Year in review, provided early by inability to ride any more this season.

 

So my racing season technically ended at Barlow when I blew out my knee. Since that time, I've been on the bike a few times just doing easy rides in preparation for my surgery that was supposed to be on the 11th. Well yesterday morning I received a phone call from my Orthopedic surgeon. Seems they did a "second review" of my MRI films and discovered what's called a "bucket handle tear" of the meniscus. In addition to that, I've got fragments floating around in the joint. This is a bit more serious than the previously diagnosed injury and requires a more involved surgery which needs an assistant. As a result, my surgery has been moved to the 23rd. In addition, because I've got debris floating around the Doctor put the kibosh on being on the bike.

So, yesterday officially put the end to my 2008 season! Instead of jumping on the trainer for a light spin while my wife busted ass in her workout, I pulled up my WKO+ data and mulled over my season.

Season started Jan 29th, 2008 and ended December 2nd, 2008

3690 Miles logged in WKO. Figuring in rides that I did without my PT, I'm going to estimate I rode about 4200 miles this year.

Total wattage in kJ recorded: 120816 or 34kWh which is about enough to power my entire house for 3 days.

Total time in the saddle: 9 days 38 minutes, 48 seconds. As a bonus, most of it I got to spend with my wonderful wife and teammates.

Weight at start of season, 190lbs. Weight at end of season 186lbs. Average riding weight during season 184lbs. Low of season 179lbs (amazing what 11 hours in the saddle in 105 degree heat will do to you the next day.)

Longest day in saddle: 9.5 hours spanning 115 miles (also high single day mileage for the year.) Was a very odd day as we were doing Ride Marshalling for the Portland LIVESTRONG Challenge. The first 85 or so miles we averaged close to 19mph, but we ended up escorting a few struggling riders in the last portion of the ride which took a really long time. To add to it, the temp hit close to 105 in the afternoon. Even drinking 2 bottles an hour I was dehydrated the next day.

I burnt off about 28,856 calories riding this year, or 53.4 Big Mac's. Since I don't think I could eat one, we can go in pints of Guinness which is much more appropriate for my blog. At approximately 200 calories a pint, I burnt off enough calories for 144.2 pints!

Highest mileage month for me was June, however the hardest month for me in terms of TSS/mile was actually February. I'll hedge a bet this was due to a large amount of indoor interval training during the month and still building my fitness.

Highest recorded HR was 190BPM which was right after a massive attack at PIR where I averaged 640 watts for a minute.

Highest recorded speed was 51.2 mph, which was on the descent off of Bald Peak Road during the LIVESTRONG Challenge.

From a power curve standpoint I made some very good strides in some areas and highlighted the weakness I'll probably be working on next year:

Mean Max Power: (Max historical wattage shown at any time.  First set of numbers was taken as of Feb 20th, 2008.  Second set taken yesterday.)

 

Time	Wattage	w/kg
1s	1039	12.36
5s	873	10.38
10s	714	8.49
20s	534	6.35
30s	460	5.47
1m	391	4.65
5m	289	3.44
10m	256	3.04
60m	211	2.51
120m	198	2.35
			Difference
1s	1375	16.35	336w
5s	1315	15.64	442w
10s	1196	14.22	482w
20s	928	11.04	394w
30s	844	10.04	384w
1m	640	7.61	249w
5m	343	4.08	54w
10m	314	3.73	58w
60m	256	3.04	45w
120m	216	2.57	18w

Pretty easy to see that I saw my biggest improvements in my top-end.  I was both able to make "hotter burning machines" (higher total power output) but longer ones as well.

I set out this year with very few specific goals, but a number of general ones. Here is a quick review:

"Steady weight" below 180 during the season - FAIL! I defined steady weight as the number your weight fluxuates around over time. For me it was 184, so I didn't hit the goal but I was definitely lighter this year than I was in years past and I felt better climbing this year.

Race more - WIN! I did 2 road and 2 cross races in '07. This year I did 14 road races (including my first TT and Crit), 1 track race, and 8 cross events.

Upgrade to Cat4 - WIN! I received my upgrade in April after taking 7th in Piece of Cake and added to my wins at PIR in '07.

Progress towards Cat3 - WIN! After I upgraded, I had a very good April and May out at PIR and an okay crit at Sunset. Hopefully I'll be on the bike to race some of the "Spring Classics".

Dairy Creek team ride and not get dropped - WIN! This road always seems to kick my ass when we ride it with the team. A few times this year I was with the group when we hit the end and was even able to mix it up once or twice.

Participate in TTT - FAIL! Second year running. I will be in it this year (pending knee).

Participate in time trials - EPIC FAIL! I did one… ONE.

Race at Velodrome - FAIL! I did one mass start race this year and it scared the shit out of me.

Be competitive in Men's C's at Cross - Meh - I'll give this one 50%. I missed out on two races during crusades that would have fit me very well (PIR/Hillsboro) and I was in the top 10 at Barlow before I f'd myself up. Alpenrose I was one place out of the points, one Kermesse I took 4th and the other I crashed out of after flatting both tires. I think with a bit more preparation in August and September (i.e. not trying to plan a cross race in 34 days) I'll be much better off next year and will be able to move up into the B's.

Have fun - WIN! I enjoyed racing this year and made some really good friends that I look forward to racing with and against next year if all goes well.

All in all, it was a good year for the bike and I. I learned a lot on the bike, growing as a rider, racer, and teammate. I learned a lot about the bike, thanks to the patience of teammate who was very generous with his time, and I'm now able to do most of my mechanical adjustments and rebuilds at home. Finally, I got to witness first hand the inner workings of organizing, promoting, and running a race which I hope to be able to leverage again in 2009.