The legs are BACK!

I got my legs back underneath me, thank god. Doing the 6-hr of Santos really put me under as far getting recovered, and after more than a week I can feel that the power is coming back under my legs. I will take you through the 10 days after Santos from being totally under, to almost fully recovered.

I did cramp up several different times at Santos, so my legs did have some really deep soreness afterwards. Nothing 2 or 3 days can’t fix. So I took the Labor Day off the bike completely.

Tuesday, Sept 4th
I did the Vista View road ride on Tuesday and put in a huge effort to win the first sprint. I just walked a way from everyone without gunning, and I think it’s because I didn’t have gunning it in my legs.

Wednesday, Sept 5th
The next day I got on the mtn bike with the guys at Oleta. Richard Diaz was in the front for the first lap, so I thought it would be a nice warm up, NOT SO. About 10 minutes into the course I was suffering like nobody’s business. Diaz was setting an impressive pace based on the last time I rode with him, but not enough that it would really hurt me, BUT I was hurting. Several times I felt like pulling out of the lap, but I was waiting for the legs to come around. Going into Davie’s trail just put the last 2 nails in the coffin as I was done after that. I went back to the car, had 2 water bottles with organic maple syrup in them. I was debating if I would go back in or not, as Bob usually uses the wheel behind him as a reason to ride at Mach speed. After about 10 minutes I decided to give it a shot.

Not even 6 minutes into the course Bob is throwing down the biggest effort we’ve done so far and I’m already with my back to the wall and eyes looking for a place to dodge out of the lap, but I keep on it. At 8 minutes we are at the fire road that goes around the cabin and he has about 10 seconds on me. Andres is behind me and he is happy to just suck my wheel as I’m sure he is hurting too. I put my head down and attempt to bridge to him before we get to the single-track in about .7 miles. I look up at my speed, and I’m going 19.5, 20.2, 20.6, 21.1, 21.7, and I have managed to get within 5 seconds of him when we get to the single-track but that is it. I let Andres pass me, do the next couple sections and head for the car. The legs are not recovered yet.

Thursday, Sept 6th
I get on the trainer for 45 minutes to see if I can spin out the legs and hope they feel better for the ride at Markham in the afternoon. I can’t tell if they feel better, and I go to Markham anyway, and my legs are heavy and still without power right from the start. On top of that we are getting some rain that has the bridges slippery, and the red ants are out in force. I call it a day at 1 lap and a half.

Friday, Sept 7th
I do a fat-burning ride to see if I’m recovered. For this workout I ride at 20mph, and keep my heart between 130-140bpm. This is the premiere workout that indicates if my legs are recovered. I normally spend between 46-55mins in that zone. It was a successful workout as I did the necessary speed, and 29 minutes of the workout was below 130bpm. Nice, but what does that mean?

Saturday, Sept 8th
The next morning I did the same workout to see if yesterday was a hoax, and at the same speed I spent 52 minutes between 130-140bpm, and the remainder was above 140bpm. Friday was a HOAX, and now I’m confused about what kind of effort to do when I ride, and when my body will come back around. I don't think that the heartrates zones should change so drastically from one day to the next.

Sunday, Sept 9th
I got to Markham and T. Wiz, Matt. H, and Carolyn V are out. Great! 3 Expert riders that ride at a decent speed to call it training, and not racing. I suffer like a dog like I did at Oleta on the first lap, and I’m lucky enough to finish lap with them. I’m in it to do the 2nd and 3rd lap back to back, and I plan to do the 2nd with them and the 3rd by myself. 10 minutes into the lap Wiz starting putting it down and he and Matt walk away from me. I know they were not riding fast, I just couldn’t even lift my pace at all. So I crawl out that lap, and I’m crawling even worst the second lap. I do half of the gun range, and just pull out. I’m going too slow to hit the climbs at a speed that I could even call it productive. I get back to the picnic table and I’m rethinking the last week of my pathetic life, and Carolyn and Tim come out. Tim went over the bars, and he called it a day also. Oh! Did I mention it was “Africa” out there also.

Monday, Sept 10th
I wake up, and my legs actually feel great, and I decided to go out and do 2 laps at Markham before I have my presentation in class. But my XO rear deraileur was cracked so I went to the shop to have them replace it. That took some time as Nick had customers, and I knew it would be difficult to get in 2 laps. I get to the park, and LaRue is there, and we go in and I actually do feel great. I’m actually drilling it and my heartrate is in the 150’s, and I’m not suffering at all. About 10 minutes later, the heartrate jumps up and I still feel good. I gap LaRue several times. I make a mistake in the gunrange, and he passes me. I keep him 10 seconds in front of me for the rest of the lap. That lap was 34 mins, and I felt good. I only have 15 minutes, so I ride 8 minutes in, and 8 minutes out, and call it a day. I’ve got a lot of confidence from that 1 lap, because I felt like my body's ability to buffer off the lactic acid was back to normal.

Tuesday, Sept 11th
I go to the Vista View ride and my legs are feeling good yet again, and I decide I’m just going to put in a huge effort going East on 84. The ride is fast as we have a tailwind for first 20 minutes and I don’t even get a chance to get to the front. Going North on Glades there is a headwind and all the heavy hitters come to the front and keep the pace between 25-30mph. We turn East on 84 and there is a nasty head/crosswind. Blain jumps to the front and one of his Bike America cohorts jumps with him. Bob jumps to chase and I’m behind him. We trade pulls and form a small gap. After about 2 minutes the group is back with us, but we are still the primary riders taking pulls. Then the group gets involved as they are now recovered. The involvement is short as it slows back down after about 2 minutes. Blain and his cohort jump again and they have 3 more with them. We keep a certain distance on them, and I’m looking for a good position, because I want to contest the sprint.

We let them hang out there and burn themselves out, and they start to go backwards coming back to us. As we get to them Ricky looks back and taps him helmet as if to say, “I got a leadout for you”. Now just 3 weeks ago Ricky and I had words as he didn’t want to pull through, and now the guy is offering me a leadout. Thank you God! He pulls out and surges hard. We quickly have a gap, but we are way far out. He shocked the group with going out so far. I stay on his wheel and he is drilling it like his life depends on it and I look down and the speed is 31.6mph. I look back and Bob is trying to bridge to us, as he is the only one to go. We have a nice gap on Bob, and I’m not even looking at my speed. Then Ricky is gone, and we have slowed down. The guy can lead you out, but when he is out, he has nothing left. I look back and Bob is still at the same distant. I put my head down and my speed is 29.7mph, and I slowly ramp up the speed because I’m still very far out. I take it up to 34.2mph and that manages to unhitch Bob. I pop before the line myself, but manage to crawl to the sprint point at 25mph.

We hit a light, and Bob comes up to me and says, “ You made me Vurp”, and we both laugh. I think a Vurp is a combo of Burping and Vomit. I kind of took it as a compliment that the effort was intense, but I was given a leadout and he was trying to bridge to the leadout and win the sprint so I had the upperhand. We are opposites as I can’t stay with him on the mtn bike, and on the road he can’t pulls as hard or fast as me, and he has never beaten me in a sprint. In that respect, we are both a half of a circle. As we are working hard to get what the other rider has to close that circle of being equally strong on the mtn and road bike.

I finish up the ride without contesting the sprint at all. My goal was accomplished, and that was to flush out the rest of the lactic acid from Santos.

Wedneday, Sept 12th
I’m really anxious to get out and ride because I now know that my legs are back. I was assuming that doing the 6-hrs of Santos would jumpstart my program, and maybe it has. But not without setting me back a week and playing with my confidence. Doing that type of race is a lot different than recovering from a tough XC race. I get out at Markham and, No Bob, No Diaz, but Andres and his son do show up. We go in and I felt like I did on Monday, but I hold back on the legs because I’m in for 4 laps today. At the gun range I’m about 20 secs off my time from Monday and I have gapped Andres. I keep things going at that clip and finish out the lap at a 35 min lap. We take a recover ride around the park and chat as we ride. Andres is a smart rider and has been riding a long time. I met him at the first State Race I have ever did at HardRock back in 1999, where he finish 2nd place in the Series to Luiz from B&J in the 30-39 Sport Category.

We go into the second lap and I feel even better than I did the first lap, but I want to be slightly faster at every checkpoint, and I am. I have over 40 seconds on Andres now and I’m not suffering at all. 4 minutes later he is back on my wheel. Man, this guy is cutting out Crime Scene and Jet Ski Hill. How can anyone get back 40 seconds in 4 minutes in the most technical jagged part of the course? I keep that same pace going and finish out the lap 35 seconds faster at 34 mins, and 25 seconds. We take another ride around the park, and he says he is finished. I’m in to do these last 2 back to back, so I top off my bottle and drink water out of the jug before I hit the trail. This lap I want to do a 36 min lap, then do a 35 min lap for number 4.

I keep it smooth and I’m holding back so I can have something in the tank for the last lap. I bring in the 3rd lap at 36 mins, and 29 second and go right in for number 4. It’s too dark at this point but I decide to ride until I can’t see, and it doesn’t even take 10 minute as I go into a section that is covered and it practically goes pitch black. That is when I pull out of the lap and give myself a well deserved pat on the back.

I’m going to ride the trainer for 25 minutes in the morning, and in the afternoon I’m going to do a recovery ride to the Vista View road ride, then sit in and not take one pull. When I get home I’m going to take another Ice Bath. Yeap! Another Ice bath, as it has quickly turned into my pre-race ritual to get the legs ready for Tom Brown this weekend.

See you at the Race this weekend

Pacer Out!