The coring ended on Monday and me and Kendra (the head archaeologist) will continue core logging like we were the week before last week. But it only lasts until Friday. It isn’t certain yet, but I’ll either be helping her on a separate dig project (also for the Columbia River Crossing) or I’ll be starting up another series of drilling on the Warshington side. With all this work, and living at home, I have already saved up for something pretty cool that I’ll show you when it arrives. Plus I’ll actually have a little money to live on and to travel to races next year.
I’m waiting to hear back from some teams for 2010. I should know the final decisions by the end of the week. I’m pretty damn excited. I think my chances are good. I’m trying not to get my hopes up, but I have anyways. Although if none of that works out, it sounds like Team Oregon will be a good alternative, with a lot more funding than last year and a small squad going to a number of NRC races throughout the year. Either way, I’m going to win an NRC race.
As far as training is going, I’ve been commuting and doing some rides on the weekends as well as ramping up the gym workouts. Lots of core, some squats (up to 185 today Eli), a little plyometrics and a lot of stretching to build up those nerve connections. A new aspect of recovery I’ve been incorporating is the foam roller. My plan is to get in the habit of using it after every ride/workout. The YMCA has three big black foam rollers that no one ever uses except for me. They wouldn’t miss one if it snuck out the door somehow.
“Oh don’t mind me. I’m just really excited to be finished with a good hard lifting sesh,” I’ll say as I walk out the gym with a raging ‘roller’ hidden in my shorts.
Next week is the beginning of on-the-bike strength training; I’ll start base in November, and head down to Tucson at the beginning of December. I can already tell that I’ll be starting off this season much stronger than I did last season. The rest I’ve had so far has been good–a little over three weeks off in August, some more racing and long rides through most of September, and a few weeks of light riding and lifting up until now and the next week or two. I think I’ll be starting off the year with my threshold 15 or 20 watts higher than I started last year. If I can raise it another 20…look the f out. The key to 2010 for me will be staying healthy. Just about every two months, I’d get sick and have to take time off the bike and then slowly start back up again, finally getting fast for a month before getting another damn cold. Quinn suggested I take “sick” days instead of rest days. With the idea of calling it a sick day because I’ll treat it just like I would if I was getting sick–not doing anything except eating and resting. Rest days, which can and do include riding up to an hour, can easily turn into 1 and a half hours, which can turn into 2 hours, which can turn into a three hour ride, which can turn into five hour including intervals up Mt. Lemon. Not that I normally did this, but I guess on occasion (before I was being coached by Jeannette this spring) it did happen. Also, I will be taking sick ‘weeks’ as well. My rest weeks this year were pitiful, sometimes including multiple races and interval days. Stupid of me. It won’t happen next year. I’m going to take real rest weeks and if I do get sick, I’m going to pull the plug on any current training or racing plans and spend a whole week getting better instead of continuing to ride and race, which always ends up making me sick for a month. In the future if you read that I’m getting a cold sometime this next season, please remind me of what I just wrote.
I’ve noticed that the end of the race season and beginning of the next year is when people start talking about how they’re going to change and improve for next season. “Dude, next year I’m gonna drop another 6 pounds and increase my threshold by 17 watts. That’ll put me way up there at intermediate domestic pro, man. I’ll be flying so efing fast…next year.” I think most people get this mentality as their past season comes to an end with results that never happened, a list of DNF’s larger than planned for, and goal wattage numbers that their power meters never saw. I always set my goals ridiculously high, which I think is a good thing. But it does mean that I’m always a year or two off of when they actually happen. I think a lot of us are like that, and for those that aren’t, you should try it. It’s impossible to face an impossible situation if you think it’s impossible, but not if you don’t. Anyways, this time of year is exciting if you have big plans for 2010. For cyclists, the end of September is like New Years is for everyone else. Didn’t succeed in last year’s racing resolutions? Don’t worry, it’s October and time for the smack talk to begin. I don’t know about you, but I’m planning again on a 60 watt threshold improvement for ‘o ten. Seriously.
KENNETT PETERSON 