Today was going to be a "big" day and the schedule had us putting in 100 miles. We headed out around 8 and off we went. We rode some of the similar roads but today the main purpose was to cover a loop of the race course for Saturday. It was going to be 3 loops of the 17 mile course for myself and the P/1/2 guys were going to have a 4 loop course on race day. We only covered one loop of the course, but we hit it pretty hard and learned some of the key points where people would be looking to attack.
About half way through the ride we stopped in a small town that had an awesome little sandwich shop. They had some great food and we were able to sit around outside eat a good lunch under some great weather. After that we headed back out to enjoy a great day on the bike. Our director sent 2 guys off the front and let them open up a decent gap and then the rest of the group had to chase. There were 5 of us working together and we worked really well together and pulled them back in. It was nice to put what we had worked on with the pacelining the previous day to work in a "real" situation. When it was all said and done we got back to the hotel at 97.5 miles. Little shy of the 100, but still a great day in the saddle.
After the ride we came back to ice cold coolers of FRS and started the recovery process right away. They have a great protein drink that starts the recovery process off just right. We sat outside the hotel and just talked about the ride and how great the weather was. After that I headed in to shower, grab a quick bite to eat and a quick nap. FRS then had a product orientation briefing for us where they went over their different products and what they had to offer. It was a great briefing and got me excited to have such a great company sponsoring our team. We then took a break for dinner and the next briefing was with a local guy, Jeb Stewart who did a talk about training, the "whole" concept. He talked about how to break your training into different blocks, how to target certain races, and then the most forgotten about part about racing the mental part. He covered visualization and how to visualize winning races and to visualize the race in your head.
All in all Day 3 was a great day!
Day 4-
If there was a day to show what you were made of today was the day. The rest of the week had been under control and there was NOT to be any testosterone throwdowns to show who the "big" dog on the bike was. Well today you could lay it all out on the line. With already having 307 miles in my legs from Sun-Wed, it was going to be a painful day. They had us setup to do a 19.5 mile Eddy Merckx TT. No TT bikes, no aero helmets, no aero bars, but everything else was game. I just had the road bike, training wheels, normal bibs and jersey and that was it. The course was on the same bike path we had been starting our rides on all wee so it was nice, flat, smooth rolling, minimal traffic, and no intersections. I was 5th to go off and there were 2 minute gaps between everyone. There was a decent head wind blowing at us on the way out and then of course it returned the favor and we had a nice tailwind on the way out. The 4 other guys that started in front of me were all on the elite team, so I figured they would put the hammer down. The guy right in front of me was Jay, a whole 145lbs so I was hoping to try and at least compete with him, because the other guys were some TT specialist! At the half way point me and Jay were still 2 minutes a part. And on the way back he put 11 seconds into me and he ended up beating me by 11 seconds, he is a strong one for 145lbs ;) I ended up riding 47:XX putting out 331W, so I was pretty happy with that and I ended up 7th out of 19. The 2 other guys that beat me are some super fast "masters" riders, one of which Don Davis, who we call Gunny for being a prior Gunnery Sgt in the Marines, is a Florida and Louisiana State TT Champion. Scott Giles is the other guy and he is just pure FAST!
The rest of the day was setup with some time to ourselves so I took advantage of getting in a recovery nap. That evening they had a sponsor dinner setup with American Classic Wheels owners Ellen and Bill. It was out at a golf course country club and it was a nice way to spend the evening. They are both great people and are huge supporters of our team. It was a great dinner and another great opportunity to get to know our sponsors and teammates.
Day 5-
We headed over to McDill AFB in the afternoon and road with some of the local riders from the base. It was just an easy 20 mile spin as we were going to be racing the next day. It was nice to get to ride with some of the local guys and here their stories and race plans for 2012. There were a few triathletes in the group and it was nice to talk a little triathlon talk with them. After the ride we headed back to the hotel for dinner and a briefing on race tactics. Pretty mellow day compared to the rest of the week but you could tell everyone was getting the itch to put the hammer down the following morning.
Overall I was extremely happy with how well organized and prepared the camp was. I couldn't of thought of a better way to spend 8 days away from the Korean winter, other than being at home with family, but I had already accomplished that over the holidays. Being able to be part of such a great team and group of people is something that I am very thankful for. I am really looking forward to where this team is headed and to all of the great results that are to come in 2012. I can't say thank you enough to all of the people that made the camp possible! Below are a few pictures from the camp.
Unloading the pallet of FRS
After the 97 miles recovering with some FRS
On the way back in from the group ride at McDill
Once we got back from the group ride at McDill, it was time for the national anthem, which in my opinion created one of the best moments of camp and this picture caught that moment.
The Team Photo before dinner on Thursday
