Jack Sept

Sept 3rd - First post of the month . . . . not much to report because it was a recovery day. Yesterday during training I felt totally zapped. Spent a long time trying to warm up, like ten miles worth. There must have been an element of food poisoning or something in my system, because I kept having to find restrooms every half hour or so. Came home and had a protein shake and a nap, and this morning my energy was back.

Swpt 4th - After a nice boring week of riding alone, tomorrow marks the start of seeing all the other riders! Rode today before and after work. The after work session was cut short when it became too dark . . . . better to make it home safe then ride w/ no lighting. Probably better anyway because cross practice should thoroughly wear me out.

5th - Cross day is quickly becoming my favorite. Today we hit the trails behind the quarry because the park was host to bday parties, cookouts, and general weekend insanity. On the trails Jinks, Bill and I used every log crossing as an opportunity to practice dis and re mounts. I did crash once, which resulted in a bruised leg, but it was nothing serious. After exiting the trail system we climbed the hill leading to Bragg and then did a quick sprint back to Fall Hill Ave, in which I sadly got smoked despite my option of using a 53 tooth ring. From there I followed Jinks up to the intersection of Centerport Pkwy and American Legion Rd, all the while chatting about racing and all. Ran out of water and food and hit the GNC, but hey, thats what its there for. Tomorrow is the big E day ride, and then Monday is up in there air. See you all tomorrow.

6th and 7th - E ride on Sunday. A whole slew of people showed, and it was good fun and conversation. Someone watching might have observed that the race season mentality was still there because the last quarter of the ride was a little faster than usual. I fought Joe for a KOM but during which a sports car shot down the hill . . . after not seeing half the guys I prayed that it was a flat and not an accident. Went back to see what was up . . . just Greg flatting. Went back into town where I tired to coerce everyone to come and ride a little but more, but only Ken and Joe agreed. We rode down to River Road and hit the short and long hill. That was the first time I've ever ridden with other people out there. Kinda strange. Ken set a good pace up the big hill, and from there we went back downtown.
Labor day ride - Only Joe and I showed at the shop. We called Ben to see if he was still coming and ended up meeting him down in Stafford. From there we fought a headwind up to Centreport Pkwy. Continued down to Truslow, then back downtown and onto the campus. Joe was the most happy there, and told me because of all the females he planned to enroll soon. Heading to Cowan it began to drizzle, but the sun came out as we once again headed down River Rd. The plan was to go all the way down this time out onto Harrison Rd and back into town. As we hit Spotswood Furnace Ben said he needed to go back home, we split there. I guess I got a little carried away and underestimated the miles . . . my bad. Joe and I traded pulls back, getting in a nice Labor Day ride.

Sept 8th - Rode with Gus after work. Tried to call Jinks to see if he was commuting or anything, but no answer. I wanted to ride the longer course that we did this time last week, but time intervened and we hit a course new to him but familiar to me. Wish I could give a more detailed report, but I've got to get some sleep.
On another note, is anyone planning on getting the swine flu vaccine?

Sept 9th - Good ride with Jinks. We linked up at Mortons at 530 for about two hours. The headwind was so strong as we were heading out that a hurricane or tornado would surely materialize. This made things hard, as did the fact that Jinks was riding really strongly. Heading to Truslow he was pulling nonchalantly at 28. After the hill on Truslow I caught my second wind, so the remainder of that road and Centerport were not so bad. We chatted for a while, then crossed Rt 1. With the wind at our backs we traded pulls quite smoothly. I told him that the practice would be good for when I hit the big leagues (Cat 3), and he reminded me that there would be 3/4 races too. All in all it was a good day bc I wouldn't have braved the winds with so much gusto without a partner.

Sept 14th - After a long weekend I went for a recovery ride on the cross bike. Now really seems to be a period of limbo - road season over, cross not here for me yet. The chill is starting to come back into the air, so I'm enjoying it while it lasts. Sorry for the boring blog post - I'm pretty beat from everything that is going on.

Sept 16th - Rode to work in the morning and felt fine. Had to deal with some real goons during the day so I felt pretty zapped after work. Had to ride home and check the mail, and then back to meet Jinks to do a jog. I stopped at GNC to kill sometime before I met Jinks . . . . it was then that I really started to crash. The whole weight of everything since the century seemed to invade my legs at once, and I regretted at that moment having to do anything else physical. But I gave my word, so I left the comfort of the massage chair and headed down to the park. Jinks showed about 10 minutes later, and we did a slow jog around the cross course, all the while discussing the possibility of hosting a race. Its funny - I thought the jog would make me more tired, but instead I felt invigorated. I should change up the routine more often . . . .

19th and 20th

Cross with Jinks and Bill on Sat - I showed late and had just enough time to join Bill in some VO2 max exertions over by the playground. If I had any hangover left from my date the night before those reps burned it right out. Bill had to leave shortly after 8 or nine punishing reps, so Jinks and I did a few laps slowly around the course and then shot over to Centerport Pkwy. Jinks hit a gallon jug sized pothole before we left and went down, but was ok. I was scared when I heard him yell out and fall, but he tucked and rolled pretty nicely.
Sunday was a nice E ride with Ken, Bill and Andre over a totally different course. Highlights included a dirt/gravel hill KOM, sprints down to the Potomac River, and what short stints on RT 3. A good E ride overall because of the relaxed pace and spontaneous choice of course. There was alot of talk about burritos and Chipolte towards the end, but I hit GNC and called it a day.

21st - Decent ride today. I was too lazy to change the speedplays back to the cross bike, so I rode the road bike one last time til the weekend. Figure the cross bike is that heavier so I'll gain a little bit more strength over time. Kinda anxious to do a cross race too - just to see if I get whooped or what. Plus I'm trying to get ahold of this "Transition" video Jinks was talking about . . . funny how you can get motivated and want to train after watching skilled people do their thing . . . . until then I'll be on the green bike, killing time and staying out of trouble . . .

23rd - Felt so much stress today I thought my head would explode. The remedy wasn't to get mad and lose my temper but to ride. Started off on the green bike, but midway through I had to switch. Once on the Lemond I made a beeline to GNC to check out what I could get for free. After getting a couple samples and meeting a new female employee, I headed off towards the park. Col. Ed was leaving, so we rode together over to Bills, where he and Jinks were outside admiring his newest carbon framed tool. Even though it was dark I was impressed - made my bike seem like something from the Caveman days . . . .

24th - Today I felt like a barely charged battery, fading in and out. There was no real plan when I set out, and was going hard for the first half of the ride, but I faded quickly coming back from Centreport Pkwy. Why has it been so hot the past two days? Seeing the pavement shimmering in the distance only served to remind me that I would need more and more and more water. Water is easy to come by - a refill at any faucet or hose will leave you in good shape, but I was lacking nutrition too. I thought that some meal replacement stuff I bought would be sufficient . . . . not really. So I rode hungrily to the only spot where I can get free stuff besides home, had a protein bar or two, and then decided against pressing on. Had there been a cot and shower at GNC I would be asleep now . . . .

25th - I was falling asleep at work so I elevated my feet and did some pushups . . .. it was quite an eye opener! The stamina seemed to be there, but having not stressed my upper body for so long will surely leave me sore tomorrow.