Flippin' the switch

It was game on today with the first Power Test of the year! It's always a little tough to get back into the groove of things after taking a big rest week. I feel like I'm pretty good at steppin' away from the bike when I need to get some good recovery time in...I'm not afraid to completely stay off the bike for 2 or 3 days in a row. In fact I think it is good for you every once in a while.

This time around it seemed like it was going to be tough to get going again. I was kind of all over the map last weekend with the time spent in the car and the double race weekend. I knew my motivation wasn't in the right place going into WORS #5 and thats why I though maybe a warm up rae would be a good idea. It didn't work. I was still mentally on vacation. I was pretty happy with the way the first 3 months of training worked out, but it was a big mental push to finish it off after the Subaru Cup.

I guess I needed a full 8 or 9 days to be able to make the switch from base training to building. Today somehow like magic I was ready to go again. I took another 2 days off after the double weekend. I was still a little sore from a last lap mishap which caused a little cramping in Sundays race, but when I hit the lap button for my first 20 minute test of the year the mental focus was back immediately!

I finished off the test with an avg power of 359. My second 20 minute test was almost just as good at 353. I was pretty happy. Last year my best day of 2 *20's was 357 & 340. This morning and last year I weighed in at 148. Improvement and its only my first go!

I think I improved for a number of reasons. 1. This year is my opportunity to go for it...no job that I have to go to after training rides. 2. Mentally stronger knowing I need to take advantage of this opportunity. 3. A shorter off season. Time spent in Tucson allowed me to have fun on the bike and not loose as much fitness before official training started in April. 4. One of my biggest weakness is hydration. I'm working on that one in a major way after a friend introduced me to ionized water! Shoot me an e-mail if you are curious about this one - brimatter@hotmail.com 5. With working from home I can train 2 % more and recover 25% better. I think this will pay off huge dividends this fall! 6. Coaching. Now that I am coaching I have been doing a lot more reading and trying to learn as much as possible. It not only helps my clients but it helps me. I love the positive energy that is shared back and forth between myself and my athletes. 7. The taste of victory. After Iceman last year I proved to myself I can race with the best. Now I want to do it again...