These are the 2012 races I'm interested in. By no means will I do all of them. These are the ones that interest me. As long as I get a time trial bike by the time I need to start training the 2 big races of the year will be the Bozeman Triton half and The Redman Full Iron.
Dec
Nut Cracker triathlon
March 31st & April 1st
Adoption Exchange classic
April
Spring Fling tri
May
Atomic Man Duathlon
Dog House tri
or Galisteo road race
June
Crest Race RR
Tri Raider sprint tri
Grady Williams tri
July
Dam it man tri
Cochiti triathlon
Santa Fe Hill climb RR
Aug
Oak Flats RR
Sept
Eagle in the sun
Redman full tri
Oct
Warrior tri
Southwest Grappling Championship
Showing posts with label road racing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label road racing. Show all posts
December 12, 2011
September 04, 2011
which sport for the 2012 season?
I finally feel like I'm healing up from my stomach flue. I'm not sure I feel well enough to pick up my training plan on Monday, but I'm pretty sure Tuesday I'll be back to working out consistently.
With all this time off from training I've started to dream about what I'll be training for after I finish Ironman Arizona. I've decided I'll be training for one of 2 options:
1) train for a mid season sprint distance triathlon & attempt to qualify for the 2012 Sprint National Triathlon Championships.
I've qualified for the national championships at the Half Iron distance & the Oly distance, but never the sprint distance, which is ironic because I'm a much better short course athlete.
2) Train for cycling specific racing. I really enjoyed racing Oak Flats RR last weekend but I didn't do well, I finished 32nd out of 38 Cat 5 riders. I'm very competitive, once I try a new sport I usually will become OCD with it until I can do it well. New Mexico has some amazing road races, time trials, criteriums, multi day road races, & omniums. If I choose to train for cycling here are some of the races I'm interested in:
April
Hayfield Roubaix
Adoption Exchange classic (this race is an omnium consisting of 2 days, 3 events consisting of a Criterium, Time Trial, and Road Race)
May
Galisteo Road Race
June
Santa Fe RR (2 days consisting of a Road Race & a Time Trial)
Crest Race
July
Santa Fe Hill Climb.
August
Oak Flats
September
Record Challenge Time Trial (worlds fastest 40k held in Moriarty NM)
It's awesome virtually all of them are local races.
With all this time off from training I've started to dream about what I'll be training for after I finish Ironman Arizona. I've decided I'll be training for one of 2 options:
1) train for a mid season sprint distance triathlon & attempt to qualify for the 2012 Sprint National Triathlon Championships.
I've qualified for the national championships at the Half Iron distance & the Oly distance, but never the sprint distance, which is ironic because I'm a much better short course athlete.
2) Train for cycling specific racing. I really enjoyed racing Oak Flats RR last weekend but I didn't do well, I finished 32nd out of 38 Cat 5 riders. I'm very competitive, once I try a new sport I usually will become OCD with it until I can do it well. New Mexico has some amazing road races, time trials, criteriums, multi day road races, & omniums. If I choose to train for cycling here are some of the races I'm interested in:
April
Hayfield Roubaix
Adoption Exchange classic (this race is an omnium consisting of 2 days, 3 events consisting of a Criterium, Time Trial, and Road Race)
May
Galisteo Road Race
June
Santa Fe RR (2 days consisting of a Road Race & a Time Trial)
Crest Race
July
Santa Fe Hill Climb.
August
Oak Flats
September
Record Challenge Time Trial (worlds fastest 40k held in Moriarty NM)
It's awesome virtually all of them are local races.
August 28, 2011
Oak Flats race report
Today I raced in the Oak Flats road race. I raced 4 twelve mile laps, 48 miles total.
I knew the basic rules of cycling, the #1 rule is DON'T GET DROPPED. Stay with the pack no matter what! I knew if I got dropped I'd never be able to get back with the front runners. I was able to hang with the pack for awhile, the speeds they were riding at wasn't a problem for me, but what killed my legs was the accelerations. I was not expecting how brutal the accelerations were! I'm in pretty good shape for triathlon specific training & racing, but triathletes don't train for explosive 5-15 second sprints. We go really hard for an entire race, but we don't do quick hard sprints, there's no need for them in a multisport racing. By the 9 mile mark the sprints were killing me, my calves were cramping up. At mile 9.9 we hit the biggest climb of the race & I got dropped from the pack.
From miles 10-17 I went back to my triathlon racing mindset, which is to push myself as hard as I can for as long as I could. Hindsight I realize that was a mistake. I was pushing myself so hard I didn't have enough strength to sprint & catch any ones wheel when a group passed me. By mile 16 I had been pushing myself so hard my hands started to shake. At mile 18 I was able to finally catch the slip steam of a couple of cyclists. At 1st the 3 of us were taking equal pulls at the front. I was faster riding with these guys, but each time I'd take the lead and hammer it would kill me! I'm just not accustomed to hard sprinting with short rests. At the end of the 2nd lap we dropped one of the guys, 2 of us left. At the beginning of the 3rd lap my lower back started cramping up. From then on each time I took the lead I was able to pull for less time. He'd pull for a minute, I'd pull for 20-30 seconds. Mid way through the 3rd lap I got dropped. I struggled from that point on. My inner thighs, calves, & lower back was cramping & I was completely out of energy. At mile 36 the cat 1, 2, & 3's started to pass me. At mile 38 the a few female cyclists passed me. At mile 40 I caught the wheel of 2 females. They were TOUGH! They were keeping a 20-28 mph average. I was able to hold their wheel for approximately 4 miles pretty easily, but at the next big climb I tried to peddle standing up to ensure I stayed with my new pack, but by then my glutes were TOAST. When I tried to stand my legs collapsed, I came near to crashing & I lost the slip stream of the ladies ahead of me. From miles 44 to 48 I tried my best to continue riding hard, but my legs simply had nothing left!
My average on the last 4 miles was 13 mph! My total average of the 48.5 mile race was 18.8 mph.
My top speed of the day was 47.3 mph & it happened while being in the middle of a large pack. Riding over 45 miles an hour with people 5-6 inches on every side of me was something I had never experienced. It was a major rush!
I burned 2015 calories.
When I came up to the finish line I saw my wife & kids holding signs saying "GO DADDY" & "YOU ARE MY HERO" that they drew with markers & crayons. They were screaming & cheering for me. It's amazing how their encouragement made all my pain go away. I felt on top of the world! I'm not saying I could have completed another lap, but I felt good enough to dig deep for one more sprint across the finish line. I'm very lucky, extremely loved, & have the best wife & kids!
I think next year I'd like to try a multi day stage race. Perhaps The Santa Fe stage race which is a 2 day event or Iron Horse which is a 3 day race with 1 road race, 1 criterion, & 1 time trial.
I knew the basic rules of cycling, the #1 rule is DON'T GET DROPPED. Stay with the pack no matter what! I knew if I got dropped I'd never be able to get back with the front runners. I was able to hang with the pack for awhile, the speeds they were riding at wasn't a problem for me, but what killed my legs was the accelerations. I was not expecting how brutal the accelerations were! I'm in pretty good shape for triathlon specific training & racing, but triathletes don't train for explosive 5-15 second sprints. We go really hard for an entire race, but we don't do quick hard sprints, there's no need for them in a multisport racing. By the 9 mile mark the sprints were killing me, my calves were cramping up. At mile 9.9 we hit the biggest climb of the race & I got dropped from the pack.
From miles 10-17 I went back to my triathlon racing mindset, which is to push myself as hard as I can for as long as I could. Hindsight I realize that was a mistake. I was pushing myself so hard I didn't have enough strength to sprint & catch any ones wheel when a group passed me. By mile 16 I had been pushing myself so hard my hands started to shake. At mile 18 I was able to finally catch the slip steam of a couple of cyclists. At 1st the 3 of us were taking equal pulls at the front. I was faster riding with these guys, but each time I'd take the lead and hammer it would kill me! I'm just not accustomed to hard sprinting with short rests. At the end of the 2nd lap we dropped one of the guys, 2 of us left. At the beginning of the 3rd lap my lower back started cramping up. From then on each time I took the lead I was able to pull for less time. He'd pull for a minute, I'd pull for 20-30 seconds. Mid way through the 3rd lap I got dropped. I struggled from that point on. My inner thighs, calves, & lower back was cramping & I was completely out of energy. At mile 36 the cat 1, 2, & 3's started to pass me. At mile 38 the a few female cyclists passed me. At mile 40 I caught the wheel of 2 females. They were TOUGH! They were keeping a 20-28 mph average. I was able to hold their wheel for approximately 4 miles pretty easily, but at the next big climb I tried to peddle standing up to ensure I stayed with my new pack, but by then my glutes were TOAST. When I tried to stand my legs collapsed, I came near to crashing & I lost the slip stream of the ladies ahead of me. From miles 44 to 48 I tried my best to continue riding hard, but my legs simply had nothing left!
My average on the last 4 miles was 13 mph! My total average of the 48.5 mile race was 18.8 mph.
My top speed of the day was 47.3 mph & it happened while being in the middle of a large pack. Riding over 45 miles an hour with people 5-6 inches on every side of me was something I had never experienced. It was a major rush!
I burned 2015 calories.
When I came up to the finish line I saw my wife & kids holding signs saying "GO DADDY" & "YOU ARE MY HERO" that they drew with markers & crayons. They were screaming & cheering for me. It's amazing how their encouragement made all my pain go away. I felt on top of the world! I'm not saying I could have completed another lap, but I felt good enough to dig deep for one more sprint across the finish line. I'm very lucky, extremely loved, & have the best wife & kids!
I think next year I'd like to try a multi day stage race. Perhaps The Santa Fe stage race which is a 2 day event or Iron Horse which is a 3 day race with 1 road race, 1 criterion, & 1 time trial.
August 27, 2011
tapering for my 1st road race
I'll be racing in my 1st cycling specific road race in the morning. It's called Oak Flats. It'll be 4 twelve mile loops on a somewhat mountainous course located 9 miles south of Tijeras New Mexico.
I've done 74 triathlons/duathlons and a couple centuries, but never a cycling specific road race. I've been tempted before, but have never pulled the trigger. There's a lot of tactics, team strategy, and drafting used in road racing, as a triathlete I haven't practiced at those skills much. Plus most of the people who race road events are pure cyclists. They're great at cycling because that's all they do. Right now I'm training for Ironman Arizona, so only about %50 of my training time is dedicated to cycling. On one hand I'm in good shape & I'm weighing at an all time low, but on the other hand cycling is my weakest sport. The lightest I've raced at before was at the 2010 Dog House triathlon & the 2010 Chick-Fil-A tri. At those races I weighed somewhere in the high 180's to low 190's & I finished 5th & 10th overall, right now I weigh 182. I'm hoping being another 10 pounds lighter helps my racing performance.
To ensure the best performance I'm capable of I did a small taper this week. This was my 1st taper of the entire 2011 season. It felt great to have a little down time. Let's hope it helps me out on race day! Wish me luck everyone, I think I'll need it! Let's hope I keep the rubber on the road!
I've done 74 triathlons/duathlons and a couple centuries, but never a cycling specific road race. I've been tempted before, but have never pulled the trigger. There's a lot of tactics, team strategy, and drafting used in road racing, as a triathlete I haven't practiced at those skills much. Plus most of the people who race road events are pure cyclists. They're great at cycling because that's all they do. Right now I'm training for Ironman Arizona, so only about %50 of my training time is dedicated to cycling. On one hand I'm in good shape & I'm weighing at an all time low, but on the other hand cycling is my weakest sport. The lightest I've raced at before was at the 2010 Dog House triathlon & the 2010 Chick-Fil-A tri. At those races I weighed somewhere in the high 180's to low 190's & I finished 5th & 10th overall, right now I weigh 182. I'm hoping being another 10 pounds lighter helps my racing performance.
To ensure the best performance I'm capable of I did a small taper this week. This was my 1st taper of the entire 2011 season. It felt great to have a little down time. Let's hope it helps me out on race day! Wish me luck everyone, I think I'll need it! Let's hope I keep the rubber on the road!
August 23, 2011
Oak Flats road race!
I'm now registered for the Oak Flats bike race on Aug 28th 2011! I'm so excited! This will be my 1st road race. Wish me luck!!!
May 20, 2011
Road Racing, time trialing, & criteriums
I saw that there will be some cycling road races later this year. I've always wanted to compete in a road race, but have avoided doing one... roadies don't like triathletes much. If my wife will let me I'll show up for the the NM criteriums state chamionships July 10th, the NM time trial state champioships Aug 21st, oak flats road race Aug 28th, & the Moriarty record break 40K TT Sept 2nd & 3rd. Anyone want to join me?
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