DCCX 100 meter special

My second Sunday in the USA, my second CycloCross race! This was right in Washington DC, and although I’ve been sick, I once again had entered this event weeks ago, and wasn’t too keen on loosing that huge US entry fee, so I went to the race and figured I'd caugh around the course once more and have fun taking in the cool US CX scene.

It was a sunny yet chilly afternoon in DC, I was feeling a little better than I had done during the week, and I was looking forward to a nice day of fun.

The start line was amusing, as guys yelled and fussed and complained about where they were starting and about the officials calling them to the start (or not calling them to the start) when they thought they should be. I wondered if this was the world champs or something. The guy standing next to me, Ryan Dewalt (sp?), seemed as perplexed as I did about the fuss, he seemed to roll his eyes, not care where he was starting, and then of course went off to win the event with a commanding lead. I liked that!Just before the start, a USA cycling person complained about how I had put my number on. I had actually put it on all sideways like they do over here, so I was pretty happy I’d remembered to put it on that way, But she wasn't happy with it for some reason. I guess she mustn’t have been to too many races, so she had her little winge (though I'm still not really sure what about) and life went on. It was all a pretty moot point for me anyway. As the gun went off, I started slowly but was relatively well places in the 1^st half of the pack, and just as we went onto the first bit of grass, about 100meters after the start, my front tire went flat and that was the end of the day.

Ryan Dewalt and Warrenton kid Joe Dombrowski rode away from everyone. Ryan won, dare I say “easily” and Joe showed off some of his Belgian experience to win the Espoir race and finish 2^nd overall. Interestingly enough, Joe got zero recognition for winning the Espoir category, and as I understand it having spoken to Joe about it after the race, the US (or maybe it is just this general area) doesn’t recognize the Espoirs.

It was a good day out. Now I just hope I can get semi-healthy even if the idea of getting fit is pretty much out of the picture at this stage of the year, get out there and do a few more CX races, have fun and make the most of being able to do a few US CX races on fun and cool courses unlike the boring once back home in France.

USA Sick and Cross

I arrived here in the good old USofA, only to spend my first Sat in bed asleep for over 24 hours sick. Fever, tired, joint and muscle pain etc etc. On Sunday morning when I awoke I felt a tiny bit better. I had pre-entered a Cyclocross race down in Winchester, VA, as seeing as entry fees are so high over here, and seeing as I had paid for this one out of my own pocket, I was pretty keen not to throw that money down the drain. So I decided to at least go to the race and see how I felt once there before deciding whether or not I would actually take the start. Of course once there I did start. I planned to take it really easy, but once in the race, I ended up pushing much harder than I should have done. At the end of the day the race was really good fun. I enjoyed racing CX again, having not touched a CX bike for some 4 or 5 years, and having not ridden off road at all for maybe 3 or 4 years. The courses in the US are usually a lot more fun, and this was the case in Winchester at the “Apple Harvest Cross”. I ended-up doing ok and coming in 6^th place at the end of the day. In all fairness most of the better riders were up in New Jersey or somewhere for a UCI race I think, but still… it was good fun! After coughing my way around the CX course for an hour, I spend the rest of week trying to get my lungs back. Racing was actually not a good idea as I seem to have damaged my lungs somewhat.

And so it was another very uneventful week on the bike with another WHOPPING 40km week. I’ve done about 40k a week for the last month now due to sickness, and I’m really REALLY getting sick of it!

Fly away

Fantastic.  3am start tomorrow, USA here I come!

Phyco-Cross

I actually managed to pull off a 30 min ride today which I’m pretty happy with. 30 mins on the cyclocross bike on the trainer indoors. Not exactly great specific training but it’s better than lying in bed and throwing up all day.

But.. with my not racing tomorrow, that takes us right into winter. In an attempt to get myself motivated to race Cross again, I’ve come “aCross” a web-site with some cool cyclocross videos called crosstube.net. Lots of little cyclocross videos, mainly in Flamish which, with a minimum of linguistic skills you can usually figure out what they are saying.

One of the videos I like best is this little summary CX music video. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9WMOA7dbH0&feature=player_embedded#

Battling sickness

Not feeling 100%, but fully aware that I only a few days before leaving the country to get in one last loop of my favorite ride of all time, I headed out on Wednesday afternoon for a 4.5 hour 140k loop that takes you around the walled cities of the area and over into the Saint Antonin Valley. I wasn’t feeling really up to it, but it was a sort of pilgrimage. I love that loop, and it’s the ride I miss whenever I got away anywhere. Knowing I wouldn't get to ride it for at least 3 months. It had to be done. I felt heavy the whole time but enjoyed my ride and got home feeling pretty drained and satisfied.

Right after my ride I had a quick shower and went off to have a vaccination. Quarter of an hour after getting my vaccination I awoke on the floor, unaware of where I was and very confused. I had evidently passed out. I do hate needles but this was a bit odd. At 3am in the morning I awake suddenly to the room spinning around me. 1.5 hours of throwing up later, I fell back asleep. I spent the next day in bed, throwing up on and off and unable to eat of hold anything down. A visit to the Doc’s later in the day revealed no head trauma, but also didn’t give a clear answer.

Thankfully the day after I was able to hold down a little food, but the horrible spinning room was still there, followed by nausea.

There’s a chance I might have thrown out a vertebrae during my unconscious tumble, and so I have an osteopath appointment on Monday afternoon. Until then however I’m unable to ride, and still get a little dizzy when standing or moving. And with that I only have a couple days before getting on the plane to the US. So I’m really hoping I’m at least stable by Tuesday’s very early flight out of Toulouse. Oh well, we’ll see. Needless to say my race on Sunday is off. Though hopefully I’ll be at least able to take the start of the Winchester CycloCross race on the 18^th.

What a giggle it all is. But hey, at least I can watch Paris Tours on Sunday!!! Every cloud has an ever-so-slightly less gray lining.

The tough life!

Ahh yes…. Life is tough…

See the link below to see just how darn hard life can get sometimes. J

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=7578&status=True&catname=Latest News

 

Contre la Montre; contre Performance

Well that was interesting. Time Trial today. Last one of the season. I was hoping for a top 4 as I’ve finishe3d top 4 in the past in this Championship… well ok, I was secretly hoping for a medal, but seeing as I’ve been sick for almost 2 weeks and I logged a whopping 91km last week… I knew it wasn’t gonna happen! However the interesting thing is the Heartrate to Power result. Whereas my threshold HR is 175, (sometimes 170 by this stage of the season) but average wattage should have been between 340-360W (knowing that I did 380 something recently for a similar time, so if all the preparation had gone properly, one could have expected a little higher than 340-360), however, from the moment I started warming up, my HR seemed disproportionately high compared to my power.

24km slightly windy of course hilly TT, with an average HR of 185!!!!!!!!!!!!!! L My max is 188 and threshold 175 normally, and today my HR got up to 196. So… What the hell? Throughout the whole TT I struggled to keep my power over a mere 300W. I never felt even in my effort. I did catch my 2 minute man by the half way point, so that was good, and it turns out I was actually 7^th, so not too bad at all considering. However my final numbers are absolutely all over the place. 185 average HR for a rather week 323W. What’s going on? I’m assuming it has something to do with my having been sick. Oh well, I have a Doc appointment Tuesday, so I’ll talk to him about it.

Well, that was actually a fun race. I enjoyed it. It didn’t feel good but was fun for some reason anyway. However these past few weeks have shown me that I am gonna SSSSUUUUUUUUCK at CX in a couple weeks. Oh well, it’s all just for a bit of fun and keep me motivated in the cold winter months anyway.

I also found out today, thanks to a very kind e-mail from Mr Hayes, that Pez has used a rather embarrassing photo of Greg Sonnenburg and myself as part of their clothing advertising…. Oh dear oh dear oh dear!!!

http://pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=7567&status=True&catname=Latest News