Flirting With The Dark Side

I started cycling mainly because I wanted to do cardio without running.  I once accompanied a friend to a marathon, observed participants limping around after the race and wondered what would posses someone to put their body through that pain.  After moving, I couldn't ride to work any more so I started looking for other ways to hold on to some fitness.  One option was....running.  I decided to run during lunch at work once or twice a week.  I purchased some Nike Free shoes and started doing some runs but still felt knee and back discomfort after runs longer then 3 miles.  It seemed that all my beliefs about running were true.

Then everything changed.  Claudia and I went to Peru and a member of our group that completed a 3 day hike to Machu Picchu wore Vibram FiveFinger shoes through the hike.  At the end of it, he seemed to be in better condition then those of us that wore hiking boots.  At the same time I was reading "Born to Run", a book about barefoot running.  After the trip I decided to take the plunge and purchased a pair of Vibram FiveFinger Sprints.  I quickly realized I had no idea how to run in these and actually started walking and then slowly working up to running again.  I quickly found that I could run without discomfort and my body recovered much faster then wearing shoes.

I did make a rookie mistake with my first pair of Vibrams.  I bought them and they were to big so I went down a size but in reality, I probably should have gone down at least one more size.  The thin sole combined with an incorrect fit led to them wearing through in the little toe.  So I purchased my second pair, Vibram FiveFinger Bikila LS.  These are a size smaller and combined with the lacing, have a much better fit.  They also have a slightly thicker sole allowing running over rougher conditions.

The other addition to my running arsenal finding a lightly used Garmin Forerunner 405 and pairing that with a Garmin footpad and my heart rate strap to begin gain the data to actually know how i'm doing.  All these tools have not only allowed me to run comfortably, but I actually look forward to runs.  Especially as the cold and wet of winter set in, I find that it's a lot more fun to go for a run then try to bundle up and ride.  Never would have guessed.....

Catching Up

So I've finished my first semester of grad school.  I did find time for my two favorite team rides, the Tour de Gruene and our annual Fredericksburg Winter Camp ride.

Tour de Gruene is a two man time-trial that I raced with Clint F.  Fortunately, my running has complemented my limited riding and I had decent form and we won our group.  But that ride is mostly about getting together, swapping stories from a year of racing, and eating good food.

The other ride is our annual Fredericksburg Winter Camp ride.  Every year our "coach" Richmond organizes a series of long rides over the holiday break including a big ride that is normally the largest Joe's Pro Bike group ride.  Fredericksburg always provides great roads and scenery and the conversation is fantastic.  This year, one of our teammates Marc did a timelapse capture of the ride.

Where Have I Been??

I've been absent and it will likely remain that way.  I've decided its time to complete my MBA so now I'm going to school along with working.  You don't realize how much free time you have till it goes away.  I haven't been riding much lately much less racing.  I'm trying to run more to stay in shape.  My goal is to do a half-marathon within 6 months and a full within 18 months.  I'll try to update but they will likely be infrequent as my school schedule demands most of my spare time.

Hoogerland

There's tough....

There's tougher.....

Then there's Hoogerland...

A MTB Build

So I finally finished the mountain bike build that I mentioned about a month ago. Well sorta, I'm still waiting on the bleed kit to finish the brakes. Overall, I'm pretty happy with how it came out. It weights 20 lbs 12 oz as pictured, feels great rolling around the street slowly (not much brakes). It was also a lot of fun to have a new, challenging build. There were a lot of things I've never done before including converting a fork to 29er, building Mtb wheels from scratch, and working with hydraulic brakes. Looking forward to getting out in nature and riding. I'll post up again after I've had a chance to do a real ride. This is also an excuse to put my name in the lottery for Leadville.

(yes, the yard is dead, no rain in two months will do that)

State TT Championship

So the State TT Championships came and went. I didn't have a bad ride, 57:47 which is a PR and tied for 9th in the Cat 3s but..... That is the reason for the delayed post, at first I was so bummed about the ride that I didn't feel I could accurately express my feelings about the ride. The performance wasn't disappointing but my power numbers were a good 5-7% low for the TT compared to the training leading up to the race. My position felt great on the bike but I felt as if I was fighting my body throughout the ride. My mind said "go" and my heart and legs said "we're trying", not "here's the power". At the same time I didn't feel as if I left anything on the course, I was trashed afterwards but I felt that my performance didn't accurately reflect my abilities and the training that led up to the race.

So it's done now and my body actually feels pretty good. I thought I might need some time off the bike in August but I've been riding and my training continues to progress. I feel as if I'm continuing to grow in my understanding of my body and how to train it. I'm looking forward to cyclocross season and with it cooler weather. There won't be much going on other then hopefully some mountain biking and training the next month so post may be limited.

A New Project

So I'm starting a new project...

Working away with my new truing stand...

A close inspection reveals, wait, that's not a road wheel!!!

I have decided to humor my cyclocross roots and build a mountain bike. It's not going to be anything fancy. I went for light weight, functional, and relatively cheap. Parts have been coming in for the past month and a half and should hopefully be all here in the next two weeks. As I start building I'll post more pictures. Who knows what this bike will bring but it's a reason to throw my name in the Leadville Lottery. I'm looking forward to rediscovering the part of cycling that started me on this journey. (sorry for the crappy photos, I was lazy and used my iPhone instead of the Nikon)