I was lying on my couch for hours tonight, feeling sorry for myself, watching tv and waiting for a bunch of people to respond to e-mails that I have sent out in the last few days.
Well, fuck that. It's not fun.
I'm trying to replace that with something of a cold, steely resolve for the next few days. I have a lot of stuff to get done, and it's pretty important that I do it. So, enough lounging around, it's time to some work.
The good news is that I've been pretty good lately on the bike, going for at least two hours every day since my last post. The hills are getting easier, and my legs are feeling stronger. I'm slimming down (a bit - I still have to watch the cookies) and I find I'm willing to push myself a little harder every day. The physical and the mental are both getting better.
I'm in a bit of a lull in terms of races, but I've got May 27 circled on the calendar. It's a Cat 5 race, and after finishing 4th in the Williams Cat 4/5, I've decided that I'm going to win this next one. And the one after that (June 3).
Monday, May 14, 2007
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
A Valuable Lesson
Here's what I learned today:
I am not in shape to go for monstrous, long rides with lots of climbs.
I rode for 4.5 hours today and am still trying to recover, 4 hours after getting back.
I am not in shape to go for monstrous, long rides with lots of climbs.
I rode for 4.5 hours today and am still trying to recover, 4 hours after getting back.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Williams Crit
On Saturday night I went up to Williams College, home to plenty of bad memories, to visit my friend G.P. and prepare for Sunday morning's Williams College Criterium. It was, in addition to the race, a weekend of good food: on Saturday night we ate at the Thai restaurant in downtown Williamstown, and I had something that had mango, chicken, shrimp and veggies in it, and it was delicious.
[This is where I realize that this blog isn't that interesting without photos]
We woke up on Sunday morning and hit up a little coffee shop for a bagel and a muffin, pre-race. Good stuff.
I had decided that I wanted to be very aggressive in this race, especially after the frustration of the last criterium that I had done. As the race started, I found my way toward the front, which wasn't too hard if I worked a lot on the long, sloping uphill.
About halfway through the race, I went up the hill a little harder than I had been as I stuck to the wheel of the guy in front of me. All of a sudden, the guy behind me started yelling about making a break, since we had about 20 yards on the rest of the field. He shot forward, and I followed him, and the two of us were off the front.
I chased him for a while, and pulled a little, but I didn't have the legs to stick it out, and I lost him with about 5 laps to go. I dropped back and found another guy, and the two of us worked together for another couple laps. Before I knew it, I heard the bell, and I was on the last lap.
I didn't feel that good yesterday, so I couldn't stay with that guy, either. He left me behind, and I ended up fourth behind him, the other guy who started that break (he ended up winning), and a guy who went off the front at the very beginning and only got caught with a lap to go.
I was thrilled to get 4th place (results here), especially since I didn't feel that great. I won a saddle [I should have another picture here] and it constitutes the first thing I've ever won from biking.
Yehaw!
[This is where I realize that this blog isn't that interesting without photos]
We woke up on Sunday morning and hit up a little coffee shop for a bagel and a muffin, pre-race. Good stuff.
I had decided that I wanted to be very aggressive in this race, especially after the frustration of the last criterium that I had done. As the race started, I found my way toward the front, which wasn't too hard if I worked a lot on the long, sloping uphill.
About halfway through the race, I went up the hill a little harder than I had been as I stuck to the wheel of the guy in front of me. All of a sudden, the guy behind me started yelling about making a break, since we had about 20 yards on the rest of the field. He shot forward, and I followed him, and the two of us were off the front.
I chased him for a while, and pulled a little, but I didn't have the legs to stick it out, and I lost him with about 5 laps to go. I dropped back and found another guy, and the two of us worked together for another couple laps. Before I knew it, I heard the bell, and I was on the last lap.
I didn't feel that good yesterday, so I couldn't stay with that guy, either. He left me behind, and I ended up fourth behind him, the other guy who started that break (he ended up winning), and a guy who went off the front at the very beginning and only got caught with a lap to go.
I was thrilled to get 4th place (results here), especially since I didn't feel that great. I won a saddle [I should have another picture here] and it constitutes the first thing I've ever won from biking.
Yehaw!
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Gearing Up
I don't yet really have any specific way to prepare for races. Tomorrow I'm doing a criterium at Williams College, and I've sat around for a couple hours (actually, I napped) wondering what type of ride I should do today, and how long it should be. In the end I think I'll probably go for about an hour and a half, a mostly rolling course with a mile long climb at the end. We'll see how that works.
So tomorrow's race is a Cat 4/5 criterium, and my first race in about three weeks. I'm excited for it, but I've also decided that I'm going to stay very aggressive. I'm going to force my way to the front, try to stay there, and maybe even attempt to break once or twice. The last crit was disappointing so this time I'm going to go for it early and not think about getting a result - just focus on being aggressive. Maybe I'll wear myself out and then get dropped, but I'm willing to take that chance. I've decided I won't be wearing Middlebury gear, so nobody will really care about me.
Plus, I'm back on track. Which is nice.
So tomorrow's race is a Cat 4/5 criterium, and my first race in about three weeks. I'm excited for it, but I've also decided that I'm going to stay very aggressive. I'm going to force my way to the front, try to stay there, and maybe even attempt to break once or twice. The last crit was disappointing so this time I'm going to go for it early and not think about getting a result - just focus on being aggressive. Maybe I'll wear myself out and then get dropped, but I'm willing to take that chance. I've decided I won't be wearing Middlebury gear, so nobody will really care about me.
Plus, I'm back on track. Which is nice.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
And... I'm Back!
So I haven't written in a while, mostly because I've been in a bit of a biking funk for a week or so. I didn't ride a few days last week, and I've lost some of my momentum in terms of eating well. It's been frustrating to lose some of the discipline I'd been working hard to build up.
But today I had a bit of a chance to redeem myself. It was another time trial around the lakes by Salisbury School, and two weeks ago I'd finished the roughly 10 miles in 27:18. Today I got a better warm-up in (and a nice early afternoon nap) and was feeling ready to go. Though I got passed by Chris Fisher earlier than halfway through the course, I held off the other school's youth national teamer until the final hill.
Final time? 26:03. My momentum is back.
More to come.
But today I had a bit of a chance to redeem myself. It was another time trial around the lakes by Salisbury School, and two weeks ago I'd finished the roughly 10 miles in 27:18. Today I got a better warm-up in (and a nice early afternoon nap) and was feeling ready to go. Though I got passed by Chris Fisher earlier than halfway through the course, I held off the other school's youth national teamer until the final hill.
Final time? 26:03. My momentum is back.
More to come.
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