Friday’s Bell Lap on a Saturday, and a Saturday night no less. Yesterday was Day 1 at the new gig, which left little time to write. Honestly, most of the past couple of weeks has been either getting things in place for the Day 1 or doing things I somehow never got around to doing the past year. All of which has left my training in complete disarray. At least we’re four months away from the start of the season, so with a little focused effort, I should be in enough shape to use the Spring Series to get into shape. Now I just need a little discipline (at the dinner table and in my training.)
In Search Of Base Miles
The one thing I know is that I will somehow, some way have to lay down a good base. It’s by far the most important part of training as it lays the foundation everything that comes. Any doubts that I might have had were laid to rest in Italy. In 2003, I had spent weekends in January, February and March going on long rides (5-6 hours) talking all sorts of terrain (it’s hard not to climb on the roads around Rome) all of which were done at a comfortable pace. Weekdays, I was traveling 4 days a week first to London and then to Spain. In London, I was able to ride as I had brought a bike over with me which I left in the hotel. In Spain, I got some riding in, but I was working long hours. April was a so-so training month and May was a disaster as I didn’t so much as work out in the three weeks leading up to the GF Citta’ di Lucca the first weekend in June. I lined up with no idea of what to expect. It was ballistic from the start until we finally hit the climbs which I managed to hit with the second group on the road. My lack of training leading up to the race reared its ugly head on the third of five climbs, and I started to slip back. Still I managed to finish the 147 kms and the five climbs in 237th out of some 800. I was pleased given how little I was able to train leading up to the race. The only reason I was able to finish at all was because of all those long rides early in the year.
Echelon Gran Fondo Series
Speaking of granfondo, we’re definitely getting closer to them in the States. The Echelon Gran Fondo is the latest attempt to bring the Italian cycling staple to America – actually the latest two attempts. And it’s a step in the right direction, though it’s hard to tell what’s actually in store for anyone who chooses to participate. It would be nice to have some information on what the actual courses will be, as well as what kind of support and prizes are on hand. That said, these two events will be actual races which is what at the heart of the Italian granfondo. I’m not sure what to make of the charity portion of the events, although I’m guessing making donations to charity went a long way towards helping the organizers obtain permits and road closings. It will be interesting to see what’s actually under the hood as more information comes available, but so far so good.
The next couple of weeks will be a transition period as I try to adjust to working again, find time for training and find time to continue to update A View From The Back. I’ll apologize in advance for what will undoubtedly be a random posting schedule until I settle into a routine.
That’s today’s view from the back of the airplane (where I’ll be tomorrow for my first business trip with the new company.)
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