running

Michael and I went out to the track last night and I pretty comfortably ran a 7 minute mile, and then pretty uncomfortably ran a 6.25 minute mile. Michael ran a 5:39 or something like that. I think he’s probably shooting for a sub 18 minute 5k tomorrow. I’m shooting for a sub 23, if I’m lucky. I’d like to do a sub 21 in the spring, though.

As for the St. Louis half marathon, if I run a 1:40 I’ll be pretty happy. I never thought I’d become a hardcore runner but all indications point to me running 5 and 10ks and doing triathlons next year plus some cyclocross (got to do cross).

Yikes. I used to mock runners and triathletes.

Above is a photo of my tough wife. She went through 22 hours of labor with Lucy and I’d have to say at this point is way tougher than I am.

running

Michael and I went out to the track last night and I pretty comfortably ran a 7 minute mile, and then pretty uncomfortably ran a 6.25 minute mile. Michael ran a 5:39 or something like that. I think he’s probably shooting for a sub 18 minute 5k tomorrow. I’m shooting for a sub 23, if I’m lucky. I’d like to do a sub 21 in the spring, though.

As for the St. Louis half marathon, if I run a 1:40 I’ll be pretty happy. I never thought I’d become a hardcore runner but all indications point to me running 5 and 10ks and doing triathlons next year plus some cyclocross (got to do cross).

Yikes. I used to mock runners and triathletes.

Above is a photo of my tough wife. She went through 22 hours of labor with Lucy and I’d have to say at this point is way tougher than I am.

update!

I thought I’d update this quickly while I am at work with another photo of my adorable daughter.

First of all, I have to say that I really enjoy what I do. In fact, archives and reference librarianship really do suit my nature as someone tied down, for better or for worse, to the humanities and the arts. It’s all I can really think about doing. Its fun and seems more real to me than being a professor, which was my other option, and which probably wouldn’t have worked out anyway.

I’m training for the St. Louis half marathon currently. This is the first time since I was about 9 that I’ve ever run for an extended period of time without injuring myself. It’s nice.

Later.

update!

I thought I’d update this quickly while I am at work with another photo of my adorable daughter.

First of all, I have to say that I really enjoy what I do. In fact, archives and reference librarianship really do suit my nature as someone tied down, for better or for worse, to the humanities and the arts. It’s all I can really think about doing. Its fun and seems more real to me than being a professor, which was my other option, and which probably wouldn’t have worked out anyway.

I’m training for the St. Louis half marathon currently. This is the first time since I was about 9 that I’ve ever run for an extended period of time without injuring myself. It’s nice.

Later.

Pro/Elite Liberty Cup

I just realized that this is where Josh came in 37th--which is just as an impressive result as 37th in the Elite National Championships. I'm a little confused as to which event served as the national championships, though. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Pro/Elite Liberty Cup

I just realized that this is where Josh came in 37th--which is just as an impressive result as 37th in the Elite National Championships. I'm a little confused as to which event served as the national championships, though. Can anyone shed some light on this?

I'm a slacker

Lucy is doing great! She seems very advanced for her age. I wanted to thank everyone out there for all the kind words and gifts and support over the last month and a half. I have to say that babies are addictive and I would be lying if I said that we haven't thought about the possibility of a sibling for little Lucy . . . . . eventually. No "Irish twin" however.



I also realize that I haven't posted anything very good recently about cycling. Ok. This is what my road bike currently looks like. I need to build a new rear wheel. I actually have a new rim that I intended to build up last season, when I actually was considering doing a full road season. I have been exclusively running the last month, although I do have my trainer set up. My Allez is an aluminum frame from 1999, with cranks from 1997 and "Shimano 600" brakes from 1994! I mean, I have to say that these brakes never wear out, so why even replace them? I guess the rest of the stuff on the bike is from our current millenia.

I also wanted to give a shout-out to fellow BOCOMO resident Josh Johnson, who finished 37th in an Elite National Cyclocross Championship under horrific conditions. He gets better every year, and this was a race where people like Andy Jacques Maynes were dropping like flies.

I'm a slacker

Lucy is doing great! She seems very advanced for her age. I wanted to thank everyone out there for all the kind words and gifts and support over the last month and a half. I have to say that babies are addictive and I would be lying if I said that we haven't thought about the possibility of a sibling for little Lucy . . . . . eventually. No "Irish twin" however.



I also realize that I haven't posted anything very good recently about cycling. Ok. This is what my road bike currently looks like. I need to build a new rear wheel. I actually have a new rim that I intended to build up last season, when I actually was considering doing a full road season. I have been exclusively running the last month, although I do have my trainer set up. My Allez is an aluminum frame from 1999, with cranks from 1997 and "Shimano 600" brakes from 1994! I mean, I have to say that these brakes never wear out, so why even replace them? I guess the rest of the stuff on the bike is from our current millenia.

I also wanted to give a shout-out to fellow BOCOMO resident Josh Johnson, who finished 37th in an Elite National Cyclocross Championship under horrific conditions. He gets better every year, and this was a race where people like Andy Jacques Maynes were dropping like flies.

The bar has just been raised

My good friend the Reverend (Dean Hargett) is quickly becoming a stellar 'cross racer. I've GOT to do a full cx season next year, the last one was 2003 when I think I did 5 races and the State Championships. I did States last year, but I think I lasted 2 or 3 laps. Butthead also supplied free Bully Porter, it was pretty cool.

I then proceeded to hang out with Eric Metzdorf and greenbeans in the cold damp rain to watch Brad Huff on a road bike with road tires almost take the Bronze medal in the Elite race. Incredible.

The bar has just been raised

My good friend the Reverend (Dean Hargett) is quickly becoming a stellar 'cross racer. I've GOT to do a full cx season next year, the last one was 2003 when I think I did 5 races and the State Championships. I did States last year, but I think I lasted 2 or 3 laps. Butthead also supplied free Bully Porter, it was pretty cool.

I then proceeded to hang out with Eric Metzdorf and greenbeans in the cold damp rain to watch Brad Huff on a road bike with road tires almost take the Bronze medal in the Elite race. Incredible.

Philly Marathon

My brother, Michael, did the Philadelphia Marathon again yesterday. He was shooting for sub 3:10 but blew at mile 20 and didn’t hit his PR. I feel bad for him, he’s worked really hard to get this PR, but then again he probably wants to run again without his IT band exploding. Apparently, his knee is very swollen today. I think that’s what really did him in during that last 6 miles, knee problems. This problem is also related to an ankle injury that happened almost 20 years ago, from what I’ve heard. Its weird how all that stuff is interrelated. I think it’s pretty brave just to enter a marathon . . . . . kudos to my bro for giving it another shot!

If I can keep running injury free I'm planning on doing the St. Louis half marathon next year--Michael's probably flying in to do the full marathon, also.

Philly Marathon

My brother, Michael, did the Philadelphia Marathon again yesterday. He was shooting for sub 3:10 but blew at mile 20 and didn’t hit his PR. I feel bad for him, he’s worked really hard to get this PR, but then again he probably wants to run again without his IT band exploding. Apparently, his knee is very swollen today. I think that’s what really did him in during that last 6 miles, knee problems. This problem is also related to an ankle injury that happened almost 20 years ago, from what I’ve heard. Its weird how all that stuff is interrelated. I think it’s pretty brave just to enter a marathon . . . . . kudos to my bro for giving it another shot!

If I can keep running injury free I'm planning on doing the St. Louis half marathon next year--Michael's probably flying in to do the full marathon, also.

Hmmm

Lucy in a rare restful moment (last week). Man she's cute! She's perfect, actually.
Nevertheless, my contingency plans for having a newborn are beginning to set in. Don't want to scare those of you who are thinking about having kids, but let's just say that I'm glad we are in the off season right now so that I can devote my full time to Lucy, who although wonderful is a handful.

My contingency plans, as I mentioned in my previous post, have to do with setting aside cyclocross season and concentrating on running at the moment. This may be the break from cycling that I've been looking for, in fact. I may come back next year very refreshed.

Babies come in all temperaments, Lucy just tends to be pretty active, and needs a lot of holding and reassuring. I don't want to call her a "high need" or "fussy" baby because those just seem sort of negative terms. She's just bright and active and seems alternately mad that she's out of the comforts of the womb, and at the same time thinking "why the hell can't I talk and walk like these other people around me?" She has a strong personality, which is actually incredibly cool to see.

The four hour crying jags, however, are difficult. At that point you are, like, "I must be the only person in the world who's ever dealt with this before." Frazzled at that point is an understatement.

Hmmm

Lucy in a rare restful moment (last week). Man she's cute! She's perfect, actually.
Nevertheless, my contingency plans for having a newborn are beginning to set in. Don't want to scare those of you who are thinking about having kids, but let's just say that I'm glad we are in the off season right now so that I can devote my full time to Lucy, who although wonderful is a handful.

My contingency plans, as I mentioned in my previous post, have to do with setting aside cyclocross season and concentrating on running at the moment. This may be the break from cycling that I've been looking for, in fact. I may come back next year very refreshed.

Babies come in all temperaments, Lucy just tends to be pretty active, and needs a lot of holding and reassuring. I don't want to call her a "high need" or "fussy" baby because those just seem sort of negative terms. She's just bright and active and seems alternately mad that she's out of the comforts of the womb, and at the same time thinking "why the hell can't I talk and walk like these other people around me?" She has a strong personality, which is actually incredibly cool to see.

The four hour crying jags, however, are difficult. At that point you are, like, "I must be the only person in the world who's ever dealt with this before." Frazzled at that point is an understatement.

back at work

Well, just a quick post. I'm incredibly lucky that I'm not sleep deprived because Lucy doesn't cry at night too much. The day is a completely different story however. Breastfeeding is really helping in that regard.

I'm thinking that I will still do the UCI cx race weekend in Kansas City in early December, but then again with the demands of a newborn, I may just concentrate on running 5ks this fall and winter. Newborns take a lot of time--running allows a tremendous bang for you buck. Everyone says that "you will have more time to do stuff" once this first 3 month period is over. Either way, having a baby is way cool.

back at work

Well, just a quick post. I'm incredibly lucky that I'm not sleep deprived because Lucy doesn't cry at night too much. The day is a completely different story however. Breastfeeding is really helping in that regard.

I'm thinking that I will still do the UCI cx race weekend in Kansas City in early December, but then again with the demands of a newborn, I may just concentrate on running 5ks this fall and winter. Newborns take a lot of time--running allows a tremendous bang for you buck. Everyone says that "you will have more time to do stuff" once this first 3 month period is over. Either way, having a baby is way cool.

Some more photos

Some more photos

Lucy Smith!

Here's Lucy throwin signs to her homies down
at Boone County Post Partum.











Also, Lucy chillin with G'ma Johnson at 48 hours old

Lucy Smith!

Here's Lucy throwin signs to her homies down
at Boone County Post Partum.











Also, Lucy chillin with G'ma Johnson at 48 hours old

Something I learned today

I'm not talking about the first track on "Zen Arcade." I'm talking about the fact that most first pregnancies go close to 42 weeks, which is something that Kelly and I are experiencing at the moment. In fact, up to 42 weeks is actually still considered "normal." With first time Dad jitters and everything I was freaking out last week, but I'm a lot better this week. If it goes over 42 weeks that will be time to have some concern. Part of me just really wants to meet our little girl more that anything else in the world, and the anticipation is the most difficult part.

I rode three times this weekend (two road rides, a cx ride and a trail run). Exercising obsessively is a good thing at this point. Now I just wish my cravings for tobacco would go away (which always happens to me in times of great stress.) I can't cave into those cravings. Can I?
Reverend, can I buy some Drum?

Something I learned today

I'm not talking about the first track on "Zen Arcade." I'm talking about the fact that most first pregnancies go close to 42 weeks, which is something that Kelly and I are experiencing at the moment. In fact, up to 42 weeks is actually still considered "normal." With first time Dad jitters and everything I was freaking out last week, but I'm a lot better this week. If it goes over 42 weeks that will be time to have some concern. Part of me just really wants to meet our little girl more that anything else in the world, and the anticipation is the most difficult part.

I rode three times this weekend (two road rides, a cx ride and a trail run). Exercising obsessively is a good thing at this point. Now I just wish my cravings for tobacco would go away (which always happens to me in times of great stress.) I can't cave into those cravings. Can I?
Reverend, can I buy some Drum?

I was just thinking

That about 17 years ago to this day I bought my first Sonic Youth album as well as decided to stop racing my bike, a decision that would last for 6 years and involve much, much travelling and dissipation.

On the first matter, the album I bought was "Sister" and I still believe that it is their greatest singular effort put to vinyl.

The second matter had involved a half-hearted attempt at racing in 1988, a fateful recruitment phone conversation with Jim Schneider (who would take Kevin Livingston and others to such great heights) during which I pretty much said I was quitting cycling, plus a discovery of pot and beer, not necessarily in that order. I just wonder, if I'd ridden for the Spirits in 1988 and '89 and lived somewhere other than the most rural corner of Northeast Missouri, what might have happened?

For some reason, though, I remember "quitting" in late October, I mean just putting the gauntlet down and saying that, yes I will play drums for "Roadside Spam Kill" perhaps the worst Talking Heads cover band to ever come out of Kirksville Missouri, and no I never want to ride my bike again.

I was just thinking

That about 17 years ago to this day I bought my first Sonic Youth album as well as decided to stop racing my bike, a decision that would last for 6 years and involve much, much travelling and dissipation.

On the first matter, the album I bought was "Sister" and I still believe that it is their greatest singular effort put to vinyl.

The second matter had involved a half-hearted attempt at racing in 1988, a fateful recruitment phone conversation with Jim Schneider (who would take Kevin Livingston and others to such great heights) during which I pretty much said I was quitting cycling, plus a discovery of pot and beer, not necessarily in that order. I just wonder, if I'd ridden for the Spirits in 1988 and '89 and lived somewhere other than the most rural corner of Northeast Missouri, what might have happened?

For some reason, though, I remember "quitting" in late October, I mean just putting the gauntlet down and saying that, yes I will play drums for "Roadside Spam Kill" perhaps the worst Talking Heads cover band to ever come out of Kirksville Missouri, and no I never want to ride my bike again.

Still not a Dad yet

This waiting is killing us. 24 hours and she'll be late. I really hope that its the weekend.

Did the Josh Johnson led Grindstone cross practice and we are now seeing more and more people come out to this. Cyclocross is such a blast, its the experience of going super hard on a road bike without worrying about traffic, and doing killer jumps off berms and stuff. As you can see I caught big air yesterday:

Still not a Dad yet

This waiting is killing us. 24 hours and she'll be late. I really hope that its the weekend.

Did the Josh Johnson led Grindstone cross practice and we are now seeing more and more people come out to this. Cyclocross is such a blast, its the experience of going super hard on a road bike without worrying about traffic, and doing killer jumps off berms and stuff. As you can see I caught big air yesterday:

St. Louis Cardinals

I realize the probably thousands of people have blogged about this, but I must admit that the most amazing radio moment I've ever experienced was two days ago when Mike Shannon made the call about Pujol's 3 run homer in Houston. I find listening to baseball on the radio cathartic, taking me back to those lazy summers of 1978, or 1981, growing up in Kirksville. Television usually annoys the hell out of me anyway. I really didn't follow the Cards too much during regular season, with a bunch of other things on my mind this summer. I'm following them now.

St. Louis Cardinals

I realize the probably thousands of people have blogged about this, but I must admit that the most amazing radio moment I've ever experienced was two days ago when Mike Shannon made the call about Pujol's 3 run homer in Houston. I find listening to baseball on the radio cathartic, taking me back to those lazy summers of 1978, or 1981, growing up in Kirksville. Television usually annoys the hell out of me anyway. I really didn't follow the Cards too much during regular season, with a bunch of other things on my mind this summer. I'm following them now.

Waiting

7 more days until she is due and pretty much the only thing Kelly and I can think about is the baby.

This picture is me at Bubba cross series last year, before I got all depressed about the results of the Presidential election and the Cardinals losing the World Series and started drinking serious amounts of beer and not riding my bike. I'm tailing at the end there, suffering like a dog. Mike Magnuson, the author of Heft on Wheels and a frequent contributor to Bicycling Magazine is leading me through. When is cross not all about suffering, though?

Waiting

7 more days until she is due and pretty much the only thing Kelly and I can think about is the baby.

This picture is me at Bubba cross series last year, before I got all depressed about the results of the Presidential election and the Cardinals losing the World Series and started drinking serious amounts of beer and not riding my bike. I'm tailing at the end there, suffering like a dog. Mike Magnuson, the author of Heft on Wheels and a frequent contributor to Bicycling Magazine is leading me through. When is cross not all about suffering, though?

More Grindstone Practice

I hate being sick. I have some cold that is making me feel miserable. This, however, didn't keep me from participating in Grindstone Cross practice. Maybe I should have stayed home and rested, because . . . . . . .

I feel really gnarly today. It feels like someone took some dirty rags and stuffed them under my eyeballs and down my throat.

http://www.nigella.com/nigella/gallery.asp?area=11

Also--baby's not here yet. 8 days away from the exact due date, although we really thought she'd come early. Wife and I are so anxious to meet her.

More Grindstone Practice

I hate being sick. I have some cold that is making me feel miserable. This, however, didn't keep me from participating in Grindstone Cross practice. Maybe I should have stayed home and rested, because . . . . . . .

I feel really gnarly today. It feels like someone took some dirty rags and stuffed them under my eyeballs and down my throat.

http://www.nigella.com/nigella/gallery.asp?area=11

Also--baby's not here yet. 8 days away from the exact due date, although we really thought she'd come early. Wife and I are so anxious to meet her.

Is it myth or truth.

Someone told me once, and I'm not sure if it's true or not, that Thomas Frischknecht rode the Olympic Road Race in 1996 in Atlanta on a 'cross bike.

That's almost as cool as greenbeans showing up for a group road ride on his 'cross bike with 'cross tires and pulling the whole way. Or Daverill climbing the backside of Rist Canyon Rd. in his 39-21. Dude, I'm still recovering from that climb.

Bubba Series "freakshow"

Is it myth or truth.

Someone told me once, and I'm not sure if it's true or not, that Thomas Frischknecht rode the Olympic Road Race in 1996 in Atlanta on a 'cross bike.

That's almost as cool as greenbeans showing up for a group road ride on his 'cross bike with 'cross tires and pulling the whole way. Or Daverill climbing the backside of Rist Canyon Rd. in his 39-21. Dude, I'm still recovering from that climb.

Bubba Series "freakshow"

Grindstone practice

Tommorow I go to my first Josh Johnson (aka Butthead) led Grindstone cx practice of the year. What the heck was I thinking not doing this because of the newborn. I should be doing it FOR the newborn, cx is so riteous.

Josh freaking dominated this past weekend, which is pretty cool to see. As far as I know he remains the only Columbia resident to ever have UCI points (with probably more to come this year). The Mid America Cross Cup is becoming a major regional series and these were big wins. I think its tied into and promoted by many of the same people bringing cyclocross nationals to KC in the next couple of years. You better believe I'll be training hard for those events (and maybe I'll get my brother here for a cx race, finally.)

I just want to know, though--can I do the Grindstone practices with a Burley in November? I promise I'll still try to jump the barriers.

Grindstone practice

Tommorow I go to my first Josh Johnson (aka Butthead) led Grindstone cx practice of the year. What the heck was I thinking not doing this because of the newborn. I should be doing it FOR the newborn, cx is so riteous.

Josh freaking dominated this past weekend, which is pretty cool to see. As far as I know he remains the only Columbia resident to ever have UCI points (with probably more to come this year). The Mid America Cross Cup is becoming a major regional series and these were big wins. I think its tied into and promoted by many of the same people bringing cyclocross nationals to KC in the next couple of years. You better believe I'll be training hard for those events (and maybe I'll get my brother here for a cx race, finally.)

I just want to know, though--can I do the Grindstone practices with a Burley in November? I promise I'll still try to jump the barriers.

Where did my blog go?

Ok, I found it.



Cyclocross racing is fun.

Where did my blog go?

Ok, I found it.



Cyclocross racing is fun.

Snake Alley 2003

Coming off a 3 hr. marathon in Philadelphia a half year prior and a strict training program of cross country skiing in the winter, Michael kept the pressure on at Snake Alley until some bad luck and bad timing lost him position in the Cat. 3 race--and he was again one of the last people pulled. It is very hard to say when he or I will ever get back to that race again, but man I've got some good memories of that hill. Dating all the way back to 1986.

Snake Alley 2003

Coming off a 3 hr. marathon in Philadelphia a half year prior and a strict training program of cross country skiing in the winter, Michael kept the pressure on at Snake Alley until some bad luck and bad timing lost him position in the Cat. 3 race--and he was again one of the last people pulled. It is very hard to say when he or I will ever get back to that race again, but man I've got some good memories of that hill. Dating all the way back to 1986.

Some time in the late 1990s

It was a very hot and windy day in the foothills near Golden Colorado. I’d traveled from central Colorado with a Cat 1, former pro to the "Wheels of Thunder" criterium. The course is located on some windswept plateau above Golden. My Cat 1 friend had been to Europe in the 1980s, even raced for La Redoute for a year. The poor guy had to ride in my 1986 Ford Escort all the way down I-70 from Breckenridge to Golden, his 3000 dollar Litespeed hanging from my $50 Rhode Gear bike carrier. The brakes shook and rattled the whole way down. He probably thought he was going to die. I thought we were doing to die. He ended up bailing on me and getting a ride back with someone else. That car was a death trap in the mountains.

So, right before the Category 3 race I drank a gallon of ice cold water, ate a power bar and then my friend offered me some Ginseng Chew. I’m not sure which one of these sealed my fate. I'd just discovered the internet that summer and had spent hours that night before drinking rum and coke, chewing Kodiak, and surfing dubious sites on a roommate's computer. Not altogether to my surprise but to the horror of about 15 guys behind me I spewed the contents of my stomach all over myself and my bike about 2 laps into the race.

I learned some important lessons that day. The most important being is if you are looking at porn on a roommate's computer, delete the history.

Some time in the late 1990s

It was a very hot and windy day in the foothills near Golden Colorado. I’d traveled from central Colorado with a Cat 1, former pro to the "Wheels of Thunder" criterium. The course is located on some windswept plateau above Golden. My Cat 1 friend had been to Europe in the 1980s, even raced for La Redoute for a year. The poor guy had to ride in my 1986 Ford Escort all the way down I-70 from Breckenridge to Golden, his 3000 dollar Litespeed hanging from my $50 Rhode Gear bike carrier. The brakes shook and rattled the whole way down. He probably thought he was going to die. I thought we were doing to die. He ended up bailing on me and getting a ride back with someone else. That car was a death trap in the mountains.

So, right before the Category 3 race I drank a gallon of ice cold water, ate a power bar and then my friend offered me some Ginseng Chew. I’m not sure which one of these sealed my fate. I'd just discovered the internet that summer and had spent hours that night before drinking rum and coke, chewing Kodiak, and surfing dubious sites on a roommate's computer. Not altogether to my surprise but to the horror of about 15 guys behind me I spewed the contents of my stomach all over myself and my bike about 2 laps into the race.

I learned some important lessons that day. The most important being is if you are looking at porn on a roommate's computer, delete the history.

Map of the century ride to Kirksville where my inevitable
78 mile marker meltdown occurs. Or, is it at 70 miles? Either way, its usually pretty comical, especially this year. Ask Michael
about this one.

Map of the century ride to Kirksville where my inevitable
78 mile marker meltdown occurs. Or, is it at 70 miles? Either way, its usually pretty comical, especially this year. Ask Michael
about this one.

Speaking of cx bikes and cx in general, this is a rig that I found just hanging out on my front porch. 2002 K2 Enemy with a bunch of spare Ultegra, Shimano 105, and even Superbe Pro parts from the 1990s. I even saw some canti brakes from 1993. We had coffee together and a nice chat. Suspicious looking character.

Speaking of cx bikes and cx in general, this is a rig that I found just hanging out on my front porch. 2002 K2 Enemy with a bunch of spare Ultegra, Shimano 105, and even Superbe Pro parts from the 1990s. I even saw some canti brakes from 1993. We had coffee together and a nice chat. Suspicious looking character.

That's me on the left after taking two months off the bike.

That's me on the left after taking two months off the bike.

My last blog faded away . . . . .

This is me finishing what has to be one of the hardest climbs I've ever done on the back side of Rist Canyon road in Ft. Collins. Thanks Dave for taking me on those killer rides.

The last serious riding that I did was back in August--on Rist Canyon Road in Ft. Collins, actually. After almost 2 months completely off my bike, I've decided (as I usually do after two months off the bike) that I'm crazy not to be riding and training for races. So, I've decided to focus on the State Cyclocross Championships in December in Kansas City. Even with the newborn cyclocross seems pretty reasonable.

My last blog faded away . . . . .

This is me finishing what has to be one of the hardest climbs I've ever done on the back side of Rist Canyon road in Ft. Collins. Thanks Dave for taking me on those killer rides.

The last serious riding that I did was back in August--on Rist Canyon Road in Ft. Collins, actually. After almost 2 months completely off my bike, I've decided (as I usually do after two months off the bike) that I'm crazy not to be riding and training for races. So, I've decided to focus on the State Cyclocross Championships in December in Kansas City. Even with the newborn cyclocross seems pretty reasonable.

Riding with class

What is “cycling with class” anyway? Since I’m not racing anymore, maybe for good, how can I keep it interesting?

1) Spin at 90 to 100 rpms. This makes you look like a pro, even though you are just a recreational rider.

2) Climb in the saddle. This helps create power and keeps one comfortable for longer periods of time.

3) Get lean. Enough said.

4) Do miles on the weekends, when you can, in the small chainring.

More later.

Back riding again. A lot.

I did the Tue nite race tonight. Lasted a lap, got popped, rode easy in some parking lots
and along Z, then got back on and finished out the race. No one seemed to mind, which
was nice. My heart rate actually got up to 178 today! So, I'm becoming stronger, despite
my efforts to become sedentary last month. I wish I would have lasted longer than a lap,
but the average speed was very near 30 mph.

I've felt weird and crabby at work this week. It's like I keep getting smacked in the face that
I could do a lot better in my career, and that I probably won't be able to do a lot better until
my family moves away from Columbia. Nonetheless, I've settled into a really comfortable
groove outside of work this month, hanging out with Dean, Nathan and riding a ton again.
The weather has also FINALLY gotten nice again, which has kept me feeling pretty relaxed.
Strangely enough, I've become enamored with the idea of warm summer air. I mean, just
really craving it. Two years ago you would have heard me say that I hated it.

I rode through the ghetto on my way home today from the ride. It seemed more hostile and
chaotic than years before when I took Wilkes and Banks home from the ride.
Maybe I'd just accepted it during those years, because we live on the edge of a few heinous
areas, but I'm ready to move to the other side of town where our neighbors aren't fucking held at knifepoint and robbed and I don't wake up every night in a terror thinking that our house has been broken in to.

walking the bike part 2

As soon as I got back from work today I knew I needed to lay down for a small nap--Kelly usually takes a nap anyway since it's recommended if you're pregnant--and I ended up dozing for 40 minutes. I pulled my shite together enough to get on my bike by around 6 and then went out to Gibbs road for a very easy ride North of town. I forgot how nice that small section of road is, simply pastoral out there. It only lasts about 3 or 4 miles and then you're back out into bad traffic. I need to do my easy and even easy longish days on my cx bike . . . . .

As I rode the grey began to split apart, the sun pierced through here and there, and the sky eventually turned into a collection of pastel blue, orange, and even reddish clouds. As I rode around Cosmo park looking at the sky, I thought about freedom from Columbia again, transported to another Midwest city entirely, completely unburdened by the baggage of my time in this town and my family. I thought to myself: "this will happen soon."

a rest day

I took the day completely off the bike today. It was a delicious evening, really, lounging around after work reading VeloNews, taking a small nap with Kelly with the windows open, and then going to the 63 diner for a cheeseburger and a malt. We then drove around east of town and listened to Jim O'Rourke. My mind kind of faded in and out of reality while we drove--with the rain and lightning I almost felt like we were in a different town. Worries faded away. It was very nice to feel this relaxed. Springtime this year has been perfect.

more warmth

My worries seem to be eased by the incredible warmth of these early April days. It's almost as if God is trying to tell us all to mellow out. At least that's how I felt.

Training went better than expected this weekend. Part of it was with a heart rate monitor, part of it was interval training without one. Today I rode at Rhett's Run for almost 2 hours, punching it on every hill for 1 or 2 minutes, getting the hr up to or above 170. I think I got it up to 173, but at this moment 172/173 is my max. I also changed my stem which has made it easier to breath.

Mom and I hiked out at Grindstone right after the mtn. bike ride, which was hard in the steep parts. Kelly was tired and decided to rest in the sunshine at home.

Yesterday was intervals on the McBaine flats. I probably did 13 1 min X 1 min intervals. I didn't feel particularly good the whole ride. Part of that had to do with riding moments after an inadvertantly long nap, which can just hose my legs. Didn't have my hr monitor on and will wear one next time. And . . . it was much better than dealing with driving to St. Louis for a 40 minute crit.

beautiful april

It's an amazingly nice day today. I'm trying to not think about work very much, if at all, this weekend. I also decided not to race. That was a wise move on my part. Lots of stuff needs to be done today, including putting out my resume.

We are about to head downtown so I can get a haircut and we can maybe pick up some lunch. I hate for this to seem like a moment of New Age bullcrap, but despite feeling on the point of utter collapse yesterday, I do need to remind myself that I am talented, resourceful, thoughtful and nice. Surely this will put me in good stead if the shit hits that fan at the State Historical Society. Getting 4-5 hours of sleep every night the past week will NOT happen again this week.

end of the week

I'm not sure about racing this weekend. I'm really not. The Final Four is in St. Louis, as is the Tilles Park race, and this will be the last free and possibly relaxing weekend for the rest of the month. The traffic might be really bad. The driving might really suck. I may just want to go for a nice road ride . . . . . . . .

Then again--what am I training for, if not for racing? How can I gauge my speed and my strength? What do I dream of all winter long? Indeed, why ride my bike much at all if not for racing and competing? Those are the things to contemplate. I find racing my bike to be a brilliant, incredible pursuit of fitness and that very slim possibility of a taste of glory. If I weren't training for racing, I'd ride, maybe, 3 days a week.

I should probably do the race.

in springfield

We are here for Easter weekend. Boy, is it cold and nasty out: misty, high 30s, and really windy. I was not motivated to ride today but actually put in about 3 hrs. in the exceedlingly raw conditions. That's about 1 hour less than I wanted to do, but that's ok. The bonus? Sleeping past 10 AM.

Legs feel like cement blocks, and I think I know why. I'm trying to lose that extra 15 pounds to get down to my racing weight (which is around 180-183) and perhaps the conscious effort to eat smaller portions is starting to hit my legs hard. I still weigh about 198 right now. This is less fat than I've carried on my body for quite some time, but will still adversely effect my performances come May and June. I have to remind myself that, at 6 ft. and with an upper body that shoots up from my waist like a V, I will never get down to the vaunted 175 that I dream about.

Losing 10-12 pounds by the time the late April and May races roll around will be as much a victory for me as finishing well in a 3/4 crit. EVERY year since I started cycling again (after gaining 40-50 pounds in 2001) I've tried to lose weight in the summer. Losing weight in July, when you should be eating tons of good foods and lots of quality carbs in order to perform well on the bike, is a mirage. So, the present suffering, which there was plenty of today, is certainly going to reduce the suffering come the summer time.

I was in a paranoid stupor about work last night, but Kelly pulled me out of it. Thanks Kelly. Financially, too, we are doing much better than we were 24 hours ago with some inheritance money that we came into from Kelly's grandma's estate. My blessed in-laws. I would live in Springfield in an instant, to be honest.

cycling

Yesterday was a terrible day on the bike for me. It was only Dean and I, and I dreaded what was to come on Howard O. road because I didn't feel like I had anything in the tank mentally or physically for super hard efforts. In fact, it seems I can only really get up for races anymore mentally suffering during training, especially if it involves that harsh athletic pain, not the good pain that LA talks about causes me to think about taking up cycling as a completely recreational activity. And yesterday was one of those days. Needless to say, I could not hang on to Dean's wheel yesterday.

I woke up this morning tired and feeling overtrained. I don't know if I'm getting sick, but I just feel drained. Those thoughts, those delicious and tempting thoughts went through my mind again: what if I just train hard until the Lakota Cup and then if I'm burned out call it good for the year? Or, what if this is my very last year for awhile, since the baby is coming, maybe I can do triathlons exclusively next year.

Or, maybe just cx season, a couple of races, in 2006.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to some long easy base miles over the weekend, and maybe this will get my head back on straight.

At noon:

I'm able to sneak away from my work duties to write a little bit more. I'm having those bad thoughts again, about how much of a pain in the ass training is for so little reward and feeling horrible like I did yesterday. I'm very tired today, though, and that probably has something to do with those bad thoughts. I'm troubled by a lot of things that are banging around in my head right now hunting for a different job, some of the people here at work, and a future of possible precarious finances are just a few of the things I'm leisurely worrying about. I must avoid the lunch group today, I've found __ arrogance and refusal to talk about anything but herself to be a ghastly bore.

Evening:

I was watching the city planning and zoning commission meeting on television tonight and began to think about how this was one of 3 possible career paths I gave a great deal thought to in 1999-2000. Little did I know that 20,000 + dollars later in student loans I'd have a job that paid 24k. Surely I can find something better. Surely, in the next few years, I'll make more money.

As a city planner, in fact, I'd probably be making at least 35k starting out. I think about this all the time because my student loans darn extensive. I mean, I HAD to take out almost 20,000 just for tuition purposes. For a variety of reasons, none of them making sense to me now, I even turned down an assistantship. This is on my infamous "top 20 regrets of all time" list, which appears on David Letterman occasionally. The list is boring and not funny at all, to me at least, but hilarious to the general public. For instance: #3: Not finishing Drawing 2 class at Northeast Missouri State!!

"Hi, my name is ___ ____ and I have a BA degree in history and a MA in Library and Information Science." I remember going around and around about this possible title in the fall of 1999, four months of Deep-Introspection-on-Angst. "I just had the most wonderful epiphany!!"

cycling this evening:

I felt fatigued all day and actually hardly worked between 1:15 and 4:30, just sat at my desk sighing, perhaps even moaning a bit. Rode at about 5 pm and walked the bike: 39-19 and 21 a lot of the time. I think I was in the 23 on some straight and flat roads. Eddie B first came up with the walk-the-bike concept and it's actually sort of fun. The concept reads something like this: you never go hard enough that you actually have to breathe through your mouth--tis all through the nose.

What about this fatigue, though? I'm a little bit worried that somehow I've pushed myself to fitness to fast. I must do long slow distance this weekend and put down more base.

listening to music

I'm still convinced that this blog will be about cycling, for the most part, and yet the majority of my life has actually been lived sans bike racing. There was a period, between May of 1988 and February of 1994, that I never really touched my bicycle. I was rudderless a lot of the time, yes, but I did do some interesting things.

For instance, I walked along Nordic Drive in Petersburg Alaska almost every night the two years that I lived there listening to various college rock/punk rock albums, even though I despised anything associated with college at the time. Pope might ask me, if I ever see him again:

"Hey _ , do you remember that time in the fall of 1992 that you lit a Camel stud, and threw a bottle of Old Crow into Wrangell Narrows? What was you thinking about at the time? Did you worry that a whale might swallow the bottle"

No, it was more like how I didn't miss TSU or Missouri, but I did miss my parents and my siblings. Or maybe how clean the air smelled, even with the stench of Camel in the air. Or how Fitzpatrick was such an asshole. Or how good the new Helmet album sounded on earphones. Throwing the bottle was a pure reflex on my part. I just wanted to see how far into the darkness I would here the "plop" in the icy cold waters.

I still deeply associate music with certain times in my life, like most people do. What was most unusual about my time in Alaska was that I didn't listen to a lot of the hippy stuff or plain weird Nordic folk that most people were in to up there. It was all alternative rock, (a little bit of grunge I must admit), mainly the stuff that I loved as an art student in Missouri, though. For what I was doing, which involved wielding a chainsaw a lot of the time and cutting down enormous Hemlock, Spruce and Cedar trees for our projects with the Petersburg Ranger District I guess some people found my listening to "Meat is Murder" when they walked into my room in the bunkhouse a little bit gay. Fitzpatrick thought I was faggy, perhaps, I'm not really sure why he treated me like such crap a lot of the time. But, as that work situation has faded back beyond a decade of time, it no longer feels painful, even though it was the worst work relationship with a supervisor I've ever had. It almost--almost, seems like a good memory: the hard work, the hazing, the hard work.

I need to remind myself of this as I claw through another week at my current messed up place of work. It will someday be seen as a memory, a stepping stone, something that I made it through with good spirits intact.

catting down

All the years I’d raced my bike up until the late 1990s, I never really got dropped or lapped in races. Sure I suffered like a dog, and sometimes on a very rare occasion, at Snake Alley or a 1-2-3 race (back when they sometimes didn’t have separate 3s categories, now THAT was scary as shit), I would get my ass handed to me and drop out. But I never really ever got shelled in category specific crits. That is until 1998 when my performances on the bike began to take a serious nosedive.

I had become one of those guys I always saw at races and wondered: “why are they doing this to themselves.” Obviously overweight, pasty, out of shape, and sometimes wearing strange mountain bike gear, these poor bastards would last a lap of two in crits and then just drop out or get pulled. They were the guys in the long suffering line at the rear of the pack in windy road races, the pockets of one or two hapless kids who had never been in a cat. 5 crit before and ended up face down in the grass after 3 corners. It’s not that I didn’t like these people, it was just that I felt I was somehow above them. I mean, gosh, I had raced at the Junior National Championship Road Race in 1986 (finishing an anonymous 74th by the way), but I was one of the people in my region who within three months had attained enough points to move from a cat 4 to a 3. I was, off and on throughout my youth, touted as a cycling “talent.” And here I was blowing chunks at local Cat. 3 races after only 2 laps.

One of the very best instances of this came at a criterium that I entered in the vain hope that my luck would change, even though I was primarily riding my mtn. bike 3 times a week as a source of “training” and still 15 pounds overweight. It was a very hot and windy day on the high plains near Golden Colorado. I’d traveled with a Cat 1, former pro to the race who had been to Europe in the 1980s, even raced for La Redoute for a year (Paul Sherwen’s old team). The poor guy had to ride in my '86 Ford Escort all the way down I-70 from Breckenridge Colorado to Golden, his 3000 dollar Litespeed hanging from my $50 Rhode Gear bike carrier, the car brakes shimmying the whole way, he probably thought he was going to die. He ended up bailing on me and getting a ride back with some unnamed friend. I didn't blame him.

So, right before this race I drank nearly a gallon of ice cold water, ate a power bar and then my friend offered me some Ginseng Chew. I’m not sure which one of these sealed my fate. It also might have been the cocktail of 4 rum and Cokes and can of Kodiak I’d gone through the night before that destroyed all sense of good judgment and physical ability. Not altogether to my surprise but to the horror of about 15 guys behind me I spewed the contents of my stomach all over myself and my bike about 2 laps into the race. Through the next 5 years, despite a somewhat good season in 2000, I would repeat these performances over and over again. Not the vomiting, but something akin to that in a metaphorical sense—getting vomited by the pack, for instances. I was one of those guys “attacking off the back,” shall we say.

Last summer I made this decision: either I would quit racing forever and take up triathlons or even platform tennis, or I would downgrade. I HAD achieved success as a cat 4. Perhaps my abrupt year off from racing, when I went to live with an old girlfriend in Tennessee the year after my breakthrough season had been the true culprit of all this. We split up after that, and to be honest my racing never made it back. I was on the proverbial rise from cat 4 to 2, something that takes at least 3 or 4 years of diligent work. I’d pretty much given up on that to become somewhat of a party-guy again, cycling took a real back-burner to drinking beer and soothing my wounded psyche and heart with roll-your-own cigarettes and recreational Actifed use.

Things are different now. I’m married to a beautiful woman who adores me and adores cycling. She wants me to succeed at this sport almost as much as I want to succeed at it. My results so far are modest as a 4:

Froze Toes: 20th place, 3/4 race.
ICCC crit: 14th out of a field of 42.

But, at least I can say that I’ve not been thrown up and spit out of the peloton like a half chewed Powerbar anymore.

catting down

All the years I’d raced my bike up until the late 1990s, I never really got dropped or lapped in races. Sure I suffered like a dog, and sometimes on a very rare occasion, at Snake Alley or a 1-2-3 race (back when they sometimes didn’t have separate 3s categories, now THAT was scary as shit), I would get my ass handed to me and drop out. But I never really ever got shelled in category specific crits. That is until 1998 when my performances on the bike began to take a serious nosedive.

I had become one of those guys I always saw at races and wondered: “why are they doing this to themselves.” Obviously overweight, pasty, out of shape, and sometimes wearing strange mountain bike gear, these poor bastards would last a lap of two in crits and then just drop out or get pulled. They were the guys in the long suffering line at the rear of the pack in windy road races, the pockets of one or two hapless kids who had never been in a cat. 5 crit before and ended up face down in the grass after 3 corners. It’s not that I didn’t like these people, it was just that I felt I was somehow above them. I mean, gosh, I had raced at the Junior National Championship Road Race in 1986 (finishing an anonymous 74th by the way), but I was one of the people in my region who within three months had attained enough points to move from a cat 4 to a 3. I was, off and on throughout my youth, touted as a cycling “talent.” And here I was blowing chunks at local Cat. 3 races after only 2 laps.

One of the very best instances of this came at a criterium that I entered in the vain hope that my luck would change, even though I was primarily riding my mtn. bike 3 times a week as a source of “training” and still 15 pounds overweight. It was a very hot and windy day on the high plains near Golden Colorado. I’d traveled with a Cat 1, former pro to the race who had been to Europe in the 1980s, even raced for La Redoute for a year (Paul Sherwen’s old team). The poor guy had to ride in my '86 Ford Escort all the way down I-70 from Breckenridge Colorado to Golden, his 3000 dollar Litespeed hanging from my $50 Rhode Gear bike carrier, the car brakes shimmying the whole way, he probably thought he was going to die. He ended up bailing on me and getting a ride back with some unnamed friend. I didn't blame him.

So, right before this race I drank nearly a gallon of ice cold water, ate a power bar and then my friend offered me some Ginseng Chew. I’m not sure which one of these sealed my fate. It also might have been the cocktail of 4 rum and Cokes and can of Kodiak I’d gone through the night before that destroyed all sense of good judgment and physical ability. Not altogether to my surprise but to the horror of about 15 guys behind me I spewed the contents of my stomach all over myself and my bike about 2 laps into the race. Through the next 5 years, despite a somewhat good season in 2000, I would repeat these performances over and over again. Not the vomiting, but something akin to that in a metaphorical sense—getting vomited by the pack, for instances. I was one of those guys “attacking off the back,” shall we say.

Last summer I made this decision: either I would quit racing forever and take up triathlons or even platform tennis, or I would downgrade. I HAD achieved success as a cat 4. Perhaps my abrupt year off from racing, when I went to live with an old girlfriend in Tennessee the year after my breakthrough season had been the true culprit of all this. We split up after that, and to be honest my racing never made it back. I was on the proverbial rise from cat 4 to 2, something that takes at least 3 or 4 years of diligent work. I’d pretty much given up on that to become somewhat of a party-guy again, cycling took a real back-burner to drinking beer and soothing my wounded psyche and heart with roll-your-own cigarettes and recreational Actifed use.

Things are different now. I’m married to a beautiful woman who adores me and adores cycling. She wants me to succeed at this sport almost as much as I want to succeed at it. My results so far are modest as a 4:

Froze Toes: 20th place, 3/4 race.
ICCC crit: 14th out of a field of 42.

But, at least I can say that I’ve not been thrown up and spit out of the peloton like a half chewed Powerbar anymore.

more

I’m at work now, just gave a CC history class a tour here. It’s interesting how I realize that one of the great joys I find in my job is bibliographic instruction. Although it must be much harder to disseminate and instruct about ideas as opposed to methodology, I’ve found great satisfaction, recently, from presenting at our workshops here and giving tours. It also helped that the students were so nice and interested today, as opposed to the sullen, spoiled and oftentimes ungrateful flagship school students who come in here.

starting out

I guess I should start out by saying this--my main passions in life are my family (my wife, two cats and in 7 months daughter or son to be!), bicycle racing and my career, all in that order except that, aside from the cycling, they've all tended to get jumbled up in my life. Kelly and I were watching the movie "Marathon Man" last night, and it was quite fitting, since the movie revolves around athleticism, family, and history/historianship (plus being a damn good thriller). And, like the movie, sometimes family is all wrapped up in career/work ambitions.

See below:

(1) My wife and I are having our first child in October of this year. I cannot tell you how excited this makes me! Family has always been tremendously important to me, as it is for Kelly, and starting my own has been something I’ve wanted to do for 8 years now. I didn’t find the right woman until Kelly came along. Marriage is a wonderful, blessed thing. Comparing my life as a "single man" to that of a "married man with a child on the way" is way more than comparing apples with oranges. For me, it's like trying to compare loneliness with joy.

(3, 1) Getting a Ph.D. in a social science, something my brother and Dad have already done was a path that for many reasons I could not go down. It was, however, the reason that I moved back to Collegetown Missouri. I am still here in Collegetown Missouri. And like the Marathon Man, I’ve got some very big footsteps to fill. To my knowledge neither of them has a blog, however.

(3) So, I now find myself with a Masters degree in Library and Information Science, after abandoning graduate work in history, working at one of the pre-eminent but outmoded archives in the country. I’ll get into the outmoded part a bit later. I often feel like I can still do much, much better, however (especially salary-wise).

(2) Needless to say, I like to think, despite my career frustrations, that my life has become a happy, seamless whole. And the fact that I downgraded to a Category 4 cyclist, from the more elite levels of the sport, something I’ve wanted to do for years but didn’t have the heart to, is part of what is making this such a great year. I've not had this fun training since 2000. Or, maybe 1985, when I kept hearing "One night in Bangkok" on the radio as I rode my ancient cyclesport trainer, or headed out on a ride with Jeff Kalo.

Hence the title of this blog.