Thanks for the support!

My 2010 racing season finished up a few weeks ago with a win at the West Virginia State Time Trial Championships, and with it came the ups and downs that a season can bring, especially with it being my first year back to racing after a few years "off" from the sport. For a brief review of my season, one can go back through my posts. I hope I made it fun and worthwhile to read. I'll continue to document my training as I go into the off-season now, as I work towards a more successful 2011 season.

I'll be trying some new workouts/training programs, much different than what I've done in the past, in part to see if it'll make a difference, and also to keep me fresh as doing the same-old same-old can wear a person down mentally.

I would also like to thank those who are behind me with their support in sponsorship:

• My team's sponsors:
  Agr International
  Butler Health System
  Pro Bikes
  TMR Roofing
  GNC (Moraine Pointe Plaza - Butler, PA)
  Bearing Consultants
• Others who have helped me along the way:
  Oxygen4Energy
  Pure Endurance
  Clean Bottle
  Magura Direct (Uvex products)
  John Gamble (supplements)

Much appreciated for the gracious support!

2010 West Virginia TT Championships - (Season ending on a good note)

Back in the mid to late 90's, I used to go camping/road riding with a group of friends in the Parsons/St. George area of West Virginia, an area I grew to love a lot. And getting there was one of my all-time favorite roads, Route 72. So about three months or so ago, when I learned about the 16 mile West Virginia State Time Trial Championships being held on Route 72, just north of St. George in Rowlesburg, I wanted to do the race very badly.

The race was this past Saturday, September 18, and for about two months leading up to the race, all I did was train for it. I didn't go out for "rides", but instead each time on the bike had a purpose, a reason, whether it was intervals, hill repeats, or a recovery ride. And each ride was done on the time trial bike as I put my bike away until after the race.

I arrived at the race with plenty of time to casually get registered, get changed, and get warmed up. There was no rushing or running around. The race started at noon and my start time was at 12:18. At 12:15 I got into the line to await my turn. At 12:17 I was at the start line being held and ready to go. At 12:18 I was off, all my training and trial-n-error over the past two months were now for this very moment.

I shifted into a slightly uncomfortable big gear and turned my legs as quickly as I could. I got into a nice tempo and was flying. I was feeling great. For the first eight miles of the race I was averaging 27.6 MPH. Not too bad. The turn around point in the race was on a little hill that put a good hurt in the legs, but it also meant that you weren't flying at speed into the turn which was nice, no hard breaking required. As I rounded the orange cone at the turn around for the eight miles back to the finish line, I was able to regain top speed quickly.

With about four or five miles to go, somewhere around there, I noticed myself starting to slow down, and with that I started to panic. See, I wanted a podium spot very bad. I mean I worked my butt off for the last two months for it, and when I started going slower, that began bad thoughts creeping into my head. I was starting to convince myself that I wasn't going to make it, "Your too slow, you went out too fast and now paying for it...", etc. And the funny thing is that the more I thought about it, the slower I was going. Funny how that works. AND... just as all that was going on, my helmet strap came unbuckled, or so I thought. I reached up to re-buckle it and found that it was still buckled, but the strap itself came out of the buckle, so there was nothing I could do about it during the race. So I was having melt-down mind games and was getting slapped in the face by my helmet strap. Things were starting to really suck. But then I had another thought, "You gotta get your mind right boy!" With that, I stopped pedaling for a brief moment, took a real deep breath, put my head down, and started bringing my cadence up and with that my tempo and speed. 23, 24, 25, 26, 26.5 MPH. I got it back to where it should be and then concentrated on my breathing. Short, deep, powerful breaths. I lost a lot of valuable time but wasn't thinking about that at that moment. With the finish line now in sight, I put everything I had into it. I crossed the line at 33 MPH. At that point I had no idea if I made the podium, and it wasn't until around one hour after my finish I learned that not only did I make the podium, but I won! First Place! I beat the 2nd place guy by twenty-four seconds. Wow, I was shocked. Even with my "panic attack" and my helmet strap beating on my cheek distracting me, I made it. That felt so very good. With such an up-n-down season I had this year, it was nice to finish out with this win.

8/20/10 15 mile Time Trial

Trying out my "aero" helmet, which has been in a closet for 13 years

Another Friday night, another time trial in the can. This event was 15 miles, the same distance as the very first time trial I competed in earlier this year. But the result was very different. In the last 15 mile event I finished in 19th place. This time, I finished in 4th place, shaving off a big chunk of time. But in that first one I was a different rider too. I was much more nervous, which I am sure contributed to a quickly tiring upper body and starting out waaay too fast and burning myself up. This time around I was more confident and relaxed, and felt a lot better. The only thing I wish I could have done differently in this race was to get to my chiropractor the day before. I am happy with my result but my back was hurtin' like the dickens... again. When I get an adjustment before an event, I am typically pain free, but when I don't, my back quickly flares up and the pain works its way down the back of my right leg, and I have to just ride with it to the finish line. I think if I had been able to get to the doc, I could have had a better time, but I'm not complaining.

Now I only have two races left for my season. The first one is the West Virginia State Time Trial Championships, which I'm not eligible to win the title, but I can still "win" the event on September 18, and the Pennsylvania State Team Time Trial Championships in Erie on September 25. I am very excited about the latter as I will be competing WITH my teammates as we pedal our hearts out for the state gold.

Team Cervelo as they crush a team time trial

We don't want anything less because, according to my teammate Brian Hopkins, "Silver is just stupid." So we're either going for the gold or "die trying". Between now and then all my training is geared towards these two events. Looking forward to it!

2010 Smith Dairy Milk Race

Yesterday, August 15, was one of my all time favorite races, the Smith Dairy Milk Race in Orrville, OH, the home of Smuckers. It's a great 10 mile loop that's gently rolling with only one hill that's not real long or steep but can be made hard by attacking it hard and hurting your competitors every lap.  We had around thirty people in our race and accompanying me was my teammate Mark Briercheck.

At 10:05 the race started and we rolled off for the 40 mile battle, or four laps around the course. The first lap went well as nobody really attacked the group until the hill about 7 miles into the 10 mile loop. To my knowledge no one was dropped on the first lap.

On the second lap I really started to notice, "Man, it is HOT and muggy," as sweat was really starting to run down my face and leave streaks on my glasses. The pace picked up on this lap but Mark and I were right there in it.

The third lap got even a little harder and the sweat was really pouring now. I heard someone behind me say, "Someone's really sweating up there. It's hitting me."  Haha... he was probably talking about me. I was making sure to drink heavily to replace what I was losing. Still, Mark and I were looking good and feeling fresh.

Fourth and final lap, the pace was all over the place. We would speed up dramatically and after a little bit we'd slow back down, waiting to see who would make the next attack. Guys were starting to get weary and tired and mistakes were starting to be made with two one-man crashes throughout the lap. When we got to the "big" hill we charged up it and my left hamstring started cramping. Ow! But I got to the top and rode through it. I noticed a few other guys shaking and rubbing their legs, trying to get their cramps out too.

About one kilometer or so to the finish I was right at the front of the group, behind one or two guys, and we were going S-L-O-W. No one wanted to go first only to get caught and passed. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Briercheck flew past all of us looking like he was going for a solo win. Well, that perked everyone up and at that point we were off to the races!

Okay, so here we go. But the problem was that the guys I was behind didn't jump as quickly and they were leaving a gap, and riders were starting to pass us on the outside, to the left. I was looking everywhere for a hole I could get through to pass these guys. Arrrrgh! Nothing! And then one guy started to fade and drifted just a little to the left, but just enough for me to squeak by on the inside on the edge of the road.

I got around him and then a few more holes started appearing. I passed other riders, dodging around them, but nowhere near where I needed to be for a "in the money" result. I tried to muster all the violence I could conger up, but it just wasn't enough. And at the same time the inner muscles of my left thigh were on fire with cramps. Crossed the finish line... 12th place.  Eh, I'll take it. Guess I have no choice. Next time I'll be sure to be on Briercheck's wheel having him lead me out. If I had done that here, I'm SURE I would have been... in the money.

On another note... today, the day after, my inner thighs and upper body are pretty sore. It was a good battle.

Working on the Time Trial

So it's been a while since my last post about the July 2nd, 15 mile time trial I competed in, and since then I have raced in two more time trials, both at the same location as the July 2, time trial.

The first time trial I did following the July 2, event was a 25 mile race on July 30. Now, this was only my second time trial since 1997, and my first attempt at a time trial at this distance. The goal for most cyclists at the 25 mile distance is to do it under one hour. That's a pretty good deal and shows some fitness if that can be accomplished. So, with that goal in mind, I would have been happy with a time of 59:59:99... under 1:00:00.

The start of this race felt much more different than the previous 15 mile race. I was much more relaxed, not nearly as nervous, and just generally feeling very good about myself.  The clock ticked down to my start time... and I was off. Man I felt much better than last time. Comfortable, relaxed, fast. I just got a good tempo and pedal cadence and just ticked off the laps. Last lap, gave it all I had left and crossed the line... 57:09. Whoa! What?! Like I said, I was going to be happy with one second under an hour, but about three minutes? And that was without the fancy time trial wheels or helmet. Nice. Everything just clicked that night for me. No nerves making me tense and uneasy. Good fresh, strong legs keeping the cadence high. It really was all good that night. The time of 57:09 put me in 5th place. What a good night.

The next time trial race was on August 6, with a distance of 10 miles, and again on the same course as the previous two. This one felt a little different for me, again. I was relaxed and confident as I was before the 25 mile race, but my legs felt a bit more tired. And again the clocked ticked down... and I hit the course. In a time trial you have to pace yourself, not going too hard early and blow yourself up, but not too slow and lose a lot of time. This is something I am still working on and learning. This evening I probably went out of the gates too fast. I was going very good on the first half of the race, perhaps too good, but as I was closing in on the last few laps my legs were starting to tire out on me and my average speed was slowly going down. I finished with a decent time of 23:16 for 10.2 miles, which put me in 10th place, but I believe I could have done better. But hey... that's what these Friday night races are for. They're training races (well, to me they are) to help me become a better time trialist for the bigger weekend races.

The next and last Friday night race is on August 20. I'll be quicker this time to post the race report.

Against the clock

Yesterday, July 2, 2010, I did my first time trial since my 7th place finish in the PA State Championship Time Trial... in 1997. It's been thirteen years and I was a little nervous about it.

For those who don't know, a time trial is a race where it's just you against the clock. There is no pack of other racers to hide in and take cover from the wind. You're out there alone, exposed. It's not who crosses the line first like every other race, but it's who has the fastest time on the course that wins. The bike are different too. They are designed to cheat the wind. Same with the helmets if one chooses to wear one of that kind. In this race they sent a rider off every thirty seconds and every thirty seconds I moved a bike length closer to the start line. Then it was my turn, three... two... one... GO!

One thing about time trials is that you have to pace yourself, you don't want to start off too fast or you'll tire out quicker... which is exactly what I did. Too fast at first. Nerves got the better of me.  After a few laps into the 30 lap (15 mile) race, my legs were aching bad with lactic acid, forcing me to back off a little and recover. Okay, got through that, legs were coming around. Then my right knee started to hurt a lot. Grrr... but I kept pedaling and eventually that went away too (tho it seems I need to do some adjusting on my borrowed bike). About half way thru the race I was wanting to throw up, finding that fine line between pushing too hard and yet not hard enough. I was right at that line, good.

At lap thirty, my last lap, I stomped around the course and crossed the finish line. Whew... over. Whoops! Apparently there were some cones set up that I had to cross the finish line on the other side of so they can record my time, which I didn't do. But I was watching the timer on my bike computer so I was able to give them that time, which was probably close to what they were going to record, I hope.

So I finished the 15 mile time trial with a time of 36:34, my time, not theirs. That's an average speed of 24.6 MPH. I don't know where I placed yet. I'm waiting for the results to be posted online. Eh... I'll take that given that was my first time trial in thirteen years, I went too hard at first and blew up having to ease a little to recover, and finding I still need to make some adjustments to the bike to be more efficient (and less painful). I also found that my upper body, specifically my shoulders, need better conditioning to be in that "aerodynamic tuck" position for an extended time. After a while during the race my shoulders were getting sore and tired. The next time trial race is in two weeks, another Friday night race, and it's a 20 mile race. I have two weeks to train, tweak, and try again. I would love to break the 25 MPH mark. On another note, my teammate Brian Hopkins crushed the 15 mile course record. That was great to see. Much respect.

Last Few Weeks Have Been A Pain In The Butt

So it's been a while since my last update, and it's because I haven't done much in the way of racing. Ever since my last race at the Chippewa Creek Race in Ohio, I have been continuously nagged by sciatica, an irritation of the sciatic nerve.

The sciatic nerve either passes behind or through, depending on how you're made, the piriformis muscle. If that muscle is injured, it can compress down on the nerve and cause pain, tingling and numbness in the buttocks and along the path of the sciatic nerve descending down into the leg.
 
I've been dealing with this for almost four weeks now. It's affected my riding and racing in that I am not getting the power output I need out of my right leg, and a lot of great discomfort in that leg. I've been to my chiropractor for a needed adjustment and massage, and he gave me some stretches to do to work out the piriformis. I've been doing them and even took some time off the bike completely.  The pain just now seems to be slowly going away, with an emphasis on slowly. It's still there but not as bad or as deep into my leg. In fact, I had a decent 60 mile ride yesterday with some friends/teammates. Although I was still bothered by my condition, I felt good enough to put in some hard efforts.

I don't currently have any races planned for the month of June partly because of this issue and partly due to some "outside of riding" stuff, so this is a good time to continue to stretch and adjust and massage this out of my body and get back into shape just in time for some HOT racing in July and August.  I'll keep you posted.

Through the wood chipper at Chippewa Creek

So today's race was the Chippewa Creek Road Race in Brecksville, OH, just a little south of Cleveland.  It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive for me, and I got there with a decent amount of time to register and warm up.  At 10:30 they lined us up at the start/finish line, there were about 35-40 riders, and then we were off.

The course was very nice, a meandering road through a shaded park with short rolling hills and sweeping turns.  The only real factor in the course was a long gradual hill with a section that kicks up a bit, about three miles into the four mile loop.  At the top of the hill was the finish line.

We rolled through the park, and I made sure to stay at the front of the pack. I'm typically not a good climber with my 185 pound carcass, so to make sure I had a good position by the time we got to the top of the hill, I started it first to make sure that as people passed me, I would still be with the pack by the top. Unfortunately my plan fell completely apart.

I was doing alright until we hit the steeper section of the hill and then my legs just seized up. They felt like the were just filled with cement. I found myself being passed by more and more guys. Crap! I tried to dig as deep as I could to hold on, but the more I dug the more I just hit stone. Couldn't dig any deeper.

By the time we were at the top of the climb I was behind the pack with a few stragglers behind me. I could see the pack that just dropped me. They were strung out in a line with other guys just barely hanging on. Once the road flattened out again I put all I had into rejoining the group, all the while my legs were bloated with lactic acid pain and my sciatic nerve was shooting through my back, hip and right leg. I had to ride through it, I had no choice.

As soon as I was about to rejoin the group I found myself at the foot of the long hill again.  See ya group! They rode away from me, never to be seen again.  During the rest of the race I caught up to some stragglers, some I was able to drop and some stayed with me, eventually riding away from me too on the last climb up that stupid hill. I finished the race, but nowhere near where I wanted to be.

For the following two and half hours on the drive home, I contemplated what went wrong. Did I not warm up enough (it was extra chilly in the shade)? Am I not doing enough hill work in training? Did I not eat enough breakfast. I mean I know I'm not a good climber, but I can climb much better than the crap I did today. A bunch of questions. I'll learn from this, get it sorted out, put it behind me and be ready for the next one.

The race that was supposed to be

So yesterday, May 1, was another race on my sked.  Again, it was the Race At The Lake near Akron, OH, the same course as last week (The RATL is a series of races, four Saturdays in a row).  It was an opportunity to get another race in, and to better my 4th place finish from the previous week.

I got up and out of bed at 7:00AM and proceeded to my computer where I checked out the weather radar for the area.  Behold, there before me on my screen was a huge mass of dark green, yellow, and red moving, albeit slowly, right towards the race venue.  "Ugh, that's gonna be supremely miserable and potentially dangerous," I mumbled to myself in my head.  "Nah, I think I'll pass on this one."  After convincing myself that it wasn't a good day to be racing, I meandered back to bed and under the covers, being quickly lulled back to sleep by the hum of my window fan.

A little later I got back out of bed and went back to my computer and refreshed the weather radar where I noticed and realized a huge mistake.  The huge multicolored mass wasn't getting to the race area.  A high pressure system in front of the mass was making it drift northward and away from the race.  The race was going to be dry.  But by this time it was to late to get going.  I had my chance.  Ohhh... I was fuming a little at myself.  How could I be so dumb!?  So lazy!?  Putz!

For the next few hours I sat refreshing the radar, hoping I would be proved wrong and that the rain mass would lurch westward and flood the race.  Nope.  Shoot.  At this point I knew a punishment was in order.  I suited up, filled up the water bottles, and set out for a very hard 65 mile ride, to serve as both a flogging and hard training.

My 65 mile route from my house is one of the hardest routes I could devise with four big climbs in the West Virginia Panhandle.  So off I went, into a somewhat strong headwind from the W/NW.  I went strong and hard.  I was mad that I was riding well and not racing, so I rode harder, flying.

This lasted for about 45 miles when I realized I was out of water on a very hot day, in the middle of Nowhere, WV.  I stopped at a church and two cemeteries looking for a water source.  Nothing.  I slogged on.  At 50 miles into the ride I fell apart like an old shoe, soft-pedaling my way along.  I started wishing for some kids with a lemonade stand to be... around this bend... okay this bend... uh, this bend... crap!

This went on, SLOWLY, for ten more miles until I got to the next town where I was able to get some water and recover.  At that point I was only five miles away from home and knowing that made things better too.  When I started the ride I was a stout 186 pound man.  When I finished I weighed in at 178, eight pounds less.  That's pretty significant water loss.

So I didn't get to race, which still bothers me, but I did get a good, hard workout in, at least for 45 of my 65 miles, and I'll be sure not to let my wavering hold me back again.

Ag3r/ButlerHealthSystem at the Race At The Lake 4/24/2010

This past Saturday was the second Race At The Lake of the season in Munroe Falls, OH, and the second race of the year for me (as well as the second "real" race in like five years). I arrived at the race and got suited up with plenty of time to get to the start line, but not enough time for a good warm up. The officials rolled us out to the "official" start/finish line on the hill in the back of the course and off we went.

Somewhere around five laps in they rang the bell for a $10 prime. My legs were still a little cold and needed a good warm up, so as we approached the base of the start/finish hill I took off. I had a good gap, buuut... I misjudged the gearing I used and was starting to bog down. Suddenly two guys came up to me on the outside. I tried to dig deeper but couldn't turn the pedals fast enough and they gapped me and got the prime. Okay, didn't get it but the legs were opened up now!

I drifted back into the pack and took some shelter and the race went on. A short time later I started to develop a bad back pain that shot from my lower back, down the right side of my behind, and into my right hamstring. I hung back trying to work it out, eventually doing so a little bit. (note to self - call Todd at Pro Bikes to get re-fitted on my bike to help with the back pain!).

After a while, the final lap bell rang as we past. We went around the course, and as we closed in on the final stretch, I glued myself onto a wheel I knew was one of the fastest, Dick Brink, a mainstay of the Race At The Lake. But as Dick took the final turn, with me on his wheel, he took a bad line that got us boxed in. We couldn't advance. All the while I heard teammate Mark Briercheck holler out, "What are you doing over there Schar?" I look to my left and there's Mark free as a bird with the whole road open to his will. Crap!

I slowed down, leaving Brink's wheel, and got a gap where I was able to get out of the box. I came around the other side and kicked it in. "Get on it!" shouted Briercheck. I came around a lot of the pack, and was all out going up the back hill to the finish line. Just a little way up the hill one guy sits up. Crap! I threaded a needle and got around him without losing too much momentum. Then, almost at the line another guy sits up. I hate that! But I wasn't about to do the same. I noticed a little window that would get me across the line at speed, but put me in the grass at the edge of the road right after the line. Time to turf it up! I aimed for the window, passed that guy, and controlled it into the grass.

All in all, a good, fun race. I got 4th (in the money), and Briercheck got 9th. Good representation for Ag3r/ButlerHealthSystem.