Updates

-Next Race:  I'm planning on racing in Rudolph's Rampage in Harbison SC on December 16th, I'm really excited to get out there and see where I am and race.  It feels like forever since I've done a race.

-Fitness:  My cycling fitness has come back much more quickly than I thought it would and feel really strong, I think it has really helped that I'm no swimming or running and concentrating just on cycling.  Really excited to see what I can do this year just training for mountain biking.

-Weight:  I was able to keep my weight in check during my ankle recovery, but after I started getting back into training hard I started to put some extra weight on, not a whole lot, but about 5 pounds.  I realized that I was still eating the same size portions that I was when I was swimming and running, (and while even though I'm riding more it's not enough to compensated for the calories burned swimming and running).  Since I've made that realization and made small adjustments to my portion sizes, I've lost a couple pounds and know I won't have any trouble getting down back down to my weight last year during race season.  It's really weird to talk about 5 pounds like that when almost anyone would say I'm already really skinny.

New blog title needed

Giving that I won't being doing any Xterra triathlons (or any other triathlons for that matter) I think I need to change the name of my blog so that it is more appropriate for what I'm focused on.  Nothing in terms of names has come to me . . . and now I'm looking help.  If anyone has any suggestions (funny or serious) please just a comment with what you think I should call my blog now.  Your help is much appreciated.

 

Thoughts on Sram XX1 group

I have very mixed feelings about the new Sram XX1 group that will be available soon.  All of my comments should be taken with a grain of salt as we haven't actually even seen the group, that being said it is now being shown in distributers catalogs (so we shouldn't expect much to change in the next couple months from what we've seen).

-I think it is awesome that a component manufactuer (and a big one at that), set about making a 1x10 (or in this case 1x11) group, so that instead of having to try and retrofit a 2 or 3x10 set-ups and make them work as 1x.

-What I think is most impressive is that they came up with a way to make it work without a chain guide in the front.  Sure it's cool that this will save a few grams, but the bigger benefit is that if you drop a chain you don't have to fight with a chain guide to get the chain back on.  Yes, a chain guide is supposed to prevent you from dropping a chain, but it doesn't work 100% of the time, and when the chain does get dropped it is a PAIN to put it back on.

-They were smart to offer it both as a grip shifter option and a trigger shifter, giving people the choice of what they want.

-By going to a 10-42 cassette (and multiple chain ring sizes) just about anyone regardless of type of riding, steepness and number of hills, wheel size, can run a 1x set-up without have to sacrifice top end speed or low end climbing gears (an issue that many endurance riders/racers and those riding in the mountains).

Now for the part where I sound like the old man yelling "get off my lawn:"

-What's the deal with them calling it XX1?. . . XXI in Roman numerals is 21 . . . not 11.  Why not call it Xi, I understand they wouldn't want to call it X1, since that would indicate it was below their other groups (X3, X4, X5, etc). 

-Was there really a need to go to 11 speeds, couldn't they make a 10-42 cassette with 10 speeds?  Yes I know that would mean losing a step along the way, but is that really that big of a loss.  Now people are going to have to deal with free-hub compatability since the 11 speed cassette won't fit on a 10 speed rear hub.

-Why are they only releasing one cassette size?  I use a 11-34 cassette this year, and didn't once run out of gears on either end.  So by going to the 10-42 cassette I wouldn't use the 10, 36, and 42 tooth cogs.  So essentially I'd be going from 10 usable gears to 8 (out of 11).  This doesn't really seem like an improvement for me.  I know for sure I'm not the only one this would apply to, as most of our racers also used 1x10 set ups with either a 11-34 or 11-36.  Why not make 10-42, 10-36, and 10-32 cassettes?  This would give people the option to get a cassette that matches their needs.

-Or if they don't want to make several 11 speed options, just stick with 10 speed cassettes, even if that means they couldn't put a 10 tooth cog on the outside.  Wouldn't a 11-42 or 11-44 be a big enough range, especially since they have a wide range of interchangable chainrings?

-They've also created another standard for bolt pattern on chainrings 76mm, so it'll be hard to use their chainrings (which I think is the biggest advantage development of the new group) with anything other than their XX1 cranks.

Overall I think the XX1 group is a good development, but I wish that they had done some small things differently.

Here are some articles on the Sram XX1 group:
Sram
BikeRadar
Bike Magazine
BikeRumor

Shortly after posting this BikeRadar posted a new article on the development of the XX1 group.
 

Variety of Cycling Links

Over the last week or so I've seen a number of interesting cycling related stuff (no Lance stuff included, I will be posting about the Lance situation and doping later on).

Bicycle Helicopter from BikeRumor
Definitely worth checking out: cool, funny, stupid. . .you name it this has it. What's most amazing even beyond it work is that something as big as that only weighs 80 pounds, if you check out only one link this is the one.

New Fox CTD fork and shock from BikeRumor
Fox has changed how the rider adjusts the suspension, having three setting: "climb", "trail", and "descend".

Infinit Nutrition Pre-formulated Mixes from BikeRumor
Infitit (which is what I've used for nutrition) is coming out with pre-formulated mixes, in the past they've done exclusively custom mixes, no word yet on how they will be distributing these mixes.

Jeremy Powers 'Cross Bike from BikeRadar
Really cool cross bike from Jeremy Powers, which leads us to the next item.

Behind the Barriers
Cool behind the scenes perspective from probably the best American 'cross racer, especially after his incredible performance in a recent World Cup that he finished 7th.

Cost vs. Aero from BikeRadar
Interesting comparison of Aero advantage verus cost, great if you're a triathlete on a budget and are trying to maximize your Aero dollars.

Comparison of Aero Road bikes from Velonews
Bike comparison of Litespeed C1, Cervelo S5, Specialized Venge, and Scott Foil, looks at aerodynamics, stiffness, and comfort.

Power comparison from some top pro's at Kona from Slowtwitch
Interesting look at some top pro's power profiles from Ironman Hawaii.

Ankle Update/Plans for 2013

My ankle is slowly getting better, but it is still a very slow process and one that's had a couple set backs over the last couple weeks.  It feels better but it still hurts some, it's still tight, it's not as strong as my other ankle, it's still a little swollen. . .mind you this is still an improvement over where I started: not being able to walk at all and riding around the shop on a cruiser bike wearing a big plastic boot.

I'm able to run some (I've built up do doing some 3 mile runs, all on pavement), but in the last couple weeks I've twice turned my ankle, not a sprain, but it doesn't bode well for not spraining my ankle again in the near future.  Given that I can't consitently get through even a 3 mile run on pavement, I don't think it's reasonable to think that I'll be able to race off-road any time soon.  As a result I'm going to take a year off from triathlons and focusing on mountain biking.

I'm not sure exactly what my goals will be for next year, but I know one of my big goals will be to get my pro mountain bike license, more on that as I think about what race or races I'm going to focus on.

Pro license or not?

Unfortunately USA Cycling, declined my upgrade request for a pro mountain bike license.  As I said earlier about the request itself, I'm didn't really think my results on the whole didn't really deserve an upgrade.  I'm a little disappointed I wasn't upgraded, but at the same time it will serve as extra motivation to get better and faster.  Having to wait and earn it will also make it more fulfilling accomplishment.  I already really excited about getting back into racing in the Spring.

Epic Experts and Epic Marathon

In my previous post I talked about the look of some of the new Epics. . . now for something more important:  what's different about the 2013 models from the 2012 versions:

-All of the 2013 Epic will come equipt with Specialized Autosag system which allows a rider to more easily set up the rear shock and will give it improved performance.
-Epic Expert Carbon 29er:  after a couple year of Sram drive train components the Expert will use Shimano shifters with an XTR rear derailleur.  The brakes will be Magura instead of Formula's.  The Expert will continue to use a carbon front triangle and alloy rear, and come with the Roval Control 29er wheels and a Sram carbon fiber crankset.
Full Specs
-Epic Expert Carbon EVO R 29er:  This bike continues to be gear to XC racers, who don't need quite as large a gear range as more recreational riders.  Same as the last two year it will come with a Sram 1x10 drivetrain (this switch alone sheds about a pound from a bikes weight versus a 2x10 setup), just like the Expert, Specialized has switched from Formula to Magura brakes.  The big change for 2013 is that the seatsays are carbon fiber, which will increase rear end stiffness and also shave about half a pound off the frame weight of the bike.  This change from last year takes an already great XC race bike and makes it even a little better.
Full Specs
-Epic Marathon Carbon 29er:  A completely new component package from Specialized for 2013.  The frame is the same as the Expert Carbon EVO R 29er:  carbon front triangle, carbon seatstays and alloy chainstays.  The bike's drivetrain is the Sram XO gripshift group. The wheels are Specialized new Roval Control Carbon 29er wheelset, while not quite as light the Control SL Carbon wheels, they are lighter than most alloy rims and will provide the exceptional stiffness (for improved handling) of carbon wheels.  This bike gets you very close to the quality of the Sworks version with still a few grand in your pocket.  For those who aren't a fan of gripshift, you don't have to worry, all you would need to make it a trigger set-up would be a set of 10 speed Sram shfters (I'm sure that you'd have no issues selling new never used XO gripshift shifters on E-bay).
Full Specs

New 2013 bikes that have arrived

This time of year is always one of the most exciting (at least for me as a bike geek). . . it's the time of year that we receive most of the new higher end bikes ($2000+) for the year.  In the last couple weeks we've received a full line of the 2013 Specialized Epics (minus the S-Works Sram version, which Specialized is waiting on the XX1 group to be released). 

Some of the new colors are really cool, but as with everything beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it's really nice that to some degree they've gone "wild and mild", making some louder (some may think obnoxious) paint schemes and some paint schemes that are subtle (some may think boring).  One the louder end of the spectrum there is the Epic Evo R, which someone that really likes how it looks thinks it looks like a hot dog stand, it makes me think more of a Belgian flag,

and the Epic Evo Expert in white, for those that like the white-Euro look.

On the other end of the spectrum it would be hard to find someone that would have a problem with either the Epic Marathon (it's hard to go wrong with black and a little silver)

or the Epic Expert Carbon (all shiny black, except for some hard to notice copper accents. . .which certainly don't fit, but you have to look for them to see them).

We also got in a 2013 S-works Epic XTR, in red. . .which I wasn't a big fan of on line or in the catalogue, but in person looks really good (assuming you like red).  Then again for $10,000, it better (well actually not $10,000 . . . $9,999.99, but whose really counting their pennies).

Requesting Pro License

I've submitted a request to USA cycling to upgrade my cross-country mountain bike license from a Category 1 to a Pro license.  I have very mixed feeling about this and whether I deserve the upgrade or not.  Early in the year (prior to my ankle injury) I was more than able to hold my own with the top Category 1 riders, my results were good although I think not quite as good as they could have been:  I blew up toward the end of a couple races and had some handling issues at the end of the races that didn't give me much time to recover from.

When I put things all together: my race early in the year at Renaissance and the Riverfront Classic (before completely blowing up with about 30 minutes to go and losing 3 or 4 minutes), I was able to more than able to hold my own and then some against Category 1 riders (and many Pro's).  On the other hand my results were a little all over the place and not worthy on the whole of upgrading.  Then unfortunately with my ankle injury I didn't have an opportunity to have more good results to make it clear based on my results that I deserve a pro license.  We'll see what happens and what USA cycling think.

Last summer series race

This post is quite belated, but wanted to share how my how my last summer series race went.  Four of us lined up for the start of the expert race.  Went into the woods 2nd behind Justin Brayton, Justin who is very high level pro motor cross racer, who always rides smoothly and chooses really good lines.  So I was very happy to follow him and was riding well.  After 10 minutes or so Justin started to pull away on the technical sections, I continued to ride well.  Unfortunately I hit a rooty step up, and got bumped off my bike, in doing this my chain dropped.  As I was working on my bike next to the trail Justin McLean, who had been slowly catching me, passed me.  Fortunately I was able to get my chain past the chain guide and get back on the bike quickly.  After that the race was pretty uneventful, I wasn't able to close down on either Justin, but also wasn't passed from those behind.  Overall I was pretty happy with the race, my handling and fitness were ok-good.

I surprisingly ended up finishing second overall in the series, behind a very deserving Justin McLean, and in front of Luke Sagur, Luke would have easily beaten me but he skipped a number of races to get ready for other races.  Given my ankle issues I was very happy with this past season, when I was healthy I rode faster than I would have thought possible before the year, and I was able to get back to riding well by the end of the year. 

Last Southern Classic MTB race of the year

This past Sunday was the last of the Southern Classic Mountain Bike races of the year.  It was also the last bigger races that I would be doing of the year where I could use the result easily to apply for my pro license.

I pre-rode the course after getting there:  a lot of climbing in the first 5 minutes (I knew wasn't going to feel real good at race pace), then a number of bermed switch back turns (I struggled with taking them with much speed, and assumed I would lose time through that sections), the last half was much more flowing and fast, while still had some climbing to it.

I had a good start going into the woods in second place, behind fellow BikeSource rider Bobby Bryson.  Got passed by by one of the Cannondale-Championsystems racers and by Jason Laxton (our wonderful Specialized rep).  They slowly pulled away through the technical areas and then towards the end of the first lap another rider passed me.  After that I pretty much rode by myself, with the exceptions of one of the really fast older (40+) Cat 1 riders.  I eventually finished 4th (I apparenly passed the Cannondale-Championsystems rider after he had crashed).

It's definitely a course where there is no where to hide.  If your fitness or your handling isn't up to par, it will definitely show.  And in my case it showed:  both my handling and my fitness wasn't great, I couldn't get through the berms fast enough and wasn't fit enough to handle the climbing.  After breifly following Jason and Bobby they beat me by 11 and 8 minutes respectively.  I felt like I got the most out of the race that I could, but it wasn't a result that was very good.

Totally Unexpected Win

Bike postrace:  It was a "little" muddy at North Meck

It's been a while since I've posted to the blog, I've been meaning to but it just hasn't happened in the last couple weeks.

My fitness has been coming around, still not where it was earlier in the year, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This week's race was at North Meck.  I got there early enough to do two warm up laps (each lap is only about 15 minutes).  Felt really good riding on my first warm-up lap, both bike handling wise and fitness wise.  Just as I was finishing up my first lap it started to rain, so I headed to the car, then it started to pour, then it started to do whatever is rained harder than pour.  While it was raining hard, hung out in John's (BikeSource Manager and fellow BikeSource racer) truck during the heavy rain.  It let up and then started again, while it was raining really hard I stayed in his truck when it eased up I hopped back on the bike and rode around to keep warm.  So much for my two lap warm up. . . oh well.

The situation kind of reminded me of my year: fell really good at the beginning, then some unexpected issues, that get in the way of the plan, but in both cases I tried to make the best out of things, and stay as positive as possible (neither time I was completely positive, but did try to do my best to be positive).

By now the course had turned from dry, even a little slippery because it was hard packed with a little sand on top, to what I could only assume was a complete mud bath. 

Lined up for the start, it was Justin Brayton (a pro motocross rider and extremely good mountain biker, who will in all likelihood get his pro mountain biking license if he applies for on), Luke Sagur (pro mountain biker who just got his new regular race bike put back together, for the last few weeks he'd been using his single speed and was still fast enough on that to win the previous weeks summer series race). . . and me.  So while it wasn't a big field by any means, the other guys were very good.  Even if the conditions were ideal I still would have thought I would be third, but especially with the conditions the way they were I felt quite sure that I would end up finishing 3rd, unless someone had a mechanical or rash of falls.  Maybe not the best attitude to have going into the race, but it was realistic.

At the start I let Justin and Luke fight it out for the lead going into the woods, Justin ended up leading, then Luke, then me.  As expected it was muddy and slippery.  The three of us stayed in a line, riding fairly easily to start out with, I certainly wasn't going to argue since I was pretty much just out there to get a ride in and hopefully not crash.  About halfway through the first lap I locked up my brakes coming around a corner and spun almost completely around.  After turning myself around and getting started again I was down probably 20 seconds, I could still see the guys ahead when the trail turned back on itself.  I worked on catching back up to them, knowing that if I rode cleanly and they didn't pick up the pace I'd be able to catch back up, I just hoped they wouldn't pick up the pace.

Slowly, but steadily I was able to pull myself back to the other guys.  This doesn't happen all at once, especially in muddy conditions like we had, it's trying to pick up one or two seconds through corners or straights at a time; you can't just sprint back because you'd just end up on the ground covered in mud (well I should actually say:  more covered in mud, because I was already covered in much from it spraying up).  I was very thankful that they hadn't really pushed the pace. 

Still on the first lap, the the super sport riders started to catch us, they started a minute or so after us.  This didn't worry me, but I did let Justin and Luke know that we had company.  Things continued like this for the remainder of the first lap:  Justin, Luke, myself, and then some of the super sport guys.  After finishing up the first lap, Luke accelerated and took the lead entering the wood for the second lap.  I stayed in third, thinking that Justin would probably close the gap to Luke, if it was going to be a pace I'd be able to maintain.  As it turned out the gap between Luke and the two of us continued to stretch out, not too much at once, but probably to 20 seconds half way though the lap.  I was still feeling good at this point so I decided to pass Justin going up the one relatively long climb that each lap has and tried to pull Justin back. 

This is where things start to get a little fuzzy for me, I don't remember exactly when stuff happened, in part because I'm really bad at counting laps as I go along, I usually rely on looking at my Garmin to know where I am in the race, but unfortunately with the rain and mud I really couldn't see the Garmin clearly and anyway didn't want to take my eyes off the trail since it was so slippery.

At some point, I think, toward the end of the second lap the leading super sport rider, who as I would later figure out was Charlie Mullins, asked to get around me when there was an opportunity, shortly after I move over and let him by and continued behind him.  We were slowly, very slowly pulling back up to Luke.  On what I think was the 3rd lap of 4 going up the climb (which is about the only place to cleanly pass someone, except if they just let you by), I passed Charlie and surprisingly I was also to get up to and pass Luke. 

I stayed in front of the two of them, continuing to try and ride smoothly and not slide out in the mud.  Given how slippery it was I actually felt very comfortable and as much in control of the bike as much as possible, given how muddy it was.  I continued to lead through the end of lap 3, I never knew exactly  how much of a gap I had on Luke and Charlie was, because I was focused on trying to stay upright and couldn't turn back around to see where they were, but I knew they very close behind.  At some point, part way through the final lap Charlie told me that Luke had fallen down.  I continued my pace knowing that even though Luke had fallen, he's really strong and would catch back up if I let up.

With a couple minutes left to go I knew there was one rider not too far behind me, but I wasn't sure if it was still Charlie or if Luke had caught up and passed Charlie.  So going round a switchback I turned around to see who it was, I was kind of surprised to see that it wasn't Luke, but instead Charlie, this was very reassuring, that I had a good sized gap on Luke and assuming I didn't mess up that things were pretty secure.  But in doing this I almost rode off the trail, fortunately I was just able to stay on the trail and not get off into the leaves and underbrush.  And after that the last couple minutes were uneventful. . .thankfully.

After finishing I congratulated Charlie and Luke for having very good races.  Chatted with Luke for a bit and he was extremely complimentary of my riding and said that "I was back" I wasn't completely convinced (and am still not completely convinced I'm back to where I was earlier in the year): it was one race in really difficult conditions, with only two other guys in the race:  would that translate to a dry race with more people. . .I don't know.  But it's certainly a much better to maybe be back than definitely NOT being back.

Last week's race

Last week's race was at Renaissance, a place that with all my riding there this year I've felt very comfortable.  Got to the race and did half a lap to warm up.  When I got to the start there was only six of us in the expert field (Robert Fish: very fast, Justin McKean: very fast, Luke Sagur: very fast, Justin Brayton: very fast, a guy I didn't know, turned out to be Cliff Kenyon, who is from Connecticut, and myself).  I commented to Robert, a fellow BikeSource rider, that I'd probably riding by myself for a long time during the week, since I figured the four really fast guys would pull ahead and be fighting for the win, while it would be me and the new guy somewhere behind them.  I turned out to not be too far off.

Got a good start, let the really fast guys go:  they were going REALLY fast, trying to get into the wood first.  About 2 minutes after the start, new guy: Cliff, passed me, and I followed behind him, both of us were going right about the same pace.  Was pretty easy to stay behind him, but I wouldn't have wanted to go much faster.  Cliff had some kind of issue on an uphill and I was clean going up the hill and was able to get around him.  For the next hour and fifteen minutes I rode by myself, no one that I could see in front of my and no one (except for maybe one or two super sport guys) came up behind me.  My bike handling felt REALLY good, obviously my fitness is off from earlier in the year, but for the first time since my ankle injury I actually felt like I was handling the bike like I was earlier in the year.  Ended up finishing 5th behind the four really fast guys, Cliff DNF'd, I'm not sure if it was from the issue going up the hill when I passed him or somewhere else.  So I finished last among finishers, but felt really good about the race.

First run back

I saw Dr. Picklesimer at Eastover Foot and Ankle and he gave me a compression-like sleeve to go around my ankle and the go ahead to start "running" again.  I say "running" because I need to start by just running a mile slowly and very slowly build from there.  I was again surprised that I was ready for this next step, I thought running would still be a little ways off.  This past Thursday was my first attempted run, unfortunately I couldn't seem to run without limping (limping and pain were the two things Dr. P told me that should make me stop running), I only got about 150 yards or so from the front door before turning around.  I wasn't overly disappointed with this because I didn't expect to be running quite so quickly and that at this point all of my training is focused on 2013, my fitness fell off too much while my ankle was healing to have any races where I'm going to be at the level I was earlier this year.

I made my second attempt at a run on Saturday.  This time I was able to run without limping and with no pain (there was some discomfort, but no pain) and I ran all of 3/4 of a mile, probably at nine minute mile pace.  I was very happy to be able to run again, but it's a really weird to be happy about running less than a mile at 9 minute pace, when just two months ago I was able to run 12 miles at 7:15 pace.  But I do realize this is the way it has to be for now and the only way to come back is to come back, building back up slowly, even if it's hard to fathom being happy with a 3/4 mile run.

Mess of a race

Last weeks summer series race was at North Meck park was an interesting experience.  Got up there no problem (which isn't always the case with having to go north on 77 at rush our).  Started getting ready, and realized that I had locked my keys in my car . .. oh sh!t !!  So after asking around no one had a way to get into my car.  I  also started asking if anyone had an extra pair of small shoes that I could wear during the race assuming I couldn't get into the car before the race.  Someone suggested I call AAA and ask them to send someone to open the car, which I did, but they might not get there before the race started.  Wayne Holden had an extra pair of shoes, unfortunatetly they were about 2 sizes too big, but they would work.  About 20 minutes before the start of the race here comes the AAA service guy:

It was great that he got there so quickly, he got to work and within 5 minutes my car was open. . . awesome!!

All of this "fun" meant esentially no warm up, which given my level of fitness it wasn't really going to make a big difference.  Got a good start, actually got into the wood third, some of the other guys got in each others way.  As the first lap progressed I got passed several times, and that's when I started to POOR down rain, unfortunately my glasses became completely fogged up (except for the far right of my right eye, so to really see I had to turn my head really far to the left).  At this point I pretty much gave up trying to place well and I was just going to ride out the rest of the race.  I was pretty happy when Neil called the race do to lightning after 2 laps.  What a mess of a race.

2013 Specialized Road Bikes with pictures and weights

Have a number of things I'll be posting about in the next week or so ("fun" at the airport, recent races, plans for 2013, progress of my ankle to name a few).  But in the mean time:

As with Specialized's mountain bike, Bikerumor has also post an extensive preview of 2013 road bikes (including cross and tri), with many pictures and weights.  I haven't had a whole lot of time to look closely at everything and as a result don't have a whole lot to comment on, although if you like black. . . you'll love the 2013 line-up.

2013 Specialized Mountain Bikes. . . Pictures and Weights

Thanks to Bikerumor for posting a ton of pictures of almost the full range of the Specialized $2000+ mountain bikes for 2013, include weights as well.

Here's the link to all (or almost) all of the Specialized mountain bikes for 2013.

-Not sure about the carbon (black), blue and orange, Stumpjumper FSR Expert EVO carbon 29er, but almost all the other bikes look pretty sweet, hard to go wrong with black and one other color.  I especially like Stumpjumper FSR Comp EVO alloy 26, 2013 Epic Comp Carbon, Camber Comp Alloy and Enduro Expert.
-A lot of murdered out (all black) bikes, which based on the 2013 Rockhoppers we've had, will look AWESOME.
-Epic Expert Evo still looks like a tremendous value for light weight 29er full suspension at 23 pounds 12 ounces, not to mention you can upgrade the wheels and seatpost (and other things) to make it even lighter.

From source, here at the shop, it looks like Specialized is really behind the Sram gripshifters, and full XTR groups this year.

I'm sure there will be more spec's and details coming out soon.

More to Preview from Specialized for 2013

Since I posted yesterday more bikes and equiptment have been shown on both Bikerumor and Bikeradar.  Here are some links and comments on what we've seen, I will skip over things that I commented on yesterday, here's a link to that post (there is also a link at the bottom of this post):

Bikeradar's preview of 2013 Specialized mountain bikes:
-The Enduro get tweeked, with a more efficient pedalling suspension and an autosag rear shock.  The S-works version weighs 25.9 pounds, pretty incredible for an all mountain bike with 160mm of travel.
-Epic's will move to 29" only, not too surprising since last year I think they only have two 26" versions.
-The Epic Marathon will come with a carbon front triangle and seat stays, where as the 2012 Expert only hade a carbon front triangle.  I am a little surprised they will come with X0 grip shifts, one good thing about that is that they'd be easy to switch out for trigger shifters if that's what a customer prefered.  I can't tell for sure, but based on the picture it certainly looks like they will come with carbon rims (don't look shiny enough to be alloy).
-The Stumpjumper hardtails will all go 29er for 2013, and like the Epic will introduce a Marathon version to be between the Expert and S-works, which appears to have the same components as the Epic Marathon (including carbon rims and grip shifters).
-The Carve will move from 80mm travel forks to 100mm, which I think is great given that this is an extremely raceable frame and will give riders many more options if they want to upgrade their fork down the road.

Bikeradar's extensive article on the 2013 Crux's
-Specialized will offer the Crux (their cyclocross race bike), in a ton of sizes, and options (alloy, carbon, rim brake and disc ready).  Almost makes me want to get back into cyclocross just so I can justify getting one of these super cool bikes, but I know I can't, it would be just too much racing during the year between that and mountain biking, triathlons, and Xterra races.

Bikerumor's preview of 2013 Roval wheels
-Specialized will be releasing carbon clincher road wheels in 40 and 60 mm depth, both available either for disc  or rim brakes.
-Specialized will be making a new carbon mountain bike wheel that won't have a bead hook to mount the tire on, Specialized found after testing the bead hooks aren't needed.  This makes the wheels much less expensive to make and as a result the Roval Control Carbon 29er wheels will be only $1200 a set (still not cheap, but relatively speaking way less expensive than carbon alternatives) and money well spent based on my experience with the Roval Control SL's, for the dramatic diffference in stiffness and handling.

Link to yesterday's post on the first look at Specialized 2013 bicycles.

First look at Specialized 2013 bicycles

Bikerumor posted two extensive articles with a lot of pictures and information on many of  the 2013 Specialized bicycles.  Some things were expected, some things were unexpected.

First a look at a preview of the 2013 Specialized mountain bikes.
Highlights and thoughts:
-The S-works Enduro will come with the super wide range 1x11 gearing, this seems like the perfect bike for the new Sram XX1 drivetrain, it will also come with some beefy carbon fiber wheels.
-Cambers get a updated with a lowered standover height and a autosag rear shock, and Specialized has dropped the 26" Cambers and it will be a 29er platform moving forward.
-It appears as though there were be several more Epic models for 2013, including model(s) with 1x11, and adding a Epic Marathon 29er which will be between the Expert and S-works model (and could quite possibly be my ride for 2013), I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's almost exactly the setup I am riding:  the Expert frame and Roval Control SL carbon wheels.
-For those who think mountain biking isn't enough suffering Specialized will offer the Stumpjumper 29er EVO which will be a 29er rigid bike.

First a look at a preview of the 2013 Specialized road bikes.
Highlights and thoughts:
-Specialized will offer an update of the Roubaix: the Roubaix SL4 the same bike that Tom Boonen used to win Paris-Roubaix.  This will include the COBL GOBL-R seatpost which includes a sharp bend and an elastemer to offer even more comfort.  If this would be strong enough to use on a mountain bike it would be very interesting use on one, my guess is it wouldn't but you never know.
-There will be at least two Roubaix Disc brake option for 2013.
-The Venge appears to be unchanged (although color and component spec's might be different for 2013).
-Carbon Crux for those CX riders will be available, and looks really sweet.

Overall some really interesting things on tap for 2013 from Specialized.

First Race Back

Yesterday I rode at Renaissance for about a half hour to make sure my ankle could handle mountain biking and to get at least a little comfortable on mountain bike.  My ankle held up well, no noticable pain.  Bike handling was pretty good, given the lay off, could tell my fitness was way off:  my heart rate was really high given how hard I was going and I was out of breath, something that rarely happens unless I'm racing.  As a result of it going well, I felt comfortable doing the race this morning.

Showed up pretty close to the start of the race, I wasn't going to warm up very much, because with my lack of fitness I didn't think the cost (being tired) was worth the benefit (being ready to go hard right from the start).  Unfortunately, at least in terms of points for the Summer Series, there were a bunch of experts there, so I wouldn't be able to get some cheap points from there not being many people in the race. 

At the start I took it very easy and very willingly settled into last place.  All the experts pulled away pretty quickly, I was committed to not going out too hard (and later blowing up).  I felt my bike handling was pretty good, and got better as the race progressed.  My fitness was clearly way off, which was clear with how quickly everyone pulled away, but I did what I could given my fitness. I was able to maintain a pretty even pace and while being pretty tired at the end, I felt like I got about as much out of my fitness as I could have.  Overall I was pretty happy, my fitness needs just needs to come back, which much of it will come back quickly, the last 10% of my fitness will take quite a bit longer.

Ankle. . .getting better

Monday went to Dr. Picklesimer at Eastover Foot and Ankle for my 3 week follow up.  I had still been having some fatigue and swelling, but it certainly had been going in the right direction.  After some evaluation I was shocked to hear from Dr. Picklesimer that he thought I was ready to go ahead and start riding (and more surprisingly racing) mountain bikes again.  I really thought it was probably going to be another couple weeks before I'd be able to do that.  He also said I was ready to be out of the big boot I've been wearing, and into a much smaller/more comfortable brace.  Additionally, he said that I'd probably be able to run again in about 3 weeks.  I was so excited to hear such good news.

This isn't to say that it's all better, just that it's making progress.  I'm planning on going mountain biking this afternoon and make sure it's feeling ok, and then plan on participating (not racing) in the Summer series race that was reschedule to July 4th morning.  Don't tell anyone, but I'm hoping almost no one shows up for the expert race and I'm able to get some points with a really slow time. 

BikeSource race report (recent races)

Fischer Farms 6/20/12 (podium)
3rd Expert: Robert Fish
3rd Sport 35-44:  Ryan Kelley
2nd Beginner 35+:  Omar Reese (I can only assume in Dickies shorts)
1st Juniors 8-13:  Ty Gibbs
Sorry Jeff, no podium at Fischer Farms

Results

Tree Shaker 6/23/12
5th 4 Hour Solo Men:  Ryan Kelley
7th 4 Hour Solo 40+ Men:  Jeff Smith
7th 8 Hour Solo Female:  Rebecca Bubp
2nd 8 Hour Solo Single Speed:  Eric Hagerty
1st 8 Hour 3 Person Open:  Matt Moosa, Daniel Lenis and Donald Butler

Results by category

Clemson--Tiger Rag 6/24/12 (podium)
2nd Cat 2 40+: Ryan Kelley
2nd Cat 1 30-39:  Bobby Bryson

Results

US National White Water Center 6/27/12 (podium)
1st Expert: Robert Fish
3rd Sport 35-44:  Ryan Kelley
2nd Beginner 35+ (I can only assume in Dickies shorts)
1st Juniors 8-13:  Ty Gibbs
Sorry again Jeff, no podium at USNWC, I'll stop mentioning that soon. . . I think

Results

Renaissance Race Report and various thoughts

BikeSource Podium finishers from Renaissance (a week ago):
-1st Expert: Robert Fish
-2nd Sport 45+ Jeff Smith (clearly he just needed the motivation of being in my blog to finish on the podium)
-3rd Sport 45+ Donald Butler
-2nd Beginner 35+ Omar Reese (rocking the Dickies shorts, I wish I was joking)
-1st Juniors 8-13 Ty Gibbs

I'm astonished at how quickly Robert Fish has recovered from various injuries that kept him off the bike for an extended period of time to win back to back expert races.

My ankle is getting better, but VERY slowly, it is still swollen and my toes still have purple marks on them from all of the blood that was in foot.

While that has been disappointed, riding on the trainer has actually been going very well, no pain:  all I have to do is loosen the top Boa on my Specialized S-works shoes.  So while I might not be able to run for quite at least I'll be able to ride on the trainer and hopefully my cycling fitness won't suffer too much.

Ankle Sprain: How it happened

In my last couple posts I haven't exactly said how I sprained my ankle.  I didn't really want to talk in depth about it, it was still very raw and the timing of when it happened was REALLY bad.

I rode up to Richmond Friday evening with Marcus Barton, who was also doing the same race on Sunday.  As we had planned as soon as the trail run had finished Saturday morning we pre-road the mountain bike course (about a 50 minute ride), to get a feel for the course.  I was feeling good a fresh, I also felt good about my bike handling.  About 30 minutes into the ride through a section of the trail that was relatively wide 3-4 feet, there was a small cluster of rocks in the middle of the trail, maybe 8 inches around 4 inches high (an obstacle I don't even have to think about, I could easily go to either side of it or over the top of it).  Unfortunately I either didn't see it or didn't focus on dealing with it, more likely didn't see it.  I hit the rocks and it knocked the bike out to the side, my right foot unclipped and came out to catch myself (this happened automatically) unfortunately the way I hit the rocks it threw me down, and instead of my foot coming down on the ground squarely it hit on the outside of my foot and my ankle just rolled.  After finding my glasses, which had fallen off as well.  I got back on the bike, I was able to continue riding, but it was very painful, I didn't have much power with my right leg, and any time I had to step down on my right foot, it hurt a LOT.  I knew at the time that my race was probably over even before it started.  After getting back to the hotel room I began icing it and keeping it elevated, to keep the swelling down as much as possible.  By the evening it was very swollen and I could hardly put any weight at all on my right foot, I knew unless something changed dramatically I wouldn't be able to race.  After waking up Sunday morning if anything it was worse, and knew I wouldn't be able to swim or bike, and couldn't even think of walking, much less trail running. 

I wish I could say that it was in some major crash going super fast or something a little more exciting, but it was during a slow pre-ride through an easy section of trail, not the best of stories.

Diagnosis and treatment

I was pretty sure that my ankle was sprained, but definitely wanted to get it checked out to make sure it wasn't broken as well as the best way to move forward for a fast and full recovery.  I was able to schedule an appointment to see Dr. Picklesimer (who was highly recommend) at Eastover Foot and Ankle, Monday afternoon, I was really happy to be able to get in and see him so quickly.  After examining my ankle and looking at a couple X-rays he concluded there was nothing broken (good news).  We talked about what I should/shouldn't do over the next three weeks:  no running (no surprise there), wait til the end of the week to begin VERY easy swimming and biking (which surprised me I'd be able to start back with those so quickly), wear a boot for walking around, ice and elevate to reduce swelling.

May not be the most comfortable, but with it I can now walk

Today I went to Performance Therapy and Mike Danenberg set me up on the Game Ready treatment device, which provides compressions and cycles cold water through a boot, both of which help reduce swelling.  The treatment lasted about 15 minutes and after pulling off the boot, I could actually  see my ankle bone (which I couldn't see before) so it obviously reduced the swelling pretty dramatically. 

My busted ankle

Pre-road the bike course on Saturday, this is the result:

As a result I haven't been able to walk, much less race on Sunday.  Extremely dissapointed that I wasn't able to race.  I'll be going to the doctor this afternoon to have it looked at, and see how bad it is.  More updates to come as I know more.

Pre-Richmond Thoughts

With the Xterra Richmond race coming up this weekend, I have some random thoughts:

-Wednesday night race cancelled AGAIN, I think we’ve had 4 race postponements out of 8 weeks.  I was disappointed that we didn’t have the race, because I was feeling good, but it probably was best for the Xterra Richmond race not to do a race middle of the week.

-I feel good about my swimming, mountain biking, and running, but it’s always a little weird when you are tapering for a race and you haven’t done a REALLY hard workout in almost two weeks, because you’re never 100% sure your fitness just hasn’t gone down the toilet in that time (which doesn’t happen, but you’re never quite sure).

-My biggest hope is that I get out of the swim in good position to start the bike and don’t run into too much trouble passing people on the bike.  Last year it wasn’t too bad to pass people on the bike, but it all depends on when you catch up to people and if you can get around them quickly.  Best case: I have an awesome swim and come out of the water without too many in front of me and I can just ride comfortably.  Worst case:  I come out of the water behind a bunch of slow mountain bikers that aren’t courteous about letting faster riders pass, in this case I just have to be smart and ride smooth save as much energy as possible when I’m stuck behind people.

-I still need to think through my nutrition/water for the bike (Camelbak, water bottle, both), I’m not worried about this I just need to think it through and make sure I’ll have enough water (I know how much Infinit I’ll need).

-It’s hard to know what reasonable expectations for this race are because last year I had a flat tire and had to run a couple miles of the bike, which hurt both my bike and run splits.  Also with mountain biking and trail running it’s hard to know what a good split is because it’s so dependent on the conditions and the course, not just the distance of the leg like on a road triathlon.  I’ve always been one that likes to plan and know how I should do so this is a little weird.

-Overall I’m a little nervous but very excited to see what I can do and how it goes.

Summer Series Race Report Anne Springs: Bad

I was thinking of calling it “embarrassing” or “terrible” but it was quite that bad, it was just BAD.  This was the first summer series race at Anne Springs (which I’ve ridden quite a bit over the last couple years).  It was good to have some of the guys that haven’t been to as many of the summer series races at the race (Robert Fish, Robert Mobley and Chris Audet). 

Got a good start (it’s about time) and entered the woods 2nd, rode in second pretty comfortably for the first 10 minutes or so, we were going fast, but I felt good.  Unfortunately I pushed my front tire too hard into a sandy turn, it washed out and I went down, as crashes go it was as innocent as possible, but I did lose a few places as a result.  Got back on and got going again, unfortunately shortly thereafter I was going uphill and hit a root with my front tire wrong and went down, again incredibly innocent, but still it meant I had to run to the top of the hill remount and get started again.  At this point the guys at the front of the race had pulled away a bit, not too bad (I still have over two laps to pull them back in), but I was playing catch up. From then on I don’t remember exactly everything that happened or the order that it happened in, but it just didn’t go well.  There is a spot where the trail splits and you can either go right or left, both the first and second lap I went to the right, which was a much slower and more difficult line.  I also crashed going through one of the really technical sections, got thrown off the bike, and my water bottle that had all my Infinit nutrition came out, only problem:  I didn’t realize the bottle had fallen out for about 5 minutes.  So no nutrition, no electrolytes for the last 50 minutes or so of the race, which might not have been so bad, but it was 90 degrees. . .not a good situation.  I don’t even remember all the other things that went wrong, but it was just a bad race all around.

Until about noon Thursday (the next day) I was pretty down on myself and the race.  But after a little time to think about it and reflect I realized that it was a bad race, nothing more nothing less.  I’m the same rider that I was a few weeks ago when I won at Rennassaince, then was racing for the win at the Riverfront Classic and Fisher Farms.  My fitness didn’t go down the toilet in the last couple weeks (I’ve had some of the best workouts of my life the last few weeks) and my bike handling hasn’t reverted back to what it was 2 or 3 years ago when I was bad at handling the bike.  It just wasn’t a good race, I made mistakes that cost me time and places, but it doesn’t mean that I’m a bad rider. 

Congratulations to Robert Fish who won the expert race (he's come back from a number of pretty big injuries over the last 10 months),  Daniel Lenis 2nd in Sport 19-34, Omar Reese (rocking the Dickie shorts) 2nd Beginner 36+, Rebecca Bubp 3rd in Sport Women's, and Ty Gibbs 2nd in Juniors 8-13.

Next up:  North Meck then going to Richmond to try and qualify for Xterra Worlds

Summer Series Race Report Fischer Farms: Frustration

Still, after almost a week I look back at the race at Fischer Farms with mostly frustration.  I had heard (courtesy of Bob Pugh) that it had rained a bunch Tuesday night in the Davidson area, north of Charlotte.  As a result I decided to bring my front wheel that had a knobbier tire on it with me so that I could run that if the trail was we, after arriving it was easy to see that the knobbier tire was the way to go.  After warming up (the trail was slick, but not terrible), I lined up for the start.

Again I had a bad start, entering the woods in 4th (I think), I lost a place going through a corner within the first minute or so and was in 5th place.  The course doesn’t have a ton of places to pass, so I was very happy that no one was pulling away, and I tried to relax and use as little energy as possible.  During the one open area I moved up to 2nd place, and rode there till the same section on the second lap where I moved into the lead.  I felt really good that I had raced smart and not gotten too worried about my bad start or being stuck in 5th place.

About halfway through the third and final lap, I took an uphill turn too wide and Justin McClean who was riding second behind me was able to pass me.  I wasn’t too worried I still had ½ a lap to pass him, including the long open straight away.   At this point we were approaching and passing lapped riders; unfortunately one that Justin and I were passing fell between us (which was quite the challenge since I was about 10 feet behind him) which allowed Justin to ride away  and Travis Beam who was in third to pass me, as I remounted the bike.  Within a couple minutes of that I was approaching another lapped rider I called out “rider up” and then “on your left” unfortunately I called that I was going to pass on the left just as he moved over . . .to the left, which left me no room to go around and I had already committed to going to the left, so again I had to get  off the bike and again I was passed by the rider behind me, this time Chris Wieczorek.  Chris was nice enough to offer to let me back in front, I declined, because that’s just part of racing (at least in my mind).  That’s how we finished up.

My frustration is about the situation not the riders.  It wasn’t too long ago that I was one of the riders that was getting passed by faster riders from other classes.  I think it’s harder to let people by than to be the one doing the passing, because you can only see what’s in front of you and you don’t know what’s going on behind you.  Also in many cases the riders we are passing are among the most inexperienced out there.   They’re doing the best they can, but it’s a situation that’s difficult for everyone.

Results

Series Results

Riverfront Classic Race Report

Bobby 1st, me 3rd. . .not bad

Showed up at the White Water Center about 7:30 (for the 9:02 start), got signed in and everything set up and ready to go for the race.  Pre-rode a little bit of the course with Bobby Bryson, Chris Audet (who were both doing the same race) and Matt Moosa (who was racing with the 19-29 year olds).  Practiced a couple starts to make sure I knew what gear to start in and then rode around easily until the start.  Got a really good initial 4 or 5 pedal strokes, but didn’t get my left foot clipped in.  I slowed down a little to get clipped in, even with that I got into the woods in 5^th place (out of about 13) and felt pretty good about that.  After staying in line for about 5 minutes, Chris W(??_), one of the fastest guys in the race had a mechanical and had to stop.  A couple minutes later I passed the rider in third, with Tommy Rodgers and Bobby Bryson just in front of me, I thought that the three of us would probably be the three riding for the win.

Not my best start

The three of us continued in line for the rest of the first lap, pretty uneventfully.  They were pulling away from me on the climbs, but I was able to catch back up through the technical sections relatively easily.  Unfortunately there were a couple times near the top of short technical climbs where they checked up a little and I had to get off briefly and climb back on.  At the end of the first lap got rid of my Camelbak and got a new water bottle of Infnit, as planned. About 15 minutes into the second lap I passed Bobby and Tommy, I was riding really well and feeling good.  Unfortunately approaching a fork in the trail, didn’t see the arrow for the course until I had already committed to the wrong direction.  Unfortunately I had to stop turn around and get back on the bike, which allowed Bobby and Tommy to pass me.

At some point I was able to pass Tommy and after a little bit we started to put a gap between ourselves and Tommy.  Was still feeling good, at the end of lap two swapped water bottles for another bottle of Infinit.  Maybe 15 minutes into the 3^rd and final lap Bobby pushed up a climb (I don’t think he was trying to go hard), but I just couldn’t push any harder and he pulled away like I was standing still.  At that point I knew I was in preservation mode, and just try to ride as evenly as possible to the finish.  Unfortunately I spun out at the bottom of the climb with about 10 minutes left in the race and Tommie passed me, unfortunately I couldn’t pull him back in, and finished about 30 seconds behind him.

Overall I was really happy with my fitness and bike handling, and finishing 3^rd (although I could have had a better finish) given the caliber of other riders is something I’m really proud of.

Special congratulations to: Bobby 1st the Cat 1 30-39 race, Eric Haggerty 3^rd in single speed, and Andrea Hildebrand 1^st Cat 2 Women 40+.

Zipp wheel choices for triathletes

TriRig.com posted a great article (and video) on the range of Zipp wheels.  It's an inciteful article that talks about the advantages and disadvantages of the different size wheels and how to pick the right wheel combination depending on:  your size, intended use, and terrain.  Gives you a number of suggestions on what to choose, but more importantly give you helpful information so you can make an informed decision about what woud be best suited for you.

How good are pro's? Matt Charbot's power file

Some times you see something that really puts some things in perspective for you, this just happened courtesy of Matt Charbot's power file from a recent pro triathlon.  Here's the link to the article on Slowtwitch if you want to check it out:  Article

He average 275 watts (at 138 pounds) for an hour, and then ran a 31:42 10k (which for those not familar with running, is flying, just over 5 minutes per mile), and he only finished 34th.  It was also a draft legal race so his effort wasn't consistent, it was up and down which means he'd be able to average more watts in a non-draft triathlon.

I was really happy with my last triathlon and averaged 238 watts (at 145 pounds) for half an hour and then ran a 17:52 (the course was shorter than 5k, probably 2.9-3.0 miles).  So his power weight was over 20% better than mine. . .for twice as long.  Oh yeah. . . and he probably would have swam 25% faster than me.

Roval Control SL 29er wheelset first impressions

In a word:  awesome.  Up until a week and a half ago I was riding the stock wheels that come on Specialized Epic ExpertCarbon EVO R 29er (yeah, I know it needs a longer name), the Roval Control 29.  I’d been extremely happy with those wheels:  pretty light and really stiff, which was a combination that I found to be a better (at least for me) than the really light and not so stiff Stan’s No Tubes wheels I had built up for last year.

What I noticed almost immediately was how stiff the RovalControl SL’s were and they tracked even better through corners and over roots and bumps.  I was able to push the front end of the bike into a corner harder and didn’t have to be worry about them washing out.  In addition to this stiffness the wheels are super light and accelerate really easily.  Down the road after I’ve had chance to ride them longer I’ll right a full review, but at least my initial impressions are that the wheels are awesome.

First Expert Win: How it Happened

The race Wednesday was at Renaissance, this is the course closest to the shop and on the way to and from the shop from home, so I’ve ridden there probably about 15 times this year, so I’m now incredibly comfortable riding there (which is funny because it was the course I felt least comfortable on last year).  This was going to be the first really hot race of the year (about 88), and so I knew might play a role in the race, and knew I would have to be careful about my nutrition and hydration.  The last couple races I haven’t drank all of my water/nutrition from my Camelbak, I knew this wouldn’t work for a race this hot.  I put my Inifinit nutrition in a water bottle, so I would be able to see how much of it I’ve had (a downside to the Camelbak is that you can’t see how much you’ve had). 

After getting to the race and getting all set up, I pre-rode the course and got lined up for the start.  It’s an relatively long uphill start, so I knew I wouldn’t have to be worried about getting a good start (I’d have plenty of time to make up for a bad first 5 seconds).  Fortunately I had a really good start, and got the hole shot (first into the woods).  After getting into the woods I eased up a little.  Robert Fish, another BikeSource rider, was second, which made me a little more comfortable because I knew he would just let me ride my race.  When I had gotten to the first climb up the big hill I had about a 5 second lead, over Luke Sagur (who must have passed Robert).  I pushed the hill but didn’t go crazy, I knew we still had over an hour to race.

Luke caught up to me as we entered the second section of single track.  Unfortunately about 5 minutes into the wood I hit a pedal on a root, I didn’t go down but it slowed me down enough that Luke was able to pass.  I got going again and followed Luke for the remainder of the first lap.  Before starting the second lap, I passed Luke in the open section leading into the wood.  I continued to ride well and slowly opened a gap over Luke, unlike the previous lap I was able to extend that gap going up the big hill.  I think about this time Donald Butler (one of our racers and a fellow manager at BikeSource), started telling me how big of a lead I had.  I was sorry to see that he DNF’d in his race, but was very thankful that he was going to be able to let me know the kind of lead I had.  The first time he told me I think he said it was 15 seconds.  Since I was feeling good I continued to push the pace and was riding really smooth (all those times riding the course were certainly helping).  The next time Donald told me I had about 20 seconds, then it was 40 second, then a minute, then 1:30 as I was in the last section of singletrack.  At this point I wasn’t trying to push it, but just trying to continue riding well, I knew the only way I would lose was if I crashed or cramped badly.  I came out of the wood and into the finishing straight, what an amazing feeling: my first expert win.  I checked to make sure no one was coming up behind me, and then pedaled the 15 seconds or so to the finish line.

I thanked Donald for giving me updates and asked if he was ok, he had wrecked out but was doing ok.  Chatted with some of the BikeSource guys and guys from other guys I knew from other teams. Mixed up my Infinit recovery drink.  No run today, a gift to myself for winning.  Pulled on my Swiftwickcompression socks before heading home.  Certainly a day to smile about.

Summer Series Race Report (sort of): Renaissance

Yesterday at Renaissance I won my first ever expert mountain bike race.  This is certainly the proudest athletic accomplishment of my life.  Instead of talking in depth about the race (which I felt awesome throughout, and everything went as well as one could hope for during a mountain bike race) I’d like to thank some people that without their help I certainly wouldn’t have had nearly this success in mountain biking.  There have been many people that have helped me accomplish this and I certainly appreciate all the help you have given me, but there are a few people that have made a huge difference for me.

-Mike Danenberg and Zac Breedlove of PerformanceTherapy.  With their help I’ve been able to be injury free for well over two years, and it would have been much longer if it wasn’t for sitting too long cross-legged at my Indian wedding ceremony.  To be injury free this long with the amount and intensity of training that I’m doing is truly remarkable, especially since in high school and college I was frequently dealing with injuries.

-Chad Andrews of Total Cyclist.  I’ve been in good cycling shape for a number of years now, but doing Chad’s classes has taken my fitness to a whole new level.  This has been particularly true for my mountain bike fitness (where you have to be able to push hard then recover) with working on specific intervals has increase the power I can produce and my ability to recover from those efforts.

-Bob Pugh.  He’s the guy that first got me into off-road riding with cyclocross.  We went to tons of races and rode together on a course he made a ton.  Without his enthusiasm and passion for riding particularly off-road I probably never would have continued working on off-road riding.  It was great to see him yesterday after having not seen him in a while.

-The guys at BikeSource.  I’m terrible about working on my stuff and taking care of it.  Thank you so much for all of your help with that.  I know my stuff is always going to work and work well.

-Sakshi, my wife.  Her love and support has been tremendous.  I know my schedule (both work and training) isn’t ideal, but she’s always supportive and so proud of my accomplishments, that it makes my accomplishments so much sweeter for me to be able to share them with her.

Thank you to everyone I mentioned and those that I haven’t who have helped me become the mountain biker and athlete that I am, I am so grateful for your help and support.

Results

Huntersville Triathlon Race Report

This was the same race course as the Cool Breeze Triathlon, the only thing different was the swim was twice as long (500 yards vs 250).  Thanks to Sakshi reminding me that I had forgotten my towel for my transition area last time I managed not to forget a single thing for the race.  Everything in the morning went smoothly from getting to the race to setting up my transition area and warming up.

While I was getting ready to start the swim my “cheering section” showed up (Sakshi:  wife, Nancy: mother, Sandy:  friend, Scott:  friend, and Cami:  dog).  It was great to have them all there.  Tried to take the swim nice and smooth, which I was able to do, that being said the last 150 yards I struggled to keep my form totally together. 

My transtition to the bike was very smooth and I was out on my Specialized Transition quickly.  Was able to average 238 watts for the ride after starting my Garmin 500 (at the bottom of the first hill), which worked great and was able to display all the information I like to see on one screen (current watts, avg speed, time, heart rate, average watts).  I felt pretty good coming off the bike and starting the run.

Hung my bike and helmet on the rack, pulled on my NewtonDistance shoes and was off.  Felt pretty good most of the run, looking back on it I might have been able to push it a little harder, but I also might have blown up if I had done that.  Crossed the finish line and greeted my cheering section, everyone was happy to see me except Cami, who probably didn’t recognize me because I smelled to bad (at least that was Sakshi’s thought).  But after she recognized me she was very excited to see me too.

Thanks to TV displaying results almost immediately after you finish I was able to see I finished in 58:56, and was 4th, shortly after I came in a guy finished with a faster time and bumped me down to 5th, unfortunately he was also in my age so I was second in my age group).

Since it was a pool swim, awards weren’t for about 3 hours after I finished, which gave us time to stop at Wendy’s (quite possibly Sakshi’s favorite restaurant) for lunch.  The announcer was very surprised when only about half the award winners stayed around to collect them, I felt like yelling out that they finished 3 hours agao.

Overall I was very happy with the race and how smoothly the race went.  This time the 15 year old girl (Malia Ellington, who won the women’s race) didn’t beat me on the run as she did last race, she beat me on the swim and her total transitions were faster than mine.  

Maybe the most surprising thing about the entire race was how close my times were to Cool Breeze earlier in the month (I couldn’t have been this close across the board if I tried) click on the image to enlarge.

Pictures