Damn Those Skinny Kids

I've said it once, and I'll say it again... POWER TO WEIGHT RATIO! This was the BIGGEST downfall I've had in my previous years of racing. I had the power, but the weight thing was out of hand. I've heard a few times that endurance racers can eat what they want since they burn so many calories; well tell that to my body because that wasn't working! Doesn't help that I have the uncanny ability to eat like a 400 lbs man. Seriously, if I wasn't trying to be a professional endurance mountain biker I'd be a professional eater. It wasn't until I started logging my calorie intake that I really started to shed a lot of pounds. In fact, it wasn't until I lost the weight that I realized just how heavy I was. I wasn't even this skinny in high school! Looking at my training logs from just a month or two back, I'm already seeing huge gains in performance. I've come to the cold hard fact that if you want to be as fast as the skinny kids then you have to become a skinny kid yourself. Only downfall is having to shop for new clothes. At least size small seems to always be on clearance.

Big Changes For 2012

Many elements have gone into my training for 2012. The first improvement for 2012 started in fall 2011 with the purchase of a cyclocross bike. I raced from September to December in cyclocross races. This is a huge improvement from the previous fall of not riding for three months. Once CX season was done I turned the cyclocross bike into a road bike and decided to do more of my high intensity training on the road. This is another huge improvement from 2011 were I did most training rides that are best done on the road on dirt instead which caused me to have less than optimal training sessions. My recovery in 2011 was less than great as well. I would go too hard on days that I should of taken it easy which translated to tired legs when I needed to excel on hard training days. Another big part of recovery that I lacked in 2011 was taking better care of my legs. For 2012 I purchased a foam roller. The foam roller along with massage and stretching regularly has kept my legs fresher than they have ever felt. Power to weight ratio in 2011 was not even close to par with other racers. Losing quite a bit of weight already, I can feel the power gain on climbs. A few more pounds and I'll be at the perfect power to weight ratio for myself. Another area that needed some pounds dropped was on the race bike. I bought a new wheelset and dropped 2.4 pounds which is 4.8 pounds of rotational weight. Hopefully all these elements translate to a season of top place finishes in 2012.

First Blog!

For my very first blog post let me tell you a little bit about myself and the reason for this blog. I started riding mountain bikes in 2005 and started racing in 2008. Every year since I started racing mountain bikes I have gotten a little more serious about racing each year. My first year in Colorado in 2010 I hit the ground running by switching from XC racing in the Midwest to an endurance racing in Rocky Mountains. The first year of endurance was a lot of trial and error with nutrition during races, adjustments to the bike, getting used to the long hours of training, etc. The second year went much smoother and I was able to nail down a good on bike nutrition plan, but I still had a lot of room for improvement. 2012 needs to be the year I make huge gains in order for me to live out my dream of one day being a professional endurance mountain biker. This blog is about my journey along the way to obtaining my dream and is dedicated to my passion of endurance mountain bike racing.