1,000 words

In the next week or two, training for 2010 gets serious. Power numbers will be watched, attention to technique and form will be paid. It's the start of something new and fresh.

Despite turning the page, I can't help but keep the mess that was 2009 in the front of my mind. This photo, taken in Norfolk by Lucas Marshall in June, pretty much sums things up. (Full gallery from that race is here.)

For some reason, before hitting the road early Saturday morning with JP, I completely failed to check the weather forecast. It's June, it's Nebraska. There's a good chance it's going to be 80-something and sunny. Turns out it was 50-something and raining.

About halfway there, I realized I had no long-sleeved shirts and no pants in my travel bag -- only arm and knee warmers. The current temperature, according to the car's thermometer: 52. And still raining. Ouch.

It occurred to me more than once during the 60something-mile slog of a road race that if the weather was like this on Sunday, the crit was going to be a total sketch-fest. But despite that realization, I was still exited to race again. I was on semi-decent form for being in the middle of a training block, and I like the crit course a lot.

Plus, it was June in Nebraska. Surely it couldn't be 50-something and raining two days in a row. Right?

When we woke for breakfast on Sunday morning, not much had changed. Cold, dark, windy. And wet. But as the day went on, it started to dry out a bit. The course wasn't looking too bad until the heavens opened on the Cat. 5 race -- heavy rain and hail. The whole time I was in the car, stewing.

Less than two months after this crash and this terrifying (and dry) race, a wet course and a very fast peloton (it was a Cat. 1/2/3 race) was not really what I needed.

I did my warmup, and when we lined up, I was ready to go -- physically, at least. Mentally, though, I checked out. I just wanted that thing over with.

And that's the real thought running through my mind in the picture above. It's not steely eyed focus or intense resolve. It's fear, pure and undistilled. (Though it's undoubtedly a damn fine photo.)

The moment captured there was me thinking about everything that came earlier in the season. Good form, a crash and the attempt at recovering mentally.

The result of this moment, this race, set up everything that came later in the season. Two weeks later, determined to regain what was missing, I left the house with the intention of working on cornering -- of salvaging a season.

I came home not with renewed confidence, but rather a broken back.

Now, here we are at the end of October. Still two months left in 2009, but only five months until the first races at the end of March. I hope I can push out the fear that made this photo possible. I hope there's a photo fueled by courage instead.

Now, I wait

After spending a good deal of the past two weeks on a Madone, I'm a little worked up to get my hands on mine. However, because of the custom paint, it's going to be a while. Like five more weeks.

Right now the ETA is December 3, which coincides with the rest week of Base 1 training. Probably a good time to get a bike built, really. Generally, though, Trek is a little snappier on getting Project Ones out the door than the ETA suggests. So let's hope for something like, oh, next week.

Other bikes: The Bianchi is settling into life as the everyday bike again. The crank is going to get swapped out here in the next week or two. The TT bike will be getting the Ultegra crank that was on the Felt. The Bianchi gets its old crank with new rings.

And the TT bike's bits should be on the way within the next day or so.

After that, it's just the waiting game for the Madone. Life could be worse.

1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4

We're doing inventory at the shop today. Yeah ... I'm not going to be on the internets much. Let's meet back here tomorrow instead, yeah?

Yeah.

A basic request

I don't consider myself an activist. I don't attend rallies or write my congressman. I vote, though ... well, most of the time.

Anyway, I'm not a crusader. But I do feel passionately about things. One of those is not getting killed while riding my bike. Moreover, I'm fairly passionate about not getting buzzed, flipped off, yelled at or otherwise harassed by passing motorists.

A lot of that passion stems from the inability of far too many drivers to recognize me not as a person -- with a wife, son, family and friends -- but as an obstacle; something to impede progress.

My main point of contention is this: If an old lady in a 10-year-old Corolla was doing 20 mph on a curvy road, you'd still wait to pass, right? And you'd get into the other lane, right? Right. You know, because it's not safe otherwise.

So if that's the case, why would you come up on my hip, barely get one wheel over the yellow line and then swerve around my front wheel? Is it because I'm not in a Corolla? Is it because you think I'm in the way, or that I shouldn't be there?

I follow the rules of the road. I ride like I'm a car. I wait at stoplights, I stop at stop signs. I'm the guy on group rides chewing on people's asses for not stopping, or for riding out in front of people. I believe that if you show respect, you get respect.

So ... drivers. Please think of me as a car, following the rules. Yes, I'm moving a little slower than you'd like, but waiting 10 seconds won't hurt you. Failure to wait, however, could hurt me.

I'm a person. Please treat me like one.

For the sake of discussion

Since today is an easy/off day in the training plan -- one has to ease into this stuff, you know -- it's time to talk about bike parts again. I have a TT bike now, and with training underway, it needs to be ridden.

Unfortunately, it also needs to be completed.

The plan is to ride the TT bike probably twice a week for at least a portion of the longer rides to start, and then use it exclusively for longer intervals. If you remember the disastrous TT I had in June (if you don't remember, it's here), you remember I spent approximately 30 minutes on the TT setup before the race. Pretty bright on my part, I know.

We're going to nip that problem in the bud this time around. It's going to take about $150 to get the bike ready to roll -- I'm using the SRAM Force derailleurs and the Ultegra crank/brakes from my Felt. So what's left?



Shifters. I need shifters. I'm going to order some SRAM TT900 shifters and brake levers next week and get stuff going. Ideally, I'd pick up another pair of pedals so I don't have to swap a ton of stuff back and forth, but I think I'll probably just make do for now. It's not a big deal.

By the way, after a few days of actual, focused riding (as in paying attention to things like HR, cadence, etc.) I'm feeling pretty solid. Still very, very early, of course, but it's nice to get back into the groove.

Plus, I'm already losing weight. Down to 158 this morning. I won't complain about that.

Decoding the past

Day three of trying to be a bike racer again: S2.

What the hell is that?

Earlier this year, I knew all of the workouts in the Cyclist's Training Bible by code. I knew what was coming and could plan a week pretty quickly.

But now, when I take a peek at what's in store for today ... I have no idea. I had to look S2 up. Turns out it's one-legged drills on the trainer. Noted. So that's coming up a bit later.

Yesterday's ride went OK, but I made a rather unsavory discovery. The pain I felt in my legs on Sunday wasn't from poor fit so much as a rather large problem with fitness. As in, I have none.

I'm pretty psyched about that, as you can imagine.

But it's October, and there's plenty of time to right the ship. And even though it hurts a bit, I'm happy to be training again. All is returning to normal.

The first real training challenge

Day three of the plan, and already it's time to wage a mental battle.

It's wet outside. And kind of dark. But the radar is clear for now. It'll just be road spray. But it's going to be wet. And possibly chilly.

But I need to get a couple of hours in. So it's time to run errands, suck it up and get on with it. And to the very new demo Madone frame in the garage, I apologize in advance.

No bike pictures today

Today isn't a bike day. It's a run day.

As we took a breather on Sunday's ride, the Big Puma mentioned to Mike he'd be starting the 2010 training plan this week. I didn't say anything, mostly because I was furiously doing complex math in my head (if goal race no. 1 = A and today's date = B, then C ... hey, is that a shiny thing?).

And guess what? My training plan starts this week, too. Whoops. Wasn't really expecting that one. Of course, I haven't been paying attention at all. Since the state road race, I've just been running and riding as I see fit. And it's worked out so far.

But really, there needs to be some focus. I have a lot of work to do.

Yesterday was stretching and core work. Despite a pretty serious injury, I still have pretty good core strength. What I don't have, however, is range of motion. I can bend over and get low on the bike, but I can't bend backward at all. Not even a little. In order to maintain good balance, that has to change.

Also, because of the two months of inactivity this summer, my hamstrings and calves are pretty tight. I'm having plantar fascia problems again because the tightness goes down through my Achilles' tendon and heel. That has to change, too.

And then there's this: I'm just not very fast on the bike right now. Not even a little bit. So today's a run, tomorrow is 2-3 hours on the bike and thursday is probably an hour on the rollers with some stretching/core work.

It does seem early, but I won't complain. I like training. And 2010 isn't that far off.

A shot in the arm

I'm pretty sure I don't need to go down the list again, but I'll do it anyway. The past few months have gone like this:

Crash (broken finger)
Canned
Start working at the Trek Store
Crash (blood, pain, newfound fear of everything)
Crash (only scrapes this time)
Crash (broken back)
Race (last place, but so very happy to be out there)

And in between all of that has been everyday life. Jack had a little surgical procedure and later turned 2, we've dealt with issues large and small, I've had good and bad months as a freelance writer ... pretty standard stuff.

But since I broke my back -- perhaps it was the crash that broke bad luck's back -- life has been good. I'm writing a lot, Jack is healthy, we managed to get Chris a new car. That's not to say things are trouble-free, but we're doing OK.

Starting in a few months, things will take another turn. I'm going to be the manager of the Trek Store. I am, needless to say, excited. It's the culmination of months of hard work at the store, both by me and the rest of the team.

This is surely the biggest change of all, but there are a few others in the pipeline. Bikes are going to get shuffled a bit, too. Since shedding the Felt (possibly cursed), I've been on the Bianchi pretty much the whole time. (The Trek TT bike is merely roughed out -- wheels, bars and little else.)

For the most part, that's fine. I mean, it's not like there are any races in the next six months. It's just riding and training. Really, a heavy bike like the Bianchi is a good thing. So I'll probably continue to ride the Bianchi, at least for outside workouts like hills. For longer intervals it'll be the TT bike (hopefully soon).

For everything else, it'll be this:

No matter how many times I mess with the Project One builder, I keep coming back to this one. It's a 5 Series Madone with 2010 SRAM Force and Bontrager Aeolus 5.0 ACC wheels. Oh, and custom P1 paint. I've changed the colors about half-dozen times, I think, but this is the winner.

The wheels will see double-duty on the TT bike for races. And I imagine they'll be called into action for road races now and again. I still have my preferred Dura-Ace wheels for crits, even though I've sworn I won't do crits. Truthfully, they're hard to resist. Even when I was scared, I loved being on my bike.

The button should get pushed on this thing somewhat soon, so it should be here not too long afterward. I do know it's going to take longer because of the paint. I'm cool with it -- I'm in no hurry.

Along with the new bike will be a new team. After three years with Team Kaos, I'm moving on. Because of my expanding role at work, it's not appropriate to be riding for a team sponsored by a different shop. That was kind of a bummer at first, since I got my start in racing with Kaos, and at Bike Masters. But it's not like I won't be friends with everybody anymore. It's not personal.

Instead, I'll be riding for Midwest Wheelmasters (aka Lincoln Plating to some), which is sponsored by Highgear and Midwest Cycling -- my shop's parent company. I won't get to wear the sweet, sweet Kaos kit designed by Mike Miles (the guy who crashed in Norfolk with Sean)'s wife anymore, though. That's also a bummer. It was easily the class of the Nebraska peloton.

But, as a bonus, I won't have to buy new accessories to match another new kit: Wheelmasters is blue and orange, too. The argyle lives on.

And I think that's that. I'm fairly certain I'll have more entertaining bits here in the next couple of weeks, but this is the news for now.

While the boss is away

At your job, what do you do when the boss is out of town? Maybe go with jeans an extra day? Wander in a little bit late from a long lunch?

Me, I steal the boss' bike and ride it through the weekend. Mark's out of town; won't be back until Monday. By then, I'll have returned it and rebuilt it on a different frame (he has a new frame waiting at the shop), having spent the weekend on a sweet bike.

As for ride impressions, it feels not totally unlike my Felt. In terms of stiffness and snappiness, they're on par. But the Madone is very, very smooth. That's not to say the Felt was rough, but it wasn't as smooth as this.

So, that was fun. I think I'll ride it again tomorrow. And Sunday. Hey, speaking of Sunday ... weigh in here on the ride plans. Do it.

GamJams Reviews: Training logs

Along with making the commitment to begin with, keeping a training log is probably one of the more important aspects of structured training. It's one thing to write up a plan, but another entirely to do it and then record the results.

When I started building last season's plan, I knew I'd need a logbook of some sort. I checked out a few online and computer programs, but didn't try too hard. Most of them aren't free, and I was thinking more like free.

Thankfully, I ran in the annual Living History Farms cross country race near the end of November. For the race's 30-year anniversary, they handed out training logs in the packet. That'll do.

The spaces for each day include: time, distance and a few lines for notes. I used those lines for HR/power data, along with a brief description of the workout. That's pretty much all I need. Plus, it's a nice little spiral-bound notebook. And I'm in one of the pictures on the inside cover.

Ideally, yes, this would all be on a computer. Analysis would go a lot quicker and probably be presented in some sort of graph. And I love graphs.

But with all of the stuff swirling around here, that may have to wait until next offseason. Due to the rather abrupt halt to new data being recorded (oh, around June 18 or so), there's plenty of room in this logbook for another go-round.

Join the team: Hey, you. See that newsfeed jobber over there to the right? The Mid-Atlantic region one? If you join the GamJams ambassador network, we can have a Midwest region feed of our own. It updates whenever new posts are made and helps connect the racing community.

Email me if you're interested - or just click here. It's free, and there are indeed benefits to joining. I mentioned the coffee sponsorship, right?

For lack of better options

OK ... well, I really don't have much going on these days. I'm running a bit, riding a bit, working a lot. That's kind of how things go here.

But here's something -- a poor picture of that TT bike I received in return for the Felt frame. It has parts on it now. Depending upon a few little details that need to be ironed out, I could have it ready to go soon. I just need shifters and brake levers. The crank and brakes from the Felt will be added as well. It'll be SRAM-equipped, by the way. TT900 shifters and brakes to go with Force derailleurs.

The plan for the 2010 training ... plan ... is long intervals on the TT bike. So those 12-minute, HR zone 4 intervals will be done on this beast. That makes the transition to actually TT races easier, since I'll have been on this bike 2-3 times a week all winter.

And for the other workouts ... well, I'm still getting that figured out. For the time being, the Bianchi is filling in admirably. It'll likely remain the bike of choice for hill workouts, though. I'll be beastly after riding that thing all winter.

Blast from the distant past

Years ago - four years ago, actually - was the last time I was a really, really fast runner. I knew I could show up to a local 5K/10K race and probably finish in the top five. That was a nice feeling.

And then the cycling thing came along. And I was pretty good at that, too.

And then the breaking of vertebrae came along. And I was pretty sure that was the end of anything fast. For a while, it was.

But today, for whatever reason, I ran really fast. My back was loose from the beginning, my legs light. And I ran really, really fast.

Of course, I may pay for this later today. But in the meantime, I'm going to bask in the glow.

I'm getting better. I'm not going to be slow forever.

This is my kid

A lot of you probably know this already, but guys who work at bike shops get good deals on things. Sometimes they get free things. I'm fairly certain we're not the only ones -- it's just a benefit at working at a particular place.

The picture of Jack above appears to be one of a kid enjoying the first snowfall of the year. But look at the hat logo. It's no ordinary hat logo. It's a hat promoting Shimano's electronic shifting system, Di2.

And he loves it.

I put it on him the other day just because it was a bit chilly outside. Turns out, because of the size of his melon (very large), it fits pretty well. Look for him in a pair of Bontrager bib shorts soon.

I dream of hot food

Imagine a place where you never burn your mouth on hot food. There are no little blisters on your tongue from digging in just a few minutes too soon.

That place is our house.

When I moved back to non-normal person hours in March (meaning completely random work hours), we had to readjust the schedule a bit. That meant I was home only one or two nights a week for supper rather than every night.

Along the way, Jack keeps getting older and older. And while you'd think that means he's getting better and better at the daily routine around suppertime, that's pretty far from the case.

Seriously, it takes the kid 10 minutes to hit the potty, get dressed and get his ass into the chair. Total distance traveled is something like 50 feet. Maybe.

And yet, when I was waiting in the kitchen earlier this week, pork chops cooling rapidly, I was reminded just how far that is for a 2-year-old.

When he came running into the kitchen a few minutes later, jabbering about trucks or bugs or Dora the Explorer, I forgot about the cold food. He's a happy little kid. Hard to argue with that.

But at some point in the next, say, 15 years, I'd really, really like to have to blow on my food before I eat it. I think it could be considered a sign of progress.

GamJams Review: Bontrager thermal hat

When I started riding through the winter a couple of years ago, I relied pretty heavily on my collection of running apparel. All of the base layers -- and even the gloves -- were designed for running.

Up until last year, I used a running hat under my helmet, too. Upside -- it kept me warm. Downside -- it had too much fabric, so I had to bunch it all up behind my head. And it was uncomfortable.

At some point, I borrowed an old Nike thermal hat from Sean. And it was good. But then he asked for it back and I was set adrift. Finally, I found its replacement last year: here.

One of the big problems I've had with skullcaps and the like is the lack of tightness around the ears (looking at you, Sugoi). It has to stay tight, or your ears freeze. And the Bontrager hat does that.

In terms of warmth, it doesn't feel like much in your hands. But I've worn it down into the upper teens and not died. Ideally, that'd be balaclava weather, but I didn't have one then.

One of the more interesting features is the bill -- it's foam. Rather than a plastic bill that can break (a problem with the Nike version), this thing flexes all over the place. That means it really doesn't stay in the "up" position very well, which is OK, because you shouldn't be riding around with your hat like that anyway.

The only downside I've seen so far is that some of the seams are a little too thick. It hasn't turned into a headache (literally) for me yet, but I can see how it might.

Give him a minute, he's eating

Chris had this on her blog a few weeks ago, but considering I have nothing exciting to say, it's probably good entertainment for today. Jack knows things - like songs. Well, parts of songs. Conveniently, he sings only the parts he likes. A guy can get a lot more singing done if he only sings part of each song.

So here it is. Enjoy.

Back on the bike

The best part about taking time away from the bike, or switching to running for a month or so, is that every time you do get on the bike, it's awesome. Maybe not fast, but fun. It really reminds you of how much you like the bike.

Yesterday was the annual fall century ride at Bike Masters. This one was in honor of Seth Embrey, Bike Masters' employee No. 1, who died in April of brain cancer. The turnout was huge, especially considering the temperature at the start - 35 degrees.

I didn't do the whole century - no time, no desire - but I did get a good 60-some miles in with the Big Puma. Other than admiring his new Oakley Jawbone sunglasses (must ... get), we had a nice ride/chat. I imagine his ride was a lot more enjoyable than mine, mostly because I was working hard to hold his easy pace.

Those kinds of rides make me want to skip this whole transition bit and get back at it. Long miles, steady stuff, then that long grind through winter. I'll wait as long as possible, though.

But really, I'm ready to go right now.

Slowly

I ran three miles the other day, and I gotta say, I didn't hurt.

Well, not much. It's weird. The first mile is agonizing. My back is tight, I have no spring in my step. I look like an injured guy.

But once I get going a bit, I loosen up. I feel good. My stride gets smoother, my upper body more relaxed.

There are long stretches - maybe 5 or 10 minutes, even - where I don't think about my back at all. I'm just running. Even on the bike, the back stays locked in the back of my mind. Mostly because when I'm really drilling it, it hurts like hell.

But on the trail the other day, it was nothing but steady, focused running. It was almost normal.

Of course, when I tried to stretch afterward, I reverted to old-man form. I about killed myself trying to stretch my hamstrings. And it hurt a little the next morning.

But each time the pain goes away sooner. And while I'm pretty sure recovery - full recovery - is still months and months away, at least it's getting closer every day.