By and large, I felt pretty solid during the Omaha Cycling Weekend races. I rode a good TT, was moderately helpful during the crit and went up the road a couple of times in the road race.
Not too bad, really.
It was hot when we rolled out for Wednesday Night Worlds last night. Really hot. My computer said 100 as we rolled out. But it really wasn't that bad - only once did I really feel like I was melting. The rest of the time was smooth and steady and fast.
And, somehow, I felt even stronger than I did over the weekend.
I attacked on a long hill, for some reason. And then I did it again. Even more surprising, it actually worked. And I felt good immediately after each one.
I almost wish I had another race on the schedule for this weekend. I get the feeling last weekend's racing actually sharpened me up a bit more. I feel even more prepared now than I did two weeks ago.
It kind of makes me wonder how things would have turned out had I felt this solid last weekend.
It's academic, of course, because we're well past all of that. But if the key is riding very hard for a few days, then resting again, then riding hard again - I'll remember that for future endeavors.
2 comments:
I had this same realization when I was on a training plan. Which made me think that periodization was a bunch of hooey.
When I followed a plan and was supposed to peak, I was in a slump. Then 2 weeks later, after some time off the bike, I was flying for a race that didn't matter and WNWs. That's when I learned that a generic training plan (all that I could afford) was not worth it. You really should either go all in with a power meter and an expensive coach who monitors everything, or just ride hard when you can and rest when your body tells you to.
I've always wondered what Tilford has done his whole career. Granted, he's a genetic freak and probably just uses racing for training most the year. But still, how many years has he been crazy fast? He's gotta be doing something right.
ride the wave into CX season!
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