Sleepy Hollow Wednesdays

There is a good write-up on the Nensa website about the Wednesday night race series at Sleepy Hollow. I've been a regular for a couple of years now and its great to see such good turn out this season so far.

http://www.nensa.net/news/index.php?id=3813

And the Winter Season begins

Another Bolton Season opener is in the books. I managed a solid 6th place finish. My hope was for a top 5 to start the year - and I was close. The course was mucho hard. Start heading straight up World Cup loop - down onto Broadway and down around Teardrop - then back up Broadway, around the Pond - right into a second lap of the same (pain).

I definitely felt fit, but definitely felt sloppy. Eli took a solid win and looked good. I've got to get training with him more over the next couple weeks. Get the pain train moving in the right direction.

In International news, Tim Burke - from over in Saranac Lake - is the #1 ranked biathlete in the world currently...No big deal? Wrong! HUGE friggin' deal.

On the home front - I skied the new Salomon Equipe 10 skate skis for the first time. They glide very, very well. I definitely had more speed than most on the downhills. I hadn't really spent any time training on them yet though and forgot how different skis can handle differently. Climbing on them didn't feel quite natural until about 15 minute into my cool down. Lesson learned.

My sister (hostess), Helen (timing guru), and Damian Bolduc (club organizer) did an awesome job putting on the Bolton opener with all the other volunteers. An interesting sighting for me was seeing Matt White - of cyclocross fame - at the race. Matt and I have had many enjoyable battles on the road bikes, when I was with CCB and he was with FiordiFrutta. He was giving the nordic ski racing thing a go - had some equipment problems - but I hope I keep seeing him out there.

It was cool to see Stratton skier Skyler Davis win the opening Eastern Cup of the year up in Maine this weekend. It looks like he crushed the field in the skate sprint. We helped him get some boot issues worked out this fall at the Skirack for an ankle that was giving him trouble. Its good to see the boots are working - the lad is strong.

On the trainer, I've been mostly been rocking out to Grace Potter. That song Mastermind is awesome.

Get out and ski.

Fall Training - Smooth is the word

Hey gang - so the word I would use to best describe this past falls training is smooth. Things have actually gone very well - good weather, no injuries, and I have a good feeling going into the winter's x-c ski race season. The only bump was when I found out Alpina wasn't going to be supporting a ski team this season - but I was able to connect with Salomon and am really excited about racing with their new equipment. So, things stayed smooth. Salomon has actually created some ridiculous new boots in the S-lab Pro. Check 'em out.

The last race of the bike season was the Boston Criterium - where my teammate Clayton "Big-Show" Barrows went on a $100 bill vision-quest and won all sorts of money - which definitely made paying the bills in the fall a bit easier. So, once again, thanks Clayton! I'm riding again next year with Empire Cycling - and promised Clayton I'd finally make him some money.

After that race, I listened to Helen's sage advice and took a week completely devoid of exercise - as much as it pained me. It was a good choice though, and something I mistakenly didn't do last year. As a result I've had good energy and motivation this fall for training.

I've been basically doing the standard stuff - rollerskiing, running, strength exercises, and riding the bike. I've actually been able to ride more this fall because its been reasonably warm. I even made a pass over App Gap in November with Steve Francisco. With rollerskiing I've been mostly getting out a couple days a week with Eli Enman. I really enjoy training with Eli and hopefully I can race more with Eli this season (at the front of the pack, drilling it).

I was able to get together one weekend with my Alpina teammate from last year, David Cahill, for some great training. We did a time trial up Honey Hollow, which UVM uses, and that went very, very well. Helen and I are going to head out to Wisconsin this winter to race the Birkie and David (a Birkie vet) is helping us figure our travel and lodging arrangements, which I really appreciate.

The highlight of the fall training was easily Helen & Jake's Gourmet Training Camp at the Equinox Resort in Manchester, VT. Over the summer I had a good day at the Equinox Hill Climb and ended up winning. The winning prize was a full weekends stay and accommodation at the resort. Helen and I used the stay over Halloween weekend and we made the most of it - taking in some seriously plush rest and relaxation, but also some great long run/hike training in the mountains around Manchester. You'll be seeing me at more of the hillclimb races in 2010 that have bed and breakfast or resort/spa prizes. I'm a fan.

On the home front Helen and I were really able to get settled into our house in Winooski once the fall came around. The house is in a great location and is very comfortable now that everything is settled. We even hosted the famous "elastic waist band" dinner just last weekend - which strangely has become a who's-who of 20 and 30 something x-c ski people. So, needless to say lots of food was eaten and sizeable amount of beer and wine was enjoyed. Yay elastic waist bands.

Here's a smorgasbord of fall pictures..

Helen relaxing in the back room

The view from the top of Bromley
Oh, yeah - I did the Westford Turkey trot. Cruising with Binney Mitchell.
The view up the Lye Brook waterfall.

We were running all over the mountains.

Helen's Fitting

Just about 2 weeks ago Helen came down to the Skirack with her trusty Cannondale Caad5 road bike (named Brendon) and did some fitting with with Sean. Helen has had some feet and saddle issues that were similar but different from my troubles. She had saddle pressure - but it affected her by not allowing her hips to rotate forward. This would force her to point the nose of her saddle down and cause her to try and strain to sit upright to keep the pressure off of sensitive areas. Because the nose of her saddle was pointed down though, she had a lot of pressure on her hands and arms.

Helen has a pretty stable foot, unlike mine, so she doesn't need a lot of arch support. She has occasionally gotten numb toes though from riding. It hasn't been a major issue for her, but a regular minor annoyance.

The first thing Sean and Helen looked at was the saddle choice and positioning. Helen had her eye of a Specialized women's saddle called the Jett. Sean agreed it would be a good choice and helped her pick out the right width (saddle comes in 130mm, 143mm, 155mm widths). Helen went with the 143mm. She had been using a Selle Italia Flite Gel, with the nose angled way down. When they put the Jett saddle on, they put it flat and Helen's hips nicely rotated with no pressure or discomfort. Sean helped set the height and fore/aft positioning just right. Helen also got immediate improvement in her hands and arms because they were no longer having to support so much of her weight. She was actually able to rotate her handlebars down and have better positioning in all three handlebar positions (tops, flats, drops). Successes!

Sean then looked at Helen's knee tracking and asked her about the foot comfort. Upon looking at her feet and arches - he had her try the Specialized BG footbeds. Not the highly supportive green ones like I've been using, but the slightly lower arched blue ones. They still have metatarsal support though, which helped even out the pressure in Helen's shoes. Helen's knees naturally track pretty well, but the footbeds did actually help make them just perfect. Successes again.

Given that it is November, Helen is mostly running and strength training, but don't be surprised if you see a cute little girl on a green Cannondale saying hi and waving at you as she flies past you up a climb next summer.

Hot Tracks on the Trainer

So, its getting cold out and the time-change has happened - meaning its cold and dark - meaning its the time of the year where I start getting on the trainer. Unlike many, I don't mind the trainer that much. I've even been known to enjoy it. That's right, I used the "e" word in reference to the trainer - Enjoy.

This is all assuming one hugely important factor - some good tunes bumping. I am without Ipod myself - being a 90's guy and all - so, I'm at the mercy of Helen's Ipod. Thankfully, as I've explored it I've found mercy, some hot tracks, and some steady beats. Here are some I've been pedaling to lately:

Sam Sparro - Black and Gold

Beyonce - Crazy in Love

Judas Priest - You've Got Another Thing Coming

The Natural - The Natural

Shakira - Whenever, Wherever

Moby - In This World

What are you jamming out to?

Snow's ah comin'!

2 Unsolicited Endorsements

So, this past season I struggled with my position/comfort on the bike. I was sitting twisted and never pedaling quite with 100% efficiency or muscle use. Granted, I've been racing for a couple years now, and ought to be able to not have those sort of stupid problems. I had switched a lot of equipment though in moving to the Empire Cycling team - new pedals, new shoes, new frame, etc.

Well, now that the season is over I went into full tinkering mode. Late in the summer I saw two products that caught my attention that I wanted to try. Both of them would not have been products I would have sought out unless I randomly happened upon them. The first was the Specialized BG footbeds. These are the aftermarket footbeds that Specialized makes specific for cycling. I'd seen them before but had disregarded them because honestly at first sight they didn't look much different than a cheap stock insole. Compared to a Superfeet or Aline insole, which have a plastic body, the foam construction of the Specialized BG and its minimal heel looked cheap to me. Boy was I wrong.

Well, I started working at the Skirack again part time in mid-August and got a chance to put my foot on one of the Specialized Green insoles (most support) and was really surprised. The low heel and substantial metatarsal support has really helped my foot. Believe it or not, I'm pedaling without any cant shims for the first time in 4 years - I've found a footbed that supports my foot on its own. Also, my Northwave shoes - which I've liked all year (stiff soles/nice materials), but have battled with fit a little bit - they fit perfectly now. Couldn't be happier.

A couple weeks after seeing the footbeds I happened upon the WTB saddle. There was a Giant mt. bike that was in the service shopped getting worked on. The saddle on the bike caught my eye as an interesting shape. Later in the day, after the bike had gotten serviced, I went over and hopped on the bike to check out the seat. I was wearing jeans, and even so the saddle felt amazingly good. Certainly worlds better than my Arione even with my nice Northwave shorts. I didn't feel pressure anywhere undesirable and I didn't have to twist my hips to get myself stable on the seat.

I went home that night and hit the internet to get more info on this mystery seat. Its the WTB Silverado - a new model just a couple years ago. WTB is obviously focused as a mt. bike company, but it amazed me that I'd never seen this seat on any road bikes. Obviously some people have used it on their road bikes, but I'd never seen or heard of it myself, and I consider myself to be somewhat in the loop. So, WTB - MARKET THIS SADDLE BETTER!

I made a before and after trip to the ever enjoyable Eric and Andy up at Green Mt. Rehab to see what the Computrainer had to say about the equipment changes. For the same heart rate, 135bpm, I was up about 45-50 watts immediately. I love technology...but not as much as you, you see.

On a side note, I've gotten out roller skiing 3 days so far with Eli, and I've been using the BG footbeds in my nordic boots as well, and very happy using them there as well.

Quote of the Week

"I know its an unreasonable request - but Dad, my passion for skiing is unreasonable!"

-Overheard at the Skirack