Great finish Sunday

Well the final Banana Belt race happened this past Sunday, and I have to say I was really worried about the distance and the amount of climbing that had to be done. The race was 66 miles or 6 11 mile laps with 700' of climbing a lap. The course has basically 6 climbs a lap, the longest being 1.5 miles and the shortest being about 600 meters. This is the same course I did last time, but I really did not think I described how hard it actually is. The last climb before the finish line was my downfall the first race. This climb is not very long, about 600 meters, but is by far the steepest, 8-10%, on the course and people really hit it hard. This is the the climb I totally locked up on the first race which was only 4 laps, so you can see why I was worried about doing it 6 times. Before the race I had decided to try to do every climb in my small chain ring to save my legs. The first race I climbed in my big chain ring a lot and I think that really hurt me towards the end. It was not always easy to stay in my small chain ring and spin but I think it really helped me in the end.

So off we go, there was only about 35 guys this time which is not good when you plan to hide for a while. We actually started off slow, so slow they told us we had to speed up because the 4's were catching us, so we picked it up a little bit to get them off our back. I did not mind the slow start because I had ridden way to hard on Saturday and my legs were not happy. The race was not very aggressive in the begining laps. I think a lot of guys were worried about the distance. On lap 4 a group of 3 got off the front and put about 35 seconds into the group so the chase was on for lap 5 and 6. This is where the race started getting hard, it is also were we dropped a ton of guys. I remember specifically on lap five towards the top of the longest climb the field split in two. I was not in the split and had to sprint across, I think that is where we lost a lot most of the guys. So I had made the selection and was starting to feel really good. The final selection only had about 20 guys in it and I was still worried about the final climb, but I had made sure that I had ate and drank enough to keep hydrated. I consumed 4 Gu's, 1 Enervit Cheer pack, 1 water bottle, and 2 drink mix bottles. I was ready. Slowly we brought back the group and caught them on the long climb on the back side. This is where is started getting confusing. After we crossed the dam and were headed back towards the start /finish line there was a group of six ahead of use, no one was quit sure if they were from our group or just stragglers from other races. So we chased like hell. As I expected the race really broke apart on that final climb, but I felt awesome and had no signs on cramping so I went for it. I blasted up the hill and stayed with what was left of the group. It is a fast descent to the line and I was in good position. As I started my sprint in the 11, I got pinched and had to hit the brakes and slowed way down. But was able to re-accelerate to get 14th. Without getting pinched I think I could have easily got top ten, but I was just happy with finishing with the main group and knowing that my training is really paying off. I change my training a lot this year and was not sure if it was going to help. My next race is April 11 so time to get back to work.

Funny pics

This is a funny pic Heather took last time we were up on the mountain. Zach is in a hole made frome somebodies foot. But it totally looks like I am puching him into the snow. The snow up there is about 42"-70" deep this time of year.

Zach thought he was so funny putting on my shoes.

First race of the year

Well I had my first race a couple of weeks ago and almost my second race last weekend, but I will get to that in a second. The first races of the year are called the Banana Belt series. It is 3 races up in Gaston which is about 2.5 hours north of Eugene, not a bad drive but I have to get up at 5am to get there in time. Our race was 44 miles with about 700' of climbing and 700 meters of flat a lap. So you were either climbing or descending the whole time. There were 61 guys that started the race and we race in horrible weather conditions, but what do expect it is March in Oregon. But I kind of liked it, 45 and raining, we all looked like we road in a coal mine after the race but it was fun. So the race started out pretty stout, but I found my legs responding well to the climbs and felt comfortable, I even went for the $50 bonus on the start of the 3rd lap, in hindsight that was not a very good idea because the whole 3rd lap I was in the hurt locker, but survived. The start of the 4th lap was attack after attack and I was still feeling pretty good until the middle of the longest climb, about a 1.5miles, when I started to feel the twinges of cramps in my legs. This is never a good sign. It only happened when I stood up so I was hoping I could accelerate fast enough seated to keep up. This was not the case, on the way in there is a long climb, about a mile, with a little decent, then a short steep climb of about 900 meters. That is where I could no longer accelerate fast enough seated and tried to stand up, bad idea, my legs totally locked up. After cresting the top it is all down hill to the finish and I almost got back on the group after motor pacing a following car, but I could never get back on. In the end I finished 42, the last guy in the main group. I did not even realize we had dropped so many guys. Oh I forgot to mention we did the 44 miles in less than 2 hours. All in all I was happy with my performance and looked forward to going back the next weekend. Last weekend I drove back up to the Gaston to find the race course covered in 2" of snow, with more falling. There was a chance of that happening, so I should have just stayed in bed. But I took the chance and lost, but what are you going to do. Racers race and will take the chance to race, if only a small chance.

What a week

This week was one for the record books. I got my butt out of bed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Tuesday morning I did a brutal workout and then rode Tuesday night with a group of guys using lights, and man did we hammer. I held my own though and rode really strong, which kind of surprised me after my hard workout in the morning. I ended up with over 3 hours on Tuesday. Man if you have never ridden at night you are missing out on a very interesting experience. Pace lining at night is a interesting mix of danger and excitement. Riding at night also plays with your brain because all you can see is what your light lites up, which is about 7 feet of road ahead of you and nothing else. The only part I didn't like was on climbs because I could not see where the end was, but overall I am looking forward to next Tuesday. I am racing on Sunday at the Banana Belt race in Gaston which is about 25 miles south west of Portland. It is a 100% chance of rain and 10mph winds which should make for and interesting day. On top of that is the over 700' of climbing each of the 4 laps. I should have an interesting race report for you on Sunday.

Morning workouts

Well morning workouts have been going great. Heather took Friday off and I went Mountain biking in the morning. I totally wrecked my body by riding as hard as I could. I spent over 18 minutes in Zone 4. I actually felt really good on the bike. Then things took a turn for the worse, I woke up Saturday morning puking my guts out. It was a great time had by all as Zach followed suite in the afternoon by puking sometime during his nap, then continued to puke a few more times before he went to bed. To make the day extra special I awoke at about 1am to a screaming child, as I came down the hall I noticed the bathroom light on. It was Heather and Zach in the bathtub, Zach had puked at some point during the night and Heather smelled it when she went in to check on him. So while Heather got Zach cleaned up I got the sheets changed and the puke mopped up and went back to bed. Everything was ok on Sunday and Monday till Heather started puking at around 11pm Monday night. Needless to say she did not go to on Tuesday. So the puke bug has gone through the Hill family. What a weekend.

I have been busy

Well it has been a few weeks since my last post and I am sorry for that. I know you are all on the edge of your seat waiting for posts. So here you go.

Life has been busy the last couple of weeks, training is still going ok, but I really need to pick up the pace and get all my workouts in. Right now I/we workout after Zach goes to bed which means I start at about 9 o'clock. I am quickly finding out this is not working so well anymore. After a full day of chasing a 2 yr old around I am bushed and training is being put on the back burner. So I have made the decision to start training in the morning. So starting tomorrow I am getting up at 6am and training. Zach usually does not get up till 8 so I should have sufficient time to ride.

I have been reffing some, but because their are only 2 teams in Eugene, the Generals (Juniors), and the ducks (college) you get pretty sick of each other fast. Not to mention the coach of the ducks is a real a$$hole. I am pretty burnt out. I am looking forward to the Junior A game this weekend though, it should be good. It will be between the first place team Seattle and second place team the Eugene, a week before playoffs. It should be a good game.

This week in training

Well this past week was ok, I got my Tuesday power workout in and put out over 800 watts seated. That is the most watts I have ever hit this time of year which makes me happy. My Wednesday long ride was good, but I was tired on Thursday and with 2 Junior A games this past weekend I decided to listen to my body and take it easy. A Junior A game is the same length as an NHL game, so about 2.5-3 hours of skating. I figure that is good for something. So I got in about 35 miles this past week, indoor. I am looking forward to this week because it is supposed to be 50 on Wednesday and hopefully carry through the weekend.

This week in training

Well I got off to a good start this year. My totals for the this week are a little over 8 hours on the bike at 136miles and over 5000 calories burned. Heather and I got in a beautiful ride yesterday, almost 3 hours with about 3000' of climbing. Weather wise it was awesome here yesterday 50 and sunny. That is really unusual for here so we took full advantage. Looking forward to next week, first race in less than a month away, if we choose to do it. We will probably play that one by ear. Have a good week everyone.

What a weekend

What a weekend, Heather had a 4 day weekend so we decided to take full advantage of what Oregon has to offer. So we got up early Thursday morning and headed up the mountain. We went to a place called Gold Lake sno-park. Heather and I both got snowshoes and we got Zach a sled and all the things needed to go up to 5ooo' were there is already 4.5' of snow. Snow pants and a new jacket were in order for Zach and Heather and I got new snow pants. It was about an hour drive to our destination and man it was worth it. It was really cool as you went higher in elevation the snow got deeper and deeper. Zach had a blast once he got used to walking on the snow. Here is video of Zach sledding down the hill on his bottom. He loved it and we plan to go back a lot this year.

Friday morning we decided to go to the Oregon Aquarium in Newport. That was a 2 hour drive up the coast. It was a great day to drive up the coast, the seas were pretty calm and it was sunny for part of the day. When we got inside the aquarium Zach went crazy yelling fish, fish!! It was a really neat place. Not only did they have all kinds of fish they had sea lions, seals, otters and all kids of local birds. The coolest part of the day was the shark tube. You walk through this tube and the sharks are swimming all around you Zach went crazy, then as if it wasn't cool enough they started feeding the sharks. Man that was awesome. Here is some video of Zach watching the fish. It is not a very good video because of the lighting but you get the picture. After leaving the aquarium we went to eat at a place that overlooked the water and had step that went down to the beach. So after lunch we went down to the water and Zach had a blast playing.

Saturday we took it easy and did some things around the house and tried to figure out what we wanted to Sunday. Zach made that decision easy for us. All day Saturday he kept giving use the "fish" sign and the "car" sign. So we decided to go back to the coast on Sunday, but not to go all the way to the aquarium, but to the beach in Florence and to the sea lion caves. It is about an hour drive there so that was not to bad. Here is video of Zach and Heather playing on the beach.

The last thing we did before leaving the coast was the sea lion cave. The sea lion cave is the largest naturally formed sea cave in the world. The main building was built in 1942 and there used to be steps you took 200' down to the cave. Now there is an elevator that you take down thank God. It was amazing in the cave, there must have been around 500 sea lions in the cave, making an enormous amount of noise. I don't have any pics of the sea lions because you were not allowed to use a flash, but when I figure out how to download my movie camera on the computer I will post some video of the sea lions. All in all it was a great 4 days and today Heather came home early so I got to get a ride in. What a weekend.

X-Mas

Well another x-mas is here and gone. This was our first x-mas in Eugene and it was pretty good. Zach is starting to understand what a present is and that makes it a lot more enjoyable for us. He opened almost all his presents this year which was fun. I can't wait till next x-mas when he is really talking and will truly understand what Christmas is. Zach is really starting to talk, he said 2 words together last night which is a first so we are working hard on getting that going. Well the buzzer just went off so back to making dinner.

Oh, I almost forgot. We were going to go whale watching today but the seas were to rough, 15-20' waves, to see the whales so hopefully next weekend.