Running Sucks

So after a brutal cyclocross race yesterday, in which I totally sucked, Heather wanted to run today. Oh, I forgot to mention, poor out of shape, Heather won her women's Cat A Race yesterday. That chick is a genetic freak and I hope Zach got some of it. We decided to check out the local MTB trail first to see if it was ok to ride, it was not. I am totally against people riding when it is muddy, it destroys what precious trail systems we have left. So after a little recon on that trail we decided to turn around and head to the top of Spencer Butte. It is 2.5miles up and 2.5mile back on mostly good trail until you get to within about a quarter mile of the top, then the trail ends at a boulder field. From there it is find your own way to the top. But the view was awesome. On the way up we went through a foggy section of tail, it was pretty cool, but as we got to the top we realized it was a cloud. When we came out of the fog it was totally sunny and we were looking down on the clouds. We could see the Sisters which are part of the Cascade Mountain Range. I wished I would have brought the camera, but I didn't. But I can assure you I will next time.
Scott

A Eugene Sunrise

I thought this was pretty cool the other morning. The last couple mornings we have awoke in a cloud. It is really kind of spooky. This picture was taken when the town was in the cloud. As we descended down the hill we went into it. But it was sunny at our house when we left.

Awsome Shoes

These are the new Shimano R-300 Custom Fit shoe. I got these a few weeks ago when we were in St. Louis for Heathers medical school reunion. I got them Custom fitted there but had not had a chance to ride them until yesterday.

Lets start with the custom part before I tell you about the ride. First they take the insoles out and bake them in this special Shimano oven. After a few minutes they pull them out and put them back in the shoe. Then you put the shoes on and stand for 5 minutes. After that is done they take the insoles back out and put the shoes in the oven for a few minutes. This is the fun part. After the shoes have cooked you put your feet in them. They are really hot at this point. Next comes the the vacuum bag. They put this bag around your foot a suck all the air out forcing the shoe to mold to your foot. I will not lye, the pressure is almost uncomfortable. But man the shoes fit like a glove. You can see the bumps your toes made on the outside of the shoe.

Back to the ride. As most of you know with new shoes comes new cleats. I am always worried about getting the cleats just right, because a cleat that is off just a little bit can cause big problems with your knees. After a lot of measuring and guessing whether or not the cleats were right I was out the door. After a few peddle strokes I now know why pros get custom fitted shoes. I can't believe the difference, it feels like you are wearing slippers on your feet. You don't really feel the shoes at all. And as far as the cleats go, this is the first shoes I have ever owned that I did not have to go back and readjust the cleats. I can't wait to ride again. If you have an opportunity to get these shoes they are well worth the price.

scott

New Cross BIke

Well everybody else was showing their new rig, so I thought I would put mine on. I got this Redline Conquest Pro frame back in September and took parts off my old cross bike to finish it. The frame is super light, it is all aluminum, with a carbon fork. Very light and nimble. I have had to experiment with tire pressures to get the bike to handle the way I wanted it to. I had a big problem with the front end washing out the first time I raced it. But I have the bike dialed in now.

Why I Race Cyclocross

For those of you that have never done cyclocross you don't know what you are missing. Not only is it a total blast, but it really helps with bike handling skills and most of all keeps you fit. My last race which was 2 weeks ago, was 60min. During the race I was in zone 4 for 45 minuets and zone 5 for 15. Not all at once but at various points in the race. That kind of effort every couple of weeks keeps your Anaerobic Threshold up, so come December you don't have to work so hard in the building phase.

I raced today in Salem,OR, that is about an hour north of Eugene. Today's race was on an old golf course. It was a really cool course but totally brutal since it has been raining for the last week. The ground was totally water logged which made for insane rolling resistance. As the race started I was in pretty good position, but could not hold the pace of the leaders and fell back through the pack. I was completely out of gas, but decided to finish no matter what. At the end I was completely wasted, but I had finished and that is what is important.

THE NEXT DAY

Look at the pretty colors. Kinda looks like Africa..

OUCH!!!!

What a hockey puck does to your leg.

The Final Stage

I don't know about anybody else but this is the longest stage race I have ever done. Most stage races are 3 stages, but you throw that extra stage in there and it makes a difference, lets face it, I am not getting any younger. So the 4th stage in 3 days is a 85 mile road race with around 5200ft of climbing. I have ridden the loop before and was really worried about this stage. It has three, 3mile climbs and you do the loop twice, so do the math. Did I mention that I am really tired, but I decided at the beginning of this stage I am finishing no matter what happens. So the race begins and I am sitting about 1:50 seconds down which is not bad. Everybody is just cruising along talking and 3 guys take off. Everybody just looks at each other because these guys are not in contention, but they are smart and I wish I would have gone with them. Why you ask, well they were getting a head start on the steepest climb of the day, smart move. Well long story short, I survived the first climb which is about 15miles into the race. The decent of this climb is super sketchy and some guys totally bombed it. At the bottom is a 90* left hand turn, that usually has a fair amount of gravel and dirt on it and I got gaped. The 2nd climb starts right after the turn and is super steep probably in the 10% range and doesn't let up for about a mile. I got popped bad, blew ski high and had to sit up. I chased for a while and about went of the side of the mountain on the decent trying to get back with the group, but it wasn't going to happen they were gone so I settled in and realized I had 60 miles to go. I caught some guys that had been dropped and one guy stayed with me and we suffered together to the finish. I still managed to average 18mph for the day and was happy that I finished. I ended up 23 out of 30 guys, but it was a great experience and I am still carrying good form into cyclocross because of it.

Celebration continued

Its been a few weeks, but cyclocross season started and we have been super busy. So here is the rest of the stage race. Early Sunday morning the Time Trial took place. I was in 11th overall so not to bad for me, my main goal for the TT, or any TT, is not to finish last. The cours was a 7 mile out and back fairly flat so decide to ride my fixed gear track bike. I really think it helped me because i did not finish last. Later that day was the crit, I was really looking foward to this because that is kinda my turf. As the race started I decided to just hang out because the guy in 1st had a good team and they were controlling everything. so with a lap to go I moved up the inside on the backstrech and went into the final corner in 3rd. It is 300m to the line from the corner so i was thinking second win of the season. As we came around the corner the guys in front of me just died and I had to make a split second decision. Lead it out or get swarmed from behind and have no chance of winning. I went by the saying, "when in doubt lead it out." So that is what I did, and took the winner all the way to the line. I was able to hold 38mph for about 200m but he came around me right at the line and there was a guy on my left that got me but a tire, so got 3rd which is good enough for me.

Eugene Celebration

This past weekend I participated in the hardest stage race I have ever done, the Eugene Celebration stage race. This race was done on time so you had to be careful not to get dropped or give people time by letting gaps open up. I have been training so I thought I was halfway ready for it. Heather also raced which was awesome. So here we go. Saturday morning was a 55 mile road race to start the event. We had about 30 guys which around here is pretty good, so off we went. The first real climb was 4.5 miles into the race, it is called "welders hill" because there used to be welding shop at the top of it. Welders is about 2 miles in length and around 7-8% grade. We went up it the first time pretty easy at about 15mph. Ya that is right 15mph, welcome to Eugene. From there it is rolling with nothing to bad till you get to "sprinters hill". Sprinter is about a mile long with around 6-8% grade and about 4 miles from the finish. We had a tail wind at this point so we cruised up it at about 17mph. The first lap was pretty tame so I was getting worried that the second lap would get crazy and it did. As we approached welders the second time the pace was much higher because a couple of guys had got off the front and teams were chasing. We went up welders the second time in our big chain rings at about 20mph and man it hurt, I hit a higher heart rate climbing that, than I did in the sprint. After cresting that climb nobody let up, it was full gas for the rest of the lap. As we approached sprinters we were in the 30+mph range and had brought the gap back to about 45 seconds, I was getting worried about sprinters and how fast these guys would go up it so I got to the front so I could drift back if I need to. I had put myself in a good position because attacks went and I was able to respond. In the sprint it got a little stupid,but don't they all, and I came across the line in 11th shutting it down about 100meters from the line because since it is time, not points, there is no need wasting energy. The guys stayed off the front and had about 40 seconds on the field.