Why does Pablo Gomez need to apologize to his mother? Watch the Episode 1 #Pickleball of the Drunk Athlete Show to find out this burning question and others like “Why am I sticky?”
AND, if you missed my episode of the Drunk Athlete Podcast, and are interested in learning more about how I “discovered” cycling (and got hooked), what my training looks like, and what dreams and aspirations drive me to keep coming back after every. single. injury. . . check out Ep 32, linked below!
I filmed this video the day after finding out that I was not selected as a Zwift Academy Finalist (after being nearly 100% certain that I would be, given what I found by stalking of other Semi-Finalists on Strava 😈, and my race schedule/results over the Semi-Final Period).
This was really hard for me, after pouring so much of myself into the competition. The video is raw, and my emotions are clear, but it gives an honest portrayal of the thoughts/feelings/emotions that I had bouncing around in my head at the time.
A video/photo summary of our time in Borrego Springs, leading up to the World Time Trial Championship. It was SO breathtakingly beautiful there, and we couldn’t have asked for better weather! We really lucked out with the AirBnb home that we rented – it was spotless, had amazing views from the roof deck, and was right off of the race course! Jake and Buster had to adjust to being treated like dogs for the week though. . SHAME on us! 😈
You mean, I get to race my bike. . for 12 hours. . in THIS?!? YES, PLEASE!
Buster really liked the views at the host house!
No Dogs allowed on the couch at the AirBnb. . . .so Mommy snuggled on the floor w/ them 😉
The view from my remote office this week isn’t too shabby!
Detailing my Speed Machine! No bug left behind. . .
NEW KIT DAY! ( Is this real life?!)
Zwift Academy Semifinal Workout #1 in the books! Despite calibration issues w/ my Kickr, I knocked it out. . and set a few Power Profile Highs in the process! 2 days prior to my World Championship Race. . . Eeeekk! Thank goodness for my BEMER Mat Sponsorship and Air Relax Legs. . time to prioritize RECOVERY!!
The Mountains and Desert Animal Sculptures were absolutely breathtaking!
Borrego Springs View from AirBnb Roof Deck
Buster & Jake are digging the views!
No Dogs on the furniture . . .aka they have to be treated like DOGS! (SHAME!)
We are such horrible dog parents . . .
Why am I on a TRAINER right now?!?
Post Zwift Academy SF Workout 1 – RECOVERY w/ my BEMER mat & Air Relax Legs 😃
View 1 from the World Time Trial Championship Race Course
View 2 from the Race Course (from the bike)
More BEAUTIFUL Borrego Springs by bike!
Stoke Level is HIGH!! World Time Trial Championship Packet Pickup!
First Semi-Final Workout is in the books, and it was a DOOZY! It started out with a bit of stress, as my Kickr was reading low again, and I had to do a few spindowns to get it properly calibrated, but despite being a tad frazzled, I took a deep breath, centered myself, and jumped on to knock it out on my lunch break 🙂
Today’s workout was the 2 x 12 minute test, and I did mine without ERG mode on also, as I’ve always trained on “dumb” trainers in the past, and didn’t want to throw something new into the mix with so much at stake. Just like Siri, I “failed” the 3 x 30 second spin-up intervals b/c the Kickr flywheel simply wouldn’t slow down enough after 30 secs at 355 to allow me to pedal at 75W, when not in ERG mode. Also like Siri though, I didn’t stress it, as the purpose of that section was simply to prime the legs for the “real” work to come!
The first 12 minute interval, I started out a tad too hard. I felt great, and thought I could hold it, but faded a bit to the end, despite pushing so hard I literally had to ask my hubby to go grab me a trash can. . 🤢 When this interval finished, I remember thinking to myself “how on earth am I going to do that AGAIN in 15 minutes?!?”
I was feeling pretty recovered by the start of the second 12 minute interval though, and I started out more conservatively, and was able to “flat-line” the effort much better than the 1st, which definitely trended down. The second interval was ~20W lower than the first, but that was to be expected.
There is a bit of a discrepancy between my Kickr/Zwift Readings, and my Crank based PM readings, but if I believe my Crank based PM readings (which I KNOW are accurate due to extensive testing), I set a HUGE 12 min Power PR with the 1st interval, and was only 2W off my best 12 min Power with the second, so I’m a happy camper!
I totally second Siri’s suggestion – this is a good one! I’d definitely recommend it – but maybe have a trash can handy “just in case” 🤣
Well, the 2017 @gozwift Academy Phase 1 is a wrap, & what an amazing experience it has been! .
At the start of the Academy, I **HATED** trainer time. The bulk of the time that I previously spent on a trainer was during recovery from a broken collarbone, so I associated it with that recovery period, & all of the stress/pain/emotions that went along with it… I also wasn’t sure how my coach & I would manage to fit all of the graduation requirements into this 6-week time frame… We had 2 x 12 Hour/200 mile races, 2 State Championship Road Races, and a handful of Crits, along with the tapers & recovery to work around… not to mention my full time job! But we decided to give it a go, & I’m SO glad that we did!
Over the last 6 weeks, I’ve learned to LOVE ❤️ my trainer & actually look forward to my ZA workouts, races, & group rides! I’ve found an amazingly supportive, wonderful group of women who push each other to be the best they can be, share tips for success & lessons learned from mistakes, celebrate each other’s successes & accomplishments, and help make learning moments out of “failures” (although I hate that word)! The ZA Workouts have also pushed me outside of my comfort zone, & forced me to work on perceived weaknesses, as well as identified strengths, and were instrumental in building on my training to date and helping to produce great results in my IRL Races over this 6 week period as well! And I even had time to squeeze in a few fun IRL rides with teammates & good friends along the way 😊
To all of my fellow 2017 #ZwiftAcademy graduates: Kudos on a job well done, and thank you so much for your encouragement & support along the way! It’s onward & Upward from here! 🤗
I posted some teasers on my live Insta Stories last week about the BEMER Mat testing that I was doing, & promised a summary & Review to follow, so here it is!
If you missed the teasers, I performed a test where I completed a specific workout with 5 x 3 min max effort intervals. I did the workout before having used the BEMER mat, and then repeated it again a few days later immediately after a BEMER Mat session. The results speak for themselves (see chart below).
If you want more info, or to schedule a Demo for yourself, reach out to Sherri Kirklin (she can assist with setting you up with a BEMER Rep/Demo nationwide!) I could see this having a profound impact on my ability to recovery between rides/races, and enabling me to up my Ultra training volume without riding myself into the ground!
And, to be honest, for several reasons that I won’t go into here, I’m pretty dang scared about the nodule biopsy results, but no amount of worrying or stressing about them will change them, so I’m just doing my best to stay positive until I get the results next Wednesday. . .
And OMG, I look exhausted in this video! Potential W30ers, take note, THIS is what the first week feels (and looks) like. . . but it really does turn around – just hang in there 🙂
