“It was the equivalent of coming home and my girlfriend saying, ‘I’m leaving you.’”

The 2017 MABRA season starts next weekend and for two racers, it won't be the same!

Back in 2009, two triathletes found themselves on the same road racing team, it was the start of a great friendship that will last forever! Gradually both triathletes found the lure of the road too much and they found their physical traits to be pretty well matched for success....one a diesel, the other a rocket! Both knew their roles and were willing to sacrifice for overall team success, dare we say a match made in heaven. Banks & Hogan....ABRT's Renshaw & Cavendish!

The proof was in the pudding.....

Win....Tysons!

Win.....Black Hill!

Win....Kings Way!

Win....Carl Dolan!

Celebrating the win....work done!

Then one day it happened....the partnership dissolved at the end of 2016. Hogan left for a rival team and Banks staying at ABRT didn't follow.  With that news, Banks told the local media that: “It was the equivalent of coming home and my girlfriend saying, ‘I’m leaving you.’”

What will the 2017 season bring for both riders? Only time will tell......perhaps it will be the new lease of life that both riders need. There is clear respect between the riders but now on opposing teams it will be game on once the flag drops....As Banks states though "there will always be time for a beer after"

October 2015: Training Ramblings....The Final Prep for Xterra Worlds

Much of this is now obsolete as the run up to the Xterra World Championships was pretty much chronicled in previous posts. As such this post is really just a brief outline of the training numbers for the month for posterity's sake.

I did race a few cross races which were planned as high-intensity workouts that are tough to mimic in training and to give a little bit of additional motivation. Having races and goals on the calendar are always a good idea to ensure that you don't skimp on workouts or simply mail them.  Always have a long-term goal and some closer near-term goals.  Those cross races went well, a 35+ 123 race at a very muddy Hyattsville ended in a top ten finish and then two races at ABRT's own AACX race saw me get two 5th place finishes (and in the money!).

The podium at AACX 123 race

Prior to Worlds in Maui, the rocket ship arrived in the form of the Orbea Oiz mountain bike.  Getting to partner with Orbea is awesome and not only gives me a huge boost for Xterra Worlds but also for the 2016 season of Xterra and endurance MTB races.  Only getting to ride it a few times before Worlds was a little worrying but after the first ride those worries went away. The fit was dialed in by Stu at Parvilla Cycles and it was perfect! Now I wish I had had a full suspension bike the whole season :-)

The inaugural Oiz ride!

And with that it was off to Xterra Worlds in Maui and you can read all about the build up to the race and the race itself in the posts.

What I am drinking this month:
Ritual Coffee Roasters:  Hermes Calderón's Los Crestones, Costa Rica

The people of La Piedra de Rivas grow these Caturra and Catuaí variety trees on their various small farms, 1600-1800 meters above sea level, in the Chirripó mountain region. Previously, their coffee had been brought to a nearby mill and bought and sold at low, generic prices.

Feeling that they had better than generic coffee, they bonded together to open their own mill, Los Crestones, and appointed Hermes Calderón as the micromill manager, producing exceptional coffee ever since. When we last visited with Los Crestones, we were excited to see that the mill was running efficiently, the drying tables had been expanded, and the coffee this year is better than ever before!


Full of fruit, this coffee exhibits flavors of Seville orange, tropical mango, and cherry.


October Total: 463miles/44hrs 32mins/2665 TSS
Swim: 11.88m/5hrs 58mins/ 317 TSS
Bike: 351m/26hrs 26mins/ 1383 TSS
Run: 100m/12hrs 08mins/ 965 TSS

Xterra World Championships (Maui) 2015: Race Report.....Learning some lessons!

I was nervous.....I hadn't been this nervous before a race in a while. It was a combination of things but primarily the fact that the pre-ride on Thursday had gone so horribly bad that I was questioning everything. Was I fit enough? Was the heat and humidity going to destroy me? Had we come all the way to Maui for a terrible race experience?

Yes the pre-ride on Thursday had been bad, I had bonked 5 miles into a 20 mile ride and it took a lot out of me to get back to the condo. As Sarah can testify I had the "sunken face" look that I only get when bad things are about to happen and that normally features some form of unconsciousness! It took the rest of Thursday and most of Friday to get re-hydrated and the small cramps to go away, luckily I remained conscious. In hindsight knowing what the course and weather is like, riding the course in the heat of the day after a long day of travel was not a good idea.  That is Lesson #1 for next time......yes, I said next time!

Trying to remember the rack location pre-race!

I was also nervous as this was the bloody World Championships, not your local triathlon, this was 850 of the best Xterra racers in the World. Racers from 43 nations were all lined up along the beach, the race blessing had finished, the helicopter was flying overhead, this race was about to explode!

Taking it all in prior to the start

At 9:05am the cannon fired and the men's wave detonated into the surf.  Then the usual two things happened, firstly the nerves all went away and race mode was switched on and secondly I used the facilities in the open water.  If those two things don't happen early in the swim then I know that something is wrong.  So I was now calm now, at least inside I was, externally it was a fighting match until the first buoy at around 400 meters after which it settled down a bit. The M shape of the course meant that we exited the water after 750 meters (saw Sarah and Team Banks) and headed back in for the 2nd half of the M. A quick glance of the watch had me at 12 minutes so on course for around a 25 mins swim. The 2nd half of the swim was much cleaner in terms of contact and the water clarity. You could see all the way to the sandy bottom for the entire way, as much as I was hoping I didn't get to see any turtles. Apparently there were some around but not within my eye sight.

T1 - getting ready for the bike.

The run to T1 was a sign of the course to come....uphill all the way for a couple of hundred meters. The swim was just over 25 minutes and gave me a little bit of confidence that I was ahead of the majority and would get a cleaner course esp. on the first few miles which are all limited in passing opportunities.  For this race I decided to wear my hydration pack rather than rely on a single bottle and the two feed stations. I wanted to be able to drink when I wanted rather than when the course let me. It worked perfectly and I was able to carry 1.5 Liters of First Endurance EFS for the duration of the 20 mile bike course (with 3500ft of climbing) and collected water at the feed stations to dowse myself.

The key to my day on the bike was patience. Not to harp on about it but the Thursday ride had me wary and I needed to get to Razor Ridge in reasonable shape to have a good rest of the day.  I purposely rode easy for the first few miles but to be honest the decision was partially made for me. Even with a decent swim the course was a little crowded to begin with and the risk vs reward factor on passing and riding hard on the singletrack was pretty minimal.  As such I passed when I could and rode as even a pace as I could....steady but not necessarily all out race pace.  The legs felt so much better and upon getting to the top of the first climb to Razor Ridge at mile 5 and then hitting the high point of the course at mile 7 it was time to hit the gas.

Descending from mile 7 at the top of the plantation was sooooo much fun!  I knew the legs were good, the view was amazing, all I could do was smile and I couldn't stop smiling.  It still makes me smile now.....here I was riding an amazing bike course (on an equally amazing Orbea) in Maui at the World Championships!  You could see down the mountain seeing riders slowly coming up, riders zig-zagging down the plantation roads, the resort and Molokai in the background, it truly is a scene that will forever be etched in my memories of this race.

The view heading down from the West Maui Mountains

So heading back to T2 I was catching and riding away from riders and groups ahead. The patience had paid off and I was feeling pretty strong riding down the Lower Bowl section. I ended up with a bike split just over 2hrs (2 hrs 3mins) but lost about 15-20mins to the top 10 in my age group.  Another  Lesson # 2 for next time....go hard the entire course. Now that I have raced the course and know that I actually had good legs after the pre-ride/travel, I would amend the race strategy.  Without doubt I lost a lot of the time in those first 7 miles climbing and would be able to catch onto some of the faster riders in those earlier sections if I rode harder.

Getting back into T2 just over the 2hr mark surprised Sarah and Team Banks (that's a good surprise though) and it was now onto the run course. Another 1300ft of climbing faced us over the 6.5mile course. Much of the climbing was in the first three miles and then it was a matter of letting gravity do the rest....perhaps a little bit simplified but you get the idea. Immediately I knew it was going to be a good running day.

Heading out onto the run....#parvillatruckerhat

The legs were feeling pretty good, a combination of training, nutrition and a well-paced bike. Again knowing that the first half was all the larger climbs (thanks to Sarah and Dad's intel from their races the day before) I went out steady and was able to run all the climbs leading to the top of the course at the halfway point.  Lesson # 3....push the run harder if the legs feel good. The great and encouraging part was that I was overtaking a ton of racers....many were walking the climbs and not looking in great shape at all.  It was getting hotter out on the course so any opportunity to shove ice down the top was welcomed.  Now came the fun part! From mile 3 it was all downhill, well mostly as there were some shorter climbs and a brutal road climb just before mile 6.  A racer from Quebec and I were running a similar pace and were able to have some fun on the downhills as we were catching racers left, right and center....the more we caught the faster we went.  Luckily we were in different age groups so didn't have to duke it out at the end but it made for a great 2nd half and again is one of those memories that I will never forget.  Just before the finish is the famed beach run, a couple of hundred meters in the sands that we all started on a few hours before.

I crossed the line in 3hrs 28mins, the nerves gone and a satisfying result.  28th in age group and 189th out of 775 that toed the line (including pro's) for a top 25% finish.  There were certainly some lesson's learned in the build-up and during the race that I can use for future Xterra races and hopefully a return to the World Championships in Maui. Knowing how the race plays out and what the course is like is so critical that I would definitely change the training plan and the race plan for a return trip......this isn't a trip we can do every year (even though we would like too) so it's a two-year plan. It would be good to head back as a young 40 year old in the 40-44 age group in 2017.

Post-race after getting lei'ed!

If you want to see some great video of the race check out this two videos:
Official Xterra Worlds 2015 Highlights
Xterra Worlds 2015 Drone footage

Obviously races like the World Championships do not happen in a vacuum and it was season long goal with many people involved so a huge Mahalo to above all my very patient wife and chief supporter Sarah. Without her none of this would be possible! Team Banks are always there for me too, although I don't think they could pass up the trip to Hawaii!  Also thank you to:

Parvilla Cycles - the best bike store I know :-)

Orbea - for putting the fastest bike underneath me

ABRT - for supporting me and pushing me on training rides

Pactimo - for the awesome kit and support of the Parvilla Tri Team

So now to start thinking about the 2016 season and race goals!

Patapsco 100 MTB Race Report 2015 - 50km Edition

In my quest to get better for Xterra Worlds in a few weeks time I decided to race the Patapsco 100 hosted by Adventures for the Cure this past Sunday.....no I didn't race the 100 mile version but plumped for the single lap race at 50km (31.4 miles).  After cajoling Ace enough in the past week he joined me on the start line as well.

The race was being used for two things 1) a race pace effort for fitness and technical skills and 2) learn the trails in the northern section of Patapsco State Park. It nailed both those things!

Going into the race I had no expectations, no real plan and no idea what the terrain would be like. This was my first MTB race since way back in 2003 before we moved to the USA.  As such we lined up with the goal to have fun and enjoy the trails! The first short section was on road and it enabled us not to be caught behind many as we entered the first section of singletrack.  The first few miles were probably the most technical as it followed the river and not having been on the bike all week I felt technically rusty (as I always do to start with). Luckily progression was pretty slow through these miles and even some dabbing didn't lose any ground.  We went through the first river crossing with a few cries of "My New Shoes!" from Ace and then the field began to separate enabling the speed to eek up and settle into a decent rhythm.

First river crossing

To be honest I had no idea where the trail was going and with good markings you didn't need to have a good knowledge of the trail system. Would I be able to ride the route again from memory? Probably not but I have the GPS course so might be able to work it out.  The trails were awesome though and they had a mix of pretty much everything...rocks, roots,logs, sandy singletrack! As the day went on I was getting much more comfortable technically and the effort level was high. The majority of riders were on full-suspension bikes but my trusty Specialized Stumpjumper hardtail (from Parvilla Cycles) steered me right all day.

At about mile 10 after a couple of miles of hard effort I latched onto a couple of 50km riders that were riding a solid pace and we pretty much stuck together for the rest of the race.  The nice thing about the 50km race is that it is long effort to fatigue you but also short enough to allow you to push the pace the entire time.  My average HR was in the low 150's which for me is a good tempo pace and gave me that race pace test I was looking for.

Just after the 2nd aid station

It worked out that we were sitting in a battle for 4th place with the first three a few minutes up the trail and unlikely to be caught.  Having the three of us was good, for me anyway, as I wanted to push the pace and with about 6 miles left I managed to get a small gap on the other two and wanted to work it hard to the finish.  Ultimately it didn't work out quite as expected as a small mechanical issue with my rear derailleur had me trail side for a few minutes (four to be precise) and despite working hard over the final miles I could only grab back a couple of places for a 6th place finish in the Open Men's race for a final time of 3hrs 12mins.

The singletrack of Ptap!

I certainly exceeded my expectations and had so much fun in doing so. Ace ended a few minutes behind me in 3hrs 17mins and took 3rd in the 50+ division.   It was definitely one of the funnest races this year and gave me the ideal workout heading into the final few weeks of Xterra preparation. Over the 50km there was 3,500ft of climbing! This race will definitely be on the calendar for 2016....but should I do the 50km, 100km or 100mile?

Pushing it!

March 2015: Training Ramblings.....The Racing Starts

March was a great training month and we saw the race season start too which was good as it's always exciting to see how the training numbers translate into racing.  The first race was the MABRA season  opener at Black Hills which is a circuit race with a nice little hill and normally a good field. As per last year a few of us from ABRT rolled in the Masters 35+ field and aimed at repeating Hogan's win from last year.  

The season opener at Black Hills.

Unfortunately it was not to be as a break got away early and was never to be seen again.  The good news however, was that I felt great and with an all time FTP high the numbers did in fact translate to racing.  The key for me was to stay aggressive and get some early season confidence to head into the Spring.  Ultimately I initiated the chase break with a couple of laps to go that also included Hogan who was able to take the chase sprint for 7th and me rolling in at 12th after leading out the sprint.  The numbers from the race can be seen here at Training Peaks

Time: 56mins
Distance:21.6m
Normalized Power: 369w
Ave Power: 292w
Max Power: 1063w

You can check out Hogan's video below:



The following week was suppose to be the Cranky Monkey 6hr MTB race but with some rain in the days prior the race was cancelled in order to protect the trails. I am all for trail preservation but most agreed that the race could probably have continued....it's funny when I look back and remember some of the conditions we raced in while in the UK. If you don't like the rain you'll never ride/race in the UK!

So with that we now look forward to the Spring and more races in April.....now the season really starts with Xterra Jersey Devil at the end of the month.


What I am drinking this month:
Gimme Coffee: From the Chirinos Cooperative in Peru. Sustainably harvested at 1,600-1,900 meters above sea-level. Tasting notes - chocolate, almond nougat with a lingering sweetness. This has quickly become one of my favorites.

March Total: 582miles/44hrs 16mins/2835 TSS
Swim: 9.97m/5hrs 21mins/ 208 TSS
Bike: 460m/25hrs 13mins/ 1600 TSS
Run: 112m/13hrs 42mins/ 1026 TSS

What makes a good triathlon training City? My take on Bowie.

You hear this a lot and not just on the Slowtwitch Forums! "I might be moving to XXX town, what's it like for triathlon training" and just recently I got thinking about how this applies to where we live. It's probably one of the first things I would think about if ever we were to move from Bowie, MD but 10 years ago when we came to the USA, it was really all about "how close to the office was it?" and "what is there nearby?".

Fortunately we really lucked out with where we chose after a fleeting four day trip from the UK in 2004 and Bowie, MD has turned out to be awesome in more ways than one but especially good for training.  Ironman listed their top ten locations in 2014 here....Bowie didn't make it (unsurprisingly when you look at the list) but here's my take. What do you like about your training town?

Bowie, MD

Bowie Location

Training
Year round you can train outside, sure it gets cold and a little snowy/icy at times in the winter but sustained periods of indoor training are few and far between. Riding out from Bowie to the better cycling routes in the South Counties are easy and relatively light in traffic. Over the years I have built a good library of routes depending upon on the desired length ranging from a simple 10mile loop to a 120mile loop. Running around town again is pretty good with some flat paved trails away from traffic (WB&A trail) as well as some off-road trails. The majority of the Bowie roads have wide enough shoulders that running on the road is fine (such as this past week when the sidewalks are a little icy).

I guess the only major downside, but this goes for the majority of the eastern side of the State is the lack of decent climbs in the area. We have rolling hills and the flats but nothing that can count as major climbs with the nearest being an hour or so away in Frederick or beyond at Skyline Drive.

Training partners in the local area are plentiful -  a ton of cycling teams and clubs (personally I am biased towards the Annapolis Bicycle Racing Team and the team sponsor Parvilla Cycles) that range all abilities and goals.  There are bunch of different triathlon clubs although none actually located in Bowie itself (check here for USAT registered clubs).

Possibly the only training aspect in Bowie that is lacking is a public swimming pool both indoors and outdoors. I swim at Sportfit Bowie, a private health club, which is fine for a 25yd lap pool but it lacks a masters program and has competing demands for its use (swim lessons, aerobics etc). The closest public pools are either at PG Community College or at the Arundel Swim Center just outside of Annapolis. A year-round outdoor 25m pool would be awesome!

Now if only Sportfit converted the summer fun pool into a year-round lap pool!

Racing
With not having a body of open water of good enough quality, a local race is asking a bit much but the central location of Bowie in the Mid-Atlantic region means that you can pretty much race every weekend in the season with only a 2-hour drive or less. The stand out races are the Eagleman Ironman 70.3m and Ironman Maryland, both of which take place in Cambridge, MD an 80min drive from Bowie. If an M-Dot race isn't your cup of tea there are some quality races put on by Set-Up Events, Piranha Sports and Racine Multisports.

For some distractions you can also race on the road from Spring to Fall with the Mid-Atlantic Bicycle Racing Association or any numbers of running events year round!

After 10 years in Bowie I am no doubt bias when it comes to liking the City as training town....It's all I have ever known from a triathlon training perspective as I was purely a cyclist back in the UK (and living towards the end of an Estuary gets old when you cycle the sames routes to get in and out!) but it fits the bill for me.....now should I get an offer to live in Boulder, San Diego or St. George then I might be packing my training gear!

December 2014: Training Ramblings....The Final Stretch!

The final stretch of the cross season....two races were left in December both of which were the final races in the two local race series - Super 8 and the Sportif Cross Cup.  

In preparation for the 2015 cross season, yup already thinking ahead!, I raced the Masters 123 race at Capital Cross. Boy, this was a fun race, the muddiest of the year and one in which I felt really strong off the back of the MABRA Championships the week previous. In terms of overall result this race turned out to be my most satisfying of the whole season. I ended with a top 10 performance in tough conditions and my highest ranking points from CrossResults (the national ranking site).  All bodes well for next season and I know what I need to improve on to continue to move up the ranks at the higher level.

A mudder at Capital Cross  Photo Credit: Kevin Dillard

 The final and 17th race of the cross season was the Sportif Series finale at BikeneticCX. I had the top spot in the Masters 3/4 series but there was an outside chance that if I DNF'ed for whatever reason that Michael Berry who was in 2nd and whom with I had had a season long battle could take the top spot!  You never know what can happen in a cross race so everything was up for grabs.  And to add some more pressure, my parents were over for the Christmas holidays and were able to come watch the race.

From the gun myself and Mike hit the gas and before the end of the first lap we were way clear of the field. A 2nd place for me would secure the series win so without taking any risks I traded the lead with Mike over the next few laps.  Then with 2 laps to go and after jumping back on after the sand pit, I sensed some doom....the left crank arm had begun to loosen! If that came off, it would be game over and the series gone! Over the next 2 laps it was a matter of nursing the bike to the finish line.  The gaps from us to the rest of the field was enough that a few seconds here or there wasn't going to make a difference.  With one to go all was looking good, we were still away and the crank arm was still on.....an easier last lap enabled Mike to open a small gap for the win but I was able to cruise into 2nd place and the series win.....Goal 3 of the season met!  And now Sarah can have her Sunday's back :-)

The Final Sportif Series Podium....unfortunately Mark couldn't make it so we photo shopped him in!

And what a fun season it was. I think that 'cross has taken priority over triathlon or road racing from now on....when does the 2015 start?  To top the season off, I was able to upgrade to Category 2 so now have no option but to race the Masters 123 races (or straight up 123 races if I feel especially brave!)

Over the next few weeks I'll review the year in terms of training numbers, races etc and get a blog post up.  Without a doubt though, the lack of an Ironman made things a lot more fun, I was able to focus more on cycling and especially cyclocross!

What I am Drinking This Month

GUATEMALA SAN JOSE OCANA from Ceremony Coffee Roasters

A maple syrup and cocoa aroma with brown butter and dates in a sweet, clean cup.

December Total: 475.00 miles/ 33 hours 4mins/TSS: 2210

Swim: 0 miles/0 hrs

Bike: 430 miles/24hrs 57mins

Run: 45 miles/5hrs 46mins

Strength: 2hrs 20mins

November 2014: Training Ramblings....Time to Hit some Goals!

Coming into the cyclocross season I had three main goals, which were all based upon the previous season and what I believed were fully attainable.  These goals were:

1. Win a race
2. Win the Master's 3/4 Sportif Cross Cup Series
3. Win the MABRA Master's 3/4 Championship

And by achieving those three goals, it would assure my upgrade to Category 2 for the 2015 season.  So goal #1 was taken care of in October with a couple of wins. Now onto the other two goals!

The Sportif Cross Cup series was also going to be a tight race until the very final race in December, I had missed a race while up at Providence and had lost some valuable points in the very first race due to a mechanical.  November started well when I took the win at a very hilly BiketoberFest race and gained some points in the standings.

BiketoberFest Podium

The day after Biketober was just a bad day on the bike at Ed Sanders cross. Despite a front row start the legs just felt dead from the get go and rather than dig myself into a deeper hole, I cruised around for a 30th place finish.....you live to fight another day!

The middle of November saw me jump up the categories and race the Elite Master's at both Schooley Mill and Rockburn in the Super 8 series.  This was to serve a couple of purposes 1) Prepare for the upgrade in 2015 and 2) Push myself against more competition!


Well those races didn't disappoint and even with a great crash at Schooley Mill that took me out of the top ten, I ultimately came in 13th and 18th respectively.

The final two races of the month were both in the Sportif Cross Cup series and back to the Master's 3/4. Both of these races turned out to be great and I felt awesome out on the course.  The South Germantown race was a frozen course which gradually melted as the race went on and I was able to take the win.  The next race was goal #3 of the season....the MABRA Championships.

Last year at the championships I came in 3rd and was focused on this race for 2014. With the Thanksgiving week I was able to get a solid week of training in and loved the course having raced here the last two years. From the gun it was just go, go, go and after a lap I was able to pull away from the field to take the win by a minute (over ABRT teammate Mickey Thaxton).

Goal #3 - MABRA Master's 3/4 Champion!

So November included six races, three wins, two race to scout out 2015 and a complete dud in one.  The 'cross season is almost over with only two races left.....Capital Cross where I will race the Elite Masters and then the final round of the Sportif Cross Cup with it all to ride for.  I am now 52 points ahead in the standings and 90 points available!

What I am Drinking This Month
COSTA RICA TORRES VILLALOBOS from Stumptown Coffee Roasters
Elevation: 1550 Meters
A soft mouthfeel surrounds this balanced and sweet cup complete with a tangerine, currant, almond and honey.

November Total: 439.37 miles/ 28hours 5mins/TSS: 1860.2

Swim: 0 miles/0 hrs
Bike: 431 miles/27hrs 2mins
Run: 8.37 miles/1hrs 3mins

October 2014: Training Ramblings......Nuttin but 'Cross

October was all in for 'cross racing, swimming was completely missing in action and I managed a solitary run.  It was all about the bike this month to see how the 'cross focus would pan out.

October saw me race 6 times including the final weekend of Holy week up in Providence, a double weekend of wet local races at Seneca Creek and Tacchino, the big MABRA race in DC and then our own race, ABRT's AACX.  A big month of racing and obviously a big thanks to Sarah for indulging me!

First up in Providence was a double weekend of racing on Saturday and Sunday. This is such a great race and hugely competitive field's in the Master's 1,2,3 on both days. I didn't have any expectations going into the weekend and was starting near to the back due to a) being out of area and b) being low on points.  Rolling around a tight course with multiple flyovers etc with 120 guys is a lot of fun...I ended up mid-pack on both days. It was good to see friends that we don't see too often but also great to spend a day after racing to actually venture into Newport and do some tourist stuff.

Chilling at Providence with Sarah

The following weekend was a weekend of being close but not close enough.  Both races at Seneca Creek and Tacchino were wet races and with Seneca in particularly being a slug fest in the mud.  I had a bad start at Seneca in the Sportif Series and could never get back to 1st place so ended in 2nd. At Tacchino the following day in the Super 8 series I was started further back on the grid on the 5th row as I hadn't raced any of the series to date. Again I moved up through the field and spent a lot of energy catching the front two.  By the final lap there was only two of us and I was done and rolled across the line in 2nd again.  An encouraging weekend for the rest of the season to come!

A rainy blur at Seneca Creek

One of the biggest local races is DCCX held at the Armed Forces Retirement Home in DC. It's a great course and the weather during the week meant it was fast and dry! With a front row start after 2nd of the previous week I knew that things already looked good....no catching up to do!  I had a good start and was sitting 4th as we hit the first set of stairs.  DCCX is a power course that really suits me so not long after the stairs I hit the front and powered through. It was one of those days that I felt great and was really flowing around the course so much so that I was able to take the first win of the season and did so by over a minute!  Bingo, the training and focus on 'cross was paying off.

First win of the season at DCCX

The final race of the month was our own race, AACX hosted by ABRT. We had spent a lot of time over the summer making some adjustments to the course and obviously being able to ride it at the same time. Knowing a course really helps, especially when it is a course suited to your own abilities...a perk of being the race director I guess!  Not only was it a goal race because it's ABRT''s home race but it was also the next race in the Sportif Series which was major focus of the season.  Again a front row start enabled a good placing into the first corner and then it was off to the races. I wanted to be first over the log and onto the climb before it got crowded. With that achieved I was able to gradually increase the lead to win by a minute again.  The video below shows the race and the AACX course (the first lap is probably the most interesting!)

Focused at AACX

With the focus on 'cross for the month of October I ended up with 2 wins, 2 2nd's and a great weekend in Providence. I am well on the way to achieving my season goals for 'cross and am having an awesome time racing. November doesn't slow down with a bunch more races before we finish up in mid-December

What I'm Drinking this Month!

Ethiopia Yirgz Kochere from 1562 Roastery (a great sponsor of AACX)

Ethiopia Yirgz Kochere features direct trade, zero defect from Ethiopia. Notes of Tropical fruit and citrus with a clean and crisp finish.

October Total: 310 Miles / 20 hours 41 minutes

Swim: 0 / ~0 miles / 0 hours 0 minutes

Bike: 304 miles / 20 hours 2 minutes

Run: 5.50 miles / 0 hours 39 minutes

September 2014: Training Ramblings.....'cross season is upon us!

September finally arrived and that meant the start of cyclocross season.....something that I had been looking forward to for a while. Having got back into 'cross in 2013 after a 10 year hiatus, it was good to be back and have fun riding the dirt again. A new bike for 2014 and the season goal of upgrading from category 3 to category 2.

The first race of the season was up in Pennsylvania at Nittany Lion Cross which was part of the MAC series and meant having to race the Masters 1,2,3 race. As a Cat 3 it means being a low man on the totem pole so really I had no expectations and was a warm-up for the rest of the season.  Ended up up 39th in a competitive field and got to work on my technical skills which are always a a bit rusty in the first couple of races.

Nittany Cx 2014 Masters 1,2,3

 Next up was the annual trip to Interbike and Las Vegas, which is always fun.....watching Cross Vegas, seeing the latest and greatest in the bike world and hanging with The Jones!  Not good prep for a Sunday race the day after a delayed flight but fun nonetheless.

#swaghappy at Interbike with Kyle :-)

An early morning start after the flight home from Vegas and we were off up to Ft Ritchie for the first race in the MABRA Sportif Cross Series.  A dry and bumpy course started off well in the Masters 3/4 field, which saw me take the lead on the 2nd lap only to suffer a mechanical (handlebar slippage) and losing time in fixing it.  Came back to finish 10th but ultimately losing critical series points in a series that I had targeted to win as another season goal.

The next ten days were awesome as we had the Wright family out to visit....meeting Gracey for the first time and spending quality bonding time with a fast-growing Hunter, even if he did call me Auntie Iain for the most part ;-) Another race came along at a competitive and brutal course at Charm City cross in Baltimore (probably the regions biggest race). Not sure if Hunter really got what was going on but he loved the cowbell!  This race was encouraging as again it was the more competitive Masters 1,2,3 field and I had a good finish in 26th, not too far behind some of the bigger hitters in the local MABRA Masters 1,2,3 field.  Good progress as the first month of the cross season came to an end.

Getting a Hunter hug at the National Zoo

As if racing three cross races in September wasn't enough, the final triathlon of the season came along at the end of September at the local Tri for the Chesapeake, which Parvilla Cycles was a co-sponsor.  Although only a sprint triathlon it was a fun course -  a great swim in the Rhode River, a two-loop bike within the SERC center and then a 5km run on the trails of the Center.  It was very much a local triathlon but it was still nice to take the win and represent Parvilla Cycles at the races.  A good end to the tri season.....now back to a'cross focus for the rest of the year.

Guru Cycles being represented at the Tri for the Chesapeake

With four races on the weekends and a few days in Vegas, it meant that the overall training volume was lower than usual but critically it means that quality takes precedence over quantity. Although only 45-50mins long, cross races are full gas all the time and takes a lot out of you...being able to recover get a few days of training done and then rest for the weekend it pretty much the recipe to race well.

What I'm Drinking this Month!
Holler Mountain Blend from Stumptown Coffee Roasters
Holler Mountain blend features certified organic coffees from Central and South America and Indonesia. As with all of our coffees, the producers who contribute their coffee to this blend devote attention to the cultivation and processing of the coffee.

HOLLER MOUNTAIN blend features certified organic coffees from Central and South America and 

This popular organic offering flourishes as a versatile blend 

September Total: 279.85 Miles / 25 hours 41 minutes

Swim: 10,480 yards / ~5.95 miles / 3 hours 20 minutes

Bike: 214 miles / 14 hours 45 minutes

Run: 59.9 miles / 7 hours 36 minutes

April 2014: Training Ramblings......Running? What's That?

As the title of this post suggests, running was lackluster this month and that would be an understatement. With Ironman St George 70.3m on the first weekend of May, preparation wasn't exactly ideal but cycling has been a blast and I feel the strongest in many years on the bike. So much so that I actually hit over 1000 watts in April for the furst time ever...for a scrawny triathlete I am pretty pleased about that!

In total I raced on the road three times - the All American Road Race Cat 3 race which was just forgettable for the ABRT team. We had the team but some errors lead us to miss the major break of the day, pretty much the only team that did so we were literally playing catch-up for the rest of the race and couldn't make amends.  By the end of the race (60miles) I was totally gassed and just about held onto the group.  The combination of a lack of  longer miles and just hard work in the middle of the race made it one tough race.

A couple of weeks later at the Carl Dolan Circuit race, it followed the typical pattern of the standard industrial park race with a few futile attacks, some squirrelly crashes and then a gallop of a sprint finish.  I made a few futile attacks, missed the crashes and declined the gallop.....I did my best to get an ABRT'er to the top ten so not all was lost.

The final race of the month, which will be the last for a while was the Melford Circuit race....with it being just 2 miles from the house you can't not race really! As Carl Dolan, this is your typical industrial park circuit race with nothing of any note to separate the field aside from some amped up racers all wanting to hurtle round at 26mph for 45mins.  Want to know what that looks like?  take a look at ABRT Cat 3 Captain and general Sprint King as he orders his team around like a BOSS! (Capt. Hogan starts barking at about 2:00mins in but look for the good #sockdoping from me)




All in all a good and fun month.  Road racing takes a hiatus for May as IM St George takes over as well as visits from both set's of parents in the coming weeks.....besides I probably should start running a bit more in prep for these triathlons!

April Total: 678.55 Miles / 38 hours 9 minutes

Swim: 4,130 yards / ~2.35 miles / 1 hours 19 minutes

Bike: 657.7 miles / 34 hours 37 minutes

Run: 18.50 miles / 2 hours 13 minutes