You never know...

One of the frustrations of Spain, as you may have come to understand from Will's diary, is the unpredictability that comes with anything Jose touches. When you're training for racing, it is common wisdom to plan your training based on when you will be racing. Last week, I had been planning to be ready to race that weekend. I few days before I was told I wouldn't be going, but the day before things switched. Packed and lying in bed, the assistant director called and said that needed paperwork hadn't been sent back from Madrid to the director of Viveros, so I couldn't race. Pure lame sauce.

Mental purgatory. Getting psyched up to race is a whole body experience. Switching between those two states of mind is pretty draining.

I just got a call from Jose a few moments ago. Apparently one of the Cafemax guys can't go to this week's tour so I will start the race under his name and drop out before the finish of the first stage so we don't get caught. Starting with a full team I guess looks better on paper. I wasn't going to be able to do this race because it's only for Sub 23. But now it looks like I'll be feasting like a racer and living the hotel life. Expect those plans to change within the hour.

It's kind of like that time Sam and I decided to go to Gibraltar with him (6 hour drive) when he told us he was leaving in half an hour.

While I've been taught that planning and scheduling is the way, it can be good to have something this unpredictable in your life. Keeps you on your toes. Ready for anything. It's just sometimes I feel my soul has too much mass to happily match his accelerations.

Speaking of accelerations, I'll keep you updated on how the race goes. I'll try and take some good pics... this is Art's last hoorah and I'm betting Will has some good legs after a few days of rest.

Machina

In case you didn't know, Will Sladek is living in the apartment these days. I raced with him on the college circuit and he came up to Portland last summer to race Cascade Classic and chow down on some Polly food. He was able to make the Cafemax Circuito de Montanes squad. This is one of the biggest races on the Spanish amateur calendar: the stages are ridiculously tough and the level of competition is high. (When Spanish guys talk about a race like this they say something to the effect, "El nivel, bwah!" which translates "The level of racing, holy crap it's fast.")

If you're interested in the insider scoop of a race like this, you really should check out his racing diary. It's awesome. Here's the race's cyclingnews.com page and here's what the Daily Peloton says.

Name Dropping

Yeah, I know Will Leer. Turns out I went to school with him and hung out with him on a regular basis. And that makes me cool because he's running the frickin' USATF Finals in 1.5 hours as I write this. So legit. The PR he set in the semifinals is easily considered to be the equivalent of a sub-4 mile. Go Will!

Here's a clip of him getting into the finals.

I've been fortunate to be surrounded by people that think athletics is a good use of time. At Jesuit everybody does sports, and on cross country teams, waking up early on the weekends for long runs becomes a way of life that not many will ever understand.

Cros mentioned there's a guy at Google that has some good 1500 numbers on his belt; he's the only one there that understands Crosby and his drive for being fast.

Athletes will always be out of their element in the office. It's not primal enough, it doesn't get your heart pounding, and you can't look back into the eyes of the guy behind you, knowing that you've crushed him. You don't get to hear the whimper from the guy next to you as his body and mind admit defeat. You don't get the chance to experience the humility that comes with honorable defeat.

I don't mean to rant. I we out last night till 5am then did a 5 hour ride today, so I am a little out of it. But I am very excited for Will...

And as for Will, today he gets to stand on the start line with the best guys in the country and hammer it out. Most will never get that chance, and most will never understand what it took to get there. I get goosebumps just thinking about what is in store for him today.

Little Glimpse

Heating Up

Routines can be good, and for the last few weeks we've had a good rhythm going. There is less thinking and worrying.

Lately I get out of bed to the smell of Art's cinnamon French toast. After getting dressed and rolling out, we return to "La cueva" (the cave - the affectionate title of our flat) somewhere between 2-5 hours later. At that point I make myself some chocolate milk, wring the sweat out of my cycling jersey and hang it out to dry, start the rice or pasta, take a cold shower, break out the Sriracha sauce, and load some downloaded TV shows to watch while I eat. After a bit of that, I nap. Sometimes in the evening we do another short ride to try and freshen up the legs. Other than that, I'll do some cooking and maybe watch a movie.

Life becomes binary: you're riding or you're recovering. It's that simple. Every 5 minutes or so this little thought drifts through your head: what am I doing right now and is it possible that it will make me faster? Often when I am standing, I subconsciously look for a place to sit down. I minimize my trips up and down stairs. Sometimes I reach for a cookie and stop short; I have some fruit in the fridge.

On rides, I've been staying conservative: trying to walk that fine line between pushing hard enough to train well and not using up that indefinable mojo I will need in a race. But yesterday I cranked up the engine to get a benchmark of where I'm at right now. On my best of three intervals I put out 399W for 7:30min, using a powermeter that may run anywhere from 5-20W too low. And at just under 68 kg, I might be able to survive better than most. We'll see in next week's tour. Regardless, the engine is heating up.

And so is the weather. It has been consistently 85 degrees and I'm loving it. You take any day from the last month, and I would happily live that day again and again until the day I die.

alive in heaven

i have 3 minutes to write this. i arrived and everything is just as i have hoped it would be. richard, the captain is flawless. the boat is beatufil. the caribbean feels great. we leave to,orrow for the azores. roughly tzwo week transit. french keyboards are a pain int he ass. mom and dad, i am safe and happy as can be (well, almost). the company is fantastic. imagine the stars i will see on my three hour watches. out of time! will write again as soon as i can... love love love

Paris

I made it this far. The Notre Dame still stands and people are still unfriendly. I stayed up all night doing some painting. Quite cold here! More once I get to the islands, my time is up.