Welcome to a new in-door season!

It's been a long time since my last posting here.....with the things happening over the summer, there just hasn't been time(bad excuse, should delete this one but I'll leave it so you all see it really IS A BAD EXCUSE) or actually energy has been missing to also keep this blog updated - getting the training and classes running together with intensive competitions has been enough, but now it's time again!!!!!
Not bcs I'm big fan of inviting all world into my head and private life(and you'll know or see that's not what my postings are/will be about), but bcs I think its fun and good for my own evaluation to actually write 9and hereby think!!!) about my own training & competition progress.....you might not find smth you can use in your own training or life(in case you feel that I think you should rewview your own life...either you're a Pro or just not even close to do enough physical exercise/kicking ass), but for sure it'll be a bit entertaining...I promise!!

In the week to come I'll post 3 things here on the blog:
1. evaluation of 2009 season - work title: WTF happened to 2009
2. plan of the long awaited Mad Mike Marathon Series 2009/2010
3. random pics from my bike trips this year

Thx for reading in...pls feel free to leave me some messages here, on mail or through FB!

All best

*MM*

Facts!

As you can see I on the graph to the right I think I made a quite clever return after my 14 days sickness period. So no reason to get a knee injury or new flue attack!

The graph shows hr of training per week

Spring season update!

It's been two months since last post...time just pass by!!!!
The spring season has been one big roller coaster ride....

After a quite good winter training with NO sick brakes I got hit BIG time by the early spring flue , which kept me off bike/off training for 14days.....very painful to be stuck in bed as summer temperatures & the fist comp hit the calendar:-(

So I missed Tio-Mila (big foot-orienteering club relay event in Sweden) and the first round of the CZ MTBO cup(in Hungary!), but got back on the bike/training and hit it hard......maybe too hard!

2nd round of CZ MTBO cup was in flat sand terrain in south moravia and though I was a bit sceptic I landed a 9th place in the CZ Long distance Champs....remember I'm now riding the Elite category! cool. At the middle distance I ran out of power and therefore concentration - 14th!

Then came a week full of training, with a long 3 day weekend in Krusne Hora and more than 11hrs in the sadle!

Leading into a prep period for the 3rd CZ MTBO cup weekend, close to PRG - I was ready to give max and hoped for 2 x Top 10....ended 11th & 10th, so again absolute ok...though I was not satified!

Then the first BIG goal of the season...Kral Sumava/King of Sumava....103km MTB marathon!
Was really fired up and prepared for a super performance inproving my start number as 65th from last year......but everything went wrong and ended 71! after 6.31hrs in the mud!

To punish my self and prove that I'm not THAT bad I choose(big mistake!) to go for a long Sunday recovery ride, 3.45hr in the hills south of PRG.....Monday I had to cancel my spinning class after 70min!!!!

That's 9days ago now...haven't done ANYTHING since and still the knee hurts as soon as I load it with a bit of work....walking up the stairs or just leaving all weight on the right leg:-(

T finalize a horror period I caught some cold and stomach flue, so mood and shape is way below cero these days!!!!!

The good thing now is that....IT CAN ONLY BE BETTER from here on.........when it turns I'll return with a more pictures desription of what went wrong at KS, but for now there is no mood to say anything else than F...!

Will be back soon!

Race evaluation - Mad Mike Marathon Vol 4!

15 racers booked
13 brave racers showed up
10 F...ing hardcore racers completed ALL 3 hrs!

GREAT work guys - it was awesome to see you all there, horrible hard to push up all those hills and follow the attacks and extremely satisfying to see most of you finished strong!

As always some smart ass told me I'm always off the bike relaxing....so here is the facts...SHUT UP & bike;-)

Tmrw is outdoor again & I'm sure it'll rain or snow...preferable both! Nutella bread here I come!

THANKS to ALL OF YOU who participated in any of the 4 editions in this first season of MAD MIKE MARATHON's - c u in class or out there on the tracks soon again!

Until then keep pedaling & add more resistance!

*Mike*

MAD MIKE MARATHON VOL. 4 - BOOK NOW!

6 days to go to the last edition of Mad Mike Marathon's for this season.

The goal is as always, to prepare for that outdoor experience as we all prefer......so
It's gonna hurt, but it's gonna work!

WHAT: 3hrs MAD MIKE Schwinn In-Door cycling paradise trip to heaven!
When: Saturday March 21st
Where: World Class Vaclavske Nam
Time: Race starts: 13.00.00.....Danish time i.e. don't come 13.00...then u're already LATE:-)

AFTER PASTA PARTY: join for the after "get-2-know-the-fat-guy-in-the-corner-better" party after. Most of you know how you look in bike gear and with sweat running down your shirts, get to see the other side of your fellow training mates.....place tba later!

WHOM: All who wants to have fun while training for a better body!

HOW: email entry to hr.sommer (at) gmail.com -

Spread the word & let's fill up all the bikes.....makes it so much easier to go up those last hills:-)

Looking forward

*Mike*

Sunday, rain & OUTDOOR MTB..what a crash!

So finally came Sunday....the long waited day of a long outdoor ride on the MTB & as I wrote Y-day it's still the old Mr Corratec who gets the pleasure of being push around as it's still too muddy out there for Miss Scott!

The Ultra short story would be: Coffee Club & new born star "The Ukrainian mountain machine" Mr. Oleg - rain, road, broken chain, mud, SUN, mud, rain, stuck Jeep, mud, wind, mud, downhill, Goulash & Nutella, uphill, mud, crash, uphill, downhill, the lost Bagel American, mud, rain, river race, home!

A few comments/explanations for the curios:

Coffee Club: American Mr "is there a bagel shop we can stop at soon" Aron & Polish "how about some coffee & cake...we have already biked 20min" Rob (see post from 7/2 for more info!)

"The Ukrainian mountain machine" Mr. Oleg: a new guy in class and on the Mad Mike Outdoor MTB ride team - he looks quite & doesn't say much, BUT he can bike..fast and smooth!

The lost Bagel American: Aron had not had enough bagels y-day, so he lost the speed in the bacon legs & had to snail home...so we lost him on the "team finisher" picture as we washed our bikes in Vlatava back in PRG!

Mud: Yes it was muddy as hell, tires packed up and turned into over size balloon wheels, blocking all kind of power and forward force!

SUN: yes, 2 x 10 seconds we had sun...2nd time, however, it was difficult to see bcs of the rain!!

Stuck Jeep: Of course, a CZ oversize man in his JEEP tried to climb a muddy uphill track, we couldn't bike up the mud....he was stuck & couldn't move anywhere.....we didn't stop to help...idiots must learn the hard way!

Nutella: After 2 hrs paradise riding - we arrived at the goal of the trip Karlstejn Castle....we all admired, and almost fight to be the first.......to order the Nutella bread they sell at the small restaurant right where the trail hits the tourist street....leading the hordes of Italian and Russian tourists to the top! (today however there was not so many!!!!)

Goulash: As it was raining we decided to drop in at the restaurant - The waiter welcomed us by sending an extra nice, typical CZ, very friendly "welcome to my restaurant how can I serve you today"- look and was for a second considering to throw us out, as we entered his humble, dirty, beer & goulash place....however a Polish, a American, A Ukrainian & A Danish, know this typical friendly CZ customer service behavior & we ignored his comments and ordered some goulash - which was actually quite good! The place was not cleaner as we left!

Crash: It's been a long time ago since Mad Mike was down biting the ground on a MTB ride, but today it happened...not only 1., but twice!!!! 1st time looked quite good.....measured on the comments....and thanks to the mud there was just a slide into the side "bush" of the track - nothing broken...apart form the nice new winter pants(mum, are u listening?) Knee took of the hit and survived...as a stupid spinn instructor once said....if it doesn't hurt...it doesn't work!

Oleg took some cool pics see here

That's it - what a Sunday ride - Attached my Polar HR profile - notice 1235 m climbing!

Now comes a new week full of spinn and for sure yet another Sunday MTB ride!

Can't wait

*Mike*

What happened...SUNSHINE in PRG!

Well 11 weeks into the year and a lot of training is in the legs. This week has been quite good & today was no exception, but.....

Thursday when martin called and asked me to cover for his Schwinn class today & checked the weather forecast first & ONLY bcs it said rain, clouds and 6drg, did I say yes......had I known it would be sun and perfect outdoor conditions then........(sorry Martin!)

Never the less, the sun was shining through the windows on us who showed up today for Schwinn In-door at Vacklavske 11.15...actually it was full, 18 hard training creatures had the guts!
We biked up 2 wonderful hills and had it not been for the 60min time limit, we would have continued, but "all good things come to an end" and so did the class.....thanks to all who showed up hope you had a great training, come back soon:-)

The funny thing was that.....9 people denied to leave...they wanted more!!!!!!
So they got.....we took 60min more.....a little bit of everything, hills, flat, fast, slow...all got what they want...and so did a wonderful Saturday Lunch class end after 2hrs on the Schwinn bike....what a cool start of a great weekend!

Now coming home after a session like this...looking in the training diary(7 days, 7 training days in a row spend in the gym!)...looking out the window(sun still shining a bit) I decided it was time for a recovery roll on the old bike...Mr Corratec.....thanks to Radek for the back wheel Mr Corratec is now rolling again....allowing Miss Scott Spark to stay inside untill the mud dries up....and so I went for a nice relaxed 70 min roll out Vlatava and back!

On the way home I stopped at the brand new build/reconstructed Hamr Sport complex...their new restaurant have a huge terrace and they serve Gambrinus:-)
As you can see on the pic, the sun was almost gone by the end of the ride....but the temp was still over +11drg and the beer tasted so good(and worked surprisingly well:-))

A perfect finish of a perfect training day.......tmrw will be outdoor with the coffee club guys + a few new faces from the weekly in-door classes!

SKÅL!

MAD MIKE MARATHON VOL. 3 - Evaluation!

Saturday March 7th....race day!

Race info:
22 drg celcius
dry & NO wind, perfect conditions!
Air con on "auto" "half full" room

Competitors:
13 people entered and did NOT cancel!
12 fresh people showed up!!
10 hardcore freaks finished!!!

Heart rate profile of Mad Mike copied in!

Thank you for kicking ass....we do it again on March 21st! entry open on hr.sommer(ad)gmail.com

Let's fill up the start line, 21 spaces available - first come...first serve!

Now time for recovery training...enjoy your Sunday!

*Mike*

Evaluated by a true B(eer)iker & fellow blogger!

For all of you who don't know what it feels like......here's how Grant felt after a Wednesday class with Mad Mike!
Amazing it's full every week.....but thanks for ur honestly feed back Grant...come back soon...and remember..if it doesn't hurt, it doesn't work!
:-)

MAD MIKE MARATHON VOL. 3 - Registration is open, BOOK NOW!

As you already know the next chance to take up the MAD MIKE MARATHON challenge will be in two weeks on March 7th! So you have time to prepare, however you should NOT wait booking your bike.....only 15 bikes left!

Preliminary program:
When: Saturday March 7th - Start time: 13.00 - can change!!
Where: World Class Vaclavske Nam.
What: 3 hrs "pleasure" ride full of surprises that will hurt in legs and lungs!

Don't be afraid...all level riders can do this one...it's a matter of pushing your self a little!
But expect to be challenged to do more than just a little:-)

DON'T MISS this one - BOOK on hr.sommer(at)gmail.com - It'll be F...... fun:-)

*Mike*

WE DID IT....MAD MIKE MARATHON VOL. 2 Status!

THANK YOU!
19 bookings
19 show-ups
12 HARD CORE 4 hrs finishers!
Despite:
- a long hill full of wonderful DK music
- two loooong flat parts challenging all's abilities of staying focused, in the saddle with a smooth pedal stroke
- a killer finish
WE made it.....looking forward to see you all for MAD MIKE MARATHON Vol 3 on March 7th!
Booking is open on hr.sommer(ad) gmail.com
Recover well and keep smiling...or I'll play barbie girl next time as well!!!
*Mike*

MAD MIKE MARATHON VOL. 2 - Sat February 14th 12.00

Don't miss the 2nd MAD MIKE MARATHON of the season.

Place: World Class Vaclavske Nam
Date: Saturday February 14th - YES, it's valentines day & what better to do than sweat together can you do...bring your loved one & do it....together!!

This time we'll aim for staying in the saddle 4 hrs & NO that is NOT impossible.....if you can do a 90 min class, you for sure can do a 4hrs as well....it's gonna be fun!

All can join, as always it's ONLY your own limits I want you to push, not anybody else....

Bikes are limited to 20 & as of today(8/2) there is ONLY 5 bikes left, so hurry up and mail me on hr.sommer@gmail.com for your reservation.

Looking forward to kick a..

*Mike*

PS - If you can't come this time book the 3rd & 4th marathon in you diary all ready now - they'll be on March 7th & 21st!

1st outdoor MTB ride in 2009!

The temp was 2,3 drg and clouds hanging over PRG..but Miss Scott was ready for her first ride of the season..no excuses!
Rob & Aron a.k.a. "The Coffee Club"(TCC) signed in last night, so we where 3 guys on the run!
After a few "first ride of the season, shit my MTB & gear is not ready" probs we set of the East side of Vltava...Guys pushing the speed from start...which later turned out to be just a TV-time move!! After less than 30 min Rob had to take a brake to fix some frozen feet which in Polsih means eat cake! learned him the plasticbag's INSIDE the shoes trick & we moved on....
Turned of and up 2 k's after Zbrazlav and had a gread slushish and mudish climb up the rim!
Then riding on the rim for a few K's and down hill in pure mud tracks....ending up in Vrane Nad Vltava - wonderful 90 mins!
Now the 2 members of TCC was cold and turned north along Vltava direction home....I turned South and added another 60 min in the mud & slush, before ending up on the roads out in Liber going north back to Dolni Brazany where I jump into one of mine favorite tracks leading back downhill to Vltava....
Training data:
Time: 3.40
KM: 67.5
Avr speed: 19.2 km/h
Avr temp: +3
Climb: 755 hm
Avr HR: 129 bpm