I’ve been on a cycle of race and recover since April (and before that, I was sick for almost 6 weeks and traveling for work) so it’s been quite a long time since I last had a real “training” block other than the CTR specific training overnighters with epic hike-a-bikes in July.
I’ve been working with Jason at FasCat Coaching since June, and he’s been helping me keep my head on straight, and very successfully I might add. It’s been an incredible year so far. There have been some electrifying, thrilling highs and unexpected results… and also some devastating lows. Lows that still effect me on a daily basis. I’m still extremely disappointed that despite my selection to the USA Marathon World Championships team, I didn’t get to go. I think about it all the time. And CTR. My box of CTR gear and my backpack have remained almost untouched since the heartbreaking day I pulled out of the race. I still cannot bring myself to go through my gear. Don’t dwell, move on… I am still working on it, but I’m much better than I was about a month ago. It was something I failed at, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.
C-H-A-R-A-C-T-E-R : B-U-I-L-D-I-N-G
It’s been great to hit reset. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve raced, and it felt good to take a break from racing and focus on training. Jason has me firing on all cylinders right now trying to get me ready for my last mountain bike race of the season(at least I think it will be) – Brasil Ride. This race beat me last year. It is still one of the hardest races I’ve done, and this year I’m determined to show up prepared and extremely fit. I’m going to beat it.
It’s funny, I realized today that I must have been training hard because I haven’t been taking any photos. There is no time to ease up to stop and snap a couple of shots. I miss the photo documentation piece of my training, but I’m really enjoying putting in the hard work.
I’ve done some motorpacing twice in the last two weeks for an hour at a time. It’ll be great for sustained output.
Follow Jason on the moto!
I’ve already seen an improvement after 2 sessions.
I’ve ridden a little singletrack, but sticking to the dirt roads and working on my weaknesses.
I finally got to ride Mt. Falcon/Lair O Bear this past weekend with some buddies as well(sadly, no photos)!
Today, Jeff came along on his mountain bike. First, we rode 1.5 hours up one of the canyons and then headed to Fascat to jump behind the moto.
Here is a video he made that’s great!! Jason also had his camera on the back of the moto.
Popout
Motorpacing in preparation for the Brasil Ride Stage Race from ergon on Vimeo.
It didn’t hurt as bad as I thought it would – racing hurts a lot more, but it’s a very solid workout.
And true to form, I can find humor in any situation and found myself laughing at times because it reminded me of a cartoon, and my imagination went wild with it and I couldn’t help but laugh. It was like some animal trying to keep up with the moto, red in the face with little clock gears flying everywhere and smoke coming out of its ears. haha!
I wasn’t planning to do any mountain bike racing after Park City Point2Point before Brazil, but I got an email this week from Rebecca Rusch. We put together a team of 4 for the 24 Hour National Championships. The Dream Team!
Reba, Jenny Smith, myself, and Kelly Boniface. I’m really looking forward to racing WITH my friends instead of against them for a change! They are some of my favorite female racers and people I normally have to race against during the season. In fact, Jenny will be in Brazil with Brian Smith (they won last year!) I’m not very prepared… I haven’t done any night riding this year and I’m not very organized yet, but I think we are going to have a fantastic time and make a great team!!
I’m also waiting for my CX bike to come in the mail. I should be able to do one race before I head to Brazil, and then do it recreationally ( i.e. have a mini off season and not train during the week, but jump in and race on the weekends after) You guys are going to die when you see the skinsuit. I can’t wait! hee hee
That leaves me up to date now. After 24 COS, which there will be live reporting from moi on the social networking sites (provided there is 3G or wifi), I’ll rest up for a couple days after that and then head to Moab, UT for a short training camp with Jeff for final prep work for Brazil! 24 Hours of Moab and Outerbike will be going on while we are there, so hopefully we’ll see some you of guys out there!
