Records are made to be broken

Since Provincials, I've really only done 2 solid rides. I was tired after the race, and felt that the week after would be a good time to recharge a bit before approaching the September races. I only did short rides until Friday, when I did a long MTB ride with Justin. Had to have been around 80km for me, and more for him coming from Welland. It was fun, and we went fairly quick.

On Saturday I made my way down the Canal path to Port Colborne into a good headwind. When I got there my average speed was 31.3km/h, so I decided to continue on and do the whole circle route rather than enjoying the easy tailwind back to St. Catharines. I kept my speed above 36km/h along the friendship trail with the help of the side/tailwind. By the time I got to Fort Erie, the winds had changed and I would have to face a side/headwind all the way to NOTL. I was hurting for long periods of time, but was determined to beat my record time for this route (3:58, 34.1km/h). I got my average speed up to 34.4km/h before NOTL, and then turned into a stiff headwind back to St. Catharines. This stretch was quite painful, and I had to completely empty the tank just to keep my speed above 33km/h. I got home in a time of 3:53, with an average speed of 34.2. I was very pleased with my effort, because I beat my record on a much windier day. Next season I will try to up that.

So that's it for endurance training for me. I don't think it can improve at this point in the season, so there's no use in doing anything over 4 hrs. My strength for the marathon championships, and Paul's will come from everything I did this season, not what I do in the next two weeks.

I am looking forward to the provincial crit this weekend, in Windsor. The course seems favorable to the sprinters, being a non technical, 4 corner square. My race will be 80km, starting at 5:15pm. The plan is simple; stay up front, and avoid being on the wrong side of a split. There are two $G's on the line, so I'm sure some big names will be out. Not sure what to expect, so I'm saying my goal is top 15. Good enough to get paid.

On another note, I made a couple purchases. I bought a new cross bike, a 2010 Spz Tricross Expert. Jake the Snake was getting on the small side, and has taken on the challenge of delivering Sara Byers to cyclocross victories. I will race a handful of cross, just for fun. I am not going to train for it, just go off my current fitness until it's gone. My first cross race will be the Jump the Cheeseburger race, because its in St. Kitts. It's the Saturday before Marathon Champs, so I will likely not push myself too hard.

Also I finally bought a power meter. I went with a Power Tap, although I initially wanted a Quarq. Having a power meter wheel seems to be more practical though because I can use it on my cross bike in the off season. Its also a fair bit cheaper than a Quarq. This thing will take my interval training to a whole notha level.

Peace out