No more chances for excuses....
Yup....that's right as of my last surgery I should be done going under the knife and will not have any more lapses in training. From this point I see consistency, consistency, consistency. I'm sure there could be more descriptive terms to fit in those blanks; things like intensity, volume, miles, training, or whatever you prefer, but to me consistency always includes all of those and whatever you can throw at me. I may not have my training exactly dialed but I did get to where I'm at as my own coach and there's one thing I know better than anyone out there......and that is myself. I can read me and I know how I feel. That doesn't mean I don't step out of my comfort zone, because there is no way I could be where I'm at now without going above what's comfortable. I have been really good about pushing that comfort zone and I can say that I'm in the best road fitness that I've ever been. I say road fitness because I was always a good mtber, but I was always able to survive off of my technical skills and riding ability. Unfortunately living in Colorado Springs, I've had to dial back on the amount of off-road riding. I know that may sound odd considering there is so much good mtbing here, but the trails that I really enjoy are usually covered in snow and thus I just don't fulfill my mtb kicks on the trails that are open during the winter. I just don't have the access to year long loops like a I did back in KY and Nashville. I must admit that I really miss hosting my weekly night ride at Montgomery Bell State Park just west of Nashville....and rolling straight from work in Cool Springs down to Chickasaw State Park to burn up some hot laps.....or taking the 5 inch bike to Hamilton Creek to huck some rocks and do the fun Yazoo trail TT. Can't beat racing a mtb TT....getting time bonuses for dropping a 6 ft rock and chugging a pint of Dos Perros before you start your TT. Well although I miss all those things, it doesn't mean that I can't have a blast on the trails here. I've got some new motivation as I'm planning on doing my first 24 hr race....solo!! Yup, no reason in holding back...as I might as well dive in head first. And I've got some new placebo motivation to steer me in the right direction for the event. That is a new bike. I'm going to call it Operation Hardtail. I know....I know, I've always boasted of loving the full suspension bikes since I raced a bright yellow Santa Cruz Superlight in 2002. My last hardtail was my beloved GT Zaskar LE. Did I ever love that bike, but breaking the chainstay on a powerclimb at a race in Knoxville will definitely put a damper on keeping a favorite bike. Anyways, I've decided to build a hardtail again to make use of a bunch of parts that I've somehow accumulated over the past few years. Somehow after doing a bit of inventory in my toy room, I came up with a Fox 80x fork, Monkeylite carbon risers, Magura Marta discs, XT cranks, Bontrager XXX carbon stem, Bontrager XLite Tubeless disc wheelset, and a Thompson Elite seatpost. I was just planning on building a "beater" from spare parts, but this thing is going to be a racy machine. So you might wonder what will all these parts call home....well I've managed to score a Giant XTC1 from a friend. Well they stopped making these in 2005 I think, so you think used, but nope....brand new in the box. So I think this will be the new build for 24 Hours of Elephant Rock! I've always wanted to do a 24 hr event since our Wood-n-Wave team took 3rd overall in the 12 Hours of Razorback in 2004 even after losing one of our 4 man team the day of the event to food poisoning. Unfortunately the course for this one is basically a walk in the park and doesn't have much technical characteristics, but it is 20 minutes from my house and I will be able to do it back to back with the 100 mile of Elephant rock that will start the next day. I am pretty sure that will be one heck of a weekend of mileage if my hiney can handle it! Well we'll see how the next few months go as I'm looking forward to racing some road for the local Rocky Mtn collegiate races, some Mountain State Cup Series races, and hopefully some of the Ultra-endurance events that Colorado is becoming famous for. Maybe the Firecracker, Leadville, and Snowmass. I may even fancy racing a duathlon or two while I go with my one and only Heather to see her on her way. I think the Harvest Moon that comes in September will be all Heather, but some of the other local stuff I may make an effort to do.

Well Heather's home now so off to spend some quality time. SEEEE YA!

Weird looks at the 1st Team meeting....
Last night I rode to Denver with Scott and Steve Nagelkerke for the first official MOB Cyclery/RMCEF Racing team meeting. I found out about it a couple days ago from one of our sponsors and great coach, Jon Heidemann. I was a bit off the back last year with the Team Einsteins team since I took the new job at USA Cycling and I was the only rider that lived in Colorado Springs. And of course the broken leg put a huge damper on being a real integral part of the team. Well I didn't want to start the season feeling off the back, so the 1st step was making it to the team meeting. Luckily it's getting easier to be part of the team living an hour away since Scott made a Cat 5 to Cat 2 jump just last year so I've got a great teammate to train with here. And it doesn't hurt that his dad, Steve is the Giant Bicycles rep that sponsors the team with bikes. I can't give enough props to Steve as he invests so much in the shop and the team. He has helped me out so much personally that I don't even know how to thank him.

Anyways, if you're wondering about the title of this post....it's named that because obviously I am a bit of gimp at the moment from the surgery on Thursday and having a huge ice wrap on my leg when I walked into MOB last night did draw some attention. I don't blame people for asking or wondering WTF, because I would do the same thing if I saw a dude gimp his way into an elite cycling team meeting. I think it's kinda cool though because I've proven that I can keep my fitness through the tough times and still come out fast. I think people will think I will be week in a month or so but I plan to prove em wrong. I know how to read my body and play my cards for my personal fitness. I may be a gimp now, but just wait a few weeks and I will be back in action and tuning up for some summer fitness.

I was glad to make it to the meeting! It was very beneficial to see our new kits and get introduced to our new sponsors. Unfortunately we lost Einsteins so we can't be the "Bagel Boys" any longer but several other groups stepped up to the plate with some cool deals and cash to get us off the ground. One of the coolest was 24 Hour Fitness, since they will give free memberships to the Elite team. I think Heather was more stoked about that than I but that will make it much easier for Heather and I to workout together. Luckily and too bad at the same time is the fact that Colorado weather is so great so I really won't want to go to the gym much as March breaks.

As far as bikes for next year, we are obviously riding Giants, which I'm fired up about. I've found that I really like the way they ride and they fit my body very well for a stock bike. Well I guess they fit well after I have the amazing fit guru, George Mullen, set me up on the bike. That guy can tell me my bike measurements just by looking at me step into the fit room! He's amazing and since he fit me on my TCR C0, I've had several little aches and pains subside. I guess I will be revamping my bike fleet over the coming month according to the discussion with Steve on the way home last night. Scott is getting a new Giant TT frame so I'm most likely getting his old one. I can't believe that I'm actually considering buying a TT bike since I've always hated doing them, but if I want to get a Cat 1 upgrade then I've got to be competitive in Stage races. And to do that,I have to get comfy on a TT set-up. I guess it will be cool...maybe I can use it in a team duathlon or triathlon with Heather or something. Besides the TT bike it looks like I may be getting 3 more bikes coming soon! Yeah I know...that's a bit excessive, but not really since I currently do not have a mtn bike. So you may wonder what are the 3 others; well one is a hardtail mtn frame, one is a full-suspension race bike, and the last is a CX bike. See...told ya not excessive since I have a ton of parts from my old Moots and Top Fuel that need to be just bolted to a frame...hence hardtail. And then I would like to have a race bike since I will be doing some ultra endurance races this year like the Leadville, Firecracker 50, and maybe 24 Hrs of Elephant Rock. Then I gotta have a cross bike since last year I sold the Scott so I wouldn't be tempted to do any racing or dismounting on my bum ankle. Well this year, it should be fine and I love CX racing. It's pure, fun, and requires a whole lot of suffering! It's amazing to since whenever I ask about any kind of bike, Steve always responds with...."I've got just what you need in my garage or basement." How can that be, I wonder? I guess I shouldn't ask questions as I've loved the TCR C0 that I've been riding the last year!

Speaking of that bike....check out this picture from VoS at the RR course? How sick is that bike set-up? I realized it while at VoS in Phoenix that I was officially on the dopest road bike I'd ever ridden. Sweet full carbon frame, full Dura-Ace groupo, SRM (short for "Super Race Machine) Pro Dura-Ace Powermeter, and the new addition thanks to Steve Nagelkerke himself were the icing on the cake, Mavic Cosmic Carbonnes. Wheweee! I know I have never been a weight weenie but the bike was light, felt light and even if from a placebo effect....went uphill real fast!

Anyways, I think I've posted more in the last 3 days than I have in 6 mths, but I guess I make it up while I can. Since I'll be down for a few more days then you may get some more to read. Lates for now.

Round Three....ding, ding, ding!

Yeah that is right. Last time I posted I mentioned having my 3rd and final surgery on March 6th to get all the hardware out from my broken leg. Well......it's now March 7th, so I'm sitting here in the cozy little alley cottage with my foot propped up in a chair with low-and-behold....gauze and an ace bandage around my throbbing ankle. As you see in the picture I've got a nice little baggy of Ti hardware. I'd much rather have those bolts and plates somewhere on my race bike....but instead they had to come out of my leg. Well I guess it's fine. I planned the winter pretty well and accomplished one goal thus far this season. I wanted to get out and race early which I've already done and I wanted to get some Cat 1 upgrade points prior to this surgery. And as of last weekend when I went to the University or NM Rocky Mtn collegiate opener, I did just that. I wouldn't have guessed it considering how poorly I did in the ITT on Saturday that I would ride really well in the crit on Sunday. Yep I got smoked in the ITT on Saturday when the weather was 76 degrees and sunny. I think I finished a 15K course in 24:20, which placed me 18th/30 or something. I don't know who stole my legs and replaced them with a chickens, because I could not go hard and I averaged a whole 50 watts less than the ITT at Valley of the Sun that was about 5 miles longer. I guess that what being sick for a few weeks does to you. But as for the crit...I had a few partners in crime for the day. My newly found buddy Cory Carlson, DU coach and Rio rider, was there to help his Rio and CU teammate, Brad Bingham, get some Cat 1 points as well. The plan was for both of us to sit-in and wait until later in the race to get in a break. Well like plans ever work especially when you are riding a sub-one mile square in the middle of a balloon field with 30 mph head winds. Well an early break went and I didn't intend to bridge but when I took a pull into the headwind I suddenly remembered a conversation that Cory and I had with the collegiate kids before the race. "You never want to be the bitch on the front pulling others around or up to the break....if you're gonna go..go and get across the gap!" Well there I was...on the front....into the headwind....and I was that guy! I thought at least. I turned and realized that the group all were scattered and didn't want to work into the wind and I had a gap and I was barely pushing tempo pace. Well I soft pedaled and I didn't lose ground so I thought, well I'd much rather be up in that group than back in the pack. So I eased the pace up to threshold and walla I was 3/4 ways across the gap and the group was slowly going backwards. The next thing I know, I'm in the break with 4 others and then 1 more rider comes across the gap. We are barely working together and still manage to increase the gap. This turned out to be a good move. Unfortunately one of the riders in the break decided to go again before I'd recovered from catching the break, so there was a lead of 2 up the road from us and a group of 4 of us, and then everyone else a half lap back. Well I quickly realized that one of the guys in our group of 4 had a teammate up the road....so he did absolutely no work and the other two guys were Colavita teammates, so I had better play my cards right. Well the teammates took their shots at me with 4 laps to go, firing off attacks on each side of the road one after another, and again with 3 to go and with 2 to go and each time I was able to snap and cover. On the last lap they both tried again and by default one of them got dropped after his teammate countered and then as expected the 4th man that did no work all day launched an attack that was weak and easily covered. With 2 corners to go, I knew that it was my chance since I'm not a big max watt sprinter. So I went on the opposite side from where everyone else had attacked, caught both guys off guard and left no prisoners. I turned the corner drilling 900 watts and then held 700 watts to the line with a 50 meter gap to take the field sprint for 3rd place! Whew...felt good to tactically out maneuver teammates. It was definitely a good last race prior to surgery this week.