Close of the Week

Let's see... where did leave off?

Wednesday morning was Jake's last AM practice; didn't miss a single one since they started in June (and he now is understanding the benefits). AM practices provides the kids a recovery run (usually 3-4miles) to flush the crap from the day's prior workout. They focus on extra stretching and core work. Jake is a firm believer that AM's are a necessity to progress.

Wednesday was beautiful outside, but it just didn't workout for me to enjoy it as I played some intense basketball at lunch and planned to ride outside after work. Turns out that once the 5pm whistle blew it all about a little 'Dad and Ian' time; which trumps a ride any day of the week. Deb got in a workout with Marla while Ian and I hit SBU for some basketball. First we stopped in to watch the men's basketball team practice and then we got in a bunch of hoops of our own. Got home in time to watch the Spurs season opener (good win over CP3 and crew). Spurs take top billing over the World Series in our house.

I hopped on the trainer Wednesday night (after Ian crashed) and got in a nasty workout of 30min warm up 3 sets of 10 x (20 sec 100% with 10 sec rest) with 4 min recovery between sets. Leg and lung burner.

Thursday Ira and I got in a 1:45hr ride at a fairly easy pace at lunch. After work Deb and I met up with Wes and Marla and went to The Palace in SPR for a movie night. The girls watched some chick flick while Wes and I just missed GI Joe so we ended up with some Sandra Bullock show that was decent (that's what you get for $2.50). Had good discussion on some work I am going to do with their daughter regarding the Pose Method of Running. Looking for a less stressful (physically wise) approach to an activity she loves.

Pretty windy (OK, super windy outside today) so I opted for some more basketball at noon. Interval workouts every time as this is not casual stuff, it's end to end action non-stop. Ian went up with me as they didn't have school today. He likes going as the guys I play with all give him a hard time and let him shoot around with us between games. We stopped by Jake's XC (at 2pm) and watched them do some build ups/striders as last prep before Districts tomorrow.

Ian's game at The Courts was cancelled for tonight as the other team had the flu (rescheduled for a date yet to be determined). Deb and I decided on a movie night at home along with some homemade potato soup. I am looking forward to it.

Tomorrow is the prelude to the Big Dance (State XC Meet in Jeff City) as he will need to finish in the top 15 runners to make it out of districts. Jake had a physical (and mental) meltdown last year and ran his worst race of the year at districts in Monett and didn't even come close to making it out. It's amazing what a difference a year can make as Jake is running super strong right now. He takes the race to competitors and no longer tries to follow. At a normal district he would be a shoe-in, but his district includes defending (and multi-time) state champs and currently ranked #1 in the state West Plains and #3 (class 3) McDonald County not to mention a handful of other runners all with times in the low 17s; he will have to have a solid day to move on. Jake has been confident for the past couple weeks and told me last night he will try to crack the top 10. This has been a tough week on me and can't wait to see tomorrow's race get here. Boy's gun goes off at 11am. I am so proud (not so much of his results, but of his dedication and effort level) of my boy; he has put so much into this season, has grown (mentally and physically), and it would break our hearts for him to miss out this year. The SBU course has been prepped, but is still retaining quite a bit of water (not so much mud) as it is just wet. Bolivar's girls team looks to be a lock to move on in the team division where as our boys are just a couple years young to compete in the team division. Coach Bandy is having the crew to his casa this evening for their last pasta dinner as a whole team. ***picture to the right is of he and I his freshman year; looks a lot different now***

Looks like Scott and I will hit the road Sunday to Lawrence for the Sunflower 'Cross race.

For the Grandparents and 'Cross Video

Quick look at some photo's the BHS Yearbook staff put together on the school's website.




Click HERE for what is my favorite 'cross video montage.

How Can I Package This Past Weekend and Sell It?

Long and Short Report: A great sneak away with Deb in KC and a 'cross race to boot... Kind of hard to beat weekend all-around.

HUGE PHOTO DUMP of Smithville CX

Longer Version: One of the best weekends in some time and I am still wearing a smirk... Here's how it went:

Friday after work I dropped down to the SBU XC course and watched the team his a 3k 100% blast. Jake and company looked pretty good on the soggy course. He is looking more confident that I have every seen before. This Saturday is Judgement Day (district meet) on the SBU course as the top 15 runners move on to State. You would think with his quality runs as of late he would be a shoe-in, but considering our district has the #1 (West Plains) and possibly #3 (McDonald County) teams in the state and at least 16 kids have all ran in the 17min range Jake will have to have a solid day. My mind tells me he is through to State, but you never know until the race is over (that's why they run it). Weather shows rain four of the next six days so the course will be a mudder/slop fest (in which Jake has had success this year).

Got home in time to load up, head to SPR, and coach Ian's first basketball game at The Courts. He (and his teammates) had been pumped all day and were tough to settle down prior to tip-off. The kids played tough and Ian was solid (as always), but took their first 'L' this year. Ian continues to impress me with his left and right ball handling and 'court awareness' that is far beyond his age as demonstrated in the below clips he either shakes free for a shot or finds teammates while dribbling (with either hand) for open shots. They are so far ahead of where we were last year that I am anticipating a fun experience. My mom and dad showed up as well as Grandma Smith and after the game we all grabbed some chow and then Deb, Ian, and I went back to watch Bolivar's 4th grade team play (they got pounded).

Early Saturday Deb and I packed up a few things, loaded my racing gear, and headed off to KC for a little bit of 'us' time (and a race on Sunday... imagine that). Hit KC around lunch so we kicked it off with some Gates and a little shopping at Midwest Cycles (Crusty guided us that way). Checked into hotel and dropped off bike, hit some shopping, and topped off the afternoon with some Cold Stone ice cream. Hopped on the trainer for some 'openers' then back out for dinner and a movie (Couples Retreat - Vince Vaughn; pretty decent).

Super late Sunday morning wake up and lounging before off to Einstein's for bagel sandwiches and coffee. Rolled over to Smithville Lake for round #3 of the De Stadt series. Fun having Deb there watching. Course was fun (super fun) with a couple challenging up-n-overs as one of them was at the end of a 40 or so meter beach/mud section that surprisingly was rideable. I have no 'mad skills' as some like to put it, so I was about 50/50 when it came to cleaning the technical run/ride ups (fine example in one of the below videos). Told myself to actually try for a good opening spot and hit the first turn in 3rd (huge accomplishment for me) and maintained that spot until halfway through the race a guy slammed into my rear wheel (not his fault) after I dabbed coming off the beach and it took a little 'fixing' to get my rear brake to work again. Turns out (didn't know it at the time) my rear wheel was tweaked in the dropouts and now I have a little less pad on one side from the wheel rubbing the rest of the day. Actually glad to hear that's what it was as I thought my legs were giving out although I felt like I should have been going faster. No big deal as I was able to hold on to 6th (38 starters) and move up a hair on the overall standings (I hope). Still having the most fun racing in a long time.

Crusty toed the line in his Sunday's best and some fancy HED wheels (wipe the saliva from lower lip...). Not sure how he finished (word has it he was giving lessons in 'mad skills'), but just glad to have him back in the saddle and racing. By the way, its 1 - 0 in favor of Bodunklivar.

Loaded up the race gear, did a little bit of shopping, then dropped south to see the boys (after a quick stop at the H1N1 outlet for post-race nutrition). On a side note: Backyard Burgers (especially the Black N Blue) is a good joint for a quick burger. Boys were ready for our return, but no blood was found and each had all limbs so they must have gotten along somewhat.

Dale and I grabbed a 1:30hr spin at lunch today and all the rain missed up. Easy ride to spin out the legs from yesterday's efforts.

Kinda routine week except for Deb gets new carpet in the house tomorrow. Tuesday Ian's b-ball practice in the evening, Friday games in SPR, Saturday Jake's District, and Sunday is off to the races in Lawrence.

Practice at SBU

A couple of good things (much more of course, just featuring these for now) from Wednesday: #1 - SBU's XC course is 400 meters for the office and Jake's crew is on it more and more #2 - Flexibility in my day is AWESOME

Thought I would share some clips from my walk to the XC course yesterday while Jake (and crew) got in some easy miles. Coach was laying down the course line with assistant coach Christine McElhaney. SBU personnel mows the course once a week and it gets a roller on it around once a month; makes for a great running surface. Jake and I truly have a good time together (as witness in the videos and he gets a kick out of me popping in at practice.

After work Deb headed out with Marla for a ride while Ian and I scooted over to Wes' casa. We did a little TP action on his bushes; all the while E-ball was just a little worried we were breaking the law and wasn't sure he wanted to be part of it. We got back home and played some basketball in the driveway until Deb got back. The rest of the evening was low-key and restful.

Ian has still got some coughing/tightness in his chest and hopefully will clear out before his season opener tomorrow night. A couple conversations with E yesterday and this morning found he hopes Jake runs at a college not too far from home so we can still watch him (pretty cool), he wants to go to UT (Texas) which is a switch from UNC (North Carolina) but that will change once football is over and basketball is king, and a girl in his class has pictures of him hanging on her wall at home (this all according to the girl's cousin who told Ian) so he is convinced he has his first stalker...

HUGE PHOTO DUMP (provided by Dale) of the Capital Cup in weekend report

Early Week (Updated...)

So Monday was scheduled as a light active rest day so I planned to go play a little noon-ball at SBU at lunch and like I said keep it light. After seeing the quality of players who showed I quickly realized it was an interval day. We split teams and I ended up guarding one of SBU's recently graduated points guards and he worked my butt off for 1:30hrs. Seven games later it was all I could do to drag myself off the court; but we did come out on top 4-3. That workout was every bit as intense/strenuous as the 'cross races the days prior. I was cooked.

We all took it easy for the evening (except for Deb who grabbed a ride) and I whipped up dinner for the crew. It's always funny how when I cook it is a BIG deal and I need much affirmation of what WONDERS I created while Deb does it nightly and she gets a 'great meal' from time to time; pretty sad and I (the boys just follow my lead) need to work on that more (not right away mind you, but eventually...). Ian is lightly still under the weather so we had to sit on him to keep him still and resting.

Tuesday morning found Ian feeling a little better before school.

1:45hrs light spin on the Frisco Trail (FT) at lunch. The upper (north end) of the Frisco is quite a bit rougher than the middle/south parts and today was the first time I saw a recumbent cruising it. Guy had pretty skinny tires and can't believe he was enjoying the day, but who knows maybe he was. Felt good just to let the legs spin easy; great weather for the FT (blocks most of the winds). Saw at least 10 snakes sunning themselves on the trail; good thing Deb was not with me as she gets a little freaked out around snakes.

SCOTT - Thought you might like this as it would bring back memories... Snuck out (actually not really sneaking when you have no set hours) a little early today to watch some of Jake's XC workout as they (at least he did) hit 16 quarter repeats on the track today; first set 5 x 2secs above race pace (1:19 for J as Coach had him on a 5:10 mile race pace), 5 x AT race pace (1:17 for J), 5 x 2sec below race (1:15), and last was a 100% blast. All reps had 45 seconds rest between and 2 minutes between sets. Jake hit every effort on the nose and snuck just a hair under 60 seconds for his blast. He referenced later that this is one of the hardest workouts they do all year. ***first clip is one of the beginning of a 1:17 repeat and the second is of the last blast where in the entire team went at once; Jake is the one off the front***



Ian's basketball practice went pretty good and at the end they scrimmaged a local 4th girls team who have played together for several years and all are head and shoulders (literally) taller than our guys. The boys are really athletic but struggling a little to learn specific positions of the offense; but hey they are in 3rd grade and that's what 3rd graders do. So much info to lodge into the brains of 8yr olds... I really like the group we have assembled.

Rest of the evening had me fabricating the Pauls Chain Keeper (arrived today) as the seat tube base is far thicker than the largest diameter Paul's makes; and to add to the frustration the front derailleur pulley bolt sits smack in the middle of the mount area. By night's end I wound up hacking off the clamp/crimp that holds the actual keeper and working it to fit the SRAM front derailleur clamp. It works/fits like it was made that way and all I have left to do is some touch up paint and removing the inner chain ring (will do after intervals today). Talked with a couple guys who use the Pauls and they are loving it.

Ian and grabbed a little breakfast at our local diner this morning before 'late-start Wednesday' and guess who showed up... Jake and a 'friend'. They sat on the opposite side of the room and it was all I could do to keep Ian from giving his bro a hard time; although it didn't stop me from texting the boy a couple times to make him blush. They stopped by our table on the way out and laughed about my texts.

On a different note: Our cat is awesome and this is a rare shot of him actually NOT laying on his back for a photo; just in our folded laundry.

Road Trip(s)!!!!

Friday after work Deb and I were in SPR with some friends and ate at a good little Mexican joint (El Puente's so something like that) on the south side. The biggest (single serving) plate of Shrimp Fajitas I have ever seen (and eaten). We kicked around the big town for a while after before heading back to Bodunklivar.

A full weekend of 'cross racing was on tap and the initial plan was for Deb and I to solo the weekend, but Ian has a little cough and light fever coming and going so she opted to stay home and keep an eye on him. So...

Saturday morning bright and early Dale and I load up the Mini Cooper and point it toward Topeka, KS for the Capital Cup 'Cross race (a little over 3hr drive). We both signed up in the masters (me 40+ and he 50+) events and got in some laps before the start. The course was super flat and pretty fast (only a couple tight spots) until the last 400 meters where you entered the 'Mound of Mercy' (by the way, that is the official name for it). A quick climb up and around the backside takes you to a hard right hander and to a barrier a the bottom of a dismount and run up a decently steep long climb. It then goes a short flat top with a quick (super short and tight) drop and climb to another flat top, decent to the bottom with a 170* right hander to barrier (immediately there), run up steep long climb, remount at top and ride back down (and the finish was less then 50 meters after all this. The warm up laps told me this was going to hurt toward the end of each lap.

Toe'd the line for my first masters race and 3/4 way through I was with Josh Taylor and another guy and comfortably setting in 6th/7th and gaining on a couple in front of us. We came through a barrier section and during the remount (still in the air) my bike twisted a little and I thought 'this landing is not going to be good' and it wasn't. I hit so hard at such an odd angle that I burped my tubeless rear and went from 35lbs to 18lbs in a milli-second. Josh heard it and made a comment out loud that I was thinking internally and told me to hang in there. I was able to keep with them for 3/4 of a lap, but the rear was all over the place in every corner and I lost contact. On the last lap I hit the pits, swapped out tires, and watched several go by during the process. I caught a couple of them and finished 11th. Disappointed, but had a great time so no regrets. Let's get this out of the way quick - Yes Scott, I did burp and have to change out the tubeless, but it was totally user error and could have rolled a tubie just as easy with my bonehead remount. Ran the tubeless every other race for the weekend and they are great. On a side note I now have (thanks to Crusty) 4 Conti tubes (removable valve cores) in my possession for low-pressure days.

Dale finished strong in his group and loved every minute of it; so much that 30 minutes later he was back racing in the Cat 4 Masters event where he finished 5th.

I had a couple hours off until my Cat 3 race, but before you know it it was time to saddle up again. This was the first time I had doubled up in '09 and it took a little bit to get the legs back open as my race start would witness. I was easily in the back quarter after 1000 meters, but quickly went to work finding my way through the field. By the end I finished 7th and was satisfied with the day.

A quick 3hr drive home, cleaning up gear, repacking for the next day, goof around with the family for the rest of the evening, and off to bed.

Sunday morning and Ira picks me (and gear) up and off to west KCK for the Blvd Cup races. 2 1/2hrs (one way). Ira races strong and nabs a 6th place in the 4 event and I my start sucks once again and claw my way to 9th in the 3's. Solid fun course that had a little of everything in it. Crusty actually showed up ready to ride... warm up laps. He played Superfan once again as he can't shake the bug (was slightly disappointed in the lack of day-glow jumpsuit and the 'three cowbell ringer'). Scotty started his new 'all nighter' gig and couldn't make the weekend, but am hoping he is back in the mix next weekend at Smithville (he now works 4 days on and 4 off, so not sure his schedule).
I got a weird mental thing going on at the start of my races where I just can't will myself to mix it up right off the bat and go for the 'hole shots' and that needs to change if I want to move up the ranks at the finish. I will admit I am having more fun this year simply racing and not being so focused on how I finish, but still I wouldn't mind being closer to the front at the onset and not playing catch up every time. Like I said, I am having much more fun this year than most in the past and can't wait for the next weekend/race to get here.

2 1/2 hrs back home and Deb had a roast, home made mashed potatoes and gravy, and sides ready for dinner - AWESOME! Ian was still a hair under the weather so after a couple games of Sorry! and catching Amazing Race it was lights out for him.

So to sum up: 11hrs of road time in a little over 36hrs (all routine for SWMO racers). I could have stayed in KC with Crusty, but hate that Dale and Ira would have had to drive alone each day. I enjoy their company too much so it made the time fly each day. OK, so the pics to the right have me smiling in each one; that is not a distorted look of pain, it is actually smiling as I am racing hard, but absolutely enjoying every minutes of it!

Jake had a great 'catch up' weekend as he slept until almost 1pm on Saturday, got to hang out (and sleep over) with a buddy, hang out more with friends on Sunday, and generally had a fun weekend. He has raced so many weekends in a row that is was good for one off and let the body and mental side of him recover/relax. He was in bed (on his own) around 9:15 Sunday evening so that was good to see.

Looks to be a pretty routine week with Ian's basketball team's first game Friday evening at The Courts. Racing Sunday at Smithville so pretty regular training week for me. Might double up again, but will have to see come Sunday.

Side Notes: I love to hear STL and KC (mostly STL) folks whine and cry about having to drive an hour to a race and to have their buddies talk about how hard-core and committed they are when they actually drive a couple hours to an event. SWMO folks do this every freaking weekend and never gripe about it as that is just the way it is for us. SPR sucks from a 'racing' perspective (not only bike stuff, but off-road running, AR's, O-courses...).

***Pics provided by Lyle Reynolds, Steve Tilford, and Dale Sargent****