The inaugural Red Bluff Challenge mountain bike race was held this past weekend in the Spillway Hill area. The event was a real success, and highlights why the State Park continues to lose users and events to other venues. One of the highlights of the Red Bluff event was the hard work by dedicated volunteers who cleaned trails and cut in some new and challenging technical sections. The running community will get a chance to “enjoy” the new routes during the Jan/Feb Trail Running Series. Pictures of the Red Bluff event are posted at http://s486.photobucket.com/albums/rr228/bcullins/Red%20Bluff%20Challenge%2010-18-09/?start=all.

There were also a couple of down sides to what was otherwise an extremely successful event. Despite multiple requests for assistance, the San Angelo Bicycling Association continued its recent tradition of not supporting mountain bike events; in fact, there wasn’t a single SABA board member present for the event. There were also very few local racers participating; in fact, more cyclists came from Amarillo and Lubbock than from the local area. Makes you wonder (1) why should anyone join SABA, and (2) were the local racers intimidated by the West Texas Series regulars who came from out of town?

Changing gears, have you ever looked back in old training logs to see what workout you did on this same date a few years ago? I skimmed through some of my old training logs recently, and came up some interesting log entries for the same weekend in October in past years. The importance of keeping a training log is that you can look back and find patterns that suggest why good (or bad) things happened related to your training. One of the things I noticed was that my 1996 fall cyclocross season was less than stellar. Turns out that I was doing more running than cycling that year, and so the power and bike skills just weren’t in place. I struggled all season with my bike form.

However, when I looked back at my 2003 log, a completely different picture emerged. I had started a very focused cyclocross training program in late spring, with a long base period of base rides, tempo bricks, and technique work. One of the primary goals for that year was to elevate my lactate threshold as much as possible, so as to perform better in shorter but high intensity events. I also spent 10 days in Colorado during the summer of 2003, with multiple days of long hard climbs or trail runs at altitudes of 9,000 feet and above. As the 2003 season progressed, the results started coming around, as listed below. The take home messages: (1) keep a training log and (2) review past logs to see what led to good race results.

· 2003 Armydillo 10K: 3rd place 50+ men

· 2003 Concho Valley Road Race: 6th overall open men

· 2003 Wurst Cross CX race: 1st 55+, lapped my field

· 2003 ASU Turkey Trot 5K: 4th overall male

· 2003 Smithville Dirty Duathlon: 1st male 50+

· 2003 REI Austin CX race: 1st male 55+, lapped field

· 2003 Texas Cyclocross Championships: 1st male 55+, state champion

In my most recent Standard Times column, I wrote about safety for cyclists and runners during the shorter days of fall and winter. That column is posted at http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2009/oct/16/precaution-name-of-the-game-in-low-light/. Since the column was published, I’ve had two near misses where I encountered runners after dusk wearing dark clothing. Read the column, folks, and wear stuff that’s bright and reflective when working out after sunset.

The 2009 Team San Angelo community survey is currently open. Please take a few minutes and provide your input related to cycling, running, and multisport in San Angelo. Go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=JSqpxTWQgCQlJ5QefVvEtw_3d_3d to take the survey.

UPCOMING EVENTS

October 24: Quest for the Cure 5K, Angelo State University (Texas Hall parking lot), www.angelo.edu/asufit
November 1: West Texas Series mountain bike race, Abilene, http://www.wtcycling.com/wforum/viewtopic.php?t=2887
November 21: Turkey Trot 5K, Angelo State University, www.angelo.edu/asufit