One down...

So we had our first "official" race on the weekend... O'Cup #1 at Mansfield... a course that i have always enjoyed but is always tough to race on... there is nothing flat anywhere!!! As i said in my last post... it's always the time of year when you look around and see who's back, who's fit and discover very quickly if your winter program worked....

so... a few new faces... a few lean legs.... and i felt pretty good.... i didn't pre-ride so i wanted to take it a bit easy on the first lap and just sat in... once we started rolling we had a nice group of 5 working at the front... different people taking turns pulling and i felt really strong and smooth in the singletrack... "ok Barnes.... we're doing okay... just pick your time and ride at your pace".... "ok... here we go... nice pull... let's get past these girls.... uh oh..."... so as i'm passing some girls with the train behind me.... one of the girls snubs a root which causes me to dab... and the rider behind me runs into my dereilleur.... nothing intentional but it bends it a bit... and there goes some gear.... 2nd, 3rd and 4th all were skipping as soon as i really pushed on them, so it was "Let's Ride The Singletrack In A Really Big Gear" or "Let's Use The Bottom 2 Gears In The Middle Ring And Spin".... tough to go back and forth and i couldn't really ride like i wanted.... so i let it roll for another couple laps at the front and got it down to just Eric Jobin and I.... he led the last part of the last lap and i couldn't get around him at the top of the rough downhill right at the end.... i tried to sprint but had a hard time accelerating from the hairpin turn in a big gear... 2nd by less than 1sec....

but i was still quite happy with how i felt.... the winter was good to me and i loved how the bike handled.... MAN those things are nice..... i just think i need a few more hard efforts and i'll be good to go for O'Cup #2 at Albion Hills.... can't wait...

Mission Accomplished...

so my goal for the Hell of the North ride was to go hard and bury myself... and that's pretty much what happened. I got into a pretty good group on the long road section in the first half... passed a ton of people along the muddy wet section (loved riding a 'cross bike here - i'm in the middle in the pic) and then rode with Dave Dermont for a while.... until he cracked me on the 8km rail trail section.... lots of gravel, puddles, holes and Dave pushing a big gear... I don't think that i ate properly (is 1 gel enough for 3hrs?) because i couldn't ramp it up once we got back onto the road... so i was alone for a bit before picking up a Jr. rider who fell off the lead group... we tried to stay with Michnick on the last part of the road (hated riding a 'cross bike here) but we caught him on the last bit of trail before finishing on the road... no-one contested the sprint since Michnick had a road bike and i pulled the Jr. rider around for 15km.... all in all it was a good ride... i had a good feel for where my legs were (still in need of high end) but was happy with how i rode... finished up in 7th.... i also am realizing how important Core is to racing.... training is not so bad on the back... but racing can be brutal.... time for some planks, ball and free weights...

First O'Cup is this weekend... always have the feeling of "Did i do enough / the right thing over the winter?"... and it usually takes a couple laps to find that answer... i'll let you know....

Shout out to the rest of the Trek Canada Team as they head over seas for a couple big races....

Tri-Guy....

so... forgot to post this funny story...

so i'm getting some good hours in over march break..... finishing a tempo workout on my winter bike (Trek 6000 - nice ride but weighs about 32lbs with fenders, saddlebag etc).... so i come around a corner with about 6min left in my last block of tempo and there's this triathalete on the side of the road... i roll past with "hey.... everything okay?".... and i get the "keep going" hand wave... "alright... i guess he's just not feeling friendly".... so i keep riding.... and then he passes me.... on his aero bars riding his Cervelo (is there another tri bike out there?) and i say "great day for a ride.... it's nice to have the sun back again".... no response.... hmph..... he keeps riding away.... "hey... i can't let him just let him get away"... so i pick up my pace a little bit.... catch up and pull along side him..... "bzzzzzzz" say my 2.2 super knobby tires beneath my fenders.... i try again...."boy it's nice to get out of the basement and get some sunshine... you been riding long?".... "well uhh... i'm just getting back into it again... been working a lot .... got kids at home... " and a few more excuses..... "well... i'm just finishing some tempo... wanna race to the speed limit sign?"... and i almost beat him.... "ok...i'm done... see you soon!!!"

and then i smile as i see my heartrate never got above 160bpm...

ok... so it wasn't THIS triathalete.... but it still makes me giggle....

The Faster Master Part 3 - Rest

okay.... so i mentioned that i was doing a big volume block over march break... and followed that up with a few short hard rides to hit the top end.... but something that i have learned from coaches, books and experience is the need for REST!!!! as much as it makes us feel fast to pound ourselves into the ground with intervals and tempo rides.... it is the amount of rest that allows our bodies to regenerate and get stronger.... Chris Carmichael says that rest is more important than intensitybecause it allows our minds and bodies to perform at their best. I remember racing elite years ago and wanting to do longer hours before a race because i felt good....and my coach asking me "Will that ride make you faster before the race, or will more rest make you faster?".... okay... more rest.... especially at a Master's age.... we don't recover like we once used to... so making sure that nutrition and sleep are focused around recovery is key. Active recovery.... spending time with the kids, riding bikes around the neighbourhood, hiking etc... is a great way of staying "active" while also helping to flush out lactic acid and soreness from my old bones before getting back at it again....

rest days / weeks also help keep my marriage in tact and remind my kids that "daddy does still exist"...