Riding, Injuries, and Riding Again!

I suppose that one would think that I would write in here more if I was injured.

My time off, however, led to my immersing myself in college life instead. Taking two weeks off the bike was difficult, but necessary.

I had/have post tibial tendinitis which made it unbearable for me to walk for a few days. I took off four days and then rode again, which wasn't enough of a rest for it. So of course, it flared back up and there was no more walking for me for a few days.

I took off two weeks, and then got back to riding nice and easy. All systems go, for now. The ankle still feels a little funny, but it isn't hurting. I'll take that for now.

I rode hard, real hard, on monday at the pedal power group ride. It was one of my favorite rides in the area, the Portland Hills ride. I really enjoy how challenging it is and it whooped my ass. I fought back this time though, and stayed with the lead group out on the ride. My legs had felt crummy all day, but they worked somehow.

Tuesday was another story. I went out with Rory and all I could do was stay on his wheel. Towards the end of the ride I could barely force myself to latch on after red lights. It sucked.

It's wednesday now and I'm still exhausted. Hopefully I can get out for a medium length easy ride tomorrow. I'm hoping to get out and ride a little on friday (maybe skip class for this) and then on saturday and possibly sunday.

I have a huge exam on monday and a big presentation on tuesday so I'm trying my best to ride a little but stay on top of the work that piles up at the end of the year.

That's all for now.

In other news: I think I'm joining a team for the summer. Sweet!

Racing and Training Status

Last weekend, I raced the plainville 4/5 and 3/4 crit since it was supposed to rain on sunday and I didn't want to race in the rain even though I love the bethel course.

I started to see glimpses of form in the 4/5 race. I got into breaks for the first time, even though they didn't succeed. I had the strength and confidence to attack, bridge, etc. That's worth a lot. I finished the race in 10th but had an absolute blast.

The 3/4 crit was a disaster. I was so cooked from all the efforts in the 4/5 race that I just managed to stick around in the 3/4 race. Highlight of the race was when someone pushed me into a curb and and I managed to stay up after my tired bounced off. I was pretty proud of myself.

I've been building all this week. It's been the hardest week I've ever had on a bike and my body seems to be reacting well to it. I was really tired on friday and I couldn't sleep well, so I decided to skip the plainville race on saturday even though I paid for it. It was all worth it though.

Here's a writeup from the 3/4 bethel race on the 5th of april:

Skipped plainville yesterday to race bethel's 3/4 crit with fresh legs today. It was a good idea. Even after a night of 'college style carb loading', my legs felt great.

Got out there today, and rode real aggressive. Got yelled at a few times to hold my line, a few times it was my fault other times I was just responding to people who were being swervy. Whatever, it's bike racing if you freak out every single time someone moves a little you should pick another sport.

The first 10 or so laps were wicked fast with us averaging around 27 or so mph. I rode near the front and tried to get in a break or two even though I knew I wasn't strong enough to be in a break. Sometimes you just gotta push yourself.

I saw 4 guys jump up and gun it off the front, 3 guys tried to organize a chase group and I latched on up over the hill and gunned it as one of the 3 chasers started to give up. I managed to catch up to the break and we tried to organize ourselves and stay off, but it was short lived. I thought it was going to be a winning break since the team representation was good, and people looked strong, but it was the final race in the series so teams were trying to work for their leader. The break was quickly reeled in.

Recovered quickly after that. My biggest mistake was positioning right after the hill, I didn't recover well because I couldn't hide since I always hit the hill at the spot where I'd be in the wind for the downhill section. Made for a good workout though.

I stuck around at the front of the pack even when I was redlining, to good effect.

On the last lap I worked hard on the inside semi-shielded from the wind and got towards the front. All of a sudden, I see CDR right to my side. I let him pass and then latched on, and it's like moses parting the red sea. I move up about 10-20 spots within the field on cdr's wheel.

I find a gap and jump, cdr went up the right (i think). I went to the left. So much for following his wheel. I slam it, and cross the line in 11th out of I forget how many starters.

Last 24 secs, I averaged 707 watts with the jump at 1004. I was a little cooked when I sprinted, but I learned a lot this race and am getting much better about my positioning.

I also had the song 'Jumper' by 'Third Eye blind' stuck in my head for the entire race and I'd start humming or singing it while I was recovering/coasting. I think people thought I was insane. Haha.

Race stats:
Placing: 11 of ??
AP: 215
NP: 265
Speed: 25.6 mph.

Now back to studying for a physucks exam. Egad...