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May 31, 2005
New Pictures of Gracie
Check them out....
Posted by kermisch at 10:03 AM
May 16, 2005
New Pictures of Gracie
I have posted some new pictures of Gracie in her General Gallery
Posted by kermisch at 9:47 AM
Roadie vs. Triathlete Time Trial
This past weekend was the annual Roadie vs. Triathlete TT. It is a 40K TT and runs over a relatively flat loop. The weather this year was terrible. The temps were in the 40's and the rain was constant. The only plus was that there was not a lot of wind.
I was nervous coming into the race as my legs the prior week had more or less shut down. I was not 100% recovered by race day and I knew it was going to be a tough effort. Mentally I was excited, but that quickly diminished.
As I started out my legs felt dead. I was uncomfortable and my mind immediately started to doubt my abilities. It was not until mile 6 or so that I started to feel like my legs were warmed up and had some power to them. I struggled through the first part of the course, but as I hit the second 1/2 of the loop I felt strong and my speeds came up. I caught both my minute and two-minute guys and passed several others on the course which always helps. I was only passed by two guys, one of which took the overall (10 minutes faster than me).
I finished the race in 1:07:55 for 40K which was actually :05 seconds slower than my previous time last year of 1:07:50. Considering all of the training I have done this year and some of my results of that training I was extremely disappointed in my performance. It really knocked me off of my pearch and is making me rethink how I am approaching my training. I definitely have a tendancy on the bike to hammer all the time, and that is going to have to change if I want to be recovered for races. The other fall-out of Saturday's race was the wet conditions played havoc on my body. After the race I realized that I had some serious chaffing that is making life a bit uncomfortable these days.
Anyway, maybe next year I can push the 1:05 mark.
Posted by kermisch at 9:35 AM
May 11, 2005
Opus IV
After missing Opus III I was excited to get back to racing yesterday. I was dragging a bit going into the race, as Grace has definitely changed my sleep habits from about 8 hours of sleep to 5 - 6 hours of sleep. Eitherway, I was excited to get racing. My goal was to place in a sprint and try to win the overall points.
There were about 35 guys yesterday in the cat 4/5 race and there seemed to be a few more teams out there and some younger riders. As usual I started at the front of the pack and sat behind another rider for the first lap. A few more people moved up to join us, but no one was in a hurry to push the pace. As we neared the 3rd lap and the sprint bell rang, a few guys tried to push the pace and escape off the front.
I knew from watching Keith Bianchi win that if you head out to the outside right just before the final climb to the finish line you will have an open path to go for it. So as we rounded the corner coming up to that hill, I moved right, clicked down and laid it out on the line.
I have never felt a longer 300 meters in my life. I pushed it as hard as I could up that hill, I was out in front, my legs were burning, and just before the line I felt them start to freeze up. However, I held off the pack and won the first sprint by a 1/4 of a wheel.
The only problem was I was not able to recover from the sprint. My legs were full of acid and my lungs were burning. I think there are two reasons I could not recover, first I went about 50 meters too early and I should have found a lead out guy. Second between my lack of sleep and the hard run I had done the day before my legs/body were zapped.
The rest of the race I rode pretty much in the pack. The second sprint, as we were coming up the hill there was a crash of a couple of guys to my left. I tend to have a habit of being just outside the crash zone which makes me feel that my nine-lives are slowly being used up. After seeing the crash, my attention was not on the sprint and I sat it out. Eitherway, my legs were too sore to try.
The last lap sprint, I tried to move up. I was too far back from the front and did not have a good lead out. I realized about a 1/3 of the way into the sprint that I had no chance. So I pulled out of the line of traffic and rolled across the line.
I got 3 points and placed 6th overall. I really can't say that I was satisfied because by winning the first sprint, I realized I can win the overall. Not having the energy to give it my all the rest of the race really just pissed me off. I did accomplish my goal of winning one sprint, but I came into the race thinking I could win it.
Posted by kermisch at 8:41 AM
May 5, 2005
Check out pictures of Gracie
http://www.kermisch.com/gallery
Posted by kermisch at 8:26 PM
May 4, 2005
The Gallery of Gracie
I have posted most the pictures we took while Gracie was still at the Hospital. As a proud new papa, I will be posting lots and lots of pictures of my princess Grace!
http://www.kermisch.com/gallery/gracie
Posted by kermisch at 10:08 AM
May 2, 2005
Grace Lillie Kermisch
Born on 4/30/2005
8 lbs. 6 oz.
20 inches long
Pam and Grace and doing great!
Posted by kermisch at 1:10 PM