National Championships

This year the Paralympic Road National Championships were held in Bend OR.

The event ran in conjunction with the the US elite and Junior National events which made for

a huge event in a great location.

Getting off of the plane in nearby Redmond I thought I was back in Colo. Just did not think of the central part of the state being high and dry. My taxi driver explained that 95 degrees was a bit warm but Bend is 3,000 plus feet and on the dry side of the mountains.

With 3 days to prepared before the race I rode the course each day in the morning and then went on an evening spin to keep the legs fresh. Most of my teammates stayed at the same hotel so we ate meals together discussing the course, our fitness levels, everything bike geeks get excited about.

During one ride I came across a giant sign "Mike Farrell U R Wicked Good"

Didn't know I had a fan base in OR but it turns out that I do. So I must thank Cyndy and the

Cahill clan.

On friday morning, myself and two of my teammates rode down to the course to start the 1 hour plus warm up for the 30 minute race.

Some people ask about the warmup and prerace routine for Time Trialing. The thing that must be know is that a Time Trial is a violent assualt on you system. For most of the ride I'll be just under a hyperventalation state. My legs will be collecting lactic acid because of the strain which is what creates that leg pain everyone feels when riding or running hard.

So to prepare I will ride to get my body warm and loose and then start to do race like efforts to stretch my muscles so that there ready to go when the time is ready.

Without a warm up the race is already lost.

The race course was a 6 mile out with a slight uphill grade (2-4%) a turnaround then a straight

run down to the finish. To anticipate the speed of the downhill I put on a 55/11 gear. I have never raced such a big gear and it turned out that I needed all of it. Just so you guys know the Tandem team rocked a 58/11. The downhill was a blast with speeds in the 40 mph range.

I found that pacing a downhill is something of an art. Sometimes putting out the effort doesn't show a real increase in speed. So when ever there was a level point or a slight rise I pounded on the pedals to ramp up mph.

At the end of the day I found myself in 4th position. I was just a handful of seconds of the podium. My longtime roommate and Beijing Bronze Medalist Anthony Zahn kicked me off.

A tandem team took the top step and a triathlete turned cyclist (craig) had the runnerup spot.

After the sting of losing went away - one huge beer at lunch! I figured 4th in the Country was OK and that qualifying for the World Championship Team is a worthy result.

World's will be held in Northern Italy this September. It will give me a chance to do battle with those I saw in China.

To conclude my rambling I'd like to thank everyone that reads this and is interested in my adventures. Cycling can be isolating and your feedback helps me feel connected. I'd also like to send thanks to my coach Tommy Murphy. He's been trying to figure my out since 2004. Tom and everyone at CTS has helped me get where I am today. If you an athlete and needing coaching try http://www.trainright.com/

Thats about all.