August 18th, 2008
So at last post I mentioned I would be riding in the Tour of Utah. I was planning on doing some updates but in all honesty I was hoping for a great ride to blog about so I kept waiting… Having raced Cascade Classic earlier this year I knew that the pace was going to be tough, but I had done some good climbing there and was feeling pretty good going into this past week. Problem was I prepared for a 5 day stage race like it was a 15km skate. Last week I did alot of intensity including two motorpacing sessions, a crit, and a four hour ride with multiple 20 minute climbing intervals. I was flying! I did do some rest days, but in retrospect could have a done a few more.
Day one was a flat 100 mile stage with “only” 5,000′ of climb. We rolled out easy and it was not long before my eager teammate Luis Zamudio (check out his version of the races at www.luiszamudio.com) attacked the field and began an arduous 20 minutes of establishing the break as the field chased all the moves and finally let three guys slip off the front. As the break rolled away I was feeling good having prepared well for one good day and I took off hoping that they might let up as the field backed down. I stuck the move but started an hour and a half effort where I chased solo for awhile and eventually with two companions until we got caught just past the halfway mark. After that attempt I sat in to finish with the main field while the break stuck it for the podium by a mere 20 secs!
Day two was a serious race with over 10,000′ of climb and the first of three climb was the steep and sustained North Ogden Pass. By mile four of the race I was hanging on 15th wheel with my heart rate climbing over 180 and I knew I was in for a long day. Sure enough after the 5 mile climb I was in a chase group of 25, and as soon as we rolled down the descent an eager chase ensued which took the rest of my energy. After an hour and a half well over threshold I finally bit it on the second climb of the day. It was a shattering moment to be 50 miles from the finish line with the field going out of sight and noone in view behind. For awhile I eased up and entertained thoughts of not finishing, I wondered why I was even racing, but after a few minutes I regained the chase taking it one mile at a time. To my suprise a group of 30 riders came up on me after about 40 minutes and I jumped on the back as they sped by. Looking around I saw “fast” Freddie and a host of other big names just rolling through obviously striking a good tempo with the time-cut in mind. It was hard to pick it up and continue at 30 mph but it was the only option. Two excruciating hours later we rolled in together, happy to be done.
After that the Tour of Utah became a challenge to finish. I hate to admit and it is not often that I feel helpless in a race situation, but that is the honest truth. I have been racing on the road for a couple years, but this year I took it a bit more seriously and upgraded from a cat 3 in April to a 1 by mid-june, and enjoyed some really good days this year. I love the sport and I really love the challenge of trying to improve at something new, while also working hard at rollerskiing and jumping. This past week was a good lesson on the boundarys that I talk about with my coach Dave Jarrett everyday. We are always analyzing what we can do better/different and what we can change.
This year Dave agreed to work a bunch of cycling training and races into my schedule and we both have done our best to tweak the approach to keep Nordic Combined as the number one goal. Although last week was a harsh lesson, I can say from heart rate files and feeling I was not on my game. I am eager to see how all this will affect my season, and I am convinced that cycling has offered some of the most quality training sessions I have had this summer. So despite having a rough week I am anxious to get back on rollerskis and start to specify all the stress I have put on my heart this summer for Nordic Combined. This week is all about rest and next week we head to Norway for a great training camp in Lillehammer with the NC teams from Norway, Finland, and France!
August 20th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
I’m also curious to see what you thought about the quality non-specific training. I liked your description about the race, it was fun to read.