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Hotsheet
May 22, 2009
by Tim Sheeper
In this edition:

Special Operations-Lake Del Valle

A small elite group of Spec Ops athletes were dispatched to Lake Del Valle in Livermore for a very brutal X-Terra mountain bike triathlon.  While most of the field suffered through a wretchedly tough course that brought grown men to their knees, our athletes walked away with podium finishes and fond memories.  Keith Terada aka Po, Cindy Welton aka Cocoa and Lennard Hachmann yet to earn an aka, raced flawlessly and are encouraging teammates to join them in upcoming off-road races. 

Results can be found at:
http://www.jtltiming.com/results/x-liv.html


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Morgan Hill Triathlon at Uvas

Great weather.  Great course.  Great competition.  It all came together at this local hometown race where over 30 team members had a wonderful morning of hard, fast racing.  Smiles and stories were all shared under the team lounge tent as many awaited to walk up on the stage to accept their awards.

This was some peoples first race of the season while it also doubled as the last tune up for others before the big dance in Kona. 

The team results can be found at:
http://www.teamsheeper.com/events/event.php?event=8853


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Hawaii 70.3

Well, it is time.  Time to board airplanes destined for the big isle to test our 6 months of training against the nature and climate of the area and the solid competition.  We are ready, there is nothing more that can be done except race and enjoy it.  Enjoy being fit, enjoy being strong, enjoy having the opportunity to engage in the adventure.  We will attempt to leverage the power of the team as much as possible for each individual while we are in Kona.

The following is the agenda for the team leading up to and after the race.
1. Pre Race Swim Thursday 10:00 am Hapuna Beach
2. Pre Race Swim Friday 1:00 pm Hapuna Beach (Bring bike to check in at T1 after swim)
3. Pre Race Dinner Friday at 5:00-6:30pm at Waikoloa Beach Villas (Italian food options)
4. Awards Ceremony- 4:00pm-Meet at a table under the big tent
5. Post Race Brunch and Wrap up-10:00am Waikoloa Beach Villas-Exact site TBD

Bring your camera and a positive "life is good" attitude.


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Fearsome Foursome Awards

We will distribute the Fearsome Foursome awards on Saturday June 13 following the morning ride which will end at approximately noon.

We will meet at Round Table Pizza on El Camino in Menlo Park. Saturday June 13, 12 noon.

The agenda will include three items.
1. Fearsome Awards
2. Hawaii Celebration
3. Season 2 Kick-Off


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Lake Berryessa Training Day

Saturday June 6, 2009 is scheduled to be a training day at Lake Berryessa beginning with the 2 mile or 1 mile (or both) swim at the 28th Annual Lake Berryessa Open Water Swims. 

http://www.damfast.org/berrywelcome.html 

The 2 mile swims begin at 9:30am the 1 mile begins at 11:00am.  We will begin a 2.5 hour bike ride at 12:30 pm.  The ride will take us out Knoxville road as we head toward the lovely Pope Valley.  In the event of extremely warm temperatures the ride will be abbreviated and the infamous run/swim/rope swing/run/swim event around the shoreline of the lake will be lengthened.  Bring a pair of shoes that you are comfortable swimming in.  The lake is about a 2 hour drive from the pool.


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Silicon Valley Olympic Triathlon

This is a team focus event and we will be there in force.many athletes primed and ready.and a lounge set up at the finish.

If you have not entered yet, you may still do so and use the team discount code. If you didn't receive it via email, send a note to Tim or Mike to get it.

The race is Sunday June 21, 2009 at Lake Almaden.  It is Father's Day so dad's can race and forget about fixing the leaky plumbing that day.


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30-30 Challenge

Simply, run for 30 minutes or more 30 days in a row beginning on June 5 and ending on July 4, 2009.  Each individual keeps track of their days and submits their results to the event administrator (me) on July 4.  If you achieve 30 runs you receive a reward from the team.  If you run 24 out of 30 days you also receive a reward from the team.  Any run counts.  It is about FREQUENCY, so duration and intensity have to remain controlled and conservative during this 30 day period.

If you have had a recent injury or have a history of running injuries, attempt to increase your weekly frequency by 1-2 runs per week only.


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Season 2 Highlights

Season 2 starts in early June and extends until October 25, 2009.  This is our second half of the year.  So in effect we will start with a brief down (low intensity) period after Honu.  Then a brief period of base maintenance, but a majority of our time and effort is centered around competing in and recovering from the many races and competitions in our area.  This is a fun and exciting time for endurance athletes, as this is the time to either go real hard and fast or to relax and recover from those efforts, which is a very different dynamic from Season 1 where a great deal of preparation was required to achieve seasonal fitness standards.

The following is what is in place to keep the team focused, engaged and vital through the summer months;

1. 30-30 Run Challenge (June 5-July 4)
2. Grinder Series (see below-4 dates)
3. Lake Berryessa Training Day (Sat June 6)
4. Santa Cruz Pier Swim and Training Day (Sat Aug 1)
5. Special Ops Training Weekend-Big Basin (Aug 8-9)
6. Races: Alcatraz, Silicon Valley Olympic, SF Tri, Vineman 70.3, Tinley's, Marin
7. Focus Race:  Big Kahuna Half Ironman, Santa Cruz (Oct 25)
8. Tour of California Coast-Day 1-Big Sur, Day 2-San Luis Obispo, Day
3-Santa Barbara, Day 4 Manhattan Beach, Day 5-San Diego (Nov 13-17)


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Level One Triathlon Team

The Level One triathletes have folded into the team very nicely on our Tuesday night runs.  Coach Ken has managed to keep the newer triathletes integrated, positive and progressing in their endurance pursuits.  Somehave attended other week night workouts and numerous swim workouts throughout the week.  In fact, Fran Guan, in only a handful of times on a bike attempted and completed the Tunitas loop this past Saturday.  After talking in depth with Frank, I have come to understand that he learned a years worth of bike logistics in only one long morning and afternoon ride.


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Special Ops Camp

Mark your calendars for August 8 and 9 for our first ever Special Ops camp.

The camp will be based in the Big Basin Mountains in Santa Cruz.  The weekend is set up to be either a sleep-over-weekend or a drive-in and drive-out 1 or 2 day event.  Mountain biking, and trail running will dominate the agenda as we prepare the troops for Tinley's Dirty Adventures in October.

Stay tuned for more details.


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Grinders

Grinder rides are hill climbs where we attempt to find hills and/or mountains that are new, different and extremely challenging and therefore exciting to all of us.  If you make all four with team you receive recognition from the team. Below I have listed the heart of each Grinder.  Details on starting points and courses will be revealed as dates of the rides draw closer.  Here are the Grinders and the dates:

Grinder #1-August 8-Gazos Creek (mountain or road if you dare)
Grinder #2-August 29-Alba
Grinder #3-Sept 26-Hicks
Grinder #4-October 10-Orbit

Grinders Descriptions:

1.Alba:

distance: 3.8 miles

climbing: 2050 feet

Route 2/3 from Hwy 9 to Empire Grade, Alba averages 10.2%, rather steep for something which gains over 2000 feet. The average grade doesn't do it justice, however, as the grade is highly inconsistent, with sections near 5% intermixed with significant portions at 15% to 20%. With road gears (a low of 39/28 or bigger), surviving this climb is an exercise in pain. The steep sections aren't so long that a fit rider can't power through them, however. As a descent, it isn't bad given its steepness.

2.  Bohlman-(On Orbit)-Bohlman

distance: 4.3 miles

climbing: 2030 feet

This is really, really, hard on standard road gears. The listed stats show a steep average grade of 8.9%, but there is a considerable flat section at the top, so it is actually much worse than this. A low gear of 39/28 or lower really helps here. On Orbit Dr is an alternate route which bypasses a section of Bohlman. To capture the full effect of this climb, On Orbit should be taken, as it includes significant sections at near 20%.  From the top of Bohlman, if you survive, there is a 0.9-mile dirt road to the right (bear right on the dirt) to the top of Montevina Road, which can be descended to Highway 17. A short trip to the right along Hwy 17 brings one to Black Road, which can be climbed to Skyline Road. After B-O-B, the 10% grades of Black Road are cake.

 
3.Gazos Creek Road  (Part of the Spec Ops Weekend)

distance: 11.9 miles (Cloverdale-Big Basin)

climbing: 1740 feet (S to N) 850 feet (N to S)  Gazos Creek Road provides a convenient connection between the Butano State Park region and Big Basin. From the south, it begins at Highway 1 for approximately 2 miles. From the point where Cloverdale Road turns off to the north, it becomes a dead-end to auto traffic and cars are a rare sight. It continues in a well-paved, gentle fashion until the pavement ends and one is faced with a virtual wall of dirt. During the summer the surface here can be quite loose and thus traction for a road bike is challenging.  The grade lessens in places, but there are more steep sections, and thus 28mm or wider tires and a low-gear of 39/28 (700c) or lower will be appreciated here. Once one reaches the junction at the top, however, the surface becomes firmer, and what remains is a rolling, mostly downhill, washboard-in places, dirt road. Finally, one emerges at the Big Basin Park headquarters, where water is available.

As a descent, the poor traction and extreme grade mean that road-bikers descending Gazos may well find themselves soon sampling the culinary qualities of the fine Northern California topsoil. It's good for working on bike handling skills, though.

4.Hicks Road (North side)

distance:
5.1 miles from Camden to Guadalupe Creek
1.0 miles from Guadalupe Creek to Mt. Umunhum Rd.

climbing:
420 feet from Camden to Guadalupe Creek (1.7% avg)
740 feet from Guadalupe Creek to Mt. Umunhum Rd. (14% avg)  This is tough... the opening rolling miles, including the short and steep climb to the dam, hardly prepare one for the steep grades which follow. A cattle grate partway up the steep section is threatening, but can be survived if conditions aren't too wet. Doing this climb in a 39/24 is a struggle -- even with such gearing, fit riders will be wishing for more on the steepest slopes. Once at the summit, a very short (50 meters, approximately) descent brings one to the unmarked intersection (to the right) with Mt. Umunhum Road. This out-and-back sidetrip is highly recommended. Mt. Umunhum Road effectively combines with Hicks to make a single, extended, and quite difficult climb -- of those listed in this document, only Bohlman-On Orbit-Bohlman is tougher to those with typical road gearing.


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Rim2Rim2Rim

Crazy Lennard strikes again.  Lennard has reached another plane of fitness, daring and adventure this year as all had a chance to witness.  I think he has topped all of his other outings with this latest escapade across the Grand Canyon twice in a day.  If he were alive hundreds of years ago I am certain he would have been elected head of his tribe for his prowess of planning, hunting, and succeeding in the face of adversity.  I can speak on behalf of most people on the team when I say congratulations on a lifetime accomplishment.  Please contact Lennard if you would like a full account and story of his remarkable day which includes photos, charts, diagrams, and storyline.


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