A Different Kind of Performance!

Its been a while since a post, but I have been busy! Training has been good, and I have some good races in September coming up. The big performance this month was musical, but I still kind of treat is as athletics. In what feels like a former life, high school and college; I was a musician. My Mom was a Peabody Conservatory piano major and teacher, and she started me playing piano so young I don't remember learning... I have always known how to play. In high school I took up electric guitar to play with some friends and didn't look back. When it came time for college I got into Peabody Conservatory, Berklee College of Music, and some other schools. I didn't know back then that I could have done anything I wanted in college or I would have followed those dreams. I did major in music for a while at Towson, but soon after I lost the drive after most of my friends either stopped, or moved away. I approached the guitar in the same way as a bicycle; I practiced for hours a day working on my speed and technical skills, as well as just playing anything I could learn to get better. After a while I just started doing other things and didn't play for years...
Which brings me to a few months ago when my oldest friend and guitar student called and needed a guitarist for his band which had a show at the Recher Theatre in Towson, MD on August 23rd, 2008. I hadn't played seriously in about 15 years so this was a big undertaking. Luckily it was all original material, and I would just have to write my parts and play lead. I would have loved this 20 years ago, but now it was going to be tough to get enough time away from training for IM to practice! After a few weeks of playing and a few practices things got a little easier, but I have a long way to go to get back to being comfortable. As it all turned out the last 2 weeks getting ready were very good, and we put on a pretty good show. The big problem was our sound; I couldn't hear myself play, and evidently most of the show my "clean" tone wasn't heard much at all. It was a good experience though and we are actually playing again in October at the Recher. I will keep you posted! Coming up next week is the Diamondman 1/2 in Delaware so i hope to have a good race report and some pics. Until then enjoy the holiday weekend and keep riding!

40K: The Perfect Torture Device

Saturday I decided to do the District 40K Time Trial Championships for a change and some good training. I had done the TT champs twice before, once in my first year of racing... 1993; and in 2005 where I flatted a tire. I usually just do this distance in Triathlon after a swim and have to leave some in reserve for a run so this was going to be fun... or so I thought. My goal was to break an hour for 40K which is something I have always wanted to do. It does require a good bike that is up to the task, and since I have a new TT bike for Ironman I was set. After a traffic filled drive to Cambridge, MD over the Bay Bridge, I finally was ready to give it a go. The time trial is an all out solo effort for 40K(24.8 miles) and pretty much the benchmark for TT effort. It is short enough to put in a very hard effort, and long enough to really do some damage to your engine! Riders are sent off in 30 second intervals, and drafting is not allowed at any time. As I rolled up to the start I was disappointed that 2 riders in front of me had not posted; that meant I had 90 seconds to the carrot to chase. On the other hand I had some serious competition starting 30 seconds and 1 minute behind me...
After the start I settled in to what I thought was a good pace. I was going about 29 mph with a slight tail wind and trying to stay smooth. Just as I was feeling good and warmed up... whoosh!!!... my 30 second man came blowing by. "He is going too hard too soon" I thought; "I will get back by him as soon as we turn into the wind" ... I let these thoughts into my head for about a minute... then went back to the effort... I didn't see him again! The tough thing about TT is that its very personal; you are racing yourself more than anything. Pacing is important because if you go too hard you can drop major amounts of time trying to recover. If you don't go hard enough it is often hard to raise the pace after a while and then the negative thoughts can enter. Luckily I had R.E.M's "It's The End of The World As We Know It" playing in my head and just tried to keep pushing. At the 20K mark I was feeling good, but it hurt! 28:12 for 20K... I am on pace for a sub hour! This is not the kind of effort I am used to because the terrain was all flat; I didn't get out of my aero position the entire race. One of the best parts of triathon is the great bike courses with turns, hills, and downhills. TT is just effort, pure and simple; there is no escaping it if you aren't feeling good. If you reach for a waterbottle that is 5 seconds off your time; you can't even look around if you have an aero helmet like I do or it becomes a parachute to slow you down. A little further down the road the mental games had begun... At about the 25K mark I was thinking about all the workouts I had skipped this year, and vowing to never miss another... at 30K I had decided to stop drinking beer.... 32K I won't eat ice cream or chocolate any more... 35K and I will do at least 3 hard workouts a week... after I lose 5 more pounds... and then I realize that I am almost done. I start thinking about how good it is going to feel to stop, and really pushing to bring that time closer! I am still riding into a headwind and decided that the rumor I heard about a tail wind at the finish was spread just to break my spirit. About 2 miles out, just when I was about to quit cycling all together I looked at the sticker on my stem... "The Duke" .... something happened. I looked at the speedo and it read 28.3... 29.4.... 30.1... 31.6.... 33.5... I was really moving! I was in my top gear and now just burying myself... but it didn't really hurt. Often in races I get thinking about my Dad and what he would have thought of my racing. He used to call me The Duke because of John Wayne, and the fact that he used to carry me around when I was little like a football. He was an amazing athlete before WWII sent him to the Far East, and went to the Olympic Trials for Wrestling. Usually when I get that feeling things get better. The tail wind took on a lot more meaning for me... As I crossed the finish line I stopped the clock at 56:23... I had broken the hour! After a little cool down ride to the car I did a short run and went and checked the results. I was 5th in the Pro 1/2 group, and averaged 26.4 which left me happy. Sometimes when things start to get really rough, if you just refuse to give in; you can get help from some of the greatest places!
Next up is Diamondman 1/2 Ironman in September so I had better get busy training! I am sure I will get involved in plenty of adventures before then so I will keep you posted...

Chillin' In The OOB... Choices...Choices...

Well there has been no racing for a while.... I went to Maine with Mary to Old Orchard Beach to visit her family and spend some much needed beach time in the sun. The highlights were the beach of course, a mini Portland pub crawl, and my first 1/2 marathon training run this summer. Downsides were coming back to work for 2 days of nothing to do, NO BIKE, and no motorcycle. It was amazing weather for any outdoor activity! I really did need a break and a good transition to IM training, and this was it. I don't know if I am really ready for the long days, I have been enjoying the intensity training and racing! I am sure I will get back into it though.
Its also time for some decisions. I have a MX race at a track I have never been to this Saturday that is conflicting with a TT I would like to do. I need to work on my position for the next 3 big Tri's, but I am currently locked in a lead battle for the MX series, and hold down 2nd in another class. Which do I do? Its funny when you begin the year you never see the conflicts that come up with being involved in a series or more than one series; but they always crop up. Then there is the remainder of the season to think about, and what would be best for the big season goals. So far I am leaning towards the TT and taking my chance at the MX series finals.... we will see.... That does bring up a good training/racing issue about priorities, because nobody likes to leave anything on the table and go into the unknown.
Sometimes you have to roll the dice and see where they land, even when you have a plan, a goal, and motivation. When I look back I am sure it will be easy to show what made the difference; for now I will just try to follow the action! I will have a report when the racing is done...