Tuesday, January 24
The 'book ends' of the 2012 season
If you stop by here often or follow on Facebook or Twitter then you know that all focus and prep right now is towards the Yak-Attack race in Nepal. Mountain Bike UK claimed it as one of the 5 toughest races in the World. I can agree with that....but I/you can also disagree. There are a lot of tough events out there and everyone has their own idea of what is tough. For example: CTR, Great Divide, Breck 100, etc, etc. This week the race roster was posted for Yak-Attack. Going to be a good melting pot of culture...new friends and bonds to make over the weeks we are in Nepal!
So, the training continues! Here is snap shot of how the week went down. Monday-Wednesday I laid low fighting off a head cold. Things started back up on Thursday with a ride with local pro mtber, Georgia Gould.
Funny thing is we have both lived in Ft Collins for about 5 yrs now, and this is the first time we have ridden/trained together. She is driven this year. Eye on the prize, the Olympics in London. Little video posted here from the ride that day as well.Friday was a solo day pounding out a 1.5 hour tempo at sub-threshold. Legs felt good! Had me excited for the Oval Ride on Saturday!
The Oval Ride was stacked! CSU kids back from Tucson and Winter Break.....flexing their early season form! This is why I love it here! 70+ riders strong for this near 90 mile group ride hammerfest!Before the fireworks, the simple things in life, like that of a well oiled paceline at nearly 30 mph :)
Of course, the Oval soon went into full-on race mode as expected! My legs, not snappy at all. I was deep into the 'pain cave' just to sit in! Quite the difference from 2 weeks ago when the legs were spot-on while pedaling the mtb on this training ride. The fitness tow-rope eventually gave way. Snap! I solo tempo'd the rest of the way home.Sunday was to be a climbing day in Boulder. I did get to Boulder and I did get to climb, but legs were super tired to ride within the group ride planned. I peeled back and spent the day riding with Sonya and focusing on big gear low RPM climbing. West of the Boulder the temps were well below freezing and the wind was blowing at 40-100 mph! I usually don't get cold on rides, but this ride had me second guessing my glove choice for the day.
Layering up at 8700 ft....wind howling! Steep climbs = warmth! Sonya and I hit up as much of these punchy climbs as we could in the 4-5 hour training block scheduled.I finished my ride up with a climb up Flagstaff west of Boulder, and Sonya did Sunshine Canyon for the second time that day. The training a success...and tough. Now, a few days of rest, then back on the horse!
Oh, and in reference to the blog title and 'book ends'....the season is starting with the very tough Yak-Attack. Sonya and I just found out we will end the season with another super tough event: La Ruta in Costa Rica in early November! The catch/funny thing is we have to use our American Airline voucher for the flight down....this voucher is from the lost bikes ball-up in Brazil last October. Crossing my fingers...and toes :)
Jeff Kerkove said at 10:16 AM