No get up and go

Tried to get a last little bit of intensity in to cap off this last block before a rest week.

However the legs just didn't want to get up and go. The plan was to go hard on a stepped hill (Deercroft). Hard on a climbing section then recover on a flat and repeat. But there was just nothing in the legs to go hard with.

The interesting thing was that I felt weakest in my arms and my calves. Two things that usually don't feel super weak typically. My arms just felt like noodles and the calves just felt like they were blocking power output. Weird. It makes me wonder if I was having some nutrtional issues from not eating right earlier in the day.

John had told me about a time he bonked really bad in a race. He'd said that his legs were trained to function somewhat in a bonked state but that his upper body muscles were bonked so bad that he couldn't steer the bike well.

The other thing that continues to surprise me is that steady state felt pretty strong. But trying to bust out of the comfort zone didn't work well. For example, on a long flat section the pedals would just turn and I'd be going a decent clip, or on an extended climb, if I just held things in check I'd move pretty fast.

But trying to stand up and go hard would just shut everything down.

For the 1st I've got to remember to race my strengths. And train my weaknesses.

There's a post at mtbr about how to pace for a race. And I just have to remember to filter out some of this chatter. Cause it's just so individual. This whole, you have to stay with the leaders of the start mentality will just drive me into the ground and cramp me out.

So yeah, probably not going to win by letting the leaders go. But my strongest finish is going to be riding my own pace. Obviously, I'm trying to work on my ability to start strong and stay strong. But not there yet.