Now that I am “training” again I have been thinking about my personal objectives more than ever. For me it has always been about improvement. However the last few seasons this was arguably not the case for me. Many years ago, I began to understand that true physiological adaptations require repetition–lots of it, but the reward has been lasting results. It seems like recently the pundits of fitness are pushing less time more intensity and maybe they are right or maybe they are not. Someone once said it took 10,000 hours to become proficient. I think this may be oversimplification but the idea is valid. The bottom line is that we stress our bodies with stimuli and the allow them to recover hoping for net improvement. How to do that is the rhetorical question we all face and the answers are likely different for each of us.  We all know where we stand, hopefully where we would like to be and eventually some of us reach our objectives. As I took time to gaze forward into the great beyond, I’ve had to look for a new destination because I know that I just can’t stop moving on this journey!

My bloodwork is slowly showing steady signs of improvement after the Epstein-Barr episodes (starting 2009) and the progressive Sleep Apnea and ensuing CFS that finally broke me in the middle of last season. Since I really only “hung on” and was lucky enough for some decent results last year, I dedicated my focus to diet, sleep and subsequent recovery this year. The only problem was that after the surgery I had to sleep on an incline which completely screwed up my SI joint again. This seems to be my “Achilles” heel and this time I couldn’t get it resolved for several months. It is better now with lots of stretching, massage and chiropractic tune-ups. Read more »

I’m baaa-acck! For all you virtual followers out on the trails of cyber world my apologies for taking six months off. Actually I didn’t take “off” just needed to re-focus the virtual energy inward for awhile… First I had nasal surgery to correct some minor injuries accumulated over the years face taking face-plants. That amounted to about a month off the bike and then I kept it pretty mellow doing some great mountain biking throughout the fall and having the perfect excuse to stay almost entirely out of the realm of cyclocross stupidity strikes most local cyclists. In December I began to slowwwwly ramp up my volume and spent more time sitting on cool new stuff like this…

Sometime last May, I was at wits end. I hadn’t been recovering since sometime last year and I had virtually quit training. My race results this season were inconsistent and derived from guts rather than form. I had dramatically won the Whiskey Off-Road only weeks before but it was more of a “last gasp” than a sign of improvement.

I notified my friends and sponsors that I had to take time off and get to the bottom of it. My EB labs had shown recent activity, but I was sure there was more to it. I took two weeks off the bike and sequestered myself to the bed and couch. Only folks close to me knew the real story and some offered encouraging words like: “you just need a break–you’ll be back in no time.” Others threw gas on the fire of doubt with comments like: “you aren’t a kid anymore–maybe its time to give it up.”

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Winning it all on the SS!

Last year I was bummed to miss a new marathon race just two hours away from home in Oakridge, Oregon. One of our boys checked it out and gave it a couple thumbs up so I made sure it was on the calendar this season!

Ryan and I headed south after work Friday and checked in at the Oakridge Hostel (great place to call home for any Oakridge adventure). We had a decent rest and were up in time for the 8:30 start. There was small but decent field that included some local and out-of-state riders. boys checked it out and gave it a couple thumbs up so I made sure it was on the calendar this season!

Steve leading former teammate Brett Luelling!

The Hood River Double Cross turned out great. This is my first ever back-to-back cross race and it was a blast. I got a nice call up for Saturday’s race and the pace was furious from the get go. Donald Reeb and I sprinted for the single track and from there he slowly distanced himself. I was joined my Brett Luelling and Molly Cameron on the first lap and we stayed together for several laps until Molly slid out. Brett and I set out to close in on Reeb, but he was simply too strong to catch that day. We kept the pace high and stayed together until about a minute before the finish where I put in an attack in the sand pit to finish 2nd on the day. Brett is a great racer and I had fun pushing the pace with him until the end. Sunday’s race started out similar with me, Brett, and Molly quickly distancing ourselves from the rest of the field. Molly dropped back after about a lap and it was Brett and I riding together again. Brett set a blistering pace and I held on until about the half way mark where I’d dropped my chain on a run up and then had to back off– I settled in to my own pace, but I was quickly going backwards and ran out of gas with about 3 to go. Molly caught and passed me and I had to settle for third on the day. I finished 2nd overall on the weekend and I feel that the back-to-back racing was a great stimulus as we get closer to the opening Cross Crusade race on October 2nd. This is going to be a fun season!

Thanks for reading,

S.