I’d have to say that today was a most excellent training day. Had a bit of a lazy start to the day with some lingering over breakfast and the Internet. Kicked the day of training off with a two hour endurance ride featuring a bevy of tempo intervals. I felt good. So good. The wattage was where I wanted and my legs were pretty much happy with the efforts. Zipped in the garage, switched bikes, quick change of clothes, a chocolate mint Clif Builder bar, a splash of lemon water and I was out the door in a mere 20 minutes for part two of the training. Hit up a park near the house for some cyclo-cross action.

Luckily the park was completely empty, giving us free range to do what we wanted. I warmed up by riding the lines. Yep, riding the marked up soccer field – lots of tight turns and twists. Then some mount and dismount practice. I find these two warm-up drills help get the feel of the bike and remind the body how to do things progressively with speed and finesse. Then it was flag time. This park features a shallow slope so I set up the grid and Marc and I got to work on riding the grid. We attacked it by riding up across the hill then riding down through the grid. The highlight of this training session was getting some excellent feedback from Marc. Helps to have a set of eyes there to give a different perspective on the drill. Then we practiced descending with speed, cornering and attacking the climb. Again, more lessons learned.

What a difference it makes to train with someone else. Lots of positive interaction. We were able to talk about the best ways to attack the drill and work through different ideas.

We were both pretty baked by the end of this 90 minute session. Normally I like to take a bit of a break after my road work-out before heading out for a ‘cross skills ride. But today we had a bunch of other stuff on the agenda. So we decided since the top priorities were the training, best to get this done first and then we could relax a bit and get our other errands done. Pretty satisfying in the end to be able to relax and chill out after two excellent work-outs.

On deck for Sunday: three hour ride, 30 minute ride and maybe a skills session at the park again. I kind of want to get out there and practice everything I learned today. I’m a slowish learner so I need to get out there and repeat, repeat, repeat. As my old taekwon-do coach told me “practice makes improvement”.

We are booked. Booked for our trip out to western Canada for the Canadian Cyclo-Cross Championships. We managed to get a super price on tickets from Ottawa – Edmonton thanks to the little company that does it right: WestJet. We compared prices on Air Canada and WestJet – we are saving $400 with WestJet and the prices for the extra bikes is much lower with WestJet. Yep, I’m a fan. Maybe even a superfan. At first it seemed a bit crazy early to be booking flights, but dudes, we aren’t that far away from Nationals. The action goes down Oct. 10 in Edmonton and then the following day we have the Jim Horner Classic. Nice.

I’m looking forward to returning to Edmonton. I had a good race there last year and I’m looking forward to improving on that result. And to top it off, my parents are making the trek out from Saskatchewan to cheer on me and Marc. Now that my dad is well-versed in cyclo-cross, he’ll know the drill: arrive at the venue early, wait patiently, stand at the start line with extra wheels and a pump, collect extra jackets and water bottles, race around the course cheering and taking a whole lot of pictures, be there at the finish with warm-up clothes and a big smile. Pretty lucky to have this kind of support. It will be my mom’s first time at a ‘cross race. I think this will be easier on her than standing in freezing cold arenas watching my wee little brother getting bodychecked into the boards or watching me get punched and hand out some out sturdy lefts and rights in the taekwon-do ring. I promise there will be no punching or bodychecking at ‘cross Nationals. Can’t do much about the cold though….

So I had planned to go out and do some skill work yesterday. But I decided to listen to my body. I had a super good ride behind the motor bike on Wednesday morning (well, I did implode 28 minutes into the 30 minute session…). I felt super good on the ride into the office after the work-out. Legs were a bit sluggish on my commute home, but nothing crazy. So why the rest in the evening? Well, some of my UC symptoms returned – they had been dormant for a few days, and on Wednesday they came back. So remembering the message I received from my gastro doctor about “taking it easy”, I decided not to push things. Turns out it was the right decision.

I’ve felt great today. UC symptoms are gone again. Had a great endurance ride this morning followed by a smooth commute in. Good ride home followed by a 30 minute run. And the good news – my body is still playing along nicely. Feeling great. Wouldn’t even know that I have the UC. So this is a banner day. Yes, I did sweat a bit about not doing my planned skills ride yesterday. But you know what? It is not a big deal. I don’t want to put myself in a hole. (It has taken me a long time to accept that ‘less is more’ really does make sense.)

I am stoked to be hitting up the trails tomorrow after work. Looking forward to playing in the sand and just being one with sticks and twigs. Saturday afternoon/early evening I will be out doing some ‘cross drills. So if you’re in Ottawa and you want to come out – seriously – email me. I’m going to be there and hopefully Marc as well. Just planning on setting up the flags and doing some stuff. I’ll bring out the trusty PVC barrier as well. Hey, at the very least it gives you an excuse to dig out your ‘cross bike an come out to Barrhaven for some fun.

Okay, I’m out. Have a good one. See you on Saturday or on Sept. 19 in Pennsylvania.

Came across this article (thanks to Marc) on Pez today. Thought it was a good follow-up to Monday’s post.

Toolbox: Surviving Fatigue

Going out tomorrow morning for a spin behind the motor bike. First time doing motorpacing this season. I’m sure it won’t take long for the wonderful motorpacing sensations to return. Short term pain for long term gain.

Planning on making it a double tomorrow and hitting up my neighbourhood park for some ‘cross skills work. If you want to come out, drop me an email. Training partners are definitely appreciated.

Can’t believe that the race season is nearly here. I’m really looking forward to it. Miss zipping around on my bike for a fast 40 minutes. Also really miss watching Marc race and getting to cheer him on. It really isn’t the same to watch a road race. Watching ‘cross racing is a true spectator sport. This sport of cyclo-cross is booming – I love it. The more the merrier.

Soon enough we’ll be in Belgium. Yay! This is the highlight of the ‘cross racing season. Nothing like being in the land of rice tarts, fresh bread, group rides, televised ‘cross races, and good friends to feel at home.

Yep, today was all about turning. Tight turns. Big wide arching turns. Turns on loose terrain. Turns on long slow grass. Turning and looking ahead. Turning and not touching the brakes. Turning and pedaling. Turning and remembering to ease off on the pedals a bit before the turn. Turning the bike and keeping the body upright. Turns. Turns. Turns.

I realized on Friday when riding around in my favorite training grounds, that turning is one area I really need to enhance. I discovered that I simply don’t keep turning my front wheel. Not sure what this. Almost like I don’t commit to turning, so then I have to stop pedaling, brake, or blow the line – simply because I didn’t keep turning. This habit of course has a trickle-down effect in a race, because now that I’ve messed up the turn, I’ve had to slow down to recover and now – you guessed it – I have to blow some bullets by sprinting to get up to speed and to catch the group I just lost. So this half-turning thing just isn’t working long-term.

The other thing I finally realized on Friday is that when my brain is working – i.e. thinking about an upcoming obstacle, corner, barrier, etc. – guess what happens? I stop pedaling. Not cool. I need to keep pedaling. Need to keep the speed going, need to keep applying pedal pressure. Not sure where this thinking=not pedaling thing comes from. Maybe because I’m coming from a road background? Maybe because I can be a bit tentative in tricky situations? I used to brake way too much – I think I’ve conquered this, but now I seem to have compensated by not pedaling. Grrr. One step forward and one one step back.

But, hey at least I’ve finally clued into this. Marc has been telling me I do both of the above for a while – but my stubborn streak refused to acknowledge it. Luckily, I’m onside and I’ve realized that I need to fix these two things.

So today, as much as I would have preferred to hide from the heat in the woods, I took my trusty bike out to the park down the street and spent a solid 90 minutes turning and pedaling. The park was completely empty (pretty normal). So I had free-range to do whatever I wanted. I warmed up by riding the lines on the soccer field. Lucky for me, there was a kiddie tournament on the weekend so the field had been marked up to be four kid-size fields. Lots of lines – lots of corners – lots of turning. Then I hit up the ball diamond. I know, maybe I shouldn’t have done it. But I never ever see anyone playing ball at this park and the ball diamond is perfect for practicing turning in loose terrain. This particular ball diamond has soft and deepish sand/gravel and it is the perfect size to do drills in. I set up a little obstacle course and got to work.

Yikes, there were a few ugly moments there when I forgot that you really have to let the sand control you and just go with the flow. But eventually I got the hang of it and was getting through my course okay. I know I still have some work to do but, baby steps. One of the most challenging aspects of riding in loose terrain is keeping the body relaxed. I found I would hunch up my shoulders and my arms became super rigid. This doesn’t help when I’m trying to roll with the sand and let my bike do its thing. Takes time as well to get used to the feeling of the sand giving way underneath the tires and feeling the wheels slip around.

After playing in the sand for a while, I decided to set up a big grid in the grass and practice turning in the grass. I set up a massive grid, using 20 flags. The idea was to just do three things: commit to the turn, look ahead, and keep pedaling. Man, I had a blast. I was able to get a bit faster as the drills went on and my confidence began to grow as well. I did big wide turns. Tight turns. Wide turns followed immediately by tight turns. Figure eights. You name it, I did it.

All in all, a pretty solid session on the ‘cross bike. I have to admit though, it is darn hard to get out there and do these drills alone. But I know this time will pay off once the racing starts. The one bonus about being out there alone, is I’m forced to keep things moving and interesting since there isn’t anyone to talk with! I’m impressed with how much I can get done in 60 – 90 minutes.

What about you? How do you practice your ‘cross skills? I know a lot of you are fortunate to live places where there are organized ‘cross training sessions and ‘cross races mid-week. We do have some of that here, but not until September. I’m thinking it would be fun to start up a mid-week training race. Get a group of people together, set up a course and just race it. We can do stuff like follow-the-leader to warm-up and then get a little race in. Doesn’t have to be a long race – even 20 minutes is good. Everyone gets a chance to practice, get in a hard effort, and hang out with friends. Any takers on this?

Good news, sold both my ‘cross bikes. Super happy that they are both going to great homes. I’m looking forward to getting out on my new Stevens Super-Prestige bikes. Thanks so much to Vince at The Cyclery for helping me out again this year with some fast frames and smooth groupos! Hey – did you buy your Dugast tires yet? Better get on it before they’re all gone and you’re left riding around on some silly little copycat tires.

Alright, I’m out. See some of you I’m sure at the races on Sept. 19/20. Looking forward to catching up and having some fun racing bikes.

Just a quick post to let you know that I’m still floating around. Just been some busy days. Not crazy. Just the kind of days that make you wonder where all the time went. I’ve got to say, this heat wave is not fun. I want the cool days of June and July back. I can’t take this heat.

Riding in the humidity is a challenge. But add running into the mix, and it is simply not a good time. But this could be chalked up to the running itself. Hit up the pavement for my second run. Think I’m getting the hang of this running gig. Learned that it helps to run with music – this way I can’t hear my own gasping/panting and my plodding elephant-like feet slapping the ground.

Looking forward to getting out for some more cyclo-cross action this weekend. Plan on Friday after work is to hit up the secret training grounds for some singletrack action. Might do more of the same on Saturday or go to the park and ride around the flags and jump over the barrier. See really what the weather is like. I don’t think it is worth baking in the sun riding around flags.

Bummer about Masters World Cyclo-Cross Championships being canceled. But remember this is only one race. There are so many awesome races in Belgium and Holland for all racers – elite and masters. I think it is still worth the trip. Come over, race, watch some elite racers, go out on some fun group rides, eat some waffles, drink some beer, and have lots of stories to tell when you’re old and rickety.

And if you’re going to do so, you’re going to need some tires. So don’t forget to check out The Cyclery and the fine supply of Dugasts in stock. All prices are in Canadian dollars. I’ll be down at most of the New England Verge races and a bunch of others, so if you need some tire transport, just let me know. Check out my race calendar, order some tires, and then ping me. We can get you set up for a fast and smooth season. And while we’re at it, I’ll hook you up with some easy living in Belgium.

Okay, I’m out. Training is done for the day. I’m off to the movies. Julie and Julia is on the schedule. Happy Thursday!