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More Time To Get Fit - 2025

Well this happened on Sat. I got 2nd in Men's Open XC Marathon at the Kenda Cup.

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I originally entered Men's 30-39 to race 6 laps. But since I turn 40 later this year, I should have been in 40-49 and only done 5 laps. I wanted full credit, so they moved me to Open and I got 2nd behind a Master's National Champ :LOL: . I would have been 2nd or 3rd in all those categories and had the 8th fastest time over 5 laps out of 35 racers. I found myself in a fun group after the first lap. They were faster on the downhill, I was faster on the uphill. They all tried small attacks for the first 3 laps, then they cracked a little and I slowly rode away for the second half of the race. The guy that got 3rd missed the podium picture because he was puking :barf.

On Jan 18, I rode Gravel & Wine - a 62mi gravel race in wine country down here. Last year I cracked and felt terrible the whole race - which pushed me to finally commit to a coach. This time, after one whole year of working with said coach I felt pretty damn good and put out significantly more power over the whole race. My Normalized Power was 182w last year to 214w this year, a 17% increase in performance.

Screenshot 2025-02-03 at 12.17.15 PM.png


Two races done for 2025 already. And this weekend is Rock Cobbler 12.0 in Bakersfield. The course should be dry and maybe as smooth as it gets - but it has gotten shorter with MORE climbing. The route is 76miles with 10k+* feet of climbing this time. Goal time is ~6h 30m this year. Time for the first sufferfest of the year!

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*The 7794ft in the chart is categorically wrong. Last year this software said 6400ft and my computer recorded 9400ft.
 
Outstanding job, Robert! :thumbup

Curious, what made them faster downhill? Was it gearing or willingness to take more risks?
 
Climber said:
Outstanding job, Robert! :thumbup

Curious, what made them faster downhill? Was it gearing or willingness to take more risks?
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It's all MTB skills. I'm mostly not racing against newbs, so I'm avg at best in that field. I got passed by some FAST kids doing a shorter race and they were GONE in just a few corners.

The shittiest part is my moto road racing skills are working against me. I chide myself every time I enter a corner with my body/head/shoulders first. I need to enter corners with the bike first, manually leaning it over to use the profile of the tire and the edge knobs. Everything about a modern MTB feels better when leaning it over first. So far I'm maybe doing that on half the corners. Lap 5&6 were a lot better than 1&2.
 
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stangmx13 said:
Well this happened on Sat. I got 2nd in Men's Open XC Marathon at the Kenda Cup.

View attachment 572099

I originally entered Men's 30-39 to race 6 laps. But since I turn 40 later this year, I should have been in 40-49 and only done 5 laps. I wanted full credit, so they moved me to Open and I got 2nd behind a Master's National Champ :LOL: . I would have been 2nd or 3rd in all those categories and had the 8th fastest time over 5 laps out of 35 racers. I found myself in a fun group after the first lap. They were faster on the downhill, I was faster on the uphill. They all tried small attacks for the first 3 laps, then they cracked a little and I slowly rode away for the second half of the race. The guy that got 3rd missed the podium picture because he was puking :barf.

On Jan 18, I rode Gravel & Wine - a 62mi gravel race in wine country down here. Last year I cracked and felt terrible the whole race - which pushed me to finally commit to a coach. This time, after one whole year of working with said coach I felt pretty damn good and put out significantly more power over the whole race. My Normalized Power was 182w last year to 214w this year, a 17% increase in performance.

View attachment 572100

Two races done for 2025 already. And this weekend is Rock Cobbler 12.0 in Bakersfield. The course should be dry and maybe as smooth as it gets - but it has gotten shorter with MORE climbing. The route is 76miles with 10k+* feet of climbing this time. Goal time is ~6h 30m this year. Time for the first sufferfest of the year!

View attachment 572101

*The 7794ft in the chart is categorically wrong. Last year this software said 6400ft and my computer recorded 9400ft.
Click to expand...
you’re rad!
 
Thnx everyone.

I’m just reading above where I said my goal time was 6:30. Right before the race I told my buddy maybe I could manage 6:15. Well, I got that completely wrong… finish time was 5:35:00 🥳. Last year, I finished in 7:35. This years course was 13mi shorter and I’m a bit stronger, so I figured cutting 1:15 was doable. I did not expect 2hrs faster lol.

I did my normal during races these days - I went out strong to stay w a group, the second group on the road. Then I settled into my rhythm with said group and slowly let them fall off me. I also ended up passing about a dozen riders in the 2nd half of the race, including 2 in the final 3miles. It felt really satisfying to be race-y at the end, and not just dead.

Here’s the numbers for anyone interested. NP was up 18% compared to last year. My finishing time went from 132% off the winner to 125% this year. That’s in line with my best ever performances, woot.

IMG_0974.jpeg
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Now I’ve got 3 weeks until the next local MTB XCM race.
 
Outstanding, Robert! :thumbup

It's been fun to watch your evolution, with more to come.

One thing about 800m-1500m, when somebody suddenly put on a spurt at the end, we knew that they could have given a bit more throughout the race and probably cut their time even more.
 
Climber said:
Outstanding, Robert! :thumbup

It's been fun to watch your evolution, with more to come.

One thing about 800m-1500m, when somebody suddenly put on a spurt at the end, we knew that they could have given a bit more throughout the race and probably cut their time even more.
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Ya I agree I could have pushed a little harder throughout the race. This was probably the first race ever where I finished with more in the tank than expected. These long gravel races are so hard to meter because you never know the entire course. A few too many 15% dirt climbs or a little too much mud will break people. And since this is Cobbler, Sam the owner always has a big FU hike near the end.

This year's hike was 6mi from the finish. I think the signs were new. "Having Fun Yet?" "Sam Did This To You" & "#SorryNotSorry" :LOL:
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Screenshot 2025-02-10 at 10.57.10 AM.png


@Mike95060 The hike felt worse than last year. I'd guess it was 50% longer and the final third was steeper.
 
Robert I don't buy it, your not crawling on your hands and knees :laughing

I'm bummed I couldn't make it this year. Don't forget to treat your race support to something special once you recover ;) Doing the event is only part of the equation. The logistics behind getting to do this stuff isn't minimal. I hope you have solid support.

I have been harping on one of my riding buddies to to this with me for a couple years. This year he cracked and said he wants to do it next year, so fingers crossed, we will both see you there. By then you should be finishing top 10! :)
 
Forgot to check in here. I got challenged to run 100 miles in February.

~32% done so far (combination of miles + bike, biking is a 3:1 conversion).

On the plus side I'm down from 200 lbs to 185, saw 181 on the scale after an hour run yesterday but that was mostly water weight that came back immediately.

I expect I should be able to complete it this year. Did the same challenge last year and only managed a little under 60 miles, biking included.

edit: it averages out to 3.6 miles a day, so I've been running 4 at about a 30-32 min pace for 4 miles. Some days are faster / slower. Running every day has been fucking me up though so I started running 2-3 days then doing a bike day. Takes way longer because of the 3:1 conversion - I have to bike 3x as far but I'm not 3x as fast on the bike lol. Right hip / butt muscles seem to be the main ones I just can't stretch out enough.
 
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4mi a day is a big deal. That's a very cool and hard goal. Definitely be careful with all that strain causing injury.

12mi on the bike should be FAR less fatiguing than a 4mi run. If you can find a flat route with few lights, it should breeze by and actually let you recover from the runs.
 
NorCalAthlete said:
Forgot to check in here. I got challenged to run 100 miles in February.

~32% done so far (combination of miles + bike, biking is a 3:1 conversion).

On the plus side I'm down from 200 lbs to 185, saw 181 on the scale after an hour run yesterday but that was mostly water weight that came back immediately.

I expect I should be able to complete it this year. Did the same challenge last year and only managed a little under 60 miles, biking included.

edit: it averages out to 3.6 miles a day, so I've been running 4 at about a 30-32 min pace for 4 miles. Some days are faster / slower. Running every day has been fucking me up though so I started running 2-3 days then doing a bike day. Takes way longer because of the 3:1 conversion - I have to bike 3x as far but I'm not 3x as fast on the bike lol. Right hip / butt muscles seem to be the main ones I just can't stretch out enough.
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I didn't really dig into this enough. 4 miles a day EVERYDAY is kinda dangerous IMHO. I know your trying to hit a lofty goal but, if you want to keep your gains AFTER you hit your goal, I hope you transition into something more sustainable. A lot of times more isn't better with endurance training. You might be the kinda of person who "runs softly" and takes minimal wear and tear but be careful. Joint pain and ligament damage can take a long time to recover from. If something like that does keep you from being consistent, it can really set you back. Try not to push though too much discomfort to hit 4 miles every day. Swapping in a brisk 5 mile walk every other day might really help you in the long run. (im so punny)
 
I kinda agree with Mike, 4 miles a day every day can be a bit much for someone who hasn’t been training and is carrying a little more weight than their body is conditioned to carry. Generally accepted goals in the running world are 10 miles per year. You train for a year to run 10 miles In year two you’re training to do a 20 mile run, and so on. Again that’s starting from zero. I know we all have heard of those people who wake up one morning and decide to run a marathon in 3 months and start training for that. I would guess most don’t stick with running if they even reach their goal or get injured. The flip side of that are ultra runners who put in 60-100 miles a week training for a 100 mile race. I have a friend that just ran a 50 mile race in Monterey, finished 3rd and the very next day woke up and put in another 15 miles because that’s what her training plan called for in preparation for an upcoming 100 mile race.

Also running isn’t about every run being something you do as hard as you can. Most runs should be easy, and well below your fast pace and only some of your runs be at a fasterpace. Like a 3 to 1 slow vs fast ratio.

Ill pile on with the above and say that adding in a little more cycling will be highly beneficial through less wear and tear on your body, it will ultimately make running easier because it will strengthen your body. Walks will be good too.

Regardless, don’t give up and stick with it…even after you crush the 100 miles in February
 
^ I'm pretty sure Pete is ex military so he done been fit before and isn't really starting from zero. Father time is still a bitch though so, do ease back into it!
 
Mike, thank you for pointing that out. Ex military dude’s are bad ass and certainly deserve tons of respect, especially when it comes to fitness shit.

Pete, I hope that what I posted didn’t sound condescending or know-it-all because that wasn’t my intention and I apologize.
 
Nah, I used to play soccer, ran track + cross country, and yes, ran a lot in the military. Father time taps me on the shoulder frequently and I'm no longer the spry young 5:04 miler I used to be, but so far I've been keeping up ok more or less.

Average pace is around 8:30 or so. I can hold a 7:30 pace for the first 2-3 miles, then switch to max-treadmill-not-quite-full-sprint speed for intervals until time or distance are complete, with a 1:30 rest at a brisk walk in between "sprints" (it's not quite all out, treadmill doesn't go that high).

I used to run 6:00 flat on the mile in high school...got down to 5:04-5:10 pretty consistently in the military, with a 12:00 2-mile and 18:00 3-mile time, so I still feel heavy and sluggish (and my legs, hips, shoulders, etc complain) but I can get it done. I think. I only managed about 60 miles when I did this challenge last year.

Also I mix it up with biking every 3-4 days or so like I said.
 
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