Reassessment

BY KENNETH LUNDGREN

At the State TT, I had a disastrous unraveling. I was especially nauseous, just absolute sick I think I’m going to puke on the next guy I see. Well, a few days afterwards, I realized I crushed my two little friends and this was probably in part why I was so sick near the end of that hellish TT… I had to take more time off the following week than necessary.

The Pros to this are I bounced back hungry and with fresh legs. Last week was a complete wash and I had to cover the Pavlik fight (not that I’m complaining). First day back I knew I’d be flat so took out the PowerCranks. I find these open me up quite well if I have a hard day following… The next day I hit the hills hard, lotsa max efforts up 2 minute climbs, lotsa 700+w stuff up the rollers, max seated efforts, veins popping out of my skull. I wasn’t feeling great, but the power and speeds were very high.

On Thursday, went out for a solid 4h endurance with my friend, Tahir, an expert mountain biker. I felt all-around excellent and in the final hour I started settling into low tempo pace, cruising over these rolling roads in Fayson Lakes, in my opinion some of the best riding in North Jersey… It’s important to finish these rides not feeling shattered…

Saturday I went out on my TT bike for some LT work. The watts were very high, coming easily, and I averaged over 28 mph for the first effort. The heat sapped me and I had to shut it down early — the smart play. If the heat is getting to you, don’t be Superman and labor through more work, totally running yourself into the ground. Because that’s what you’re doing — destroying yourself in dangerous fashion, not getting quality training.

Today I did the Nyack Ride. I rarely do the Ride but felt compelled. I planted myself on the front and drilled it all ride, 316 norm watts for over 90 minutes. I had a great lead-out into the uber-fast Englewood sprint, 1180w for 10s, great numbers for me. Gisler almost caught me but left it too late. Sorry, Mike — SRMS are for losers.

I gassed it up the climbs, formed some moves, caught by the lights. Every time we were caught, I’d go again, zero recovery, finally getting away with two other riders. I was in peril all day, never recovered, and it felt good to be, at first, the weakest guy in this final charge to the climb and I ended up recovering and powering the pace. How you recover from death mode is a sign whether or not the form is coming… I was very happy how I kept bouncing back, as if I could go hard all day…

My 2m, 5m, and 10m maxes were the highest all year. Good time for that. This ride was ideal as it is two weeks prior to the State RR — I was rested and prepared to ride like hell today, and now hopefully it’s smooth sailing until States.

And the State RR is fast approaching. I am ready. I have to be prepared for everything. If Roger shows and goes, I have to be willing to get in that long break. If I end up in a breakaway with Jason Walters or Troy Kimball, I have to understand I can’t always attack and can duel with them in a sprint — something I’ve been working on. I have to be confident that anything can happen in a sprint: if I jump hard, if they mis-shift, pause, get overgeared, I can win. At Bear Mtn a few years ago, I was off the front solo for 30 miles and Troy caught me 200m from the line, just ANNIHILATING me in that sprint. Hopefully this go-around I can give it some more! I’m not a great sprinter, but in a small group I can hold my own.

Doing so much TT prep, riding the PowerCranks, I’ve become a much better rider on the flats. I am excited to see what goes down at States. My teammate Mike Rosenhaus has the Garden State Cup leader’s jersey, and the team is going to bring it heavy. As these races get closer, I get this nervous feeling in my gut. Is it because I’m not prepared, haven’t done enough?

No, it’s because I’m ready. If you’re not nervous, you’re not prepared to win.

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Coach's Diary | Sunday, June 15th, 2008 | | |