I Must Be Gettin’ Old
BY KENNETH LUNDGREN
Well, I’ve been fighting this sinus headache for awhile… Got it after the Tour de Parc and, well, it just wouldn’t go away… In fact, the only time I feel better is on the bike!!! But in the morning, the head is all crunched up and during the day I feel a little foggy, just out of it…
Monday I didn’t ride. I was especially foggy! Tuesday I was on the PowerCranks easy, 2 hours just pushing a comfy cadence over rolling terrain. Off the bike in the morning I felt dead. On the bike I felt fine. Post-ride I was obliterated although it was an easy, easy ride…
If 100% ready, I would do specific work Wednesday and Friday. I was on the fence between doing High Bridge or the Floyd Bennett Time Trial, both on Sunday.
I’m a couple points out of the Garden State Cup lead. High Bridge is the next stop, an arduous circuit race, two killer climbs each lap. It’s one of the hardest races of the year. I could go, hoping to get top-20 for Cup points. Jason Walters, the current leader, is a better power climber and sprinter than me. I would be going there to limit my losses. In the back of my mind, I could have great day, Jason gets sick, crashes, misses a move, and I could have leader’s jersey for States…
On the other hand, the Floyd Bennett TT would be fun. Would be nice to shake it up with the NYC boys. I would go in hopes of trying to get a good result, possibly placing 1-2 with O’Donnell and giving Jersey some respect in the 5 Boroughs! Always nice to do the TTs…
But I don’t think I’m doing either. Time to listen to my body. A little run down. Rest. Rest. Rest. Something I don’t want to do right now, but I must. A client of mine just got wrecked with pneumonia, and he was peaking for a stage race at the end of June. But things change. It might be hard to swallow at first, but it’s a fact of life: training through sickness or failing to listen to your body will not only destroy your peak but also destroy your entire season… I speak from absolute experience…
And here’s how I can REALLY rationalize skipping these races: I’ve gotten the green light, obtaining a press pass for Saturday night’s WBC championship bout in Atlantic City. Ringside seat, press conference credentials. Suuuuuwwwwweeeeeeeeeeet. 🙂 I never thought I’d say this, but I’m blowing off two big races to go report on a fight. Atlantic City is a very surreal environment and the Pavlik-Lockett bout should be exciting.
I must be gettin’ old. K.L. at 22 would laugh at K.L. typing this right now!
I am going into Manhattan tomorrow for the press conference at Gallagher’s Steakhouse. I plan to inteview Pavlik, his father, and his trainer, and hopefully Saturday night I can get a good view of the bout and catch Pavlik post-fight for some good quotes… I am a new staff member of Boxing Insider and hope to impress with my first few pieces…
Rest up this week, make sure the engine’s are a go, and then hopefully next week I’ll be ready to get back 100%… Thanks for reading.
