WA State Cyclocross Championship Race

Seattle International Raceway.

On Nov 16, 2008, I got to race in the Cat 4 men's 35+ race for the state championship of cyclocross. Let me just say that I learned a lot in a very short time about racing. Read on to see what happens when a guy gets used to starting at 9:30 and ends up racing at 9:00 at the State Championship race.

I had a bit of a scare in the morning as I was lining up to race. I had a very low front tire and thought that I had a pinch flat from hitting a rock on my warm-up lap. I freaked out and cursed the fact that I haven't gotten a new set of wheels to act as spares. Maybe when I am rich and famous or maybe after another mishap.

Anyway, I panicked and all I could come up with was pumping the tire up and waiting to see if it would hold. There wasn't time to change the tube or I would miss my start. Who needs THAT kind of stress, eh? Anyway, the short story is that the tire has the same pressure in it now as it did 3 weeks ago during this race. I never had the flat I had diagnosed. My rookie move had me rolling around the course with a very hard front tire which made my cornering a little slippery. I did fine, though, despite a slight mistrust of my wheel. The good news is that I had better rolling resistance than most, which turned out to be an advantage for much of this course!

Coming across the line was a great joy because I was fairly certain I had made another top 20 finish. This time in the State Championship race! Wow. Not bad for a guy who was finishing more than 10 minutes behind the leaders last year. I got 17th and only 2 minutes behind the race leader's finish.

Until next race... Cheers! Dr. Andy

Bremerton Fairgrounds SCC #6

Well, it seems kinda pathetic that I can't seem to find a way to keep this blog updated, but here is my first post since April...

November 9, 2008- Seattle Cyclocross Race Report for Bremerton Fairgrounds (SCC #6)

Michael Lewis and I spent about 30 minutes on our trainers under rainy, but not pouring, conditions and fairly mild temperature. We found a dry spot near the fairgrounds pavillion building. After a ride around the course, which revealed an awesome mix of mud, singletrack, barnstorming, gravel flats and field riding, we gathered with the rest for our departure.

At the whistle, everyone took off fairly slowly going into the first barriers but then the race was on and the strung out quickly. i was able to get free of much of the crowd fairly quickly, but the race leaders were off and away, and not necessarily what I was after anyway. I found a few riders who I know have been finishing in the top 20 through the series and decided to have them pace me since when I ride by myself I generally ride slower. It worked, and I was able to keep a steady pace through all of the barns, single track, and mud pits. Actually, I lost several places in the muddy swamp as it sucked all of the energy in my legs.

In the end, though, I held on long enough to get to the final sprint where I won back a few positions on riders who were cruising across the line. After all was said and done, I finished 19th and moved to 33rd in the series standings.

Michael finished higher up on his standings from his previous race and enjoyed the mud. We met up after the race and were able to get some pictures with other Valley riders who were out for the day (noteably the Jeffs.)

Next week is the State Cyclocross Championship race. Who knows what that race holds for me...

Vance Creek Road Race

Race Report: I spent my Sunday morning in the shadow of the cooling
towers at the Satsop Nuclear Site. Well, if the sun were out there
would have been a shadow. Our group consisted of 68 category 4/5
riders, three of us (myself, Corey Nunlist, and Brian Forn) being
Valley Club riders. As we rolled out from the staging area, and within
the first mile or so of racing, there was a small pile-up of what
looked like about 5-10 bikes in the middle of the pack. There was more
than a little screaming and the smell of burnt rubber. I was roughly 5
bike lengths behind this and was able to maneuver around it to the
right without having to brake much. I was grateful for this, as we
were travelling quickly downhill. To the right of me, some riders were
being pinned to the guardrail, including Corey N. He appeared to fair
better than others, though who got caught in deep gravel.

I was able to stay in contact with the main group as it reassembled,
moving into a position near the first 1/3 of the pack. From here, I
caught my breath, as I must have been holding it through this crash
situation, but all was well for now. From here, as we rolled into the
valley floor below, things tightened up and the pace slowed
dramatically. I found myself in position to continue working myself up
in the pack. After a short time, I found myself in the front 15 or so
riders. I was able to see small breaks of one or two off the front,
but surges quickly dissolved this. Since it was so slow, I think that
some were trying to push the pace. There were some on the left side of
the road trying to make positions where it was clear, but they were
called down by other riders for this maneuver. My positioning was not
hard to defend until the hill rose before us. As we came up to the
top of the hill, I held my position, but perhaps a bit aggressively.
I held off my fatigue until the steep pitch at the end, where I
finallhy lost it. I was soon being passed, and so close to holding it
together... If I had recovered more quickly, I would have been able to
climb with Corey, but as it happened, he passed me with some
appreciated words of encouragement.

As I didn't want to blow everything I had, I slowed down to recover.
As there was a downhill coming, I knew this would be accomplished. I
was disappointed to have lost the group, but I had plenty of company
around me and groups were forming quickly. I found a rider who was
willing to work together, and we did so for most of the rest of two
laps with others joining us as we went along. Somewhere near
approximately the last half of lap 3, this group broke up. I rode
along until I was met by Brain F. From here, we finished out our day
together on the climb.

Although I didn't know what to expect during this race, I did set out
to accomplish a few specific things. One was to be in somewhere within
the front half of the group for part of the race, because I wanted to
challenge my tendancy to hang near the back. My second goal was to
focus on fueling/hydrating while racing. Unfortunately, this is
something that takes a lot of attention for me. Third, I wanted to
improve my average speed, which I did by about 2 mph over this 40 mile
ride. It was a good day of racing for me.

Race Report: Independance Valley Road Race

Since last post, I did indeed race at the Independance Valley Road Race. I faired better than expected... I didn't finish with the pack, but I definately finished stronger than I thought. On the first hill, someone pulled out of a pedal and stalled on the hill right in front of me. It quickly broke up the group. I got around him, but by a hair. I bridged up to the group, which may have been my mistake that ultimatedly led to being dropped off with about 1/3 of the group. After about a mile of riding in a pretty disorganized group, I called for 1 minute pulls or less, and we started riding in a nice steady pace and gaining speed. Although I wasn't thinking about getting back into the main group, it was nice to be going faster than I could alone.

After about 20 miles of this, it was clear that some of the other riders were wearing out from the pace, and three of us led off on a hill. I kept nice and steady on this hill which felt great now that I was warmed up. I even passed a few people while sitting down! After this hill, I caught on with another rider and we paced each other along. Somewhere close to the last 10 miles of the ride, we were passed by the women's leaders, and our Ladies in Green (Valley) were at the front. Never a more inspiring moment. This meant that they had made at least 5 minutes on us! Nice work!

in the end, I upped my pace, passed a few who had flagged out, and crossed the finish line feeling spent but proud.

Gratitude For Bike Friendly Roads

It's true, sometimes, that you never know how good you've got it until you don't have it any more. Last weekend I took a trip to meet up with family in Eastern Texas. Originally, I had hatched an elaborate plan to rent a bike in Dallas, then take it with me so I could ride in the mornings in the warmth of a Texas spring. Sounds great, right? Well, here's how it played out in reality:

First, I wouldn't have traded any of those precious seconds that I had to share with my family, because, really, I can ride any time I want. I rarely get to see my family.

Second, riding in East Texas would have scared the Lycra right off my butt! The lanes we were driving on were way undersized for the vehicles, and the posted speeds were in the 70mph range! Not a good mix in my experience. It sure was beautiful, though, and sans large format tires, would have been lovely riding.

One other quick note... Don't step out in front of vehicles in Texas, even if you have a pedestrian crossing and pedestrian crossing signs. It's fine to wave, but don't try crossing the street. Wait until there isn't a car in sight!

I'm back at my home-based riding program again, and anticipating racing tomorrow morning at the Independance Valley Road Race in Rochester, WA. The route is mapped here:

Latest Bike Crush / Fostering Success

Since I got to see my new bike at the Expo, I've been thinking a lot about it. There is just something to be said for a new bike that isn't like anything else. I've pretty much loved every bike I've ever owned, except for one 35 pound piece of junk that I just couldn't stand for a minute, even though it was my only bike for four years! Anyway, been doing a little dreaming about racing next cyclocross season on my new ride.

I also want to expand on something else I have been thinking about since Saturday's presentation by Chris Carmichael. It is in regards to his comment about creating an environment around yourself that allows you to even consider the achievement of goals. He told a story about Lance Armstrong that demonstrates this. According to Chris, Lance would go out and check his bike and ride it around even after his world-class mechanics had already completed their meticulous work for the night. Sometimes all would be well, other times, something would be adjusted or changed in the set-up. How would you feel if someone like this was checking your work? What it offered him, though, was absolute confidence in the controllable factors of his game. Chris offered that lance's attention to these details was one of the factors that went into achieving his ultimate goal. It's also contributed to the unbelievable fact that he only had one flat tire during 7 consecutive TDF rides/victories. What does it mean to me if I have 7 flats during 1 ride? Something to ponder.

Inspiration at the 2008 Seattle Bike Expo

I spent all day Saturday in Seattle at Cascade Bicycle Club's Bike Expo. Among their guest presenters, I was there to mostly to see Chris Carmichael, but of course thoroughly enjoyed seeing presentations by Katie Compton (of cyclocross fame), Craig Undem (from CycleU), and Paul Swift/Dr. Katrina Vogler from BikeFit, and others.

One of my favorite presentations came from Chris Carmichael in a talk that he gave entitled "Achieving Unrelenting Excellence." Of course this was inspired by his work with Lance Armstrong and the other athletes that he coaches in his company Carmichael Training Systems. Here's the skinny, short and sweet. These are the characteristics necessary for achieving what you set out to do:

~Possess an Unrelenting Desire for Excellence
~Create an Environment of Achieving Excellence
~Never Stop Looking for Innovations
~Develop a Passion for the Process of Achievement
~Nurture Your Talents
~Don't Get Into a Position of Defense, Keep Moving Forward
~Provide Clear Leadership
~Fulfill the Promises of Leadership, be a Role Model

I also got to see my new cyclocross bike, which I should be able to get before summer starts. It's the CX1 by Norco.

Private Hilltop Crit

Last night I went out for a short ride of about an hour and found myself at the top of local Tumwater Hill. This area used to be covered with trees as recently as last year, but now is denuded with 360 degree views around the area. For the moment, you can see Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, and the Olympics all in one sweeping view, with the Port of Olympia in the foreground. Soon, though, this spot will be covered with houses, as some parts of this development are already under construction. The grid of streets in the development have been paved, and these offered a chance to practice cornering, picking lines, and sprinting. I didn't do so badly in this race against myself, but I was glad nobody was watching.

Riding on the trafficked streets yesterday was a little bit of a bear. I changed my hours this week at the office, which should give me time to ride on Tuesday nights... but I forgot that it's bad lighting right about then, and I forgot my lights. Because of my previous work schedule, I can't remember the last time I rode in weekday traffic! When the time changes, the local Tuesday night rides start up and I will be able to participate in them now. It'll give me one more chance to ride with a group to keep developing my race riding.

First Race: Mason Lake # 1

Yesterday I completed my first road cycling race at the first of three training races around Mason Lake north of Shelton, WA. Our starting group (Category 5) was around 50 riders by my estimation. Within our group, I recognized several riders from my racing in the 2007 cyclocross season. We rolled out as a fairly tight group for about half of the first lap. Then, there was a single rider crash mid-group, probably from a touched wheel. Up to that point, there was a lot of stop-and-go jerkiness to the group, which could have easily led to this crash. He was about 5 bike lengths ahead of me, but those behind, including myself were able to ride between the bike and the fallen rider (Sorry, dude!)

I was able to sprint back up to the main group, and several others were left behind in a momentarily split group. We maintained a pace of about 24 mph around the rest of the lake until the last 1000 meters of the lap. At that point, the pace increased quite a bit, and I was left behind on the incline leading up to the start/finish line. End of Lap 1.

Laps 2 and 3 were fairly low key and consisted of trying to maintain a quick pace. I was overtaken at the tail-end of the second lap by the Masters C/D group which started about 5 minutes behind us. I worked my way back to the back of the group were I found a few of my group riding, which is allowed in these races. I stayed with them as long as I could, but they carried on without me, much as my own group did on yet another incline. What's with these inclines?

I was left to my final lap with another rider from my race who turned out to be not too chatty, or interested in working together to avoid some of the wind on the course. In the end, I sped up my pace in the last mile and finished the race about 200 meters in front of him, for whatever that was worth. At least by doing so, I was assured that I hadn't finished last... for whatever that was worth, too.

In the end, my two goals were met: First, staying upright for the entire race, and, second, finishing the race in whatever time it took, hopefully not last.

A Good Question about Exercises and Chronic Back Pain

Last night I hosted a Core Exercise Clinic in my office for members of the cycling team that I race for here in Olympia. The question was asked of me whether I ever felt any discomfort on the bike because I do all of these exercises. I wasn't able to answer her very completely last night, so I thought I would do it here. In the first place, I got into chiropractic as a profession because of some injuries that I had as a child. As a result of a fall from a horse, I have had to deal with chronic lower back pain in some form or another throughout my entire life.

Throughout high school and college, lower back pain limited me in many of my most favorite activities such as biking, hiking, and canoeing. I didn't even consider sports like kayaking feasible because of the back demands. I spent most of my time stiff and sore. I couldn't even sit reading for very long without having it drive me crazy. When it came time to channel my energy into a profession, I chose Chiropractic, because it had given me much relief and mobility, personally, over the years.

Now, as a 36 year old, I would honestly say that the past 2-3 years have been my most comfortable. Many things have changed in those few years, too, and here are some of the notables: First, I have lost over 50 pounds that I had accumulated while going to school and starting a practice. I'll never forget the day that I looked at my scale and saw that I weighed 232 lbs. I was well on my way, at that point, and found it very depressing to be a health care provider who wasn't living a healthy lifestyle. So, I turned that around with some great advice from my naturopath and by rekindling my love of the sport of cycling. The second thing that happened is that I started taking my own advice and performing many of the exercises that I now give to my patients to take care of their backs. I try to be as consistent as I can with them.

I had all but given up riding my bike after college because of my lower back pain. Now, I've spent countless hours and at least 4 thousand miles on my bikes and feel the best that I ever have. I put the (good) blame on a dramatic loss of extra weight, and the exercises that I have put consistent effort into. I can see myself getting better, over time, as well. That's a good anti-aging type feeling.

Knee Problem Solved... Hopefully

Yesterday, I tried getting back on the trainer for a quick lunchtime ride. It quickly became obvious that I had some major residual pain in my knee from the previous day. Since I haven't had this problem ever before, it's been very distressing. I knew that I didn't want to continue the workout I was attempting. I also was quite sure that I have been feeling something clunking in the drivetrain somewhere. While spinning, I kept noticing that I felt a "bump" just about to the top of the pedal stroke on my left side (knee pain side.) I hopped off and checked the crank arm, and sure enough there was a few degrees of glide of the crankarm (FSA spindle axle.) I'm kicking myself for not looking there before, but what can I say, I'm a rookie.

Since I've been working a lot on my spinning and pedal stroke on the trainer this winter, I'm guessing that eveytime I kicked over the top, it was like I was kicking my toe into a wall. Let's see a pedal cadence of 90 would add up to 5,400 pedal strokes per hour... for 6 hours per week that would be 32,400 pedal strokes for the week... over roughly 4 weeks (a guess) would be 129,600 pedal strokes since I got the loose crankarm! That's a lot of repetition, and plenty of time to brind about this injury. I guess my focus was on other things, (like keeping my Clif Bars down on team rides.) Hopefully this was the problem and I caught it early enough to have it calm down quickly. By the way, the info on "Spring Knee" still holds, just luckily isn't the problem that I have.

Sunday Ride a Success

Yesterday I rode with the team on a 50+ mile loop through Rochester/Maytown and West Olympia. Overall, I feel like I had some good success on the ride even though the pace got pushed up to around 19 mph from 18 the previous weeks. My goodness, I never knew that 1 mph could make such a difference, but it does. I've been having a bit of trouble with a knee since last week. I think that it stems from putting in these early miles in the year, and jumping right into 50 mile rides. Dr. Andy Pruitt refers to this problem as "Spring Knee" in his book Medical Guide to Cycling.

Fitness development to increased exercise involves adaptations in the nerves, muscles and tendons. All of these components respond at different rates. The first changes come with the neurology. Within a very short time, the contol mechanism is more efficient, signals are stronger, and can sustain for longer. Secondarily, the muscles increase in size and ability to contract. More muscle fibers get recruited, etc. Third, the tendons play catch up. Timing for this suite of changes is something in the order of 2 weeks for the nerves, 4 weeks for the muscles, and 6-8 weeks for the tendons. It's no wonder why early in the year, many people drop out of a fitness program after 4 weeks. They have tendonitis and have to stop! Essentially, the nerves and muscles develop faster then the tendons, and mentally the athlete is feeling stronger... so they start adding on the weights feeling like they are ready to start pushing to a new level. Based on this physiology, it would be best to hold at a bit of a plateau to keep from stressing the tendons. So, here I am trying to manage this knee so that I don't develop full blown tendonitis in the knee.

In terms of skills I had some great input from more seasoned riders about positioning in the wind, around other riders, etc. This kind of knowledge is very important for me, as most of my riding has been by myself over the years. How it all works out in a group, is very different... As it stands, I'll be still trying to make the Mason Lake Race on Saturday for my first race.

2008 First Road Race

Next week will be my first road race of 2008, and, um... ever. This time, next week, I'll be checking my gear over for an early Saturday trip up to Mason Lake, which is north of Shelton, WA. This coming weekend will be a challenge for me, since the team that I train with is heating up the ride this week to a faster pace. On average the training rides have been about 50 miles with an average of 17-19mph. Last week was only the second ride that I held on to until the end with the group, which is quite a feat for my novice legs. Of course, everyone else was working hard while I tried to duck down behind, to stay out of the wind. Hopefully next weekend, I can achieve my only goal which is to finish the race under my own power (and maybe not last!) This, of course, may be a lot to ask... We'll just have to see what comes of this all. Tomorrow, my daughter and I are taking a pleasure trip to Seattle to attend the Cascade Bicycle Club's annual BikeSwap.