Running With the Foghorn Leghorn

Norm said:
1. Mill Creek (easy CR ride)
2. HPCX #2 (race)
3. HPCX #1 (nothing)
4. Caffeinated (race)
5. Cooper (nothing)
6. Nittany (standard "openers")
7. Granogue (2.5 hour ride at White Clay)
8. Marty's (nothing)
9. Hippo (standard "openers")
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We all know that Crossresults is not an accurate assessment of your race performance.
I suggest re-ranking based off your own perceived performance.

Because I, too, have the hunch that you do better the second day of racing.
 
I think that 2 days before a race is just as important as the day before.

So let's get that list updated.....mmm'k?
 
Norm is riding in circles in the parking lot after he takes his bike off my car

Me: Norm put air in the tires
Norm: weeeeee circles!!!!!!!

You know that was the first time in about 8 years of riding that I have ever had my phone fall out of my jersey pocket from a crash.
 
Re-ranking the Races

I do agree with @Dominos that CR is dogshit but within the field I think it's close enough. I will rank these based on how I felt and how I felt I did. I will classify these in 3 distinct sets of how I felt.

Feeling Good Baby!

2. HPCX #2 (race)
1. Mill Creek (easy CR ride)

I would put HPCX#2 as my best race of the year and Mill Creek as #2.

Good Not Great

6. Nittany (standard "openers")
5. Cooper (nothing)
4. Caffeinated (race)
7. Granogue (2.5 hour ride at White Clay)

I think I did well at Nittany and Cooper/Caffeinated were the same but slightly less good than Nittany. I did not feel amazing for Caffeinated to be sure, and I lost touch with the 2 guys I normally race that day. So I would swap those around there. To me, Caffeinated is what "I'm off my game" should feel like. Maybe I'm tired, things didn't line up, whatever. I mean you can still do ok, your shit is not really on point, and so on. But the ones below that have no explanation.

I felt fine for Granogue but the bike plus first race plus non-familiarity with the venue adds up to uncertainty.

Not Very Good

3. HPCX #1 (nothing)

Total Dosghit

8. Marty's (nothing)
9. Hippo (standard "openers")[/QUOTE]

These are a push, felt like creamed crap for both of these.

Ranking for Jeremy

I agree with @jShort that 2 days before a race is a pretty important day. As such that day is usually nothing or really easy.

1. Mill Creek (nothing)
2. HPCX #2 (easy field junk)
3. HPCX #1 (nothing)
4. Caffeinated (nothing)
5. Cooper (nothing)
6. Nittany (nothing)
7. Granogue (nothing)
8. Marty's (nothing)
9. Hippo (easy field ride practicing race starts)

This is pretty un-telling. I think the day before assessment gives more information than this.

I messed up the original list, HPCX#1 was not nothing the day before:

Power Assessment

Here is my lap power (this includes zeros) for the races. I will also put in my average HR.

1. Mill Creek (292/184)
2. HPCX #2 (278/174)
3. HPCX #1 (260/178)
4. Caffeinated (278/179)
5. Cooper (302/187)
6. Nittany (no power/184)
7. Granogue (no power/177)
8. Marty's (288/179)
9. Hippo (289/182)

I have no idea what this all really means. Races #1 and #9 are almost identical yet one was my best and 1 was my worst. The 2 races on day 2 shows a much lower HR (as expected).

I don't think that view of things is especially useful.
 
Probably more correlation between feeling good and sleeping well, no? Because this data says squat.
 
Norm said:
Ok so the double idea. In the past I was pretty much money on the 2nd day of a double weekend and with HPCX that was the case. But the last 2 years has not seen this be the case anymore. So I wasn't really sure if it was true or not still. But there may be some truth to the notion that I wasn't racing enough those 2 years and my fitness was off. So maybe I'm back to the point where the back-end of a 1&1 is good for me?

You could throw together a theory that riding hard enough to justify recovery food/drink and a decent meal is what properly fuels me up for the next day. When I do openers it is generally not enough work to justify recovery food, and I probably try to stick to my low-calorie inputs. As such the openers just serve to tax my system and not make more prepared for the next day.

These are interesting thoughts.
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@Norm I think the Kate Moss boat-load of sushi may be something to try again the night before the next race. Pure, clean protein and you're racing again and you're not running like a lawnmower. Perhaps have another super-model-load of sushi before the next race.

Norm said:
Sunday, October 18, 2015

Today CR says I will be 26th.

Armed with a really poor night of sleep and a massive meal of Kate Moss (like the boat was the size of her) sushi, I line up for another run at this thing. At the beginning of the year I said I was going to skip doubles but this is the 2nd double in the last 3 weekends. I am balancing this with the wave of enjoyment I am riding this season. So here we go, line up 2 in 2 for the last time of the year.

The whistle blows and we are starting up the hill again. Unlike yesterday, I blast out of the gate. I am on Vic's wheel and the prayers to NASA have paid off as I hold it all the way up the pavement and into the grass. Then I rail the corners and manage to keep a decent spot through the 180 and the barriers. I am in the mix, today is not yesterday, things are off to a good start. My legs answer when I question them. I am happy with this start.

Even when I was at the top of my cx game, my MO was generally this. I would start as strongly as I could, then settle in and let a few people pass and it would shake out and I would find my spot. I remember the last race I ever did in the Bs, at Horseshoe, I got the hole shot, held it for a little, then Dag & Nick passed me and I settled in at 3rd or 4th after the first minute or so. Today I feel like I am back in that groove. I launched well, let a few pass, then settled in and drove my bike as best I could.

Today I am racing people who usually beat me. Today the power is there when I ask for it. Yesterday I was going up the hill like a riding lawnmower and seeing 350w on the climb. Today I look down and see 550w. Yesterday I bleed spots on the climb, today I am holding on until the top of the climb and the turns where I can hold my own. Ok you get the point. Yesterday I was struggling, today less struggle.

Today I end up 20th. There were 42 of us at the line, 39 on the results sheet.

Today I felt good. Like it is coming back slowly but surely.
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Sounds like you did a great job last week at HPCX!
 
Mountain Bike Mike said:
Would you mind enlightening us with the two day out wisdom?
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No scientific proof that I have. Just what coaches have told me and that I've learned from personal experience.

A good night of sleep the Friday before a Sunday race is really important for me. Ive had terrible nights sleep Saturday and been surprisingly ok for a Sunday race.
 
I have to think back now... Most nights before races, sleep sucks because I am up late prepp'n shit, sometimes nerves, and up early to get to the race but have done decent.
 
Mountain Bike Mike said:
I have to think back now... Most nights before races, sleep sucks because I am up late prepp'n shit, sometimes nerves, and up early to get to the race but have done decent.
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Lots of studies have shown that bad sleep the night before a race doesn't affect performance.

Who knows how they did this case study though.

@Norm, I thought you had previously determined that hard ride day before lead to the best results, because lions
 
Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Man it rained all day, you expect me to ride?

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Broke out the short sleeves and shorts again for a warm mid-day ride. Went not too hard but not too easy down to Watchung Reservation. Felt good to be out there. Wasn't trying to pile drive anything so the wind wasn't an issue. I find wind sucks the most when you'r trying to go fast.

Friday, October 30, 2015

2 days before the race. Like @jShort says, we don't do much 2 days before. So I took the day off.

On that note, @stb222 asks about previous conclusions. Yes in the past, because lions, I have concluded that racing back to back is good for day 2. But that was when I was kinda trained and the last 2 years has not seen that happen. Maybe I'm coming back into form? For the sake of argument, let's go with it.

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Woke up today at the lowest weight so far this "run". @UtahJoe needs to look out. Hit up Mahlon today with Utah, @Chris26er, @graveyardman67, and Bill's buddy. We did some good stuff and had a good 2 hour ride. Fun times, and it was a good bit of effort mixed with easy in betweens mixed with some solid downhill runs. I love the big bike some days, like today.

Look, neat, 6th place only 10 seconds behind Lenosky on this downhil run:
https://www.strava.com/segments/1370223?filter=overall

Really enjoyed riding the mountain bike today. Hopefully this works well as a pre-race ride. If not, oh well I had a good day today.

CrossResults

Predicts me to be 9th out of 19. CrossResults can suck it.
 
See and im always having to defend your mtb skills.. You might not be bill, but your a good rider. @gtluke would have shit himself when you rode the turtle backwards without even slowing down
 
I always comment that Norm is the most impressive technical rider for someone who has no actual technical skills. He flies through the gnar while somehow doing everything wrong. The whole thing is impressive.
 
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