Training the week before a major race is always dicey. It's too late to make any changes, it's too late to lose weight, it probably even too late to change any equipment. So you really hope like crazy that you do well.
I think the last 7 days represented the best cycling performance of my entire life.
On Tuesday, I took a stab at the CompuTrainer 10K time trial course. My previous best time was 16:24 at 281 watts. This time, I did it in 15:54 at 303 watts. My best 10K TT ever.
On Wednesday, I did a couple sprints to see what I had. I hit a 5 second max of 980 watts. My previous best was 945 watts. During that 5 seconds, I hit a max of 1009 watts. My previous max was 998 watts. My best 5 second and instantaneous max ever.
Saturday was the classic long RPM class. We did the Waimea Waimea course, which is essentially a 38-mile out-and-back course with a fast descent in the beginning, a long climb in the middle, and a mean climb at the end. I was in a strong 3-man breakaway. One guy dropped off from the group and another had to stop so he could open the store, leaving me alone. I had to push the pace alone for the last 45 minutes. I ended up beating the strongest rider in the other bay by just 12 seconds.
Today was the real clincher. We did another 38 mile course, Windach. It's a rolling undulating course with no major climbs or descents, but a couple long 0.6% climbs or 0.6% descents. I gunned it from the start, trying to see what I could do. I rode 38 miles alone. I watched the guys behind me closely, but held them to about a 3300 foot lead for almost the entire day. In the end, I averaged 246 watts, a new all time best for me.
I'm as ready as I've ever been for a race. Next weekend is the 120K Tour de Breakaway, which is a 3-day CompuTrainer race that we are doing as a fundraiser for our Juniors team. I may not be under 170 pounds for my 36th birthday like I wanted (I'm still 173) but at least my power output is the best it's ever been!
