must be the shoes

It's coming together. Good week of training followed by some good eating and I'm feeling the best I have all season. This combined with getting rid of my flip-flop like road shoes for some carbon shoes (Pearl Izumi Elite Road) and some position changes on the bike and I feel faster than ever.

I have to say that going from road shoes with a sole that can be bent in both directions by hand to carbon is as big of an upgrade as moving to a carbon frame with carbon cranks for the first time.

Iowa Racing

Rolled out of KC at 6:30 am saturday to meet up with the rest of the team in burlington, IA. Saturday was the Snake Alley Criterium. A race in downtown Burlington with the highlight being a steep climb up a cobble stone, switch-backing, narrow road. the rest of the course was high speed descent on open city streets before you went back up snake alley again. this race has the reputation of being one of the most physically demanding courses there is...bastards were right. I was at the back of a 60 man field because I was one of the last to register for the race. No problem i thought, I can climb decently, I'll just start passing people on the way up and slowly make my way to the front. The only thing wrong with that is that unless you're one of the first 15 people to hit the alley, you're screwed. The whole thing is just a big bottle neck and you waste exponentially more energy trying to navigate the climb with people slowing down in front of you than if you could just climb it by yourself. basically the first three laps I got caught in traffic, was forced to a snail's pace and stuck trying to turn the pedals in too tall of a gear with no momentum. that and I just went out too fast and hard. From Britton yelling at me I was sitting somewhere around 20th position in those first few laps. I was at the redline the entire time, and was fading fast. Teammate Dan O. passed me about lap 3 or 4, I tried to recover a bit on the downhills but it was a lost battle already. Everytime I went up it just got worse. I was operating beyond my capacity and was done. The leaders lapped me around lap 6 or 7 of the 12 lap race. Dan lapped me not long after the leaders. I knew I was done for and surprised the officials hadn't pulled me yet. Made one more climb up the alley for good time's sake and rode down straight to my car. that was the absolute worst I've ever felt on a bike. I couldn't walk straight or think straight for that matter. I just dunked a towel in my cooler water and put it over my head. It took a good 5 minutes of sitting there before I was coherent. At the time you are thinking "this sucks so much, I will never do this race again!" but I wouldn't mind another shot at Snake Alley in the future.
Dan O. on the other hand was loving it. I think he finished 11th?? Regardless he did well and finished in the money. Steve and Joe had similar experiences to mine.
The night earlier was the 33 mile road race in burlington that I had to miss. It was a cat 3/4 combined race, and in his first cat 3 appearance, Matt P. pulled out the win.
Read newspaper article here (photo is in upper right)

Sunday we had the Melon City crit in Muscatine, IA. about 45 miles north of burlington. Previewed the course and was pretty pumped at the layout. Flat rollout with one turn prior to a long sweeping descent, speedbump that lauches you into the air before you have an equally long fast uphill climb. A few tight corners and level ground to the finish. This race was going to be FAST.
Warming up I knew I could have a good day. The legs felt the best they've felt in a long time. A tad bit fatigued from the day before, but good nonetheless. Rolled out and quickly reached about 45mph on the descent. Hit the climb and began to feel the course out. The first couple laps we were averaging just under 30 mph as we came through the start finish line. Did well to keep good position and maintain in the upper part of the group. I was doing alright, but it was just a fast tough race. Definetly operating at my aeorbic threshold the entire time. Over-reved the engine during one lap when I found myself on the front in the wind. Quickly tucked back in and it took another lap to recover.
The race was only paying out 10 deep and that was my goal, get paid. My only shot (often my only shot in most my races) was to keep it together for the final hill and attack over the top of the climb and sprint out to the finish. Last lap and speeds were picking up. I was working beyond my capacity and at the top of the climb was failing. Stuck it out to the end and finished 14th overall. I was pretty happy with that race. I did everything I could have done and just didn't have any matches left at the end of the last climb. Considering the speeds and the competition it was a great experience. I'm still going to keep working and I know I've got fitness to be gained yet. I will podium in the 4's this season.

Auburn RR

Damn, that was rough.
67 mile road race in a town just south of topeka. Not sure how many started with the 4's, but from team Colavita/Parisi we had a nice group. Joe, Steve, Dan and Matt. I was pumped to finally get the chance to ride with a big group of teammates.
Our happy group of five went down to 3 about 8-10 miles in. One rider in one direction and another the opposite. Joe got mixed up in a crash and that pretty much ended his day and Matt P. put in a superhero effort off the front with 2 Specs riders who I know were equally strong.
As matt was breaking away I found myself on the back of the pack that was chasing furiously. The pace was really fast and I was suffering. I had visions going through my oxygen deprived brain that I would get dropped. Managed to hang on and ride out the storm that was a hopeless chase attempt. Once I collected myself I liked my situation. Riding in the pack with a teammate off the front. Any work that was being done I wasn't part of it. Doesn't make other riders too happy, but thats racing. Tough day for bike shack and SKC though. First lap down and one more to go, was feeling pretty good and liked my chances for 4th place. We lost Steve V. due to a flat with about 10 miles to go. Too bad because he was doing well and was sitting in on the back keeping pace. Not sure how many riders got dropped during the race....had to be some. I was so focused on the front I never got much of a chance to look around. We did loose some to the crash that took joe out and there were a few that flatted. With about 8 miles to go we climbed a big hill and every pedal stroke caused my quads to cramp.
Well, aproaching the final stretch and was sitting pretty 2nd or 3rd from the front. Had Dan O. hovering right in front of me. One rider sprinted off the front to a huge white flag that he thought was the finish line. I assumed he knew what he was doing and jumped to his wheel. Overtook him with a couple riders around me only to find out that was the 200m line. Crap. I sat up thinking I was spent. Glanced back and saw that I was still in decent position and emptied the tank on a weak 2nd sprint. Crossed the line 3rd in our group, 6th overall. Dan was right next to me in 7th. Was dissappointed in the mix up. I wish I had that opportunity again. Was glad to be finished though. I've never hurt worse on a ride as I did after that. My legs were in agony.
Matt P. displayed some power in his breakaway. In a 2 against 1 situation he pulled out the win. Awesome. He said this is last week as a 4, he'll be riding with the 3's next time. Probably a good move. You can only bully the 4's for so long- just kidding. the guy just has raw power.

By the way, thanks to Britton over at Volker Bicycles, my race rig performed flawlessly. there is no comparison between aluminum and carbon.

Last years model xenith with SRAM Rival. Love the SRAM by the way. Glad to be working with something besides shimano for a change - My old seat: Specialized Toupe Carbon and Titatium Rails. My old wheels and tires-Schwalbe Ultremo R's have been great so far, they're a bit knicked up but no flats and no complaints. The FSA carbon cranks rock. So happy with everything. I thought I'd be contempt to ride my 2002 Aluminum Allez for the next year and a half but as soon I test rode the Jamis, I knew I had to make the move. Plus with the team discount there is no reason to wait.
The only way I could afford it was to sell my old bike and upgraded parts, I'm probably looking at selling my mtb also. Once it's all sold it's an even trade. Worth it when you've got a summer of road racing to do.
Thanks to teammate Phillip Wilkerson for the race photo - good stuff.

Turn the page

finished my last final today. Good semester in the clinic, got a lot done, in a good position to knock out most of my requirements this summer. That would leave me with fall and spring semester next year to work on patient cases that I choose....the fun stuff.
Bad semester in the classroom. I mostly blame cycling. with racing and my obsessive nature over my hobbies/sports I found it pretty hard to stay motivated and study for exams. Also because I'm just really burnt out after the last 3 years of D. school and I've finally found an outlet for my competitive nature since I stopped playing soccer. It's really consumed my life, but I love it. I wish I got more involved in cycling earlier.

So now that I am officially a 4th year (where the hell did the time go) my sole priority is clinic; although there are a few classes in the fall semester, there is very little in the spring and NO CLASSES this summer - just seeing patients. So this summer I will attempt to take things to the next level in regards to racing and training. Hopefully after a full summer of racing and a smooth transition into the fall semester I will be ready to tone things down and prepare for part II of my National Board Exam which I take in december. The first portion of this exam ruined my last summer and I am maxing out my opportunity this summer.

Down Time

As I write this, my team is on a group ride...and I'm sitting on the couch drinking coffee in my robe. Velotek GP took it out of me. Sunday eve and monday I was just drained. Looking back, I probably didn't do enough to refuel after the road race on Sunday. I still ate about 3 times that afternoon/eve but it wasn't soon enough or frequent enough. Monday it was pretty rainy and I threw my bike on the trainer to do a bit of a recovery spin. After about 30 minutes I bonked. Literally. My glycogen stores must still have been super low. This is actually the first time I can say I bonked on "the bonk memoirs" and it happened on a trainer - nice.
Tuesday I talked myself into the practice crit. I could definetly feel the effects from the past weekend. I just didn't have energy that I'm used to. So what better time than to attack off the front - launched huge and got a big gap. It only lasted 1 lap though and I struggled to stay on the back of the pack afterwards. I actually thought about sitting out a lap because it took a lot out of me. Spent the remaining time sitting in and setting up for the final. with about 1.5 laps to go some guy went off the front and tried to solo it for the win. No one else was really chasing (or looked like they were chasing) so I lead a train to his wheel and caught him 100m before the line. Sat there and waited for someone to make a move, and Marcus blew by me on the left, another rider on my right. I jumped and came across in third. Marcus S. took the win.
As we drove home I was just feeling mentally and physically empty. As I have finals next week an no races for 2 weeks I decided in the car that I'm going to take it easy for a bit. Get some down time before my summer starts and the real training begins.

Right after finals I will be traveling to Wisconsin to visit some relatives for the week. I was actually born and raised Milwaukee, so most of my family still lives there. I'll be in Trempealeau, WI which is located on the Mississippi River. Apparently the roads around there have been labeled as the best place for road biking in the upper midwest. Super hilly, scenic, good pavement, and almost zero traffic. I'd say it's comparable to Hermann, MO or St. Genevive, MO. I'll get there just in time for the annual "hip breaker tour." 42 miles with apparently a bastard of a climb - I'll be representing in the Team Colavita/Parisi Coffe in full kit. The rest of the week will give great opportunities to get in great miles. The area sports 382 miles of interconnecting routes with an average of 3 cars per hour! the website needs an update but check it out clicky clicky