Journey Down A New Road

Week in Review!

2012-01-30T13:08:00.007-07:00

Going to try do a bit more like Jeff Kerkove, Jeff Paul do and update the blog with reviews of each training week!

This past week was great, the largest training week of the year so far, and it pushed my body to its 4 week limit! Had some great workouts in the pool, on the bike, and on the trails! Total weekly training hours was 16hours. Add 40 hours of work on to that, and it was a great week!

Weekly totals for mileage included: 5.6miles of swimming
112miles of riding
24.5miles of running
Total TSS for the week for the first time since using WKO+ was over 1000TSS!!!! (1013.7)

That last value amazes me, I would have never expected myself to run that much! It has been great, with so many great dirt trails around, elevation changes, etc to keep the mind moving! This new challenge of triathlon is great and I have some amazing training partners Cam Dye, Allen Gardner, Will Kelsay, Kristin Peterson, Mara Abbott, Flora Duffy. I am learning quite a bit and even experience Beau Jo's pizza last night with Will. Extremely good "Mountain Pie" pizza with a hilarious dude!

Finished off the week yesterday with a big ride with former Iowan Jeff Kerkove. He took me up and up yesterday, with almost 6000ft of climbing, all the way up Lefthand Canyon to Ward. Such a beautiful climb and area, look forward to that ride again! Here are some pictures from the day! Check out details here

Descending Left-hand Canyon from Ward
Fresh water spring in Ward!! Tasty Water!A little hidden secret in Boulder (Bow Mountain Road) Hard packed dirt road climb!

What motivates you?

2012-01-28T10:01:00.007-07:00

While switching my focus to a full triathlon schedule this season as well as doing quite a few road races, time management has been becoming a huge item on the docket since starting my full time job as an exercise physiologist/coach at FasCat Coaching. My week is full of early morning and lunch time workouts to get in all I need to. Luckily, This leaves my evenings very open, not that I am tearing up the town right now, I just go home and read and I am getting very caught up on episodes of The Office, Homeland, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men.

My typical Monday for example starts at 4:30am as I get up to go swim with Grant and the others at Rally Sport Fitness. My recent training weeks have been roughly 15 hours of training, with this week being the largest with a potential volume of 17ish. Splitting all three sport disciplines keeps the mind at ease and fully motivated!

When it comes to motivation, I have always had a self-doubts about myself. This probably stems from being younger and carrying a "bit of extra weight" as a young kid. Now, however, I get asked often if I am sick and need to eat more (thanks Grandma and Grandpa :)!!!). So I try and find many forms of motivation to keep my brain thinking positive thoughts about training and trying to be the best I can.

In swimming for example, I took 2 years off after Luther and now just getting back into 5k workouts in the pool, my strength and form are a bit off. Luckily, I have a great coach helping with my stroke and fitness. Running is also getting better and better everyday, with my largest run being 80minutes so far, no injuries or problems (knock on wood). Cycling is what it is, after having come to altitude, the power output drops by 20-30watts due to the 4500ft difference in altitude and lack of O2! So, positive thoughts are required constantly, and it is something I am really starting to become passionate about. I am currently reading Macca's"I'm Here to Win" which tells about his start and failure/success in triathlon.

Also, was searching around on professional cyclist Michael Barry's website and found this picture of the Sky training camp in Majorca. Another man of seemingly disturbed positive thinking and mental problems is none other than World Champion Mark Cavendish. Always described by the media as "overweight" and not good enough to be a true champion, he always finds a way to silence his critics. Maybe this is why? This print out on his top tube is a great inspiration.

So, as for right now, the motivation is there, and the long days seem short thanks to some good support in the area. Really excited to get started racing this year, even though the first race isn't til May with the Kansas City 5150.

As for a tentative 2012 "Big Race Schedule"

May: Kansas City 5150
June: Boulder Sprint Triathlon
July: Boulder 5150
August: Wisconsin Dells Rev 3 Olympic
August: Peregrine Charities Olympic
September: Hyvee 5150 Championships

And then mix in hopefully road racing in April-September and a full cross-season during the fall!

Enjoy your time in the pool or out on the open roads, it can be some of the best times of your life! Live life to the fullest and have no regrets!

Training Update

2012-01-22T17:20:00.004-07:00

Hey everyone!

Just a quick update on life here in Boulder. Not much of a social life yet....hope that picks up soon. Not real exciting sitting at home on Friday/Saturday nights doing nothing but reading and watching seasons of tv shows! Unfortunately, all of the friends in Colorado live 1hr + away and makes it a bit tougher to see. Gotta get Karl to stop doing his school work and hang out more!

Settling down nicely now, even though I move into a new place at the end of the month. Will be moving in with Erin Kummer and her boyfriend Bryce. She was an Xterra World Champ a few years ago and is now gung-ho on the cyclocross and moto-cross scene. Really cool people, had a chance to visit their condo and get to know them at a pizza joint (Proto's) the other evening, and very excited.

Speaking of good places to eat, Boulder is full of them!! Boom Yogurt Bar is absolutely awesome for recovery, offering about 90% locally made frozen yogurt, regular yogurt, Breeze Bars, fruits, and even some locally made chocolates. Another place I tried recently was the ModMarket. This place offers some amazing salads, sandwiches, and brick-oven pizza! Again, all made fresh and with a majority of locally made items! They also seem to have a great catering ability in the Boulder area, and so I would recommend this if you need a catered event!

Work is going well and we recently just completed the UC Boulder Cycling Team Camp this past weekend. Put in quite a few hours at FasCat Headquarters doing VO2max tests on the riders. Some very gifted riders on the team, and looking forward to coaching them to a national championship this year in Utah! Finished off the camp with a great ride today, where I climbed up 4 mile canyon for the first time.

In my own world, just finished up the largest volume and TSS week of the season! Swimming is getting better, but after 2 years out of the pool, it is taking a while to get the power and efficient stroke back (if I ever had one?). Cycling is what it is, off-season power is where it is, and looking forward to some interval training to ramp up that FTP. The aspect that is really impressing me is the running! The mileage this week was over 20miles, and it is by far the largest volume ever I have run. Ended off the week with a great 10mile run yesterday on the trails of Boulder Valley Ranch.

Check out details on Strava

First race of the year is the Kansas City 5150 race in May. An olympic distance of 1miles swim, 24mile bike and 10km(6.2mile run). It wont come soon enough in my book. Until then, it is full on training and in April, I will be doing quite a few of the road race in the area. Some cool spring classic type races with dirt roads/steep punchy climbs/ etc.

Need to get a camera to start taking some pictures of the amazing rides/scenery in the area. Until then.

Life, Training, Support!

2012-01-04T15:32:00.000-07:00

Cheesy title? Probably! But it is the truth, slowly but surely falling in love with the Boulder area!

Has been a great first few days here at FasCat as a coach and physiologist. I owe Frank a great deal of thanks for the opportunity to pursue my career dreams!

We are just starting out our indoor cycling program. A 12 week program designed for those athletes looking to increase their threshold and training fitness for the early races such as Boulder Roubaix, Tour of Gila, etc. Have been doing a few exercise tests as well! Using my edumacation to its fullest!

It has and will be an amazing experience working with Frank and the rest of the staff. Leading edge scientific knowledge/testing and coaching will allow for the best training programs to be made. As we all know, recovery is an important part of training and at FasCat we have the great opportunity to use Norma Tec SpaceLegs. I have yet to use these, but will be using them very soon as I have discovered the all knew feeling of fatigue in the legs undertaking 3 sport disciplines!

Also have been ramping up the training for the upcoming season! Swimming is starting to come back around as best as possible with the altitude difference. Should take 2-3 weeks to be acclimated and be ready to have a workout ceiling higher than 70%. Cycling is coming along as well, still feel as though I am riding with the brakes on however! The riding out here is unbelievable as everyone already knows. Even the shortest 1 hour rides are full of scenery and climbing. Running is a completely different enemy however! The mental side of running has passed, but the physical challenges remain! Working hard on my efficiency to gain the most speed I can for the lowest amount of effort. It will come around before too long! Plenty of people around who are helping me along the way! The hours and intensity are starting to pick up a bit.

For the upcoming season, I have the pleasure of landing some great sponsors to help fuel the training, racing, and lifestyle!

GU, Breeze Bars, and Mix1 are going to help fuel all the training and competitions. Very excited for Breeze Bars (made in Boulder by Coach Grant Holicky and his wife Breeze). Very tasty, delicious and healthy alternative to the very syrupy alternatives on the market now days! Mix1 is going to provide the great pre/post workout protein needed to help the muscles recover from 2-3 workouts a day!

Carroll Composites will be providing the race wheels that will carry my bike and I to some blazing bike splits during the races! Having never used carbon wheels before, it will be a great experience!

Looking forward to the next few months! Until next time! Keep pursuing your goals and dreams and train hard!
"Cry in the dojo. Laugh on the battlefield." -- Samurai Maxim

Christmas and Updates on Boulder!

2011-12-26T15:00:00.001-07:00

Had a great Christmas with family and friends this past week. Spent Wednesday/Thursday with my family in Cedar Rapids and then gathered with the Nicoll's on Thursday for lunch! Was great to see my family one last time before I leave for Colorado on the 30th. Going to miss everyone so much, especially Bethany, my parents, aunts/uncles, siblings, grandparents, and especially my niece Brooklyn! She is growing so fast!

Spent actual Christmas with the Nicoll family! Went to a very nice Christmas eve service and had some great food. Paula's goal in life must be to make me the most obese athlete ever, because everything she makes must be eaten, its so good! :)

Presents are always great, but spending time with loved ones and celebrating the birth of Jesus is always so much better. Can't forget to name some gifts though :) A brand new Garmin 310xt GPS watch, Columbia Jacket, seasons of the Office, gift cards, large containers of Almond Butter, Nutella, etc = great success on the present front!

Anyway, next is the update on Boulder. Will be leaving on Dec. 30th, driving straight through with my Mom tagging along to help haul some stuff! Very excited, but I am also becoming so nervous. I have never lived this far away, and I don't want to leave anything or anyone behind. It is going to be very rough on me mentally. It is nice to have a great place to live and work in Boulder, which is going to help!

Training has already been going great, and I am eager to improve my running to compliment m previous ability to swimming and cycling!

This is going to be an amazing year as I try for my pro card and place very well at the 5150 Series events, hopefully accumulating with a top 15 at the Hy-Vee 5150 Championships in the Elite Amateur race.

I'll post more pictures as I move to Boulder this week!!

Recent and Future Happenings!

2011-12-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

Since my last post, I have finished up with my graduate coursework at the University of Northern Iowa! Now, all I will have to do is preview/defend my thesis in front of the College of Education before May in order to get my official degree. Very exhilarating, but also hasn't set in yet. Will be cool to have a M.S. behind my name!

In the mean time, I have been trying to get my life in order, before my big move out to Boulder, Colorado to accept my full-time position as physiologist and coach for FasCat Coaching. Will be heading out today for the week before Christmas to get acclimated and perform some exercise tests on athletes getting ready to start their seasons. Instead of your traditional VO2 max tests to set training zones, Frank Overton and FasCat use a Maximal Lactate Steady State (MLSS) protocol. This was the first time I had heard of this test, but it seems to be very reliable and valid from what research I have read. You can read more about it here!

Additionally, yesterday I finished putting together my new ride for the upcoming season. I have never ridden anything other than a Trek, so it was a bit weird moving on to a Cannondale! But you look at how well a team such as Liquigas and professional triathlete Chrissie Wellington have done on the Slice, I am stoked to give it a try!

Traveled to Des Moines yesterday and had a R etul fit done by Bill Hardin at Bike World. This fit is awesome, and uses LED lights to establish angles/measurements for your fit, which in real time gives you the most accurate fit possibilities! Bill is very passionate and knowledgeable about cycling and fitting. I have interacted with a few fitters before who were not personable and only stuck to the protocol and didn't really care about the person. Bill is completely different and I would highly recommend him to someone in the area looking for a very in-depth and personal fit!

After having my road bike fit early this fall, I was very impressed by the change in position that occurred, and how much more fluid it made me feel on the bike. So Bill and I dialed in the Cannondale, and I am eager to head out ride it!

Will try to post a bit more often with some pictures, training updates, etc. as I get settled into the Boulder area in the next few weeks!

Have a Merry Christmas!

Big Changes!!

2011-11-25T11:17:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, been a while since I have posted, but a lot has happened since then!

I am a little more than 2 weeks away from being done with school at UNI. All I will have to do is defend my thesis and I will be an official Master of Exercise Physiology! Will be extremely weird not calling myself a student, but it will also be a great change. I wonder what it will feel like to go home on the weeknights or weekends and not have papers to write or study, or go to a coffee shop and just relax! I am looking forward to it!

Training has been going pretty well. Have been doing some minor base work so far, and will continue building up the hours over the next couple months, getting ready for next season.

With nothing much going on in training, I have a bunch of other stuff to say! This past weekend I traveled to Boulder, Colorado for a job interview. This is the mecca of endurance sport in the United States, and was quite the trip. I was interview for a position as a physiologist/coach for FasCat Coaching. This company is owned by Frank Overton, who is a very big household name in coaching and racing across the United States. One of his most notable athletes I believe would be Tom Zirbel. He is growing his business very well, and is in need of a full-time physiologist to conduct metabolic tests on the athletes.

It was the first time I had ever been out of the airport in Colorado, and I fell in love immediately. Spent an afternoon crusing around Boulder and investigating the city. Then had a great dinner at a cycling themed burger joint with Frank and Jason Hilmire, another coach for FasCat. I immediately realized that these two guys are awesome. Very nice, humble, and obviously very talented coaches. The next day, I went for my formal interview day at the performer center. This center is in North Boulder, and is located in an absolutely amazing place. There is an Italian restaurant, a coffee shop, bike shop, FasCat, and a Mexican dinner place in the same strip mall. Everything I would need to be happy. It was also a fun day as local pro and ex-Iowan Amanda Miller came in for her on metabolic test. It was nice to see her again, and met her coach Meredith Miller as well.

Moving on to keep this post shorter, Frank and I went to dinner before I left and flew back to Iowa. During the dinner, he offered me the job! I was so stoked, I am sure if I would have had food in my mouth, I would have choked! This is the job I have wanted my whole life. Not many recent college grads can say they have the job of their dreams right after graduating, and especially in a location such as Boulder. I will be able to coach/work with some of the best athletes in the United States, and also continue my quest as an endurance athlete. I may also try do some research with UC Boulder and get my name published in some scientific journals. It will be a great experience, and I am ready for the challenge.

*Professional Greg Henderson doing some testing (Not a bad client to work with ehh?)

It has been great living in Iowa these past 23 years, but I am ready for a change. I will experience new weather patterns, new cyclists, new food, etc. It has been great racing against everyone in Iowa, and hopefully some day I'll be able to race again at some local stuff. If anyone is ever interested in coming out to Boulder for some training, just let me know!

Time is of the essence, I move out at the end of December!!!

Cross Racing

2011-10-11T19:41:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I decided to pack up the cross bike and head to Cedar Rapids for the Morgan Creek Park Cross Race put on by the Hawkeye Bicycle Association. This was the first team I ever belonged too, and owe the guys a lot of praise and thanks for everything they did to get me where I am at today! Another good part of the weekend, is that my parents, sister and aunt/uncle live in Cedar Rapids, and my grandparents were also down from Decorah. So I drove down Saturday after work and spent the evening with the family catching up, relaxing, watching football and having a great time.

The best part of the weekend yet was that the race was about 1 mile from my parents house! So I got up, took my time, watched the European cross race via internet stream, had a great breakfast and then road to the course to register and get my number. Was able to watch my newest coaching clients John Adamson and Kathleen Porter put in some great work in the masters races! So after, I rode home, pinned my number and had a quick bite to eat before the race, before heading back.

I haven't raced cross since last season (Jinglecross) and really haven't worked on dismounts/remounts, etc....so I went into the race with an open mind, and not expecting anything, but to have fun! I lined up with the other 25-30 riders and got rolling around 12pm. I settled into about 10th wheel after the start and tried to pick off some riders on the power sections of the course. My technical skills need some work, but weren't as bad as I thought. I did lay it down on some loose gravel half-way through the first lap, and lost about 5-10spots. I spent the next 3 laps or so picking off riders, and soon was able to catch up with Mario to battle for 3rd spot. He is a pretty good technical rider, and was able to bunny-hop the log on course and the only time I tried it, I endoed over the front of the bike. Ouch is right. So I lost time to him and never regained contact after chasing the last 2 laps, and finished with a 4th place finish. It was a fun time, and I wish I had more time to do more this season, but a poor graduate student can only work so many times during the week, and most are days on the weekend.

One thing to remember from this race! Wear gloves (my hands look like I took sandpaper to them).

It was nice to see my niece (Brooklyn). She is such a cutie, and is almost walking, but crawls all over the place! Spent the rest of the day watching the Raiders get a great win!

In other news, school is getting closer to being done. I have completed my data research and now look forward to defending my thesis and graduating with my Master of Exercise Physiology degree in December!!! Bethany and I are doing Farrell's Extreme Bodyshaping right now thank you to my client Lauri Lumm. It is a great strength routine and is going to be great for my functional strength training for next season! I am not going to lose 40lbs, but I look to tone up the body and gain some strength in the process!

That is it for now, stay tuned, as a few job opportunities have revealed themselves to me and I have a couple interviews in the next few weeks!!!!

Muscle Cramps and the Endurance Athlete

2011-09-27T11:51:00.001-06:00

Check out this recent article I wrote for Zoom Performance on muscle cramps in endurance athletes. May be some information you didn't know about!

Exercise Cramps: how they occur and what can be done to prevent them

Article by Carson Christen, USA Cycling and Swimming Level 3 Coach, Graduate Student at UNI (Exercise Physiology)

Research presented over the previous few years has placed extreme emphasis on hydration with different solutions during events last longer than one hour. These drinks are usually simple sugar (carbohydrate) based and new market products are incorporating protein to prevent muscle degeneration. The evidence is not inaccurate, as it is very important to hydrate with something other than water during longer distance sporting events, such as Ironman, trail running, and RAAM. Recent research is taking a different approach to muscle cramps and have presented some new evidence as to the causes of these un-desired events.

Cramps Defined

An exercise-associate muscle cramp (EAMC) can be defined as “an involuntary painful skeletal muscle spasm that occurs during or immediately after physical exercise” (Schwellnus, Drew, & Collins, 2010, p. 1). I have had these cramps occur during important stages of a race, and they affect an athlete physically and psychologically. This study looked at 210 participants of Ironman South Africa to look at risk factors of EAMC. After this study was conducted, researchers found that factors other than hydration and heat play a factor in muscle cramping. Athletes who responded as getting muscle cramps both predicted they would complete the Ironman faster than the non-cramping group, and also exercised at a greater speed. The kicker is there were no significant differences in training volume or intensity for the two groups. There were also no significant differences in body weight and electrolyte levels from pre- to post-race measurements. Cramping athletes also responded as getting more cramps over their last 10 races then the non-cramping group. Researchers made the observation that muscle fatigue, and a previous history of cramping are more potent risk factors for muscle cramping.

Apply the Knowledge

With evidence suggesting that dehydration and electrolyte balance are not the sole causes of muscle cramps, what does that mean for us as athletes? This doesn’t mean you can ignore your hydration levels during a long distance event such as Ironman, but should also pay close attention to your training. If muscle fatigue is in fact a large part of EAMC, then it is important that an athlete not try to race at a pace much greater than one they train at. This seems like a no-brainer, but it happens about 80% of the time. It takes a lot of hard work and self-discipline to not become overwhelmed by race day or the paces of others, it is important to race your race! If your training for a race at a bike speed of 18.0mph and a run speed of 10:00min/mile, there is no reason you should be racing at 22:00mph and 8:30min/mile on race day. This will likely because the muscle fatigue/cramping towards the end of the event as was found from this scientific study.

Conclusion

So in conclusion, long distance events like Ironman or RAAM are extremely fun and rewarding accomplishments. It is an athlete and coaches’ responsibility to make sure an athlete is training at a level they can accomplish in a race to prevent over-pacing and causing excess muscle fatigue. It is also very important to remember, this study does not say that hydration and electrolyte levels are not key factors to success. You need to make sure you stay properly hydrated and fueled as well. If you can control these key elements to prevent exercise-associated muscle cramps, you will have the opportunity to produce the best race you can, and also have fun!! Make sure to practice these plans prior to race day so you know what works and what does not! Most of all, have fun and race hard!

References

Schwellnus, M. P., Drew, N., & Collins, M. (2011). Increased running speed and previous cramps rather than dehydration or serum sodium changes predict exercise-associated muscle cramping: A prospective cohort study in 210 Ironman athletes. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 45, 650-656.

Off-Season

2011-09-21T09:18:00.000-06:00

Well my season has been cut short by an injury. Was planning on dominating the Olympic distance this weekend at the Peregrine Charities Triathlon. Was really pumped for it a couple weeks ago, but after my great first running race ever, I discovered that I had injured my SI joint. This is the first time I have ever had to cut something short because of an injury, and it is quite disheartening. With all my years of swimming, nothing ever happened, except for a small bout of inflammation junior year which was taken care of quickly. My body felt ready, but really wasn't ready to handle a 6 mile road race as fast as you can go.....so that is something I'll learn from.

This joint attaches your sacrum and illium, and boy did it ever hurt. I went to the chiropractor this past week for some adjustments and he discovered via standing x-ray that I actually have an 8mm shorter right leg. So I now have an 8mm heel lift in my shoes. This made my hips even again, and feels better.

Unfortunately, I went out and tried to run yesterday and didn't even make it a block before I had to call it quits. So this adds insult to the all-ready lackluster season I had...speaking of the bike. I'll offer a recap at some point, but I wish the year would have gone better, just never had any luck, and a bout of over-training did me in as well.

But on the bright side, I'll take a week or so recovery and gear up for some cyclocross action. Had a great time last year, and its a great way to stay in shape! I have been swimming very consistently, and I am starting to feel really good in the water again. This will hopefully help a lot with next season!

In other news, my thesis is coming along nicely and I hope to be graduated in December. As for plans after that, no idea!! Bethany and I are toying with idea of moving to Des Moines so I can be more involved with the Zoom and Z3 families. A couple of awesome opportunities are also in the works, and could be amazing job opportunities. More to come later!

Park to Park 10km

2011-09-11T09:02:00.000-06:00

Long overdue update!

Been a long time since the state road race fiasco. School has started, and I am really enjoying my one and only class, muscle physiology. For my research topic this semester, I am studying exercise-associate muscle cramping (EAMC) that is often experienced by endurance athletes during the later stages of a race. Kind of interesting, it happened to me a little bit over a month ago! I am also continuing to work on my thesis, which is going awesome, I am really enjoying testing the kids and getting results. I will be done with coursework in December, and hope to also have my thesis defended then as well! Then it will be on to the real world!

I took part in my first running road race yesterday during the Park to Park 5k, 10k, and half-marathon. It was a lot of fun, with over 1300 athletes competing! I didn't know what to expect as I prepared on race day, and during the race. I figured a high fiber meal right before hand wouldn't have been good, so I stuck to cereal and a banana. I was off to George Wyth State Park at 6:15am and ready to race by 6:45. I got a 10min warmup in with a couple pickups. I lined up towards the end of the 7:00-7:30 pace line, hoping to maintain around a 7:20min/mile. Soon we were off, and after the first mile, I was at 7:10 and feeling really good. So I picked up the pace a bit and by mile 2, I had been at 6:55. WOW!!!! I was under 7min/mile pace, but could I hold it. The 10km race split from the half/5k and I was soon in a land by myself with only 1 guy and 1 girl ahead of me. I caught the guy in front of me, and then the lady at the turn around. My heart rate was still doing very well, at around 180bpm(Threshold) as I turned for home. As I made contact with the trail back to the finish line, 5k runners were on the trail and I made it a point to catch as many as possible. I sprinted for the line and finished with a time of 43:20. This time gave me a pace of 6:59min/mile! I was so stoked with this!! Couldn't believe how well I had done, for never running before in my life until about 4 weeks ago!

I ended up 4th place overall out of 62men, and 179 total 10km runners. I did win my age group by 40 seconds! The next Pre? I highly doubt it, but it gives me a lot of confidence that I can continue to improve my running this winter!

So what is up next? I am doing the Peregrine Charities Olympic Distance triathlon next weekend. I did the Pigman earlier this year, and had a lot of fun, and this is exactly what I am looking to do here. HAVE FUN! No pressure on myself, just go out and give everything I can. Swimming has been coming back to me, and feeling good, cycling is cycling and the running is coming around! I am stoked for the challenge!!!

Until next time! Live each day to its fullest!

State Road Race

2011-08-16T07:21:00.000-06:00

Having beat me to a great race report, I will withstand writing the same thing and copy my teammate Chad Bishop's report from State Road Race. Overall, a good day, but cramping with 6 miles to go at the most pivital part of the race did me in.... Always next season. Now it is time to focus on my Olympic Distance Triathlon and Cyclocross.

This race ended up being a great time... the weather was moderately hot, but nothing too severe... Twenty two Cat 1,2 racers lined up to take on 108 miles of the expansive Iowa country side near West Branch... Basically the Iowa Big Four and then three solo riders... Bikes2You had 7 guys, Mercy-Specialized had 4, Zealous had 5, and American Equity ended up with 3 (me, Paul Deninger, and Carson Christen). We were out numbered a bit, but I still had two more guys to work with then I did last year, so I was stoked about our chances to get one or two of us in the top ten paying places...

So, we decided to put Paul in the 'Suicide Break'... A Suicide Break is a group of riders that launch off the front early in a long race... either they are going to end up winning, or die trying... the odds are usually stacked against them, so it is sort of like 'suicide' for those involved... the ultimate sacrifice for the greater good of the team tactic... Basically, each of the four teams were represented (Paul-American Equity, Adam Price-Mercy-Specialized, Kurt Hantleman-Zealous Racing, and Will Greenwood-Bikes2You/World of Bikes)...

It was looking really good for us, because, in my opinion, Paul was the most likely to pull off the win if this break stuck... They were out there for many, many miles... as there were only three guys not on a team left in the break so no real chasing... From time to time, one of the solo riders would set tempo, or even attack... There were a few attempts to bridge up as well, so I had to stay attentive and got caught out a couple of times... This kept the break on a fairly short leash, but they got out to about 8 minutes at one point. The field was mostly 'sitting up' waiting to see if the break would work together and hold on for the win, or if it would get caught. Unfortunately for the breakaway, the Zealous Racing rider (Kurt Hantleman) got dropped at some point, and that changed everything, as now there was a motivation for the field to chase... Still, Zealous were now obligated to do the work to bring back the break, as they were the only one's not represented... so Paul was still delivering a great effort for me and Carson.

Zealous dutifully rotated their guys through, as Paul, Will and Adam Price stayed up the road... Their move still looked promising, as we were within the last lap. I was glad to have Paul on my team, as me and Carson were still in a favorable position... when Adam popped, however, that put his teammate Jeff Barnes on a mission to reel the remaining two break-away riders in... Paul and Will were still up the road a couple of minutes, but I think Will wasn't completely able to cooperate. Zealous was sort of gassed, and Iowa City was letting Jeff give it a go at the front... I was stuck to Jeff's wheel, as I decided to mark him.... he was very animated throughout the race, trying to bridge up solo a couple of times. I was mostly comfortable, and hoping that some of the field was popping off the back, though I never looked to check, as Jeff was setting a pretty spirited tempo.

Alas, the field caught Paul and Will with only about 9 miles left to race... Huge props to Paul for nearly pulling this off, and relieving me and Carson from the need to do any work for most of the race...

Ok, now it was up to me and Carson... things were still looking promising. With about 6 miles to go, I tried a soft attack up one of the steepest hills getting a small gap... I made it about half way when I saw Jared Osterloh, Mattias P, and Brian West (basically the 'heads of state' for the other three teams) countering near the crest.... crap, I was at the limit, and began cramping a bit... I made it over the hill and heard Carson screaming in agony... crampage...

When things settled, those three guys had a gap, and I was left to chase... dang. There were still two solo riders with us, but they were not working at this point... the field had whittled down to 7... I chased for a bit, as they were just a bit up the road... As I began to think things through, I relented to save something for the end... I figured those three were rotating through, and I would have to dig too deep to bring them back, if that was even possible. After over 100 miles, I really wasn't too sure what demands my body was able to accommodate... sort of uncharted territory, as I only race/ride over 100 miles during this annual event...

Well, this wasn't an ideal situation for me, as I don't fancy myself much of a sprinter, but you never know, maybe the guys remaining were hurting... I was glad to still be in the field, and that 4th place was still available for the 7 guys in this group... Bikes 2 You still had 3 guys, Mercy had one... the two solo riders (Kevin S.-Colorbiotics and a Proctor Cycling guy from Illinois) had hung on as well.

Luckily, there were two attacks towards the end, which meant maybe it wouldn't come down to a sprint... Nope, it came down to a sprint to the line, which came up way too soon for my wind-up... I ended up 9th... Carson recovered well and rolled across in 11th I believe... and Paul still ended up 13th despite going 'all-in' for well over 90 miles.

Paul should feel great about his effort, so thanks to him, and I thank my Mom for doing hand-ups. I had a blast working with Carson and Paul, and I know the other guys on the American Equity team were wishing us the best. Yeah, it could have gone better... but, trust me, things could have gone a lot worse, so I will just enjoy the accomplishment of making the top 10 and the rewarding feeling of racing along some of Iowa's finest athletes.

Men Pro, 1,2 - Iowa State Road Championship - August 6th, 2011

1. #14 – Matias Perret, ICCC (Gold)

2. #12 – Jared Osterloh, Zealous Racing (Silver)

3. #2 – Brian West, World of Bikes – Bikes To You (Bronze)

4. #3 – Kevin Severs, Colorbiotics

5. #15 – Mariusz Czarnomski, ICCC

6. #4 – Greg Springhouse, Peoria Bicycle Team

7. #18 – Kevin Tempel, World of Bikes – Bikes To You

8. #9 – Austin Turner, World of Bikes – Bikes To You

9. #20 – Chad Bishop, American Equity

10. #17 – Chris Moore, World of Bikes – Bikes To You

11. #5 – Carson Christen, American Equity

12. #13 – Jeff Barnes, ICCC

13. #19 – Paul Deninger, American Equity

14. #8 – David Lippold, Zealous Racing

15. #7 – Steven Robinson, Zealous Racing

DNF. #1 – Kurt Hantelmann, Zealous Racing

DNF. #22 – Finn Kolsrud, Unattached

DNF. #6 – Andrew Buntz, World of Bikes – Bikes To You

DNF. #10 – Ryan French, Zealous Racing

DNF. #11 – William Greenwood, World of Bikes – Bikes To You

DNF. #16 – Adam Price, ICCC

DNF. #21 – Lee Venteicher, World of Bikes – Bikes To You

Quick Update

2011-08-02T19:48:00.001-06:00

Gonna be short and sweet. Have been putting in some good training from Coach Nick for the State Road Race. This weekend, 108 miles with the AEquity boys and we are looking for a state championship, and the lead in the Iowa Cup. Hope for a good show!!

Then on Sunday, Bethany and I fly to Florida for a week for some vacation before I start school on the 22nd. Going to Orlando, Walt Disney World where I was in 2000, so it will be cool to see how it has changed in 11 years! I am excited to start school after, however, because I will be working on my thesis and hopefully finishing up my last semester of school ever, and will be a Master of Exercise Physiology!

In September, I am hoping to get into more of a cross season but will also be full-fill my ambitions in the triathlon scene as well, doing the TriHawk and Peregrine Triathlons.