Monday, October 29, 2007

I LEAD A PRO RACE!

Ok well I am not trying to brag or be arrogant or anything, but I am pretty excited about the start of Alafia on Sunday. So far in the first 4 races I have not been getting good starts at all. So this race I went into it with the mindset of, I am gonna give it what I got and try to be as high up as possible but not hoping for anything. So the horn blows and I am about 4th into the first turn, and then we have double track for probably 300 yards and then a sweeping turn into single track. Well on the double track I was feeling really good and just laid down some power and shot to the front just before turning into the singletrack. at first I thought "wow that worked pretty good" and then I thought "HOLY COW! I AM LEADING!" It was hard to control the excitement, but I was just trying to stay calm and not let the thought of faster guys behind me make me push too hard. I felt really good and I think that being at the front really helped mentally to make it not hurt as bad.

About a mile and a half to two miles in we got to a section that was pretty muddy and rooty. I was still in the lead with Martin on my wheel and Robert Bounds was now wanting to go. I bobbled in a muddy turn and he got around me on the inside, and he kept sayin "its time to go Regan come on" well Martin got around as well and I just tried to keep them in sight, but with a combination of nasty roots and new cut in trail I just couldn't keep the pace that they wanted, and soon Ryan, Victor, and Kevin Hoffman got around me. My first lap I was about a minute off the leaders. But going into my second lap I really slowed down, and the mud and roots really got me mentally and phyiscally. It was all I could do to keep pushing and persevere through it. After coming into some nice flowing single track I really rethought my game plan and mental state. I wasn't gonna let this cause me to have just another bad race, so I laid on the gas and pushed through the burn into my 3rd lap. there were several people through the feed zone and trail crossings that were telling me time gaps and that really fueled my fire to stay hard at it to catch them. Well I ended up catching Ryan Walsh about half way through the last lap, and people kept saying that Martin and Robert were not far up, but I just didn't quite have it to close that gap by the end of the race. So I got 7th. definitely better than my previous performances other than Tallahassee. I am finally pleased again with my power and energy level again. Now I just need to keep learning when to attack and when to stick someones wheel. But I will leave you with this note. The Woodall Brothers will be ready to feed on the weak at Miami...

Monday, October 22, 2007

How to max your heart rate with out any physical activity


Well yesterday was the 4th race of the FSCS up in Gainesville at Hailes trails. We got there at about an hour before the start. I went to register the team and then quickly got ready so I could go warm up. well it was about 10 minutes before the start and I decide to go take a leak over by the trees, about 20 feet from the trail, and then get on the starting line. well as I am riding over by the tree line, a nylon cord wraps up in my cassette and Mark Gerard yells at me to stop. Unfortunately it was too late. The dérailleur hanger was ripped off and thats when my heart rate hit a new record. well Martin Cox was parked right by where it happened and says, "hey you wanna ride my Scott?" Well knowing that my bike was inoperable I was didn't hesitate on taking him up on his offer. Well now its 9:23 and Dave Berger is calling us to the line, and there weren't any cranks in Martin's hard tail, well about that time Ricky Knight rolls up and tells us that we need to get to the line, and then realizes whats going on. Well needless to say thanks to Martin's amazing generosity and Ricky's help, and sending two people to go hold up the start, we both made it to the line just in time. Well the Shifting is different on his bike than on mine, he has dual control levers and I have rapid fire. Well I knew how to use em but of course right off the start I end up shifting the wrong way and lose several spots. For those of you that have never raced a Pro/expert race, the starts are just too hard to explain. I use to think it was tough back in sport getting the whole shot, but racing the big dogs, you give it all you got and end up mid pack going in the woods, and your heart rate is screaming! So basically I went in the woods pretty far back. the first few miles weren't that hard of a pace, but my heart rate was so high and I was just dying, that I couldn't move up. That pretty much carried on for the first 3 laps, where it felt like I was giving everything I had, and I was going half the speed I should of been. well the lead 30+ experts caught me on the end of my 3rd lap, and i stayed with them til just about my 5th lap. having the faster pace to ride with and knowing I had several guys in my class within a minute up ahead, really helped me to pick it up, and it seemed like my 4th and 5th laps I was rolling alot better. well going into my last lap there were 4 guys in front of me within about a minute. Ryan walsh, Sean Crichton, Luke Rozanski, and Jamie Knight. I caught Jamie at the beginning of my 5th lap, who was rolling out for the first 4 laps, and deserves some major props. I could see Luke up a head and stayed about 5 to 10 seconds off of him til about the last mile of the race. As I am chasing him down we end up catching Sean and slowly get away from him. well for those of you that raced it yesterday you remember quite well the zig zag up and down the mounds at the end of the lap. This is where I finally get on Lukes wheel, and Ryan is there cheering me on. well we are about half way through the zig zags and I just lay into it and get around him. we still have to zig back one more time and then its pretty much a straight shot to the finish. well he is right there on my wheel up the climbs and I knew he was about to try one last time to get around but i managed to keep him behind me coming out in to the open field, and I sprinted my legs off to stay in front and beat him.

I would like to Give a big THANKS, to everyone that helped me get a bike together for the race. Thanks Martin for letting me borrow your bike! your the man! and Ricky Knight for helping out, and everyone else that I didn't mention thanks alot!


Well it was definitely a crazy yet still a fun weekend of racing. As far as team about bicycles, our results were:

Kent Lofton 40+ expert 6th place
Ryan Woodall expert/pro 1st place
Regan Woodall expert/pro 11th place
Victor Alber expert/pro 7th place
Anthony Hutton sport 19-29 9th place

Friday, October 19, 2007

Well I figured I would join everyone else and start a blog

So I am sitting at home on a Friday, two days before the Gainesville florida state race, and I decided to start a blog. I have never been real good at keeping up with things like this, but hey, if I get to talk about racing my bike or the sport of cycling in general, then that should definitely help!

Well so far I haven't had the best of luck moving into the expert class in the Florida state series. I was kinda getting burned out from racing all year, but overall I had a really good year with a sport national and regional championship, thanks to mom and dad's support! but my bodies idea of the end of the season was a little different than the race schedule or what I was trying to do. So after Jacksonville I decided to take a few days off. and thats what I did. I had lost a lot of the desire I had before, and it was not a good feeling! Well my first ride after taking a break was on my trusty ole trek Y22. Yes the creeking and cracking carbon y framed bike that everyone thought was gonna break on em on a downhill. But thats beside the point. After about 30 minutes of an easy to moderate pace, it really came back to me. it just came on like someone flipped a light switch! THIS IS AMAZING! I said as I was twisting down pine tree trail at Santos. I let out a holler and just laid into it and went all out from there back to the trail head and all the way home. What an amazing feeling it was to be back on the bike and feeling that connection you have with it. well since then I have been getting some good training in, and I feel 100percent better than I did at Jacksonville. So I guess we will see what happens when the whistle blows at gainesville...