May 12th (Afternoon)
· Fluids Intake:
o Morning: 1 bottle of Gatorade, 2 bottles of water, 1 cup of coffee (w/ cream and sugar)
o Afternoon: 2 bottles of water
· Food Intake:
o Morning: 1 piece of whole grain toast with butter and peanut butter, 1 English muffin toasted with butter and peanut butter
o Afternoon: Steak with carrots, mushrooms and potatoes, 1 bag of chips
So I fought off the urge to have another Dilly Bar today and it may have worked, as I felt a bit better starting my ride than I did yesterday. I still felt a bit “heavy” in my gut to start off (no comments there, folks...), but I’m wondering now if that is too much water or something, is that possible? They say 8 glasses a day, right? Well, I’m sure I’m pretty close to that (not including what I drink during my rides, as that sort of cancels out with the dehydration that comes with exercise).
Heading through Peterson’s creek was a bit rough and shaky. Traction is now becoming a fading memory as the trail just gets more and more dry every day. The sandy sections at the top seem to be getting deeper, and I had a rough time through the straight sandy section again (had to put my foot down for balance half way through). My brakes really need a better adjustment, as they squeal all the way down (annoying!). I missed the first of the two hard switchbacks, but again I didn’t give it a fighting chance. I did make the next one, but with my foot out. I’m getting really annoyed at my lack of confidence. I don’t know if my confidence is getting worse, or if I’m just expecting more by now, but either way I’m getting frustrated that I keep missing certain sections or don’t feel as controlled as I think I should be. Going up the other side wasn’t my best by a long shot. I figure I was average today. Still the same 4 stops, but about 1/3 of the way walking. I didn’t make it nearly as far up as I did on Monday. They say the mind gives up before the body, and I’m sure that this is the case here. I need to start becoming more mentally tough, both through the ups and the downs.
The rest of the ride was pretty good. I felt pretty good on the pipeline trails (still, obviously, didn’t make the last peak before Rose Hill yet). The section between Rose Hill and Juniper was actually really good and fast. As I’m learning the trail more and more, I’m finding the right gears at the right times and picking better lines which makes for a much smoother and faster ride. As it was Taryn’s soccer practice today down in Valleyview, I took the Juniper hill down. It was good to ride that hill again, tucked in as far as I can, eyes watering from the wind, gasping for breath... Yep, an exhilarating ride to be sure! I think if I lived in Valleyview, I might choose to ride home through Juniper just so I could ride that hill down... :)
May 13th (Morning)
· Fluids Intake:
o Evening Before: 1 bottle of Gatorade, 3 glasses of water
o Morning Before: nothing
· Food Intake:
o Evening Before: 2 pieces of lasagna, 3 homemade buns with butter, 1 bowl of ice cream and 1 cupcake with cream cheese icing
o Morning Before: nothing
After an evening of thinking about my lack of confidence, I decided to start going with the latest sports world thought of “I believe”. Well, I figure I need to start just believing that I can do what I need to do. I think I do have the skills to make the trails where I struggle, but I fail because mentally I bail too early. And what if I do wipe out? I wiped out as a kid and never even missed a day of school. Granted, the issue here I think is now if I break something and miss work, I put ourselves in financial strain. But, hey, other than punching walls with a bear fist, I’ve never broken any bones so I should have confidence that I can still “bounce back”! :)
Anyways, coming down the steeps out of Juniper was still a bit shaky, even though I tried to win the mental battle, I still lost and walked the steeps. The tight down-and-up switchback still gave me trouble again (why is this difficult all of a sudden?) But I shook that start off and started riding with more confidence. I made the 2x6 bridge smooth and straight. I made it through the two dips in the trail that threaten “endo!” every time. In fact, I made them smoother than ever before, and faster to boot. I think I’m learning what it means to “pump” the trail with my arms, as it really worked well through here. The stretch from there to Valleyview was good as always! Fast!
The streets to Lansdowne was a decent section, not as fast as I have been, but still only 19.5 minutes in all which is a pretty good time (my best so far has been 18.5). TRU to work was even better, I felt. In fact, I learned that my bus driver has a bit of a sense of humour as he said “Race you to the mall” as I got off at TRU. Rather funny, really, when he hardly says more than “Hi” and “Bye” usually. I got onto Hillside right away after the trail ended this time. There were a lot of cars that passed me going up, but all but one moved right over into the other lane to pass. I was using the 2:2 combo for most of the way past the mall and then again past CDN tire. A time of 26.5 minutes on this stretch. Again, a good time (better than average, not quite my 25.5 best though).
Now I’m wondering if what I eat the day before affects the morning after this much...? I will continue monitoring this for sure and see what little diet changes make big differences on the saddle.
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