Time to get a March post in and I've got 2nd period prep at Littlerock High School and nothing to do - so let's get the post in. Hope my Principal and School Superintendent aren't reading my blog...but why would they?
This week has been a tough training week. Monday was my usual core work via crunches and lower back work coupled with weight lifting but Tuesday was 40mph winds and sub 50 temps. The sub-50 temps are not a problem but the sustained 40mph with gusts to 60mph were a bit problamatic. To hide from the wind, I decided to climb over Godde hill hoping it would block the wind. Note - if the wind is out of the SW (which it was) Godde hill does not block the wind. Instead, you're climbing an 8% grade with 40-60mph winds blowing right in your face. At one time, my bike computer showed a speed of 2.8mph! I was barely making headway up the hill. The friggen wind even started blowing small rocks at me. I put my head down to protect my face and heard/felt the rocks bouncing off my helmet. Not sand mind you but gravel sized stones. The Antelope Valley is a unique place to train. Wednesday I rushed home from work only to find sustained winds at 40mph with gusts to 60mph and a driving rain tossed into the mix. That's it. I'm a fanatic but I've got my limits. I put my truck in the garage and finally did my overdue oil change. Thursday (yesterday) the winds were only 30mph with gusts to 40mph - I was able to put in 24 miles - yea. Today is Friday and I'm hoping to get a quick hour ride in. The wind was only 15mph at 0630 when I left for work. Should only be about 20-30mph this afternoon. Looking forward to a 4 hour ride on Saturday with the L & 20th boys. But what does this have to do with the upcoming races - nothing.
My next race is next week and it is a two day affair, March 14 and 15th. It is the Tour de Murrieta in the town of Murrieta, California. It's about 60 minutes north of our San Diego apartment and is a two day stage race. Go to Socalcycling and click the link for the Tour and you'll get all the entry info you need to register for the race. I entered the Masters 45+ race and am looking forward to Saturday's criterium. This will be my first crit of the year and I'm anxious to see how I do. In the past I was more of a crit racer. My larger build and power were perfect for this type of race. But now I'm down to 177 lbs (friends are worried that I'm taking diet lessons from Lindsey Lohan)and actually leading attacks up hills instead of hanging on. In any case, I don't think my power has diminished with my lost body fat so we'll see how I do. The crit is 45 minutes and it is just a 4 corner course around down town Murrieta. Crits are dangerous so I've entered the masters race instead of the elite 4 race. I'll be up against Cat 1 to 4s but their superior road handling skills over the young cat 4s makes it a necessity. The road race should be interesting as it really is a circuit race of 3.5 mile laps around the city - kind of a giant crit. Here's the course as estimated by my MapMyRide link.
Now here's to hoping it does not rain next weekend.
My next race falls in April and it is the San Diego Omnium which is put on by my racing club, the San Diego Cyclo-Vets. Click the link for the San Diego Omnium and you'll get to the Cyclo-Vets website and info for both the race and registration.
This is another stage race carried over 3 days, March 3 - 5. A time trial on Friday, a road race on Saturday, followed by a crit on Sunday. I'm really looking forward to this race because I will actually have team mates in the Masters 35+, Cat 4/5 race. Both Jon and Vince for sure and probably Chad and Dave - Team tactics! I haven't decided if I'll do the full omnium as I would have to do the time trial on Friday. this would require a day off from work (back to the Principal and Superintendent again)and getting on my time trial bike that has hung neglected on my garage wall all winter. In fact my wife actually suggested I sell my felt - gasp! So I really do need to do this time trial and put my butt back on the felt's saddle.
The only fly in the ointment is the road race. It is conducted back at the Boulevard Road Race course and what fun that is. The course is modified somewhat from Boulevard's course but here's my MapMyRide on Boulevard from when I raced there in February.
This course is so brutal. Vince is a true climber but from what he's told me, he never does well here and I'm sure it's mental for him. I find I just try not to think too much about this course and the suffering that is about to come. Heck, I'm 3 lbs lighter than in February so maybe I'll stay with the front pack of climbers - here's hoping - it would be a first for me on this course. Look at my Boulevard posting and you'll see I got dropped twice on this course. The downhill part is perfect for my sprinting and bike handling skills, which is only good enough to get me back to the front climbers so they can drop me again. Note - goal for this race; stay with the climbers (try not to think that they only weight 155 lbs soaking wet).
Here's to a good bunch of races. Better get back to work before 3rd period shows up. I can never get over how peaceful it is in my classroom when there are no kids - the amount of work you can get done...
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