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

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.