Well, the studying was productive this weekend. I had one mid-term today and one more to go tomorrow (Wed). My spin class that I teach was moved up to 5:30 (from 5:45) tomorrow morning so I will have a bit more time after my spin/run to study prior to my 11:00 class. Then, my last mid-term of the week at 5:30!!! I've been studying most of the day (45 min on the treadmill at the Y this morning an another 30 min. this afternoon...just walking, no running) and I can't wait for tomorrow to be over!!!. Karel just got finished watching the Amstel Idol 2001 cycling race on DVD and now I'm taking a study break to watch Idol. I'm sure I'll be in bed early tonight. My morning swim came early today and my 4:40 am alarm came before I knew it and now, 16 hours later, I am a bit tired. I did have time to make a great dinner. Once a week Karel and I have omelette's. Tonight was omelet night...yumm! Egg beaters w/ a little mexican shredded cheese and chili flakes (I love hot food!!). I cooked fresh mushrooms, crumbled veggie meat (vegetarian night for Karel..he had his share of meat for lunch :), onions, corn and peppers w/ a little olive oil. I made a little risotto rice for karel and I had some cottage cheese. We topped off our omelets w/ salsa. Ole! Fiesta night tonight...and we were both blowing our noses and sniffling..I guess I added a bit too much chili pepper flakes :)
So things are going well for Karel and I. Training for me...good, but the adductors are a bit sore. I want to say it is my groin (uninjured leg!!) but it only bothers me if I accelerate quickly. I took it easy after my swim today...even though Coach Matt made me do 4 x 50's on 40 seconds..ouch, that was touch and go!! And that set came after I had just finished 3 x 300 pull, swim, pull on 4:30. I think I am getting faster in the pool...that's a great feeling!
Well, I guess I should give the update on Karel. Sat was great and his 6th place finish landed him a little money (gas $) and a great boost for sunday. The weather was perfect and the field was big! Lots of cyclists and Karel said he was ready to have a good race. Of course I am sitting at home after my 10-mile run/10 mile spin just waiting...waiting, waiting, waiting. Finally, 2 hours after I think he is going to finish I get a phone call. It goes a little something like this....
"Hi. I have some bad news. I crashed"
So here we go again. I expected another broken bike part and a little road rash. But another crash, two sundays in a row! Before last sunday, karel didn't crash for over 2 years!!! The only time I saw him fall was in GA when he was descending to come and get me as I was climbing one of the mountains and his front AND rear tire blew out. He flipped over into the side (kinda grassy) but he was ok. I was a little freaked! He has great bike skills and as a bike tech, his bike is always in great working condition..so why another crash? I think this crash was more like a Natasha Badmann crash..unfortunately, no one to blame the crash on but a stupid cone in the road. Although Karel can't recall much about the seconds before the crash, he said someone hit a cone and it rolled in front of him. He hit the cone and then a sandbag. Next, he flipped over his bike and landed on his head. The helmet now has a big crack in it and Karel's shoulder, back and fingers are covered in road rashes. Just a bit on the knees but mostly on his upper body. And in addition to last weekend, we are finally making use of all the bandages, neosporin and tape in our closet. Karel really hit his head hard and in addition to all his cuts and bruises, he was really dizzy after the crash....but the story doesn't stop there!!!
Just because he stopped for a crash, the endorphins were still going. So, as you know...I am engaged to one of the most passionate, dedicated and hard-working cyclists you will ever meet (Ok-so I am a little biased). Here's a guy who would give anything to race as a Pro but a 45-hour work week and only 300+ miles/wk, training in flat Florida sometimes takes the best of him. Now that he has a powertap and a great coach (Adam Baskin--awesome coach!!), every workout is quality and worth looking back on. So, what do you think Karel did after his head-hitting, road rashing crash...up we go...back on the bike. Totally dizzy and very much out of it, Karel jumped back in the race and ended up....wait for it, wait for it...11th!!!! Holy cow!! Can you believe it??? I just don't get it!??!! That took a lot of guts and courage to get back on the bike and finish. After you crash you lose that confidence and energy which is required in racing. To make it a good thing, not only did he finish 11th but they paid 12 deep so he received a little money as well (we could use that money for a good first aid kit!). Karel said he needs to stop racing sunday's..bad lucK!! Well, I think the bad luck is behind him and there are good things to come. We are heading up to GA this weekend for the Georgia Cup Albany race. 3 stages (prologue, Crit and road race) and I know he is going to do great. Lots of big teams (Jittery Joe's will be there..yum, love that coffee!!) and great riders. I think we just need to leave FLorida for a weekend and break this curse!
So things are going well for Karel and I. Training for me...good, but the adductors are a bit sore. I want to say it is my groin (uninjured leg!!) but it only bothers me if I accelerate quickly. I took it easy after my swim today...even though Coach Matt made me do 4 x 50's on 40 seconds..ouch, that was touch and go!! And that set came after I had just finished 3 x 300 pull, swim, pull on 4:30. I think I am getting faster in the pool...that's a great feeling!
Well, I guess I should give the update on Karel. Sat was great and his 6th place finish landed him a little money (gas $) and a great boost for sunday. The weather was perfect and the field was big! Lots of cyclists and Karel said he was ready to have a good race. Of course I am sitting at home after my 10-mile run/10 mile spin just waiting...waiting, waiting, waiting. Finally, 2 hours after I think he is going to finish I get a phone call. It goes a little something like this....
"Hi. I have some bad news. I crashed"
So here we go again. I expected another broken bike part and a little road rash. But another crash, two sundays in a row! Before last sunday, karel didn't crash for over 2 years!!! The only time I saw him fall was in GA when he was descending to come and get me as I was climbing one of the mountains and his front AND rear tire blew out. He flipped over into the side (kinda grassy) but he was ok. I was a little freaked! He has great bike skills and as a bike tech, his bike is always in great working condition..so why another crash? I think this crash was more like a Natasha Badmann crash..unfortunately, no one to blame the crash on but a stupid cone in the road. Although Karel can't recall much about the seconds before the crash, he said someone hit a cone and it rolled in front of him. He hit the cone and then a sandbag. Next, he flipped over his bike and landed on his head. The helmet now has a big crack in it and Karel's shoulder, back and fingers are covered in road rashes. Just a bit on the knees but mostly on his upper body. And in addition to last weekend, we are finally making use of all the bandages, neosporin and tape in our closet. Karel really hit his head hard and in addition to all his cuts and bruises, he was really dizzy after the crash....but the story doesn't stop there!!!
Just because he stopped for a crash, the endorphins were still going. So, as you know...I am engaged to one of the most passionate, dedicated and hard-working cyclists you will ever meet (Ok-so I am a little biased). Here's a guy who would give anything to race as a Pro but a 45-hour work week and only 300+ miles/wk, training in flat Florida sometimes takes the best of him. Now that he has a powertap and a great coach (Adam Baskin--awesome coach!!), every workout is quality and worth looking back on. So, what do you think Karel did after his head-hitting, road rashing crash...up we go...back on the bike. Totally dizzy and very much out of it, Karel jumped back in the race and ended up....wait for it, wait for it...11th!!!! Holy cow!! Can you believe it??? I just don't get it!??!! That took a lot of guts and courage to get back on the bike and finish. After you crash you lose that confidence and energy which is required in racing. To make it a good thing, not only did he finish 11th but they paid 12 deep so he received a little money as well (we could use that money for a good first aid kit!). Karel said he needs to stop racing sunday's..bad lucK!! Well, I think the bad luck is behind him and there are good things to come. We are heading up to GA this weekend for the Georgia Cup Albany race. 3 stages (prologue, Crit and road race) and I know he is going to do great. Lots of big teams (Jittery Joe's will be there..yum, love that coffee!!) and great riders. I think we just need to leave FLorida for a weekend and break this curse!