Crash & Burn

As an endurance athlete and someone who likes to train as much as possible, I've become accustomed to feeling slightly fatigued all the time. Alot of my training rides involve feeling a bit tired as I start pedaling, but soon everything feels great, and I ride strong. Not the case this last Saturday! Last week I began my weight training regime at the gym in hopes of gaining some much needed strength in the legs. Here's what last week's training schedule looked like..
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 3 hours in gym
Wednesday: 50 miles
Thursday: 2 hours in gym
Friday: 45 miles
Saturday: Meltdown!
I did all that training leading up to the biggest ride I've ever taken on Saturday. Huge mistake!!! I left my house Saturday morning and rode to our meeting point at a leisurly pace, feeling ok. This all changed when we hit the first of many climbs that day. My training partner, who I usually have no trouble dropping on climbs since he's more the sprinter type, left me in the dust. About a quarter the way up Palomar South Grade Road I knew something was wrong when I was having trouble maintaining 6-7mph, and 250 watts. My usual pace up that climb is 9-10mph, and closer to 300 watts. Needless to say, I began cramping while descending East Grade Road, and was getting worried knowing I still had to claw my way up Mesa Grande Road. I finally arrived at Santa Ysabel seventy-five miles later with forty miles left to get home. I was in trouble! I really didn't want to limp home by myself on Highway 78. I knew there was no way I was going to be able to stay on the wheels of my training partners that day. Just then my prayers were answered. Two other teammates pulled up saying they'd just finished climbing Palomar, and started their ride right there in Santa Ysabel. I was able to hitch a ride home with them, tail between my legs, as my training partners finished out the ride:( I'm convinced this was a case of over-training, especially before a ride of that magnitude. Needless to say, I decided to take three full days off the bike, and will pull the TT bike out this Wednesday and Friday for two-hour workouts, and that'll be it before the Santiago Canyon TT this Saturday. Let's hope my legs are better this Saturday then last!!! Until next time.....