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

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

Oct 26th - Nov 1st: Training Ramblings

 This week was fun.  A slight increase in the hours, not the 8 hours that I wanted but close and it included some good time with our visitors!  The week started with ABRT's annual cyclocross race, so much of Saturday was spent down at the course making sure that was all set for the following day.  I raced twice on the Sunday, once early in the 35+ 3/4 race and then the last race of the day, the 4/5.

With a zero-dark thirty start, it was a long day and the final race just beat me down with a few laps to go.  The good news was that I took a 4th place finish in the 35+ 3/4 race (a few more upgrade points) I had a poor start but managed to claw my way back through the field to outsprint teammate Mickey Thaxton for the 4th spot.  The course was almost perfect for me, lots of power section and only shorter technical sections where I typically lose time.  The later race started well, into 2nd by the end of the first lap but I just couldn't hold on.  The legs were done and I ended falling to 7th by the end of the race.  Overall a fun day and the team did an awesome job hosting the race.

Hitting the barriers at AACX (Credit: Alex Pline)

The rest of the week was nothing special.  Computrainer classes have now started for the Fall/Winter at Parvilla Cycle & Multisport so that gets me riding early in Tuesday mornings (and potentially some other days).  I did manage to get a couple more shorter sessions on the rollers at home with the new powercranks.  I'll write more on them in the future, for now I'm just getting used to them. 

Although I didn't run a bunch this week, I did feel better on both the 60min sessions.  That's a good sign as I plan on increasing the volume over the month of November so that when the vacation to the UK in December comes, I am in a good place to lay down a serious 14 day running block.


My weekly swim, bike, and run totals:

Total: 69 Miles / 6 hours 36 minutes
Swim: 3,100 yards / ~1.76 miles / 1 hours 03 minutes

Bike: 51 miles / 3 hours 30 minutes

Run: 16.42 miles / 2 hours 03 minutes

Cross Fever....it's that time of year

After a little break from training and racing, I am back to it with a little more structured base training through October.  Nothing exciting to add to that as it is all base training for this month before I add some more details and intervals into training next month.   By next month I may have more of an idea of the racing schedule for 2014 aside from IM St George 70.3 in May.

On the fun side I have been racing cyclocross this season after dabbling a couple of times at the end of the 2012.  It's nice to be racing low key with no expectations and just purely to have a good time.  So far I have raced a handful of times and will continue to do so through the Fall.  Aside from it being fun, it's an awesome workout and will dramatically improve your bike handling skills.  Where else can you race for 45mins on your bike in the Fall and average 165bpm's? 

Racing at ProvidenceCX in early October

Generally I race in the 3/4 category races (I am a Cat 4 for 'cross) and finish middle of the pack, always fighting someone for that all important 30th spot.  However, this past weekend I stepped down a level and raced the 4/5 category which was immediately prior to the Masters 3/4 race.  It was primarily as a good warm-up and to get some laps of the course before the 2nd race.  Fortunately I had a good starting position and after sitting in the top 5 for the first two laps, pushed away on the final lap and ended up winning the race.  Bonus!  For the 2nd race in the Masters 3/4 I was back to battling for 30th spot and got 31st :-)

Top step of the podium at Tacchino CX 4/5 race

If you haven't seen a cross race, why not head out and watch one (they generally serve beer), or better yet sign up and race one, mountain bikes are allowed.  The closest one in the Annapolis area is on Sunday Oct 27th at South River Farm Park and is being hosted by ABRT. 

Anyway, in the next month or so I'll be changing up the blog a little to add in weekly training updates....it will keep me honest as we target the 2014 season.