Week of November 6th, 2006

The off-season is over, and its time to get off the booze, cigarettes, and late nights, for the most part. I will miss White Castle and Whiskey Cokes the most, but I will strive to keep a balance of race goals, recreation, and not abandoning friends and family.

The goal for the next few weeks is to build run durability via frequency, which will by definition raise volume. Cycling will be on the trainer for the most part, with the occasional outside ride (I am a big wuss for cold riding). Masters swimming starts back up

Monday: 6.25 miles, heart rate very high for what was a moderate pace.
Tuesday: 6.25 miles, same feeling as Monday, 7:30ish pace at 160 HR, weird.
Wednesday: 6.25 miles, focused on keeping HR below 150, regardless of pace.
Thursday: AM ride on cyclocross bike, 6x90" at LT, 30" rest. Felt good. Played some pickup basketball at lunch, but the potential for injury is too high, never again.
Friday: 8 miles, back to normal HR, ~150bpm for 7:25 pace.
Saturday: Nothing, its the first week of the season, I deserve a day off.
Sunday: Cyclocross race, 170HR average, 55 minutes.

Bos, Gatto, Firak, and I were all in the 3's race. 27 starters.
Right away the field split to 3 main groups, the Gatto group was off the front within the first 2 minutes. Bos and I were in the second group, with Bos doing most of the work. Firak broke his chain on the first hill and spent the race spectating. I was fighting to stay in the second group, for a few laps, capping out at 184 HR. Oops. I drifted back to the third group were I was comfortable sitting in and taking a few pulls. The long straight on the last lap I was sitting 4th in our group, I brought my cadence up to ~100rpm, and at the final turn, 100m I shifted down and brought it to the line, winning the "field sprint" for 11th overall. Bos got 9th, Gatto 4th. Overall I was pretty happy for my first cross race, I thought it was harder than a 3's criterium. I'll try again in a few weeks at Montrose, hopefully some time on the bike in the next few weeks will at least let me be a little more comfortable with the effort.