Coach Sean Gilbert

Urbanathlon photos on Flicker

Just got in from Chicago were we competed in the Urbanathlon. The race went very well we all stuck together and enjoyed the day as a group taking it all in together. It was a great way to spend the morning.

The day started with a cab ride to the start. Anything with these guys is a fun adventure full of laughter and a lot of silliness. Once at the start we checked in our things and decided what to wear for the race. A little hail and cool temperatures at the start required some planning to keep from being miserable for the next couple of hours.

We started out at a comfortable pace and maintained it for the remainder of the race stopping only to complete the obstacles laid out throughout the course. The first was a tires. This was the easiest of the challenges and everyone made to through very well. We then ran from Navy Pier along the shore line taking in the sights of the lake and the sky line. Next up was the monkey bar crossing. Again not hitches and everything is going along smoothly. We continue running to the furthest point of the race successfully conquer the Marine hurdles and head to the stadium were things slowed a bit due to traffic on the stairs. Everyone snakes there way up and down several stairs and exit the stadium heading for the finish. Just before the line we hurdle some cabs and scale the wall, crossing the line together.

The end of the race was a very cold rain and kind of dampened our post race plans so we headed back to the hotel to get warm and start our day enjoying the city.

Yesterday’s practice with Robert was in preparation for the 4th race in the 2009 Bike Authority Lake Effect Cyclocross Series in Willoughby, OH this Sunday, October 17th. Johnny Proppe joined us for the workout. He is a new addition to Team Lake Effect and Rudy reports that he is doing very well this season in cross and XC mountain bike racing.

The usual practice consists of working on starts, some cornering and dismounts and mounts. These starts led us to the first goal of the night. Getting the back wheel to stop when the brakes aren’t catching 100%. Cross is usually raced in conditions less than optimal for perfect bike operation. It’s important to get the most out of your bike no matter the situation. A lot of energy can be wasted with frustration.

In the previous race of the series all that speed he has built up and a little bit of a down hill almost put him on the wrong side of the tape in the first turn. So tonight we did some “fixie skids”, for lack of a better term and some input from Robert. This drill is getting up some speed applying the brakes and then lifting the back wheel, when it hits it should lock up. The unweighted wheel should stop spinning when it is force is relieved by letting up on the pressure. The impact will slow you dramatically. Robert informed me that fixed gear riders us this technique to get the cranks and wheel stopped allowing them to lock the rear wheel and skid.

Robert had two concerns for the upcoming race. The first was having to shoulder the bike up a pretty significant climb. The next drill was 5 x a paw to dirt, steep climb with the bike shouldered, remount at the top and ride around a more manageable section for the descent. Much steeper than the one he will be racing and we actually came up with another tactic for the race.

The second concern Robert had was an off-camber, left handed, 180 degree turn remount. So we practiced that a few times just to get the feel of such awkward conditions.

Robert gives some great advice on preparing for this weekends race on his blog.

The Fall -n- Leaf ride put on by Mid-Ohio Bikers was this past weekend. The Fall -n- Leaf ride offers two distances, 37 and 65 miles, and takes place in the scenic areas of southern Richland and northern Knox counties. Described by some riders as “the most beautiful ride they did all year”. For those of you that stick to racing may not realize the miles these riders cover in a season. If they say an area is a beautiful ride, believe it.

Colleen, pictured above at the RAIN ride, used this event as training for an up coming back to back century. Her description of the course, HILLY. With a large portion of the day spent in very high heart rate zones. The weather was also a little cool for her liking.

Colleen puts in an incredible amount of mileage during the season. This year she completed several of these “shorter” events as training for longer venues such as TOSRV , the RAIN Ride and a couple of other like them. TOSRV is a two day, 200 mile ride from Columbus, OH to Portsmouth, OH and back again the next day. RAIN is a 1 day, 160 mile ride across Indian take the Historic National Highway Route 40.

Check out a future post about her review of her season as part of a follow up to Ending the Season.

Team Lake Effect members spent last weekend in Cincinnati, OH racing in the UCI races there.

I’ll do more on those races and other events that happened last weekend like the Toepath Marathon and Fall – n- Leaves ride.

The 12th race of the OMBC Series was this past weekend at Mohican State Park in Loudonville, OH. TR coached athletes Luke Spisak, Kyle Spisak and Kelly Ayer raced the event all three have been very active in the series using it as training between more important races on their particular calendars.

The Spisak’s both felt the effects of some high intensity training blocks and didn’t feel has their sharpest of the season. They both put in good efforts and stayed focused on the bigger goal of Iceman Cometh. With some great feed back and adjustments that I have to make to their schedule they should be feeling the snap by the race in November.

Kelly had a great race on Sunday coming of a rest from her big race of the season, the Mohican 12 hr were she put in a great performance. The plan was to go out fast, coming off long hours on the bike preparing for the excellent season she had in longer races. She found her self in last place coming off the in last. She comfortably worked her way through the field and after one tumble backwards down a steep, technical climb. That she said she found “humorous”. Kelly found herself finishing 2nd, feeling good about her day and ready for the next race in 2 weeks. This time at Mohican Wilderness.

More information about the OMBC Series and results can be found at www.ombc.net.

I’m looking forward to the Urbanathlon in Chicago this weekend. I thought I would share more about the event and the course. The race begins at Grant Park, from there we run 4miles to the end of Navy Pier. At the end of the pier we hit the first obstacle, the Tire Challenge. The Tire Challenge features two parts. The first part being the “Stutter- Step” section requires runners to make their way through a row of tires touching the ground inside of each tire in the row, kind of like the old Battle of the Stars show. The second part is to climb over monster truck tires. I’m not really sure what that is all about…only one way to find out! The second leg of the race is another 4 miles of running with to obstacles this time. The first obstacle of the second leg is the rope wall and taxi hurdles. The rope wall is an 8 ft wall were athletes use ropes to ascend and descend. NO jumping from the top Lenny, you will be disqualified (Lenny is the daredevil on the trip.) The second obstacle is the Taxi Hurdles. Basically getting over or through the taxi by any means possible. The second, or third depending on how you look at it, is the Marine Hurdles. We must get up and over each of the 5 hurdles with our feet touching the ground between each. The final leg is 3.76 miles and includes the Stair Climb at Soldier Field. Lisa has been looking forward to these since she came up with idea for us all to do this thing. There are two route options to take, each consisting of 563 stairs to climb. Finally it is off to the finish and good times.

I can’t wait for the weekend, this looks to be a great time!