking trying to analyze what needed to happen. There was no option to stop, I was finishing. Was my finish time goal too lofty? Well, that was now a reality too.

The slope of some of the roads were killing my right side and hammering the tendon that gave me so much trouble earlier in this process. Whose idea was it to use this road to run off camber on? I kept having to zigzag from top to bottom because there was not a flat surface.

I finally reached mile 23 by walking and running on and off. It didn't matter how much pain I was in, I was running to that finish line because, after all, this wasn't for me, this for those that supported my effort and mainly for Jason and the other St Jude kids. I finally found comfort in my discomfort and began passing those that passed me, each one charging me more.

That last mile felt like 3 and then to hear the course marshall say "one more hill!" really kinda pissed me off, if I'm honest.

I crested the hill and made the left turn to see the people standing at the entrance to the stadium that we would run into. Emotion was overcoming me, tears welling up from thoughts of Iris' Grandfather's battle with cancer, celebration of the survival of a friend that money couldn't buy and now a goal that 18 weeks ago seemed like the biggest mountain to face.

I ran into the stadium and for a moment felt famous. People in the stands, supporting people they didn't know but it for one cause and that was for St Jude and the generousity that these doctors and nurses show on a daily basis.

I crossed the line at 4:24:58, crushed, beat down and thankful for the experience, although painful, worth it.

You know, I had my goal as far as time, and that was a small part of my motivation, but my friend Jason (pic above) was laying in a St Jude hospital bed 14 years ago with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in excruciating pain from the liner of his heart swelling from the effects of chemo. It wouldn't be fair to say that my fear of crossing the finish line was equal to his fear of survival. For me the biggest part of this was celebrating his remission and celebrating the life of a person that's studying to be the exact doctor that helped treat his disease.

This post can't go without thanking my beautiful wife, Iris, that endured the lacked of hangout time so that I could complete this thing.

Before I started, I asked Iris to write some names on my wrist that would remind me of pain and suffering that I've witnessed others go through. This would be part of my motivation when pain set in. It would remind me that nothing that I could experience on this day could compare to what I watched them endure with my own eyes. Then, she put her name also for good measure and support.

These people amaze me....he finished before me, pushing a full grown guy.

This is what I look like after 26.2 miles of misery, lol! I couldn't even step off the street curb after this pic. Blasted.
This was for you buddy. Glad to have a friend that is the perfect picture of a miracle. This was nothing compared to what you endured. Thanks St Jude!

It's On!

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:01:00 +0000

This is the start of week 18, the last and final week of my marathon training. I'm excited but still anxious about the final outcome. I've followed "the plan" as close as possible, except maybe some extra days off to rest the foot when the shoe problems started.

Changing the shoes seems to have solved the problem. I guess I'll know more when I run on Sat. My running volume has decreased but I'm not getting the outside pressure that I was getting from the other shoe.

While on that note, please don't take my foot issue as a slap on Nike. I want my problem to encourage others to find the right shoe for them because there is a such thing as a shoe "fitting", just like a bike "fits" you. For the product that works for you and run with it. Ha!

This week is 3 miles on Tues, 4 miles on Wed, rest on Thurs and Fri and then the sound of the gun at 8:00 am on Sat for the St Jude Marathon in Memphis, TN.

Even though I've ran 20 miles and know that I'm fully capable of finishing, adding 6.2 more miles just blows my mind because I was feeling it at mile 16 on the 20 miler. During this whole process I've been in numerous conversations with non-runners and a common thread is them referring to it as a 26 mile run. Ha! It might just be me but that .2 is very important. I'm excited to get this one under the belt or the feet that is. I'm really missing the bike.

I've started writing my plan for 2010 and it may involve some Xterra trail runs. The next daunting task ahead is learning to swim distance because the ultimate goal is Ironman Florida but that may be a few years from now. I talked about doing the Xterra Southeast Championship last year but I want to follow through with it this year, it's not on the Xterra calender yet though. Of course, I will try to hold my own at the Bump N Grind.

Bump N Grind this year will be 1 f 6 UCI sanctioned events in the US and the only one in the Southeast, although there are the SERC races that are part of the Kenda Cup. So, that means we will be watching the best of the best throw-down again in Birmingham, AL.

Ok, enough rambling for the week. Next post will be my Marathon result and lessons learned in going from 5k to Marathon. Don't forget to share the Cornbread and follow @justinpoland on Twitter.

Marathon Week 16

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:45:00 +0000

This is a mixed post because I'm technically in week 16 of 18 right now; week 15 was the climax of my training but I was too blasted to write anything.

The new shoes are doing great. It seems the self diagnosis was correct and the tenderness is slowly receding. The legs adjusted pretty well to less arch support, which I'm building my own theories on after reading about the barefoot runners. We'll leave that for another post.

This past weekend before my long awaited 20 miler, the boys and I loaded up for our traditional November camping trip to the Sipsey Wilderness, which is the third largest US wilderness east of the Mississippi River. I couldn't wait to get to our camping spot with the viewpoint of the pic above. Beautiful.

I guess what makes this trip so special is the fact that we just get to be a bunch of dudes sitting around the camp fire with no plans or worries except maybe what we're going to eat next, ha!

We woke on Saturday morning to a cool 40* F temperature and luckily my sleeping bag was rating for just that temp. I was like a little kid though because I couldn't wait to wake to the smell of campfire and the taste scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon and some smooth community coffee. Hold. Let me wipe my mouth.

After breakfast we struck out on a hike that's in the middle of one of the most beautiful places that Alabama has to offer in my opinion. I think the trail is just over 2 miles but your attention is so rapped up in your surroundings it would probably take you about 3 hours one-way.

Small waterfall after small waterfall and rock face after rock face, just amazing scenery to say the least. Too bad it's not too mountain bike friendly.

After jumping in what had to be about 35* F water, we made out way back to pack-up and head back to reality. I tell you that stream would make for the best ice bath a cyclist could stand. I probably should have stayed a little while longer to prep the legs real good for the next days run.

So, Sunday I woke and you would have sworn it was race day. I'd never ran 20 miles before but it was staring me in the face daring me to try. I strapped on the new Asics and it was party time until about mile 16.

If you've been following previous post you know that I've been taking on 8 ounces of water and a gel every 4 miles, that seems to be to right amount for me. Well, when I started back after mile 16, the legs didn't like it, the muscles weren't firing. I was experiencing something foreign to my training, no range of motion, lol! Not good.

I did like every other stubborn endurance athlete would do and started running, not painful, just stiff. They finally loosened about 1/2 mile later and I was on my way to reaching a goal never achieved....20 miles!

I finished in exactly 3:00 hrs with a 9:00 min/mile pace and there was a huge weight lifted from my shoulders, I had reached the pinnacle of my training. Sigh.

I'm very thankful that I've reached this point with no major injuries, considering I've never previously ran more than a 5k. I'm now a little more than 2 weeks out and I'm ready to tack on another 6.2 miles. I'm still battling a realistic finishing goal. I want a 3:30 so bad but I wouldn't be disappointed with a 3:40-3:45.

Oh yeah, check out the new Switchfoot and John Mayer CDs, great running music.

Sloss Cross / Marathon Week 14

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:35:00 +0000

I'm still trying to sort through what exactly is causing the pain on the outside of my right foot but I do have some thoughts as to what the problem was, hoping it's fixed. After some pretty intense internal/mental battles as to what was going on, I turned to the design of the shoe, mainly the area that I was having the pain.

I noticed that the Nike Structures that I was using had a pretty heavy material that provided mid/outside shoe support but was right on the Tuberosity of my 5th Metatarsal Bone, which you can see in the pic below.
Then, the more I thought about it, I felt like the midsole of the shoe could be a bit too narrow for me and I could possibly be getting too much support on the outside. So, I went to discuss the issue with the nice young lady at Trak Shak in Trussville.

I tried on about 3 different shoes from the "support" grouping of shoes and they all had me pinched on my outside arch. I could tell instantly, we had to find something different. So, she moved me to the "neutral" group and we finally came up with a shoe that is going to do the trick.

I committed the ultimate running sin and brought these babies out on my planned 14 mile run. I had no choice. It was either continue running on what was ruinning my foot or run in the new Asic Gel-Numbus 11's. Although there was still some sensitivity from the previous shoe, they still carried me on a 9:08 pace.

I still have some concern of whether I have carried the injury too far and possibly fractured it...we'll see what happens.

Sunday was Sloss Cross at the historic Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham as part of the Bamacross Series. I had planned to just go watch the CCR crew but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to race. I knew I had nothing to really give competitively, especially after running 14 on Saturday but I loaded up the equipment anyways.

There's a ton of history at this place and quite the photographers haven if you're the industrial type.

It was cool. I didn't get race jitters like normal because I didn't have any expectations and it was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I was interested to see what my body would do on the bike considering my aerobic marathon training.

As you can see in this picture, I think I was breathing heavy before I ever toed the line or maybe I was just running my mouth, ha! I was about to get DESTROYED in my first cyclocross race ever but I didn't care. Sometimes it's fun to get dismantled so that I appreciate the fitness I do have when anaerobic training.

The field was HUGE! I think there was 50+ guys in our CX4/CX5 race and around 60 on the course at the same time when they released the juniors. Crazy but fun.

This race helped me appreciate cyclocross freaks and realize how much running up 10-12 steps and jumping these wooden barriers packing a 27 lb mountain bike really zaps the energy level. I hung in there though. The results were jacked because there were so many people and lapped riders got in the main mix but I think I finished somewhere in the middle of the pack. It was cool just hanging with the CCR crew and watching them dominate to bring in like 4-5 podiums.

So, next up is the longest week of my marathon training. This week is 5-10-5-20 according to Mr. Hal Higdon. Then, it's taper time. I've never really experienced a proper taper so I looking forward to it. Keep the shoes strapped and the chains lubed!

Born to Run?

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:10:00 +0000

What started out as a conversation with my friend Shane about running, expressing the concerns that I had about my shoes causing pain, sent me on an all out hunt for more information about this "running tribe" that he heard about on NPR.

My initial search brought up a fairly recent book called Born to Run by Christopher McDoughall. In this book he talks about how the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s Copper Canyon not only hunt for food by running it down but they don't have the Nike, K-Swiss or Puma shoes to run in like most modern runners. So what do they run in you ask....Huarache Sandles.

What's more fascinating is that there are claims that they pretty much run injury free because the foot is allowed to strengthen and move freely like it's designed to do. Imagine that!

Here's a little more on what inspired Chris to write the book about them.

In digging a little deeper I stumbled on this very interesting article, from 2002, that discussed that there are actually two very common "running tribes", the Kalenjin's of Kenya and the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico. It seems that now the Kalenjin's are being exploited for olympic/international sport and the Tarahumara's are still running their traditional running competitions and are relatively unknown to modern sport.

I also ran across this article from 1997 by John Manners, in The Sports Historian, that discusses the Kalenjin's and their competition history.

Anyways, to say the least, this brief glimpse into the life of these two tribes has challenged me to re-think modern running (not that I knew anything) and not except the norms that the "experts" promote......these people were born to run, argue with that. I can't wait to order Born to Run.

Oh and there's even a Minimalist Runner Google Group that started from this!

Wanna help develop a product?

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:27:00 +0000

I have been developing a product for over a year now and I'm looking for some help from my readers. I am doing market research to develop a product for cyclist/runners/swimmers. If you would take 30 seconds to fill out this survey, I would greatly appreciate it.

Click Here to take survey

Another marathon training update is coming soon.

- Justin

Gary Fisher's take on the 29'er

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:13:00 +0000

Here's Gary's new creation.....The Superfly 100
What's your take on the 29'er trend? Leave a comment.

Marathon Training - Week 11

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 18:41:00 +0000

Well it's the end of week 11 and there is no better way to top it off than to run a 16 miler, right? I have to be honest and say that I was dreading it. Besides the fact that I feared the way my body would react, it was 46 degrees to the tune of 12-15 mph head winds. Enough whining.

The miles are behind me now and the body is holding up pretty good. Earlier this week I had some left achilles soreness and that's really the main reason I feared today's run. I skipped my 4 mile run on Thurs to give a little more recovery time and not overwork it and that seemed to help. I also have some slight soreness where my IT band connects to the outside of my right foot but I will discuss my experiment with that later.

I my previous post I threw some ignorance out there about nutrition during running and got some response from others concerning the issue. It's not that I've never dealt with sports nutrition, I was just curious what runners would recommend, since I come from the cycling world.

With all that said, I'm still experimenting with some things. The pic above shows what I used for today's run. I tried the GU Orange Burst and the Tri-Berry. Then, I tried some Orange Clif Shot Bloks. For my bottles I mixed 2 scoops of Lemon Lime HEED (I would rather Melon) per bottle.

It seemed to do the trick energy-wise. Every 4th mile I would take a GU packet (100 calories per packet) and chase that with about 8 ounces of HEED (70 calories). I might increase depending on how the 20 miler feels. I could feel some fatigue toward the end and I can't have that with 10 more miles to push through.

The shoes about 250 miles into the journey

I ran the fastest I've ever ran today.....with the winds. I started this process with a 10 min/mile and I'm pretty pumped to say that the pace has come down to a 8:45 min/mile. That's on target for a 3 hr 50 min marathon and I initially wanted to be under 4 hr 30 min. Should I push to get to 3 hr 30 min? Ha! Ironman professionals run 2:40-2:50 marathons after swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112 miles. Sick! Oh well, that's why they get paid and I have my dinky little blog.

So the issue with my foot. Since I have a ton of time to think while running, I just start analyzing everything....how my foot's striking the ground, how I'm holding my arms and hands, etc. Well this pain that I dealt with a while back started coming back and it was the outside of my foot where my IT band connects. While running it hit me.....DUH!

When they design roads they design them so that they "crown" in the middle and slope to the outside. So when I was running towards on-coming traffic my right foot was not landing flat but I was technically landing on the outside of my foot, causing aggitation at the IT connection point. I say that to advise switching up the sides of the road that you run, if you start noticing this problem or if you have the option of running on a more flat surface, have at it. This is just something I've had problems with.

It's been really cool to go through this process and I am living proof that anyone can run a marathon. I'm not a runner but the more I do it, I can see how some people like it. Will I do everything perfect, absolutely not but it's the learning that attracts me.
Thanks for reading and safe running.

Marathon Training - Week 7

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:03:00 +0000

Marathon training is going well, so far. Sorry for the lack of pics but it's not as easy to carry a camera while running as it is riding a bike.

The first couple of weeks consisted of my leg joints getting aquainted with the constant pounding and me battling thoughts of quiting. I had a ton of weakness in the my shins causing shin splits but through pushing through some of the pain and some adjustments to running form, I'm on my way to the 26.2.

To address my adjustment in form, I had to adjust my upper body more than anything because I found myself in more of a sprinters position, I guess around 80 degrees or so. I came to this discovery during one of my runs when my shins were starting to hurt. I took the pressure off the front of my legs by trying to get as close to 90 degrees as possible, bringing my hips forward and running in more an upright position. I'm not saying this is scientific or that I even consulted any expert advice on marathon running, just simply trial and error.

I'm now on week 7 and my longest run so far is 10 miles, I'm running 12 tomorrow. I'm averaging anywhere from a 10 to 12 minute pace depending on the terrain. I never thought that I could possibly run for 1:30 to 2 hours, just insane for me to think about. I've noticed that aerobically I'm fine, it's just the mental training that goes into pushing pass the realities I'm use to.

Another thing I wasn't prepared for was eating while running. I ran my 10 miler with nothing but water and a small bit of Gatorade. Stupid! I was paying for it when got back to the car. I'll have to do some brainstorming to see how that's going to happen. Any tips?

That's it for now. I'm coming for you Memphis!

Summer Update

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:06:00 +0000

It's been a great summer so far. I'd be lying if I said that I'm not enjoying my time off the bike. I haven't been on 2 wheels in about 2 months. I have been out to Oak Mountain once to ride around with Iris and a friend to introduce our friend to mountain biking. I did one fast lap around the family trail and my lungs were on fire, lol.

I ended my last post by mentioning my next endeavor of running in the St. Jude Marathon in Memphis. I was looking at my calender the other day and the official start day for training is Aug 8th. This past week I ran 3 consecutive days of 2 miles a day just to see how the body reacted and other than the joints adjusting to the pounding, the muscles were fine. Of course, that's about a 10-11 minute mile pace. I was planning on running everyday up to Aug 8th but life got in the way this week.

Watching the hightlights of the Tour was awesome. It would have been cool to see Lance win number 8 but I have a feeling that he gained more confidence from this year's race and will bring out all stops next year on the Radio Shack team. Which, by the way, who saw that coming? I wonder if the rumors of Contador going to Garmin is true?

In dirt news, the Canadian World Cup races have started. I don't really follow the World Cup races enough to be versed in results but I do know that the US is really showing strong in all the World Cups. Of course, Absalon is flawless in pretty much every race.

That's all I have right now. Don't really know how this running thing is going to shake out but this is a start to something new. It's almost time to strap on the serious running shoes!

Bump N Grind - US Cup #3

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 02:22:00 +0000

The 2nd stop on the US Cup/Kenda Cup East circuit stopped in Pelham, AL to shred the same course the the Xterra crew did the week before, the "Red Trail" at Oak Mountain State Park. This stop didn't just bring the racing but the new toys not yet released. The bike above is Sam Schultz's brand new Gary Fisher Superfly 100 29'er, not in stores yet.

If your not fimiliar with it, it's because I witnessed one of the first assemblies of this beaut. Matte (G/S mechanic) even said that it was from the first production batch, it had a #3 on the shock swing arm. This is the full suspension version of the hardtail Superfly that was released last year. Just looks fast, plus they were running the new Bontrager XR1 Team Issue tire and the new SRAM XX mountain groupset that added to the appeal. NICE!

Then, we moved on to the Gary Fisher/Subaru 4 wheel edition, yes, it's turbo. They have it goin' on, that's for sure.

It was cool to see pretty much all the stud (women are studs too) US mountain bikers throw-down. There were 71 Pro men and 30+ Pro women. We were standing on the edge of the road when the men went off and it was amazing to feel the rush of wind when they past, those guys can fly!

The pro call-up was awesome. It was the first time that I've experienced any pro race of this magnitude. I was like the kid whose hand was stuck in the cookie jar because he had two cookies instead of one......that was me, too much to see.

My start was earlier that morning at 9 am. This was the time that I was preparing for the whole year. This was where racing began for me and I guess that's why I feel so drawn to this event. Plus, you can't turn down racing on the finest course in the southeast US.

I was standing at the line surveying the competition and my placement in the race kept moving further and further back because there were some serious racers in this group. I raced one guy in Montgomery last year and he straight "ripped some legs off." So, I really didn't have time to get the gitters before they said go. The problem I've had in the past is a bad start, not getting good position before entering the woods. This time I entered the singletrack in about 5th or 6th.

I stayed in within my abilities the whole time, never really riding above my head. We entered the first fire road and this where I would usually fade because the pace ramps for better position. Well, that didn't seem like a problem this year. We had already dropped the rest of the pack so we were left with the top 6 to battle. Once we entered the next part of singletrack I had lost the train but I was pinned and needed to recover a bit. Placement pretty much stayed the same until about 6-7 miles into the 17 mile loop. This is where the fun began, at the base of "the climb."

I exit the singletrack that dumps onto another jeep road and begins the 1-2 mile climb with 600 ft of elevation gain. Well, I see guy in a Georgia Tech jersey look back to check me. I marked him and he knew that I knew......it was on. He would charge to drop me but I wasn't having that, I trained to dang much for that to happen. I charged to gain control, he'd ramp again. So, I kept the climbing pace high so that he would keep pushing hard. I was the stronger climber and I was hoping he would fade. He lead me the whole rest of the course, sometimes out of site on the down hills and flats. I finally caught him with 1 mile left on a twisty/winding part of the trail. I had him turn for turn, literally 6 inches separating my front wheel and his rear wheel. The only way that I could beat him now was him going down or out sprinting him at the finish.

We exit the trail and climb a short hill towards the finish and he has me by 3 bike lengths. I hear my name called and adrenaline rushes through me. We enter the straight-a-way to the finish and I gas around the right side, gaining ground, sprinting, sprinting and finish line. We literally crossed wheel for wheel to tie at 1:22:19 for 5th place. The line judge said that he crossed the line first but I was hoping for a dance off. I finished in 6th and 2 min off my target time of 1:20.

Looking back I could have pushed harder and reached my goal but that's life. I can't say I didn't put in a good effort with an average heartrate of 186 and a max of 195. That's pretty much pinned for me but my legs still had more to give.

Here's David Creasy, the guy I battled with. Thanks Dave for the hardest racing I've done in a while.

Great weekend of racing and race watching. Looking back on "the plan", I didn't get in all that I wanted to. I'm really lacking in the endurance area and I could really tell. I'm thankful for a good clean race. I didn't flat or crash but I did clip a tree with my shoulder and it almost dismounted me.

I got rest this week and then the focus will turn toward the St Jude Marathon on Dec 5th. Full on training starts first week of August. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't nervous. My friend Jason was diagnosed with Leukemia when we were in Jr High and we will be running this together in celebration of his remission. It's going to hurt but not even close to what I watched him endure. This is to you my friend.

You Live, You Learn

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:42:00 +0000

It's been a while since I've written anything significant but I hope that I can redeem Cornbread & Shiftin' with this post, lol.

Iris and I got to see Kenny Chesney in concert week before last. I guess you could say I'm fairly open-minded when it comes to music, that's another passion of mine. Iris insisted that we play the role and dress the part, open-minded with dress? I have to say, the guy can entertain, good times.

Training the past two weeks has been climbing specific and I hope that I've hammered it enough. I was able to ride with Dan Hugo, Craig Evans and Casey Fannin this past weekend. The plan was an "easy" ride to check the course for the Xterra Southeast Championship. I found myself gas-ed at times trying to find that extra gear while they were catching up on conversation. The whole time I was thinking, "Hey guys, don't worry about me, I'm just hanging back to make sure no one sneaks up on ya'll." It was a blast but they're on a different level, made me aware of how far I have to go to race at that level.

This Sunday is the day of reckoning, all excuses are out the window and it's put up or shut up. I really enjoy this race, wish I could say the same about the suffering. This course is so dynamic and it will humble the best of riders. One minute your dodging trees, crossing bridges and the next your negogiating a collection of rocks called "Blood Rock" after you've just left your lungs about a mile and a half back on "the climb".

This week is final preparations and some rest for the legs. If you're in the area, come check it out.

Dan Hugo

Iris and I housed Dan Hugo for the Xterra Southeast Championship this past weekend, after our meeting a year ago. Our relationship started in Cahaba Cycles-Pelham last year after being drawn by the South African accent and the curiousity built to get to know the person behind the name. Wow, I don't know if there's anyone that has made a huge impact on your life but Dan is on my list of inspiring people.

I wish there were enough words that I could write to express his depth but I'm sure I would fail to capture it. He challenged us in every area of ours lives this weekend and specifically world travel. The past two years of communication with Dan has encouraged me to explore more of the world, through Google Earth (the cheap route), reading and the thought of possibly traveling Europe some day.

He endured a million questions from me about his training, equipment and future aspirations. We talked Specialized World Cup mountain biking, wheelsets, seatposts, faster ways to transition and the list goes on. His passion for people and knowledge amazes me and I really appreciate the time that we've shared.

There's one comment that stood out to me when we were talking this weekend and I hope you can claim it too. We were talking about trimming the weight of a bike for racing and he said, "After you've done all that you can do on the bike and off the bike, then you worry about bike weight." Basically, what he was saying is after you've done all the things that you can do to get physically fit and all that you can do with the handling of the bike (lines to take, cornering and such), then you're ready work on the bike weight.

I guess that was so profound to me because average athletes, including myself, get so caught up in the equipment part of things that they neglect seeing they're lack of skills. We think that a lighter bike will make us faster when in reality, maybe it's spending that money on a coach or riding with more experienced riders to watch the lines that they take.

Anyways, this post is way too long but I wanted to give a shout out to Dan and let him know that I appreciate the talks and the change that he's encouraged in my life. I hope I've given a small glimpse into the life of an incredible person. Go Dan!

He's Going the Distance.....

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Sun, 10 May 2009 15:51:00 +0000

As I expressed last week, I'm not feeling race fit at all, mainly because I haven't been able to work on all the pieces to the puzzle. I've been severely lacking in the endurance area because of all the out of town trips of late.

Well, that all came to an end this week (this blog keeps me honest). I was able to put together a decent week in terms of endurance. Tuesday was more strength/hill work, had a meeting Thursday night so that shot the interval session, Friday I picked up a 30 miler with a friend from work and Saturday I got in 60 on the CCR group ride. Friday I found my legs struggling to wake up for the ride ahead, probably because of the 20 mph head wind but man it definately opened them up for Saturday. I was able to test the climbing legs on the rollers and hills, which I found a significant delay in lactate, I felt strong, they were taking the challenge for sure. Then, at times I was eating and the pack would gap me but I used that as practice bridging gaps, tapping on 32 mph at times........flats I could hold 25-26 pretty comfortable. I did find my heartrate to be a bit escalated, not from over training as we know. So, there is some conditioning that needs to take place.

I would like to be getting in some mountain bike sessions but looks like the rain is never going to stop here in the Ham. All this past week was spotted rain and earlier in the week some tornado action going on. It makes afternoon workouts dang near impossible but I was able to hit some of the breaks in the weather and thankfully have a nice weekend of training.

I've been following the US Xterra circuit that kicked off in Las Vegas last weekend and it looks like it's going to be scap for the US title. Josiah Middaugh gave Conrad Stoltz a run for his money and Dan Hugo was not far behind and is not really on form yet. These guys make this sport look so easy, there's no doubt they're world class.

Xterra lands in Alabama on May 24th at Oak Mountain State Park and I can not wait to watch these guys throw-down. I was going to do this race but if you've been following, there hasn't been any posts about me drowning in a pool. Gosh, I suck at swimming. Anyways, I'll get to spend some time with my friend Dan Hugo as he'll be staying with my wife and I through the weekend of the race. He's an amazing person, just wish he lived in the states and not in South Africa. Go Dan!

Another thing is Scott Tedro and Manny Prado of the Sho-Air Specialized team were in town weekend before last, scouting the course for the second stop on the Kenda Cup East circuit. Goosh, I have a feeling this is going to be the biggest race this course has ever seen. Big ups to Scott Tedro for his dedication to the sport and the boldness that his has shown for stepping into a failing series and putting his money where is mouth is to show that the US can support a national mountain bike circuit. Every race has produced higher numbers than ever seen before.

That's all for now. Maybe I can find more breaks in the weather this week, urrrgh. Lord, I'm thankful for the rain but could I get two more weeks of good training in?

Family Values

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Sun, 03 May 2009 21:38:00 +0000

The past few weeks have been really nothing but family time and very little training to speak of, maybe three sessions in two weeks.

Weekend before last Iris and I made the trip to Baton Rouge, LA to spend some time with her family that we only really get to see maybe once a year. Bummer. So, Abby got us some LSU Baseball tickets and we watched LSU bring it to Auburn. It was cool watching two hommers back to back. The new Alex Box Stadium was unbelieveable. If you're ever in BR you have to stop in and see a game.

After the game we made a visit to Tony's Seafood to load-up on about 25 pounds of crawfish. Man, I've been waiting to eat crawfish since last year. I don't get those simple pleasures to often now that I live in Alabama. Overall.......awesome weekend with family, doesn't happen enough.

This past week I was able to get in two quality sessions, a climbing/strength session on Tuesday and some anaerobic stuff on Thursday. A weekend of training was out of the question because it was time for the annual BE&K (the company I work for) Fishing Tournament that my dad and I fish every year now. He drives up from LA with his boat and we fish our arms off. Friday was practice on Logan Martin and Saturday was time to "wack'um". I wasn't ready for the 4:15 am wake-up time on Sat morning.

As you can tell from the pic above, we were successful in our efforts, 2nd place out of 22 boats and big bass. My dad landed a 6.78 lb monster that tipped the scales in our favor. It was exhilirating to say the least. So, I'll take a missed weekend of training any day to see my dad that happy. We don't get to fish often enough.

It's going to rain all week in the Ham so I guess there will be some trainer work in the mix, which I'm not too excited about. I think Saturday I'm going to prepare to get soaking wet because my long rides are non-existent and I need the endurance work. 24 days until go time and my fitness is not even close to race fit. I'm just trying to keep it all in prospective and just give it all that I can til May 31st.

Redemption

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:30:00 +0000

The beginning of this week was pretty much the lowest I've ever been as far as not reaching goals and being frustrated with not being able to lay it all out on the line because of the bike issues. I was set on strictly training on the mountain bike, which was ok with me but not really ok with some of my training partners. I was just mentally exhausted from trying to diagnose the bike and had pretty much just given up on my road stuff for a while. This might sound a bit ridiculous but that's the reality I was stuck in for the time being.

Then, I'm in the Cahaba Cycles in Pelham, AL on Monday and Chris Storie asked me what we were going to do with the bike situation and I told him that I thought that I was just stuck with the dealings of the bike since everything check out fine, mechanically. He said "no", that the store was going to make it right and that I needed to pick out a new sled to ride the rest of the year. At that moment a huge weight was lifted and my season was restored just that quickly. So, I didn't hesitate, I picked one out. Now I'm cruising on the Trek 2.3. I upgraded a tad but I can only race what I can replace. She's beaut and way more stiffer than Lemond was.

I was able to get some descent sessions in this week, mainly riding and getting aquainted with the new setup. Looks like she can take some downhills and corners without wobbling, that's all I'm asking for. I'm still having to sort through all the mental stuff but it's coming along ok.

Yesterday was the Attack on Swayback and man I was ready to get some mountain bike action. Larry Stanley (CCR) and I drove down to Wetumpka, AL to get in on it after watching the weather to make sure there were no tornado warnings popping off everywhere.

I raced Sport 19-29 or Cat 2, however you view it. We toed the line and we were off to suffer. For some reason I couldn't get clipped fast enough and lost a few spots before hitting the singletrack but managed to hit it in 5th. We were juking and jiving through the tight, tight singletrack and I could tell that riding road too much took a little away from the snappy handling but it wasn't too terribly bad. About 3/4 of the way into the 8.7 mile course I could feel the legs start to tighten. This course is hard to hydrate on because it's tight and rooty and the roots will take you down in a heartbeat. So, I started taking on some melon HEED on the small flat sections and downing it on the few longer flats.

I remained in 5th I guess until about a 1/4 into the 2nd lap (hard to tell when there are so many riders on the course at once) and two other guys got by me. The calories and water started to kick in and the legs loosened but I still felt like I just couldn't deliver the power to catch the guys ahead. I could hear them, just not catch them. I ended the day in 7th with 1:33 but shaved 3 min off my previous years time. Improvements are all that matter to me. Larry smoked 1st in 40+ catergory. He came flying by me like a shot.

Overall, great course and now I know what I need to work on for the Bump N Grind.........climbing and power/strength. I would like to try and break the 1:20 mark, which is 7 min faster than last year's time with the crashes and mechanicals.

It felt good to finally just all out race and not worry about anything but hammering. If you ever consider buying parts or bikes outside of a bike shop.....don't forget my story, the shops have warranties too. From here on will be hills and strength. Catcha on the flip side!

New Rider Wanted

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 15:20:00 +0000

Another anaerobic week in the books and man are these weeks humbling. The heartrate's so jacked that you feel your moving along at a snails pace, only hoping that the result will be of some gain.

I got in two hard interval sessions on Tuesday and Thursday. This week I decided to do some pyramid work where the recovery period matches the previous effort, 1-1-2-2-3-3, etc. I'm good until I get to the top end of the pyramid, maxing at a 4 min effort. Afterwards the body is saying thank you but during, you're seeing things fly you never thought could fly, lol.

This week built toward one of the races that I've been waiting to experience, Ride to Live. Like I stated last week, Barber's Motorsports Park is a world renown road race course that gets the attention of car geeks from every walk of life, Indy Car and Porsche, as well as the Honda Superbike event. I was talking to one of the race marshalls and he said that the Indy cars will make this 2.3 mile lap in somewhere around 1-1:30min. The Cat 5's made 6 in about 45 min with an average of about 23 mph. So, you can only imagine the speeds the cars reach.

We lined up for our wonderful 7:30 am start.....nothing like going from pj's to licra. The race was underway and I was in the middle hoping the others would shield from the stout winds on the back side. I think I made it all of one lap because the Lemond wasn't handling the sharp turns and corners too well so I immediately drifted to the back to keep from injurying others and struggled to regain confidence. I pulled the plug on the pack and decided to use this as time trail practice, which I got to see 30 mph on the front straight, not that it mattered at the time.

I've decided to sell the road bike and step away from road for a while until I can save the coin for another race bike, don't know when that will be. I've had the frame alignment checked by the shop and the Trek rep and they seem to think it's a "fit" issue, which I can say the issue did arise after some adjustments were made to my saddle position. I also need to clear my mind of all the mishaps that have happened so far this year. From here on out I will be training specifcally on my mountain bike and training as hard as possible to redeem the year on May 31 at BNG. All criticisms are welcome.

After the morning of racing (riding really), Iris and I went to see Wicked at the BJCC in downtown B'ham. She's been enduring all my bike racing stuff so the least I could do was treat her to a broadway play. I have to say it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I'm not a play/skit kinda guy.

Since I'm switching to all mountain bike training this week, I will be racing the Attack on Swayback in Wetumpka, AL to see where the mountain bike racing fitness is. It's going to be a good time I know. It's a brutal course.....it should be called the Attack on Switchback because I swear I was changing directions a million times last year. I'm looking forward to it though. It's all out hammering and I don't have to worry about taking anyone down but myself, LOL!

Ripples to Waves

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:44:00 +0000

I wish that I could say that last week was the most amazing training week that I've had thus far........far from it. Not that it was a bad week, just nothing significant. The past two weeks have been super packed with non-training stuff. Weekend-before-last was spent at the lake, as you know, which I got in one not-so-solid mountain bike ride. This past week involved one solid interval session on Tuesday, a recovery ride on Wednesday and Thursday thru Sunday I was in Sandestin, FL for a bachelor party with an average bedtime of 4 am and all I got in was a 4 mile run around the resort after being rained in the whole weekend. It hurt but I was tired of sitting in the condo eating. We did get to see the sun for about an hour on Saturday while at the beach and it was absolutely amazing weather for the drive home Sunday.

By the way, if you look at the pic above, our condo was the red 3-story condo in the middle of the pic. PIMP! It overlooked all the happenings in the Village at Baytowne Wharf. I think it was valued somewhere around $1.2-$1.8 million.

This week the chaos settled (except for the sinus infection) and I was able to focus a little. I spun out the legs on Monday to get the junk out from the weekend (lots of junk) and prep for the training week ahead. Tuesday and Thursday consisted of 3 x 6min cruise intervals on the trainer because of rain, Wednesday and Friday were my recovery spins around Oak Mountain, and yesterday was the Hoover Cycling Festival.

This was my first crit of the season and I was really looking forward to placing, at least in the top 5 of the Cat 5 race. All my teammates were racing the Cat 5 35+ race so I was racing solo. I'd never raced solo and I wanted to try something new just to see what would happen so my plan was to light it up from the word "go". I know that's a stupid plan but hey you don't know unless you've tried.

I lit it up on the first lap hoping that I would have some guys come with me for a break. I led the first lap but couldn't get a break and now I was wondering why I had that thought for racing a crit. It's alot harder to get a break in a crit than a road race, in my opinion. Well, I burned most of my matches and the peloton swallowed me up like I was sitting still. I couldn't recover enough to hang on and I couldn't carry my speed through the turns because of the wobble situation at high speeds. I even changed out the wheelset for this race and I'm still having issues.

Long story short, I ended up dropping off the back, chasing, heartrate jacked to about 187 the whole time and I couldn't make any gains on the peloton so I called it a day and DNF'd. Not so happy ending to a day that I was really looking forward to.

Looks like we'll have some descent weather this week, except for Friday. Saturday is the Live to Ride circuit race. We will be racing on the Barber's Motorsports Park track in Leeds, AL. This venue is one of the finest race courses in the world and gets plenty of action from the Porche 250 and most recently the Indy Racing League. Needless to say, traction won't be an issue. I hope to post better news next week. Sorry I've been so lazy on posting. It took me half this week to catch-up on sleep, much less blogging.