I have never done sprints before today, but today was an epic introduction. We went out to a road with very slight incline and did 3 small ring sprints, 6 big ring sprints, 2 team lead outs, and 2 race finish scenarios. These are killer hard efforts but oddly I am feeling stronger as the week goes on even though my legs are getting progressively tired. Adnan says that is common for endurance people.
The small ring sprints were the easiest because I like high cadence stuff. I got my legs up to 136rpm. I have trouble standing during sprints and even more trouble leaning out over my front wheel but that will take some practice. In the lead outs it only worked with me as the front rider, since I was the slowest rider in my group. Basically I would sprint as long as I could to start pulling the paceline and then pull off and let them go. Of course the rest of them would have been going at a moderate pace at that point. For the race scenarios my job was to sprint out and get the other team to chase me and then have my teammates stay on their wheels as I dropped back. I put out my best effort of the day on these and I pushed it so hard that I tasted blood in my throat for a second. It really hurt but our team won. For the first run, my chain fell off in the middle, I had to stop and fix it then get back on my bike and I still was not the last rider in. Like I said, I really pushed it to the maximum. The supposed "cooldown" ride back to the hotel was a threshold tempo ride for me and I continued a strong effort for those last 10 miles.
Things are getting better as everyone in the group gets to know each other and the egos settle down. People are starting to get tired. I'm learning how to do what I need to do and still be a part of the camp. It is totally geared for the guys, which is annoying at times, but it allows me to work really really hard... like they'll say, roll into the sprint at 28mph... ok, what if 27mph was the top speed on my last sprint?
The team things were good today because I made sure I was given a role that would suit what I am capable of. I went on a short run this morning and my run muscles are feeling good. I listened to music to get myself excited for the day. The lunch situation was bad today so I got myself out of there and went to the natural food store and had a delicious lunch there by myself. [they took us to a wine tasting literally 20 minutes after our killer hard ride, and the lunch consisted of the same meat and cheese sandwiches on white bread that they have had every single day... i don't drink alcohol at all, but even if I did I would not be drinking within the first 30 minutes after a hard 3 hour workout when my body wants carbs and protein. why aren't they serving us athlete food with some nutrients? how do they expect us to recover?]
I had a good nap this afternoon and am feeling ok. Tomorrow is a 15 mile time trial, which I am thinking of as a sprint triathlon without the swim and run :) Maybe I will do the other two events on my own to complete the day.
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