Getting Ready for the First Race

This weekend (May 6th) is the first race of the season at Mt. Kato. Although we have listed it as a B priority race I approach each race with the same level of enthusiasm. Last time I checked there was a possibility of rain Saturday and Sunday so the race might live up to its name: Mud Madness. This will be the first time that Andrea has ridden in the Sport class and I have ridden in the Expert class. Andrea has put in a huge training effort and should do very well in Sport. I have also put together a much more structured training effort; time will tell how well it pays off in Expert.

Last week was a R&R week after the final build phase of the training. Therefore, we rested by spending 9+ hours at Stahl's Lake Park blowing, raking, and clearing the local MTB trail. The legs got a rest, but the upper body got a very good workout. Today I turned a couple of race pace laps out at Stahl's lake turning lap times of 16:30, 15:56, 16:32. I had planned on riding 5-6 laps, but the work schedule and lack of planning on my part prohibited that. Andrea managed to get up at 4:30 again this morning for some intense criss-cross thresholds. She was able to get her heart rate above the 165 mark for her high intensity intervals (great job!). That ability to push hard, recover at a high intensity, and push again is very important in race situations.