Race injury interrupts training schedule
As the old saying goes 'all good things come to end' and my season break is now over. It's time to get back on the bike and start training for the up coming season.
As I am writing I'm looking out of the window at the lovely sunny and windless day, with a heat-pack stuffed under my leg! My mind has started drifting back to my last race in Sydney, after crossing the line with my arms up in a victory salute just like the winners in the Tour de France. As I stepped of the bike and I said to my partner 'I think I may have done something to my leg'.
This statement may have been the end result of me riding off the front of the pack for the past 40 kms and working my tail off to keep my time gap, or that I had done a runner in the race the day before or maybe even streeting the field in the first race! But the bottom line is that my leg is still sore and doing its best to keep me grounded.
Having said all that I have discovered a few things over the past three and a bit months. Things like how quickly you loose your fitness; how much I rely on the bike as a stress relief tool; how much I miss the social contact with like-minded people and most of all how much I took body for granted.
I'll be the first to admit I'm not good at being injured/sick. Something 'Madam Lash' (my coach) said to me the other day had me thinking 'it will make you think about how you race, not just relying on your strength but thinking about how to race a bit smarter'. I wonder what she thought of my blank look?
The main problem is that my next race is fast approaching. The Victorian Masters Road Race Championships and the Victorian Masters Time Trial (TT) Championships are scheduled for August 23 and 24. There is no way that I'm anywhere near fit enough or strong enough to race, as I would like. I guess I'm feeling OK about the TT as it's the first race and I can pace myself to make the distance, but to say I'm not confident about the road race would be an understatement!
I've worked on the mind, had a bit of retail therapy (new TT bars on the TT bike even splashed out with a real TT helmet!) Like my mum always says, 'at least you will look the part'. Speaking of looking the part I'm really looking forward to racing in the SheSpoke Race Kit again. After the three very wet races in NSW I really hope we have some dry weather for the Victorian Titles. Dam that'll be the phone, better get back to work.
Cya!
Pip