Tuesday, December 29, 2009

2010: A Spacecase Odyssey

The days are only getting longer now, I've managed a couple of 100+ mile weeks on the bike and I think I'm close to getting a thumbs up from the doctor on full-on riding. The wrists are still stiff and sore but coming along nicely. There is some bone ache that concerns me but it's probably normal. So that familiar dull ache in the legs and the need to at least have some structure to my bike racing has me thinking...

Thinkin'...

2010 will look sumthin' like...

Jan to May: Fartin' around with no major goals. Definitely want to race Madera, maybe Mt. Hamilton, Early Bird RR in Patterson, would like to do Copperopolis... Definitely squeeze in some mountain bike races. Probably skip any and all criteriums except for the crit stage of Madera. Will probably hit the track several times for training and some racing. The main focus is just to have some fun and build up base for the rest of the year. I'd also like to lose the final five to ten pounds to get me back in the ballpark of my mid-90's racing weight (wow!).

May to July: Get on a regimented training schedule and try to peak for masters district track championships. Most-if not all racing in this period will be on the track. Use rest of July fitness for fun racing.

August to Sept: Can't ignore San Ardo but take some time off in there. And by time off I mean something like ten solid days of not touching a bike. This would be a good time to do an endurance mountain bike race, too. Start a light running program.

Sept to Dec: CYCLOCROSS! FUN! Yay! Focus on Super Prestige series and Livermore Parks Series probably racing as a 35+ B. Take a serious look into where when how and IF of racing at Cyclocross nationals...

Should be fun. I'm really looking forward to next year.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Armchair bike racing...

I'm pretty damn frustrated right now with my hands and am forcing myself to take about a week off from the trainer, rollers and the road. If I go by the no pain - no pain healing then that's what's called for. Meanwhile, I've managed to gain not a single pound through this injury but that's really just a testament to some neurotic-level monitoring of my diet. I actually lost about 5 pounds after the accident, then put the 5 pounds back on and am now back to losing the 5 pounds. Christmas, get thee and thine evil food behind me!

So I found myself this morning perusing videos from cyclocross nationals which, by the way, look cold and brutal and remind me of some of the worst days in Maryland slugging through the sometimes-snowie cross races out in Bowie... good times. Anyway, I noticed one major thing. Damn near everybody is riding on the hoods! WTF? Has cyclocross become so serious-roadie infested that guys don't know to ride with higher bars so you can ride in the hooks and get your CG lower? Interesting. I know sometimes you get in an awkward transition from climb to descent and get stuck in the hoods but I don't think riding around on the hoods on an icy course is doing yourself any favors.

I probably should STFU though, since I'm no nationals-caliber racer. What the hell do I know? I'm just a guy who rode his bike off the road and broke his wrists! So I certainly shouldn't be second guessing via my chair.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

And here I am trying to banish negative thinking...

As every decent sprinter knows, it's the hesitation that kills you. Give up that perfectly timed jump -for whatever heat-of-the-moment-in-combat reason - and you're done.

And so here I sit in early December worrying. Though the wrists are far down the path of healed I am nowhere near able to properly train on the bike. It kind of hurts and makes my wrists stiff and sore just easy plodding along and the Doctor forbade me to pull on the handlebars so that rules out real climbing and sprint training (not that it feels like I could be doing that anyway).

On top of that I've gotten used to the rhythms of life without wedging in training rides for almost four months now and just finding the mindset to make-time-to-ride is kind of off the RADAR right now.

But I know you're out there training. I know you're getting a jump on me. I know you're going to be making me pay next season. I know that I'll be looking at your asses from 20 meters back and know there's nothing I can do, beg, borrow, steal or extort to close that gap. I know you're riding 150 mile weeks despite its being only December.

I liked it better in the old days when it was me making guys think like that.

So that's how the competitive asshole bikeracer in me feels. The rest of me just wants to enjoy a nice mountain bike ride or a nice day full of long climbs and extended views. Hell, I'd even be glad to spend a day with the chainsaw and splitter making firewood.

But I must be patient. I found a Tolstoy quote, "The two most powerful warriors are patience and time." And every successful sprinter knows the ability to sit and wait. Let the early movers wear themselves out. Let them work early and fade too soon. It's still early. Next season will be long enough. I'll be ready when my sprint comes.