US Nationals wrap up

The last race of the week was the most important of the season for myself. The Time Trial represented the qualifier for the World Championship team. The Road Race title was a nice result two days prior but the week would be a failure if I didn't show up and put in a solid time on the Time Trial course.

During warm ups I tangled up with a teammate and hit the deck rather hard. I landed on my weak side, immediately my leg went numb and I was worried that I wouldn't even be able to start the race. At that point there was about twenty minutes to shake off the trauma and get the bike back to working properly. At the start line there was a welt growing but the mind was calm and the routine of racing brought me some peace of mind.

In the first few Kilometers I knew that my legs weren't firing so the race quickly became a show of will power. Several times the question of how bad I wanted to win was answered by a renewed focus to grit it out. Towards the end of the race I was in rough shape. My eyes were closing, legs were screaming and a part of my mind was asking why I even do this sport.

The results came back with good news. A silver medal at the 2010 US National Championships and a spot on the World Championship team.

This past month yielded a Road Race National Title, A Sliver Medal in the Time Trail as well as a podium position at the UCI Para-Cycling World Cup held in Spain a few ago.

A medal of every color. Not too shabby.

Up next, US Track National Championships in Colorado Springs at the end of July.

US Nationals

I'm coming off a podium position at the Para-Cycling World Cup with a fistful of confidence. This week being US Nationals I'm thrilled of how I raced in Spain and how my form is coming into this event.

This week has three National titles up for grabs. Road Race, Crit and Time Trial titles. Yesterday I raced in the Road Race within the C1-3 Classification. The new structuring of the Paralympic Classifications has benefited me compared to the last several years where I was racing athletes that were far less impaired than myself.

The race was shortened to 40 km. Far shorter than the usually 65 km. The race began slowly with people trying to conserve energy for the upcoming Time Trial. Halfway through I began to make a few jumps to see where I stood within the group. I felt strong with how my legs were and how the group responded. With 2 laps to go I made a counter attack which cut the group to just myself and another rider. We worked together until the last lap. I attacked on the final climb with full intention. This made the split I was looking for and I rolled in at a TT pace to Claim my first ever road Title and three National Title of my career!

Up next is the Crit and on thursday is the Time Trial/Worlds Team Qualifier.

Road Race

The Road Race is always a crap shoot but the one thing that is required is great fitness, the ability to handle repeated near max efforts and dig deep and suffer like a dog.
I will say that I suffered like a dog. From the first meter to the last it was full gas. The Spainish had 5 riders which made up the biggest team at the start line. In truth even though 34 riders rolled up to the start only 13 were within my disability class. We all race together but the scoring is broken down within the different claases. To be able to descriminate the riders in each class, each class wore a different colored helmet.
The Spainish jumped off the gun hoping to break up the race immediately. They successed easily. I made the front selection but only for a lap. Going over several climb I lost contact due to lack of power and a poor line around a tight bend.
I was forced to chase solo for a lap. During my Time Trial lap, I had an ex Tour De france Stage Winner in front of me chasing solo as well. I was close 50 meters but never found his wheel. I joined a chase group that were rolling up on me.
I finished with the chase group ending up 12th overall and 6th in my class.
I spun home from the course alone thinking about how I was shelled so quickly and pondering what needs to happen to have the juice to stay with the big guns.
Nothing came to mind except to train like a madman once I get back home.

waiting to go fast

This year started slowly compared to previous ones. For one I struggled with motivation and then balancing a busy workload with my training. But as Spring brings life to all things so it with my desire to be fast. Month after month, I slowly ramped up my efforts and fine tuned my body into a vehicle to move forward. With each month that passed my body reached greater heights of fitness and speed. Each day is a puzzle to piece together the time to work, train and even spend some time with my wife. Rarely does my daily life involve inactive peaceful moments.
I;m now in a hotel room in Central Spain at an event that I've trained all year for and I'm stuck waiting to go fast. My coach tells me and I know it as fact, that sitting around watching euro sport is just the thing that will make me that % faster.
For a lifestyle that is always in motion the change of speed is trying.
Winning will blur the days of laying in this bed real quick. I hope to be in a blur tomorrow evening.

Impressions of Spain

My team and I are staying the Spainish Village of Sergovia. The selling point of the village is a true Roman Acuaduct that was built in the last 1st century. Impressive in person but even more so when you know the history. The orginal town square and it´s church is again a trip back in history.
I haven´t been outside except for a few spins on the bike. Yesterday, we rode the Road Race course and left with the impression that I´m going to have to be on my game in order to fight for a high placing. The course offers wind, hills, tight euro village roads that will bring about an aggressive race.
These past few days have allowed me the time to rest which is something I rarely have back home. Yes, I can say that I´m bored but in a way it´s a nice change. I sit around watching eurosport and chatting with the other athletes. It´s always fun to see the athletes. We talk about previous travels and theorize the upcoming races.
Later today I´ll be seeing the rest of my team show up and then Team USA will be complete. I race friday and again on Sunday.

Prepping and packing for World Cup #1

The First Paralympic World Cup is scheduled for next week outside of Madrid Spain. A world Cup series is new to Para-Cycling. This marks another step foward for a sport that is evolving by leaps and bounds each year. These World Cup races along the World Championships and smaller international events offer myself and my team more oppurtunities to race with the best cyclists in the World.
Even though this is my first Paralympic Race of the year I have been racing regionally for the past several months. The benefit of living in Colorado Springs is that I can go head to head with some of the nations best on a weekly if not daily basis. I often will link up with another cyclist or tiathlete from the Olympic Center who can push me that much further. As many of you know, training is a science of fine tuning you body to be at your absolute fastest at the times it's needed. I work with my long time coach - CTS Coach Tom Murphy - to ramp up my training from endurance building in the winter and spring to a higher degree of intensity that will be needed in races like the one I'll be at next week. Tom has been with me since 2004 and over that length of time he has learned how I respond to different training stratagies. Our relationship has resulted in a training program that is specific to my physical skills. I must say that Tom is the one that has taken me from a local bike racer to being ranked 5th in the world and 2 National Titles.
The days leading up to an oversees trip is always choatic. Balancing work responsibilities and squeezing in crucial last minute workouts can be extremely tiring. Part of training is resting. To make sure that I rest properly and get my other things done is tough. These last few days will include packing two bikes, race wheels, clothing and other needed bike equipment and trying to spend a few minutes with my wife before I leave her for a week.
It may sound like alot and overwhelming at times. Yes, that's true but the thrill of racing and the honor of representing our country in sport is worth all of the stress and demands.
I'll be racing in 3 events while in spain. The races start on the 11th and finish up on the 13th. Two will be road races and the one will be an individual time trial. I expect to be in the mix and fighting for a podium position.

Thanks for reading.
- Mike