Bike Jam/Scooby/Memorial Day/Tom Shaw/110 degrees/Kings of Leon/Dad

So let's start with what's fresh on my mind.  It feels like it's 110 degrees outside right now.  We are under a bit of  hot/humid spell here in the Philly area at the moment.  Looks like it will last a few days as well.  Just when I get a bit crabby about humid weather, I think of the cold winter days and it puts a smile back on my face to be ripping my legs apart in the heat!

I had a hard training ride today that included some 15minute intervals and I couldn't but help think of a special role model to me.  His name is Tom Shaw and although I've never met this man, I feel a connection to him that I can't really explain.  In short, the Tom Shaw Memorial is an annual award given to a lucky high school senior at St. Mary's Springs Academy (SMSA-my high school alma mater) that demonstrates leadership in athletics, community service and academic excellence; all qualities of Tom.  I was the lucky recipient to win the Tom Shaw Memorial in 1999 when I graduated from SMSA.  Although I didn't know at the time, I can honestly say that it changed my life.  As I moved into college and beyond, I took the initiative of learning as much as I could about Tom and his life.  Conversing with his siblings, now deceased parents, and his former classmates, I soon felt like I had a pretty good idea of Tom and how he lived his short life (a young 24 years old when he died in a helicopter accident serving our country in Vietnam).  Check out this memorial in Tom's name:  http://www.virtualwall.org/ds/ShawTF01a.htm.  I try to mimic his many great qualities such as:  strong work ethic, tenacity, helping others, community involvement and his calming attitude with the many obstacles life presented.  So back to my ride today, as I'm drooling on my handlebars trying to bang out these intervals, I thought of Tom and realized I am so lucky be able to train and race the way I do.  It's a privilege that often gets overlooked.  A big thank you to all our current, past and fallen soldiers for protecting our freedom.

So Saturday, our team raced BikeJam in Baltimore.  We rode extremely aggressive; however did not come away with a victory.  Safe to say , we are ready to break our little curse.  We are putting the right pieces together, but not quite finishing the project.  A number of early breaks were created, all of which would come back for the sprint.  Unfortunately, a few late crashes would take down 2 of our strong potentials, Blair Berbert and Evan Fader.  We walked away with 1 in the top 10, Jaime Kimberley.  We've got our work cut out for us and we need to remember that we all know how to win.  Personally, I rode very aggressive covering and creating moves.  I found myself on the front with 4 laps to go and together with teammate Kevin Gottlieb we brought a break back.  It was during this time that we lost Blair and Evan with 1 lap to go.....not good!  I felt better than I've felt in over a year.  I'm coming into form and looking forward to carrying that to Nationals in Augusta, GA in June. Post race found us out to eat working on burgers and fries.  A big thanks to my teammate, Todd Hesel for putting me up this weekend.  He is notorious for putting out a good breakfast with some wicked strong coffee.

There he is...the famous breakfast maker Todd Hesel!!

Post race burgers and beer- clockwise left to right- Todd, Nima, Holly, Diane, Nicki, Jacob, Rick, Blair.

Back in PA on Sunday and I worked my way into a great dinner of chicken, veggies and corn on the cob (so Wisconsin!!) at Stephan Kincaid's house.  Stephan and Jill are the proud owners of 2 awesome dogs, Hunter and Scooby.  I love hanging out with them and will have to post some pics at some point.  Thanks again for the great food, conversation and company.

For some reason, I've been in a huge Kings of Leon kick lately and can't stop listening to this particular song (Cold Desert):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMfP4Ps_M8c    Get after it and see if it sticks.

This week will be a quick one.  My father is flying into Harrisburg, PA for work on Wednesday and I'm spending Weds, Thurs and Friday with him.  He will be giving a presentation at a Dairy Expo and I'm sure you'll hear from me as we are touring a big farm in Lancaster County. Mooooooo!!!!!!!  Looking forward to spending some time with him.

This coming weekend is wide open.  No races scheduled, but I might seek out a few local venues to hit up and have fun with.  We'll see.  Get out and enjoy...Happy Memorial Day!!              

Wilmington Grand Prix-Holler!!!

Okay, okay, okay.... my sister has been all over my case about putting up a post about last weekend's Wilmington Grand Prix.  I'm a busy guy.  9 solid hours of work this week at the YMCA doesn't allow me much time to get on the computer, right?!?!  It's been a good week.  Few hard days of training early on, than Thursday, Friday called for nice easy recovery ride.  BikeJam this weekend in Baltimore followed by some solid teammate time which will more than likely include some dark beer of some sort!

So last weekend.  Here we go.  Wilmington, DE held its annual "Wilmington Grand Prix".  Unlike previous years, this was a 3 day omnium stage race.  Typically its just been the Saturday crit.  Friday was a 5k TT, Saturday was the traditional 35mile criterium followed by a 113mile road race on Sunday.  Our team vowed out of the short TT and showed up Saturday afternoon to some great sunny weather. A huge breath of fresh air considering it been flooding around here lately.  

Crit-140 men took to the line including some top professional riders from United Healthcare, Jamis, and Bissell.  This crit is notorious for being hard and often times you find yourself in a pain zone the first 10 laps.  The course is an 8 corner crit with 1 particular turn that sends riders from a wide, somewhat downhill road through a sharp 90 degree turn onto a very narrow street.  Lap after lap, I go through this turn and often times  wonder how so many riders pack through it without going down.  I guess it's the danger of crit racing, the sound and smell of brakes rubbing carbon, the feel of the push coming from the draft and the white knuckle intensity.  The first 10 laps were brutal as always.  It's a matter of hanging on, finding your zone and trusting that the pace will slow at some point.  We had a few teammates pop out early on.  Heavy legs, high heart rate, wrong position and you will find yourself in serious trouble.  A number of us held on, fought through and were there at the end.  I really believe that we are stronger than we think, but for some reason we have fear this year.  Lack of confidence to take it to the end and do whatever you have to do to win.  It'll come around again.  We know how to win.  Anyway, I ended up in the sprint finish and took 23rd.  My glute/back are holding up well and I need to continue to put more and more racing in my legs.

Road Race- After some awesome sleep at the wonderful Double Tree in downtown Wilmington, we found ourself scarfing as much hotel food as we could in the early morning hours of Sunday.  Our 113 mile race started at 8am (rather early for most pro races).  Oatmeal, pancakes, fruit, OJ and coffee did the trick.  As I was getting up to the start line, I realized this was the longest race I've ever done.  I quickly ate an extra Powerbar just in case.  Anyway, the course would take us out to Dover, DE and back to Wilmington.  As long as it was, it was actually a pretty easy, uneventful race.  It was pancake flat and after some early, unsuccessful attacks, things settled down as UHC (United Healthcare) got on the front.  3 riders had gotten away and opened up as much as 4mins on us.  Again, UHC got on the front and slowly drug them back as we were coming into the last 10-15miles.  The pace picked up and riders were starting to jockey for position.  All over the road we go, hard to the right, than back to the left.  I fought to stay up near the front as I wanted to get in the sprint.  Low and behold, I finished 23rd again.  Happy with the way my body felt, yet need to be finding my way to the top ten soon.  Again, it's a confidence thing.  Maybe another a demon, huh?

This weekend brings us BikeJam which is our host race.  We are the main sponsor and it serves as a major fundraiser for the KBS/LSV club.  It's held this Saturday in the Baltimore area.  It's a crit that takes place in a park.  I don't know how to explain it, but it's one of those races that people either love or they hate.  You might be asking, "do you like it or hate it?"  I'll save my comments for later!  The road surface is pretty choppy with riders finding their way into gravel, dirt and grass each lap.  Either we or our pro team MUST, MUST win this race.  Sunday is still up in the air, but we might do a brutal team ride out of Baltimore in preparation for Nationals coming up in June.  This usually calls for lots of coffee, food and pain.  

Hot, humid weather has found its way back to the Philly area.  The heart of the racing season is just around the corner.  The Mueller family vacation is not too far off either.  Awww, the cabins of northern Wisconsin.  Nothing like it,  A place to relax a bit.

That's it for now.  Sorry I have no pics from Wilmington.  I'll get something together for BikeJam.

Back on it.....almost!!

This weekend brought some good things; it also brought room for improvement.  Fact of the matter is that I was racing and that makes me happy.  We raced down in Leonardtown, MD for the MABRA (Mid Atlantic Bicycle Racing Association) Crit Championship.  As always, it would come down to Battley Harley Davidson and us.  I was eagerly excited to see how my glute would hold up.  The good.....it held up very well.  Improvement... I don't have race legs yet, and that showed in the last lap.  The plan was to save me for the last few laps and be the main lead out man for teammates Evan and Nema OR get in a late race break and attack the break with a few laps to go.  7 laps to go and I found myself with 2 non teammates off the front with a 10 second break.  We worked together for the next 6 laps until I launched my solo attack with 1 to go.  I created a bit of separation but unfortunately was caught by 1 of the 2 riders with half a lap to go.  As I was geared up to launch the 2nd attack, the field caught on and I watched our sprinters get ready for the end.  I jumped in to grab 9th place to get a little team money, and Nema took 2nd.  The good is that we rode very well as a team.  The bad is that a race like this....all we care about is 1st place and getting the jersey.  We lost!  I'm eager to get more racing in and come in to form for Nationals in late June.

MABRA Crit Championship...a good race, but we fell short!

 

I also received a recent phone from a friend in Kansas City who asked if I would like to ride as a composite rider for the Nature Valley Grand Prix  (5 day stage race in Minnesota).  I love that race; however its the week before Nationals in Augusta, GA.  It's also the same time as our family trip to northern Wisconsin, which I sadly missed last year.  Not sure it would be of my teams's best interest to burn myself out at NVGP and head to nationals tired.  Some schedule decisions to be made soon.

This coming weekend brings the Wilmington Grand Prix.  Saturday is a hard, fast crit in downtown Wilmington while Sunday is a 100+ mile road race.  (http://www.wilmgrandprix.com/About.aspx),  I'm excited to get some racing under my belt in hopes to be on form for nationals in late June.

For now its day to day with my glute and keeping it healthy.  As long as it holds off, I will continue to race as much as I can.

Updates.....and some!

Greetings....I know its been awhile since I've posted and we've got some things brewing up here.  Lots to catch up on.  First and foremost....

1. Vancouver/Erin Marathon-  what an awesome city!  That place has everything within a 10min drive.  mtns, ocean, snow, city life, culture.  It honestly feels like Madison, WI on steroids.  It has that artsy feel to it.  Oh wait, did I fail to mention it would probably be best to move there with a job!!!  Yeah, it's super expensive, but definitely a fun place to visit.

Erin did awesome with her first marathon.  Unlike me, she was super chill and relaxed in the days leading up to it.  "Jacob, let's go walk here and grab a beer and pizza" say's Erin.  Jacob thinks "Erin, you need to lay in bed, get your legs ready and eat pasta, oatmeal and banana's all day".  As you can see, Erin has a much more relaxed mentality for pre-race activities.... a good thing and a much needed balance in Jacob's life!!  Anyway, race day came along and Erin ran a 4hr40min marathon.  She was hoping for 4hr30min, but she was super happy with her finish.  I'm proud of her and being exposed to the whole running culture was quite different than cycling dorks like myself.  Post race activities included beer, nachos, more beer, pizza and some solid people watching downtown.  It was great!  The following day, we rented a car and headed up famous Hwy 99 (Sea to Sky Hwy) to Whistler.  It was a great day and great trip.

Erin getting her game face on for the race!

Yep, they have big trees there too!

 

2.  Cycling/Jacob/Racing-  it was great to have 4 days off the bike while in Vancouver; however it may have served a bad purpose for the old glute/back injury.  I got back to Philly Tuesday night, got a good night sleep, and headed out to ride Wednesday in preparation for last Sunday's Jeff Cup race.  Well....my glutie wasn't having it and sent some serious pain down that left leg again.  Nightmares of last fall's injury jumped in my head.  Long story short.... I had a pretty serious flair of that injury and had to miss Sunday's big Jeff Cup race.  A race that suites my strengths.  So not cool; however my teammate Rick Norton took 2nd place and we we're happy with that.  For now, I'm working as hard as possible to get this flair up back in order to race for the MABRA (Mid Atlantic Bicycle Racing Association) state crit championship this Sunday.  It's an important race as we need to defend our 1st place victory from last year...securing the jersey is very important (teammate Evan Fader won it last year).  Did I mention, it was at this race last year that I had my initial glutie injury?!?!?  Yep, I've got some demons to take care of at this race.  It's been rather frustrating as I'm in good form right now and simply want to race....badly!!

3.  Job related life:  so my big professional career at the YMCA and Best Buy have taken a bit of a turn.  Best Buy gave me an ultimatum and said I either need to work more hours (I was putting in a whole 5-10hr a week) or kindly turn in my Best Buy name tag and walk away.  Sadly, I walked away.  I'm only joking but not really.  They did ask me to work more hours or not at all and with my schedule, I had to give it up.  So, I'm still the employee of the month at the YMCA and continue to shine there!!!  No bridges burned with Best Buy as they said I could come back anytime I want.

So long my little name tag!!  Its been real!!

4.  I need a serious haircut soon!  This is getting ridiculous.

That's it for now.  Focus is getting my injury taken care of in hopes to be back to racing soon.