Train Train Train

Road season started late...and ended early. Track is my focus this year, so I just used the local early season races to get me back in shape after I took my March off-season. Go out with a string of wins, right?!

Mid-May to Mid-July consisted of a lot of this.

Up, down, up, down, up, down with the stop watch. That picture makes it look beautiful, but that is because my snot blends in with the eucalyptus bark.

I like doing intervals, but it can get lonely sometimes, so Wednesdays were always a welcome day. After doing a lot of the above in the morning, a bunch of friends got to bang the final nail in the coffin.

thanks to all the awesome guys at hellyer for making me suffer. especially fergus. (thanks erika kali for the photos)

we got cloth numbers at hellyer this year donated by Jakroo. i chose 330, as that is my ohio area code, and it reminds me of a shirt i always wanted to buy, but never did... "call 330 for a good time." maybe one day i will get it.

i also got to do some open training at hellyer during the week. that mostly consisted of me training and the old sprinters sitting on the picnic benches. you gotta keep your focus even when everyone else is laying around on their 30 minute rests. thankfully on sunday michael would go to the track with me and train with me.

been spending a lot of time trying to get comfortable in the pursuit position. it is so much easier to pedal fast in the mass start bars, but i've been practicing a bunch this year.

we also headed to LA one weekend for some training on the fast track. that was a fun - but quick - trip! as you can see I also got to test out the new 5-spoke Shimano wheel. HOLY CRAP this thing is awesome!!!!

I headed to Trexlertown for a week and a half in June. They were holding some UCI races there, so it was a good opportunity to get some racing and training in. I got tons of good training in, biking to/from the track everyday and doing track workouts and races. I got two second places in the Points Races during my time there, so that was a bit of a bummer, but it was good racing. The facility at Ttown is top-notch and I was definitely jealous of people who get to train and race there regularly. But it also made me impressed at what Hellyer can do on its shoe string budget!

The upside about spending two months focusing on training, is you really get to target some weaknesses and try to improve upon them. The downside is you don't make any prize money at races! Spending long periods of training alone also make me nervous, as I have no barameter knowing how i am going comparatively. Next I am off to Colorado Springs for a Grand Prix and then Team Pursuit Camp , which is an important metric on the path to the Olympics.