Hello Everyone! It's been far to long since I have written here about anything besides my race reports. Partly because I trained and raced a lot more in 2013 than 2012. I struggled a little bit finding balance to everything since July 2013. My goal is to write here every month. My race reports will be here still along with other writings. I wrote an article with our Medical Director at Oakland Fire about a 911 response we had in 2013. That's currently being submitted to local EMS newsletters, and I will post that here as well. I am enjoying writing and hoping to encourage more to do it as well. I am also super stoked to announce that I am being sponsored by Hammer Nutrition for the 2014 season. I am happy to be working with them, and growing a strong relationship. I have a link on the right side of my blog for you to receive 15% off your first order. I am also happy to announce that I am going to be the Race Team Director for SJBC in 2014. I am excited for this new role!
This past July I raced at my first NRC (National Racing Calendar USAC) stage race. The Cascade Classic Stage Race. One of the longest running races in the USA. This was my first experience at racing against some of the best that travel around to races. Their masters division starts at 40+ so that meant I was racing with 18-39 year olds. The elevation of around 7,000 ft took a toll on me, and so did the heat of 100 degrees during most of the stages. It was after this race that I realized I would have to train with a much more structured approach. I had a coach (Jonny Moskowitz-CA Technologies Team) for the first year of racing, and then I moved on. I was one of the racers that didn't need a coach in order to have accountability. I researched and remembered each lesson Jonny taught me. My acountability would be my performance in races with my teammates. Soon after Cascade Classic I started to use Training Peaks and training with power. This opened up the door to so much information. This will be my first full season using Training Peaks. I am beginning to understand that you can't plan on being in top form for every race during the season. Its difficult to even peak for multiple races in a month. In my Diablo Challenge race report from 2013 I talked about the mistakes I made in training. Looking back at the data, Fremont Peak Hill Climb was when I was in peak form. After that race I took too much time off, and didn't perform as well in the Diablo Challenge. I am learning the meanings of "train to train" and "train to race". Not every single race I enter, I need to win. The focus on non A races will be about helping any teammates out and building the race legs. Even if I had a long week of training. I will enjoy races even more knowing that this race is for training. I will always do my best but I won't hold back during the week leading up to the race, in order to feel more "fresh". I bought a Specialized Transition TT bike in 2013, and plan on training with it 1/3 of the time. I love the fast TT, and have some regular TT races that I will enter.
I got talked into riding the Tour of California Alps-Death Ride in 2014. Lot's of teammates and racers from my racing district will be there. This will be the longest ride and most climbing to date. Each Jan, April, July, and Oct I do my volume rides around the East Bay. My PR so far is 109 miles with 10,000 ft. I will be competing in some races this coming year that I skipped in 2013. I am looking forward to that. Reading some of the race reports from 2012 was an eye opener. I wasn't writing much, but enjoyed looking at the data. It's interesting how priorities change in what I focus on now at races. I plan to write more on how my training is going in 2014, and also how the SJBC Team Director position is developing.
Family life at home couldn't be better right now. Katie and I have found the right balance with the time we spend together, as a family, and alone. We still have our regular date nights each month! I am in love with you Kate! We have planned overnights, and the grand parents help us out achieving those. Avery is now 3, and is an active minded kid. She rides bikes, climbs play structures, reading, coloring, puzzles, and loves Doc McStuffins! She is a well balanced little girl. Katie has found out that she enjoys running. I wonder if she will ever want to borrow the TT bike and compete in a triathlon :)
Thanks to San Jose Bike Club in giving me the opportunity to be SJBC's Race Team Director for 2014. I plan to bring our race team back to when we won the NCNCA Best-All-Around-Team awards in 2010, 2011, and 2012. This will be the team that everyone wants to be on.
Thanks again to Hammer Nutrition for sponsoring me in 2014. I am super stoked to be representing them, and spreading the word about their awesome products. I am already loading up on Race Day Boost as I write this for San Bruno Hill Climb on January 1, 2014! The 1st USAC race of the season. #sanbrunoworldchampionship as some call it!
Zach Hilton Gilroy City Council Member