2010-12-15

Welcome Back

This is my first post in a while - long enough, in fact, that I ought to "re-introduce" my blog for potential new readers.

My name is Jose. I am a software engineer for the Bejerano Lab at Stanford University (as of last Monday). I work on software that helps us understand how the genome works, in humans and other creatures as well. With this new position, I hope to have more time to maintain this blog.

Most importantly (for the purposes of this blog), I am a racing cyclist. Specifically, I am a Cat 2, racing in the Northern California district on the road and track, and consider myself a time trial specialist. I've had a few decent results in the past year. My goals for 2011 are to upgrade to Cat 1, and to be on the podium at a national championship event.

In July of 2010, I started working with coach Dan Smith of SportVelo. It took me a long time to understand why I ought to work with a coach, and longer still to find someone who had an approach to sport and training that I could enjoy. Working with Dan, I look forward to a productive 2011 race season. Look for my calendar soon.

As part of winter training, Dan has me doing a bunch of work I would not otherwise do, including a long Wednesday ride, biweekly workouts at Defiance Crossfit, and technique work on the rollers. Yesterday evening, I spent 90 minutes on the rollers in the aero bars, refining my position and gaining comfort and confidence. Here is a video - though it's not pretty!



A final caveat: there are articles on this site dating back to early 2008. Some are quite useful: my personal favorites are the cyclist's bibliography,some of my articles in March-May 2008 on using the Edge 705, and any race course preview with a topographic profile. However, please understand that some may express opinions, formerly my own, which which I no longer agree. Be forewarned!