Chad's spot for various thoughts, musings, poetry, ideas and whatnot

Sunday, February 27, 2005

Finding some form...

In cycling, the term for when someone is really riding well is called "having form". Form is a weird thing in that it comes and goes. Since cycling isn't the most skill oriented activity around, how well you do is mostly dependent on two things; one's physical abilities and tactics. I'm still learning the second which makes the first very important. Form is more than being in shape; it's having your body be able to act at the peak of it's output throughout a race. It's something you build up to, hold for a while and then let go of so that you can build it again. No one has great form all the time; the body can't operate at it's peak for more than three or four weeks. So cycling is all about building up to form, using your form to win races or at least do well and then resting for the next cycle.

I finally feel like I'm developing some form and man is it good. My rides this last week have been really strong. Yesterday I did 62 miles at almost 22 mph solo. That's almost race pace but by myself, not in a pack. Earlier in the week I did a TT training ride and ripped off a 25 mph effort without my TT helmet, my disk wheel or shoe covers. I was flying. I did a hill interval session where I was really climbing strong and decending solidly. The best part is that I'm not anywhere near my peak yet. I won't hit that for another six or seven weeks. So if I can keep from overtraining and stay healthy I should be good when the April races come around, which is when I planned to be in my best form. After that I'll take a short break and then build up to a peak for Nationals. I needed 6% to make the top ten at nationals and I definitely feel like I'm a lot better than 6% better than this time last year.

Thanks for reading.

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