It hurt good

So updates:

Rode Wednesday down at HP at lunch and put in about 25 miles. Actually rode pretty well. I spent my share of the of time at the front, taking my pulls, and trying not to sit in. I'd like to get in the habit to be able to push the mind past the "I'm tired...let me sit out one rotation" point. At this point in the year the extra suffering is going to be good for me. Up until the last lap everything was really organized. Nobody really attacked the group and we kept steady tempo...it was real nice. The "jerk" that attacked on his last lap didn't really amount to much except giving himself more suffering...that "jerk" was me. Sorry...it's in my blood.

No bike for me on Thursday, but I took out some work anger on the treadmill...15 minute warm up on the stationary and then 2.5 miles. Not much, but I was trying to keep upping the tempo every .05 miles. I think I started at 8 min/mile and ended up around 5:15 pace for the last quarter mile....it hurt real good (and for some reason I felt calm and pleasant afterwards...amazing how that works).

Friday I met up with Sonja, Chicken, and Jose down at HP for a little lunch ride. Sonja had sprints on her training plan, so Jose and I played around with leading her out. Good times, and oh my...so ladies are ANIMALS!!! So strong...they are going to do some damage in the ranks this year.

Jose and I were discussing lead outs during the ride and talked about how dominant a team could be if they dialed in the perfect train. Can you imagine, four guys lined up on the final stretch (say HP after the turn at the point)...first guy pushes the pace up to about 31 and holds it for as long as he can, pulls off and the next guy holds the speed and then slowly (seated) brings the pace up to about 34/35 until he pops...by this point we're three quarters the way down towards the line...as he pulls off, guy three is out of the saddle and starts his drive towards the line...not a jump, but a smooth ramp up in speed to keep the sprinter from getting gapped...once he knows his man is on, he takes it up to redline for as long as he can...then with about 100meters to go to the line, he opens the door and the sprinter closes the deal....exciting, eh? Almost pornographic now that I read it again. Sorry mom.

Anyway, did the 7:00 am ride today and all I can say is that the Harley boys are going to be dominant this year....Ken and Russ were KILLING us today. Gapped everybody up Mass hill (I think SuperD and Bryan went with them) and then proceeded to hold distance all the way down the parkway, down into and out of Great Falls and past brickyard...the only reason they rejoined was by choice...Impressive. Also, finally got to ride with Bryan again, that boy is strong! He goes uphill like trailers in a tornado...also impressive (need to watch out for him this year...but we all knew that).

Sooo, I've put in about 160 miles so far for the week. The plan is to get outside tomorrow for at least 40...which should put me over the 200 that I was shooting for earlier in the week. Overall, I'm pleased with were I'm at. The past two weeks has done wonders for me physically and mentally. My mood is good finally and I feel fitness coming back...I still need to lose about 5 pounds, but I'm not going to actively try (riding the bike should take care of itself).

Pray for no snow...it's bike racing season!!!!

Cheers.