May the Road Rise to Meet You

May the wind be always at your back...
Because if its not the wind is going to torment you when you ride your bike. Mike and I did a good ride out towards the east. Lots of pollen out there today - I felt good in town but my eyes got really puffy, itchy and sore when I got out of the city and into the wilds of Massachusetts.
I raced at Stafford Springs on Saturday. Stafford was fun - the 3/4 featured a break which I guess broke up a bit in the end because of a crash amongst the breakaway riders? The P-1-2-3 was fun too...it was actually easier in some ways as opposed to the 3/4. The P-3 race was much smoother and faster. This race featured a breakaway of 4 very, very strong guys. Said breakaway did manage to lap the field with about 4 to go.
I might hit up Bethel on Sunday 12PM and 1PM race times- I'm probably not going up to Auburn, ME to race on Sat. although I might 57 miles at 12PM so thats a 7AM departure. Both might happen.

Brown graduated this weekend. This means there is a lot of free stuff to be found - trash night is tomorrow. I'm going hunting right now. I will post pictures of stuff that I find. Things I'm looking for that I don't want to buy and would much rather find:

1. Entertainment Center - preferably from IKEA and in great shape.
2. Books
3. Moped
4. Lamps
5. Braided rug that has not been pissed on.
6. Bookshelves

You never know what you can find out there

Sterling and MTB

The Sterling race is where my lack of training has really been brought to my attention. I felt awful on the climb, especially as time went on - dry heaves, feeling like I wanted to vomit for the second half of the climb. I was unable to do anything but sit-in which was not my intention nor did hanging onto a race fit anywhere in my personal expectations of where I should be right now. I sat up in the sprint because I would have been a total hazard as I would have been falling backwards anyway. Again, I was unable to eat much until the evening - which means I overdid it and thus I need to train more effectively. Apart from this, I think I made a solid deposit in the training bank (because I felt like garbage at the end). I enhanced this deposit with a solid MTB with Mike and Bill (and some other fast dude) this morning. This was the hardest MTB I've ever done as I was at or above threshold much of the time. I want to at least MTB 1X/week from now on. I do need to do quite a bit of work to my bike to get it really ready to ride in the woods at speed - my rear shifter doesn't work right and its really annoying to only have 3 gears.... In addition to working on my bike, I've got to do some work on my fitness as even though I thoroughly enjoyed the ride I felt like I had no power and no fitness most of the time. Every little 20 foot rise felt like a mountain.

Anyway, this was my first 'real' training week in terms of hours for quite some time so I'm quite pleased with it.

Wompatuck

tomorrow...so cancel your appointments, close up early, get your excuses ready and seek solace in the fact that its easier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission. Theres bike racing to be done and life is short.

Got room for one - leaving my house 4:30.

Slug

This is my last week of being a slug regarding training. My training the past week has been inconsistent at best, although I've got some good rides in there. Why can't I stick to a consistent training plan? No Wells today ...I'm not sure if they canceled it or not but it was pouring in the AM and I just didn't get to it Hopefully, I'm gonna hit Wompatuck on Tuesday. Sterling next Sunday, which is a great race. I signed up for the June 7 Ninigret today and the Cox race. That Cox race is going to be fast and hard...a cat 2/3 event. It will be very tough as they changed the course to go up Waterman and then straight back down Angell. Damn. I'm getting my ass in gear to get ready for that one - 8 weeks. I'll put in a three week hard block, rest couple days, another hard block and then ease off a week before the race.

Race Schedule (which I will have to change as time goes on...I just want to plan out races a little more than a few weeks)

MAY

5/12 Sterling
May 17 Sunappee? (This was the first race I ever did actually-2003...and yes I got dropped by the main field when I was a Cat 5)
5/24 Cyclonauts
5/25 Hartford?

JUNE

6/7 Ninigret Cat 3 and P-3
6/8 CT coast - maybe and then again, maybe not
6/14 - Monson
6/15 - The Housatonic 'death march'
6/21 - New Britain - call this one a priority race.
6/22 - New London "Whaling City" if they do it
6/28 - Cox
6/29 - East Hartford - a big maybe on this one
6/30 - Thompson...maybe ride out to this one.

*probably not going to get Fitchburg in

JULY - going to be an interesting month depending on what I take for classes.

7/12 - Attleboro
7/13 - New Britain #2
7/19 - Claremont NH
7/20 - Naugutuck
7/26 - Hilltowns
7/27 - Norwell CR

AUGUST - I'll probably start doing some cross stuff actually now...just for fun though

8/10 Tokeneke
8/17 Fall River
8/23 Saco Bay

Today's weather is miserable

I just did an hour and half outside today - mostly tempo with some short 3-5 minute efforts thrown in there. Even though its May, indoor training is still an option, an option I probably should have exercised. It is currently 43F and drizzle/light rain. It sucks balls to ride in. I had to wipe off my glasses every two seconds in order to see. By the end I was getting really irate w/ everything. Everything I have on is wet - not soaking wet, just wet enough to annoy the hell out of me.

I had planned a MTB today b/c there is no race today but its so shitty out and my hose isn't working so cleaning up would be a massive pain in the ass. I'm going to Wells tomorrow if its not raining - if I'm going to Wells I want to do some extra miles at the end to get my endurance miles in. I've been neglecting these. If it is raining probably I'll wait for it to stop or do some indoor structured stuff.

I took that bikepath behind the Manton Projects today to get out of town. Not a bad bikepath at all and it gets you out to Johnston, near some decent stuff. Its worth riding on and I think its a useful option to get out to the reservoir as opposed to the normal ways out down Plainfield St/Hartford Ave.