Lean and Mean

Headed to the track earlier in the weak for an easy run, drills and to break in a new pair of trainers. After a warm-up started out striding the straights and easy run on the curves. Then out of nowhere, he appears, the man, the myth, the legend: Fritz.

Who is motivating who? I come around him the second time and there he yells, "lean and mean, lean and mean" and we have ourselves another new motto: "feed the dynasty" and "lean and mean". Coming from a seventy-four years young man referring to himself as older than Benjamin Button, and re-starting his life at his age, he continues his run around the track, ask about the intervals and workouts, and offers a thanks for the motivation.

Now get off your ass and do something.
-A.

And the Oscar goes to...

Random things encountered and experienced since the last posting:
1. Training with power is amazing, reading instructions is less than amazing.
2. DZnuts is the only chamois cream for proper mainTAINTanance of the perineal area.
3. My sister makes amazing guac, must be something about NORCAL.
4. Demetri Martin = freakin' hilarious.
5. Biggest Loser, need anymore be said.
6. I have a serious man crush on Anthony Bourdain.
6a. bloggers block......forgot....no more mental notes....Train Smart
-A.

The Need for Speed

The new power tap is on order - watch out - going to rock out, coming to a triathlon near you. Who says you can't stimulate the economy (or just reward yourself because you don't have a retirement account anyway). Chose a good week not to blog, ice storm hits, fall behind in work, nicely coinciding with an increase in feeding the dynasty, and rediscovered why Goose Island Honkers Ale makes for a great recovery drink, yet disappears way to fast.

Check out the big wave surfer documentary Riding Giants - excellent for a motivational trainer workout. And/or Pumping Iron bodybuilding documentary about Arnold - lets just say Michael Phelps isn't the only famous athlete/celebrity hitting the bong.
-A.

Southern Hospitality

Found some other photos of Southern Cross. Here I am finishing the race, a slight uphill to the finish line after the cross section, right into a barn with heaters, chili, cookies and Yazoo beer (brewery in Nashville, TN). Other reports rolling in indicate the second half of the climb (after the sharp right turn at the volunteer truck) is not considered a route or even attempted by the locals.

Race Report

The rain began to fall as we awaited the pre-race meeting. Mulberry Gap, GA was a beautiful setting, tall old growth forest, most notably the pine-outdoor-forest-trout-clear stream smell. The race started with a "parade lap" through the cyclocross course and then shot out onto the first downhill gravel/mud fire road section. (On the drive down, Hank and I decided to ride together, have fun, ride a hard steady effort, but don't race.) The amazing streams and scenery made you forget for a moment you were screaming downhill, around fast turns and depending on you line - getting mud thrown all over you. The downhill led to a short road section and then onto "the climb".

"The Climb"
The climb started gradual - seated climbing, easy to spin gearing - the pace we settled on was challenging and shortly we began to pass a few riders here and there. At lower elevations on the climb the terrain was reasonable - a compact dirt gravel road, interspersed with potholes. I checked my HR periodically and made sure I got in some nutrition on the early portion of the climb, there were a few mental lapses where I told myself I was going to hard (especially not having any way to calculate where on the climb we were) but Hank was there encouraging me to get on his wheel and on we went. The climb began to level off, the temperature was dropping and we approached a volunteer vehicle - assuming this was the top of the climb - wrong, wrong, wrong. Sharp right hairpin turn - the road shot straight up (and so began the section only passable by 4 wheel drive vehicles - as told by the race director at the start). The climbing continued, I was searching for every gear possible, out of the saddle pumping hard - this continued: the climb would level off, you would tell yourself you were at the top and sure enough, straight back up you go. One section we rode through fog with about 20 feet of visibility going up, up, up. other sections there were small streams of water in gullies from erosion and melting from the snow and ice at the summit.

On the descent, you went screaming down switchbacks for 7 miles. My triceps were sore from not only the climbing, but from the jarring of the gravel road on the descent, I was flirting the line of being in control of the bike, while not really being in control. The race finished back by the cabins, another cyclocross course lap highlighted by an uphill scrambled requiring you to shoulder your bike and use everything you had to get up the side of the beginning of the mountain.


On the drive back a random gas station in TN had Fat Tire.

The hardest and most enjoyable experience on a bike. -A.

What, it's not 2 degrees outside, why not?

Last ride today in prep for Southern Cross on Saturday. Unfortunately, no chance to ride tomorrow, early morning swim, work, then a long drive to GA, hopefully arrive before midnight. I've got laundry and a pile of dishes calling my name, check back later for the race report.
-A.

The Picture - big, small, I don't know you decide

Two weeks of training down in the new year, and the feeling is overall confidence and enjoyment. I look forward to getting in the water - asking coach for more swims - and enjoying both riding outside when the weather seems bad - but is ridable - and running through the snow, ice, rain and whatever mother nature throws our way. Finally got around to registering for New Orleans 70.3, just before the registration deadline, and can't wait to test out the new ride when Time Trial Tuesday starts back up.

Southern Cross is 6 days and a road trip away, looking forward to trying some southern barbecue, hanging out with friends, meeting new people and hopefully riding in above freezing temperatures. Until then, it's business, it's business time, and there are a couple of leftover sierra nevada celebration ales calling my name.
-A.