TIV9 - Thoughts and Thanks

Well, TransIowa happens this weekend. It's been a long 4(!!) months leading up to this point. I can't really do anything now but make sure the bike is prepped, pack food and supplies, and enjoy the weekend.

Since I'm a bit of a nerd, there's been lots of numbers for me to track leading up to now.

• 194 hours of saddle time
• 3156 total miles (Monthly totals of 845, 597, 980 and 735)
• 182 miles per week average
• 68000+ calories burned

For whatever reason, I'm not as nervous going into the event as I was for V5 and V6. I still have a very healthy respect for the event. However, I feel that I'm prepared physically, I'm mentally ready to ride hard, and I expect to have a good result as long as I stay on top of my nutrition and can avoid accidents. In the end, it's just a bike race, and whatever happens, happens. 

I wanted to take a moment and mention some people that have or are going to make this whole weekend possible for me.

My wife Kathy, who has once again tolerated the amount of time I spent getting ready for a big race. She hasn't seen a lot of me the last few months, unless she was sitting in the basement with me or, waited for me to get home from an after work ride. She's been incredibly supportive, and she's ready to have her husband back in a few days. 

My coach, JJ Bailey from Zoom Performance. I started talking to JJ back in December and he was excited to help me reach my goal of finishing TransIowa. His coaching and workout schedule allowed me to beat my target finish time at the Dirty Kanza 200 in 2012, so it was only natural to choose him to help me prepare for this. Between these two races, he's taken me to a physical and performance level I wouldn't have imagined I would be at.

Greg, Sterling, Matt, Adam and the rest of the gang at Rasmussen Bike Shop. Always supportive, always friendly, and they have handled my parts requests and questions time and time again this year. I'm incredibly grateful for their continued support, and proud to wear their logo on my back. If you need mechanical work done, a bike fit. or a bike or bike parts, these are the guys to see in central Iowa.

Cindy McGuire at Hands on Sports Massage. I've been a customer of Hands On Sports Massage and Cindy since my first Dirty Kanza 200 5 years ago. Cindy is an active multisport athlete who takes the time know her clients, their training schedules, and how their bodies react to the stresses of training and racing. Cindy has done a great job of keeping me injury free, physically and mentally, this year. If you need sports or injury recovery massage of any type, I highly recommend paying her a visit.

Rob Versteegh at Oakley has been a constance source of support and positive words throughout the past few months. He also keeps all of the local shops and riders supplied with the best eyewear on the planet. I'm very lucky and really happy to be using a pair of Oakley Radar Lock Path eyewear for TransIowa this weekend.

A special thanks to Scot Hoffman, whom I've known, lived with or worked with since 1988. Scot has volunteered to be support crew for me, and two visitors from the UK this weekend. Hopefully this involves nothing more than chauffeuring us to the start, and picking us up from the finish line. Scot went with me to Kansas three years ago during my only unsuccessful attempt at finishing the DK, and it was great having him around for support that weekend. Thanks for giving up your weekend to hang out in Grinnell with us Scot.

Guitar Ted, and all of the volunteers. We wouldn't be out wandering around this weekend if it wasn't for GT. He puts a lot of time, energy, and thought into the route each year to make it challenging and interesting for the riders. I can't thank him enough for doing it again this year. The volunteers at each of the checkpoints make his job a little easier by keeping track of us, handing us cue sheets, and letting him know when people are finished. They have all given up one or more weekends so we can have fun. Thanks to all of them for helping us have fun as well.

Last, but not least, thank you to all of my friends in the Des Moines and IA bike communities for your support this year. Whether it's been a kind word, a suggestion, or coming out and suffering with me for a ride, it's made this entire experience much more enjoyable for me. I am looking forward to some warmer weather soon so we can turn the pedals with a little less anger, while in search of a frosty beverage. 

Gettin' some miles

Got some miles and a bit of pain in this week. Bagged another 21 miles or so on the Singlecross on Tuesday between the work commute and a trip to Rasmussen's to pick up some parts that I had ordered in. I wanted to get one more ride in on somewhat skinny tires before the predicted snow storm arrived on Wednesday. 

The storm arrived Wednesday and threw plans into a bit of a spin. I wanted to bust the Mukluk out and ride in the first snow of the year, but I needed to be well rested for my scheduled VO2 test. Well, the snow came and we ended up with a little over 13" on the ground. VO2 test was rescheduled as the roads were really too poor to do any driving on. 

Thursday afternoon was the test. Overall I think I'm in better shape than I was in February, despite not riding extremely regularly these last few months. My threshold power is the same as last year, but I'm making it at 5 fewer beats per minute. My VO2Max is a bit lower than it was in February. A bit curious, but since I haven't been putting in a lot of intensity, I'm not terribly surprised. On the good news front, this for this round of testing, I made it through a minute at 380 watts and died during the sprint in the 400 watt range. Last year I made it through a minute at 340 watts and died at 360. I'm not a coach, but I think this means I've gained, and kept, a lot of overall base these last few months. I'm pretty happy with the testing results and they've gotten me stoked to hit the training hard the next 4 months. 

Saturday I finally got out on the Mukluk to get a taste of the snow, and to play with tire pressures. With temps in the low to mid teens, I was going to just ride 3 or 4 miles to snag some coffee and breakfast. I ended up in a groove and stopped for food at Zanzibar's around mile 12. The bike trails conditions ranged from unplowed to cleared to the concrete, with plenty of steps in between. I got home with 22 or so miles in my legs, all with the tires at around 7 or 8 PSI. 

I'm looking forward to getting out and snagging some more miles over the holiday break. I've signed up for the Rapha Festive 500 on Strava, which is 500km between Christmas eve and New Year's eve, so that gives me a goal to shoot for over the holidays. More base miles for TransIowa and TripleD. I think it's doable since I don't have a lot of other demands on my time this week.

TransIowa V9 - Here we go again.

My third assault on TransIowa will occur in April 2013. Prep started today in the form of discussions with JJ Bailey from Zoom Performance. JJ was instrumental in getting me into fighting shape for Dirty Kanza this year. (yes I owe my 5 readers the rest of a race write up) I have an O2 test scheduled for this Thursday to get training baselines set for the year. I will be interested in seeing how I compare to this time last year. I've managed to keep the weight gain off despite not riding as much - I'm only 5 lbs heavier than I was for DK.

21 miles on my Specialized Singlecross today. Let the games begin.