First off, big thanks to Mitch, his crew and the park for hosting an awesome event. Great park for a race, super clean area with an awesome trail.
There were only 10 that showed up on Sunday in the expert field, not sure what was up with that.
Goal for the day was to keep pace with team mate Mark and see where that would take me. That plan did not play out all to well as I fell off the pace possibly halfway into lap 1. Tom Albert and Drew Black caught up to me and we raced together for the next few laps.
In lap 4 Tom had a surge of energy and pulled away. Drew was starting to make grunting sounds on the hills so I knew he was starting to hurt. At the the start of lap 5 I pushed the pace up the hill and lost Drew. I spent the next two laps working to keep a good pace and finish up 7th.
Walked away slightly disappointed but had a fun day regardless.
EXPERT OVERALL
Bib = 251 Tim Kakouris 0:20:15 0:41:04 1:01:25 1:22:32 1:43:41 2:05:08
Bib = 227 Mark Gullett 0:20:23 0:41:26 1:02:29 1:23:53 1:45:37 2:06:58
Bib = 230 Chris Ploch 0:20:16 0:41:06 1:01:45 1:22:33 1:44:38 2:07:29
Bib = 226 Dan Miller 0:20:19 0:41:08 1:01:33 1:23:11 1:45:40 2:07:48
Bib = 229 Bob Arnold 0:20:17 0:41:10 1:03:26 1:25:49 1:49:06 2:12:40
Bib = 262 Tom Albert 0:20:59 0:42:38 1:05:05 1:27:52 1:51:05 2:14:44
Bib = 252 Jeff Yielding 0:21:01 0:42:35 1:05:09 1:28:17 1:52:10 2:17:39
Bib = 261 Marty Weaver 0:24:40 0:50:16 1:17:18 1:46:06 2:18:36
Bib = 201 DNF Andrew Black 0:20:57 0:42:37 1:05:06 1:28:16
Bib = 228 DNF Matt James 0:50:36 1:14:22 1:38:47
Next up Dirt Crits on Thursday night for the next 5 weeks!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
End of June, ready for July
This last three week block of training has flown by, this weeks rest week snuck up on me big time. June by design was a stabilization month. Keeping the training load and training stresses level was the key. Result was a rested and fresh feeling all month, good training days and positive race results. PMC chart translates this well.
End of June training before rest week PMC
Sunday my plan to race Lost Valley changed for an unexpected trip to St Joe, MO, but I did have time to take advantage of how good I felt for a threshhold and other power testing before I headed West.
I do a 15 min effort then take 95% of that to determine threshold. End result was 4.35 w/kg. This was up from last year this time by 5%. Happy with results of course and also this gets me thinking what does a power profile look like for a cross racer?
So I plug my most recent peak numbers into the Power Profile chart and this is what is shows.
End of June training before rest week PMC
Sunday my plan to race Lost Valley changed for an unexpected trip to St Joe, MO, but I did have time to take advantage of how good I felt for a threshhold and other power testing before I headed West.
I do a 15 min effort then take 95% of that to determine threshold. End result was 4.35 w/kg. This was up from last year this time by 5%. Happy with results of course and also this gets me thinking what does a power profile look like for a cross racer?
So I plug my most recent peak numbers into the Power Profile chart and this is what is shows.
Result is (/) Distinctly upsloping plot. the classical time-trialist pattern, i.e., weak in neuromuscular power and anaerobic capacity, but with a relatively high aerobic power and especially a high lactate threshold. While such athletes may improve their performance by working on their weaknesses, this may not necessarily be true if it results in a decline in their strength, which is sustainable power. More info here
If I had to pick a power profile that works best with cross it would be the time trialist pattern or an all rounder over pursuiter or sprinter.
Here is a good article that I found about the power demands of cross. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3.
From these articles it suggests that it is not the person who can push the most watts per kilogram, or the person who can push 1000+ watt sprints. Its the people who come into the cross season in great shape, race a smart race, conserve energy and handle their bikes well. That is what makes cross such an awesome sport, levels the playing field more so than other discpline and is multi dimensional.
After this rest week July is focused on increasing threshold, technical skills and grow slowly grow training load.
The numbers are fun, I like to analyze them, compare them and see what I can use to make me faster come September. But bottom line is when September gets here the only number that will count will be at the end of the race when I look at the results. This bike racing is serious business :)
Sunday, June 13, 2010
MO State MTB Championships
From all the talk the past two weeks you would have thought the MO State MTB Championships were the only thing on this weekend.
Like me I'm sure everyone else was watching the weather daily if not hourly to see if what seemed liked multiple storm systems that entered the area would destroy any hopes of racing. But, as things worked out storms either missed the race site or fell apart as they got close. End results dry trail and over 100 happy racers.
Like me I'm sure everyone else was watching the weather daily if not hourly to see if what seemed liked multiple storm systems that entered the area would destroy any hopes of racing. But, as things worked out storms either missed the race site or fell apart as they got close. End results dry trail and over 100 happy racers.
22 Cat 1 racers and I lined up yesterday in Castelwood on an extremely hot and humid day to see who would be crowned State Champion. Goal for the day was a medal.
The day reminded me of last Aug when I raced Spanish Lake in similar weather conditions. That day I went off the line hard for a full lap and payed the price with a total melt down from the heat having to pull out after the first lap. Today the strategy was keep it steady and be sure to eat and drink. Slow is fast.
The start was up a massive hill which produced a near record 1 min peak wattage number. What a fun way to start :)
5 guys contested for the 40+ race jersey, Brian Duff who beat me last weekend at Warsaw, Andy Lucas, Rich Rudolph and the infamous Tim Kakouris a veteran of CW. I think they all hit the top of the climb before I did except maybe for Rich.
During the 2nd climb I caught and passed Andy and Brian only to be passed by Andy later as we finished the 1st lap. The 1st lap claimed many victims from the heat, TK and Rich were among them.
As we started the 2nd lap I closed the gap on Andy and took the lead on the fist hill pulling away never to see Andy again.
As I finished lap 2 I got a placing update and was told I was in 2nd place (40+), I assumed it was TK out in front but later in lap 3 was told he pulled out. So now I have the virtual jersey and it was up to me to keep things smooth, not crash and avoid a flat.
Things worked out as I passed many riders in the last lap to cross the line 11th overall and 1st in my category. Slow was indeed fast on this day.
Yesterday I was not the fasted guy out there and John Mathews who is 40+ and by far more skilled on the MTB than I gave me a gift by racing a cat down; but I had a good race and happy to bring home my 2nd state jersey.
Photos to come Dennis Fickinger will have some posted soon
Overall and total time
1 Jonathan SCHOTTLER 1:52:03
Overall and total time
1 Jonathan SCHOTTLER 1:52:03
2 John RINES 1:55:38
3 John MATTHEWS 1:56:57
4 Chris PLOCH 1:57:55
5 Dave BRESLON 1:59:20.
6 Aaron ELWELL 2:00:43
7 Travis DONN 2:03:09
8 Drew BLACK 2:05:53
9 Mark GULLETT 2:06:38 (Team Mate)
10 Tom ALBERT 2:08:02
11 Jeff YIELDING 2:15:06
12 Dan MCCARTHY 2:15:14
13 Brian DUFF 2:22:45
14 Loreen MATTSON
15 Bryce LAWRENCE
16 Christine FORD
17 Andy LUCAS
18 Aaron FADER
19 Rock WAMSLEY
20 Bob ARNOLD
21 Tim KAKOURIS
22 Rich RUDOLPH
3 John MATTHEWS 1:56:57
4 Chris PLOCH 1:57:55
5 Dave BRESLON 1:59:20.
6 Aaron ELWELL 2:00:43
7 Travis DONN 2:03:09
8 Drew BLACK 2:05:53
9 Mark GULLETT 2:06:38 (Team Mate)
10 Tom ALBERT 2:08:02
11 Jeff YIELDING 2:15:06
12 Dan MCCARTHY 2:15:14
13 Brian DUFF 2:22:45
14 Loreen MATTSON
15 Bryce LAWRENCE
16 Christine FORD
17 Andy LUCAS
18 Aaron FADER
19 Rock WAMSLEY
20 Bob ARNOLD
21 Tim KAKOURIS
22 Rich RUDOLPH
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Down and Dirty at Warsaw
Options for Sunday were:
• Pre Ride CW for a second time in prep for the State Race the next week
• Race Down and Dirty at Warsaw
Reports of a race at CW in the AM made it an easy choice to head West to Warsaw. Plus I was itching to race.
Trails were perfect to work on handling skills while at the same time getting in a race effort workout. And the weather could not have been better.
All the experts started together, about 15 to 20 I think, down a long straight double track before the single track began. It’s hard saying where I was after we reached this point, all I know is that Rock and team mate Mark were up the trail. I wanted to get to their wheel ASAP, came close but they ended up getting out of sight leaving me with others to contest the first lap. First lap was 40 min,
Not much action on the 2nd lap, mostly riding alone trying to keep a steady pace. Came up on the open section before the new trail and saw Mark on two feet with no bike. Ended up he broke a chain which ended his day. He would have been in contention for the win had this not occurred.
I hit the new trail section and for some reason I rode this section slow and timid. I must have lost a good minute here from the previous lap. It was pathetic. I ended up getting caught and passed by 3 riders.
I make it to the finish area with one lap to go as Mark tells me his best guess is that I’m sitting 5th or 6th overall.. That is what I needed to regain focus for the final lap. At this point is where things started to come alive. I was starting to feel the course more, taking smother lines, taking more risks and saw Doug from 360 Racing at one point up the trail not too far away.
I passed an Ethos rider who was at the tail end of fixing a flat who soon caught me, passed and got a gap. Motivation kicked in high gear and I used the hill climbs to keep him in sight. We started setting a good steady pace for quite some time. This strong pace helped us close the gap on Doug from 360 Racing as we passed him just before the clearing before the new section of trail. Mark gave me an update telling me I was in 7th. I also closed the gap on Ethos rider who then decided to take a bottle from his cooler, this slight pause allowed me to move ahead of him now in 6th.
Here we go, just a bit over a mile on a section of trail that on lap two I rode like a blind squirrel. Not this time, I pushed hard, took some risks and stayed focused. Event the tight double switch back, a must clear this time, was accomplished. I did take one corner too hot and slid out but by that time I had enough of a cushion it did not matter. I came out of the woods for an uphill climb along the tower line to the finish holding my chaser off to cross 6th overall/ 4th in age group. Missed 5th overall by 20 seconds. That 5th place rider took 3rd in 40 plus field too, missed it by that much.
Hats off to the Ethos rider, you made that last lap fun and challenging right to the end.
Results
Sorry no photos, will post if any come out on line.
Next up is the XC State Championships.
101 days till cross starts
• Pre Ride CW for a second time in prep for the State Race the next week
• Race Down and Dirty at Warsaw
Reports of a race at CW in the AM made it an easy choice to head West to Warsaw. Plus I was itching to race.
Trails were perfect to work on handling skills while at the same time getting in a race effort workout. And the weather could not have been better.
All the experts started together, about 15 to 20 I think, down a long straight double track before the single track began. It’s hard saying where I was after we reached this point, all I know is that Rock and team mate Mark were up the trail. I wanted to get to their wheel ASAP, came close but they ended up getting out of sight leaving me with others to contest the first lap. First lap was 40 min,
Not much action on the 2nd lap, mostly riding alone trying to keep a steady pace. Came up on the open section before the new trail and saw Mark on two feet with no bike. Ended up he broke a chain which ended his day. He would have been in contention for the win had this not occurred.
I hit the new trail section and for some reason I rode this section slow and timid. I must have lost a good minute here from the previous lap. It was pathetic. I ended up getting caught and passed by 3 riders.
I make it to the finish area with one lap to go as Mark tells me his best guess is that I’m sitting 5th or 6th overall.. That is what I needed to regain focus for the final lap. At this point is where things started to come alive. I was starting to feel the course more, taking smother lines, taking more risks and saw Doug from 360 Racing at one point up the trail not too far away.
I passed an Ethos rider who was at the tail end of fixing a flat who soon caught me, passed and got a gap. Motivation kicked in high gear and I used the hill climbs to keep him in sight. We started setting a good steady pace for quite some time. This strong pace helped us close the gap on Doug from 360 Racing as we passed him just before the clearing before the new section of trail. Mark gave me an update telling me I was in 7th. I also closed the gap on Ethos rider who then decided to take a bottle from his cooler, this slight pause allowed me to move ahead of him now in 6th.
Here we go, just a bit over a mile on a section of trail that on lap two I rode like a blind squirrel. Not this time, I pushed hard, took some risks and stayed focused. Event the tight double switch back, a must clear this time, was accomplished. I did take one corner too hot and slid out but by that time I had enough of a cushion it did not matter. I came out of the woods for an uphill climb along the tower line to the finish holding my chaser off to cross 6th overall/ 4th in age group. Missed 5th overall by 20 seconds. That 5th place rider took 3rd in 40 plus field too, missed it by that much.
Hats off to the Ethos rider, you made that last lap fun and challenging right to the end.
Results
Sorry no photos, will post if any come out on line.
Next up is the XC State Championships.
101 days till cross starts
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