Wigwam MTB Challenge

My race in Sheboygan at the Wigwam MTB Challenge on October 10th was so-so, if judged on overall or class finish. I've done better, I've done worse. Having had a bit over a week to play it back in my head I would have to say it was one of my best races of the year.

Going in to the race I was in 3rd place in the WORS Sport Singlespeed class. I was too far behind 2nd to catch him but I was only 4 points ahead of 4th. I knew Anthony, the rider in 4th, was going to be in Sheboygan to try to knock me off the final podium. I was determined to not let that happen.

Tammy and I arrived in Sheboygan late on Saturday afternoon. I had worked 11 pm-7am the night before and needed my beauty sleep. We checked in at our hotel, changed and headed over Jaycee's Quarryview and Evergreen Parks to pre-ride the course. I rode on easy lap with Tammy and then did a faster lap solo. I finished in good shape and felt confident about Sundays race. My gear choice-32x16-seemed good on all but the "Equalizer" and the bike felt flawless.

Sunday was a perfect day for the race. Mid 60's and sunny, with very little breeze. You couldn't ask for better weather for early October. I watched the start of Tammy's Citizen race and caught glimpses of her at a view spots on her first lap. Then I headed off to change and get warmed up. I pedaled down the road and did laps around a small industrial park. After 20 minutes of easy pedaling I tossed in a couple hard efforts and made my way back to the starting line.

I got to the starting area with a few minutes to spare and noticed all of the top singlespeeders were there. I knew it was going to be a great race. I felt strong and relaxed waiting for our call ups. While we were waiting at the line Anthony remarked that he needed to finish two spots ahead of me to pass me in the final standings. My goal for the race was to not let that occur. I wanted to do well and have a strong race but goal number was-stay in front of Anthony at all costs!

Don Edberg-aka "Mr. WORS" -gave us our usual pep talk and pre-race instructions. I waited nervously for the countdown and Don's trademark GOOOOOOOOO!!!! *Note-if you've never experienced Don's starting ritual, you're missing a great spectacle!*

I had a fair start, as usual. I just never seem to get off the line strong and quick. Looks like I need to work on that for next season. I spun out my gear quickly and tried to hang on to the pack and keep an eye on the other singlespeeders. Just as we sped down a short paved section I saw Anthony off to my right. I knew the singletrack was coming up and I wanted to be ahead of him when we entered it. Just before the hard right in to the singletrack I passed him and put the hammer down. The first half of the course featured some longer sections of singletrack. I figured if I could get in front and put some riders between us I might be able to open a gap. Out of sight, out of mind. The singletrack was twisty and rooted but I pushed about as hard as I could without blowing up. I caught a small group of singlespeeders and 18 and under racers and we flew through the singletrack.

On a small gravel climb just before we crossed over to Quarryview Park, the leader in the singlespeed class, Jesse, caught me and blew right by. I looked back to see who had hooked an anchor to my bike. It was obvious why Jesse was in first.

I had a strong first lap. I kept pushing and tried to keep picking off riders. I was cruising through lap two when another singlespeeder caught me on a short but steep climb in some singletrack. I put a foot down when I lost momentum and he muttered some remarks about my riding ability and holding him up. That's putting it politely. He passed me and at the same time he lit a fire under me and gave me some added incentive to keep pushing. I latched on to his wheel and let him pull me along. I figured if he was that strong I'd let him do all the work. I stayed with him the remainder of lap two and most of lap three. At almost the same spot where I had held up his progress he dismounted and had to walk up the short climb. I took the opportunity to pass him and the doubled my effort. I wasn't letting him by again. I crossed over to Quarryview, dropped down on the singletrack along the river and headed to the screaming crowd on the Equalizer. I didn't entertain any thoughts of trying to ride it but got off and ran up the climb. Down the trail and around the quarry on the "Sheboygan slickrock". Every time I heard a bike behind me I just knew it was going to be Anthony. If I heard the click of a shifter and derailleur I knew I was safe. Back down along the river and back up through some loose sand. Under the bridge and across in to Evergreen Park and one last little section through some trees. I sprinted for the line like the devil was after me. I was just catching my breath and talking with Jesse and a couple other riders when Anthony came through. I had beaten him, but only by about fifteen seconds. At that point that was as good as fifteen minutes! If I had done my math right, I knew I had sewn up third overall and would be on the podium at the awards banquet.

I ended up 5th in singlespeed that day. The top 8 of us were only 2 minutes apart. I call that a tough and competitive field. And I would call that a good race and mission accomplished.

I've been relaxing and just enjoying myself the last week and a half. No structured training and nothing planned. But, my mind is whirring. I'm already thinking and planning for next season. I'll talk about that more when I get it firmed up and have some concrete goals.

Until then.........gotta go and enjoy the great fall weather.

Thanks for checking this out.

Weekly recap

Good morning everyone....anyone.

Just a quick update to let you know how the last week went.

I worked day shift - 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.- so my training, if you can call it that, consisted of bike commuting from Plover to Biron. The week started out nice but by the end of the week it was in the low 30's on my ride in at 5 a.m. Not really cold, but colder than I am used to. We'll call it seasonal. Mid week I battled a blustery and rainy ride back to Plover. So much for trusting the weatherman. I pushed the pace a bit that day and on Sunday. Not ridiculously hard but considering I was wearing a heavy backpack it was a good workout. I tend to take it easy on my morning rides in so they were nothing spectacular.

No running or gym workouts last week. I am trying to key up for my last WORS race this Sunday, October 10th, in Sheboygan. I am currently in third place in Sport Singlespeed, but by only 4 points. I need one more good race to stay on the podium for the season overall. All I can do is race my best race, put forth my best effort and let the chips fall where they may.

Nothing else exciting last week. I've been thinking about my fall recovery plans and plans for 2011 already. As I firm these up I'll post about them.

Bear Paw Pics

Some great photos from Extreme Photography Unlimited.

Bear Paw Rock & Roll

Well, I've had a few days to let this race rattle around my skull. Some thoughts...

It was a gorgeous day for a race. The torrential rains from early in the week didn't affect the course much at all. The single track was a little greasy and there were a few puddles in the double track but they were avoidable. All in all it was a great course. Bear Paw Outdoor Adventure Resort put on a great race.

This race started with a short roll out and then one helluva hill. I had a pretty good start for a change. At least I think I did. Starting with the 18 and under age group it can be difficult to keep an eye on everyone. I was with the first couple singlespeeds at the top of the hill and we blasted down the other side on some fast double track. This led into the first section of single track. Through out the three laps the sections of the single track gave me fits! It was fun, but greasy, rooted and rocky. It seemed like I would get some speed and momentum going-a singlespeeders best friend-and then I'd end up putting a foot down and losing everything. Still, I didn't seem to be losing too much ground and wasn't holding any one up.

The field was a little smaller than usual so I spent a fair amount of the three laps alone. I never really knew how I was doing but kept trying to push. I knew I had passed a couple singlespeeders early in the first lap and from early races I knew they would probably be right behind me. Sure enough, about half way through the last lap I had one pass me. I tried to stay on his wheel in the single track but just didn't seem to have it. On the last climb I had another singlespeed pass me. I knew I didn't have far to go so I pushed and jumped on his wheel and we flew down the hill and on to the double track to the finish. On the last turn in to the finish chute I had my front wheel along side his back wheel. He had the inside line and I couldn't get around him. If I had pushed it harder I think I would have gone in to his back wheel and taken us both out. I backed off just a little and, yeah, I guess I let him have the spot. Just not worth taking us both down and losing spots.

Just after we finished another singlespeed came in right behind us. In the final results, second through fifth were about one minutes apart. Good hard racing. Just the kind I like.

I ended up 4th singlespeed and 48th overall. Not too bad. Of course I would like to have done better, but with my training, or lack of training lately, I'll take it.

Now I've got a little less than two weeks until the last race in Sheboygan. I need to put in some solid training and try to get the best result I can. If I have a good race and result it should give me a good finish in the overall standings.

We'll see.....

Short and Fat race recap

If I had to title this post it would probably be "A Tale of Two Races" or maybe "Swinging Emotions". It was one of those days.

Tammy and I drove up north on Friday and stayed at a cabin with my sister, brother-in-law and their granddaughter. We had a nice and relaxing drive and enjoyed the fall colors that were just beginning to show. A little rain but that was no big deal. The bikes were in the car and it would hopefully be just enough to firm up the race course. After we arrived we relaxed a bit and then all headed down to Cable for bib pick up. It seemed odd seeing Telemark closed up and everything set up under the big tent. Back to the cabin and a tasty supper and then I trundled off to bed.

I woke up about 6:30 a.m. Saturday and started my pre-race routine. I hadn't slept well but I didn't feel tired. I ate my normal oatmeal, bagel with Nutella and a protein drink and started getting dressed. It was a sunny but cool morning. I put on an Under Armor shirt, my Dznuts jersey, arm warmers and shorts. I felt ready and a little anxious, or nervous but that's normal. If I stop feeling those butterflies then it's time to stop racing.

We pulled in to Cable, found a parking spot and started to unload the bikes. I told Tammy that I was having a bad feeling about the bike. I had tried putting on a new chain earlier in the week, only to realize it wasn't the right size. Good thing I had saved the old chain. I cleaned that and put it on. Then I changed the 17 tooth cog to a 16 and adjusted the bottom bracket. I'm kind of anal about some things ( or everything, Tammy would say) and I kept adjusting and readjusting until I got the chain tension right where I wanted. All this was done last minute and that's never a good thing.

Tammy and I did a short warm up and loosened up the legs. I wasn't too worried about getting in to the start area since I had a preferred start. After the warm up I gave Tammy a good luck kiss, told her she would do great and we both lined up. I was still feeling the butterflies but I felt strong. I hadn't done a lot of riding the last few weeks but I felt my endurance was good and my earlier races had me feeling confident.

The gun went off and the pack was off like a shot. The lead quad controlled the roll out until we hit the gravel but I was still spun out right away. I was wishing for more gears, a bigger gear, anything. But, I knew I would make up for all the riders passing me when we hit the hills.

I settled in to a steady pace on Randysek Road and pushed on the downhills and used my momentum to push the uphills. I started to move up slowly and was feeling great.

I made the left hand turn and hit the rocks and ruts on the snowmobile trail. I pushed as hard as I could over the rocks and ruts. A couple minutes in I heard a buzz and turned to see who was that close to me that we were rubbing wheels. Nobody was there. I tried to figure out what the sound was when my bike suddenly skidded to a stop. What the hell!! I jumped off and saw my rear wheel had popped out of my dropouts. Aw man! Was it a chain problem? Axle broken? I opened the quick release and tried to maneuver the wheel back in. It went in a little hard and I pushed the bike a little and the rear wheel wouldn't roll! Now what? Bent rotor? I tried wiggling and adjusting the rear wheel and finally got it to roll a little. Or so it seemed.It still was dragging somewhere, probably the rear brake rotor. All this time I was bent over my bike I could hear and see racer passing by the hundreds, or so it seemed. After what seemed like an eternity I got the wheel adjusted enough to get going again and off I went.

At this point I was ready to just ride it in and be satisfied with just finishing. I wasn't sure just how hard I wanted to push. The bike seemed to roll well enough down the hills but I could feel the drag on the flats and the uphills felt like I was pulling an anchor. But, I was making up ground and still passing riders. Maybe I could salvage a respectable race. My goal had been a finish time of sub one hour. That was out the door now. But I could still have a good race. I wasn't going to let a mechanical beat me. I put my head down and started to push.

I spun as hard as I could down Telemark Road. I even dodged an errant dog on the course. What next?! When I turned on to the Birkie trail I fell in behind another racer and we traded off pushing each other towards the finish. He would occasionally pull away but I would pick it and stayed with him. I had to get off and walk up Big Bertha but that was the only time I pushed the bike. I turned on to the power lines and knew there wasn't far to go. About this time I lost the wheel of the racer who had been pulling/pushing me the last five or six miles.

When I popped out on to the road behind the condos at Telemark I knew I had a mile to go. Up the road and back on the trail to the climb on the back of the ski hill. This was going to be a tough climb. Right at the bottom of the climb another single speed rider pulled up beside me and said we had just this last climb. "Yeah, if I survive", I remarked back. He started to pull away easily and I tried to stay with him. Not a chance! He put a 10 yard gap on me and suddenly got off and started pushing. That was all I needed. No way was I walking this last hill. I barely kept the pedals turning but made it to the top. Down the hill and around the final turns and the last little climb before the finish line. I crossed with a little sprint and was done.

Finally! When I had my mechanical my first thought was it's too early to DNF! How would I get out? Then I resigned myself to a long and slow race. When I finally got my head on straight and my attitude adjusted I decided to try my hardest. That's what I tell Tammy, and anyone else that will listen. Goal one should always be to finish.

I found my sister and waited for Tammy and Mike to finish. Tammy had an awesome race. She surprised herself with how well she did and how much fun she had. She beat her estimated finish time by a ton. She was figuring 2 hours and finished in 1:38 and change. Mike was just behind in a little over 2 hours. Everyone finished and in one piece so it was a good day.

I was still feeling bummed and disappointed by my race as we made our way to the timing trailer to get our times. I gave the girl my bib number and she printed out my timing slip. I looked at it as I walked over to the gang and saw my time and ranking. 1:10:06 - 136th overall and 3rd in single speed. What?? That can't be right. I figured it was just a preliminary result and would change. We walked our bikes back to the car and came back to the finish area. I checked the results posted near the finish and saw the same result.

If I learned anything from this race it is that after 25 years of racing I can still learn something. I learned don't give up. Keep pushing as hard as you can for as long as you can. One bad stretch doesn't doom the day. I also learned time has a strange way of passing while a person is racing. I would have sworn I had been off the bike 10 minutes with my mechanical. I had a helmet cam to tape the race and watched it after the race. I checked the time when I got off the bike and again when I got rolling-about 2:15. Not ten minutes! The biggest thing I learned? Check the bike quick before I start. Check the quick releases, tires, chain. Anything loose? Rattling? Got the pump? Spare tube? 30 seconds of checking can make or break the day.

All in all I would have to say it was a good day. We all finished in one piece. We had fun. The weather was great.

Next year will be better. I know it will.

Training Schedules

Well, here I am again. Been mulling some ideas and it's time to put some of them to words. Today's subject-training schedules. Or in my case, the lack thereof.

How many of you use a training plan/schedule? Do you really stick to it, as best you can?

I have used training plans in the past, and to pretty good success. I used one to train for a 5K a few years back. It incorporated speed work, tempo and long runs. It wasn't a case of not being able to run the distance. I wanted to see how fast I could run a 5K. I had never broken the 20 minute barrier and that was my goal. It wasn't anything fancy and it got the desired results. I ran my one and only sub 20 minute 5K. Never said I was speedy!

I also used a plan to do my first half marathon. I was a little hesitant about being able to run a strong race. Again, the distance wasn't a concerning factor. I wanted to run a good race and finish strong. I followed the plan as well as I could with my goofy work schedule. I was a little concerned when I wasn't meeting my pace goals for the long and tempo runs. I hadn't set a lofty time goal and I just couldn't seem to ever hit my paces. Come race day I toed the line knowing I had trained hard and was going to do the best I could. In my first half marathon I set a PR I haven't come close to again. Why? Could it be the structured training?

This summer I have been focusing my efforts on the bike, mainly the WORS mountain bike series. I haven't subscribed to any set program but I have done considerably more riding than running. I started to do some strength training which concentrated on cycling muscles. I added longer rides than I have done in years to build some endurance. Is it working? I would like to think so. I am racing the Sport singlespeed class, which has no age classes. I have been doing quite well and even have a couple podium finishes. It remains to be seen how the year will end up.

So, what got me to thinking about this. I did a 25K trail run yesterday that kicked my butt! I am sore and moving like an old man today. I should normally be able to do this without quite so much difficulty. I hadn't run this far since July 31. I only had one other run this far since the end of March. Hmmm....wonder why I suffered out there? DUH!!

So, my plan for the fall is to set up a plan for next year. I have some big goals-more later- and need to figure out how to make everything fit without killing myself or driving my better half insane. Any ideas? Opinions? Help?? Let me know.

Thanks for listening.

Later...Sven

Vacation! What to do???

Finally! After working hard all summer, really, I have been working hard, it's vacation time. Three, yes, three weeks off. And no big plans. Which is leaving me kind of itchy. Does anybody else get like this? It's not that I need to compete or have some type of event scheduled. I just enjoy working toward a goal. I have some possible events on the near horizon but nothing really firm. Maybe that's the part that leaves me squirming. I am not one who normally needs things scheduled months in advance. My job doesn't allow that kind of advantage. I did have some events scheduled for earlier this year and something always came up at the last minute. So I am learning to be more flexible. I am used to doing things on the spur of the moment. But I do like having things kind of floating out there. Things I might be able to fit in to my weird schedule.
I would at least like to get in one more epic ( for me ) road ride. Nothing fancy or crazy. Just like my last two long rides. Hop on the bike, point it down the driveway with some general idea of where to go and go. Stash a couple extra dollars in the saddle bag for emergency energy food and pedal. We'll see if I can fit that in. I'll let ya know.
Got run.....or maybe pedal....later