Out with the old, in with the new.

Usually, ringing in the new year comes complete with making all kinds of ridiculous new promises to yourself. If you really work hard, maybe you make it to March before your new promise is a thing of the past. Even still, I can't help but resolve to make some sort of change each year. Usually it's something along the lines of "stop procrastinating", or "become more organized", or "finish everything I start"...blah, blah, blah. This year, however, I want to be a better bike racer. Simple enough. All I need to do is read some books, listen to a few seminars, eat better, train harder, get a new bike, and go to more races. The only problem is, I've already done all that. Well...almost.

Since the end of the last racing season (which ended on a terribly sour note...), I've read and listened to enough physiology to make even the most educated professors vomit, I've purchased my dream race machine, performed more base training in the last month than I care to shake a stick at, and I've even added some pretty healthy choices to my diet. With a little luck, I might just make this my best season yet. The only thing left to do is go to a crap-load of races.

There's a pic of my new Tarmac SL4 frame. Now, if I can just find some quality components....

Pre-ride essentials. Sync iTunes and eat some carbs. This is a honey and fig rice cake, as made from the new book "The Feed Zone". Check it out. My last 2 rides have included this tasty gem beforehand, and orange-coconut macaroons mid-ride. I've been really pleased with the fuel they've provided.

Recently, I've gotten into making blender drinks (the non-alcoholic type). Here is today's concoction: fresh chopped pineapple, pear, banana, mango, and blueberry. I just fill to the level of the fruit with water, then blend, and voila! It sure beats having to take the time to eat all of that (I've usually separate it into 2 drink bottles...one for now and one for later). In the background, you can see the green bowl with my pre-wrapped rice cakes that I made the other day.

After a few months worth of lifting weights and general aerobic fitness, things are back into full swing for me. I'm in an aerobic period and currently targeting sub-threshold intensity levels. Something that I found that has been working well, is 2x20 type workouts. I'll list a sample below. I was amazed at how difficult it really was to complete the first time...just goes to show how specific bike training can be. 

15 min Warm-up:  easy aerobic pedaling
5 min All-out effort: 100% FTP 
20 min interval: sub-threshold 88-94% FTP
10 min recovery pedaling
20 min interval: sub-threshold 88-94% FTP
Recovery pedal, cool down, or finish with high cadence drills
*the 2 x20 intervals can be replaced with 3x10, 3x12, 3x15 depending on current fitness...but strive for 2x20

I'm also in the middle of purchasing my new ride for next year. I figure 2 years of crit racing a Kestrel Talon (fully built with power tap wheel comes in around 22 lbs!) is enough. I have already bought a set of new Mavic Cosmic Carbone SR's and a Quarq Cinco power meter. I previously ordered a new Tarmac SL4, but Specialized pushed the back order
back another 2 months, so I ordered just the frame to build. There has been no response from the factory yet, so I figure they have about a week to at least contact me before I just go with something else. I'm not a patient person.

Other than that, I am just waiting for some races to start hitting the schedule. I am attending a power clinic by Hunter Allen in January and hopefully racing the Sea Otter Classic in April...all on my quest towards Cat 3. Maybe with the new iPad that I got for Christmas, blogging will be a little bit easier!

What a year. I spent the racing season doing what I'd like to call "getting comfortable" in the Cat4's, and training my ass off for what was undoubtedly the most poorly organized and over-hyped event that I've ever been a part of (the 2011 World Police and Fire Games). During my local races (with the exception of the MABRA state criterium championships), I spent most of my time hanging with the pack, not contesting the finishes, or really making any big push at the finish at all. I was amazed at how insanely fast Cat 4 can be. My personal opinion is that there is a fine mix of true Cat 4 level racers, sandbaggers, non-upgraders, dopers, and people passing through on their way to higher categories. The Cat 4 races this year were faster than the 3/4 races that I did, and were only surpassed by the speed and difficulty of the racing at the world games. I even overheard a group of guys who were waiting to start in the Cat 1,2,3 talking about how they had never seen Cat 4 fields strung out so much. With that said, I'm ready to train a little harder to finally see how well I can do in these fields.  In fact, one of my goals for this next year is to race well enough to upgrade to Cat 3.

After the beginning of September, I was lean, fit, and tired of training. My hips were hurting and I was all but forcing myself to continue training. Don't get me wrong, I was still very much enjoying riding my bike, but I was definitely ready for a rest period. I took a couple weeks off, and started running short distances here and there, and eventually started doing some weights and strength training.

Looking forward to the next racing season, I'm pretty excited. I feel good, I'm ready to train hard, and I've got some fun races on the calendar. I've got a new bike on the way (new Tarmac SL4), some new wheels (Cosmic Carbones), and even a new team to race and train with (Team Integrity). Yep, things are looking good.

My aerboic period started this past week, and I completed my first FTP test for the year...just in time for the winter weather to start screwing things up! Hopefully, things will continue to feel as good (physiologically) as they have recently, and I'll have some good race reports to share. My first couple races on the calendar should be the crit at Richmond, then the Sea Otter Classic in California.