2.28.2009

Pre-game routine is back!

Awww yeah! After a good chunk of shut eye last night I'm feeling pretty darn good this morning. Race day mornings are always filled with excitement, eagerness, nervousness and unanswered questions. These questions are often about things I have no control over. Which real pros will show up? What dominating teams will stack the field? Is it gonna rain or be too hot or too cold or too windy? I usually brush the questions off to the side with another cup of joe and more trance music. I've learned to stop questioning myself and to just believe in myself and know that I'll try my best. The mornings of "did I train properly?" don't fly anymore. It is what it is and well I'm just thankful I'm healthy enough to throw down with the fastest in CO and I would even argue in the U.S. So today is going to be fun and a great learning experience with my new team. Although the entire squad won't be there we're coming with some serious horsepower and I fully expect us to be in the mix of things from start to finish. I've raced dozens and dozens of crits but the first one of the season is always the most interesting because the sensations you get in racing can never be duplicated in your hardest training ride. I guess that's why I love to race. So on that note, I'm gonna make me another espresso, eat some breakfast, turn up the volume with a little State of Trance, read my race day quote and live life. GAME ON!

"It is not the critic that counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles. Or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement. And at worst, If he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

— President Theodore Roosevelt, "The Man in the Arena", Paris, 1910

Sent from my Atari 64

2.26.2009

Ouch...

Woke up this morning with achy legs which I know is a good thing. I know these aches will only make me stronger in the days to come. Hopefully perfect timing for the two crits. I have scheduled this weekend. The lbs are coming off fairly quickly which is not surprising since my training load has increased the last couple of weeks and I've started to center my diet around the Paleo diet. All in all life is good and I'm just thankful I can ride my bike and race it every now and then. You should go ride.
Sent from my Atari 64

Top 5....

Jobs I'd like to do for a day
1. Cab driver
2. Ski Patrol
3. F1 driver
4. Life Guard on some Hawaii beach
5. Fire Fighter


Sent from my Atari 64

2.24.2009

2.19.2009

It's almost that time to...

Ride it like you stole it.

That's right. A week from Sunday will be my first race of the season and man do I expect an ass kicking. I feel strong and I have been training but racing is a whole different beast. On that note, I'm going to pack my ski gear for Sat, train my ass off on Sunday and stop eating pizza.
Sent from my Atari 64

2.15.2009

First...

- ride on my new BH team bike
- long ride of the season
- use of my Garmin 705 computer (on the bike)





2.14.2009

Garmin Edge 705 + Ascent software = Sick workout analysis

Just got the Garmin Edge 705 mainly for cycling but it turns out it can be used as a GPS unit in your car and also on hikes and runs. I used it for the first time today on a hike. Pretty cool. I can't wait to log a 4-5 hour ride up in the mountains to see all the data. The only thing I don't have is power but that's okay for now. The cool thing is this computer will sync with pretty much any power meter I decide to get in the future. So far so good.

An intense response by Lance Amrstrong who was called the 'cancer' of cycling.

WOW....I'm pretty that reporter will never get an interview. I think Lance's response was well said and if the prologue was shortly after that interview I would bet my entire 401k retirement savings on Lance winning it. He looked pissed! You hear about how Lance is one of the most intense guys in the peloton so I can only imagine what is fueling his fire right now. There will always be critics of him saying he doped but the guy is the most tested athlete in the world in any sport. Since his press conference annoucing his comeback he has been tested 18 times. I'm pretty sure that is 3x as much as any other pro cyclist or athlete in the world. Some would argue that he's cleaner than other Pro Tour teams like Garmin/Chipotle or Columbia who don't test as often. I'm a fan of Lance and always will be. Now lets see him f%$#ing tear up this year starting with the Tour of California.


2.10.2009

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8.148

I posted a new PR lap time at the Boulder Velodrome yesterday. I'm confident I can go better with more practice and some fresher legs. I'm not sure I had the best line on the approach to the start of the lap and I had a slight bobble on the backstretch that caused me to soft pedal and regain position for turns 3&4. Dale Stetina watched my effort and he gave some really great analysis of were I was good and were I was bad causing me to lose time. I'm pretty happy with my time considering it's one of the fastest laps on that track and that I did it on one of their rentals. I'm breaking 8 seconds.
Sent from my Atari 64

2.08.2009

T-minus 3 weeks

My preparation for Valley of the Sun stage race in Phoenix kind of fell through with an unexpected cold, work and lack of training. That said, I'm not going. I'll be looking to start my season in March with a lot of the collegiate sponsored events in the front range area. I'm training and looking forward to ramping things up in the next 7 weeks in preparation to be absolutely flying in April. I have been riding the Boulder velodrome every Monday and lately training with guys who know the track on a world cup level. I first rode with Colby Pearce who is a former Olympian who represented the U.S. in Athens, Greece. The week after I trained with Scott Berryman who back in the day was battling the sprint races against the Russians. I'll be looking to gain as much track knowledge from these guys as I push for elite nationals come Oct.

Besides cycling my life seems to have hit the fast forward button. I'm teaming up with some friends and The Young Fund to put on a killer charity event benefiting The Children's Hospital. May 14th so mark your calendar! I'll be making a trip back home to visit my lola probably in March. I'm stoked my sister Claudine is having a boy come June. The more little ones we have in our family the better. That's about it for now.
Sent from my Atari 64