week of 3.29.2009 - taking a beating and training recap

the race on sunday was a rough one! I had a pretty solid week of training. My volume was still up there a bit but the intensity was way down so my body was feeling pretty good. I got on my bike satruday morning for some race prep riding and was feeling pretty snappy and was riding well. After my ride I headed up to Oceanside to watch the 70.3 and had a killer time. I love being on the side lines and rooting for everyone. So many of my friends had good days out there. It was rad.
me and the FW down at the race.


My homeboy pat baldwin running his way into 2nd place in his AG and snagging a slot for Kona. So stoked for him!


Ryan cruised down on Saturday and we probably stayed up a litte too late saturday night drinking a couple of beers and bs'ing about sports but it was a good time...

Sagebrush Safari course.

sunday I got down to the race site around 9:30 and it was pretty chilly and really windy. I got my packet, got the bike ready, and warmed up. I was feeling pretty good when I got in the corrall and rolled up to the line.

The were 20+ guys in my wave (cat 1 30-34) and the start took us through 2 quick 90 degree corners before hitting the road for a couple of miles.

In the second turn as we were hitting the road a guy clipped my front wheel and I was forced to unclip and put my foot down so I didnt eat asphalt. By the time I was back in the pack was gone! Seriously... they dropped the hammer when we hit the road and gapped me big time. I spent the next couple of mile doing a full individual time trial, going all out try to latch back on to the peloton... it didn't happen. they continued to easily pull away and I was almost puking on myself from going so hard. So I was in last and hurting!

I knew the pack would split when we hit the first climb and it did. I continued to ride very hard and guys starting coming back to me. I worked my way some where into the top 10 before the first descent and was only 2 guys behind Justin so I knew I would a good wheel to try and follow.

I was riding really well on the single track descent and was able to hang in there and keep Justin in sight which is huge for me... he kills it and was riding solid. Near the end of the single track I just running back up the trail. His pedal had come off. When I hit fireroad, which was fast downhill I made a rookie mistake and reached for my bottle to drink and didn't take advantage of the fast descent. I put my bottle back and hammered and probably went the fastest I have ever gone on a moutain bike. A couple of guys caught me but then I get back to them in next set of climbs that included the hike-a-bike. I started riding really well and then we got to a flat/false flat fire road riding straight into a 20+ head wind. sweet! This is where I blew it.

I got to the fire road with one other guy and we started working together and then he fell off my wheel. Then a pack for 4 guys rolled up and I jumped on but then lost concentration and they got away right before we started climbing. They were working well together and gapped me big time and then a missed another pack... I was just making stupid decisions and responding to the surges they packs would throwdown. This where my lack of bike racing skills really shows, but it was a good lesson and I know what I need to do in the future. So I attacked the climb solo and then hit the Los Pinos climb... the big one. I knew this was my last chance to get back in the race before more descending and I was feeling pretty good at this point.

So I went all in up the climb and passed a lot of guys and just didn't hold back. When I reached the peak I was done... completely. I cracked, could barely see straight, and totally blew the fast fireroad descent that followed before more single track. I got owned by guys that I easily dropped on the climb and they just rode away. I rode like crap on the spring meadow trail and was blowing everything... and took a little spill in loose corner. i was ready to be off my bike and sick of the wind. I got to the bottom and had one more climb to the finish. I just got through it. I was totally blown.

I pretty much just rode it in to the finish. I was worked. I think going so hard for the first 20 minutes of race really took it's toll on me in the latter half of the race. It was tough but I still had a blast and learned a lot about racing. It was a good experience for me and I know it will help me in future races... I'm already counting down the days until Sea Otter!

After the race I hauled ass home to relax. Beth and I hung out by the pool and then headed for food and drinks. I am probably the luckiest dude around! This definitely made up for a tough day of racing!

me and the ladies... kirsten, katya, me, rachel, and beth.


good times!


Monday: gym session & EZ spin

Lunch - 40 min strength/core session

- kept it really easy. all sets 2 x15. Nothing too heavy. Just loosening up.

PM - 1:43/24.35 mile EZ road spin

- I was going to blow this off but beth talked me into it and got me out the door. we met up with molly and just cruised. aweseom afternoon ride. super mellow.

Tuesday: EZ run & EZ spin

AM - 6.73/52: run

- just shaking out the legs. ran from albertson's through encinitas ranch. i felt pretty good but kept it very mellow. all about recovery. running in the morning is awesome!

Lunch - 30 min core/stretching/foam roller

- recovery session.

PM - 1:15/20.3 mile road ride

- easy road spin up to starbucks and back. Rode back with Kerri. Good times.

Wednesday: MTB & luluemon run

AM -

- on on the trails first thing this morning for an interval session. my only "hard" bike workout for the week. 2 x 10 min climbs, then a bunch of short 1 min and 30 sec sprints. I felt good and really strong on the climbs and was holding back. It's a recovery week and I don't want to go overboard with the race on sunday.

Lunch - recovery session

- just some stretching and foam roller. killing time.

PM - 46:50/6.15 mile lululemon run (7:36/mi)

- smaller crew which was fine by me. kept the pace in check this week. everybody is either recoverying from racing last weekend or getting to race this weekend. definitely a bit tired.

Thursday: KOM Run and MTB night ride

AM - 1:21/9.84 mile KOM run - 8:17/mi, 1362 ft of climbing

- i was originally planning on running long at lunch but knew i would have been crunched for time. i was early so i decided to get on it. again... not pushing the pace this week. just getting in the miles and some climbing. good effort. i want to extend this loop a bit to make it a 10 miler.

- Food: picking at bird feeder bar & granola before. recoverite after.

PM - 1:31/15.78 MTB
- good times with the guys out at hodges. mellow ride. just having fun.

Friday: EZ Run
Lunch - 43:45/6.1 mile run
- just putting the miles. mellow. recovery run. I did 15 minutes of core right after. liked doing the core work right after may try to keep this up.

Saturday: Race Prep MTB
AM - 1:44/14.86 MTB
- I hit the local trails and did some race efforts and everything else was just mellow. I really focused on my descending because there was a lot of time to be lost if didn't descend well on Sunday. Felt good. Not great.

Sunday: MTB Race - Sagebrush Safari
race warm-up -32:00/6.12 mtb
race - 2:06/26.17 miles
- see above for details.

Week totals.
Time: 15:35
Bike Distance 44.65 mi
Run Distance 28.82 mi
MTB Distance 76.68 mi