Working Hard

Well, I have been working very hard in my training and racing. I know I am getting better. Last week I did a power at threshold test. I am now using the same course that I used about a month ago. My goal was 4 watts per kilogram. I went out hard and really felt good. Near the end I think I bogged down with my gearing and did not keep up a good pedal cadence. But in the end I felt like I had done a good trial. When we got home and made the calculations I rode at 3.92 watts per kilogram. Man! Once again just under my goal. I was close though and after a few minutes of being mad I felt OK. My dad who rode behind me on the test thought that I lost some power when I was pushing too big a gear. I need to pay more attention to that. I also did the Dilworth criterium in Charlotte this past Saturday. It was a tough course and I did not ride well. I had a major problem with the corner at the bottom of the climb and lost contact on the first lap. I rode hard the whole race and felt pretty good. The pro race was awesome. Those guys were hammering up the climb every lap and it never slowed down. I love watching those guys ride and someday I will be in there too.

This week is my rest week at the end of my first training block. So I am not doing any intervals or really hard riding this week. Just some easy tempo rides and relaxing. Next week I will start my second block of training and I can’t wait for the Wake Forest Criterium our team sponsors.

My dad and I need to figure out how to put pictures here. We will put some on when we learn how.

Tuesday Training Race

My best ride ever!! I raced in the mens cat 5 race and stayed in the pack for most of the race. I was completely dead at the end and almost fell off my bike. I was really happy to be in a pack of 30 riders. I got to practice my skills in the pack and moved all over. I am psyched because my training is working! I am getting faster every week now and soon I will be able to get some good results with the older boys. I am not afraid in the pack at all anymore and can’t wait to race again. I don’t think I am racing this weekend in Sanford. So my next race is in Charlotte. I can’t wait because it should have a lot of really good pros and cat 1 riders to watch.

Racing in South Carolina

This past weekend I raced on Saturday and Sunday in Charleston, SC. My whole family went on the trip. It was great racing! There was a very high group of junior riders in my age group. I did not do so great on Saturday. That course is very technical and I still do not do well on those types of courses. On Sunday I did much better. I was racing with the pack until the older junior race passed ours. I did not have the speed to jump into that race like some of the other guys. I am not too worried about that. I am learning every week, and I am definitely getting faster. My teammates William and Louis Guillen were there on Sunday and we all raced very hard and were wasted at the end. I really liked having them in the race with me. South Carolina has some very good riders. Also, Thad Dulin rode a great race on Saturday and broke away to solo for the win in the pro race. Thad was a stud!

Power at Threshold Test

On Tuesday I did a time trial to test my threshold power with my power meter. I had never done a real test before and really wanted to average 3.8 watts per kg. We found the flattest road in my area which was really hard. I did the trial at my maximum and was pretty excited because I knew I rode well. When we got home and looked at the power numbers on the computer and then did the calculations I was shocked to see that I did 3.71 watts per kg. Man!! At first I was really upset because I did not reach my goal but my dad said that it was really good and that it showed that my training is working and coming along well. I will keep riding hard and try to get my power even higher.

Jefferson Cup Road Race

This past Sunday I did the Jefferson Cup Road Race in Charlottesville, VA. I went up the day before with my dad and we had a chance to ride the course. The first thing I noticed was how nice the country was. It was amazing and I told my dad that we needed to move there. The race was very hilly and there were some really good riders there. I was very good in the pace and only lost the leaders near the top of the big climb. I am getting better and faster every week. I don’t know my exact placing but I think it was 7th or 8th. I was a little disappointed, but still getting stronger every week. Now I know I can’t take off 4 months of training over the winter, especially when everyone else is riding hard. It was a really fun race.

Road Race and Criterium

What a weekend of racing. On Saturday I went to do a road race. When I went there I thought I would be racing with juniors, and cat 4 and 5 men. I was nervous. But then I found out that I would just be racing with the juniors. I am proud of myself for a couple of reasons. First, I positioned myself in the front of the pack and got into a little break. I was with 2 other riders and we only got about 50 yards ahead for only a few minutes but I was in there. I guess I over did it and when we got caught and the pace picked up to 30 miles an hour I could only hang on for a mile or so. I continued to race as hard as I could for the remainder of the ride. The course was very hilly and when I was done I was as tired as I have ever been from riding. I had my teammate Craig Stewart in the race with me and he did really good. He had crashed the day before and did not think he would ride well, but he finished very strong in the pack.

The next day I did the Salisbury criterium. I was really tired and not sure how I would ride. I didn’t ride very well. Tactically I was not paying attention when the 4 leaders got away. They got away basically after the second corner. I rode hard to the finish and was pretty sad about the way the day went. William and Louis Guillen rode really well and William almost made the top 3 but got 4th at the end. Nice ride William!!

On Monday afternoon I looked at my power numbers from the races. I was really surprised that my numbers were better than I thought. Sunday my power was as good as it has ever been. My dad and I also saw some areas that I can improve in races that will help. So I guess I have learned some things. I really like my power meter.

Hello everybody!

It has been a while since I have been on the computer. It has been crazy. I have finally recovered from being sick and am back to training regularly. The weather has been terrible in North Carolina recently with so much rain that the creek that runs through our land is over flowing.

My dad and I went to Suffolk Va to race on Saturday the 14th. We went up on Friday night and got a hotel. It was crazy. The hotel was dirty and loud, but we had a lot of fun. On Saturday morning we woke up and went to the race...but to our horror the race had been cancelled due to weather!!! What!!! I could not believe it!!! To say we were upset would be an understatement. So we had a long 3 hour ride home (in the pouring rain).

We thought about going to SC for the Sunday race but were both pretty tuckered out and we stayed home. So far my season is not going very well and I am getting frustrated. I read that my teamates had very good results in SC and I want to congratulate all of them. I hope to see all of them next weekend.

I am going to keep training hard and hope that I can compete in the upcoming races.