Peaks and Valleys

Earlier this year I noted that my training has been consistently inconsistent and trend continues to remain the same today.  Unfortunately the most recent inconsistencies have been caused by a number of colds I've had in the last month.  On the good side of all this though is that my most recent cold has passed as of today.  To celebrate this occasion of better health I decided I'd join the Ozaukee Bicycle Club ride that started out of Cedarburg.  A significant number of riders participated in the ride that quickly became a race (which I knew would happen because it always does) and of course was perfect to get me jump started after being off the bike for a bit of time.  It was great to ride with friends that I haven't had the opportunity to ride with since last year.  There were a lot of strong riders that continued to drive a fast pace which really put the hurt on me by the time we were half-way through.  I put in a few big efforts of my own just to test my legs and lungs.  The first was on a flat stretch after a long downhill in which the group was flying at above 35 mph.  I moved to the front through the pace line and hammered the pedals pushing 700+ watts for about 30 seconds before beginning to back off and finally popping and quickly finding the back of the pack.  The second effort was on a stretch which the group occasionally throws down a sprint for the "stop ahead" sign.  I was rolling mid-pack while a rider came up on my left quickly and I overheard him saying to the guy behind him that he'd give him a lead out.  It was a gift at 25 mph.  I quickly caught their wheels and rolled to the front with them and before the other rider could launch his spring I attacked.  Once past the stop ahead sign I thought I'd fall off the bike vomiting.  Luckily only a few deep coughs and 4 miles of recovery before setting up for keeping pace on the final sprint of the ride.  All-in-all it was a great ride and also a new record wattage for me this year.  I finally broke the 1,000 watt barrier (something I haven't done in a long time)!  Beyond what I did during the ride, a number of my friends and teammates were riding very strong for this early in the season.  I look forward to seeing them succeed  and achieve their established goals.  Speaking of goals, I only have one this year and that is to just have fun.  Over the past few years I've been so focused on results that it has just about sucked all of the fun out of racing.  So this year, no goals focusing on results.  Just going out to have fun, do the best I can do and enjoy every minute of it.

While my training has had a few peaks and valleys this year and my confidence in relation to my fitness has swung in both directions, this ride helped to improve my confidence of being somewhat competitive going into my first race of the year this coming Saturday.  Saturday brings about the Menomonee Park Criterium in which the Cat 3 race starts at 3:30PM.  Should be a blast and I look forward to it!  The 2012 season starts here.