championship weekend
what a great weekend. before i get into my cyclocross racing blah, blah, blah i wanted to mention how much i enjoy our christmas tree tradition with the knutowski's. we've been hitting up westres tree farm for many a year and it is fun to look back at our photos to see how the crew has changed over time. benny, sydney, oliver, eli, calvin and now jackson. there is a new soul most every year (although this is the first in a few). the bonus was a snowy morning which just feels right.
anyway, back to friday. after getting cal my sister becca came by to watch calvin for us while we attended a cookie party. it was fun, we met a lot of local triathletes and got to talk with mark harms a little. we raced each other all season but hadn't really met so that was cool. saturday morning came and before long robin was kitted up and ready to rock her race. she had an ok first lap but really found her 'juice' on the second lap. you could tell she was building up steam but got passed by the mens single speed leader so didn't get to do the third lap. still, for not having ridden a cx bike since september she killed it. i got out for a quick lap and then we headed back home so i could get kitted up and calvin could get lunch/take a quick nap. i left a car at badger prairie with my pit bike so i could just ride to the course as warm up. the time went fast and i rode over, did another lap, did a little warming up on the backside of the park and then (as usual) race time was on me before i knew it.
i got a crappy start. i clipped in quick, i felt like i rode out of the start fast but somehow i was back further than i wanted to be. i never really felt all that comfortable out there and it was fast fast fast hard. a pure roadie course. i got in a group with 4 other guys the and i was in dangle mode. i'd fall off the pace on the flats, rally and catch them going uphill or on running portions of the course, only to get dropped again. on the last time up over the big hill i cracked and lost them all. i gave it everything i had but i just couldn't hold their wheels. my effort was good enough for 8th place. our church was having a baby sitting event to raise money for the youth group so we dropped him off and went downtown for dinner at graze. it was lovely - one of our favorites.
sunday was tree day. we woke up to a winter wonderland (pretty much dusting of snow) and after a nice breakfast/coffee i went outside to put the limus tires on the bike. getting the early start at the tree farm meant we pretty much had the place to ourselves which actually was kind of nice. we got some good shots for our christmas card this year and we actually followed our plan of not getting too crazy with regards to size of tree.
back home with enough time to get the tree off the car/in the garage, get my kit plan situated, drink a little more coffee and then head to the race. team wisconsin generously let me warm up in their heated tent which was nice. before long it was time to race. this time, i felt like i got a bad start but ended up with the whole shot which was key to not being drenched 2 minutes in. the snowy/muddy track was fun, fun, FUN! tyson, chris newlin and maciej got around me on the hill when we ran into a very slow cat 1/2 rider. a gap formed but i decided to spend as much energy possible to catch back on to maciej's wheel. i figured that we would eventually catch tyson/newlin - but that was wrong. maciej and i duked it out the rest of the race and i finally got some separation with a lap and a half to go and came in with a solid third place. i'm happy with how i rode - once i figured out strategies to get clipped in and that the big ring was better than the little, i rode well. if i'd figured that out earlier i think i could have caught the leaders but oh well.
training -
m: 0:20 (running, left calf pull)
t: 1:10 (commute)
w: 1:45 (commute, add on)
r: 0 (rest)
f: 1:10 (commute)
s: 2:00 (state championships)
n: 1:45 (regional championships)
total: 8:10
mini-break today and probably tomorrow. then, it's time to start ramping up. mike was trying to talk me into joining him/jeff for afterglow in chicago but it is saturday and i can't. the new years races are appealing in that i'd like to get out and move the legs in a race before nationals weekend but i just don't think it is happening. i think i can get the intensity i need doing intervals on the trainer - not my favorite but do-able for a couple of weeks.
happy monday.
anyway, back to friday. after getting cal my sister becca came by to watch calvin for us while we attended a cookie party. it was fun, we met a lot of local triathletes and got to talk with mark harms a little. we raced each other all season but hadn't really met so that was cool. saturday morning came and before long robin was kitted up and ready to rock her race. she had an ok first lap but really found her 'juice' on the second lap. you could tell she was building up steam but got passed by the mens single speed leader so didn't get to do the third lap. still, for not having ridden a cx bike since september she killed it. i got out for a quick lap and then we headed back home so i could get kitted up and calvin could get lunch/take a quick nap. i left a car at badger prairie with my pit bike so i could just ride to the course as warm up. the time went fast and i rode over, did another lap, did a little warming up on the backside of the park and then (as usual) race time was on me before i knew it.
i got a crappy start. i clipped in quick, i felt like i rode out of the start fast but somehow i was back further than i wanted to be. i never really felt all that comfortable out there and it was fast fast fast hard. a pure roadie course. i got in a group with 4 other guys the and i was in dangle mode. i'd fall off the pace on the flats, rally and catch them going uphill or on running portions of the course, only to get dropped again. on the last time up over the big hill i cracked and lost them all. i gave it everything i had but i just couldn't hold their wheels. my effort was good enough for 8th place. our church was having a baby sitting event to raise money for the youth group so we dropped him off and went downtown for dinner at graze. it was lovely - one of our favorites.
sunday was tree day. we woke up to a winter wonderland (pretty much dusting of snow) and after a nice breakfast/coffee i went outside to put the limus tires on the bike. getting the early start at the tree farm meant we pretty much had the place to ourselves which actually was kind of nice. we got some good shots for our christmas card this year and we actually followed our plan of not getting too crazy with regards to size of tree.
back home with enough time to get the tree off the car/in the garage, get my kit plan situated, drink a little more coffee and then head to the race. team wisconsin generously let me warm up in their heated tent which was nice. before long it was time to race. this time, i felt like i got a bad start but ended up with the whole shot which was key to not being drenched 2 minutes in. the snowy/muddy track was fun, fun, FUN! tyson, chris newlin and maciej got around me on the hill when we ran into a very slow cat 1/2 rider. a gap formed but i decided to spend as much energy possible to catch back on to maciej's wheel. i figured that we would eventually catch tyson/newlin - but that was wrong. maciej and i duked it out the rest of the race and i finally got some separation with a lap and a half to go and came in with a solid third place. i'm happy with how i rode - once i figured out strategies to get clipped in and that the big ring was better than the little, i rode well. if i'd figured that out earlier i think i could have caught the leaders but oh well.
training -
m: 0:20 (running, left calf pull)
t: 1:10 (commute)
w: 1:45 (commute, add on)
r: 0 (rest)
f: 1:10 (commute)
s: 2:00 (state championships)
n: 1:45 (regional championships)
total: 8:10
mini-break today and probably tomorrow. then, it's time to start ramping up. mike was trying to talk me into joining him/jeff for afterglow in chicago but it is saturday and i can't. the new years races are appealing in that i'd like to get out and move the legs in a race before nationals weekend but i just don't think it is happening. i think i can get the intensity i need doing intervals on the trainer - not my favorite but do-able for a couple of weeks.
happy monday.
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