Training on the weekend – what else??

So this past weekend was a great training weekend. The weather ‘cleared’ (I’ll use that loosely) for Saturday morning – which was much to my surprise. I skipped the Eindhoven early training since I thought it was going to be raining/snowing. Turns out it would have been great! So to repent I hopped on my bike and went solo – this time with my iPod fully charged :o)

I did my regular Saturday loop – 2.5 hours along the flat dykes and just going from town to town. Then about 3 hours in the hills/forest near Arnhem (Posbank, Veluwezoom), then back home. In total it was 6 hours and 160km with a good mix of everything. I felt pretty solid and strong, especially on the climbing, so that’s a good sign. I was pretty tired and stiff at the end though. Why did I go so long? Because the weather was supposed to be shite all weekend, but while it was nice I was going to enjoy it and get in some good riding, so I just kept going and going and going.

Turns out I was late for dinner and a movie with some friends because my ride went so long – but they understood my reasons :o)

So during the movie on Saturday night (Munich – one thumb down – didn’t really enjoy it at all and I was expecting better things) I got a message from the coach that they weren’t going to the training race the next day but rather just a group ride – so instead of the training race at 2pm (which would have given me time to clean my bike after getting it dirty in the rain/damp of the Saturday ride) I now had to make it to Meerkerk by 9am. Shite – nothing was packed, and it was approaching midnight!

So I blazed home and got things ready – and figured I’d just ride a dirty bike since I didn’t have the time or energy to clean it that late at night. So I make it to the ride start and changed on time (early actually – yeah for me :o). We start the ride with myself, the coach (who is a former pro and at 37 is still a STRONG rider), another elite from the club. We quickly rendez-vous with 2 Belgian pros (1 who just got back from the Tour of Qatar, the other who’s an espoir with a Belgian team) and a little further we meet with the espoir I rode with last Tuesday.

So I’m pretty intimidated at this point. Which isn’t helped by the facts:
- I did 6 hours/160km the day before solo
- My sleep was shitty and short (house party in the neighborhood)
- My brain wasn’t awake yet – no coffee I was in such a hurry

But away we go, and ride we did. After about 2 hours at a decent pace we hit the hills – and lost the other elite rider (he turned back – maybe he knew what was to come?). Down to 5 we continued to ride at a solid pace, with efforts on the hills and spinning drills on the dykes. In the end we did 140km in 4.5 hours. I was toast. I mean really done – like stick a fork in me. Like done like dinnah! But I’d more than held my own with these guys – on all the climbs I was right there, and only on the flats during the spinning drills did I have to bail out.

But they didn’t drop me – not even close. And they were pretty impressed with my ride the day before too :o))) I was pretty stoked after that!!
So what does this mean? This week I’ll be in contact with the coach again and we’ll figure out where I fit on the team for the practice races this coming weekend. Then from there – who knows?! But this sure boosts my confidence and gives me an idea that I’ve at least got the fitness to ride with these guys. No I just have to get used the peloton in the race – that’s the last big unknown in my mind. I’ve heard Europe is pretty crazy, and I can understand why.

Lets see what this week brings! But for today I’m only doing easy spinning/recovery. I’m pretty tired after that weekend :oP