So I've been trying to get the notion that Thursday evenings down at Haines Point is the place to be. I think the Goon ride goes on around the same time, so it may not happen, but for sprint intervals and major efforts...HP does the trick.
Was down there and got to "ride" with the Don and Chris from Team Nissan. Those dudes are freaking machines and both get the Manimal of the Ride award. Don (I'm sure it is Don...rides a Cervelo TT track bike and kicks everyones @ss when he shows up...you know who I'm talking about) sits on the front and just churns out all kinds of power. 30+ mph for an entire lap hurts, even when you're (me) just sucking the wheel, it hurts. I would have liked to help and taken a pull, but (a) it looked like he was in the middle of an interval and (b) I physically could not. After a lap of that, I was mentally done and ready to go back and find the group that we had dropped, but was convinced that I had one more in me...I did, but it hurt real bad. In the end though I'm glad I pushed through...mental toughness is something I need to work on.
So we're back with the group and it's a hodgepodge of triathletes, kits, Haines Point warriors, and a couple of dudes I know well and like. The difference between the lunch time ride and Thursday nights is the organization. Maybe its because a lot of the heavy hitters and more experienced riders come out at lunch and they take control of the group and keep it organized? We'd meander down the front stretch down to the point and then pick it up on the backside. At lunch, it's balls to the wall from the moment you pass the front gate all the way to the line on the other side. It's been a while since I've been down there at lunch, so maybe it's changed.
I went down there last night with the intention of getting a couple of major efforts in...not really sprints, but consistent hard efforts simulating being off the front and in the wind solo. Maybe it's all this press our boy Cannell is getting on GamJams about how to do well in a TT, but it got me thinking that I needed more sustained efforts to get better. I'd attack off the front and try to hold a pace between 28 to 30 until the group caught up with me. I have no power meter, but 28 to 30 on my own feels like 90+ percent, or "why the hell are you going this fast, slow down stupid, this hurts" pace.
I think something I have to work on is the response to getting caught. Example: You've just attacked the group and gotten yourself a couple of seconds gap. Say you're out on your own for about half a mile or a mile and then a couple of dudes bridge up to you and pull through fast. The thing that is currently getting me is that initial effort to get back on the wheel of the passing train. You know, you've been doing a major effort solo and then you have to raise the tempo to get back on with a group...that gets me every time right now. Maybe I just gave away a secret for the next race...If you bridge up to me, attack, and you'll drop me like a bad habit.
Anyway, the end of the season is quickly approaching, that's a bummer. Kind of depressing, but at the same time, the end of the season means only one thing...time to switch the obsessions.
Cheers.
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