Recently, while waiting to get my first 'real' (read: Engineering) job sorted out, I have been barely working at Maine Running Company (thanks to fall hours) and thus am only left to train with the bulk of my time. Now, I'm not actually living the life of a pro: clearly, a LOT is missing for that. But, if I were to be about twice as good and deemed worthy by some foolish person/team to invest in me, then it would be complete. As you've probably seen, I have an awesome (!!!) coach and I have been amping up my training to a level and structure I really have never been close to before. Now, I might not be hitting 20+ hours of training which I have done in the past - this week is going to be around 18 - but the quality of training is much much higher.
I'm really enjoying the whole training being my major focus and just soaking it up at the moment, because this is likely the only time in my life I will be able to engross myself in such a manner. I'm not one to take anything for granted, so instead of just doing some training and bumming out about not starting my job yet I'm crushing as much as I possibly can and letting my coach decide when 'enough is enough' AKA overtraining. I have a good feeling I won't be hitting this point unless I go rogue on my schedule. In cycling, I have proved to myself that I have a rather high tolerance for stress and work (as opposed to running, where I haven't ever held 50 miles for more than a couple weeks). So, I talked to Doug (coach) and said I'd like to crank it up as much as I can while still being beneficial.
I don't have any actual USAC "races" until April 2012, but there is a group ride that is a full-on no holes barred race. It is the PVC Saturday Morning Ride (SMR) double loop: twice the normal SMR, prizes/money for sprint wins (8-10 total), and most aggressive rider. Some BIG GUNS show up, including people I apparently have never seen before - Cat 1's and the like. People who I've never had the opportunity to race against. Yes, that is right, I'm absolutely pumped to be in a race with guys who have been at this for decades and have sweated and bled to get up the ranks. I am well aware it's going to be hard as hell, and I'm going to see people with sprints I wish I had...but I'm going to go for it.
It's completely true that "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take". And I have no intention of sitting back and watching 'the real athletes' go for it, because I don't know what sitting back and watching entails. Sure, I've had some wins in sprints on the SMR, but that's in a group ride where people hit it hard...but not a race against 1's, 2's, and 3's. And that was then and has no effect on how I perform in a race. I learned a lot every time I executed properly and even more each time I make a poor decision. I've only actually raced against 4's and 5's, where people might be strong but very few know how to finish. These guys have had hundred of finishes against an entire field that is both very strong and very smart. I have every intention of contesting and winning on the double loop.
What this means is I have a whole lot of work to put in the next few weeks: I have to actually develop a powerful and efficient sprint technique, scout race tactics, get my confidence to a new level, and crush sprint workouts. Maybe I'll even lose a few more pounds so whoever is on my wheel has to work just a little bit harder :).
Off to do a tune-up for the SMR tomorrow. Looks like I will be going for all four sprints...that's gonna burn. When you race, you sure as hell don't sprint when you're fresh. Pretty excited to see how the very last sprint feels, something like Mt. Vesuvius circa 79AD. Bring the fire.
Time to get to work. Tune-up workout for tomorrow's ride!
Go fast, take chances. If you don't you'll be asking yourself why you didn't.
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