Recovery Week In Review – Week 1

After last weekend’s disappointing DNF in Round 1 of the 2013 CORC XC Series I hopped back on Sara, my Giant Defy road bike.  My first roadie commute on Tuesday afternoon didn’t go very well; I was slow, out of breath and my legs felt like they were on fire.

I was quite dejected and even let out some of the little dark clouds I keep hidden in the closet under the stairs.  But soon I realised I was still recovering from my injury and all I needed to do was get some more kilometres under the tyres and take my time building up my strength, fitness and endurance.

I woke up early on Wednesday morning and decided to ride Zooey into work.  It was a cold morning and I wore too much cold weather gear; by the time I arrived at work in the very chilly 2 degrees I was sweating profusely; a lesson learned prior to the sub-zero Canberra winter.  My ride home was quite enjoyable with a little extra km’s thrown in.  Later that night I joined Sonja and Fi for a lap around LBG. I started off taking it very easy and then stepped it up a few notches.  Finally I was feeling comfortable back in the saddle.

I was feeling motivated and drafted up a training program to help me get race fit once again.  Because of this, Thursday was a self-imposed rest day.  Friday saw me take the quick route to work; a ride I’ve done at least one hundred times before and a ride I did in a little over 4 minutes longer than my best time.  My legs felt good and so did my overall fitness.  I was starting to think Tuesday morning may have been an off day so I decided to test myself on the ride home.  I crossed into NSW and headed the long way home.  41.2km and a few decent climbs later; I was a sweaty, hungry and very happy rider.

I woke up on Saturday morning, had breakfast and kitted up for the long ride out to Mt Stromlo for some XC laps with fellow Bermers Tony and Pad.  By the time I finished riding some of Australia’s best singletrack and gotten home I had ridden 80.6km on my beloved Zooey.

Sunday morning is traditionally The Berm’s Sunday Morning Social and Breakfast ride; but being Mother’s Day we were forgoing the regular breakfast at Edgars.  I rode out in the cold and incredibly foggy Canberra morning.  The sun was yet to rise and even if it did, the thick morning fog would not let it shine through.  By the time I arrived at Bruce Ridge I was completely soaked from the heavy humidity and I had lost my cycling glasses.

The ride around Bruce was enjoyable as always.  The tracks are tight and it’s easy to get lost in the thick eucalypt forest.  But with our fearless leader Nat out in front on his new Open hardtail, we carved a quick but enjoyable ride through the dusty tracks.  But like all good things, the ride came to an end and I headed back home on my mud and dust caked steed.

After uploading my ride to Strava I discovered I had demolished my weekly goal of 150km and had ridden a staggering 277.4km for the week.

To say I was happy is an understatement.  Although my legs are a little tender I know I am on the mend.  I still experience a dull pain in my chest and sharp pains in my neck and shoulder at times; but I’m not pushing myself to my limits.  I’m confident I’m on the right track and I’m doing all the right things to get better.