2013 - Welcome (back) to cycling

Before I go over my expectations for 2014, I'd first like to go over how my 2013 training and racing season went:

The Bad:
- I crashed and got sick in April
- I had a pretty well-planned training plan but I was inconsistent/ didn't follow it.
- My diet was pretty good......for like the first three months of the year
- I still haven't upgraded to Cat 3
- I still don't have a power meter

The Good:
- I had a great experience with my first Collegiate Racing season and I learned a lot about myself and my team.
- I joined a new team--Leopard Sapporo--and my motivation and determination skyrocketed.
- My training hours, mileage, and elevation gain for the year are the highest I've ever done (my 2013 training hours were equal to the amount of riding hours in 2010 but intensity is greater for 2013).
- PR's everywhere
- Learned a lot about the mental aspect of competition in school and am integrating what I learned into my training and racing.
- I have been on top of my training (consistent) for a total of 9 weeks!!
- I have 2 points for a Cat 3 Upgrade =p

I remember I had a good feeling about this year, even though I didn't do the 2013 SBM Hill Climb. I also had to start training a little late because I had to go to the Philippines over Christmas and came back early January. My first race was the UC Santa Cruz Hill Repeat Challenge...err, I mean the UCSC Road Race. Prior to that race I did a 114 mile ride (the longest I have ever done) and I was definitely still recovering from that. Needless to say, I placed among the last 5 riders out of 25 total. Of course, I was being a little overconfident and decided to race in the B's (E3/4) and so I thought about it and decided to downgrade to C to work with my teammates/friends, and it was definitely a success! I only did a few races because my crash in April prevented me from doing two other race weekends but I remained positive through it.

Racing went quite well for me. My best results were at the Cat's Hill Classic and the Burlingame Criterium. I peaked...or at least tried to...for Burlingame and I ended up placing 5th! I was very surprised and happy with that result. After that, I took a few easy weeks and was ready for a second peak for the University Road Race but it got cancelled so my training lost its direction. I ended up doing a few crits and the Mt. Tam Hill Climb where I got a disappointing time, but moved on.

I did 16 races which is the most I've ever done in a year, and I know I took away a lot of information/experience away from them. I think that 2013 will serve as the first stepping stone toward the next great seasons to come. I'm thinking ahead, but as of now I'm not at my full potential or even capability to grind out 16-20 hour weeks.

In fact, I have the time and availability to do that, but I know that I need to progress my way toward the pinnacle of my training/racing and not just jump right into it. I'm feeling very optimistic about 2014 though, and that's because I had such a great season for 2013 despite having a crash and inconsistency. I know that if I address those mistakes for 2014, I can have the training/racing year I should've had back when I was 18 three years ago.

-- DB

2012 - A Confusing Year

Before I begin with 2013, let me quickly try to summarize 2012...

The Bad-

• Low miles and low hours
• My Junior teammates from PV went to college/universities
• Lost motivation to race because of the lack of "team focus" and because of school...and I guess weather.
• Lots of Sick days
• Bad Diet
• New Cars...
• 3 Weeks Off in the Summer & 3 in the Winter for Philippines

The Good-

• I got a new bike; Cannondale CAAD10
• SFSU Cycling Team Commenced 

Despite all the bads, life goes on. When it was time to start planning for the 2013 Season, I assessed myself with those assessments in Joe Friel's "The Cyclist's Training Bible" and noticed I scored terribly lower than both 2010 and 2011. So I decided it was definitely time to get more serious and focused because I also started noticing that I couldn't drop my teammates from SFSU on the climbs anymore (which isn't a bad thing--for them at least =p); in fact they're now able to drop me! Due to this, I knew I had lost a lot of the skills I had trained for in 2011, so it was time to get them back and ultimately improve them.

After all the planning, the 2013 training season started around the beginning of November with base miles and low-key speed work. I was skipping workouts especially in inclement weather. Every time I would skip a workout or hours I would write in red sharpie: IMPROVE on my Weekly Training Plans. I guess it worked because I haven't skipped workouts ever since...unless there was an emergency or I just didn't see something like a family commitment coming.

Speaking of family commitment, my grandfather was getting old and we decided to visit him in the Philippines during July. I'm glad we were able to, because in December he passed away and we went back there on Christmas Day and attended his funeral there as well. I completely disregarded all my training and it was a totally legitimate reason to postpone everything. 

I think that's the important things to say. I only did about less than 5 races in 2012. I really lost motivation because there was really nothing motivating me until my teammates started kicking me in the butt. That's why, for 2013, I came in with a lot of motivation, but there are other factors which fueled my motivation even more...

--DB

2011 Reflection

     For cycling, 2011 was quite odd. This was the first year I carried out with an annual training plan, but towards the middle of summer I ended it due to a crash (I'll explain that later). I didn't count how many races I did, but I think I did over 10 because I upgraded from a CAT5 to a CAT4 in the summer. Now that's nothing to be proud of really, but that ended up being my highlight of the year.

     The beginning of the year started with the usual base miles. I started going hard at March, but that's also the time I began focusing more on school, getting ready for the Senior Graduation Requirements. Looking back at the numbers throughout the whole year, it's easy to tell that I didn't really try that hard when it came to training. That said, for 2012 I'll know how hard to go by looking back at this along with having a new LTHR value to work with.

     It was the first year I raced with a team, but also my last year of a Junior (the sad thing is, I will never get the chance to do that again...be a junior, but I'm glad I got to race as one for two years). I was coached and involved in a team, Peninsula Velo, and I learned a lot of valuable information that I can tell will keep for the rest of my life.

     Then there was the crash. Yes, a physical crash. For some reason my tire flatted upon impact with ramp leading to a bike trail. Sounds ridiculous, but it took me off the bike (starting first week of July) all the way until the end of august, hence the low mileage in both months. After that, my season was over and I was also a bit traumatized to ride at specific speeds. The following months, I took it easy especially since I started classes at San Francisco State University. At this point, cycling wasn't much of a top interest and I put it away for about a few weeks. I don't know if it was burnout, but I didn't feel bad about it, I actually thought it was a good decision.

     After putting cycling away for a while, I met a new friend, Eric, who was the friend I've always wanted to meet. After learning about his interest in cycling, I got back on the bike and did regular weekend rides with him. I showed him places like Sausalito and San Bruno Mountain. I had forgotten how much fun cycling was in the off season, but by this time, November, the rain had started and I had to wait a while, until the end of the month and early December, where it was once again time to start the training year and get into full gear as I prepared for the 2012 San Bruno Hill Climb.

At a glance:
My mileage and hours were very low for this year. I usually get most of mileage in the summer, but the crash prevented that. Normally, my mileage wanes a bit in the last 3 months of the year. I can tell that I went really easy because of my HR averaging in the 140's. I'm definitely going to bring those averages up this year.

Although I'm unhappy with my 2011 Totals, I understand that there's a lot to learn from that, and I understand there's plenty of room for improvement, and those improvements should be developed steadily.

And as I anticipate what's ahead of me for 2012, I will aim to make these improvements deliberately.

(Click the Picture to view the Totals and averages of the year)

-D

End of the Year!

Today completes the end of my 2nd year of Road riding, and my 1st year of racing. As far as racing goes, I only did 5 races, but I still call it a year of racing. But for 2011, it will be a COMPLETE year of racing. I like to think of this year as a beta year, or and introductory year. For 2011, it's time to get into the game, or rather, shift into full gear.

2010 was also my first complete year of riding, with a road bike. I did get my road bike in 2009 (April), but my riding wasn't as serious as the riding this year.

Also, 3 quarters of the year were completed without a training plan or training structure, and the last quarter was done with a training plan that was largely ignored, however the new training plan which started 12/6 has been followed and will be continued to be followed hopefully throughout 2011.

I also met a whole bunch of new riders, including a large batch of Junior riders. It was nice having more people and more new people on rides because it's a great way to see your ability compared to others. It's also a great way to exercise social skills and communication.

While I can say this year went great, there were a lot of things that held me back, which I will try to avoid in 2011. Social Life will have to be replaced with more Academic work in order to make room for training, and a relationship, which is unnecessary, will be impossible to squeeze into the schedule, which won't be too much of a problem until September when college comes.

2011 will be my 2nd but last year as racing Juniors, but I don't mind too much since I'll be racing in the Elites for most of 2011, especially since the current Juniors (17-18) have too much more experience than me. But that still doesn't hold me back.

But anyway, have a happy new year, and have a great 2011!