Left Arm Bandit

I’m a week late in posting my Cherry Pie Race Report, so sue me.

I had 3 goals for Cherry Pie. 1) Keep the rubber side down. 2) Don’t get dropped. 3) Learn something.

I left my house nice and early to head down to Adair Village, OR where the race was. When I left it was raining and I was a bundle of nerves. The ground in Portland was soaked and there were puddles. I’d been told my several people that the first race of the season is always a little squirrely, especially for the Cat 5’s. Adding wet roads to the mix with standing water didn’t sound like fun.

The roads dried some as I drove south and when I arrived at the course they were just a bit damp and the sun was starting to come out. All the Cat 5 Portland Velo riders were moved to the second Cat 5 race so that we could all race together. We all eventually found each other, and got our warm up in. It was decided that we’d try to cover any breaks that went after the first big climb but not really worry about stuff that went before hand.

The race rolled out pretty slow, nice and easy. It didn’t seem like no one really wanted to race hard yet. One guy went on a solo break, We (the peloton) decided to let him go but not too far. He sat out there in the wind by himself about 4-500m of the front for a mile or two until he got tired and we slowly brought him back.



After climbing the first big hill the speed picked up and riders started to do some attacking. The peloton was chasing everything down. I tried to breakaway a few time but couldn’t get any significant separation before I was chased down. Myself and Mark tried to break the field up and soften people up a lot by taking long pulls, breakaway attempts, etc.

About 3 miles from the finish we caught site of the women’s Cat 4 field and then right at the base of the final climb we caught them. They were supposed to move right and go neutral for us to go through them but the climb strung them out and they were everywhere on the road, like land mines. The climb was pretty steep and I had to almost come to a stop a few time to avoid hitting on of the women that had come over to the left. I started the climb from about 10th and finished the race in 15th out of a field of 38. Michel who was our reserve guy when by me about half way up and took 5th.

All in all a good showing. I accomplished my goals and had a blast. Next time I either need to save more for the finish or work harder to either get away or break up the field for my team. The next road race is March 1st, wish me luck!

Results here: http://obra.org/results/2009/Road/13821#race_155120

I mentioned the other day that I now have a Coach. That's right a Coach. I've spent enough time coaching rowing back before the accident to know how important coaching is. Having a coach is the most effective and efficient way to quickly increase performance and that's what I want. Training for the marathon on my own with a canned training plan was fine but triathlon is a little more complicated and I want to go fast, fast.

Back in October when I had my bike fitted I met Russell from Upper Echelon Fitness. We chatted some about tri stuff and he mentioned Shawn. When I started riding with Portland Velo I discovered that they;re also associated with Upper Echelon.

Fast forward to the weeks of snow that we had in December. I went to several indoor trainer sessions which Shawn lead. We talked a bunch and he seemed like the right guy to help me achieve my athletic goals (I might post those at some point).

For the past month we've been whipping me into shape. I've lost some weight and am hungry all the time. The training volume has really increased as well. This week I'll be training for 12 hours! And I have my first road race on Sunday!

Thus far working with Shawn and the other guys at Upper Echelon has been awesome, awesome, awesome. They know what they're talking about and are super helpful including going bike shopping with me. I highly recommend them If you're in need of some help: triathlon, cycling or running.

I had high amazing hopes for this weekends team ride. After last weeks freezing temperatures and "Intel Snow" I was ready for a nice sunny warn hard ride. We met at Edgefield and the route was Larch Mountain to Bull Run. We had a nice size group of about 15 which was a big change after the last few weeks of 30+ people. My coach Shawn (coaching blog post is in the works Update: blog posted) was there and we chatted a little about my new bike (more on that later too). I had a bunch of things to talk to him about but I figured the was plenty of time to do that on our 60 mile ride.

We rolled out just after 10 am and it was starting to warm up nicely. The shoulder was a little gravelly so I was mostly road on the white line until we got about 2 miles in and the bike lane came up. All of the sudden I see a sharp looking rock, I deftly avoid it with the front tire and not so deftly run over it with the back. There's a loud pop and the tire goes flat instantly.

We pull over and 3 of us go to work. Upon inspecting the tire there is a 1/2-3/4 inch tear on in the sidewall. Lucky one of the guys has a boot and we are able to get it fixed and the new tube in the tire and wheel back on my bike.

Off we all go. Across a bridge and on to the historic hwy. The pace is pretty easy and I kind of sit out of the line to do a little work and get my blood flowing. There's a lot of tree cover and is a little cold.

The road starts to kick up and the guys in the front bring the pace up. Around a corner, up a few small hills and then we get hit by the wind. Everyone is trying to find a little cover and echeloning left, then right while trying not to take the whole road. The climb gets steeper and I find myself towards the front when most of the group makes a wrong turn and has to back track 100 meters.

The guys in front are strong and are moving fast. The wind is getting worse and the climb steeper. Its not like climbing in the west hills but its sustained and the headwind is hurting me. I feel like I'm going to get dropped but I grab a wheel and hold on. A gap opens but I claw my way back. I wave a few people around me and now I'm siting on the back of the front group of 5 guys.

I spend some time back there recovering and just as I start to feel good I notice the road getting bumpy, I look down and.... flat! That's the second flat in less than 10 miles.

Shawn helps me fix this one, he's pretty fast at it. I'm out of tubes running on a tire with a side wall tear and there's still 50 miles to go. I decide to head back and let the rest of the team go on without me. Its a little disappointing but I don't want to make the team stop again so its an easy decision to make especially given that my tire is not in the best condition.

After I get home I swap out my wheel for another one I have and finish off my workout by my self.

http://www.trainingpeaks.com/UI/FlexWorkoutFileViewer.aspx?key=EMUGTDAFQXRDXTTQV5ZMYPHZTA