June 4 - Friday Night Hellyer Track

CTL: 118
TSB: 6
Mounted video camera on road bike, didn't feel like moving it back, so no video this time, but I did remember to changing my gearing from 50x15 to 51x15 so I would spin *less*. Temperatures are about 40 degrees warmer than the last Friday night race so finally no arm warmers required.

P123 40 lap scratch
For a simple race this felt pretty hard, I was in the main pack until seven laps to go and could not close a gap after a rider in front of me got dropped (I have to stop doing this...) and got lapped on the last lap. Using the OLH unit of measurement about the same difficulty as OLH in 22 minutes but just for 19 minutes. The bigger gear did seem to help.
T: 18:49
S: 45.2
C: 105
H: 184
Pavg: 246
Pnorm: 260

P123 50 lap points race
This race felt harder but it wasn't, my perceived exertion meter is way off. Since it felt difficult I didn't try to score points, just maintain contact with the pack and was able to hang in there until the finish. No points but didn't get lapped. Using OLH units, this race was equivalent to doing OLH, if one surged and eased up all the time.
T: 22:30
S: 46.2
C: 107
H: 185
Pavg: 233
Pnorm: 248

May 29 - Get Ready for Summer Series #4 Hellyer

CTL: 117
TSB: 4

I barely wake up in time for the 1:00 PM race start so I have to use the keirin heat as a warmup, get dropped when the speed hits 58kph but I eeked out a placing over Ben Stern who sat up in the last 100 meters.

T: 4:44
S: 47.5
C: 111
H: 183
Pavg: 278
2/3/4 scratch race - Not a spinner so a bit undergeared when the average speed is almost 30 miles an hour. A gap opened up in front of one of the riders in front of me and spent the last four laps or so trying to close it. Fun but not in position to sprint at the end.

May 29 Get Ready For Summer Hellyer Track Scratch 2/3/4 10 laps from Steven Woo on Vimeo.

30 lap 2/3/4 points race.
Moral victory, don't think I got lapped, but not much else accomplished. Still thinking about gearing up for next weeks' racing. Well, haven't done much track racing this year so have to pay my dues in specficity now, hope for better results down the road.

T: 13:55
S: 43.1
C: 101
Pavg: 237
Pnorm: 254

May 29 Get Ready For Summer Hellyer #4 30 Lap 1/2/3 Points Race from Steven Woo on Vimeo.

May 21 Hellyer Friday night racing

CTL: 120
TSB: -13
Decide to be a little less ambitious and race just the 3/4 instead of the 1/2/3 races after getting dropped all the time. This worked out OK and I am able to finish mid pack most races, need to do this again one more week and change my tactics a bit to mix things up.

scratch
T: 9:49
S: 43.6
C: 102
H: 177
Pavg: 271
Pnorm: 291
Led it out the last lap until Rick took over at 200 meter line and I was able to nip Rick for sixth I think.

May 21 Hellyer 3/4 20 lap scratch race from Steven Woo on Vimeo.

30 lap 6x5 points race
T: 15:04
S: 42.4
C: 99
H: 180
Pavg: 245
Pnorm: 276
Raced too conservatively, just hung in the pack until the last two sprints for a grand total of one point.

May 21 Friday Night Hellyer 3/4 30 lap 6x5 points race from Steven Woo on Vimeo.

Miss and out
T: 5:15
S: 42.1
C: 98
H: 179
Pavg: 286
Pnorm: 320

May 21 Hellyer 3/4 Miss and Out from Steven Woo on Vimeo.

2009 Sept 4 Hellyer Friday Night Race

TSB: 17
CTL: 122

I should feel pretty good according to the numbers but I think I am getting a cold or allergies are acting up because when we start racing, can't do anything except sit in and wait for the finales, and totally blow during the last race.
3/4 Scratch Race

2009 sept 4 hellyer 34 points race front view from Steven Woo on Vimeo.

2009 sept 4 hellyer 34 points race front view from Steven Woo on Vimeo.

T: 10:33
S: 41.8 kph
Pavg: 254
Pnorm: 311
C: 98


Do five laps of the P123 scratch race for fun.
T: 2:00
Pavg: 289
C: 107
S: 46

3/4 Points race

Sept 4 2009 Hellyer Friday Night 34 Points race rear view from Steven Woo on Vimeo.

2009 sept 4 hellyer 34 points race front view from Steven Woo on Vimeo.

T: 12:56
S: 41.5
C: 97
Pavg: 257
Pnorm: 291

Do five laps of the P123 points race for fun.
T: 2:36
Pavg: 259
S: 42.4
C: 98

Miss and Out

2009 sept 4 hellyer 34 points race front view from Steven Woo on Vimeo.

T: 2:44
Pavg: 334
C: 93
S: 39.6

2009 June 19 Hellyer Friday Night Racing

CTL: 117
TSB: 3

Three or four of the really strong juniors are not in the 3/4 field tonight, one has upgraded to 2 and the others are saving themselves for Nevada City and the USA Cycling junior camp later this weekend, still the field is pretty big at fifteen to twenty.


3/4 20 Lap Scratch Race
T: 9:03
S: 44.5
C: 104
Pavg: 270
Pnorm: 299
This is a little different without the kids - a lot less attacking so the field stays intact until almost the end AFAIK. I set tempo for a bit, then Rick counters and almost gets away but we bring him and the others back. At one point I am behind Shawn and we are getting dropped and I am wondering what happened, he got a bug in his unshielded eye and can't see anything for a bit! Then Rick does a leadout and causes a slight separation, I react too late and can only manage a fifth.

No rear view, didn't turn it on.

3/4 30 Lap 6x5 Points Race
T:14:11
S: 43.6
C: 102
Pavg: 268
Pnorm: 297
On the plus side I didn't get lapped! Scored a few points, was pretty conservative after getting dropped the last two times, maybe could have gone for more points, not enough points to score.

2009 June 19 Friday Night Hellyer 3/4 Points Race Front View from Steven Woo on Vimeo.

2009 June 199 34 points race rear view from Steven Woo on Vimeo.

Did five laps of the 123 Points race at the suggestion of Eric Petersen, this was a pretty good idea just to keep warm. It was really easy sitting in but I didn't want to burn any matches just to sit in back of the field
T: 2:07
Pavg: 259
C: 105
S: 44.9


3/4 Miss and Out
I use the simplest strategy which is stay on the front as long as possible but I only last a lap before the Neal, the strongest rider in the field, takes over. Then I am boxed in by Rick for most of the rest of the race, which sort of turns out OK. At one point he let's up and I attack (maybe too hard) but Neil reels me back in, and I am behind him and boxed in by Rick again! I keep waiting for an opening and for a few seconds I look back and there's an opening where Rick is ahead of me and Erik is off of my hip but I hesitate and Erik moves forward and I am boxed in again(!) so finish fifth - mostly by following Neal for all but three laps.
T: 7:46
S: 41.5
C: 96
Pavg: 282
Pnorm: 311

2009 May 22 Friday Night Hellyer

TSB: -6
CTL: 115

Cat 3/4 15 lap scratch -


6/13?
T: 6:57
S: 45.2 kph
C:105
Pavg:302
Pnorm:329

match sprint with Brian Peterson and Doug Hall for *fun*


Cat 3/4 30 lap points race
T: 14:08
S: 42.3
C: 99
Pavg: 279
Pnorm: 292
first ten minutes
7?/13?

last ten minutes



Cat 3/4 Miss and out
T: 3:00
S: 40.3
C: 95 (clearly needed to gear down...)
Pavg: 356
8?/11?



All of these efforts are the maximum for the duration for me this year, clearly I need a rabbit to chase or be the rabbit to motivate myself to go this hard.

2009 May 8 Hellyer Friday Night Racing

CTL: 108
TSB: -8

First time to ride the track bike in a long time so just wanted to get a good workout in and stay out of trouble.

3/4 25 lap scratch race
surfed the back of the pack until things split up, had to pass about ten folks to end up tenth at the end. Was good for six minutes then had to take it easy for the second half of the race. Sitting on the back is not so good for results. :)
T: 12:58
S: 42.4
C: 99
Pavg: 262
Pnorm: 285

2009 May 8 Hellyer 3/4 scratch race from Steven Woo on Vimeo.

Did five laps of the 123 scratch race and 123 points race to get more track time.


3/4 30 lap points race
Like the first race, had a good six minutes of vo2max and then couldn't do anymore and rode the rest at threshold, then pulled out when it was apparent I was going to be lapped, I think if I stayed in I would have been top ten!
T: 11:00
S: 41.5
C: 97
Pavg: 266
Pnorm: 280

2008 September 19 Friday Night Track Racing

TSB: 18
CTL: 111

Haven't been riding much on weekdays, too much work, but want to see if I can get any track race video. It turns out once the lights go on, it's too dark for this video camera to capture anything useful but I get the first race that happens before sunset.

40+ 123 Scratch

40+ 123 Scratch Race start from Steven Woo on Vimeo.
Go at the gun, get in a small group, get caught after five laps, get caught, get dropped at I think ten laps. Even though I am rested, don't have the snap one needs to do well at track racing, haven't done this longer, high intensity in a while.

T: 5:00
C: 101
S: 42.3
H: 184
Pavg:302
Pnorm:333

P123 Scratch
Ride at the back and hang in for fifteen laps
T: 7:45
C: 103
S: 43.2
H: 181
Pavg: 237
Pnorm: 273

Match Sprint with Brian Peterson and Daniel Holloway
I draw third position and attack when Daniel wants to track stand at the quarter lap mark, but I waited a little too long as the chief ref called for a restart. I try the same thing again on our retry, but the first jump took all the snap out of my legs and we only had about sixty seconds to recover.

P123 Win and Out
Ride near the back and watch the race unfold from there, but manage to finish a race for once...
T: 6:00
S: 41.4
H: 186
Pavg: 253
Pnorm: 278
C: 99

2008 30 May Friday Night Track Racing

CTL: 124
TSB: 5

Haven't done any VO2max intervals for a few weeks and it's much easier to get motivated for these when there are people in front of you and behind you so I am going to sample a bit of every category tonight and see what happens.

My pre-race nutrition consists of beef brisquet, potato salad, and beans, so this will be another test of intestinal fortitude.

40+ 25 Lap scratch race

We roll out pretty slow and Hernando tells us we need to start racing so when there is a huge alley at the sprinters lane, I jump from the back of the pack to off the front when the whistle is blown. Amazingly, someone else is crazy as me and joins me after a lap and we work together. After five laps, we get half a lap and I start getting crazy ideas, but the lead is partly due to Vance riding tempo at the front and no one passing him. When the other riders get serious, they catch us in two and a half laps. Try to rest a bit for the ensuing counter but when we get caught and the counter goes, I don't have enough in the tank to catch up so when the group catches me again I call it a race and pull off the track.
5:00
pAvg: 286
Pnorm: 345
H: 176
C: 98
S: 41.2

P123 30 lap scratch race:
Done a bunch of 50 lap P123 scratch races so I know I can finish but my sprint is pretty lame compared to most of these guys so I plan on doing half the race for a warmup. It's not that hard to *draft* at the back and we are going super fast. After having to pass lapped riders a couple of times I decide to leave the race to the sprinters and pull out.
T: 5:52
Pnorm: 277
Pavg: 261
H: 171
C: 113
S: 47.2

3/4 25 lap scratch race
Go off the front a few times, but nothing sticks so I save it for the end. There are eight of us in the lead group. There is a point with three to go where I probably should have attacked but the little demons of self doubt crept into my mind and I just hung out in the pack and it came down to a sprint finish and I just rode in seventh.
T: 12:03
Pnorm: 306
Pavg: 269
C:102
H: 180
S: 42.9

3/4 12 lap snowball
I consider going for the low point laps but one rider immediately goes off the front so I try to be patient and wait for someone else to reel him in, but it takes three laps. Shortly after we catch$, two riders go off the front and get four or five laps of points. When we get close to catching them I decide to go for it, but I have to pass seven riders. I think for sure this leaves enough time for Andrew to get on my wheel but he doesn't. But as I approach the line, I hear Hernando announce that is going to be close so I give a tiny burst of speed and it's enough to hold Andrew off but he has such a head of steam that he immediately gains thirty meters and this kills my confidence. Then Aaron catches and passes me leaving a small gap. I almost give up but put everything into catching back on when I see there is a big gap to the field. Aaron pulls me around for most the rest of the race, I was thinking about telling him to pull up but it felt so much better being in the draft, and if we don't catch Andrew, our finishing order doesn't matter. Aaron pulls up after Hernando tells him I'm on his wheel, and boy, was that half lap hard, maybe I could not have helped Aaron after all. Anyways, we get closer but we don't catch Andrew.

T:5:32
Pnorm:329
Pavg: 311
H: 181
C: 107
S: 44.9

23 May 2008, Friday Night Track Racing

CTL: 123
TSB: 10

Not so much quality training due to getting slightly dehydrated at Panoche and cramping and the comcomitant leg issues this week but get to race for four consecutive days due to the alignment of the planets and the holiday weekend. Am eligible for every race except the women's but only plan on doing two events for about twenty minutes of racing since I have to get up early and do a time trial tomorrow morning.

In a test of intestinal fortitude, ate one of the free hot dogs and didn't throw it up during the races.

cat 3/4 10 Lap win and out, one rider out each lap:
I think there are three guys in our races who normally race in the P12 group on the road so this should be fun. There are a bunch of attacks early and even I throw in one but nothing sticks so it comes down to four to go when two very strong riders go off the front and I am just hanging in there for dear life. Bells go off and I am not able to move up but I *think* I heard the last bell so our little group of four riders have the chance to place for pride. Mark Franklin is on the front and goes at the same time that I go from third position, and I get on his wheel in turn three and come around him in turn four for sixth or seventh.
T:6:26
C:108
S:45.3kph
Pavg:316
Pnorm:325

cat 3/4 25 Lap unknown points race
I can't resist going to the front when a few strong riders pull through, then I fade to the back too far when another attack happens early. The rider in front hesitates and can't hold their wheels and by the time I realize I need to do something the gap is too big for me to close a. I try anyways with his help for a few laps and Tim from CRC but we get lapped and we finish just behind the lead group of four riders or so on the final lap.
T:10:39
C:100
S:42.0
Pavg: 285
Pnorm: 291


TSS:135

Get Ready for Summer Track Racing

Promised someone that I would pre-ride Mt Hamilton with them in the morning so my warmup for this race is probably not optimal but it's lots of fun.

CTL:128
TSB:5

I don't get to do a lot of keirins since I mostly did Friday nights only for the past three years and it would be mostly pointless for me to race against sprint specialists and other cat 1/2's in those races but today I get to race against just cat 3/4 track riders ( one of them won Cat's Hill in the cat 3's yesterday) so it would not be so lopsided. Still, unless Gen Kogure or Gary Yokota show up, I am the smallest guy on the track.

Six riders including me start this. I draw a number in the middle. Four riders form a paceline behind the motor and a fifth rides on the hip of leader rider above the sprinters lane, I just ride in the back and take it easy. I wait until two laps to go to start my move and try to time my attack with the moto moving off but I mistime it a bit and have to back off then go again which of course makes me a bit slower than I want to be going so the field easily passes me and I only manage a fourth.

Keirin Heat
T: 2:29
C:99
Smax:55.9kph
Pavg:310

Six riders again. This time three riders get behind the motor and the other two float slightly above but I am still last. This time I time my attack just right and am passing just as the moto is pulling off ( passing the motor is an instant DQ ) and hold it for the 500 meters to the line for the win.

Keirin Repechage
T: 2:26
c: 101
SMax: 55kph
Pavg:355

This time we have eight riders and I draw the top position. I sprint for the motor but Keiran Cox gets there a little before me so I give up and have to pull up track to wait for everyone else to get in line and find my usual spot tailgunning. Passing seven riders instead of five is a bit different, it's funny how much practice one needs for such a short event to get it just right. I repeat the same tactic from the first two heats and mistime it again. This time it only draws me even with Keiran on the lead and he starts to razor me. At this point I should have fully commited to passing but I eased up a bit and that was the end for me as I can only manage sixth.

Keirin final
T: 2:20
c: 103
SMax: 56
Pavg:339

A few riders go off in ones and twos but we manage to always catch them. My legs feel awfully sore from pulling fence posts from the ground yesterday and today's efforts so I just sit in the back.

Towards the end there is the mushrooming and hesitation that happens when one is in a race when a lot of people want to sprint. I do not want the race to come down to a sprint so when we hesitate with two laps to go I move up to the rail and when we come out of the next corner I use the banking to attack and get clear of the group and hold off the pack for third behind the two riders off the front.

24 lap Scratch Race
T:12:42
C:101
S:42.1kph
Pavg:253
Pnorm:296

Usually I just like to sit on the front and razor the rest of the field but since there are fifteen other riders and lots of them are probably stronger than me it's going to be a bit difficult to pull off.

I get the hole shot at the whistle. One rider's chain immediately comes off but he is in the sprinter's lane and is successful at safely pulling off track. This didn't affect anyone elses race AFAIK.

After six laps on the front I can see a rider accelerating to pass me and I speed up just a bit but he was fully committed and I was not so he easily takes the lead and I slot in about four riders back. Here I should have immediately gotten out of the lane as quickly as possible but I was so disappointed at losing the lead I made a mistake an was easily boxed in and eliminated two laps later.

Miss and Out
T:4:09
Pavg:325
C:94
S:39.3


Usually this race has a breakaway with two to four riders, that's enough to get away, and they will get the lion's share of the points.

If my legs were sore during the scratch race, they are screaming in pain now before the race starts. Since I don't know what my legs can do at this point I attack at the gun and am chased down after half a lap. Wow. Then the pack slows immediately and I am bored so I attack again. This time when I am caught someone counters and the race splinters. A group of four, the magic number that means the whole race is in front of us and the rest of us don't count, get away. We start chasing but only one rider from that group is dropped and the other three stay away and lap us by the end. I stay with the main group until the end.
30 Lap Points
t: 16:33
Pavg:268
Pnorm:305
s:40.5
C:97

Since there are so many riders and I did not ride that consistently in the points I think I only manage a sixth place out of sixteen.
ride totals
T: 2:14
Pnorm: 253
TSS: 230
D: 50 km

2007 Nov 23 - Race the World Cups Points Race - A

CTL: 109
TSB: -1
Was running late and thought I had pre packed my arm warmers and leg warmers but found out those were MIA when I got to the track and unpacked. Well this is just for fun and supporting our Proman compatriots so no biggie.

Only five riders signed up for the B's including myself so they asked us to pick between the A and the C race and I went with A's. Switched from the 48x15 gear to the 50x15 gear and hoped for the best. Donned the warm weather gear that I had which were the winter gloves, glove liners, and Sheila Moon beanie so it wasn't too bad.

I made a mistake which is a repeat of the last time I did an A points race so this was really stupid. Did not go super hard at the start. A small gap opened up in front of me and I spent ten laps going 28 mph and not closing it and finally had to give up and go a lap down. This took a long time to recover from so ended up losing seven! laps to the lead riders, but hung in there and finished so got a decent workout.

Haven't ridden the track bike in a long time so it was fun to be out there and race and it's nice just going all out and hearing the tires sing and the wind and banking push back against you hard. Plus, who can pass up an opportunity to drool on oneself in public?

T: 45:49
S: 40.6 kph
C: 97
D: 31 km
H: 173
Pavg: 244
Pnorm: 256

American Velodrome Challenge Cat 3 15 lap scratch

I was planning on riding easy today but forgot I had committed to help man registration, so by virtue of having to be there, decided to do the scratch race - also may not have time to do anymore track racing this year so gotta take the opportunity when it presents itself. Was eligible for a ton of other events but wanted to save something for Watsonville.

This was scheduled to be a twenty five lap race but the sprint and keirin heats ran a bit long so ten laps were cut out.

Disappointing but you make lemonade...

Got to the front and surged a bit when the whistle blew, saw there was a gap after half a lap and just went out at pursuit pace for four and a half laps off the front before being reeled in. Recovered for three and a half laps, and went again for two laps, was caught and countered. The guy off the front had a pretty big gap, and after getting dropped, and then catching up with the help of Keith, after three laps of watching him was about to attack again when Rob went with two other guys close on his wheel. I hesitated because I didn't want to pull everyone if Rob was trying to stay away, but isoon regretted this because when Rob pulled up the other two guys pulled up, too, instead of working to catch the breakaway, and only one guy from the main pack would catch him by the end. At this point couldn't do much besides finish behind the sprinting pack. Should have kept on pushing and followed Rob and just pulled the pack so our team could have done better.


T: 7:02
PAvg: 313
PNorm: 334
C: 106
S: 44.5

200 meter flying time trial

Haven't done this in a year so wanted to get at least one time recorded this year. Stuck with the 51x15 with the Hed 3 front and rear and used an aero helmet with a normal short sleeve jersey and shorts instead of a skinsuit so I could get ready for the Lafayette crit quickly afterwards.

In the warmup I had a decent sprint but it's from a low starting speed.

The new cooldown/warmup circle is a sweet but maximum speed has to be kinda low so a trainer might be necessary for some riders, use it until it's my turn to get called up. Keith tells me he hits 33 mph in between turn one and turn 2 and gets a time of under 13. I think my average will be 33 for the 200...

Since I don't have much of a jump, try to go into turn one at a high speed, stand up in between turn one and turn and drop kind of late, after turn two, and really can't seem to get on top of the gear. End up with a 13.5 which I guess is OK for not practicing but didn't get a good sprint off, did reach my max at the 200 meter line but it was super low. I need to practice this to get a better time, one day a year on the track just doesn't cut it for me...
T: 13.50
PAvg: 586
C: 126
S: 53.7

The last lap is :
T: 24.0
Pavg: 635
C: 117
S: 50.1

Masters Track Districts

CTL: 128
TSB: 7
Tapered a bit but not nearly as much as last year so carried more fitness than freshness into districts which was the reverse of last year and showed in the results. Trying to maintain more fitness for road racing and crits.

3 Kilometer Pursuit, used 51x15 with Hed 3 in front with Vittoria EVO CX tires and a ghetto disc in the rear. Practiced the standing starts with the 51x15 but never did much else except with this bike for a 34km time trial and have not had the chance to do any track racing either so this would be my first track race of the year. Also lowered the position a bit to get lower.

Immediately after the start feel like I don't have the legs but put that out of my mind and focus on an even paced effort after the first lap. I am not sure of how much I have to give so I hold back a bit to avoid blowing up but end up holding way too much back as I end up with a time about six seconds slower than last year and am able to talk easily shortly after the race. Average power is only 345 which I can do for five minutes instead of four, so I should have been able to do much more for four minutes. Will switch back to 50x15 for the next time as I was slightly faster for the first few laps with the 51x15, starting losing a second by the two kilometer and totally blew the last kilometer, going six seconds slower over the last three laps with the 51x15.

T: 4:09
P: 345
C: 102
S: 43.6
H: 185



There are ten people signed up for the 60 lap points race but two people drop out, probably due to the 3 hour delay. So there will be no where to hide for a long, long time. Don't bother to change from the 51x15 used in the pursuit. I have never finished with the lead riders in one of these district championship races so that is my first goal, since we have a lot of cat 1 road riders, this may be a tall order. A rider who is not one of the cat 1 roadies attacks early and I try to bridge but can see the field not far behind so don't commit and just score a few points while the leader takes two sprints. The race is pretty tactical the rest of the way with the best riders just marking each other and ignoring the rest of us. After the second sprint, it feels like body blow after body blow, but I am able to time trial a bit or wheel suck and get back onto the lead group after every attack and even manage to score a couple more points. The best pursuiter ends up winning the points race and I am happy to be even on laps with him and the other leaders by the finale, if I could have sprinted I might have been able to move up a spot but have already lost track of my score, much less anybody elses by this point. Also, 51x15 although only a tiny bit different from 50x15, felt too big for me to sprint in this year, perhaps if I had been racing more on the track it would be OK, but with less time on the track, should have used a smaller gear.

T: 30:07
Pavg: 249
Pnorm: 273
C: 95
S: 40.8
H: 181

40-44 60 lap points race

3 kilometer pursuit, masters 40-44

Events got pushed back about three hours due to events running over from the prior day so plenty of time to get ready. Used the Hed 60 with Michelin Pro Race 2 in the front ahd the CH aero disc rear with a Vittoria Open Corsa Evo with the 50x15. ATL was 95, CTL was 116, TSB was 16 so supposedly I should have really good legs according to the Training Manager, also worked a lot of high L5/VO2max lower duration intervals during my taper so specific workouts to address just this event for the prior week.

An odd number of entrants so I get to race by myself on the track, a rare luxury, and concentrate on a good start, not blowing up after too hard a start, and maintaining an even tempo after two laps. The standing start is surprisingly hard on the legs and feels excruciatingly slow but I get on top of the gear by the backstretch like in the kilo and am somewhat surprised and hesitate for a bit to get in the aerobars but decide to stop worrying and get aero. When I look down to check my power after one lap it's at 480, and I'm wondering if my SRM is out of whack or what. It turns out I just looked at it during my peak of lap two but at the time I wasn't sure if I should hold back more on the throttle or just go with it and decide to push it hard on the headwind part and pedal slightly less on the tailwind part of the track. After four laps I am feeling horrible, but after doing a couple hundred VO2max four to five minute repeats on Moody and Mt Eden this year , know that I can push through this, and just picture my progress on one of those climbs and keeping up the pace no matter what. Brian Peterson is kindly giving me splits which at first I was not paying attention to then realized I was keeping pretty consistent laps and something else to keep my mind off the pain. With two to go I feel like I have a second wind but hold onto it until a half lap to go when I am able to accelerate into the finish. Now I am thinking - I should have done that earlier because I had a little bit left at the end. The four hour coughing fit afterwards cured me of that notion. The muscle soreness in the hamstrings and glutes is unusual - this typically only happens to me when braking a lot using the legs.

Set a new personal record of 4:03 and change (versus first time last year at 4:24) and new two minute and four minute power max averages, and the first minute was only about 5% less than my kilo start yesterday. The average for the four minutes is higher than I can generally do for two minute L6 repeats which had me doubting the data so I calibrated the SRM again to check and I know I zeroed it several times before the event.

All I have to say is wow, the training manager does work.

T: 4:01 (two seconds different from recorded time, SRM doesn't start recording until after first revolution of the cranks )
H: 186
C: 107
S: 44.1
P: 376

Track Districts 2006

Used the last two race weekends to fine tune my work weekday taper and found that about a 100 TSS day every day of the week except 50 to 75 TSS on Thursday and Friday led to a 10+ TSB day on Saturday, the hardest part is holding back on Thursday and Friday. Had an ATL of 101, CTL of 117, and TSB of 12 for today's events.


Used the sprint bike with the Michelin Pro Race 2 on a H3 in front and Vittoria CX Open Corsa on a CH aero disc in the rear with a 50x15 gear.

I managed to screw up and lose count of my laps and was doodling along at fifteen mph in the front stretch when I got the bell. I had laid out a plan of ramping it up at L6 for the entire last lap and making the sprint into a longer effort but threw that out the window and started stomping on the pedals for the last 335 meters, took what I thought was a bad line and just tried to spin and prepared myself afterwards for confirmation of a poor result. Somehow I still set a personal best of 13.28 seconds in spite of the impromptu change in plans with an approach I may never have tried otherwise.

T: 29.5 for full effort
S: 48.7
C: 116
H: 174
Pavg: 10.8 w/kg






Used the pursuit bike with the Michelin Pro Race 2 on a Hed 60 in front and Vittoria CX Open Corsa on a CH aero disc in the rear with a 50x15 gear. Got in a good hour's rest between the end of the 200 meter time trials and this. Did a bit of practice this week on the standing starts, my peak power consistently was about fifteen percent less than a sprint with a rolling start. Maybe need to work on that more next year. Got on top of the gear in the middle of the backstretch, a bit before I expected and just got ready for the pain, and was wheezing for the last two laps of the ride. Set a personal best one minute power and a personal best time of 1:17 and change which was barely good enough for second in the 40-44 group.

T: 1:16 ( the SRM only starts recording after the first revolution of the cranks so first second plus is missing )
S: 47.8
C: 114
H: 185
Pavg: 7.5 w/kg

Thursday Night Racing at Hellyer 10 August 2006

Cat 3 Omnium
Field: 9
Teammates: Jun

Had to scramble just before the start to find a rear wheel for Nick since he noticed his had a broken spoke, could not find one with the cog he wanted so let him borrow my old Specialized trispoke. His current wheel must really suck because he said he felt like he was flying with the trispoke.

10 lap tempo:
The field was strung out pretty right away. After four laps found myself near the front three and felt the field was slowing so I attacked and got a small gap and was off the front for two laps. I was about to get caught when Jun countered and got a big gap so I was able to just sit on the front and sprint for second on the next lap and then folks passed me to attempt to chase down Jun. This chase went on until the end of the race so Jun was able to get enough points to win but we caught him on the front straight so I had to sprint and got second behind Nick on the final sprint for second overall.
T: 4:32
S: 45.2
P: 344
H: 183
C: 108

Someone from Olympic jumped at the gun and I chased and got on his wheel after a lap and he gave up. I gave it a go and had the whole field on me so I gave up after a lap but no one wanted to get in front of me so I sat near the front at tempo for a couple more laps. Just as it was my turn again to pull, I could see Nick accelerate from the rail, I was standing and considered jumping harder but I saw someone shadowing me so I figured I would let Nick go and see what happened. Nick stayed away until the very end. With three to go, the tall Specialized rider jumped hard, it took me a half lap to close and I sat in to recover. I spent a little too long getting comfortable because on the last lap when we were only about twenty meters behind Nick just as I was going to pull out into the lane to sprint I heard someone yell stay so I just paused a bit and let folks pass me. Coulda, woulda shoulda, got sixth and no points.
10 lap scratch:
T: 4:43
S: 42.9
P: 310
H: 183
C: 102

Since there were only eight riders left for the miss and out, the longest the race would be is seven laps - unless a rider got confused and did not pull out. I thought I could stay on the front for that long. What I did not count on was being neutralized twice so I had to be on the front for nine laps. I went straight from the back to the front during the start, jumped at the start whistle and settled into a pace I could maintain for seven laps. The one mistake I sometimes make is easing up too much so I concentrated on working hard, especially into the headwind section and the uphill part. A few times I could hear someone accelerating to attempt to get in front so I, too, would accelerate just a bit, and having the advantage of less distance to cover, managed to hold off everyone attempting to pass me until we got the bell lap for the final lap. I could hear the other two riders stand up and accelerate on the backstretch behind me so I attempted to sprint but had nothing left and came in third.
Miss and Out:
T: 4:44
S: 40.9
P: 323
H: 186
C: 98

Got third of nine(?) in the cat 3 omnium.

Was in the pack for the first ten laps, when the bell rang for the first sprint, the cat 2 rider in front me let a gap open, Jun was able to close it, but I could not hold his wheel and died a slow death. The two riders off the front, jandy and p-dizzle ( I don't make up these nicknames, I just report them), soon caught me and I just sat in behind them and made it back to the pack by wheelsucking for ten laps, this was much easier than working solo. Then there was another bell and I was dropped like a rock. I lost five laps in the next thirty laps to the lead group, just could not hang with them at all after the beginning of the race, but got in a good long effort.
50 lap points all hands race:
T: 23:02
S: 40.8
H: 176
C: 97
Pavg: 249
Pnorm: 262

Hellyer sprints and TTs 16 July

Don't get to ride as much as I would like at the track so I did the afternoon Hellyer sprint/TT day even though my preparation for this was to have 1200 TSS in the preceding seven days with a 300 TSS ride on the prior day and 130 TSS in the morning. (100 TSS is the equivalent stress on the body of doing a single one hour all out time trial.) Had to be at the track anyways to assist Steve during the junior portion but Kevin Worley and Richard Brockie kindly took on most of our normal junior training duties. On the other side of the ledger was that I never really got any good sprints in since last Thursday so the optimist in me hoped for something better today.

Switched to the ghetto disk wheel with the plastic cover and Michelin Pro Race 2 tires with 50x15 gearing.

200 meter flying time trial:

Slowest time for me this year, but ballpark timewise to other efforts, and a super low peak power, so got the most out of what I had. One of our juniors is now within one second so I better watch out for him next year!
T:13.55 seconds
C:126
Pavg:664
S:52.9


500 meter time trial:
Technically only women and men over age 50 and under age 17 have the 500 meter time trial as an event but I know that the 1 kilometer event targets my weakness as a cyclist so there's no real point in me doing a 1 kilometer time trial, the 500 is closer to a timed effort that I might do OK at and my only other timed 500 meter was at ADT when I was doing a kilo and I heard Roger say 38 for my first half split. I also am too lazy to bring both a time trial bike for the kilo and a sprint bike to the track. Weird thing is my average power over 38 seconds and 14 seconds is about the same.

T:40.1 seconds
C:114
Pavg:640
S:47.5

Hellyer Friday Night 14 July

Cat 3
Field:10 riders?
Teammates: Jun, Erik, SteveO
Came in with really sore legs from a different taper on Thursday with a mix of L5/L6/L7 efforts, will probably cut out the L6 next time cause that really hurt in all sorts of ways. Did not do any good L7/sprint efforts during the racing, though got in a few good L6, L5, L4 so somehow managed to lose my high end snap without changing my aerobic/anaerobic performance. On the plus side I remembered to bring some coffee. Slightly different mix of riders with the absence of Jon and Brian and addition of the Arizona rider and Jun. It seems that with Brian and Jon out, everyone else is more equally matched, and that really changed the dynamics of the racing, though I think the Arizona rider won two of three events.

8 Lap win and out:
Tried a initial effort and ended up dragging the field around for two laps, rested for one, and tried again and dragged the field around for two laps. Felt like I did not get good jumps but the overall effort for the race was pretty good. Then waited for the end game. Got on the front and started upping the tempo with two and a half to go when the Arizona rider jumped, no one responded, and that really was the end of the race for first. Bided my time until the last bell when I could see four riders ahead, and two gave up. Mary was on my wheel so I just tried to razor her and just edged her out for fifth.
5/10
T: 5:04
S: 42.3
C: 101
H: 181
Pavg: 320
Pnorm: 342

Miss and out:
Since the Masters were cut and they were running ahead of schedule, they told us every other lap a rider would be pulled after the bell was rung to make our race last longer. At the very beginning Elliot and I were vying for position to go over the top of the pack. I could only manage a weak sprint to attempt to box him in but he was able to overpower me and pass first. As I was coming into the finish line I could see the only two riders I could possibly eliminate were Jun and Erik so I soft pedaled to save the effort for another race. Erik was able to score points so that was good, and Mary put in an inspired effort to win.
T: 1:03
S: 38.3
C: 91
H: 170
P: 397

10 Lap point a lap:
This was competitive for everyone in the field as it seemed riders would gap the pack but only by a little bit and we would drag people back. With 4 to go I attacked after a sprint and got about a third of lap lead on the pack. I was able to get three points uncontested and then had to work hard for the 1 to go sprint but the Arizona guy and Elliot easily caught me on the last lap, and Mary nipped me on the line.
2/10
T: 5:00
S: 43.5
C: 104
H: 182
Pavg: 318
Pnorm: 337

40 lap all hands points race:
Field:23
Additional teammates: Rick Adams, Jim Ryan
I could see a teammate (varying) in a break of four to six riders for the first 25 laps of the race so I was content to hang in the back as there was never enough horsepower for a break to lap the field. With 15 to go the pack was about to catch the last break so I worked my way up to near the front. Another teammate attacked for this sprint, didn't really want to contest this against them, so then with 12 to go I slipped in front of Jim and signalled for him to follow and was able to lead him out for the 10 to go sprint but he cramped ( did not know it at the time), still he squeezed out a fourth. We hooked up again with 4 to go, and I signalled Jim again as I passed him. Unfortunately his cramp really started acting up and he was not able to follow to the end but I gave a nice leadout to Giovanni and Gen! :)
T: 18:23
S: 43.2
C: 102
H: 179
Pavg: 227
Pnorm: 266

4/10