C’est la Vie
BY KENNETH LUNDGREN
Well, I took a recovery week last week, moving into a bigger apartment, setting up the gargantuan entrance living room as a Training Center for Elite Endurance, doing bike fits and fitness tests there and such — and to also make a full-on bike room mecca 🙂
Readington TT: I did okay not great, taking 3rd. O’Donnell caught me with 2k to go 🙁 and won outright by over 20s. My teammate Lou Schimmel, a pro-level rider who used to race for the University of Colorado, took 3rd, putting over 15s into me…
I had trouble breathing, a little stifling and humid that morning. I also, for some strange reason, felt a hair upright on this super fast course. And this thought was jackhammering into my head as O’Donnell passed me. I couldn’t even see his helmet! Damn! I hear the carbon whoosh from behind me, sounded like a helicopter. Eh, what are you gonna do? The man is flying right now. All you can do is shake his hand and congratulate him. He who works hardest and digs deepest wins. If you can’t appreciate that, try poker. Or fishing (I’m actually an excellent poker player — in my previous life!).
I rode PowerCranks very steadily this winter, moreso than ever, and my plan is to really come around firing 100% on all 6 of my cylinders come June. So, I think all the PowerCranking has left me a little too diesel this season… Perhaps too much aerobic and force work… During the TTs, though, I felt good — not super, but not bad, either. I’m happy to be 2nd overall in the TT Cup right now, looking to close the gap at High Point and Somerset…
I’m also 2nd in the P12 Garden State Cup, and with a good ride at High Point and if I can survive High Bridge, I hope to race the NJ State Road Championships in the leader’s orange Maxxis GSC jersey… I will keep my fingers crossed!!!
Congrats to Kuria, an athlete with whom I work — the guy is posting some ridiculous training data. He mentioned he wanted to do Battenkill the week before! So we did some minor tweaking, and even though not a goal event Kuria did great, finishing 15th. Not bad for a bigger rider…
In other Elite Endurance news, Smart Shopper’s John Raheb almost won both the 35+ and 45+ at Cherry Blossom. He took a wicked flier near the end of the 45+ only to be caught at the line. In the 35+, he attacked near the end and sat up at the line, the guy on his wheel nipping him for 2nd… Raheb, who in his previous life used to be a pure sprinter, wants to become an all-around solid roadie, and look for John to do well this weekend at Sturbridge/Palmer…
I hear another super talented rider with whom I work, Zach Koop of Team Campmor, won his third race of the year… More details as I get them!!!
Back at Battenkill, Nick Bruno reported feeling great even after being sick for the last 10 or so days. What can you do?! I talked to his mom during the race and she kept saying he was at the front, he’s doing great… but when you’re sick, when you feel better you might feel like you’re better, but it takes more than 3 days to recover from illness!!! In the final dirt section, Nick said he went from 2nd to dead last in the lead group. Analyzing his symptoms now, it actually sounds like he was severely dehydrated…
Bicycling’s Evan Cooper marked Battenkill as his “A” event on his calendar months ago. Well, the good part is he said he had the best legs all year, really feeling electric and able to contend with the leaders. We prepped him for the climbs, for the attacks, to sustain power in a break, to pop a wicked sprint at the end of a hell race… Well, the bad part is he FLATTED near the end. Damn, bad luck coming in bunches… Neutral support didn’t have his wheel, so his race was over. Evan is a huge, huge talent and he kept his head up after the race. Shoot, the kid flatted.
C’est la vie. Brush it off your shoulder and move on. As Jerry MaGuire once said, “You can either have breakdown… or breakthrough.” I look back at Roger Federer, a top-ten tennis player for five years. He was good but never great. But he kept at it, knocking on the door, knocking on the door… The majority of humans would back it off a notch, content with being one of the world’s greatest players, and then dissolve into obscurity or mediocrity.
Not Roger. He went on to dominate the sport and become the #1 player for the last five years. He did indeed keep working and reach that next level. It is so possible for so many of us — you just have to keep pushing, keep pushing… 1% here, 1% there, better diet, more sleep, better better better and before you know it you’re taking victories…
Breakdown? Or breakthrough?
On Sunday I did the Nyack Ride, jumping on first climb with Haluk, Elite Endurance powerhouse Raheb (who came inches from winning both the 35 and 45+ at Cherry Blossom), and this Cadence tri guy, monster beast 35-mph machine. We torched it, and I put in some stinging, successful attacks. I popped some good 2m and 5m numbers near the end of the break, something I couldn’t do in mid-February or last March… Always good to see the numbers coming around as they should…
Gearing up for a heavy remainder of April and first half of May… Congrats to all the gladiators who emerged from the BR dust…
