Update from Ecuador :)
BY KENNETH LUNDGREN
Well, Laura Winberry of Team Campmor is in Ecuador, training! Laura has some huge aspirations this year… She’s coming off a BIG 2008: 3rd at Easterns for XC, 3rd at Nationals, State XC Champion, State Cyclo-Cross Champion, overall winner of H2H Series, winner of a slew of Expert women’s MTB races…
We want to help get her to the next level this year… After States, she took a slight break… We really timed her peak for the Cyclo-Cross State Championships damn near perfectly… She had a terrific ride at States, and then the week after she was already falling apart… We were really running on fumes, as she raced the mountain bike late into the season and we minimal time to recovery and come back…
In December, she had a few weeks off, then a few weeks of steady cross-training… By January, because of her goals (which we thought long and hard over), she was back in Foundation training… We slowly progressed the training so by late FEB, she would be ready for LT work… It wasn’t the longest base I was hoping for, but Laura has a huge engine and has many seasons in her legs, so I’m hoping her season will be steady… If not, we will start re-working things once the form falters…
Laura is in Ecuador from FEB 22 to APR 5. She has been training at altitude and has mentioned it’s a HUGE change. One thing is it’s hard for her to get her HR up, as she really can’t push hard enough because of the air… However, after two weeks of acclimating, she jumped in her first race and took 3rd! This weekend, she raced again, a titanic 3+h epic race on HUGE climbs… and she took 3rd again! Not too shabby…
Laura will continue to train and maybe race 3-4 more times until she comes home… Then we’ll have two weeks to get her 100% ready for her first peak of the season, the pro Greenbrier Challenge race in Maryland. Laura has carefully analyzed the 2009 USAC National Cross Country Calendar and she’s going to race as many events as she can, travelling as far as Colorado…
What we will do for the bike! This girl is driven. As her coach, I feel I have her potential in my hand so I’m doing everything I can to ensure she maximizes her ability and discovers her best, something so few riders actually do…
Racing update: Bladdy took 10th at Bethel, and Rob Havemeyer of EECT/Kreb Cycle took 9th at Prospect Park… NICE. These are the only events Elite Endurance athletes have partaken in thus far, but I hope to start seeing the guys and gals doing well as the training intensifies and the serious goals start getting closer…
As for me, I started riding again. Pretty much first time since June. I did ride a few times since then, but nothing regularly… Ken at 152 pounds and 345 FT was acceptably fast. Ken at 174 pounds and 265 FT is NOT! 🙂 But it’s fun getting on the bike again. Did a bunch of aerobic rides last week, sat in during a group ride over the weekend… Rode the PowerCranks (ouch) for an hour yesterday… Oh, memories of being FIT! Seems so long ago… 🙂 We shall see what happens… During my time away from the bike, I have been lifting weights, running, trail running, swimming, have remained aerobically fit, so with a logical training plan, I hope to be back sooner than later!
Thanks for reading.
