Tired and Sore

Hi All! It's been awhile since my last entry. No reason really, just haven't gotten to it. I'm two weeks into the Library Technology program, and so far, so good. As usual, I'm having feelings of "second thoughts". I get so worried that I'm not picking the right career choice, but I've dealt with this for years. Work is going OK. Business could be better. We are definitely feeling the pinch of this economy. Now, on to the good stuff! I was off the bike for almost 8 weeks from mid-November to mid-January. First with the sprained back, then followed immediately by a bout with bronchitis. The team camp two weeks ago was my return to training so to speak, and it was weak. Since then, I've been staying focused and consistent with my training regime, and am slowly beginning to feel stronger. I just finished a hard three-day training block designed to gain some fitness before my first race this season, Boulevard! Friday consisted of 3 hours through the hills of Valley Center. Saturday I rode out to Del Mar and met up with the SDBC "A" ride. Drilled it at the front for awhile (45-minutes), then branched off for some extra miles. Ended up with a good 3 hours. Sunday, was epic. Rode from the house and climbed Lake Wohlford Road, then headed out to Palomar Mountain. My plan was to climb to the summit, but as I was climbing the first 5-mile section (Highway 76), I was feeling weak for sure. As I reached the turn off to go up South Grade Road, I stopped and made the decision to skip going to the summit, and instead descended back down Highway 76 to Cole Grade Road. Needless to say, that climb is going to hurt the boys in the Tour of California! All in all, ended up with a solid 5-hours and a great prep for Boulevard. A lot of the team went out to the desert this Saturday for the Imperial Classic. They did great, got us a podium finish, and rode strong as a team. I was sooo tempted to race this one, I did last season and loved it, but instead decided to stick to the plan of focusing on RR's and TT's this season and opted for the big training block in hopes it'll pay off for Boulevard. We'll see!!! Until next time...