Extreme Momentum

I’m pissed off. I don’t know if it’s caused by pent up frustration with the stupidity of the American electorate, missing my first real CX race of the year due to sickness, or just the cross country adrenaline flowing through my veins.  All of the sudden, I want blood.  I just need to carry this over into races.  I luckily got sick during a rest week and now have a couple of hard training weeks for cyclocross. The biggest challenge will not be overdoing it.

For example, I went out for an “easy” run on Saturday when I was suck. I came upon one runner who picked up the pace when I was on his heals.  Of course, instincts took over and I sped up to.  He eventually turned around, but I kept going.  Next thing I know, my Garmin shouted out a 6:20 mile.  Oops. At least my heart rate wasn’t that high, which shows my running form is coming along.

Stay tuned to how this translates into race performances.

You don’t want to see this when you’re supposed to be going “easy”….;)

Those words ring loud and true when you work in healthcare. You’re always trying improve people’s lives, but what you’re really doing is postponing the inevitable–death.

While losing someone in their golden years is hard, it’s much easier to accept as part of life.  They’ve enjoyed life and now it’s time to move on.  However, subtract a few decades from someone’s life expectancy and things get harder.

I lost my mom to cancer when I was 16. She was only 44. As a teacher, pastor’s wife, and mother of 2, she was exactly the type of person others admired.  I was always amazed by not just the difference she made in my sister and I’s lives, but how many other lives she touched through her teaching, mentoring, and friendship. She actually kept teaching fulltime about one month until her death, which shows just how much she enjoyed teaching. People always ask, “Why does someone that young have to die?” We don’t know.  Having studied cancer for many years, I know why on the molecular level but I don’t know why on the spiritual.

These questions hit me hard again this past Friday.  I found out that Dr. Hartigan, the surgeon who had repaired by collarbone after my crash in May (you can see his handiwork on my blog’s background), passed away this week from adrenal cancer.  He was only 40. I was very shocked since he had looked to be doing fine during all of my visits with him.  In fact, he usually had 1-2 surgical residents in tow and was very animated explaining my case to them. You could tell how much he loved teaching.  It’s amazing how you would never have expected that this was a man deep in the throes of fighting cancer. However, I knew someone wrong when I went in for my final followup last week and the staff said he was on indefinite medical leave.  The look on their faces told me everything. Sadly, he lost the battle.  The similarities between his life and my mom’s was very similar, which is probably why learning of his death hit me.

I’ve posted a copy of his obituary below from the Chicago Tribune website and remind you to enjoy life while you can, because we all know that Life’s Too Short.

Dr. Brian J. Hartigan 1968 - 2008
Orthopedic surgeon, teacher
Northwestern University medical school doctor was president of his practice in Chicago and an award-winning educator

By Trevor Jensen
September 25, 2008

Dr. Brian J. Hartigan spelled out his desire to be a doctor in crayon when he was just a boy. Drawn to the complexity of hand and wrist surgery as a medical resident, he was a popular teacher at Northwestern University’s medical school and president of a Chicago orthopedic practice.

Dr. Hartigan, 40, died Tuesday, Sept. 23, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital after a yearlong struggle with adrenal cancer, said his wife, Pamela. He lived in Glenview.

After receiving his medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Dr. Hartigan completed his internship and a residency in orthopedic surgery at Northwestern, where he was a chief resident in 1998. He then attended a fellowship in hand surgery in Cincinnati.

The 27 bones of the hand and wrist were compelling material for a physician of Dr. Hartigan’s meticulous nature, said his wife and a colleague.

“It allowed him to do things to reconstruct and help people,” said Dr. Charles Carroll, who taught Dr. Hartigan at Northwestern and was a colleague in his practice, the Northwestern Orthopaedic Institute. “The complexity of it, that attracted him from a thought process.”

“He always said ‘Everybody needs their hands,’ ” his wife said.

A teacher at Northwestern since completing his fellowship in 2000, Dr. Hartigan was patient and compassionate with students and residents, and developed a curriculum in hand surgery that Carroll said will probably be used for years to come.

“He was able to make topics come alive,” and he spoke to fledgling physicians in a manner “appropriate to their level of understanding,” Carroll said.

Dr. Hartigan was given the James K. Stack Teacher of the Year Award at Northwestern’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery in 2004. Last year, the group of nine residents he worked with gave him their Tenth Man Award, presented to the doctor who they felt best helped them through their residency.

Dr. Hartigan was born in Evergreen Park and grew up in Olympia Fields before his father, an executive with Amoco, was transferred to the East Coast. He was barely in grade school when he decided he was going to be a doctor.

“We have him writing in crayon that he wanted to be a doctor,” his wife said.

Dr. Hartigan went to high school in Maryland but returned to the Midwest to complete a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

As an intern and resident, he volunteered on the medical staff for football at Evanston Township High School and North Shore Country Day School, as well as at the Midlands Wrestling Tournament at Northwestern.

Dr. Hartigan also is survived by two sons, Connor and John; a daughter, Hannah; his parents, John and Cecelia; a brother, Michael; and a sister, Laura Lukas.

Jackson Park Cyclocross
September 21, 2008 – Chicago, IL
Masters 30+ – 13th

is theoretically supposed to be raced in cold, damp, muddy, and treacherous conditions. Yeah, if you’re in Belgium in March, but Chicago in September is a little different. The first 2008 Chicago Cyclocross Cup race was contested at Jackson Park on September 21. The course was very similar to last year with lots of tight turns, a few off camber sections, and just enough straightaways to recuperate. While the course was great, the air was something different. I chose the Masters 30+ race, which was the first one of the day. Temperatures were hovering around 70 degrees F, but the humidity was thick enough for a machete. Yeah, this was going to be fun.

About 50-60 Masters racers toed the line and found out we would be going at once instead of waves based on age group. I let other guys to the front, because I had decided to use this race as practice and focus more on Lapham Peak which was a few weeks away. I would use the first half of the race to primarily focus on cornering and my barrier technique. The race started fairly fast, but not too insane. The wet grass from the dew proved to very slick in some areas and a few racers went down. With this race surface, I was happy to have dropped my Grifos down to about 34 PSI for the race. A few guys in front of me went down.

The first lap was very easy and it was good just to get a feel for the barriers and course.  Even if you do a preride, it’s just not the same as tackling the course in a race. The spectators were great and positioned at just the right places around the course to encourage us racers.  Plus, Jackson Park was hosted by XXX Racing/ Athletic, so there were plenty of my teammates cheering me on. I would occasionally ham it up for them, especially if someone was taking photos.  I heard more than a few times, “Hey, Pete…quit smiling and get racing.”  Yeah, I know, but that’s not the game plan.

One thing that got me worried about 10 minutes into the race was my heart rate.  I wasn’t going even close to hard and I was at 190 bpm, which is near my max on the bike.  I would expect it to be a little higher in cyclocross due to the running, but it shouldn’t be so high for the pace I was going.  This was starting to freak me out, but I attributed it to the heat. I wanted to pick the pace up in the second half of the race, but I tried only see my heart rate peg out at around 200 bpm.  I sure wasn’t going to go harder and the heat was beginning to take a toll on me as the race wore on.  I wasn’t smiling much now.

I was thinking of dropping out at 45 minutes, because I had planned it as a workout.  Thankfully, I was passing more and more racers and decided to suffer through a few more laps.  Isn’t that what CX is all about? The last few laps were unnerving from the heat.  My legs felt good and I had plenty of energy, but my I was feeling sloppy. Ironically, my barrier technique kept getting better at the end of the race, even though I was more tired. I got a few more riders and ended up fighting with a few for position since we knew the race was just about over. I was happy to finish and immediately went to my car to rejoice with some nice warm water (I need to start bringing a cooler).

After my race, I was scheduled to volunteer at registration.  I remember how stressful it was last year, but the experience helped prepare me for this year. I was manning the table with Luke and Peggy.  Amazingly, we got through the crush of Cat 4s.  We ended up with over 120 racers in the 4As and 4Bs…wow!  It’s good to see CX expanding in popularity.

While working registration, I saw them post results for the Masters 30+ race.  I ended up 13th out of about 30 racers.  Not bad considering I was nearly last at the start. Now I just need to actually focus on racing and not worry about my smile.

Dousman Duathlon
September 14, 2008 – Dousman, WI
Relay – 1st – 1:15:47

Run#1 = 11:45 (6:12/mile pace)
Transition#1 = 0:36
Bike#1 = 52:39 (24.0 MPH)
Transition#2 = 0:30
Run#2 = 10:20 (5:40/mile pace)

In the week leading up to the Dousman Duathlon, Rose and I probably checked the weather forecast at least twice a day.  Meteorologists were forecasting buckets of rain, but we were hoping it would end before the race Sunday AM. Not that a couple of us old cross country veterans were getting soft in our elder years, but we do appreciate dry races.

Well, we didn’t luck out. We got up to Dousman Saturday afternoon in fairly good spirits.  We had left record rainfall in Chicago for clearing skies in Wisconsin.  Unfortunately, that didn’t last long.  We picked up our packets, drove the course, and went to dinner with friends.  By the time we left the restaurant, it was starting to sprinkle. When we woke up in the morning, it was a steady downpour.  Oh, well, at least it was rainy and 60 degrees F, not 40!

Rose and I were racing the relay. She would run the first 2 miles, I would bike the next 20 miles, then she would run the final 2 miles.  Considering I only had to wait about 10 minutes in the rain for her, and she would have to wait about 50 minutes for me, you would think I had it easier.  Not really.  Running in the rain is a lot more enjoyable then biking, especially on a technical course.  Rose kept pleading with the night before to take it easy on the corners, because she didn’t want me to hurt my clavicle again.  I told her that wasn’t a problem considering how chicken I was in dry weather the week before during the TTT.  Besides, we were just doing this race for fun, right?

It’s hard for a couple of people who are used to winning races, to just “take it easy”. We know what it’s like to be at top form and cross the finish line first.  Our fireplace mantle is covered with enough trophies and medals to make most martial arts schools jealous [Ed note: While Rose has more hardware then me, I’m still faster]. Let’s face, we both wanted to win and knew we could, even if we didn’t really talk about it.

Despite the rain, the duathlon had about 600 racers out of over 800 registered entrants.  Like most multisport races, people started in waves.  Rose was in the second wave of runners, so I knew I wouldn’t have many people on the bike course.  After Rose started, I hung out in the transition area stretching next to my bike.  There were a few other relay teams, including one guy who had brought his trainier into the transition area and was spinning to stay warm.  Damn, why didn’t I think of that!

Rose came through as about the 20th runner out of the first 2 waves.  I was pretty excited, since that put us in a good overall position and I knew she’d be even stronger on the final leg with her current training levels.  Starting the bike was quite interesting.  I took it easy to get me legs warmed up, and my brake pads weren’t working at all on my ZIpps in the rain. I settled into a tempo pace and focused on passing the solo racers who were using the first few miles to refuel for their bike legs.

The bike course ended up being about 21 miles and was absolutely beautiful.  It followed narrow township roads, through rural farms and subdivisions.  Lots of turns and rolling hills.  Just as you powered up one hill, you’d have a blazing descent followed by some tight turns.  I was riding my Isaac TT bike with a disc, because there were enough flat stretches.  However, a standard road bike would have been better for much of the course.

I was moving along pretty well and passing other riders.  I had one younger guy from Mesa Cycling on a relay team fly by me at about 28 MPH, but I knew his runner was slower so I wasn’t too worried. My mind was so focused on the riders and road, that I didn’t bother with monitoring my PowerTap.  I was having fun (sort of).  I wasn’t in the typical TT pain I face, but I wasn’t going easy.  The rain and technical features made this course fun.  The 20 miles went by quicker than they would in most races, but they still took a toll on my body and could feel the fatigue the last couple of kilometers.

I came into the last transition trying to figure out what to do.  It was a good 100 yards from the dismount area to our handoff spot, and I did not want to walk with my bike (we couldn’t ride through the transition).  Well, it’s CX season.  I hopped off my bike, shouldered it, and ran through the transition area.  Rose grabbed the chip and took off.  At this point we were probably about sixth overall. I quickly checked my PowerTap.  Amazingly, I had averaged 24 MPH, which I knew would be one of the faster bike legs but there had been faster cyclists and we needed a strong run from Rose to place well.

I threw on my rain gear and went to watch the finish.  The first couple of guys crossed the finish line, but I knew they were solo racers.  Then Rose came in.  I think the announcers were completely amazed that it was a woman.  They thought she was the first solo female, not a relay member.  She had run the fastest second leg of the day. Even as a relay runner, she received tons of compliments for her fast finish. We were both happy to have placed so high and were pretty sure we were the top relay team.

were really excited during the ride home. Not only had we done well, but the Dousman Duathlon was a wonderful race.  The staging area had ample parking and bathrooms and even had pancakes after the race.  The race staff and volunteers were friendly, and they deserve huge kudos for spending their Sunday morning in the rain.  After having done USAT events, and experienced multisport sticker shock, it was nice to do a lower key event with a very Wisconsin attitude.  We both look forward to doing some more of these in the future, especially now that we have a title to defend.

When we got home, we anxiously awaited the results being posted online.  Thankfully, prelims were posted later than night.  We had finished third overall and were pretty sure we were the first relay team.  Sure enough, the official results confirmed our victory a few days later. Not bad for our first relay together.

Well, we now have hardware on the fireplace that we can both claim, and we still have some space left on the mantle for more. [Ed Note to Rose: Sweetie, I still have a ton of high school medals in storage, but I’m sure you’ve still got more than me…:)]

I officially started my cyclocross season yesterday. I opted to get a training plan (by pro CX racer, Andy Applegate) from Trainingpeaks.com.  It was only $55 for 3 months, which would at least give me structured workouts and not break the bank.  Not as good as a real coach, but better and easier than creating workouts for myself.

The first workout was a 30 minute run at an “easy pace”.  Uh, yeah…well, my easy pace last night was around 7:00.  The weather was cool, which is probably why I ran faster than I should have. My legs felt great and my HR didn’t get too high. Plus, the feeling of cross country and fall was in the air.

Tonight was our team’s first informal CX practice at Montrose Harbor.  We started these last year and had a decent turnout, but nothing like this year.  We had about ten XXXers out for practice tonight, some beginners and some veterans.  Very cool to see everyone. We had some homemade PVC barriers, which helped folks get back into CX mode. It felt kind of weird to start hopping on and off the bike again, but it was addicting! I was amazed at how fast it came back to me.  I still need a lot of practice, but I felt more confident on turns and the dismounts at the end of the session.  It will be interesting to see how these workouts shape up over time. I had a lot of fun last year when the weather got colder and we all got in better with our technique. You can usually tell the diehards by then, but there’s no doubt CX is getting more popular every year.

For a taste of what we do in CX, here are some videos.

According to WGN, this August has been the driest since the Dust Bowl days of 1932.  Yep.  You should  have seen my CX bike after a few laps on the limestone paths of Waterfall Glen.  I don’t have photos, but let’s just say it looked like I hadn’t washed my bike in a couple of years.

For those of you not familiar with Waterfall Glen, it’s part of the DuPage County Forest Preserves.  It encompasses Argonne National Laboratory and provides a 10 mile off-road loop for runners, cyclists, etc. It’s hilly, but not that hilly.  It has lots of tight turns that will test your high speed bike handling.  I found it to be a perfect workout for helping to rebuild my offroad confidence in cyclocross.  I did 3 loops and was skittish on the first, but got more comfortable on the next ones.  The dry, loose surface testing my confidence and willingness to hit the corners at high speed. Plus, it was in the 90s, and I hard learned my hydration lesson from the state TT championships yesterday.

Ride#1 - 31 miles - 1599 feet of climbing

Illinois State TT Championships
August 30, 2008 – Harvard, IL
Masters 30-34 – 2nd – 47:44.42
266 watts – 25.6 MPH

One of my old teammates asked me before the race, “Aren’t you defending?” I replied that I wasn’t.  He looked confused.  “Didn’t you win last year?” he asked.  “Well, yeah, I did, so yeah, well, uh, I guess I’m officially defending my title from last year. ” After a couple of more seconds, I added, “Well, I’m the defending champ, but I’m not defending my title”  Yep, I was just happy to have made it to the race.

I won’t go into a long frustrating story involving ComEd, contractors, and being president of my condo association. Let’s just say that Friday full of stress and a sleepless night didn’t really encourage me to get up at 7 AM on Saturday to drive out to Harvard, IL for a race. In fact, if it had been any race BUT the Illinois State TT championships, I would have killed the alarm and gone back to bed. That championship jersey was begging me to defend it.

Like last year, the state TT championships were held on the familiar Harvard 30K course. Conditions were great with temperatures in the 70s, clear skies, and a slight SW wind. With my hectic day before the race, I was taking a fairly laid back approach.  I had plenty of time to warm up and also chatted with other racers in the parking lot. I really just wanted to chill and enjoy the weatehr, but I had a race to do. Thankfully, I got a little more focused during the warm up, but not much.

My start went fairly well. I got into a good rhythm until I ran into an idiot on his cool down biking in the middle of the right lane.  He was completely ignorant of traffic trying to pass him on the left and other riders trying to pass him on the right. He didn’t respond to verbal yells and he nearly hit another rider who tried to pass on the inside.  I ended up dropping a quick sprint in order to get around him.  Note to other riders.  Don’t cool down on the course while a race is in progress.  I know you can’t do this is crits and road races, and am pretty sure you can’t do so in TTs. Considering he won his category, he should have known better.

After that encounter, my race started to go downhill. And, I don’t mean in elevation.  Super genius here decided he didn’t need water, because the race was only 30K.  Great idea considering that I was wearing a black, long sleeve skinsuit and I barely had any water before the race. Let’s just say the final 15 miles of the race weren’t pretty. I felt like dropping out and noodling the rest of the way, but I knew that I would be POed with myself later. I got into my normal, thirst-induced momentum thought in my mind–the trunk full of Gatorade awaiting me in the parking lot.

I was pretty sure I was out of the running for a podium spot after my finish, but was pleasantly surprised with a 25.6 MPH average over the 32K distance.  Ironically, my one good decision of the day probably saved me a podium spot.  I had only raced on it once before (and I broke my collar bone in that TT), but I still opted to try the “hundo”, the Blackwell Research 100, in front.  Good idea. Had I chosen another front wheel, I wouldn’t have placed.  Thank goodness for aerodynamics!

Rather than heading home to beat traffic, I wanted to wait for results since this was the state championships. Besides, the weather was great and I had a chance to chat with other racers and meet new XXXer, Chris Kinonen.  Chris had a phenomenal race that day, coming in right behind me despite not having a ton of aero equipment. We finished 4th and 5th in Masters 30-34, but went 2-3 in the state championship placings. A great XXX showing!

So, until next year…:)

The complete results are on the Chicago TT series website here, plus there are photos on the ICA website here.

While cleaning my cyclocross bike off after our trip to Acadia, I discovered a neat little trick using compressed air.  I had taken the crank off because I’m still trying to get it adjusted right in the bottom bracket.  Without the crank in, I decided to use a can of compressed air to blow a bunch of sand and grit out of the seat tube. Woohoo!  Look at what happened.  Pretty cool, huh?  It totally reminds me of a steam engine. Yes, I’m easily entertained.

Willow Springs 30K TT
August 24, 2008 – Willow Springs, IL
Masters 30-39 – 6th – 45:20.58
276 watts – 25.6 MPH

Venues for road racing in the Chicago area tend to be pretty cookie cutter. Office parks for crits and cornfields for time trials. We racers tend to get overexcited even if a course differs just slightly from the norm. Taking that into mind, the course for the Willow Springs TT was like a surprise birthday party. Not only did it have real hills, but lots of trees! Huh? Trees and hills on TT course in the Chicago area. Yep, and less than 30 minutes from downtown. That’s right, I’ve got a new favorite TT course.

The Willow Springs TT on August 21 was staged near the Palos Forest Preserve. Mountain bikers are very familiar with this Cook County gem and its heavily wooded areas, challenging hills (for Chicago), and sense that you’re no longer in the city. The course started near the corner of Willow Springs Road and Archer. Riders immediately faced a 1.5 km uphill that averaged a 6% gradient. The hill climbs were timed for a KOM competition. After this uphill section, the course followed a nice fast descent to 107th street. The course west on 107th was flat with a slight downhill near the turn onto Archer. The remaining stretch on Archer was also flat and heavily wooded, thus protected from the wind. This loop was 15K, so the racers would do 2 laps for a full 30K. Traffic was also courteous to riders and I was usually given plenty of room when cars were passing.

The race shared parking with I&M trail users, but this wasn’t really an issue on a Sunday AM. In fact, the path provided a great traffic-free spot to warm-up. I had arrived an hour early which was more than enough time to pick up my packet and warm-up. I ended up spending most of my time, while stretching, explaining the race and my TT bike to inquisitive recreational cyclists on their hybrids.
I was a little nervous at the start because I didn’t know how I would handle the downhill speeds and some tight corners. Yep, I chickened out. However, I cruised uphill and really dropped the hammer on the flats for a respectable speed of 25.6 MPH for 6th in Masters 30-39. Ironically, my time would have been first in Cat 4.

I got lucky having some nice carrots in front of me to help push the pace. Druber passed me on his second lap just when I had started my first. Sure, he’s a lot faster but I could at least minimize the amount he gained on me. I kept him in range up until about a mile or so before his finish. Then, just as I started my second lap. Voytek started his first lap. He started fairly fast, but I knew Voytek wasn’t that much different from me in speed. That provided good motivation and he soon backed off his pace and I caught him just before my finish. It’s amazing how important psychology and having something to chase is in TTing!

I’m hoping the new Chicago TT series continues next year and we get to use the Willow Springs course again. A lot of effort went into this inaugural series and even though it had a few hiccups and bad luck this year, it would be nice to have a regular USA Cycling based TT series in the Chicago area. Thanks to all of the organizers and volunteers who helped make it happen!

ABR Masters National 30K TT
August 16, 2008 – Garden Prairie, IL
Masters 30+ – 5th – 47:09.01
270 watts – 25.4 MPH

I’m back! Well, sort of. The ABR Masters National Time Trial championship last Saturday represented my first race since having collarbone surgery back in June. I didn’t get a stars and stripes jersey, but I didn’t crash!

I actually ended up surprising myself, despite only finishing fifth. My goal was simply to ride hard the first half and see how things went from there. If I averaged over 24 MPH, I figured I was in pretty good shape considering everything that has happened to me in the past few months.

The day began with a somber note as I departed for the race in Garden Prairie without the Blue Pod, which was in the body shop thanks to some high schools kids who hung an illegal U-turn in front of me a couple of weeks ago. At least I had a car to get to the race, and was eager to race my new set of other wheels—the Isaac Aerotic.

The ABR Masters TT didn’t utilize the normal 40K course, rather it followed a shorten 30K version. Thus, times were guaranteed to be fast with the shorter distance and near perfect weather. The weather was sunny and in the low 70s with slight 5 MPH wind out of the SW. I decided to register race day, so I had one of the last start times. I knew I would at least have riders in front of me to chase.

The first several miles felt a bit like riding a bike again for the first time. I hadn’t the opportunity to ride my new TT bike outdoors more than twice, and I hadn’t really ridden outside much in the past 2 months. Plus, I was nervous about crashing. I was OK on the straights, but would slow down and crawl around the corners. Considering I had crashed in a TT on a corner, this was to be expected. I had a slight tailwind the first half of the race, but still put the hammer down. I wasn’t paying much attention to my speed or power, I just knew I was hurting after 6 miles. Oh, was this going to be ugly. Or so, I thought.

A four year old without training wheels would have looked more confident than me at the turnaround. I started slowing down about 200 yards before the cone and inched my way around with one foot unclipped. Yikes. It wasn’t pretty. I at least powered up again fairly quickly and was looking forward (in a sadistic way) to the head wind on the return trip. That’s when I really started to hurt.

There was a slight headwind on the way back, which made things a little harder. I could feel my lack of fitness and was getting pretty dehydrated. Ironically, I actually started to feel better the last 5 miles and got into more of a groove. I ended up finishing fairly strong, looked down, and was amazed at my average speed. Somehow I had gone as fast I had been back in April and May. Despite a the wind on the return trip, my power readings were nearly the same between the first and second half of the race. I was about 2 minutes slower on the return trip, which wasn’t that surprising.

I ended up finishing 5th in Masters 30+ and was happy with my time despite my tentativeness on the corners. It was just nice to get out and race again!