Bier en modder

I dislike power testing.  Yeah, the best power data you can get is from a race but sometimes the timing and schedule doesn’t always work out that way.  So yesterday’s ride, and one later today, is for a quick test.

Yesterday was the 5 and 20 min intervals.  For me, the 5 minute one is the suckiest one of all.  Right around the 2 minute mark it feels like you’re Hammy on a Red Bull in Over the Hedge – time slows down to a crawl while you suffer away.  Ugh.

I tried something different yesterday by taping over the power portion of the head unit, leaving just the speed and time visible.  I’ve had this feeling that seeing the power value, especially during the longer tests, could prejudice you one way or the other in your effort.

For example, heading out with a preconcieved notion that since your last test was at x watts, then after a month or two of hard work of course you should be at least at x + 15, or whatever.  But if you get this realtime feedback during the test that you’re not quite there…then what? These flippin’ tests are hard enough without getting a proverbial sucker-punch to the gut that you haven’t improved.

So yesterday, with the power value blanked out, the test seemed a little different.  Instead of checking in at a number, it felt easier just to ask myself – ‘is this the hardest I can ride for the next x minutes’ and then adjust effort based on that.

Anyway, the tests I did yesterday showed a solid improvement in the 5 min and a return to the 20 min effort I was in at the peak of last season.  Seeing as I’m barely getting into the rough stuff, it’s all good.

Whats next…PIR next Monday.  TOE 50, hopefully as part of a 35+ team, at the end of the month.  Then short track.

Mid-May update here.  I swear I thought things would have gotten easier after taxes…but they didn’t.  It’s more work than anything else.  It’s really sucking my will to live here.  But I’d be a fool to say that out loud.  It’s a job.  A good job.  And a secure one at that too.  So I’ll just shut my piehole, be thankful for what I’ve got, and move on.

My knee is 95% healed up by now.  Knee?  What knee?  An ugly crash at Bear Springs caused my knee to get ripped open by the top of the front fork hydraulic cylinder.  Somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-12 internal stitches.  Plus another 11 to close it up.  Like I said, ugly.

BTW, is it a crash if you never fall off the bike?  Something strange happened.  I think the bottom of my right crank arm hit a stump or rock at the perfectly angle to stop me dead cold.  Ok, not me but my bike.  I kept going into the front of the bike, sacrificing my right knee against the fork instead of my bits and pieces against the stem.  I managed to hold on long enough to stop the bike by my own power.  So is it a Crash?  Incident?  Implosion?  I still don’t know how to describe it.  Whatever it was, it sucked.

Anyway, enough has been written about the snow at Bear Springs that I don’t need to pigpile on the topic any more.  I finished right at the top of the bell curve (11th out of 23/24)…as usual.  The new Giant Anthem X2 is as dreamy as I could want.  I’d only make 2 modifications:

1 – I wrapped 1 course of cork handlebar tape around the grips to make them bigger.  My hands cramped up during Hornings because the grips were too small.  The extra layer of tape is a little cushier and much bigger.  Bueno.

2 – I have a longer set of 180mm XT cranks on order.  Yes, the 5 mm makes a difference.

There were other substantial effects from the crash.  I’m just going to say that Rachel wasn’t all that amused.  I’m also only add that I need to rethink my MTB riding style.  I can’t keep getting banged up like this.  Sore?  Yes.  Exhausted?  Certainly.  But physically injured?  Um, not so much.

Moving on.  The crash caused me to move a rest week up a week.  Other than that, things are moving along right on schedule for short-track PIR.  I feel really good so far.

Looks like Tabor is in limbo, which I’m kind of ok with.  I like Tabor but don’t love it.  I feel like you need to train in a very specific way to be consistent at Tabor.

No road races yet.  I think about Monday PIR but haven’t gotten my shit together.  Perhaps next week.  The rest of my (older) teammates have been doing the 40+ races with decent numbers and organization.  At 39, I’ve got a year to go.  Honestly, I’m looking forward to it.

Not sure about the rest of the MTB season yet either.  I’d like to get out to Bend fo Picketts Charge, but I haven’t brought that up with Rach yet.  Same with Test of Endurance.

That’s all for bike-related things right now.  Hopefully I’ll have  PIR report early next week.