Better

Well, the weekend proved decent.

Friday, April 11, 2008

I took another stab at those anaerobic intervals that I botched on Thursday. They proved testy but manageable at

1 x 1',2',3',4',4',3',2','1 all at a goal power of 315 -320W w/equal rest to work intervals.

I managed to keep 315 for the bulk of them, so I was pretty happy about that. Intervals have been feeling tough lately. I think I just needed some rest.

I don't have a Power tap hub, but I hear a lot of chatter after races or from people who race my category or one higher. Criteriums have been averaging about 240-250W...and the 80k off road slug fest of the H8TR100 clocked in at probably 2ish hours of about 240W as well.

I feel pretty good about hearing folks throwing out these numbers because it's definitely in the range that I feel comfortable for 90'-120'.

Saturday April 12,2008

Dreary Day. I slept until about 10:30 (which I really, really needed), watched an episode of Lost with my coffee, and then went about some errands around town.

I was only about 30% successful, but one of the things that I did get accomplished was a stop at the world's greatest bike shop.

Jeff (the owner and proprietor of said bike shop) took one look at my derailleur, said "Yup, you definitely need a new one."

Then he went to work bending things.

Then he handed me a wrench and asked me to help him bend things.

Then he took out some needle nose pliers and did some detail bending and light twisting.

Then he lubed something.

Then he threw his hands up and said, "Eh. Maybe not."

Then he told me not to cross shift anymore.

So yeah, he reshaped my components. They work fine again. And I'm under orders to keep an eye on it and put in a call for a new one if it starts mis behaving.

This is why we love Jeff. 150 bucks for a new DA derailleur. Or 15 minutes and a pair of channel locks. Sure, it ain't pretty. But it gets the job done well enough.

Despite being busy and having a case of the heavy legs, I managed

1 x 30' @ Warmup
1 x 60' @ Endurance Pace
1 x 5 ' @ Cool down

All on the rollers because of the sleet.

Sunday, I raced.