tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268831232024-02-21T04:32:37.610-06:00Behind the facade...Possibly the missing piece in life's puzzle. Probably not.Jonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05315492546406276969noreply@blogger.comBlogger152125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-82428148934508278862011-06-01T21:34:00.001-05:002011-06-01T21:34:35.293-05:00Just a quick post...to see if this is working.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-85334095453324952722011-04-03T19:55:00.002-05:002011-04-03T19:55:39.437-05:00Weekend Wrap-UpAfter being more than a bit apprehensive about moving up a category, I have come away convinced I did the right thing, and happy with my performance.The weekend consisted of three races: a hilly and twisty time trial, a fast and furious short track race, and a XC (cross country) race the next day.The time trial was not my best effort. I felt sort of detached, and not really into it. I went too Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-76377775679536839672011-03-04T10:34:00.001-06:002011-03-04T10:34:37.772-06:00Maybe the dingos ate your SpringSpring was here, now its not. Wait, it was here yesterday - for a bit. Oh well, its March in Nebraska. I recall the shamrock painted on mainstreet of Wisner for St. Patrick's Day getting ruined by snow. I won't be worried for another week or two, then I have got to get rolling on my mountain bike to get ready for this http://psycowpath.com/apr-2-jewell-park.htmlUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-4139163842478280412011-01-26T14:05:00.001-06:002011-01-26T14:05:37.584-06:00Odds and EndsAn assortment of things happening lately. - Participating in the honor guard today for a policeman who died. We went to high school together and worked together for years. He died of cancer. The honor guard is quite a site - inspiring and chilling at the same time. - Been working a ton of hours lately for all the various jobs I have trying to build a war chest for spring and summer Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-69545213468052995292011-01-15T09:32:00.001-06:002011-01-15T09:32:37.308-06:00The Green Hornet was ok.It wasn't the best movie I've ever seen but it was very entertaining.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-37517605501395332332011-01-05T07:57:00.001-06:002011-01-05T07:57:14.062-06:00UntitledGood weight session this morning. Enough said. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-84767746202062335922010-12-23T22:01:00.001-06:002010-12-23T22:01:52.977-06:00Can I count that high?I have reached an age in my life that people around me are having babies, again. Several years ago I was having children so was everyone around me. Now, my kids are having kids and many of our younger friends are starting families. While nothing about this is unusual, its natural actually, most of the births or the early stages of the baby's life were. Either the mother had great difficulty Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-46757136705250284392010-12-17T23:24:00.001-06:002010-12-17T23:24:49.815-06:00Party time!Its a busy weekend for us. After work today we had my office party, a dance performance to watch, and a birthday bash for a mutual friend. Tomorrow is a 12 hour shift followed by another performance and roller derby. Roller derby? Yes, a friend's wife plays (rolls?) for a local team. Should be a hoot.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-66404085548293608532010-12-10T21:07:00.001-06:002010-12-10T21:07:46.251-06:00Testing, testingI am done with phase two of a three phase testing block and all I can say is "Damn, that hurts." Yesterday was some short 3 mile TT efforts.After the heavy lifting earlier this week (Thanks to an informal competition with Devin) my legs were heavy and sore. Needless to say, the numbers I generated were not stellar. Tonight there were several sprint efforts. A five minute sprint and three Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-58799496810225432302010-12-05T21:00:00.000-06:002010-12-05T21:00:27.303-06:00Its a learning curveI did some consultations with someone with some coaching experience last week and have been hopefully pointed a little more accurately toward success in 2011. Over the weekend I did a couple workouts based on those consultations and I must say I am intrigued and encouraged. Maybe sometime I can actually shell out the bucks for an actual coach.
One of the things I really like about training,Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-48822638582119456182010-11-16T11:16:00.000-06:002010-11-16T11:16:01.446-06:00Busy NovemberI am still trying out this Tumblr thing so this time the entire post is there. Here is the link http://cedge100.tumblr.com/post/1592224003/busy-novemberUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-80617904948702381972010-10-27T22:05:00.000-05:002010-10-27T22:05:40.062-05:00It may be a little early but...Looking back over my 2010 season I realized that I met all the goals I set for myself, even surpassing a few. While it wasn't a perfect year, it was pretty darned good. My goals were modest - hang on during our weekly group rides, podium in a Psycowpath race, and have a marked increase in measurable performance on some know rides/loops. Modest or not, they were goals I set and worked hard to meetUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-75330565240728222532010-09-25T15:03:00.001-05:002010-09-25T15:03:38.132-05:00And now its overWell dang. The last Psycowpath race of the season has just been canceled. For all practical purposes my 2010 season is done. Its been an outstanding year: much better than I reasonably expected. I think I'll go upgrade my MTB license now. Hello Cat 2.Eek. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-12824258230064676892010-09-16T08:16:00.001-05:002010-09-16T08:16:14.692-05:00Hello out there via BlogawaySorry but this is just a quick note to test Blogaway Location : 2600-2614 Prospect Ave, Norfolk, NE 68701, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-67590264554428134262010-09-12T21:38:00.001-05:002010-09-12T21:40:07.530-05:00The past has passedAfter Saturday's Psycowpath Capital City Challenge at Branched Oak Lake I sent out this tweet:
All old MTB demons exorcised. Good day - 2nd place. Jerry Hoff 1st.
via TweetDeck Jon Downey jon_downey
It pretty much tells the story of the race. It WAS a good day - great people, great weather, twisty Nebraska singletrack, and a successful race. I hope one of these days I can Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-63731734081070718242010-08-29T21:28:00.001-05:002010-08-29T22:03:25.484-05:002010 Maskenthine XC ClassicThe highlight of my cycling summer was yesterday - the Maskenthine XC Classic. Its a big deal for me - I was one of the original designers of the trail and to have a successful event on it is quite special. Its also cool to see all these folks come together to maintain the trail and make the race special. And this year was even better as I could finally race at our club's event.
After some Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-2900274420176860592010-06-21T08:31:00.000-05:002010-06-21T08:31:28.368-05:00Ponca AvengedSaturday morning Jerry Hoff and I drove to Ponca for the 2010 Ponca's Revenge Psycowpath race. Jerry, for those who don't know, is a stellar motocross racer since the mid-1970's and a lifetime athlete. He is a super nice guy as well.
Early this year I had no plans on riding this race, partly because I didn't plan on racing as much as I have been and partly because Ponca kicked by ass so badly Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-36518707480524409282010-05-28T08:16:00.002-05:002010-05-28T08:21:18.527-05:00What I have learned in 2010Its almost June, so 2010 is starting to show some age. Sort of like me, I guess. I always figure time isn't wasted if you learned something - did I learn anything this year? Some...
My recovery well has a finite depth. But each time I dredge the bottom, it gets a little deeper.
My kids are going to grow up, whether I pay attention or not.
I have no business riding in the front on a group ride. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-18612728578321624492010-05-02T22:04:00.000-05:002010-05-02T22:04:29.344-05:00I love it when a plan comes togetherLet me preface this by saying that I AM talking about a Cat 3 45+ mountain bike race, so in the grand scheme of things, the subject of this post is really not that important. Ok, that was the disclaimer, now on to the post.
After years of struggling, self-doubt, crashing, half-assing, and generally wussing I out; I finally decided to HTFU and give this bike racing thing my all. Either I was Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-6992063680339374442010-04-18T23:03:00.001-05:002010-04-20T09:05:44.680-05:00Well, Heck, At least it didn't suckAs part of my last hard training block for the Swanson Psycowpath, I decided to take on the le Tour de Husker crit. My riding has been pretty top-drawer lately, so I felt pretty good going in, even with the usual nagging self-doubts.
I had a plan and stuck to it with regard to pre-race prep and warm-up, and my bride was helpful in keeping my nerves under control. I went out for a last minute Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-32572325019028897572010-03-01T15:38:00.000-06:002010-03-01T15:38:12.459-06:00One down, one to goThe first seriously hard training week of the year is done and I feel pretty darn good about it. I met all my goals, came away a little sore and tired, and am ready to hit it again tomorrow for hard week numero dos before a rest week.
I am going to find out whether I can be competitive once and for all. The Paragon is as good as anything else out there, and I have good places to ride and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-6376260704350204372010-02-21T20:45:00.000-06:002010-02-21T20:45:09.980-06:00The BeltWhy on earth would I post a picture of my belt? Or any belt for that matter? Funny you should ask.
I have had this belt since about 1998. I wear it almost every day, and usually for work. During the day, I not only holds up my pants but my work gear - gun, handcuffs, and badge. At one time I had a pager clipped to it, which really ages not only the belt but me as well. After that I clipped my Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-86340603796628413492010-02-09T09:33:00.000-06:002010-02-09T09:33:26.154-06:00Go AwayI was fine coming back to Nebraska.
After being in Florida over the weekend I had re-energized and was ready for the last few weeks of winter. I had seen green grass, palm trees, and felt chilly at 50 degrees. In shorts and a t-shirt. I was even fine looking out this morning to a bit more new snow.
Then, as I was walking down the driveway to help Kristin get her car thawed out, I biffed it. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-44842047124621842752010-01-20T09:16:00.000-06:002010-01-20T09:16:14.052-06:00Easing off the gasI have been steadily ramping up my workouts since early December with longer and harder sessions. During this entire time I have kept an eye on my recovery waiting for the signs of fatigue. I was curious how long I could continue the steady increases before I had to back it off.
I noticed earlier this week I wasn't looking forward to certain aspects of my routine so I knew it was coming. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883123.post-89338646798114573462010-01-15T09:28:00.000-06:002010-01-15T09:28:41.340-06:00Mid-January ReportIts January 15, time for an update I suppose.
My fitness seems to be coming along nicely. I am trying to contain my workout intensity which, depending on the day, has been interesting. Extended periods in zone 3 are getting easier, but my energy level is fluctuating and my recovery is starting to suffer a little. I think both of those are products of the weight loss program I'm following, so I Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1