If you had asked me to lay out a worst-case scenario for today, it would have been significantly better than the reality of my suckage.
The last time I did a flying 200 was at Elite Nationals in 2008, where I rode an 11.1. I figured I'd be a bit slower today, maybe 11.4 or 11.5.
I rode a 12.06 and didn't even make the top 8 that get into the sprint tournament. No shit. I've never failed to qualify for a sprint tournament, even at nationals. I can't even think of an excuse to justify it, and I'm usually awesome at excuses.
I have no clue what happened. My power has been on par with my best ever. I had a good warm-up, I felt strong, and my 200 felt relatively fast. Hell, I figured I could ride sub-12 with one foot. I guess not.
No one likes a sad sack, but I'm really pretty dejected and questioning whether or not I want to keep training to race at this level. I don't have the time or energy to train any harder than I am currently, and it's obviously not working.
Anyway...
We got rained out after 2 events today, so we went to Trader Joe's and then attending the rider's dinner, catered by Buca Di Beppo. Their food sure is a lot better at the restaurant.
Anyway, all the events got pushed till tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'm going to ride the "1 mile sprint for 9th". First of all, I think it's stupid to race for 9th. Secondly, 6 laps is no longer a sprint. I'll probably do it, but I won't be happy about it.
We've also got the Team Sprint, and our chances look pretty good. Our 3rd rider had the fastest flying 200 today by 3/10th of a second.
So, yeah, today sucked. On the plus side, I looked amazing once again. So there's that.
I'm hoping to find better form tomorrow. I'm not going to shave my legs, either. You can all be jealous of my manliness.
1 comment:
How many 200M TT's have you done this year?
How many has Chris Ferris done?
100?
Give the effort some cred and yourself a break. The 200M is really hard.
In 2003, just 2 weeks before nationals in T-Town, I laid down a blistering 12 second 200 M TT of my own. My first 200M of the year.
In T-Town I went 11 flat. One second faster. Two weeks later. I will say T-Town is a bit faster for the 200M. But only about a tenth.
Today, I did my 2nd 200m TT in 6 years and like you, it did not go well. 11.7 is slow to me and I am disapointed. But I have not raced in 6 years. So if you think you have it bad losing one year, think about 6 years off. DONT DO IT!
I squeaked in and now game on. 200M TT is just a TT. I am a racer.
Look, you have to decide. It will take you a year to get back to 11.1 and 2 years to go under 11 (unless you get out to COS) Longer if you quit now and never if you quit all together.
You have all the ability to do it and believe me, you are young enough to crank out another 3-5 years of training and in the end, you will continue to have a great body and fitness and health. Look at me, I am 45 and have not lifted in 6 years or trained on the road in 10 years. Yet I come out and still look okay in a skin suit.
Maybe not as great as a Zebra.
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