put it out there. what have you got to lose?
Wielding Jehovah's Cyclocross Battleaxe
- Thread starter Norm
- Start date
put it out there. what have you got to lose?
Life is life, no matter what you do. Of course, I get this and sometimes feel like this. I remember when I was a kid (ie, like 3 months ago) I read a short story by Issac Assimov where this woman was able to look into this sort of crystal ball of an alternate universe. Basically she had met her husband by some great good luck and it was a sort of fluke that they were together. Well, the magical alternate crystal ball like thing showed her the reality of what would have happened had that great good luck event not have come to pass. Basically, she would have been enslaved by aliens. No, no wait. She would have ended up with her husband anyway.
So Jeremy and Issac both think I should just eat the pie. But really, if all you ever do is eat the pie this is the sort of shit that happens with your life:
I...admit that there are worse things that could happen in your life. Moving on.
I have no intentions of not writing, I just feel like I'm off my game recently. Sometimes I write a post and think, "ok, that was good, at least part of it." I haven't really had that lately though last night's I felt satisfied writing. I think I need to just go, to the point where my brain moves faster than my fingers can. Given that I use like 5 fingers to type, I actually do fairly well. So I want to write to write and use it as an outlet, which I think is the healthy thing. Sometimes I get caught up in the "should" as opposed to the "want". Of courser what I write what I want it's more enjoyable because it's better and it engages more people. I don't think I can stop writing, I've been doing so since college on some basis through the years.
I sucked at writing in school. One of my English teachers told me that I should go to MIT in the engineering school because I was so top heavy in math & science. I failed high school English as freshman, though I admit ikt was because I refused to stand up in front of the class and recite something or other. So, so very strange that I'm in the position I'm in now. I think having kids pushes you over some hump. Seriously, I remember one day outside DD after Julia had eaten a doughnut, during her vomiting phase. She was just hurling pink vomit all over and I'm trying to catch it with my hands and tossing it in the trash like I'm a desperate fisherman at sea with a hole in his boat. I think after moments like that you just don't care anymore what people think or say.
I got an almost perfect score on my math SATs. My English was abysmal. I think my score came back and I was borderline retarded. Ok maybe not, but the idea that I would write anything that people would read at that stage of my life was nothing short of laughable. And here I am, strumming my vocabulary banjo on a semi-regular basis. God damn that metaphor was atrocious.
I think writing is like singing or dancing, these 3 things are grouped together for a lot of people. There's just some insecurity hump to get over. The beauty of writing is that I don't have to make a physical spectacle of myself in front of anyone. I can hide in front of the keyboard and vomit pink ex-donut thoughts all over the keyboard and take solace in the fact that nobody is able to sit here and watch me stumble at it.
I enjoy the long contribution Robin.
I struggle with the Facebook. I also say "the Facebook" like people say "the baseball" because it totally sounds dumb. Luke has this thing he can't quite put into words about why he doesn't like Strava. I feel the same way about Facebook. It's not actually the uber-amazing headlines - I can control that. I can also control the people I want to see. I've refined my feed to dial back a lot of the things that don't make me happy anymore. So my Facebook feed is relatively free of things I don't like and I get a good amount of really solid, entertaining information from it.
But there's something about it, and this may be correlated to my lack of enjoyment in the writing I'm producing, that bugs me. I find myself censoring myself so much anymore, choosing not to post because I think, "it's just not worth it" to reply to things at times. I also feel like staring at Facebook erodes my creativity in some way. I know this isn't right, like Luke can't exactly put his finger on the Strava thing. I don't know what it is but sometimes I just feel wrong about it.
I heard about some new social media site named Ello. Anyone every try this? I'm intrigued. I dabbled in Instagram and Twitter and neither do it for me. I like Pinterest but for a different reason than I would like/dislike any of the other sites.
I registered for Westwood.
I got the deed amendment filed with the county and the girl at the office did it right there for me and made the copy receipt for me instead of making me wait 5 days. I told her I had a big hole. In my backyard. Periods are so very important sometimes. Then I went to the town and got the permit, and the woman there managed to get us in as an "upgrade" instead of a "new" system which saved us $150. I guess everyone is in a good mood on Friday.
Then we went to Craigmuir to scout out the course. I'm unsure if we can make this magically awesome. I'm hoping it's good, maybe even very good. But it's too early to tell just yet. Got some work to do but we have a rough plan coming together.
To be clear I neither like the look of me in the kit or the fit itself. The sample I tried at our underwear party was awesome, I loved the fit. When it came in, I had lost 15 pounds and it was far tighter than when I tried the sample on. So it's sort of like 2 strikes. Given that the service has been [momma said if you can't say anything good then don't say anything at all], I think that's sort of a turkey in bowling terms. I wonder if Nolan Ryan was a bowler.
Cross is harder on the kits in terms of getting muddy, not necessarily crashing and brambles and thermonuclear missiles. Once a kit gets sluiced with mud the colors are never the same. Of course now I have a bright kit with a hole in it. The suck, the total suck.
In terms of click bait headlines in social media, like everything the enticement will fade. If you tease the mouse enough he will not fall for your trick to get him to chase the non-existent cheese. And in this metaphor, there will be another cheese maze around the corner before you know it. Then things will change.
I think you should write with a level-head, and more or less write something that you enjoy reading yourself. I find that when I'm in the groove the words just happen, just bound out of me. Great writers say that their stories often write themselves. I think that great artists are sometimes borderline crazy but I guess I do see where this comes from at times. Like I said, it just happens and comes out. If you are writing in anger or to crucify someone, more often than not you will later read that and think, "yeah, gotta stop doing that."
My tool did not come today. I cannot continue the building of my Evo.
So Jeremy and Issac both think I should just eat the pie. But really, if all you ever do is eat the pie this is the sort of shit that happens with your life:
I...admit that there are worse things that could happen in your life. Moving on.
I have no intentions of not writing, I just feel like I'm off my game recently. Sometimes I write a post and think, "ok, that was good, at least part of it." I haven't really had that lately though last night's I felt satisfied writing. I think I need to just go, to the point where my brain moves faster than my fingers can. Given that I use like 5 fingers to type, I actually do fairly well. So I want to write to write and use it as an outlet, which I think is the healthy thing. Sometimes I get caught up in the "should" as opposed to the "want". Of courser what I write what I want it's more enjoyable because it's better and it engages more people. I don't think I can stop writing, I've been doing so since college on some basis through the years.
I sucked at writing in school. One of my English teachers told me that I should go to MIT in the engineering school because I was so top heavy in math & science. I failed high school English as freshman, though I admit ikt was because I refused to stand up in front of the class and recite something or other. So, so very strange that I'm in the position I'm in now. I think having kids pushes you over some hump. Seriously, I remember one day outside DD after Julia had eaten a doughnut, during her vomiting phase. She was just hurling pink vomit all over and I'm trying to catch it with my hands and tossing it in the trash like I'm a desperate fisherman at sea with a hole in his boat. I think after moments like that you just don't care anymore what people think or say.
I got an almost perfect score on my math SATs. My English was abysmal. I think my score came back and I was borderline retarded. Ok maybe not, but the idea that I would write anything that people would read at that stage of my life was nothing short of laughable. And here I am, strumming my vocabulary banjo on a semi-regular basis. God damn that metaphor was atrocious.
I think writing is like singing or dancing, these 3 things are grouped together for a lot of people. There's just some insecurity hump to get over. The beauty of writing is that I don't have to make a physical spectacle of myself in front of anyone. I can hide in front of the keyboard and vomit pink ex-donut thoughts all over the keyboard and take solace in the fact that nobody is able to sit here and watch me stumble at it.
I enjoy the long contribution Robin.
I struggle with the Facebook. I also say "the Facebook" like people say "the baseball" because it totally sounds dumb. Luke has this thing he can't quite put into words about why he doesn't like Strava. I feel the same way about Facebook. It's not actually the uber-amazing headlines - I can control that. I can also control the people I want to see. I've refined my feed to dial back a lot of the things that don't make me happy anymore. So my Facebook feed is relatively free of things I don't like and I get a good amount of really solid, entertaining information from it.
But there's something about it, and this may be correlated to my lack of enjoyment in the writing I'm producing, that bugs me. I find myself censoring myself so much anymore, choosing not to post because I think, "it's just not worth it" to reply to things at times. I also feel like staring at Facebook erodes my creativity in some way. I know this isn't right, like Luke can't exactly put his finger on the Strava thing. I don't know what it is but sometimes I just feel wrong about it.
I heard about some new social media site named Ello. Anyone every try this? I'm intrigued. I dabbled in Instagram and Twitter and neither do it for me. I like Pinterest but for a different reason than I would like/dislike any of the other sites.
I registered for Westwood.
I got the deed amendment filed with the county and the girl at the office did it right there for me and made the copy receipt for me instead of making me wait 5 days. I told her I had a big hole. In my backyard. Periods are so very important sometimes. Then I went to the town and got the permit, and the woman there managed to get us in as an "upgrade" instead of a "new" system which saved us $150. I guess everyone is in a good mood on Friday.
Then we went to Craigmuir to scout out the course. I'm unsure if we can make this magically awesome. I'm hoping it's good, maybe even very good. But it's too early to tell just yet. Got some work to do but we have a rough plan coming together.
To be clear I neither like the look of me in the kit or the fit itself. The sample I tried at our underwear party was awesome, I loved the fit. When it came in, I had lost 15 pounds and it was far tighter than when I tried the sample on. So it's sort of like 2 strikes. Given that the service has been [momma said if you can't say anything good then don't say anything at all], I think that's sort of a turkey in bowling terms. I wonder if Nolan Ryan was a bowler.
Cross is harder on the kits in terms of getting muddy, not necessarily crashing and brambles and thermonuclear missiles. Once a kit gets sluiced with mud the colors are never the same. Of course now I have a bright kit with a hole in it. The suck, the total suck.
In terms of click bait headlines in social media, like everything the enticement will fade. If you tease the mouse enough he will not fall for your trick to get him to chase the non-existent cheese. And in this metaphor, there will be another cheese maze around the corner before you know it. Then things will change.
I think you should write with a level-head, and more or less write something that you enjoy reading yourself. I find that when I'm in the groove the words just happen, just bound out of me. Great writers say that their stories often write themselves. I think that great artists are sometimes borderline crazy but I guess I do see where this comes from at times. Like I said, it just happens and comes out. If you are writing in anger or to crucify someone, more often than not you will later read that and think, "yeah, gotta stop doing that."
My tool did not come today. I cannot continue the building of my Evo.
The alarm rings at 5:00am. It is Sunday.
I have packed everything on the car, so all I need to do is get up and go. My bibs are on the floor, bike socks, and short & tshirt. I'm downstairs and I make something to eat & drink and take a few minutes to consider how this all feels. It feels horrible. It's hard to believe I used to do this every day, day after day, week after week. I know it's just a matter of my body getting used to it. But right now, I am not used to it. I feel like absolute & total crap.
Breakfast was Captain Crunch.
The drive up is uneventful and not noteworthy, other than to say it is dark out for most of the ride. At some point Steve Mancuso & I are on the highway together, and he eventually just follows me to the race. I say to myself I'll be happy if the race goes the same way. But I suspect I know better.
I ride the pit bike for a lap and marvel at how clean it shifts. The main bike is gummed up, something I see now that I'm riding this bike around. I consider doing the race on this bike but I don't have power on it and I want power, because that's just the way it is and I have no real other reason that to say that I probably take this too seriously at times and far too unseriously at other times. It makes no sense, I admit.
The course is bumpy, and technical, but mostly unchanged from years past. If you've done it before you get the general idea of the course. It's a good course, solid cx soul I think. I don't like that it's more bumpy than usual but we all have to ride it, so it is what it is.
I line up in the last row and basically I'm almost last around the first turn. In the MAC races I've been using the up-the-gut start technique as opposed to the wingman-flyer dive, and it's worked for me. No such luck today, as the middle packs in and I have nowhere to go. People are in the tape, the pack comes to an almost standstill. It's slow, and messy, and not a MAC 35+ race.
That is even more apparent after the next 6-8 turns. People are gummed up, seemingly this race is attracting a fair amount of beginners. Probably this has to do with the fact that it's so early in the morning and you can have the rest of the day if you just do a quick in & out on the 8:30 race. Normally I don't care but like I said, my start is bad. So I am sitting in DFL+2 here, and suffering through all of this.
I will also say that as much as I used to train at this time of day, this is brutally hard to start. It's not even like it hurts that much. It's like when you start a small engine & hit the gas and there's just nothing there, the motor sputters and nothing much happens. That was me. I don't have the ability to push this morning. I also know that my starts are black & white, some days bad some days just ok. Today is bad-bad, and I find myself looking from the top up as the race unfolds before me. I'm sure the guys in front have a minute on my after just 2 minutes into the race.
I had lined up in the 5th row and there were a few behind, so in theory we started with 32 or 33 I think. I'm sure I'm 30th at this point.
As we get to the stairs I start to figure myself out, and find a groove. From here on I start to slowly pass people. Nothing incredibly but 1 here, 1 there. There were a few people of note that I will not name but who clearly need to either spend some QT in the Cs or Ds, or just ease up on the start and let the race develop. We're talking rank beginner types in some of these sections but I only have myself to blame for the shitty start. Well that and the call-ups, of which I did not get 1.
As a note, I was actually 4th row but gave my spot to 26er because he missed his call-up.
I pass a few people I know, then Sean T, Myles, Doug, Big Sean. Big Sean apparently flatted or something but I was closing in on that crew of riders before that. I was moving slowly towards him then suddenly started moving rapidly up. He just pulled over and let me go, and I later heard Joe Sailing say that he was in the pit.
I should also note that I was very sloppy on the barriers today, in particular the 2nd set. I should have paid more attention on the pre-ride as the race proved to be a mess for me after the second barrier. I wish I had thought about it more because it cost me a lot of time, once almost coming to a total standstill ass I fought to clip in on the uphill bumps and could not. I need to pay more attention to the course like EO does. This barrier likely cost me 30 seconds in the race in total, at least?
My pass on Doug Spitz was comical. I came up on him on the left side coming into the barriers. I told him and he moved over. Then I did a yardsale, hit the deck, the bike went flying, and that went to hell fast. I got up, yelled to the stunned looking officials there that this was not the proper technique, and took off running. The official yelled at me to go get his wheel and literally in 50 feet I was on Doug and he left me pass with little fanfare. What a waste of time & effort.
You can see the progression here, See us in the back and walk through these:
http://www.sergiogphotography.com/p419390395/h185b2533#h16ba2074
I look like mess, and am laughing at myself in the last shot.
Later I would again pass someone on the barrier, apparently having not learned my lesson from earlier. I admit I do not remember this one at all, so it may have been before Doug:
http://www.sergiogphotography.com/p419390395/hD656DAA#hd656daa
Probably a little more in control here.
So after a lap or 2 I pretty much settled in my groove, sitting at 13.2 for the whole race. Not super fast but Pearl told me the course was way faster later, as everything dried out. Some of the turns were slick so you had to pay attention. He said as the day went on it got dry then almost dusty dry by the end. I held my spot, more or less passing Mancuso & 26er on the course at the same time every lap. In the end, I ended up in 16th, something like 30 seconds off those 2 and about a minute off 10th place.
I also ran up the steps faster than someone one lap. I think I am a quick study at running (not jogging, just the short/fast stuff) and I think just having done some races this year has helped me a little at this stage. I also realize after this race that if I want to be better than 10-16, and to be sure I do, I'm going to need to embrace running on some limited basis. I will get to that more in the future.
I feel like things are coming together well. The 10th place guy is someone I used to battle with 2 years ago so I'm not too far off where I want to be. The bad start hurts, and my lack of prep with the barriers was a mistake I can't make if I want to start erasing those gaps. And of course, losing 15 pounds can only help. But that's the battle cry of my life, and I understand I'm a broken record in that regard.
If I can do those things I'll be in a much better place in future races. I'm fairly happy with the race, even though some of the mistakes were dumb. I also had much lower power than any other race this year and my microburst count from the power data was way, way low for this one. It may have been the course (what JP thinks) or it may have been the early time of day. Given than I probably finished where I should have, it's probably both but maybe more the course.
The Internet said I was going to be 15/29 but that did not account for Frank O'Reilly nor Ben Williams. So while I did not technically beat the internet, I think reality would have made me 17th had those 2 been counted. In the end I'm ok with 16th but I want 10th. And of course if I get 10th I'll want 9th, and so on.
Just keep hammering, it will all work itself out over time.
Me & the big man:
http://www.sergiogphotography.com/p419390395/e38e8efbd
Sorry no embedded pics. Just the way it is with this site.
I have packed everything on the car, so all I need to do is get up and go. My bibs are on the floor, bike socks, and short & tshirt. I'm downstairs and I make something to eat & drink and take a few minutes to consider how this all feels. It feels horrible. It's hard to believe I used to do this every day, day after day, week after week. I know it's just a matter of my body getting used to it. But right now, I am not used to it. I feel like absolute & total crap.
Breakfast was Captain Crunch.
The drive up is uneventful and not noteworthy, other than to say it is dark out for most of the ride. At some point Steve Mancuso & I are on the highway together, and he eventually just follows me to the race. I say to myself I'll be happy if the race goes the same way. But I suspect I know better.
I ride the pit bike for a lap and marvel at how clean it shifts. The main bike is gummed up, something I see now that I'm riding this bike around. I consider doing the race on this bike but I don't have power on it and I want power, because that's just the way it is and I have no real other reason that to say that I probably take this too seriously at times and far too unseriously at other times. It makes no sense, I admit.
The course is bumpy, and technical, but mostly unchanged from years past. If you've done it before you get the general idea of the course. It's a good course, solid cx soul I think. I don't like that it's more bumpy than usual but we all have to ride it, so it is what it is.
I line up in the last row and basically I'm almost last around the first turn. In the MAC races I've been using the up-the-gut start technique as opposed to the wingman-flyer dive, and it's worked for me. No such luck today, as the middle packs in and I have nowhere to go. People are in the tape, the pack comes to an almost standstill. It's slow, and messy, and not a MAC 35+ race.
That is even more apparent after the next 6-8 turns. People are gummed up, seemingly this race is attracting a fair amount of beginners. Probably this has to do with the fact that it's so early in the morning and you can have the rest of the day if you just do a quick in & out on the 8:30 race. Normally I don't care but like I said, my start is bad. So I am sitting in DFL+2 here, and suffering through all of this.
I will also say that as much as I used to train at this time of day, this is brutally hard to start. It's not even like it hurts that much. It's like when you start a small engine & hit the gas and there's just nothing there, the motor sputters and nothing much happens. That was me. I don't have the ability to push this morning. I also know that my starts are black & white, some days bad some days just ok. Today is bad-bad, and I find myself looking from the top up as the race unfolds before me. I'm sure the guys in front have a minute on my after just 2 minutes into the race.
I had lined up in the 5th row and there were a few behind, so in theory we started with 32 or 33 I think. I'm sure I'm 30th at this point.
As we get to the stairs I start to figure myself out, and find a groove. From here on I start to slowly pass people. Nothing incredibly but 1 here, 1 there. There were a few people of note that I will not name but who clearly need to either spend some QT in the Cs or Ds, or just ease up on the start and let the race develop. We're talking rank beginner types in some of these sections but I only have myself to blame for the shitty start. Well that and the call-ups, of which I did not get 1.
As a note, I was actually 4th row but gave my spot to 26er because he missed his call-up.
I pass a few people I know, then Sean T, Myles, Doug, Big Sean. Big Sean apparently flatted or something but I was closing in on that crew of riders before that. I was moving slowly towards him then suddenly started moving rapidly up. He just pulled over and let me go, and I later heard Joe Sailing say that he was in the pit.
I should also note that I was very sloppy on the barriers today, in particular the 2nd set. I should have paid more attention on the pre-ride as the race proved to be a mess for me after the second barrier. I wish I had thought about it more because it cost me a lot of time, once almost coming to a total standstill ass I fought to clip in on the uphill bumps and could not. I need to pay more attention to the course like EO does. This barrier likely cost me 30 seconds in the race in total, at least?
My pass on Doug Spitz was comical. I came up on him on the left side coming into the barriers. I told him and he moved over. Then I did a yardsale, hit the deck, the bike went flying, and that went to hell fast. I got up, yelled to the stunned looking officials there that this was not the proper technique, and took off running. The official yelled at me to go get his wheel and literally in 50 feet I was on Doug and he left me pass with little fanfare. What a waste of time & effort.
You can see the progression here, See us in the back and walk through these:
http://www.sergiogphotography.com/p419390395/h185b2533#h16ba2074
I look like mess, and am laughing at myself in the last shot.
Later I would again pass someone on the barrier, apparently having not learned my lesson from earlier. I admit I do not remember this one at all, so it may have been before Doug:
http://www.sergiogphotography.com/p419390395/hD656DAA#hd656daa
Probably a little more in control here.
So after a lap or 2 I pretty much settled in my groove, sitting at 13.2 for the whole race. Not super fast but Pearl told me the course was way faster later, as everything dried out. Some of the turns were slick so you had to pay attention. He said as the day went on it got dry then almost dusty dry by the end. I held my spot, more or less passing Mancuso & 26er on the course at the same time every lap. In the end, I ended up in 16th, something like 30 seconds off those 2 and about a minute off 10th place.
I also ran up the steps faster than someone one lap. I think I am a quick study at running (not jogging, just the short/fast stuff) and I think just having done some races this year has helped me a little at this stage. I also realize after this race that if I want to be better than 10-16, and to be sure I do, I'm going to need to embrace running on some limited basis. I will get to that more in the future.
I feel like things are coming together well. The 10th place guy is someone I used to battle with 2 years ago so I'm not too far off where I want to be. The bad start hurts, and my lack of prep with the barriers was a mistake I can't make if I want to start erasing those gaps. And of course, losing 15 pounds can only help. But that's the battle cry of my life, and I understand I'm a broken record in that regard.
If I can do those things I'll be in a much better place in future races. I'm fairly happy with the race, even though some of the mistakes were dumb. I also had much lower power than any other race this year and my microburst count from the power data was way, way low for this one. It may have been the course (what JP thinks) or it may have been the early time of day. Given than I probably finished where I should have, it's probably both but maybe more the course.
The Internet said I was going to be 15/29 but that did not account for Frank O'Reilly nor Ben Williams. So while I did not technically beat the internet, I think reality would have made me 17th had those 2 been counted. In the end I'm ok with 16th but I want 10th. And of course if I get 10th I'll want 9th, and so on.
Just keep hammering, it will all work itself out over time.
Me & the big man:
http://www.sergiogphotography.com/p419390395/e38e8efbd
Sorry no embedded pics. Just the way it is with this site.
ChrisG
Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
That guy gets some good shots. His photos also give an opportunity to really look at a variety of postures, facial expressions, bike orientation, etc. as riders pass through the same corner/obstacle/etc.
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
i must say its funny how avg speed really changes to the later races. on a muddy course yeah, it will dry our or get muddier, but on a dewy morning, you had grass stuck to your bike, while once again, i had dust all over the front of my legs.
I wonder what Roger averaged?
I wonder what Roger averaged?
Delish
Well-Known Member
Sounds like forward progress. You'll be hitting your stride by Novembeer.
I figure around 14.5 mph. Our first lap was 14.3 and I don't think he slowed down after that.
I figure around 14.5 mph. Our first lap was 14.3 and I don't think he slowed down after that.
If you squint a little (or use something with a smaller screen) the watermark in picture 36 gives you the most bitchin' Fu-Manchu in the awesomeverse.
Yes I did log in at 11:40 to say that. Couldn't sleep.
Yes I did log in at 11:40 to say that. Couldn't sleep.
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The Heckler
You bring new meaning to the term SUCK
Keep on the watts Norm!
I have to now state 2 things that make absolutely no sense at all.
1. I ran a 5k this past weekend with Julia (well D & Zac did it too but I actually stayed with J the whole time)
2. We got a podium for 3rd overall daddy-daughter team
Man this pic is miniscule:
This is something D wanted to do and Zac is always up for this stuff, then J was up for it too. During the run she didn't really have much fun but I think she was happy that 1 of her friends from school quit and she didn't. And the medal had to help too but at the end of the day she asked if she had to do it again next year. I'm hoping a year makes her forget how much she didn't like it.
In the afternoon we went for a 5k bike ride to tie up the daily double. She much prefers biking but as far as athletics go she is more like her mother than her father right now. She tires easily and maybe isn't the toughest cookie in the world. But she did go out riding with me after the run which surprised me. She only needed to stop twice this time. She had complained about her hands before and I let her wear D's gloves which seemed to do the trick.
D's parents were in town Wed-Sun morning, so we ate too well and drank too well. D's dad enjoys having drinks when we're together. It's pretty much the only time he drinks as far as I know. So it's hard for me to say no, I'm not going to have a beer or a glass of wine when he's here. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
Sadness
Last week I started with 2 favorite kits and lost 1 at Charm City. Then at Westwood I ripped the zipper tab right off the other one. So I now have 0 favorite kits. It still works but they're both wounded. I wore the SV kit last night and aside from the weird cut, it actually felt ok. But yet another teammate had one of their kits fall apart on them. I'm afraid to use it in a race lest the stitching blow out all over and expose the world to something it should not rightly see.
Progress
I don't think I'll hit my stride in November. I think it will take the fall, a dedicated winter, and a fresh start in spring to really hit my stride. I can address details, and I will. And make no mistake I fully plan to ride it out through mid-November and race when I can. But I also know that I will not hit that ideal weight in 2014 and as such, that sort of precludes my stride hitting.
I know, I know, my 2014 stride. Sure, the aim is to be in some best form in November. Hopefully that happens in some form. I really do want to drive this cross season out as long as it can go.
Equipment & Bikes
The Evo is built. It took a while because I wanted to be as careful as I could. The BB was the toughest part because I didn't have the tool. I took it to the picnic and Utah got it out of the old frame without breaking it. I was able to press it in and put the bike together the next day. I was able to port all the housing & cables to the new frame and not have to re-wrap the bars or replace any of the cables. Solid conversion.
The clicking in the main cx bike is likely the chainring bolts. I started to tighten them and 1 broke off while the other just kept spinning. Turns out the nut was cracked on that one. So I decided to replace them all and of course, did not have any. So I ordered them, and opted to get red ones just because. You know, it matches the bike.
So I rode the Evo 55 miles last night. The previous frame lasted 79 miles. So far, so good. I retired Magic Bike in Strava with something like 26k miles on it. That is a really rough approximation but it's close enough. Hopefully this one is closer to 26k than 79.
I didn't know what to name it so I called it Bob Glick. I can't keep that though.
Fu Manchu & Assorted Other Crap
Ok that made me laugh a little.
We're getting a septic put in. Talk about an over-engineered shit hole. Literally.
I'm getting a flu shot today.
Training and So On
I have been somewhat loosely following the cross training plan but not really keeping up with it in here so much. Yesterday I was supposed to do like 8 race+ efforts of 5 minutes each on grass but I rode the new road build to the B ride then did the B ride instead. My Quarq does not work because the magnet disappeared in Canada during the hitchhike back to the cottage. So yesterday I just rode my bike.
I also now freely admit that I need to take running seriously. I think there are 3 parts to this:
1. You know, doing the 5k with Julia wasn't so bad. I may have just built up such a negative opinion on running that I wanted no part of it.
2. In the past, before biking, I tried to use running as a way to exercise every day. I hated this, because it made running a chore. I like biking and it happens to be exercise. So fun leads to fitness. Running was a thing to do as exercise, which made it much harder to like. Keeping it down to 20-30 minutes at a time will hopefully make my perspective on it change.
3. I also realize that if I want to be competitive in cross I'm going to need more all-around fitness, most specifically in terms of my ability to get off the bike and run. I'm fairly agile, especially for being my size. So I don't think this will be too hard. Some have suggested trail running and I'm open to that. Maybe try that at CR from time to time but I think adding driving time to it will make it much less likely.
So there it is. I'm not going to say that I'll ever do a half marathon or run 10 hours a week. But I hope I can come to a healthy relationship with it. We went and bought some running shoes on Monday, which will surely help the aches and pains from the small foray on Saturday. I did go for a run Monday, on my absurdly old sneakers, and things hurt for sure.
As for biking, today I'm supposed to do microbursts but I don't know if I feel like it. I may just go ride my bike again and play it by ear. Still kinda tired from yesterday.
1. I ran a 5k this past weekend with Julia (well D & Zac did it too but I actually stayed with J the whole time)
2. We got a podium for 3rd overall daddy-daughter team
Man this pic is miniscule:
This is something D wanted to do and Zac is always up for this stuff, then J was up for it too. During the run she didn't really have much fun but I think she was happy that 1 of her friends from school quit and she didn't. And the medal had to help too but at the end of the day she asked if she had to do it again next year. I'm hoping a year makes her forget how much she didn't like it.
In the afternoon we went for a 5k bike ride to tie up the daily double. She much prefers biking but as far as athletics go she is more like her mother than her father right now. She tires easily and maybe isn't the toughest cookie in the world. But she did go out riding with me after the run which surprised me. She only needed to stop twice this time. She had complained about her hands before and I let her wear D's gloves which seemed to do the trick.
D's parents were in town Wed-Sun morning, so we ate too well and drank too well. D's dad enjoys having drinks when we're together. It's pretty much the only time he drinks as far as I know. So it's hard for me to say no, I'm not going to have a beer or a glass of wine when he's here. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
Sadness
Last week I started with 2 favorite kits and lost 1 at Charm City. Then at Westwood I ripped the zipper tab right off the other one. So I now have 0 favorite kits. It still works but they're both wounded. I wore the SV kit last night and aside from the weird cut, it actually felt ok. But yet another teammate had one of their kits fall apart on them. I'm afraid to use it in a race lest the stitching blow out all over and expose the world to something it should not rightly see.
Progress
I don't think I'll hit my stride in November. I think it will take the fall, a dedicated winter, and a fresh start in spring to really hit my stride. I can address details, and I will. And make no mistake I fully plan to ride it out through mid-November and race when I can. But I also know that I will not hit that ideal weight in 2014 and as such, that sort of precludes my stride hitting.
I know, I know, my 2014 stride. Sure, the aim is to be in some best form in November. Hopefully that happens in some form. I really do want to drive this cross season out as long as it can go.
Equipment & Bikes
The Evo is built. It took a while because I wanted to be as careful as I could. The BB was the toughest part because I didn't have the tool. I took it to the picnic and Utah got it out of the old frame without breaking it. I was able to press it in and put the bike together the next day. I was able to port all the housing & cables to the new frame and not have to re-wrap the bars or replace any of the cables. Solid conversion.
The clicking in the main cx bike is likely the chainring bolts. I started to tighten them and 1 broke off while the other just kept spinning. Turns out the nut was cracked on that one. So I decided to replace them all and of course, did not have any. So I ordered them, and opted to get red ones just because. You know, it matches the bike.
So I rode the Evo 55 miles last night. The previous frame lasted 79 miles. So far, so good. I retired Magic Bike in Strava with something like 26k miles on it. That is a really rough approximation but it's close enough. Hopefully this one is closer to 26k than 79.
I didn't know what to name it so I called it Bob Glick. I can't keep that though.
Fu Manchu & Assorted Other Crap
Ok that made me laugh a little.
We're getting a septic put in. Talk about an over-engineered shit hole. Literally.
I'm getting a flu shot today.
Training and So On
I have been somewhat loosely following the cross training plan but not really keeping up with it in here so much. Yesterday I was supposed to do like 8 race+ efforts of 5 minutes each on grass but I rode the new road build to the B ride then did the B ride instead. My Quarq does not work because the magnet disappeared in Canada during the hitchhike back to the cottage. So yesterday I just rode my bike.
I also now freely admit that I need to take running seriously. I think there are 3 parts to this:
1. You know, doing the 5k with Julia wasn't so bad. I may have just built up such a negative opinion on running that I wanted no part of it.
2. In the past, before biking, I tried to use running as a way to exercise every day. I hated this, because it made running a chore. I like biking and it happens to be exercise. So fun leads to fitness. Running was a thing to do as exercise, which made it much harder to like. Keeping it down to 20-30 minutes at a time will hopefully make my perspective on it change.
3. I also realize that if I want to be competitive in cross I'm going to need more all-around fitness, most specifically in terms of my ability to get off the bike and run. I'm fairly agile, especially for being my size. So I don't think this will be too hard. Some have suggested trail running and I'm open to that. Maybe try that at CR from time to time but I think adding driving time to it will make it much less likely.
So there it is. I'm not going to say that I'll ever do a half marathon or run 10 hours a week. But I hope I can come to a healthy relationship with it. We went and bought some running shoes on Monday, which will surely help the aches and pains from the small foray on Saturday. I did go for a run Monday, on my absurdly old sneakers, and things hurt for sure.
As for biking, today I'm supposed to do microbursts but I don't know if I feel like it. I may just go ride my bike again and play it by ear. Still kinda tired from yesterday.
running?? whoa.
do yourself a huge favor and transition to a mid foot strike as opposed to landing on your heels. it will take probably two weeks to really get used to but it should eliminate the knee/hip/back pain. your results may vary, but lets face it, you're not 130lb runner guy and, well, gravity.
do yourself a huge favor and transition to a mid foot strike as opposed to landing on your heels. it will take probably two weeks to really get used to but it should eliminate the knee/hip/back pain. your results may vary, but lets face it, you're not 130lb runner guy and, well, gravity.
Running with Julia was probably not bad for a variety of reasons, one of them being that you were running the speed that an 8? year old can run. This is kinda like the people in my office that I try to get to ride at lunch. Go 16mph and shits all good, peeps be saying, this ain't so hard, I can do this, i am stealing this mofos KOM's. Crank it up to the murderous pace of 17 and bitches be popping in like 2 miles and then never come to the ride again. Overweight, out of shape *******.
Anyways, since you aren't racing, that should be easily avoidable.
Anyways, since you aren't racing, that should be easily avoidable.
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
Man this pic is miniscule:
did you take a picture of your monitor, send it to the local newspaper, have them print and send it to you, and then take a picture of that photo?