24th Best

Today was a beautiful day for a race at Whitnall Park in Hales Corners and the race couldn't have been run any better, of course I'm biased since my team (Wheaton Franciscan) ran it today. Unfortunately I couldn't race up to the standards I've set so far this year with 4 top-10 finishes thus far in my first 4 races. As I've been saying this week I was pretty much at about 70% all week with a head cold and some lung congestion and the lack of intense training this week and basically the lack of riding for 3 days out of the week really hurt me today. I felt maybe 85% this morning when I woke up and I had a quadruple espresso to put me at about 90% before the race started. I felt really good just sitting in the pack until about 4 laps to go and then I moved up to the front and by the bell lap I was sitting 3rd wheel coming around the 2nd turn. Unfortunately it all fell apart from there as I was following the wheel of Aaron, who is in 2nd place in the WCA standings and as we made the 3rd turn and went up the hill he kind of peeled off to the side and I was left out in front going down the hill in to the finishing straight which ends on the top of another small rise. As we hit the start of the finishing hill I completely blew up as I tried standing for the sprint but had no speed in my legs at all and I ended up getting passed by about 20 guys. The more that passed me, the more demoralized I got and I think by the time I hit the finish line I was basically coasting and could barely pedal anymore. Luckily for me the field was big with 80 riders, so starting at the front and getting passed by 20 guys still left me just about in the top quarter of the results. Unfortunately though I didn't get any WCA points. Aaron who was in 2nd didn't get any either but the 3rd place rider in the series finished 9th overall and so I'm now out of the lead for sure but still hanging on to 2nd in the series. I have no doubt that if I was healthy all week and was able to ride and do my normal program that I would have been right at the front in the sprint, but as it was I didn't do much to build up that speed in my legs this week. I do feel really good this evening and I think after one or two more days I'll be back to 100%. As it stands right now I don't think I'll be doing the 1st of 2 races next weekend as the time and traveling is probably just a little too much for the things I have to get done around the house. I'd have to drive from New Berlin to Reedsburg on Saturday and then back home and then on Sunday I'd have another long drive from New Berlin to Neenah and back. Basically I'd be looking at about 6-7 hours out of my day Saturday and 4-5 hours on Sunday and I just can't afford to do that right now. My wife's b-day is next weekend and so I'd like to be home one of those days to spend with her. Right now I'm still probably a little slow up the hills so I'm going to be heading to Neenah for the Crit I believe as that suits me better. We'll see though, maybe I can do something really nice this week for my wife to allow me to go to both races. Well, time to get some rest as I've been up since 5:15 this morning to help set up for our race. Until next time........

Crash and Burn

Yesterday was going to be a great day on the bike....I was flying out of work to get home to ride with BOYZ from the team around Whitnall Park and I thought I was feeling o.k. after not feeling well most of Tuesday and Wednesday with a sore throat and body aches. I had some sludge (coffee) from the company machine before I left and I think that gave me some false energy and made me feel better than I really was. It was a bit chilly on the ride over although I was dressed for it, but noticed that I got congested right away and was having trouble breathing. I got to the course and we had a good group of Andy, Glen, Greg, Doug, Tony, and Todd for a short time. I could tell that my legs weren't up to par and that my breathing and HR were off but I figured that once I got the fire stoked I would be o.k.. Well, that didn't happen and I was sucking big time as we did our laps around the course. We were doing some pretty fast laps and trying some breakaways and I couldn't even hang with the group, I got dropped pretty quickly and felt like I was turning the pedals with baby legs. My HR was stuck in 3rd gear and my legs were stuck in neutral I think. Normally my HR for intervals is in the 172-180 range depending on what I'm doing, but my average HR yesterday was only 158, it was completely suppressed and I couldn't get it elevated. I think my body was just fighting this cold and just didn't have anything left to get the bike going fast so it wasn't really a great workout, but it was fun to be out with the guys anyways. I'm hoping that I'm recovered by Saturday for the race and I'll take it easy for the most part until then. I doubled up on the vitamins last night and this morning, had a bunch of hot green tea with honey, took some Theraflu last night to get some good sleep and I'll do that the next couple of nights as well. Tonight I will do an easy 2 hour ride on the trainer just to get the legs cleaned out from yesterday and then tomorrow I'll do about 1.5 hours with some sprints to open up the legs for Saturday. I plan on being 100% for the race no matter what my body says, it has no choice but to go fast on Saturday. We'll have a good contingent of guys lined up for the race and based on how everyone else was flying last night I'm excited for our chances to pull out a win. We have lots of races in the next couple of weeks so IF my form is off on Saturday because of this cold I won't worry too much about losing my points lead, I'll get it back after a few more races. Well, back to work, until next time.......

Challenging Weather

So as of right now it is drizzling out and that might make for a challenging outdoor ride tonight as it is supposed to start a full on rain at about 6:00 and the radar doesn't look good. It's about 4:30 so by the time I get home in 60 minutes we'll see how the weather is before I decide to layer up the clothing and head outside. It may just end up being another trainer ride tonight, I really hope not. I guess normally I would ride in the drizzle but I am still feeling the tinge of a sore throat that I've had for about a week but I'm doing a good job of fighting it so I don't want to get caught in a full-on rain and really get sick. Tomorrow looks like more of the same but I'm planning on going to Whitnall to get in some training with some of the team guys so it better not rain, we have to be ready for Saturday. We have a strong team and I'm really looking forward to changing up our tactics for Saturday's race as we should have a good size group from the team and we'll make a splash for sure. I'm not giving anything else away but it should be a fun race.
Well, to look back at this past weekend I think it was good overall, I got a 5th and an 8th and I feel good that I was very active in both races although I would've been happier with some higher placings, but there are a lot of races left. Saturday I probably would have done everything the same except for lead out the sprint, I think I would have placed better if I started 3rd or 4th in line. Aaron was pulling strong heading up the little rise before the finish and when he peeled off I was just kind of left there in the front, it wasn't ideal but I wasn't about to put on the brakes. As far as Sunday's race, I think I would've chased the initial break a little sooner and tried to chase it down before it got 10-15 seconds. It was hard to close any gaps in the wind and even though I tried to work with a couple of other guys Aaron was just too strong. I think I'm gradually building power as that just comes with time on the bike and pushing the gears, my sprint is coming along fairly quickly, probably quicker than I thought. The last thing I need to work on is my hill climbing, that leaves a little to be desired. Sauk City in 2 weeks might be a challenge for me but maybe I'll have to just go off the front so they can catch me on the hills and then I won't be left behind. Probably not the best strategy, I might have to work on that. Well, back to work really quick, more to follow this week, don't want to give away too much of the training secrets and strategy. Until next time........

GDVC#2

Here are some race pictures.....a couple of the whole pack and then the breakaway I was in that ultimately failed when I got caught in the last lap. Ultimately I recovered enough to get 8th in the sprint. I wish I had just a little more power as all I needed was one more lap to pull out at least a 3rd or 4th place finish. I knew I was going to get caught though in the last lap either way though so I sat up and rested right before I was caught to get my legs under me again for the sprint. I actually passed guys in the sprint and was pretty happy with that considering that I had been out in front of the pack for about 20 minutes. I'm really happy with where I'm at with my fitness, can't wait for the next couple of races. Right now, after what I think is an accurate calculation I'm actually in 2nd place in the standings by 1 point. The ages weren't posted for yesterday's results so I got 5th and I'm basing my points on the fact that I think everyone ahead of me was in the 30-39 group. If there was any 40+ guys in the top 4 then I'm in first place in the standings by 2 points. I won't know for sure until tomorrow, but I'm guessing 2nd is accurate.

Pics

I'm Digressing!!!

Just kidding, but I did do worse than last week by 2 places although I'm not disappointed at all with a 5th place today. The pace was fairly fast and the team worked great together today and we pulled off two spots in the top 10. Greg and Andy worked hard today and Rudy got 10th in the sprint. I got in position in the last lap to be at the front and got on Aaron Schindler's wheel coming around the the last half-lap so I was second wheel coming up the small rise before the turn in to the finish. At the top of the hill Aaron peeled off and I was stuck leading out the sprint with about 200 meters to go and that is way too long for me so I got passed by 4 guys. My sprint is coming around but I haven't done any sprint-specific training yet this year so I guess I shouldn't expect to win any sprints yet. It was a good race and I think we all felt really good at the finish and were happy with our results. Andy did great in his first race (we won't count his start at Sheboygan), and kept his nose at the front for part of the race and looked strong. Boy, if he wouldn't have been sick, who knows how well he'd be flying now. It's a long year though and all of us will get better and I think we'll place a few of us in the final top 5 or 10 in the Series. Well, that's all for now, keeping it short, it's dinner time! I'll update again after tomorrow's race, until next time...........

Race Pics

(click to enlarge)

Busy Week

This week will be a pretty busy one for me, lots to do around the house in addition to all the bike practice. Tonight I'm going to head home and hit the road right away after work, basically until sunset so hopefully I'll get in about 1hr45min to 2 hrs. The plan is to do a warm-up and then 55 minutes of Tempo work and then a cool down. I'd like to hit at least 2 hours so I'll be flying home after work to get out by 5:30ish. If I only get in 90 minutes or so then I'll probably ride a bit more on the trainer when I get back. After that I'll be doing some painting and cutting some molding for the house so that my wife is happy when it comes time for her sister's bridal shower at our house on the 29th. Tomorrow will be more of the same as I'll be flying home after work and then doing some SteadyState intervals for what hopefully will be another 2 hour ride. Thursday will be a regular ride at endurance pace and I might do part or most of it on the trainer as I'd like to get my lawn thatched on Thursday so that I can lay down some crabgrass preventer this weekend after Saturday's race. Obviously I can't thatch my lawn in the dark so I'll have to do that after work and then save the ride for the basement. We'll see how I feel though, if it's really nice out, I may just hit the bike outside. Friday will be a short ride as I have the race on Saturday so I'll just do a short ride with a few Power Intervals thrown in to get the legs fired up for Saturday.
Saturday I have the Brown Deer race and from the race flyer description it's a dead flat course nearly 2 miles in length and it appears that there is only one corner but it's about 120 degrees. The rest of the turns appear to be pretty soft turns through the park. Not sure how open it is so not sure if any wind would be a factor, but obviously being a flat course of nearly 2 miles in distance, there will be opportunities for some breaks to get away and stay away. I've never done this course before so not sure how it will play out, all I know is that this year the first two races have been won by breakaways which was pretty unusual last year. Seems everyone is in the mood to attack this year, especially after having watched lots of EuroPro races on Versus already. We all think we can emulate them but there are probably only a handful of guys, if that, that can solo away in the Master's 4/5s. It was pretty funny to see some guys attack at Madison this past weekend only to sit up or get brought back right away as soon as they hit the headwind. Speaking of Madison, Sunday's race will probably be a repeat of this last weekend. I'm sure quite a few people will try their hand in a break before a good one finally sticks. I'm going to make sure that no matter how it plays out that I'm there in the end. I don't want to give away too much though, so that's about it for strategy. After only 2 races I'm 2nd in the WCA standings for 30+ Masters 4/5 and I'd like to keep that placing or even better for the first few races before I decide whether to upgrade or try to win the point series. Right now I'm leaning towards upgrading by mid-season but we'll see. I like the guys I'm racing with now and I don't know that I really need to be in any hurry to get killed by the 1s and 2s in the other category. If I improve my power and climbing ability in the next month or two then I'd definitely lean towards the upgrade as those are my weaknesses right now, and I'd get killed in road races. Anyways, the weather looks good this week, should be a good week of riding, can't wait for the races this weekend. Until next time........

Hard Work Is Paying Off

Well, I finally got some results to speak of as I got 3rd in yesterday's Great Dane Velo Club Crit (which is more like a circuit race). I'm surprised a bit because I didn't feel all that great going in to Sunday as I was a little under the weather on Friday and Saturday with a sore throat, congestion, and body aches. I still did my normal pre-race rides and routine and when I woke up Sunday morning I still wasn't feeling the greatest but I was energized by the fact that I was racing again after a week off for Easter. I had an afternoon start so I skipped the normal race breakfast of pancakes and went with my more traditional breakfast of eggs, low-fat bacon, and then I also had some strawberry-cheese danish and a quadruple espresso, yes 4 shots! I was energized and feeling good when my teammate Glen and I arrived at the race course. After registering and walking the course we went back to the car and spent a bit on the trainers to warm up. I could tell my legs were feeling good and I was ready for some action. The race started as our races normally do, a fast pace with a few guys trying their hand, but basically staying together as we went around the almost 1 mile loop. About 20 minutes in to the race a small group formed and I went around about 20 guys and bridged up to the break and we had a nice small group of 5 of us working together. The first lap or so we kind of dangled about 15 seconds off the front of the pack but then we started working well together and and the pack was slowed down a bit by the efforts of my teammates. Dave Sapiro and I from Team Wheaton were in the break along with Aaron Schindler from Chiropractic Partners and then two other guys that I didn't know. We went from 15 seconds to a sizable gap of about one minute by the end of the race and it came down to a sprint between the 5 of us. I was struggling a bit up the hill on the back end of the course but easily caught back on as we rounded the downhill before the last turn in to the finish. It was a fairly long, slight uphill finish and I started my sprint a bit late as I went around one guy and then my teammate Dave but the line came too quickly and I couldn't catch the other two so I ended up 3rd, which I'm pretty happy with. Of course I always want to win, but I guess I was lucky enough to be in the break in the first place after missing it at Sheboygan 2 weeks ago. All in all it was a great race, we had a lot of Team Wheaton guys representing the Master's 4/5 with myself, Dave, Glen, Rudy, Greg, Chris, and Bob all showing up to give it a go. We have 2 races next weekend so I'm hoping that the form continues to progress and that I can give it a go in next weekend's races as well. Sunday's race will be on the same course as yesterday's race but run the opposite direction, either way, it's a course that suits me so I'm looking forward to it again. Well, time to get some work done here in the cubicle, but more to follow tonight about my plans for this week.....until next time.....

Not Feeling That Great

Well, tomorrow is another race and I have to say that I'm not feeling that great and it's somewhat disappointing after a good two weeks of training since the last race. I started to feel under the weather 2 days ago and it was not too bad yesterday but then this morning I woke up feeling like crap to put it succinctly. It's a cold though so I should have no problem racing tomorrow as it's not the flu so I don't have to worry about puking or anything during the race. It's mainly sore throat, head congestion, and body aches. I did ride yesterday and today, about 2.5 hours yesterday and only 1hr15mins today but today didn't feel all that great. I was barely out of the driveway and my HR was up to 150, and the first little rise I came upon caused my HR to go up to 175 and I wasn't even breathing or trying hard. The elevated HR obviously means that my body is working to fight off this cold, but I have to say that my rate of exertion didn't seem that high so I think I can still hammer tomorrow but it will be with a HR pegged at 190 the whole time. Oh well, still should be fun. It appears that we'll have 5 guys from the team at the race tomorrow to take it to the rest of the Masters 4/5 racers, so hopefully we can get a break going or at least get a good train going for the finishing sprint.
As far as tonight goes I'm just going to finish some work on the house, clean my bike up a bit, and then relax on the couch and probably fall asleep there well before 10:00. Oh yeah, I have to shave my legs up a bit as they are getting a bit stubbly. Well, can't wait for tomorrow's race, the weather looks great, at least there is no snow in the forecast, so that's a bonus. Until next time.....

Take 3 Ibuprofen and Call Me In The Morning

So we probably didn't get as much snow as the weathermen forecasted but it seems like a lot, maybe 6-7 inches I would guess. It's the heavy, wet stuff too so as I got home today and decided to shovel I knew that I was going to suffer tomorrow with some back pain. Last time I shoveled snow like this I was bent over for 2 days in agony. So what the heck, I figured I'd do it again. This time I took some Ibuprofen ahead of time as preventative medicine, who knows if that will help but I figured it wouldn't hurt. Hopefully all this stuff is gone by the time Sunday rolls around, I don't want to deal with the snow melting on to the course as we are racing. Not that it would be enough to make a difference as far as handling, but I just don't want to have to clean my bike again like I did after the last race.
Anyways, I did get an outside ride in yesterday before the snow came as thankfully the storm was moving way slower than they said so the only limiter on my riding was daylight. I rode down to Whitnall Park and then did an hour of loops around the course for the upcoming race and then rode home. I got in 1hr 40 minutes by the time I hit my house and figured that I'd warm up a bit by riding the trainer for another hour just to get the blood flowing through my body as my toes were frozen and my hands were pretty cold by the time I got back. When I was out on the course at Whitnall there were 3 other racers doing loops, no doubt practicing for the race as well. I basically simulated a race and did a combo of 8-9 minute intervals, hill sprints, and big gear stuff with a couple of 5 minute breaks in between a few of the efforts. All in all I was happy with how I felt and can't wait for the Whitnall race on the 28th. Tonight I am obviously getting off to a late start due to shoveling but will be on the bike in about 5 minutes and will be doing 2 hours with 55 minutes of Tempo in the last hour. I've got a movie to watch, The Good Shepard, so I'm looking forward to the ride as I heard it's a pretty good movie. Tomorrow I'll be doing just a plain ole' endurance pace ride on the trainer most likely for about 2.5 hours. Friday I've got some plans to go out with some friends and will hit the trainer for about 1 hour after work and then head out for some chow and some brew. I'm not really sure what the weekend holds yet other than the race on Sunday, basically my Saturday ride will depend on the weather. I've got a lot of work to do on the house Saturday as my sister-in-law's bridal party will be at our house on the 29th I think, so the wife is cracking the whip. Well, time to get on the bike, I'll be on it until 10:30 as it is.......until next time.........

You Have To Be Kidding!

We are supposed to get 8-10 inches of snow tonight and tomorrow, this has to be a freaking joke. It's difficult to keep the motivation up when it's 20 degrees below normal and instead of mowing my lawn I'll be shoveling my driveway.......wonder what the cost of living is in Arizona?

Happy Easter

Happy (late) Easter to everyone. It's almost 11:00 and it's definitely time for bed but can't fall asleep quite yet. It was a busy weekend and I figured I'd be tired tonight but I think all the sweets I've eaten all weekend are keeping me up, especially the cookie dough that I ate about 45 minutes ago. My weight doesn't seem like it suffered from the indulgences of Easter though as I'm still steady tonight at 178.5, about what I was on Friday morning. As I said, it was a busy weekend but I did manage to get in some rides yesterday and today but unfortunately just due to time constraints they were both done inside on the trainer. I made them difficult though with quite a few intervals, mainly PowerIntervals and Steady States. I felt good all weekend but wished I would've actually had more time in the saddle as I was only able to manage 2.5 hours both days so obviously that was way less than I had planned. I didn't count on the Easter festivities taking so much time for one, and the weather was just getting me bummed out as well. Even though it was fine for a ride today I just didn't feel like taking the time between dinners to get all bundled up to head out on a 35 degree day. I guess it just felt right to stay inside and spend more time with the family and eat as much ham and horseradish as my body could handle. Once I finished eating I did manage to get on the trainer tonight and of course I ate even more afterwards. The forecast this week is looking like crap all the way up until Sunday which is the day of my 2nd race. Thankfully the skies look like they will be clear and the temps will be below normal but a manageable 45 degrees. I'm feeling stronger this week after some really good rides so my hopes are a little higher for the next race than the 10th place I got at Sheboygan. We'll see, I'm sure everyone is stronger so there is no telling how it will play out until the racing starts. Well, that's it for now I guess, I have to be to work at 7:00 tomorrow so I suppose I better try to sleep at least. Until next time........

I Love Wisconsin

So the weather's great hey? Nothing like 30 degrees and 40 mph winds, perfect for interval training in to a headwind and then you can practically coast home with the tailwind. Unfortunately I wouldn't know because I've been riding the trainer the last two days sheltered in my basement. After work the last two days I've gone home and made dinner, cleaned up a bit around the house and then jumped on the trainer for my workouts. Tuesday I did 2.5 hours on the trainer with 55 minutes of Tempo in the last hour and I felt really good. My knee pain has all but disappeared so I can really push my workouts now at 100% without thinking constantly about the pain and being distracted from the workout. I felt really good coming out of Tuesday's workout in to yesterday's ride where I again did 2.5 hours on the trainer but this time I did 4x10min Steady State intervals. I have to say things started good for the first two intervals but the last two were more difficult. For the 3rd interval I was able to keep my heart rate up but I could tell I was losing power so I backed it off just a couple of beats. I recovered enough for the start of the 4th interval but again I felt myself losing power near the end. The key of this workout is really to keep the HR high, 92%, and I accomplished that so I'm happy about that I guess. I just need to be able to sustain that power all the way through each 10 minute interval. This is the closest workout to simulate a good race-effort breakaway so I want to be able to maintain that so I know I can do it during a race. Should take a couple of more weeks but I'll get to that point before the end of April. Tonight is a 2.75 hour ride at endurance pace, no frills, just a bit of recovery from the last two days. Tomorrow is an easy 1 hour recovery ride and then Saturday will be an intense race simulation day either on the trainer if it's snowing or somewhere around Lake Geneva or Alpine. We do have an Easter get-together to go to on Saturday but not sure what time yet, I'll have to work riding around that, so hopefully I'll have the time to get in a few hours. Well, that's it for now, can't wait for another week of racing, just training on the weekends isn't nearly as fun. Until next time.......

Back To The Trainer

Well it looks like this week is going to be another week back on the trainer unless the weather drastically improves. Today wasn't bad but it was a rest day on the bike for me so I got up on the roof with the leaf blower and cleaned out my gutters ahead of the rain that is coming. After that I had some dinner and watched a bit of TV and relaxed. I'm hitting the rack a bit earlier tonight to get some much needed rest, I've been up early the last 3 days in a row and it's starting to wear on me. As far as training goes I've got some Tempo work scheduled for tomorrow, basically a standard ride on the trainer assuming it's going to rain. I've got 2.75 hours total scheduled with 55 minutes of Tempo in the last hour and then a cooldown. Wednesday will be some weight work right after work and then I'll come home and hit the trainer for 2.5 hours with 4x10 min Steady State intervals. Thursday will just be a regular endurance pace ride of 2.75 hours after work and then Friday is just a 1 hour recovery pace ride. It will be good to get in my two hard rides early in the week then do two good recovery type rides as I'd like to make Saturday a really hard ride if the weather cooperates. Depending on what the wife has planned for our Easter weekend I'd like to get out in the afternoon after the temps warm up and do about 4.5 to 5 hours around Lake Geneva or Alpine Valley. Depending on how much time I have I might drive out to either Burlington or Lake Geneva for my start point so that I can spend more time doing the hills in the area before heading back. If I have to start in New Berlin I'll only be able to do one loop of Alpine before heading back because that is a 90 mile ride out and back and that's about my limit right now for an intense ride. Sunday we have Easter plans in the morning right away and then in the late afternoon again so I will definitely squeeze in 3 hours and probably even 4 hours in the late morning/early afternoon. The plan on Sunday is to ride to Delafield and back as of right now. Well, that's it for the week, it will be a good mix of intensity Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday and some more relaxed rides Thursday, Friday and Sunday. I'll keep you posted on the progress, until next time......

Disappointing First Race

I came in to today's race expecting to do quite well, top 5 or better based on how my fitness was coming along the last 2 weeks. I was feeling good all week and I could tell as I warmed up that my legs were feeling good and I was ready to race hard. The rain held out for our race and the course was dry for the most part although the roads were a bit narrow but not too treacherous I guess. The race started and my mistake right at the start line might have cost me the race but who knows if it would've made a difference. I kicked my right pedal as I tried to put my foot in and it started to spin so I tried to stop it to get my foot in and had trouble getting it top-side up to kick in. By the time I got my foot in the pack was already rounding the first turn and I could see 3 guys off the front. That was the race. First lap, first turn and they stayed away the whole rest of the race. I didn't think much of it as I frantically went to the front going down the backside of the course on the first lap. I thought for sure we would chase them down and I wasn't too worried that the race had gone away from me. I can't help but think that if I had my foot clipped in right away that I would've been at the front where I lined up and that I would've gone with the attack. Who knows, maybe I still would've played it safe and waited for the break to get reeled in, I can't really say now looking back. It was a mistake though and it won't happen again. I took as many pulls at the front as I could and it didn't seem that more than one or two other guys wanted too, or could, do any of the work. Later on my wife said that it seemed that I was towing the pack around the course almost the entire race and that the rest of them were out for a joy ride. Mike from LAPT and a couple of other guys from team I hadn't seen before seemed to be the only ones interested in making it a race instead of a training ride. I wish now that I would've just left the group and tried to go it on my own or just attacked them in the last lap or two but I was just so mad at that point that nobody else was doing anything that my mind was a little clouded. In bike racing you hedge your bets during the race, you have a split second to decide to go with an attack or let it go and if you make the wrong choice your race is over. I put my odds against the break and lost so that's racing I guess. Anyways, I ended up in 10th place in the sprint up the hill to the finish, better than my first race last year so it's an improvement anyways. I've got two weeks now until the next race and I'm really excited to get back out there and this time there won't be a breakaway that stays away in the first part of the race, I'll make sure of that. Well, tomorrow I'll write more about what I've got scheduled for training this week but for now here are a couple of pictures of the race today.