My "Best of 2007"
Heck, why not. Nothing else to blog about right now with today being a day of rest and prep for the up and coming mega miles. So below are my "Best of the year 2007."
Best Race that I Raced: Vapor Trail 125
Not sure what it is, but the midnight start on top of 13+ hours of racing at 11,000 ft makes this march an epic one. Here is my report from this year. Here are some pictures from Ed who also raced.
Best Race that I didn't Race: Mt. St. Anne World Cup Weekend
If you ever have the chance to attend a World Cup event......GO! What will it take to get an event even close to this in the USA? Go see for yourself.
Best Training or Racing Aide: Apple iPod Nano
Best New Food: Poke. Raw fish never tasted so good.
Best Road Trip: Team training camp in Mallorca
Best New Product I Tried This Year: Continental Race King Tires. Grippy high volume love is all I have to say about that.
Best All-Around Ride: Anything on the Colorado Trail.
Best Picture: From the Wasatch Classic
Best "I don't think I am going to make it" moment: When it drizzles.....it pours.
Best Movie: 300
Best Purchase I Made: TomTom One XL
Best New Climb: Rist Canyon outside of Fort Collins.
Best of the Best of 2007: New job and everything associated with it.
Jeff Kerkove said at 10:46 AM
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Weekend peaks
Peaks referring to the high points in the training charts.....not mountain peaks. Pretty uneventful weekend otherwise. Still do dang icy to get outside and do structured road bike workouts. So, just sucked it up and headed back down to the basement to my private little pain cave. This weekends workouts involved short and powerful intervals on Saturday. Then Sunday was at a good tempo pace for 3 different 20 minute intervals. Power was the same....but the cadence was dropped 20 rpm each set. Started with 100...then 80....then 60.
Saturday's spin session. This hurt more than Sunday's spin.
Sunday's 20 minute efforts.
Later in the afternoon on Sunday I installed the Crank Bros. pedals on the bikes. Next week it's supposed to hit the 50's, so I should be able to get some dial time in on them before the desert binge.
As for the rest of the day....scratching the belly of Bella, one my Sister's dogs. Think of it as active recovery. Speaking of recovery....time to get in some football. Vikings and Broncos are on the tube. Go Purple!
Jeff Kerkove said at 1:51 PM
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Spinning L2
Needless to say, with yesterdays snowfall and the current 5 degree F temp, I am not riding outside. Heck, they don't plow roads in Fort Collins. Give it a few days.........[holding breath]........and we might see some significant melting.
To the basement I went to get in the 1 hour L2 workout. Workout was aimed at riding in my Level 2 (L2) power zone. Which on the low side is 175 watts and the high side is 236 watts. So I alternated 2 sets of 10 minutes on the low side.....and then 10 minutes on the high side of the L2 power level. Then 1 set of 5 minute intervals. Followed by a 10 minute sub 140 watt cool down. Cadence was hovering at a comfortable average of 90 rpm.
Jeff Kerkove said at 11:08 AM
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What I'm doing today.
Watching is snow another 5-10 inches....with the addition of wind this time.
Working and drinking coffee.
Looking at lightweight packable rain jacket & pants for the upcoming high alpine mountain bike adventures.
Browsing this website. Pictures are amazing! As are the gear and food lists.
Getting ready to get in todays workout.
Wishing the snowshoes would arrive.
Rolling around on foam roller. It's like your own personal massage therapist.
Watching it snow......................................still.
Jeff Kerkove said at 8:49 AM
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Rebuilding Complete
My recovery / rebuilding process is complete. From last Friday until today the focus was on rest and relaxation. Now it is time to start ramping it up again. Sessions will get longer...as will the set intervals. Looks like the weather is turning a bit more arctic over the next few days. More roller time for sure. Only t-minus 16 days until desert training binge. Suhweet!
Jeff Kerkove said at 10:40 AM
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Holiday Candy
I am back in the Fort after a brief 20 hour round trip to Minnesota and back for an early family X-mas. It was a good break from the training grind and any work related chores. Weather was really cold.....or at least colder than it has been in Colorado. With wind chills near -15 degrees F outdoor time was very slim. Rest of the days were spent watching marathon sessions of Man vs. Wild on the Discovery Channel and avoiding Holiday sugar items. I did have some pie...so sue me. It was pumpkin. That's healthy..........[dramatic pause]...........right? That is what I thought. Oh, and by the way, Chuck Norris is soooooo yesterday. Bear Grylls is the new tough-ass on the block. With a name like Bear....you might as well be called Thor, God of Lightning....or something tough like that.
Well, I guess I can say I did have some Candy. A box of pedals was sitting on the door step from Crank Brothers when I got home. I am totally love'n my Crank Bros. road pedals I purchased a few months ago. So, I decided that my current 5 year old Shimano's needed to be replaced. Over next few days, I'll get these installed an ready for Camp Lynda and the rest of the 2008 racing campaign. Speaking of Camp Lynda....if you need to get in a 3 day desert riding binge, this is your ticket. It's a no-nonsense self-supported training mission. Currently there is upwards of 20-30 people rumored to be attending. All the details are here.
Jeff Kerkove said at 8:35 AM
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Slow & Smooth
Harry: I expected the Rocky Mountains to be a little rockier than this.
Lloyd: I was thinking the same thing. That John Denver's full of sh*t, man.
One last workout session planned by Coach for today. After today, I go into a 5 day recovery period. Once again, warmer temps made it possible to get outside. Got'a be close to 45 degrees F. Todays session was a strength builder....spinning a huge gear at 55 rpm. Totally against my pedaling technique. I am normally pretty happy turning over 90-100 rpm. But todays goals were all about strength.
Here are the numbers. Yellow line shows the RPM intervals. Delightful I must say.
OK, now I am signing off until X-Mas day. I am heading east to Minnesota for an early family holiday get-together. Should be back to normal blogging and e-mail on X-mas or the day after.
Jeff Kerkove said at 1:57 PM
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Power failure.
Todays workout was 1 minute efforts at a high power output. This is the 3rd time for this workout over the past 3 weeks. Here is last weeks wattage numbers. I successfully made it through the 20 intervals.
Here is todays. Big difference. I made it through about 11 intervals before my wattage could not be maintained. Ugh. So, I packed it up and spun home early. Kind of a bummer, as yesterday I felt awesome. Little R & R tonight and then one last push tomorrow before the X-mas recovery period.
Cruising back down the hill I just climbed after a 60 second effort.
Can't complain about the views during the recovery between intervals and sets. I see the reservoir is starting to get some ice.
Jeff Kerkove said at 2:52 PM
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30 Second Efforts
Finally warm weather! Pushing 40 degrees for my 30 second efforts today. Got a little crazy on one effort and threw down a 1,102 watts. Nuts.
Needed a low traffic flat road for todays workout. Frontage road along I-25 is perfect...and the views aren't that bad either. I like the jet coming out of my forehead.
Only about 20 feet of flat ditch covered with snow separates me from North bound traffic.
Yes, it got a little warm. Thermal jacket was unzipped pretty much the later half of the ride. Good news......temps are to get warmer the next few days. Today I also tried out a new Craft base layer I purchased the other day. So far, this thing is pretty dang warm....and it feels good against the skin.
Jeff Kerkove said at 2:10 PM
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It's in the mail.
The mother of all 100 mile races is officially on the radar for 2008. There is good reason other than personal pleasure, pain, glory, suffering, good times with friends, and high altitude sucking to register this year.....and it will be announced in the coming weeks.
In other news, the Mountain States Cup 2008 schedule is released. Select events in this series will serve as training races. The MSC is also supposed to announce a Trans-Rockies like event for '08 in the coming months.
Jeff Kerkove said at 7:34 AM
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Mobile office Monday
Monday is the day of rest in this years training program. So, I am taking the office out of the house and to the coffee shop this AM. Figure I can kill two birds with one stone. On the way to the coffee shop I dropped off the Ergon FJ for some routine maintenance. Get the oil change, check air pressure, yada, yada, yada. Now it's time to sip the black goodness and answer some e-mails.
Jeff Kerkove said at 8:51 AM
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Saturday Rollers x 2
2 workouts planned for today. One is in the AM and one in the PM. Shouldn't be too bad as they are short and to the point. Below are the numbers form the sessions.
Workout #1
Here is Workout #2. It's a piece of art. If you stare at it long enough a sailboat will emerge in 3D.
Jeff Kerkove said at 9:13 AM
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Force Workout
Slow, smooth, and powerful was the workout today. Six minute intervals at 55 rpm at a set wattage. It was all about building strength on the bike. To add to the resistance factor I took a page out of the Tony Kisch training book.....roll up a towel and stick it under the back 2 rollers. Off the bike this raises the rollers off the ground about quarter inch. But once you mount up on the bike the rollers sink into the towel creating a "pedaling through sand" effect. It burns.
Ooooo, what an intense game face.
The fun little numbers from the day. Notice the RPM's. Very, very, very slow....almost tipping over.
Jeff Kerkove said at 12:10 PM
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LIVE Training Cam presented by LW Coaching
OFF AIR
Live feed off the Mac Book iSight as I pound out 400+ watt intervals on the rollers. Feed should be live roughly around 9:30 AM MST. Total workout time is set for 2.5 hours....or until my wattage drops. Note, you may have to hit "refresh."
UPDATED 12:00 PM - TRAINING SESSION COMPLETEDHere are the stats from the roller session. Two hours was enough. My legs where getting cooked by the time the 15th interval came around. Lactic acid was starting to creep in.
Jeff Kerkove said at 7:19 AM
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Wondering Wednesday
Active recovery was due today. Coach's orders..."No indoor riding." No problem. I headed out for a 2 hour wondering session on the Foothills Trails and up near Horsetooth Reservoir. Trails were pretty packed from all the previous foot traffic. Made the stroll a lot easier than it should have been. Good news to that the temps are rising. Roads need to get cleared off so I can get the bike back out!
And finally, after a few days of sorting and pondering, the Ergon 2008 athlete and teams list is complete. I spent all morning detailing e-mails to all the folks that are going to be flying green in '08. Stay tuned for some pretty cool announcements coming down the pipeline regarding other Ergon athletes & events.
Jeff Kerkove said at 9:41 AM
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Tuesday's Tundra
Hey, what'a ya know...more snow! Light, fluffy, powder upwards of 6 inches on top of what we had from the snow fall the other day. Now, I can't wait to get into the snowshoes!
Jeff Kerkove said at 8:14 AM
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Mellow Monday
Off day....no riding. Just a bit of regeneration work to aid in recovery and proper building.
What about the rest of the day? Run to the store to restock the veggie supply...and then e-mails and phone calls. Right now it's all about getting the '08 sponsorship proposals sorted through. No, don't send me your proposal. Submissions ceased on November 30. I have enough to go through. Hope to have this all knocked dead before x-mas.
I am also pursuing the winter x-training sport of snowshoeing. Skiing is out of the question....too expensive. Hiking was cool the other day...but if we get more snow and when I decide to go to a higher elevation, flotation will be needed. I pretty much have everything I need....except for snowshoes. Snowshoes will come by way of MSR. They have a really good reputation via the web reviews....and the price is very very right.
So, good snowshoes in combination with an Ergon Outdoor/Bike pack, and some proper eye protection by way of Adidas for any extreme snowshoeing....should be ready in about a week! Speaking of snow....more expected tonight. Something like 3 inches of fluffy powder.
Jeff Kerkove said at 1:08 PM
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Sunday Session
1.5 hours spent spinning at 220 watts while watching the Mt St Anne Mountain Bike WC and the CX WC from Koksijde in Belgium. Good times...and I better get used to it, as winter has 100% landed on the Front Range. Going to have to give it a few days before the roads will be ridable again.
Wrapped up the day with a short stroll with the dogs. Didn't last more than 1 hour....they got cold.
With the weather now changing....those thoughts of 3-day-weekend binge riding in Moab look and sound better and better.
Jeff Kerkove said at 11:01 AM
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Bike & Hike
Weather has totally thrown the training for a loop this weekend. Roads are 90% covered in snow/slush. All of CO is pretty much in a winter weather advisory and/or warning all weekend. So this early AM was spent of the rollers. Short and to the point.
After the rollers, I rounded up the Beyond Clothing, Ergon BD2, and my Gore-Tex Salomon shoes and headed out to Devil's Backbone for a 2.5 hour winter hike. Temps when I started where right at 28 degrees F. By the time I got back...it had dropped to 18 degrees F and was starting to sleet/snow. Would have cool to put one of the new Ergon outdoor packs through the trenches.
Pictures are in black and white, but they don't look a whole lot different from the colored photos. Sky was white....as was the ground. Pretty "blah" conditions. Some folks decided to head to Cameron Pass...Hmmmmmm. Risk taker!
The high-point pose for the camera shot looking down over the Blue Sky Trail area. Time to turn around and head back home.
Jeff Kerkove said at 2:25 PM
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Basement miles
Snow is not going any place too fast today. In fact, temps are dropping to under 30 degrees F. So, the training moves back indoors for some on the bike strength work. Big gears, low rpm, and roughly 2 hours is all you need to turn into a sweaty heap.....drip.....drip.....drip.....drip.
Post workout wipe down.
The numbers: HR, Watts, and Cadence.
Jeff Kerkove said at 12:59 PM
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AM Powder
After all, it IS December. It shouldn't be to big of a shock. Wet and heavy snow is falling this AM....but I am hoping for the temps to rise to near 40 F for today so I am not stuck on the trainer. Can't complain too much as the mountains are getting snow measured in feet! Time to sit and wait it out. Just might be a trainer day...and weekend. Or....it'll be an SKS fender kind'a day.
Jeff Kerkove said at 6:45 AM
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8% Grade
I was kind'a dreading todays workout. It involved a 6%-8% grade with upwards of 20 intervals.....if I survived to 20. You know it is going to hurt when Coach specifically puts in the workout "I don't expect you to be able to finish this workout." So, I hunted down a low traffic road on the west side of town at the entrance to Lory State Park. This had the perfect road for this exercise. As you can see from the picture above the spin out to the park was pretty good.
Here is my 6%-8% grade. It was a burner for the wattage I was required to average each trip going up. The first 7 or so trips up the hill hurt the worse. As the intervals went on....it got better and better....and I was able to pound out the serving of 20. Post work out, I spun the hour home. My legs felt awesome!
A lot of spikes today.
Looks like my luck with the weather might run out. Today's knee warmer and long sleeve jersey ride might be turning in the a full thermal body suit weekend. Tomorrow it begins....36 F for a high with rain/sleet/snow......followed by more for the weekend. Perfect weather for riding to 9,000 feet!
Jeff Kerkove said at 2:43 PM
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Ride'n Easy
Easy 1 hour 15 minute ride on some dirt at the base of the foot hills today. Temps right at 50 degrees F....still can't complain.
Jeff Kerkove said at 1:11 PM
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Feel the love.
Dirt, Sweat, and Gears and Ergon Team up to Support IMBA/SORBA Trail Advocacy
The 2008 Dirt, Sweat and Gears 12 Hour race will be the most fun you can have on a mountain bike and participants will also be helping to maintain high quality trails in the Southeastern United States. DSG is making a strong statement about its commitment to mountain biking advocacy through an innovative partnership with SORBA, IMBA’s southeastern affiliate. DSG will make a $10 donation to SORBA on behalf of every SORBA-IMBA member who participates in the 2008 event. To sweeten the pot and show their commitment to trail advocacy efforts, the team at Ergon is offering the first 25 members who register for the race in a free pair of Ergon GP1 grips, as a special gift. As an added bonus Team Ergon's Jeff Kerkove will be on hand at the event to install these grips and answer questions for racers.
“Dirt, Sweat and Gears is all about sharing good times with like-minded cyclists while supporting a good cause. As SORBA / IMBA members, we support SORBA’s efforts and recognize their vital importance in the effort to create trail opportunities for mountain bikers,” says, Race Marketing Director Grant Castle.
Jeff Kerkove, Marketing, Event, and Athlete Relations for Ergon USA (and Team Ergon MTB Endurance Racer) said, “It's easy for Ergon to get involved with DSG and SORBA to help promote racing, bicycle culture, and most importantly...trail advocacy. DSG is special because they’ve built and they maintain freakish trails on private land. You can ride this outstanding course when they open it up for this one, you-gotta-be-there-weekend, while at the same time they are doing their part to improve public trails. That's leadership Ergon wants to associate with.”
Tom Sauret, SORBA Executive Director, says ”this partnership is an example of how race promoters, the bike industry, and advocacy groups all recognize that we are essentially one family working as one to fertilize the bike culture.”
Jeff Kerkove said at 9:45 AM
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Chinook Training
Thanks to these mountains that grace the west side of town, we are getting some blasting winds out of the west and northwest. All thanks to the chinook wind effect. Nothing new around here. Little heating and cooling of the air, yada, yada, yada, and you have windy and warm conditions. How warm? Darn near 70 degrees for todays interval session.
Todays workout had me going 100% then recovering....then again....and again....and again. Did the workout on the only uninterrupted flat chunk of road I know....the frontage road of I-25. Good road to do these efforts on, but the wind had me riding my bike at an angle. If the wind would have just ended up all of a sudden stopping, I am sure I would have swerved into the other lane....over the small ditch.....and onto north bound I-25. Awesome uh? Speaking of awesome....how about it being December 4th and doing a road ride in nothing but arm warmers, jersey, and bib shorts. Yes!
Red is HR. Blue is speed. And Yellow is watts.
Jeff Kerkove said at 2:42 PM
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Sans Gym Membership
Nope, no gym membership this year. With the hiring of Coach Bleed Out Your Eye Sockets, she has broke a 7 year habit/routine. In past years, November-Feb was typically spent in the gym lifting weights, suffering on the stair-master, and pounding out the miles on the spin bike. Mostly, to get away from the bike a bit and to keep out of the snowy and cold Iowa temps. This year, with a more mild winter climate, all strength building is being done on the bike and with the help of the Core Performance book. Basically it is using your own body weight for resistance. Lets just say....the book is a butt kicker. Added bonus, is that it is super slick and easy to do at home in a short amount of time. You get the book, and a few of the items they recommend, and you are still under a $100 total investment. Results? They are coming. I can see where the lifting in the past years has left me bulky...almost with a track racer like leg build. The Core Performance workout lengthens muscles and tones. It will help me to get a more lean and fitter physique. Results to come!
Today is my off day. Not much planned other than heading to the store to restock the veggie and fruit supply. Also, have a few Ergon items to tend to. Rest of the week looks awesome! Hard bike work outs and primo weather in the 40's, 50's and 60's. Can't believe its Dec already....and still warm!
Jeff Kerkove said at 7:47 AM
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Group Base Miles
It went a little something like this....
"Which way?"
"I'm only good for 3 hours."
"Lets head right."
"But there is less wind if we head left."
"How'bout we head to Loveland."
"Sounds good to me."
"Is this the pee break?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"Boy it's sure getting warm."
"Which way we heading again?"
"I got'a pee."
Another good mellow RIO group ride. Good moderate pace for 3 hours with a average HR of 126. Lots of conversation today which is a good thing, cause it keeps the pace low and in control. Next week, it's time to ramp it up again.
Jeff Kerkove said at 1:40 PM
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Sliding up Rist Canyon
While the mountains are getting feet of snow...here in Fort Collins we got rain and freezing rain. Temps when I headed out around 10 AM were at 35 degrees. It was all good for the 20 minute wattage workout up Rist Canyon or at least I thought. While it was 35 here at the house....5 miles to the west where I was heading to ride....the temps were still pretty cold.
I rode up and over Horsetooth Res. to get the legs warm. It didn't take long, and the thermal jacket was unzipped and the gloves were off.
Once heading up Rist the road conditions and temps got worse by the feet. Wet roads soon turned to slushy patches....and the temps dropped back down to freezing. Jacket got zipped back up and gloves back on. I finally finished out the 20 minute up hill effort with out laying it down. But the trip back down was another story. I kept the bike upright, but damn near froze my arse off because of my sweat from the climb and the wind from the decent were causing a nasty wind chill. My hands that were sweating in my gloves were now fingercicles. It wasn't until I got back near the house....45 minutes later...that I fully warmed back up to a balmy state.
Going up the climb was interesting. Two motorcycles passed my on the way up....only to have me come up on them about 200 yards later. Both motorcycles contained a married/dating couple. They were parked on the side of the road and one of the gals was raging on the fact that she did want to go any higher up the canyon because of the ice. I passed right by them and you could see them all just turn and watch. Needless to say....they never came any further up the canyon.
Rest of the weekend and next week look to be awesome in the weather department: temps in the 50's
Jeff Kerkove said at 4:42 PM
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