hotsauce
Well-Known Member
Race Recaps
2016
After coming out of (relative) nowhere before this cross season and posting up a smattering of race reports and other borderline dad-jokes on this website, it's about time I formally say "hello" and get a blog going for 2017 and beyond.
A bit of background
I grew up in Mercer County ripping around on a Huffy Sledgehammer before getting deep into the ice hockey scene and playing pretty competitively through high school. After a bunch of degrees and a few beers in Boston (or maybe the other way around), I came back south following a job and brought along a fledgling running habit and the remnants of the freshman fifteen.
Fitness activities!
I was really into running for a few years, finishing two marathons, a handful of half marathons, and countless shorter races. My highlights were the 2014 NYC Marathon at 3:34:26, the 2014 Broad Street run at 1:12:08, and a PR 5K time of 19:19 last fall. The low-light was a half-ironman duathlon where I quit 3 miles into the half marathon after riding the bike section far too hard.
An overuse injury in 2010 led me to pick up a road bike to keep up on aerobic fitness and maybe get in to triathlons one day. I did a mix of riding, running, cycling, sprint triathlons, and crossfit through the end of 2014 before deciding to go full stop into road racing. I got my 10 races in at Cat 5 in 2015, celebrating the upgrade to Cat 4 by sliding across the finish line with a broken clavicle.
Cyclocross!
As I mentioned in my The "What did you accomplish in 2016?" Thread post, I started structured training in late 2015 with the intent of hitting 2016 hard. I had no idea what I was going to be hitting hard but I was trying to get fit! After realizing that a slightly overweight and not genetically gifted guy isn't going to excel in road racing, plus the inherent hazards of road racing, I was goaded into testing out this cyclocross thing by @The Squirrel last summer.
I spent some time trying to figure everything out but finally got the hang of things and enjoyed some mild success in the grass crit type races. After an upgrade to Cat 3 late in the season, I jumped into the deep end with muddy Supercross and NBX which were incredibly hard but were great for goal setting.
Goals
I'd like to use this blog to mostly chronicle my training leading up to cross season and next race season. I'll be doing most of my winter and spring training on the trainer, until at least mid-March so outside of FTP tests and the size of the sweat puddle on my training mat there may not be much to write about for a few months. My goal would be to at least chronicle any races I do and weekly cross practice when they start up again.
My goals for 2017 are to do some selective road races and upgrade to Cat 3 and to be competitive in MAC and NJCX Cup cross races. I'm not the biggest fan of road racing but I feel like I have unfinished business and would like to feel competent before hanging up the skinny tires. As for my cross goal, I'd like to grow my power a little bit but spend the bulk of my time getting better technically. Riding the steps at HPCX, the sand at Bubblecross, or any level of mud were performance zappers for me last year.
After laying out a pretty concrete plan for 2017, there's a 100% chance that real life will get in the way and throw everything out the window. My wife and I are trying to start a family and planning on selling our apartment which are sure to change priorities and my training plan. So, the next year should be interesting! Follow along on the bike ride that is 2017.
2016
- Town Hall Cross - 4/5
- Caffeinated Cross - Cat 5
- Cooper River CX and West Chester Cross Classic Cat 4/5
- Whirlybird Cross and Marty Cross - Cat 4/5 and Cat 4
- HPCX Day 1 - Cat 4/5
- Kutztown - Cat 4/5
- Supercross Cup Day 2 - Cat 3
- NBX Gran Prix of Cyclocross - Cat 3
- Rainey Park CX - Cat 1/2/3
- BLP Crit - 4/5
- Tour de Pitman - 4/5
- Whirlybird - 3/4
- Hippo Cross - 3
- Caffeinated Cross - 3
- Bubble Cross - 3
- Supercross Cup - 3
After coming out of (relative) nowhere before this cross season and posting up a smattering of race reports and other borderline dad-jokes on this website, it's about time I formally say "hello" and get a blog going for 2017 and beyond.
A bit of background
I grew up in Mercer County ripping around on a Huffy Sledgehammer before getting deep into the ice hockey scene and playing pretty competitively through high school. After a bunch of degrees and a few beers in Boston (or maybe the other way around), I came back south following a job and brought along a fledgling running habit and the remnants of the freshman fifteen.
Fitness activities!
I was really into running for a few years, finishing two marathons, a handful of half marathons, and countless shorter races. My highlights were the 2014 NYC Marathon at 3:34:26, the 2014 Broad Street run at 1:12:08, and a PR 5K time of 19:19 last fall. The low-light was a half-ironman duathlon where I quit 3 miles into the half marathon after riding the bike section far too hard.
An overuse injury in 2010 led me to pick up a road bike to keep up on aerobic fitness and maybe get in to triathlons one day. I did a mix of riding, running, cycling, sprint triathlons, and crossfit through the end of 2014 before deciding to go full stop into road racing. I got my 10 races in at Cat 5 in 2015, celebrating the upgrade to Cat 4 by sliding across the finish line with a broken clavicle.
Cyclocross!
As I mentioned in my The "What did you accomplish in 2016?" Thread post, I started structured training in late 2015 with the intent of hitting 2016 hard. I had no idea what I was going to be hitting hard but I was trying to get fit! After realizing that a slightly overweight and not genetically gifted guy isn't going to excel in road racing, plus the inherent hazards of road racing, I was goaded into testing out this cyclocross thing by @The Squirrel last summer.
I spent some time trying to figure everything out but finally got the hang of things and enjoyed some mild success in the grass crit type races. After an upgrade to Cat 3 late in the season, I jumped into the deep end with muddy Supercross and NBX which were incredibly hard but were great for goal setting.
Goals
I'd like to use this blog to mostly chronicle my training leading up to cross season and next race season. I'll be doing most of my winter and spring training on the trainer, until at least mid-March so outside of FTP tests and the size of the sweat puddle on my training mat there may not be much to write about for a few months. My goal would be to at least chronicle any races I do and weekly cross practice when they start up again.
My goals for 2017 are to do some selective road races and upgrade to Cat 3 and to be competitive in MAC and NJCX Cup cross races. I'm not the biggest fan of road racing but I feel like I have unfinished business and would like to feel competent before hanging up the skinny tires. As for my cross goal, I'd like to grow my power a little bit but spend the bulk of my time getting better technically. Riding the steps at HPCX, the sand at Bubblecross, or any level of mud were performance zappers for me last year.
After laying out a pretty concrete plan for 2017, there's a 100% chance that real life will get in the way and throw everything out the window. My wife and I are trying to start a family and planning on selling our apartment which are sure to change priorities and my training plan. So, the next year should be interesting! Follow along on the bike ride that is 2017.
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