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The Cannibal vs. The Vegan |
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Written by Jason Mahokey
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Wednesday, 07 June 2006 |
They (the rain drops) tried to stop me. They couldn't! Why? 'Cause me and my beeotch www.weather.com are too fast, too quick, and too sharp.
At lunch time there wasn't a cloud in the sky, bright sunshine and I was super geeked to get back on the road bike. But, being that my office building has no windows, I had no idea it was storming outside at quitting time. Damn!
So I drove home more than a little disappointed and decided just to hit the trainer. But first I checked out weather.com. Good news, according to the radar this was just a small storm and should be gone soon. Sweet!
I was happy to be able to ride, but you would think that I could see the signs to rest. Last Saturday I spent 11 hours in the saddle racing 100 miles in the mud. I then drove 4.5 hours home in the middle of the night and got little sleep. Sunday I ate pizza, drank beer, and watched cycling and baseball on TV (hey I'm not riding so I'm resting and recovering right?) Monday I did "active recovery" by doing yard work. Tuesday I had a sore throat and chills- so no ride. Wednesday I 'm wasn't feeling too bad other than a sore throat, so I did an hour on the trainer and felt pretty good.
So tonight despite the Cycling gods giving me a huge, blinking red light sign to rest in the form of a random thunderstorm, I go for a 2 hour ride covering 35 miles and hitting some steep climbs. I'm an idiot.
Once I learned to ignore the protests from the pimple/saddle sore on my butt, the ride wasn't too bad. I alternated between feeling great, doing my best imitation of "The Cannibal"- Eddie Merckx (which I call "The Vegan") and suffering like a castrated sailor in a brothel on all but the easiest climbs.
Like I said the ride wasn't great, but it wasn't completely bad either I mean I was outside riding for 2 hours riding my bike and that's pretty damn sweet, but damn I MUST LEARN HOW TO RECOVER AND REST!!!
I've read the books and magazines about resting. I know what I SHOULD do, but I'm alway so damn affraid of gaining weight or losing fitness I won't let myself go too long without putting in some workouts. In the long run I'm most likey doing more harm than good. Plus many of those recomendations are for pros and riders that are working out 6 - 7 days a week. I need some rest/recovery help for a mid pack shlep like me.
I need to figure out how to do some rest and recovery that doesn't make me feel like a lazy thigh rubber. Anyone got any Ideas for some recovery week workouts or routines?? I'm all ears. Shoot me a comment over on The Soiled Chamois.
On a side note: On the way home from my ride I drive past an ice cream stand and there are these two very attractive girls eating ice cream by the road. As I roll by I look over and I see them look back at me, so I'm feeling all Blossom era Joey Lawrence cool. Then I quickly realize I'm a 34 year old married man with a two year old son, driving a car/van that looks like a black bread truck with a baby seat in the back and a bike on top. I'm sporting a cycling cap, a jersey with dalmation spots on it, and I have several mis-blown snot rockets on my sleeves. Yeah, they were looking at me alright. Jesus, I'm an idiot.
Have a good weekend. Get some miles in or rest if you gotta!
Jason
"The Soiled Chamois" |
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