Too tired

Yesterday I took Alistair to the Jr. Crit. in Livermore. I signed up to do the masters 35+ 3/4. It felt like the right thing to do. As soon as the race started however, I knew it was a huge mistake. First, I fumbled and could not get my foot in the pedal, causing me to have to chase right from the start. Even then I could feel that my legs were trashed. I did get on but I was stuck at the end of the pack. I was not able to move up and a few laps later I lost contact -blame it on my poor cornering skills. I rode one lap alone and almost caught back up (a mere two bike lengths), but it was useless. So, five minutes into the race, I called it quits and went home.

I went to the pool and swam 2,000 yrds instead. That felt better. Livermore was also my second experience with RockTape (a Kinesiotape lookalike). I cannot say it did me much good. It also came off in the pool. 

On Friday I rode my mountain bike for 22 miles and the superglue held. I was just about to start bragging about superglue and tubeless tires, when I noticed -this afternoon- that the tire is flat again. I would say that superglue is a great temporary measure, something that will get you home, but once the tubeless tire has a hole, it is history. So much for a $50 brand new Michelin XCR Dry. I think it lasted for all of 75 miles (being patched twice with superglue to boot).

On Thursday I ran on the treadmill for an hour. I ran 8.3 miles, matching my best time and a confirmation that I can hold 8.3. It may not sound like much but I run all of it in a hot room with little cooling and most of it at a slight 0.5% incline to simulate the road. 

Today I rode on rollers for an hour. I warmed up and then rode 16 minutes at high speed, followed by a ten minute easy roll. Then I did another 10 minutes at speed, and I finished with some easy spinning. It was a good workout. Alistair did the same workout in preparation for next week's time trial in Davis.

Superglue

On Sunday I drove Alistair to the Panoche Road Race (Junior State Championship). I rode in the follow car with Andrew Lanier Sr. and got to watch the race. Even though team Specialized carried the day (1-2 in the 15-16, win in the 17-18, and a masters win too), the Junior "team" did not ride like a team. It is quite clear that Specialized wins because they have the best riders, not because of any team strategy. I guess juniors have a lot to learn. It was quite interesting to watch.

Afterwards, I rode my mountain bike, but when I got to Redwood park I flatted. There was a large gash in my tire and I had nothing to fix it with. A friendly guy took me home and I replaced the tire-which was quite worn- with a new one and set out again. Would you believe that I rode to Redwood and flatted on the same spot? Another gash, this time in a new tire. I called Barbara who took me home. So much for training;)

On Monday I rode 22.5 miles on the new tire, now superglued to perfection. Or so I thought? Because as soon as I got to Marlborough Terrace (about 0.7 miles from home) the tire started losing air again. I quickly rode home. Not wanting to throw out a new tire, I took it off and superglued the inside of the gash. So far, it seems to be working. I need to ride it to find out. As for the superglue -I took it with me on the 22.5 mile ride- it made a nice mess inside my saddle baggie. Apparently, my "superglue strategy" needs more work.

Today I swam 180 laps or a little bit over 2 miles. It went pretty well and took me about 1:15. Not a record setting pace, but all free-style and all non-stop. Probably the longest I ever did freestyle.