Kickin' It

-

-

-

-

-

Kickin' It Old School.....a new release with Jamie Kennedy that is a must see.

With the old school on my mind and the mullet making a mean comeback I figured it was time to do another Old School Update. A couple days after the race I called up my coach TJ Woodruff at Momentum Endurance and he had already made the journey down to Tucson. It made me jealous of the old days when I could train full time and did not have to work.

So here it is...How I got fast....not indoor smores!

-

-

-

-

-

-

In 2 words....Klement Capliar (pictured above w/ the sister in-law)

Many of you know Klement from his time here in Wisco when he brought the 3 riders from Slovakia to the WORS series in 1998. At this time Klement was also working with Hayes? He was also a coach at the Olympic Training Center in the mid 80's.

I ran into Klement at a Norba in 1998, then we crashed at his place at the MTB World's in Mt. Ste. Anne. He had some of the best wild mushroom soup going that night. Later that year Klement was at the Iceman and I almost won the race....he must have been impressed and later contacted me and invited me down to Tucson for a training camp in January of 99.

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Also down in Tucson were 2 riders from the Czech and 1 from Slovakia and Skyler Reeves. Petr Steinbech, Libor Valenta, and Vojto Bachleda were their names. Vojto was 2nd place at the Junior World Championships 2 times. One for MTB and one for cross. Not bad company for some serious training rides. For 3 months straight we pounded base miles, motor paced, and did Team Time Trials. Every afternoon it was out for another ride...sometimes power building intervals sometime spins. We averaged 20 hour weeks and for the first month my legs were sore every day....eventually the body adapted and I went from a mid pack senior expert to winning the Cactus Cup as a Semi Pro.

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

My experience down in Tucson was one of a kind....awesome riding, Klement was a great chef so we ate incredible meals, and my fitness increased by 10.

After the year with Klement I moved back to Tucson with some friends from MI. Derek Precthl, Jason Karewm and Daryl Saul from OH. We did our best to duplicate the training with Klement and had a blast doing so. Miles, Miles, Miles, and finally some results. Still to the day the results that I am most proud of...finishing 17th overall at Sea Otter in a Euro littered field, and winning The Tour of the Gila as a Cat II.

Here is a sneak peak at my 2000 training diary.

4,000 miles by April! DO that for a four or five years and I can guarantee you will gain some fitness and race faster....if that's what you are into.

Can't wait to do it again...maybe this winter now that Andrea is finished with school?