(via Wikipedia)

See how I emphasized “gluteal muscles” up there? That’s not just ’cause it means butt (heh), it’s ’cause MY GLUTEAL MUSCLES FEEL LIKE THEY’RE GOING TO FALL OFF. Those other muscles hurt, too. In a good way.

After week 2 of training (week 1 of the hardcore stuff), I am already seeing results. I am slimming down a little bit at a time, however I’m not losing much weight yet. That’s to be expected. I haven’t altered my diet that much.

Trainer time is hard, especially the two hour moderate rides. Staying stationary and riding for that long is a true test of my mental ability to stay stationary and ride for that long. It’s brutal, and the time passes so very slowly after about an hour.

I’m learning a lot about how my body works. Training with a heart rate monitor allows me to see what it means to be warmed up, what happens when I push myself with intervals, and how controlling one’s heart rate is very difficult. I’m learning what I need to do to get my heart rate to where it needs to be, and how hard I have and have not been working in the past.

Winter is almost in full swing. Continuing this routine will be good, and it will be challenging. I look forward to the tears.

• Self supported tour from my front door to Ipperwash Beach, Ontario. 98 of the hottest miles I’ve ever ridden.
• Tree Farm Relay – Our team took 10th, and I experienced intoxication and hangover in a span of about 6 hours.
• Stony 6 hour endurance race – My boy Brian and I took 2nd. Brian is strong like bull.
• Addison Oaks Chapter Benefit – I crashed. There was blood. Hurty blood.
• Iceman Cometh – placed just out of the top 3rd out of 100 Sport/Expert Clydesdales. This renewed my interest in racing.

Early in the season I burned out. I started training for Lumberjack too late, and after I quit halfway through my drive to compete was drowned out. I continued to ride a lot and accomplish some things that I am very proud of, but I didn’t race much. I just squeeked by with 6 races (I am required to complete 5), and with the handful of organized rides I did on the side I had a decent season.

My drive to compete started to renew itself after the 6 hours of Stony Creek endurance race. I had a blast and remembered what it felt like to do well. After that, I decided to train fairly hard for Iceman. I started going hill repeats and longer rides, and a little bit of core work. I ended up shaving 12 minutes off my previous time and felt great doing so. I finished the race with the feeling that I wanted to race more. There’s only one problem: the season is over.

OK, OK, the season’s not over over. There’s still plenty of riding to be done, and if I really wanted to compete I could race cyclocross. But I don’t want to race cyclocross. So there.

I decided to take two weeks “off” and eat like a total jerk before starting at 12 month training program from my sponsor shop, Cycle to Fitness. I will meet with the shop owner once a month for 12 months, each month taking on a new series of training regimens and goals. I started out by filling in some info on goals I have for the next year, the next 5 years, and in the very long term. Daniel (the shop owner) will use this info to build a program that meets the short- and long-term goals.

I feel I need this type of motivation. He provides me with a schedule that I can manage, and I have no reason to back out. I’ve known for 4 days that I have to ride for 2 hours on the trainer tonight. So if I don’t, I have no excuse. I’ve planned for it, it’s in my mind and in my calendar.

This is what I like about this program and what I’m looking forward to. I love to ride, but sometimes the stress of trying to figure out when to squeeze the rides in gets to me. This program allows me to plan ahead and say, “I need to do this, it’s important.” Not only to myself, but to my (extremely supportive) family.

So, I will document the process here. It will be interesting to look back and see how I felt about it starting out as Daniel continues to smash my will to live.

Since my back injury last year, I have been keeping a close eye on my back (or a few close nerves, rather, since I can’t really SEE my back). The injury was relatively minor but scary and something I don’t want to relive. Last week I did a hard training ride from work and ended up with a very sore lower back a few days later. This kicked my stretching routine into (healthy) overdrive. Since the ride I’ve made sure to stretch after each ride, and every day I’m not riding. So basically… stretch every day. EVERY day. Do not skip it, it is important.

I went back and forth mentally on Friday and almost backed out of the race. I had the email written up to Kevin, the organizer, and was about to send but decided not to at the last minute. I figured it wouldn’t hurt (or would it??) to wait ’til the last minute and then not race if my back shit the bed. No harm, no foul.

The day of the race I felt good. My back was still a little sore, but I figured I could sit back and race easy if I felt I would push it too much. I showed up to the shop early and helped Kevin get the number plates ready, then headed out to Hines to warm up.

Photo by Craig "CMo" Morris

(This photo has solidified the notion that my legs are F***ING MASSIVE. Better with which to chase you down, my dear.)

I warmed up with 3-4 miles of riding and mild hill sprints. My back was doing OK, so I decided to go for it and race all out. I showed up at the line just before my start time and headed out almost immediately. I got in the drops and stayed there as much as I could. I was surprised by how long I was able to hold a tucked position.

The TT rules were a bit unorthodox. If you were passed, you were allowed to draft the passer. You were NOT allowed to draft a person you were passing. I got passed a few times and was able to latch on for a few seconds each time. My favorite was when I was passed by my buddy MIKEWOODS!! (proper spelling). His buddy Chris was passing us on the other side of the road on his way back. He yelled out, “GO, MIKE, YOU’RE WITH THE WIND!” At that time I didn’t know Mike was right behind me. I thought, “why does he think I’m Mike? I don’t look like…” BOOM! Mike goes screaming by at 25mph. I sprinted and caught on, but couldn’t hold on for very long. Mike ended up 4th overall.

I hammered throughout the race, placing mid-pack (tied @ 18th outta 43) with a time of 38:07 over 12.8 miles; an average of 20mph, so far my personal best! I’m proud of my performance, it was a great start to the season. So far my back has not flared up, so hopefully I’m on the right track to a healthy season.

Afterward most of the teammates that raced went to Benny’s Pizza. The food was fantastic, especially the veggie pizzas. We all sat around and chatted about the race and the upcoming season. I really enjoyed meeting some of the new people and getting to know them a bit better. I look forward to racing with them this year.

Sometimes when my schedule is hectic and I have to drive the hour to the shop, a question arises: Would I ever leave this team to race for a shop that was closer to home. The answer is always “No.”

I like Daniel’s shop, but that’s not what makes me want to stay with the Greyhounds. I’m into all of this for the fun of it, not to win races. Don’t get me wrong, I want to win and I want to perform well, for both myself and the team. However, I hear a lot of stories about teams closer to home being very competitive and results-driven. That’s not what the Greyhounds are about. We train hard and perform well, often placing in our respective classes. But more importantly we have a good time together. We support one another and we’re always laughing it up. Right now I can’t imagine showing up to a race and NOT going to the ‘hound tent, NOT racing with such a fun-loving group.

It’s worth the inconvenience to race with these folks.

Tomorrow I’m going to the shop to start the build on the new bike. I’m really excited to get on it and get some dirty miles in. The new bike configuration means that my other two bikes get overhauled as well. The previous race bike will become the regular commuter. The commuter will be converted to a single speed utility bike that I can ride to the bar/grocery/work. I’m excited about all three tools and how they’ll be put to use.

I’m hoping Monday will contain the first real training ride of the year. Once I break that seal, getting into full base training mode will be easy. Regardless, I’m ecstatic about the warmer weather.

Pics of the new stable to come…