Got the Bull By the Horns...

Unfortunately, where I've got him is with his horns planted firmly in my backside tonight.

It was a strange night all around. I was feeling pretty good at the start. You know, the testosterone is flowing, the big boys are all out for the big night. Ron Williams, a 2 time paralympian with 2 silver medals and 3 National Championship jerseys, another rider who was once upon a time an age group World MTB Champion (yeah, that's really cool!).

I knew it was going to hurt, but I didn't care. The smart thing to do would have been to pack up my stuff back into my car and go home...but then I've never been prone to doing the smart thing when it comes to competition. Playing golf, I go straight at the flag tucked into the corner, over water, with a bunker on the short side. In cycling, I go to the front of the big boys and try to throw it down. As usual it backfired.

The "How"

Making the right turn onto Ruffner Road, I slipped up the inside and found myself in the second row, flying up the hill (no mercy for newbies tonight), down the other side and onto the flats and over the small rollers at 33-34 mph. Was I hanging? Yeah, I wasn't doing to badly. Then we got to the final climb on Ruffner, a truly small hill, but steeper than the rest...usually the group slows just a little on this rise, but not tonight, 34 mph we went up that hill. Shortly after that, I was done. Cooked. Unable to do anything other than limp up John Rogers Drive and spin back to my car to go home.

The "Why"
It's been a very unusual week for me since last Tuesday's ride. I've been very out of sorts, my schedule has been wacky and I haven't followed my routine the way I should. As a result of this disruption, I obviously expended during the past week tremendous amounts of liquid, sodium and protein, without replacing them. Leaving me susceptible to dehydration, cramping, and muscle fatigue.

Add in a heat index of 106, and that's just a reciped for disaster. On the other hand, I had an hour to spin along with myself to keep me company, daydreaming and thinking about things. Stuff I haven't done much of lately. It was very pleasant.

The "Fix"
Probably, I need to go back into Aerobic base mode. I've been in Anaerobic mode for about 8 weeks now, and that's enough at once. Jeff would say it's time to put the bike down for a week and cross train, but I'm not going to do that. I'll just try and get back to my routine and I'm sure I'll come around in a week or two.