Random Thoughts

After the evil agonizing ride of a couple of weeks ago, I'm very happy to say that all is right between me and the bike.  Our differences are resolved and we are a harmonious team once again.  This is a good thing.

They've posted up the schedule for Master's Nationals.  I'm glad that I will get my racing done in two days now instead of having to be out there for a week.  Still have to get out there ahead of the TT.  It's a new course, so a pre-ride is absolutely necessary.  And that ride will get the drive out of my legs (though I plan to drive with my recovery tights on!).

I am happy to know that I will not be doing the Tour of Washington County Stage Race.  It really wasn't any fun last year and there's absolutely no point in doing it this year when it's time based.  I probably wouldn't make the time cut from the RR to even get to the TT and Crit, so no need to waste the time and money.

"Think about it - how long would you last doing intervals with no rest?"  (I won't name names on who typed that but some of you might recognize it.)  Stuff like this cracks me up.  Intervals with no rest aren't intervals, it become a sustained effort when there's no rest.  Like duh.  How long would you last doing a sustained effort?  Most of us do it for about an hour or so in the form of a 40km TT.  It's not really what the author of the statement was trying to say, but that's how it came out.  And that amuses me.

Hamstrung

I had this great plan for last weekend.  Finally I had a weekend clear - no concerts to work, no concerts to attend, no races to officiate.  Just the bike club annual dinner that I could always skip if need be.  So the plan was to ride, a lot.  A nice 60-miler on Saturday and then drive out to KA for the Sunday ride.  Even the weather was willing to cooperate.  It was going to be a weekend of cycling indulgence that I seldom get.

Mid week training - check.  One visit to the gym.  Check.  Massage and chiropractic adjustment. Check.  An excellent schedule to lead up to the weekend.  But oh no, couldn't have that happen, nope, not an option.  By Friday the legs weren't doing all that well - especially my hamstrings.  My hamstrings tend to be tight - that's part of me.  I do yoga and stretch to try to keep them from getting too tight, but they have a will of their own.  So I went out for a lunch time run - at a very easy pace - to see if some movement wouldn't improve the situation.  It didn't seem to make things any worse but didn't improve matters either.

On to the massage... oh yeah, those hamstrings were not happy campers.  Lots of work to try to clear the congestion.  Off to the chiropractor...yup tight, tight, tight.  At least my midback was happy to pop back into alignment.

Saturday morning, things were not improved to speak of - the hammies were still complaining.  I went out and rode my bike anyway.  Never have I suffered as I did.  No time trial, no hilly road race, no crit, nothing, had ever had me hurting on the bike the way I was on Saturday.  It was manageable for the first 30 miles or so.  But then things started to get significantly worse.  Over the next 20 miles or so, I felt every muscle in my upper legs engage in an effort to compensate for the hamstrings until I reached a point where they all were worn out and sending pain signals.  Never before had my legs hurt so bad.  I dropped off the back of the ride - sometimes it's best to suffer alone.

I reached a point in that solo suffering where I was ready to be done with cycling in any way, shape or form.  Never would I lead a ride for the club, hell, I'd resign as treasurer.  Never would I train or race, ever again.  Had there been a dumpster in sight, it might have turned into a re-enactment of that scene from Karate Kid where Daniel (not yet Daniel-san) while cycling was run off the road by the bullies on their motor bikes  and battered and bruised as a result tossed his bike in the dumpster loudly professing his hate for the machine.

Then I moved beyond it ignored the physical pain, set aside the emotional pain,  rolled up to the stop sign where the rest of the group was waiting and sat on the front, pulling at the agreed pace for the last few miles of the ride.  The weekend's riding was done though - I knew there was no way my hamstrings would be recovered such as to tolerate a hilly ride out of KA the next day.  I was figuring that if I could once again touch my toes by sometime on Sunday, I'd be doing great.

The effort took so much out of me that I spent a lot more hours asleep than normal - both over night and taking a nap on Sunday.  The pain had mostly faded over night but walking seemed to be as much effort as my legs were interested in doing.  I didn't argue.  The recovery day did its job and I'm all better now.  The 4 mile run at lunch yesterday went without a hitch (though I think it's time for new running shoes) and yoga did its magic.  I guess the true test will be tonight on the bike, but I don't doubt that the legs will be fine, even happy to pedal. Maybe, if I'm lucky, I managed to push the mental barriers back a bit so that I'll be able to suffer more effectively in competition.

Flatlander in Western Maryland

It wasn't that far into today's ride out of Kelley Acres that I asked RB why it was that I'd traveled 75 miles to suffer such as I was suffering a climb up a narrow little gritty, damp road somewhere in Frederick or  Washington County.  It was really a rhetorical question, we both knew why we were cycling up the hill.  I do it because it supplies the element that is missing from my riding in Southern Maryland - long climbs.  It's not that our roads are truly flat down here - not like the Eastern Shore and Delaware.  But our hills (which are the product of streams cutting valleys while making their way to the river)  are short, measured in fractions of a mile, and steep, more often than not going into double digits on the percent grade.  So the long climbs that happen out West supply something that is missing from my training.  But the distance involved to get to that sort of riding means I don't do it all that often.  And so I end up feeling like a Dutchwoman cycling in Belgium.

 The downside is that because of that, I'm always last, well almost always, so I feel bad cause folks are always waiting for me or riding back a bit to check on me.  They're always nice about it, but it's gotta suck for 'em. 

Part of the problem today is that I was tired.  Today was my third ride in as many days, and I haven't ridden three days in a row since August.  Tough on the old body.  And of course it's not like I come home from rides and just sit around.  I've been busy with working on painting and cleaning up and fixing things up in the utility room.  As far as I've gotten looks great. 

So my days have been pretty much get up, ride, come home, lunch and clean up, spackle/sand/paint, make dinner,  then another round of spackle/sand/paint.  There's some cleaning involved too.  Toss in doing some laundry and cleaning up the bike and the days are long and tiring.  In all, pretty hard on the old body.  So tonight I'm taking it easy.  After the ride I got some lunch then stopped by the Container Store to get stuff to improve the storage situation in the utility room.  But I'm not putting it up tonight....or doing anything else.  Just watching the House marathon and blogging a bit.