Top End Theory

Doing some intervals this morning and listening to A Tribe Called Quests "Low End Theory" made me realize some things about the current state of my fitness. It was straight up hard. My top end is gone, which is probably a good thing becuase I can reach for a second peak, but the bad thing is I will have to train through a couple more races which is tough on me mentally; I really like to win or podium at least and after a spectacular dirt bike season have gotten a little too used to it. Time to take some licks. One of my goals for this CX season is to win a "B" squad race... Basically, a race when Josh and Nate are out of town. Last year I finished 3rd behind them twice so I think my goal is an attainable one.

So back to the high end theory... For me it's 6 weeks. If I have a decent base and start to add a little intensity sparingly I reap the benefits of what I was doing 6 weeks ago... 6 weeks ago I was drinking G&T's and not riding, so it's no wonder the usually really satisfying 8 minute high LT intervals sucked this morning. It's also a bummer not to have a CX bike when I 'm doing my CX training. I've really got my fingers crossed that it shows up tomorrow and I can get a couple rides in on it before this weekend. I was pretty played in September, so I don't regret not being more prepared. I want to stick with the program which this season has been to go with the flow and ride on how the legs are feeling. They are telling me to put it down for another week and then take it easy for a week before I start really dialing back on the long rides and hitting the high intensity markers hard... real hard.

If the bike comes in tommorrow I'll be spending the better part of the day getting it dialed in and skipping the LSD ride I had planned. If not I'll be in the cold rain on the mountain bike which doesn't sound too good right now but I have to get the foundation down and rain isn't really a good excuse not to, unless the zipper on your skirt is just too tough to find.

If I planned this right my CX season should be like my MTB season; slow start, steady build and then good legs for the last half of it. If I'm wrong it might just be the first half of it.