Race Week - Galveston 70.3
The plan was to have a great race in Oceanside, pick up the pieces, put them back together, get on a plane, and hit it again in Texas the following Sunday - this Sunday. The race in Oceanside was fine - I took a lot out of it, but didn’t have the result I was expecting. My bike split usually gives me a gap on the top AG runners in the field. This time, the guys I was expecting to gap actually gapped me. I hardly checked my watch the entire race, so actually thought I had a good day until I saw the bike split of 2:26. It’s taken me a while to digest and get over it, but I bought in at the beginning of the season that this was going to be a progression from March until the end of October. The story I am trying to tell matters later in the year - this is the build up.
In the past, I would see a race on the schedule and find hills with my bike - ride them for weeks until I couldn’t walk when I got home. And I would run laps and laps around San Vicente, pouring guts out to try and get my legs fast. There was no thought, or evolution - it was go to the point of rupture, shake it off and get after it again. Then race to the point of rupture, shake, and repeat.
Now I have a coach I trust, and a path to follow. We’ve been moving through foundation and I need to accept that. Pretty soon, the dial will turn, and I will be able to hurt myself again, under a watchful umbrella, eyes set on October. As much as I wanted to go out and win the amateur race this past Saturday - in the long run, it may have been more valuable to learn and understand something quickly - nothing is going to come easy, and I cannot come into any race and just casually dominate the bike. I thought I could, and would in Oceanside - even at this point in the season. That didn’t happen - didn’t even come close. Good morning Mr. Smith - wake yourself, son.
All that being said, I’m damn glad to have another shot at a starting line this weekend. This week is going to be all about eating well, sleeping, and responsible touch ups. This amateur field is going to be stacked and I have zero intentions of making a gentle approach. My head is the hardest and I have some friends whose hearts I want to break. They’ll certainly be trying to break mine.
