Cycle

And so, the first training cycle is complete and successful.  I get to take  a couple of days off the bike and let my body rest. 

Thinking back on the past 4 months and how training was a little limited due to the winter weather that we had here, I am very pleased with how my training has gone.  In the Big Frog, I placed roughly where I placed last year, and last year.   I am consistent in my finishes and that is good. 

As I was riding the single track at the race, I realized that I had not spent much time on single track this year.  It is just the way it happened.  I decided to back off training just a little bit so that I would have some digits left.  It was cool, because I could see the difference that it made too. 

My endurance is good, even my tech skills were consistent, I just didn't have much speed or power.  Those are my limiters. Now, I need to figure out how to add those in. 

I also need to figure out why my core temp gets so high so fast.  Is it genetics?  Is there something I need to do differently?  The first 5 hrs of the race, until it started raining, I was sweating.  This was something new and exciting for me.  I was able to manage that by staying within a specific HR range.  I have noticed that when I go above this range for an extended period, I overheat and stop sweating (I'm not sure which one happens first).  My guess is that it is more related to my body than electrolytes/fluid etc.  I'm not sure though,  any thoughts?

Next up is ORAMM. 
This was my second endurance race.  In 2006 I rode a Specialized Hardrock Single Speed and finished in 8h29 min.   141st out of 296 finishers.  I was pumped.  In 2007 I rode a Bianchi WUSS SS and finished in 8h 38mins.   2008 and 2009, I DNF'ed (Did Not Finish). 

So, my goal for this year?  8 h 28 mins!!  That's an average speed of 7.6 mph...I think I can do that!

Have a great day.