This last week was interesting! I had a huge block of training scheduled. It was Spring Break, which meant all of our kids activities came to a screaching hault! Which in turn is good for more family time, but squeazing in training, work and family is not an easy task! I am very fortunate to be married to someone who is just as active in her competitive life as I am in my Bike Life! Otherwise this whole thing just doesn't work and I might weigh 20 - 30 lbs more and be miserable!
When I woke up on Monday, I was sick! I knew right away that the last time I felt this way, I was down for the count and had no energy to workout at all. So, I took immediate action. I went and worked for a little bit and then headed straight to the Med Clinic for some Antibiotics! I am not a big fan of taking a lot of medicine, but when you need it it is like a miracle. I also did a lot of going to bed early last week, pumped myself full of Orange Juice and dove straight into the busy week!
Work was work, not much to say, it is about to get crazy busy in both business's. So, I spend most of my time dealing with TIME! It is the thing you cannot get back, no matter what kind of money or how important you think your JOB, TIME is not on your side! So, planning is a big part of my life. Meetings, Training, Family time, and time to just hangout with my wife! I am pretty good at balancing this out, but being sick throws that off a bit.
Training:
I hit the road for some intensity this week with one long ride planned at the end of the week. Quickly followed by a Critirium race on Saturday. My focus this year has been on strength and increasing my power! The past few weeks it has been evident that this is working. I was pretty nervous adding so much strength training to my program. When I do the leg block in the gym, it totally rips me apart! Seriously, I have a hard time walking up and down the stairs. The blocks consist of 3 movements. Two focused on reps and standard strength moves (squats, lunges, etc.) the 3rd is usually some crazy plyometric (Box Jumps for example). But, we do them in a 3 movement sequence. It has been a real education for me in the gym again. But, I am seeing the results! That is really what matters and adding more intensity time on the bike has made for some weird feelings in my legs that I have not experienced in years! Not all good, but knowing that I am tearing myself down so that when I rest I am getting stronger.
The hardest part of my week was Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday concerning my training. Tuesday and Friday included riding and weights. Friday was a longer ride on the trails followed by an hour plus in the weight room. It was nice to get oin some Mountain Biking. It has been such a wet winter, the trail riding has been hard to come by around my house. Saturday was all intensity at a local Training Criterium. I had points from last week and thought, that it would be great to see how the sprinting goes this week on some pretty heavy legs. The race was actually fairly controlled this week and everyone was content to sit in and wait it out until each sprint lap for points. The 1st sprint lap was a little crazy. There were about 8 riders who were ahead of me on the final straight before the last corner and then the sprint to the finish line. I was in horrible position, but knew if I got around the corner in 6th, I could slip into that top 4 somehow? Wrong! When I hit the corner, one of the guys stopped pedalling, which is bad! I nearly took him out and had another rider pushing his bars into my Right hip. I slowed and had to bail on the points for that sprint. One down, no points! On the second sprint, I took no chances, moved up to 6th and was in 5th coming around the corner. I nipped Jim Whitaker at the line for 3rd. He is the current points leader and is the race promoter. On the 3rd Sprint, the week started catching up to me! I had little pop and struggled to hang on for 4th. Still getting a point, but it is a good lesson! I knew my legs were getting slower and heavy. So, staying in the top 3 around the final corner, allowed me to get 4th in that sprint. Sometimes not the fastest, but smartest rider wins a race or a sprint. The final lap was only 2 laps after the last points sprint. Eight places get points in the final sprint. I really wanted to go for a win, but I was lucky to get 5th in the final sprint. Ending a tough training week and managing 4th overall for the day. I am not sure where I am in the series. Top 5 get some sort of money. I will not be at the race this next Saturday. I think I can make one more for the series and see where I stand? No need to get too hyped up, it is only March, but all signs are go here for what could be an incredible season on the Road and Mountain Bike? Time will only tell on that one?
New Bike
The new bike was not for me this time. It is for that special girl in my life, well one of the special girls! My daughter and I ventured to Bikesource this afternoon. They have a great selection of kids bikes. Probably the best I have seen at any local bike shop around. You get the same maintenance warranty as a geared bike for a year. So, it is worth a little extra money for a bike that has been put together by a real bike mechanic. Remember, your kid is going to ride this bike! The last thing you want is for a wheel to fall off while they are trying to cross the street! So, of course we ended up with a Purple Bike (Giant) with a basket and a bell. This is really all she requested. It is amazing how happy a kid can be when they have a new bike! She is pretty proud of it and her brother is happy as he has now moved on to his sisters glide bike. Watchout neighborhood! My kids will be on the loose riding all over the place before you know it!
Spring has definetly sprung and my family is going to enjoy every bit of this nice weather! Get out and ride!
Go!
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