Recovery...

Recovery is
a grilled veggie super burrito at Anna's,
a nap,
a kick-ass oreo milk shake
made by my one-armed bandit. :)

I'm not minding it being Monday so much today...

Torturous Mud Slog Day 2

The fact that I couldn't sleep because my legs were aching so deeply should have been an indication that racing the next day might not be a great idea. But I was already prereg'd, and staying only 25 minutes away, so I went back to Pineland Farms, hoping the course would be different and the rain would stay away, and that I would be able to sit properly on the saddle despite my "injury" from yesterday. Well, none of these things panned out. The mass start was a bit chaotic, but the only real fun I had during the whole race. I found I was able to ride much of the course, even the long off-camber stretch of the "gauntlet" section (the course went the opposite direction through it today), but I only had two laps of that kind of riding in my body today. Then I just broke. I crawled through the course. It was so painful. I couldn't jump on the saddle properly, either.

I spent much of the night beating myself up over yesterday's result. So now, instead off beating myself up over today's ride, I'm going to think about all the factors that may have led to it... why is my power so poor right now? I felt it starting on Wednesday at cross practice when my legs felt like cinder blocks. Nights of poor sleep due to coughing from the post-nasal drip from hell that has been with me for 3 weeks... long, stressful days at work this week... all this has led to poor recovery. I just can't sit still. I always need to be doing something. Even when I'm sitting, I have to at least be knitting. I think I have two switches: on and off. I need to find the off button so much more often. Usually I can't even sit long enough to watch a movie. I need to rest more to recover better. More sleep. Speaking of that... it's time for bed. Gee, thanks for letting me work all this out in my blog. ;-)

New Gloucester Day 1

Welcome to monsoon season. When I woke this morning in Somerville, the gale force winds and driving rain should have been a sign. Hoping the rain hadn't moved north to Maine yet, Rock Star (aka One-Armed-Bandit) and I hopped in the car and headed north. When I saw what I was in for, I took a deep breath. The mud was ridiculous. Reminded me of Nationals last year, where I didn't have a great ride. I'm just not experienced in the mud. And I lack that kind of power to grind through that stuff. My legs were so sore when I woke, from what I'm not sure. This also should have been a sign!

So I prerode the course and decided it was going to be a slogging run-fest. Much of the course was just completely unridable. I just simply died. I didn't have a good start, but I caught some people in the second lap. Then I died.

Oh!! And then disaster struck. OOOWW! I had exchanged bikes at the end of the second lap (we only did 4 laps, I think... each lap was a 9-10 minute slogfest). I was taking my favorite Stevens steed back, and when I went to mount... my soggy wet and muddy ass slid right off the back of the saddle, and I landed full force on the rear tire by the brake!! I yelped in agony and curled over my saddle, thinking my race was over. I was so stunned by the pain and the surprise of the situation that I hunched over and moaned for a few moments. I figured that was about it for me. I got back on the bike (the SLOW way, by straddling the top tube, clipping in one foot and lifting myself onto the saddle as I rolled forward) and pedaled a few strokes. My crotch so much pain I couldn't sit on the saddle properly for the rest of the race, and FORGET about jumping on to mount. I was double hopping or just lifting my legs over the rest of the race. I was too far back to chase. I ripped the crotch of my favorite and only long-sleeved skinsuit. :( Get out the needle and thread. So, to add insult to injury, I got passed by someone I know I am stronger than. Richard Fries said it all when I crossed the line... "She wishes the conditions were drier today! She usually rides with speed, but this is a power course today."

So should I race up here again tomorrow? I don't even know if I'll be able to sit on the saddle.. serious damage was done.... :(

A New Craving

I'm not a milk drinker. I don't think I've been able to drink milk since the unfortunate episode in preschool when I puked school milk in front of everyone. But after my last forced liquid diet, I discovered I have quite the affection for chocolate malt frappes. (Yeah, well, I reasoned that it was liquid... damnit I was HUNGRY after not eating for 48 hours!!! ) Anyways, I've been craving chocolate malt frappes consistently since July. So the other day I decided to try and make the leap from chocolate shake to chocolate milk. I bought chocolate milk in deference to my low sugar diet, and I found cocolate flavored malt, too! So, I mixed it up in a glass and drank it down. Yum yum! No repercussions, no gagging, no heaving. Nice. At some point I will try to wean myself off the malt, but maybe it's not bad for you. It is, after all, wheat flour, malted barley extracts (whatever that is), milk, salt, and soy lecithin (which is not apparently a bad thing). Adds sugar, but that might not be the end of the world.
Can't get enough chocolate...