What's up with you planet earth? This is your boy Pacer checking with you after the relocation to NC. I'm officially living in Raleigh, which puts me right dab smack in the middle of single-track heaven.
As soon as I got everything in our place, we crashed. But the next morning I was checking the Raleigh Area website to see which trails were open. Yes, up here they close the trail when it rains. Harris Lake was open, so I packed up the Jetta and Titus and hit the road. This course is about 15 miles South West of Raleigh and the only reason I wanted to ride this course was because I raced there 2 years ago, and I kinda remembered the route so I could make it a training loop. Well, I got in the course and out of the 7 miles I could only remember the 45 ft. of dirt jumps. I was able to find a decent route that allow me to make it a training loop. The second and third lap were perfect as I found a flow. The weather was in the 60's, but by the time I finished it was in the 50's.
The next day I went to Lake Crabtree on the Cary/Raleigh border. I really like this course, but I had only rode it twice when I lived here before. I was very impressed and surprised to find that the course was loaded with riders of all levels. Families, downhillers, walkers, runners, and mountain bike groups flooded the singletrack. It was a welcome to see so many people out and active. The trails had oncoming traffic, and what was great was you could see the person coming 200 meters away.
I ended up hooking up with some locals that were very familiar with the course, and they took me to show me everything. We were in and out of trails, and I was completely lost in a matter of minutes. After that lap I asked if there was possible to do one loop like an out and back. I was advised to take all left turns until I got to the lake, and a parking lot, which I had to make right turns and that would put me at 5 miles. So I got another water bottle, and went out. It's tough to ride on a course that takes you up and climbing in the first 15 seconds as it puts a nasty burn in the legs, but it went away after about 1 minute of lactic acid buffering. I found a flow, and really had to pay attention to my shifting as the terrain changed constantly. One minute I would be out of the saddle climbing up jagged rocks and roots, then I would be on a false flat only for it to turn into flat single track that would take me into some really fast switchbacks. At end of the lap I had found my training HR. I went back in and did 2 more laps to make it 22 miles for the day.
I'm going to frequent this course for right now, because it is the only place that is close to my house that has a nice loop that has all kind of terrain. There is a race here up here on the 20th of April, so I'm going to put in a training block and see how things go.
I decided to go back out and find a way to do this helmet cam thing, and do it better. I hooked up for a nice ride with Bob on the first lap, then the second lap Danny and Jorge joined us. I cut back in forth between the 2 laps, and here is what I came up with. Sorry it's not as nice as what you normally see. I'll upgrade camera pretty soon, and improve the quality.
What's up blog readers? I'm still alive, I just been in the table tennis world ever since the Hospice 100. I've been still riding my bike, and getting ready for the big move up to NC this week.
Oh Yeah! I played a hella big table tennis tournament this pass weekend in NC, and I did pretty well considering that I had been off the scene for 4 years. I walked away with some money, and a trophy. A freaking trophy? I can't remember the last time I got a trophy. I really went there to get the word out that I was moving back to NC, and I would be a coaching part-time in addition to my table tennis job. That went well, as I almost full booked up my coaching schedule, so that was a success.
Now, to the matter at hand. Trying to get some decent video of Markham before I leave. I did some video in the single-track in NC, but it was so awful it is not even worth showing you.
Yesterday, I went out to Markham with the new camera, and got some footage. It is still way under my expectations and not really worth showing, but I'm in the infant stages of trying to figure out this helmetcam thing. Plus, I WILL get some footage of Markham before I leave. I had the camera on my helmet, and after 3 bad outing I think I'm going to try putting it on the handlebars.
Since the realization hit me that I was leaving FL, I really have tried to soak up what it is to have been a Floridian for 11 years, and I wanted to take as much as I could with me. So I decided I would turn my bike into a make shift camera stand, and do a lap at Markham. Here is how it looked. It took about 5 minutes and the bottom harness was coming loose, so that ghetto operation was a bust, so I went the respectable route. Check it out Here is the camera Not costly at all, but functional from the reviews I had read. I put it together and went for a night ride. It didn't come out too well, but that was my test. I'm off to NC for this weekend to play a table tennis tournament and I'm taking both bikes, and plan to tear up some singletrack and knock the kinks off this helmetcam experience. My hope is to be able to really video Markham in all it's glory before I leave. Until then, take a look at this UPN type, blairwitch type video.
This was the second year event in memory of Cindy Feeney. Last years turn out was not as big, but this year the event gained a lot of exposure. I did this race last year with a my boy Wes, and 2 first timers and that is how bad I wanted to to the event. I know Cindy and her brother Bruce personally, and coming out to support this is more important than my result this time out. BUt this year brought more heavy hitters, and a slew of racers participating in support of a great cause.
I went and did the preride on Saturday and was surprised with how they got the course to 7 miles. That meant a lot of fire roads, and a lot of bypasses. What made the course easier to manage is you never really stayed in one section too long to wear you down. The gunrange was the only section that had almost off all of it. One great thing is there were plenty of change to drink, so there should be no reason not to finish every water bottle.
You never really know who is showing up, but when you see them standing in line at registration, the next question is they are one a team or riding solo. I never ask what someone is riding, just a pet peeve of mine. I'll find out in due time, but I assumed it would be at least 5 more heavy hitters. They were Bob, Victor, Harvey, Joe V, Nixon, and myself.
It was safe to say that Bob and Victor were going to go off the front, and see who crack who, as that has been their relationship as of lately. Everyone else will fall in line and see how things play out. Harvey really is the only true Endurance Racer in this bunch, and I really didn't think that the duration was long enough to have him reel everybody in. So I don't expect him to catch Bob and Victor. Nixon has done enough events to be a rider of interest. Joe V. smashed out a great performance at Santos in the 6 hour, and barring any incident he will have a similiar performance. My only good result in this type of event was finishing 3rd in the 6 hour at Santos. So everyone in this group had some type of result to back up being there.
Lap 1 I'm never really sure how fast to run on the lemans start, but with having such a long flat section, I decide to burn it. The first reason is I wanted to make sure I would not get held up because Armadillo is a No-Pass section. The second reaason is I wanted to see exactly what kind of pace was being set by the riders that weren't going to be racing at XC speed. I discuss that same strategy with Harvey, and he is going with the same plan.
All Hell breaks loose at the start and I’m not running as fast as I can because I have my ipod in the back of my jersey. I get to my bike and as I push off Harvey is in front of me and Bob is behind me. We start picking off riders going east around the warm-up loop. Going back west around the warm-up loop there is a tailwind and it’s difficult to get pass riders as they aren’t tapped out yet. Bob throws down enough wattage to light up a small African village and he surges all the way to the front. As we turn onto the straight away to Armadillo we pass more riders, but we can’t get pass one guy that’s is were a Active Cycles jersey with a gold helmet. Not getting around him cost us, as we were immediately gapped by the Joe and Nixon. Those were 2 of the riders to be near, and they were jogging away from us. By the time we get out of Armadillo we both surge pass him, and Harvey lifts the pace in hope of reattaching to that duo.
We have a flow going, and the effort is more than what I want to do, but I want to get an idea of the pace before I back off and do my own thing. In Outback I count the seconds and they have about 15 seconds on us. That is enough for them to counter any surge that we may do in the singletrack, and the only way to make it up is to let it all hang out on the fireroads. They maintain that same 15 seconds through the bypasses for Crime Scene, Jet Ski Hill, and Ted’s Twisted Trail. In Alligator Alley, and Deep Dark Forest they put time on us. I should have been in the front in these sections as I know them better. We cut over to Bermuda Triangle we do half of that section. If I’m going to be with Harvey I might as well put in some work, so I move to the front and I take a pull on the fireroad. It’s a 2-minute pull into the wind, and I take it all the way to the gunrange, then I pull through for Harvey. He keeps the pace going, and I know Joe V is going to put more time into us, because he is just as good in the section as I am. Sure enough he gained more time, but Harvey was not having it as he came out of the gunrange hammering. My HR went from 156bpm to 174bpm and he kept that burn going all the way up Redback, to the dump, and all the way down to the warm-up loop. By the time we came through the feedzone, we had got back the time he lost. If I stayed on his wheel, he would only get better at navigating those sections. First lap was 30mins, and way too fast for me to maintain for the remainding 55 miles.
Lap 2 We are going back East around the warm-up loop, and my HR is 171bpm, and my breathing is labored. So I decide that I’m going to stay in his slipstream, and once we get to Armadillo I’m going to bid farewell.
As soon was we get into Armadillo I tell Harvey I’m backing off, and say good luck. He says the same, but his pace doesn’t indicate that he is making surges to bring back the Duo up the singletrack. As a matter of fact, I think he backed off also, because I was expecting him to drop me immediately. I was riding with him the first lap and my HR was in the 160’s, and I really wanted it to be about 7bpm lower. My HR had gone down to 156bpm, and I instantly felt better.
I stay close to Harvey but at this point I’m letting him do all the pace-setting as I really want to settle into my own flow. I’m dead set on finishing out the race strong, and I was not going to blow myself up early in a 62 mile race. Harvey started being more selective in where he was making his surges, which meant the course was finding him. It paid off as we were stealing seconds up on Joe V/Nixon group ahead of us. Cutting into Bermuda Triangle Harvey chain skips and he has to put a foot down and I pass him. I slow down and wait for him to get back on my wheel, and escort him all the way out to the fireroad. I take a pull for 25 rpm, and I give it to him. My Heartrate is 146bpm by the time we get to gunrange and it’s 160bpm when we get out. Harvey lifts the pace and I spend about 15 seconds trying to get into his slipstream which is not that useful as it still feels windy. We go up Redback backwards, and Harvey looks at his HR monitor, and make another hard surge going down the dump to the warm up loop. That surge puts me 169bpm, and I’m ready to put on the parachute, but he slows down in the warm-up. Halfway threw the warm-up loop, a bee sting in the right upper stomach. That immediately has me hitting my stomach and cussing. A couple seconds later I get another half-sting in the lower stomach and I punch the spot and pull my jersey up. I see the bee roll off my short and say, “You a punk, Pacer”. That episode cost me 15 second and a great wheel to be on. I go through the feedzone and Mrs. P has my water bottles out on the table and I scoop it up, put it in my bottle cage, and dismount right on the line. Another 30min lap.
Lap 3 I’m feeling a little tapped out, and my anxiety is still high from the encounter with a bee. If I haven’t wrote before, “ I don’t FONK with bees”. My right ear is 30% bigger than the left, and that is courtesy of a bee sting at 13 years old. I have had encounters before, but never in a race. Had I not been racing I would stopped, stripped booty butt cheeks naked until I found the Africanized Bee that is looking for the black man. Hey, shouldn’t he be cutting me a break, we bruhs. lol I’m back on the north side of the warm-up loop going west and I can see Harvey, with Nixon not too far ahead of him. I can see that my HR has gone down now, and it takes me some time to get into a pace that I feel will keep me competitive with the front group. I can still see them in some of the sections, and on the fire roads but they are gaining time on me. Plus, I’m not really in the mix. Harvey is close enough to taste catching Nixon, and Nixon is far enough ahead of him to still have thoughts of holding him off. If I’m not in that mix, I won’t be able to ride as fast. My goal is to keep it steady, and come on strong in the end. My HR stays in the 150’s the entire lap and I have found a burn in the legs, and a breathing in the chest that is identical to what I have been doing in training. I bring in that lap at 32 and a half minutes and I’m feeling a little inspired and tapped out. I miss the water bottle feed, but Julie B gets it to me so Mrs. P. can still videotape.
Lap 4 I instantly start going backwards, and I know it’s a result of the 2 fast laps with Harvey. It’s not too bad as I’m about 30 seconds off my 32 min lap from the lap before. At this point the guys are still in front of me, but they are out of sight on all the fireroads. I only manage to lose 30 more seconds, as I bring in the lap at 33 and a half minutes.
Lap 5 I instantly feel better, and I know why. It's the XC that has been deeply embedded in me to smash out the last lap. This is my natural inclination, and I don't try to hold back from it. In fact, my HR is low and I'm about 15 seconds faster at the halfway point. By the end of the lap I'm able to squeeze out anohter 17 seconds and brought in the lap at 32mins, 59 seconds.
Lap 6 Boy, I took it on the chin this lap. I seriously start going backwards. In fact I normally come out of the Armadillo at 4min, 54 second, and I was at 5mins, and 20 seconds. Man, something is going haywire. My legs feel ok, my breathing is ok, I've been taking in gels, and I have drank every water bottle. I try to pass a guy at the really sharp U-turn in outback, and he hits the deck. I have to help him up, then he takes off. Ain't that a B. Now, I have catch this guy and pass him. I catch him crossing over from Outback ext, and he doesn't even pull over. I try to surge to get my flow back and I crash at the bypass to Jet Ski Hill. As soon as I get up I'm laughing at how I was flying in the air at a 45 degree angle to crash. My new "No courtesy buddy", rolls up to me and has the nerve to say "Gonna come on your left dude". I just take off up the east side of Ted's Twisted Trail, and he is gone in a matter of seconds.
I'm still in this brainfart, and I have no idea how it has happened. Maybe, it's the crossing over from XC to Endurance as far as the duration is concerned. When I normally get to the gunrange I have been in the 21 minute range. I'm now in the 23min range. And no amount of surges can get me back to where I need to be, so I just ride it out. I finish out that lap at 35mins 27sec.
Lap 7 I do start to recover well, as I'm starting to steal back time at all my check points. I'm in such a zone that I can't ramp it up. I can tell that I'm riding faster, but it's coming on very slowly. I get by a young lady on a singlespeed without any incident, and I get another jolt of andrenaline. I finish out that lap about 45 seconds faster at 34mins, and 40 seconds. I get 2 water bottle from Mrs. P for lap 8
Lap 8 I'm still moving faster, and I know that this lap is going to be faster than the last I finish the fireroads and just before Armadillo, I'm joined by Carlos B. racing for Bike America. I'm ready to let him by, but he suggest that we stay and keep a flow. That gesture lifts my spirits and the pace, and ride on the front until we get to Crime Scene, then I let him take over. He keeps it flowing through all the section without missing a beat. When we get out of Bermuda Triangle I take a pull on the first leg of the fireroad, and he takes the second. As soon as we get in the gunrange he has to pull over because he is losing air out of his back tire. I finish out the rest of that lap riding inspired, and it shows in shaving off another 50 seconds to the tune of 33mins, and 50 seconds.
Lap 9 Now, I know I'm going to ramp it up to XC speed for the last lap. My goal is to try to see if I can have the fastest last lap of everyone in the Solo Category. The front runners were gone with the wind, and I know they are giving it back at this point. I held some in the tank, because I really was not in the mood to die out there. At my first check point out of Armadillo I'm 13 seconds faster. My HR is only 4 beats higher, so I'm riding more smooth than with more effort. I decide to attack any incline and surge right at the apex. That pays off as I'm way ahead of my time at all my check points. I get out of the Bermuda and I put my head down and bury myself in my pedal stroke. By the time I get to the gunrage I'm 90 seconds ahead of my last lap.
Not even 2 mins in I get joined by Richard Diaz, a Active Cycles teammate and he blow right pass me. "I'm not letting him go", I say, so I crank it up and it takes me almost all of the topside of the gunrange to pull him back in. Part of it was deciding to ramp it up after already having it ramped up, up and up, and to let my body get used to the next level of acid burn in the legs. I'm right behind him as we cut out onto the fireroad. He looks back and says,"You want my wheel", and I say "Hell Yeah". He puts his head down in a matter of seconds we are going 22mph. Richard is really strong on the road bike and this is when it's showing. He attacks out of every corner and up Redback backwards, and down the dump to warm up loop. Before we get there we are going 24.2mph, and he pulls through just before the singletrack. That was a gangsta ass Presidental Escort he gave me. Richard sat on my wheel as I smash out the last 2 minutes of the race like it was the first 2 mins. I ended up coming in at 32mins, 9 seconds. I'm not sure if that is the fastest lap, but it is going to be close for sure.
I don't think this performance would have been possible had Eddie O not contacted me. Nam gave me the exact amount of fluids/sodium/gels I should be drinking based on my weight, height, and body fat. She gave me the protocol of what to drink if it was going to be hot, which I needed. I realize that the training is important, but not as important as taking in the proper fluids. So, thanks to Nam again for keeping me cramping up or having a imploding stomach.
On a sad but happy note, I'll be relocating to North Carolina in 2 weeks. I'm basically taking back my old job from 2006. While living there in 2006 we found out that Mrs. P. had cervical cancer, and she wanted to be with her family during her therapy that was pretty intense. So I walked away from the 2 most important groups of people in my life. The owner of the table tennis company that put the racket in my hand in 1986 was the first group. So it was difficult to walk away from the company. And I work in the same city that my family lives in, so that ideal for me. I left home when I was 15 years old to play table tennis all around the world, and I spent basically 3 weeks home every year. After giving up so much of my life for the sport I want to be near my family now.
After the 1 year of therapy, we got the ok from the doctor that the cancer cells where not dormant, they were GONE. That is why you can tell on this blog that I'm fantancial about my health. It was 95% geared towards living longer on this earth, and being a better racer is a by-product. Mrs. P. looked at me as soon as we left the doctor's office and said, "I think it's time to go back to NC". I called up my sponsor to let him know I want my office back, and he said, "Your computer, fridge, and vitamins are still here", see. So, this last race to me was extra special and I tried to get as much video footage and chat with riders as possible as I could as I knew it would most likely be the last time I race at this course which is my favorite.
What am I going to be doing with this job? Web related table tennis video. It's a part-time job, with full time pay and benefits. I don't need to come into the office. I shoot the video, edit them, produce them, and post them on the website. I'm going to do that from my house. Which means, more time to ride my bike, so expect me to still do some racing. I'll just be talking about different people top Expert riders that will be dropping me.
I'm also glad it's part-time job, as I'm going back to school for video production in June. I graduate next month with a Masters in IT, and I'll kill myself before I work in that field. I'll be back down next month with some family members that will be at my graduation, and I'm going to try hard to bring the Racer-X down so I can hit up Markham one last time.
So riders, it's been real. I hope to see you all out on the singletrack at some later date. Until the, keep on pedaling. That's the only way to get faster
