Jingle All The Way...

After a well timed weekend 'off' after L'ville it was time to load it up again for Jingle Cross '11 in Iowa City, IA (my second year racing it). Dale decided to make his rookie appearance so I had my travel partner. It's pretty much expected that JC will include cold wet conditions and last year didn't disappoint, but I was cooked at the end of the three days of full gas. With State 'Cross next Sunday I was trying to figure out if I wanted to go all out all three days or hit it Friday and Saturday and pretty much take Sunday as a workout and not a race trying to save some steam, but it's hard to line it up and not compete...

.

Friday morning I swung by Dale's and we headed north. Got in to Iowa City around 1pm, ditched some stuff at the hotel, then off to the race venue. Absolutely perfect conditions as the ground was tacky and the temps in the low 50's - awesome. Pre-rode and found a fairly non-power course with the 'run up' Mt. Krumpit as the main focus of each lap. Hit the MWI compound for a super sweet set up with full wall'ed tents on the start grid/line with heaters, chili, hot drinks, Mrs H's cupcakes, trainers, and whatever else needed to prep before and after a race.

.

Dale killed it in the Cat 4's getting 5th.

.

I entered the Masters 35+ race for all three days; knowing that this is a smoking fast group I had no expectation of finishing places, I just wanted to race clean and see how it goes. 2nd row start was nullified after missing a pedal at the start and dropping quick. After a lap I was feeling decent and moving forward steadily. After two I was sitting in 10th with 9th not too far up on me, but a handful of guys not far behind. At the top of Krumpit with 1 1/2 laps to go I dropped a chain (usually not a big deal with a regular set up, but with my Paul's catcher it is a pain to get it back going). I immediately settled my mind and started working on it never looking up; but I knew several spots disappeared. Got back in the groove and by the end I caught one and finished 12th; good start to the weekend.

.

The below is a great video from Keith Walberg (visual extraordinaire) of Friday night's pro action

Jingle Cross '11 Friday night cyclocross from Keith Walberg on Vimeo.

.
Cleaned up, headed back to the venue, and caught the pro's; amazing how fast and technical savvy!

.

Day two, Saturday, was started with waking up to rain everywhere; soaked all night. Decided to skip the pre-ride and simply warmed up in the MWI tent. Ran my Vittoria tubies around 28psi on a course that was total slippage (and the temps were upper 40's).

.

Lined up and actually got a good start then things went south... I felt like a rookie going thru every corner for pretty much the entire course, every lap. The feature of the day was the long ride up the slippery Krumpit and then the slip-n-slide down the zig zag the other side. I tried to ride the descent the first lap and messed up my leg pretty bad as I ended up on my back more times than I'd like to admit. From then on it was running down only. By the end of the 45 minutes I was 16th (of 6o some odd riders). I wasn't physically spent as I never felt like I was racing and more like riding around.

.

Cleaned up and watched Dale race the 3's; he raced well. Watched the pro's then off to the hotel for the evening. Got hooked on Pawn Stars (never saw it before time in the hotel) and am looking forward to upcoming episodes.

.

Sunday morning came way too soon. No rain, but not dry outside with the temps mid 30's with the windchill in the mid 20's - cold! Had to put the MWI kits back in the bag and go with the Big Shark thermal fleece skinsuit as it was just that cold. Dale jumped in the 55+ race at 10:20am and bagged 6th place. As evidence of his bike, the course mud was different than the day before as it thickened and grasping to every part of the bikes. I took a walk about to view the technicals spots of the course and opted to skip the pre-ride again. The feature of the day was the 'run up' Krumpit (much like Friday) with a short riding climb afterwards before a much more humane descent down (all rideable). Not a great start but immediately was 'driving' much better than the day before. Mike H let me use his FMB Gripo setup and with 27psi they were spot on. Moved up pretty well during the race, but dropped some time on the second and third laps when I stopped on the flyover to pull out as much crap/mud from my drive train as I could get. It was amazing how much I picked up every lap. **Note to self: pit bike in 2012 is a must** By the end I finished 12th (a couple people had me at 11, but they must have been wrong), but the better news was my bike was still operable and I didn't feel like I dug too deep (maybe leaving some legs for next week's State race).

.

.

Quick clean up and Dale and I were south bound (in a warm car with the heater blowing) taking in the last bit of a great weekend.

.

Spent today cleaning up the bike, clothes, and gear; amazingly everything is in good shape and working smooth.

.

Saturday is Boss Cross #4 and the day after is State Champs (at the same place BC3 was held - BMX track). Looking like I will skip the BC4 and save the legs for Sunday, but I'll make that choice on Thursday. Hard to pass up a race knowing it's the last weekend of the season for me. So far I've raced better the 2nd day after racing a day before so we'll see.

.

On a side note: Sunday afternoon Deb and I are hooking a flight to Florida to catch a cruise boat to the Bahama's for a week. That was the thought that kept me warm at Jingle Cross the past couple days...

USGP in Louisville

This past weekend was so much fun on so many different levels; racing at an incredible venue, seeing good friends, but most of all was three days of one-on-one quality time with my girl.

Friday morning with the car loaded up and my mom taking care of the boys for the weekend Deb and I hit the road for our first time visit to Louisville, KY for my first experience with a USGP 'cross race (Saturday and Sunday races). Pretty uneventful drive (especially S. Illinois) of 8 hrs until we pulled into downtown and picked up race number down on 4th Street Live. Over to the hotel and some chow before hitting the sack.

.

Saturday morning I jumped up early and rode over to the course a couple times before heading back to the hotel to change up for my 9:30am start in the 2/3 race. The course was super fun and challenging (more from a power standpoint then from a technical one) with a little bit of everything requiring 100% focus. With our race only 40 minutes I wasn't looking forward to the ensuing pain as there would be no recovery with 100+ races.

.

After a decent warmup and a good luck smooch from Deb it off to the starting grid where I run into Ross and Patrick (MWI teammates) and chit chat a little. I considered myself in an OK position getting a 4th row start. Gun goes off, pace shoots up (and never lets up), and find myself in the upper mix of the top 30 for the first lap. On the 2nd (of 4) lap I totally bit it on a barrier not lifting my stupid foot up high enough and I went flying face first to the ground. Regroup, back riding, and trying to shake it off (lasted about a 1/4 lap) then it was back to the pain cave. During the 3rd lap Ross catches up and immediately goes on the attack. I tried to hold his wheel on the open sections, but that kid is soooo freaking strong that it would take a couple technicals section for me to catch back on; this intensity benefited as we were distancing a bunch guys and catching some. Last lap I couldn't hold his pace and dropped off, but luckily didn't have anyone too close and was able to keep steady and ride in for 19th. TOTALLY EXHAUSTED!!!! Hardest effort of '11 by far.

.

Warmed down before meeting up with Deb for a day of watching some incredible racing at a great venue. Deb is awesome and actually convinced me it was OK for us to hang out and watch Jeff in the 35+; crazy fast group. Had a fun day moving around the course and showing Deb different aspects of the course/race. We were both quite impressed with how easy the Pro's make it look.

.

Later it was off to downtown for some eats at the Sports and Social Club before catching a show at The Improv (funny comedians). I was surprised how spent physically I was at the end of the night (and in the back of my head I was a little worried about Sunday's race).

.

Sunday morning I skipped the early ride to get a little more sleep before heading to the venue with Deb around 8am. Took a cruise on the slightly altered course and my legs felt incredibly flat and heavy. Warmed up a little shorter than regular on the trainer (saving what I had left in my legs for the race).

.

Back to the grid for a 3rd row start this time around. Race starts about the same as the day before and to my chagrin my legs are 100% under me and firing great. Moving comfortably in the 30's until I have to bail from the 'fast line' in the back corner sandpit when the guy ahead of me bobbles and immediately I lose 10 spots (in a blink of an eye). Recover mentally and get back to racing. Start moving through some groups and by the last lap Ross had caught me and he was flying so I jumped on the express. Going through the technical sections toward the end I let a guy slip between us and Ross was gone. I stuck on this guy onto the pavement and was able to time my sprint at the line to take 23rd (one spot behind RC) finishing way better than I expected during warm ups. Local KC guy Chris Hersey had a solid race and was with or near us for most of the race (always fun having familiar faces nearby).

.

Jeff was on course and cheering (maybe heckling, I'm not sure) me on and took the below pics:

.

Back to the hotel for a quick clean up then off on the road for the drive home. Deb and I stopped in STL for some Christmas shopping (and for me to stretch the legs). Got home around 8pm in time to put the boys to bed before the always brutal 'unpacking' and then hitting the hay.

.

Great weekend with Deb and also racing. Looking forward to making L'ville a staple in the future.

360 Cup & Blvd Cup Weekend in KC

Racing first then on to family activities.

This past week I did some smart things after doubling up in the Masters/Open at BC #3; I made sure I got plenty of rest (Monday & Tuesday), got in a great 'big gear' interval session with Ira on the Frisco finished up with 4 start simulations which included a long dismounted run for each (felt totally recovered), another rest day (Thursday) and then a little bike driving with Ira and Dale on Friday (included routine openers). Recovery & rest had me feeling ready to go for the 360 series races.

Planned to travel up to KC alone and crash at JB's casa (thanks for the offer) and jump in the Masters, but the little guy had an early basketball game and Dale was going up by himself on Saturday so I switched up plans and made the 2:15 hr drive (one way) with him, raced, then came back home. I enjoy drive time with my training partners as we discuss cycling stuff, but mostly share non-cycling aspects of life and it really increases our bond as friends.

Back to Stump Park... pulled up and immediately realized elevation was in play. After talking with a Jeff Yielding (amazing weekend for him in the Masters races) and taking a quick pre-ride it was clear there were places to make solid efforts and plenty of places to recover. No dismounts required as the barriers were short (easy to clear) and the potential for a run up was rideable every lap (even in the opening traffic). Fun course with a lot of off-camber stuff and just a great layout.

Dale jumped in the 3/4 race, got after it, and had a great finish of 18th out of 45+ riders; awesome. Got there too late to watch Karl racing the Masters, but I imagine he did the MWI kit proud.

Good pre-rides and warmup had me toeing the Open line with 23 others (most notable was the front line of who's who of the fast kids minus only the Tradewind folks). Got off to an OK start and things went better as the race progressed. Ended up riding most of the race with Troy Krause (NE masters guru) until I simply couldn't hold his pace up the climb with 4 to go. From then on it was chase and fend off those coming behind. I caught a decent second wind with 2 to go and made a run at TK only to come up short by about 5 seconds to finish 12th (of 24). I am not a climbing type of guy so I was pleased with my result and especially my handling as it was a clean race hitting good lines pretty much all race.

***Great photos from Roger Harrison, Keith Walberg, and Jon Peck***

Loaded up, chowed at Gates, and was back home in time to settle in with Ian to catch the Bama vs LSU game (not a disappointer).

Changed up Sunday plans (for the better) as Deb and the little guy came with me so I dumped the Masters and went with the later Open. I love when Deb and any of the boys make a race as it just makes for a great day.

Pulled up (next to the playground for D), pre-rode the fast power course which was totally different from the day before. Flat open start into a couple switchbacks, more flat pedaling into tall barriers, to a fun technical section (that kept you on your toes) of up and downs and off camber turning (with a short steep dismount bump), then more power pedaling, thru a deep sand pit (totally rideable even though I dumped it once - can you say Her-Crustules ala 2010 Herman?) back to open pedaling... and do it for an hour with no recovery to speak of.

Got to catch Karl drilling it in the SS events; great job, my man.

Lined up with another good sized field of fast kids (27) and off we go for the BLVD Cup Open. Got a decent start (for me) and tried to keep the gas going from there on. For most of the race I swapped spots with a guy from NE (Noah something) in the lower teens in placings; I would put in a dig and open a gap, he would then counter... it made for a non-stop on the gas FUN race. At the end Noah bobbled in the technical section, I punched it, and was able to hold on for 11th. Once again I was satisfied with the way I raced mentally and physically and came away with a little confidence boost going into the rest of the season. Oh, on a side note, I dumped it three times during the race (once in the sand - embarrassing and twice simply pushing the technical sections a little too fast when smoothness and reserved was needed. Fun layout and great racing!

Another great course layout! The last three races/venues have been super and the FUN FACTOR 'cross racing on these courses is off the chart!

Still tentative to really open up fully on the first lap as in the back of my head I continually think "it's an hour, conserve for later...". I need to get past this as I am losing too many places early and spend the rest of the race chasing those I should be near early on. Now, that being said, it's interesting racing with the same guys several times as I can pretty much tell you who will go out hard and fade in the last 20 minutes of racing while I feel I am hitting close to negative splits (runners term). Gotta figure out how to fix this mentally...

Loaded up the crew and made the drive back home. With the time change it felt like it was way late getting home, but nice to see we had some evening left to relax.

Next weekend Deb and I are heading to L'ville for my first USGP. I registered pretty early and might have a 1st or 2nd row start for the 2/3 race. With it only being 40 minutes I am going to have to kill it early to hope to get in the top 20 (wishful thinking and actually have no expectations). Should be fun.

Family activities: the little guy had his first kindergarten basketball practice on Wednesday and first game (Saturday morning); he scored a basketball and generally had what appears alot of fun.

Speaking of D, early in the week he was pretty sick and stayed home a day and a half from school and then Thursday night Ian came down with 'the sickness' and it still battling it (missed two ball practices in hopes of recovering for this weeks games). I crashed with him on Saturday night to monitor his sleeping and am now waiting for it to hit me...

Other than that (I am sure I am missing tons) it pretty much routine operations at work and home.