Sharpening the knife

3 weeks out from Bump&Grind and the knife sharpening has begun. Only rode 8.5 hours last week but every ride but Tuesday’s had some sort of intensity to it. Long hours dull the knife so now I try to use the knife as little as possible but keep it sharp with high intensity.

Can’t say I feel great at this point… don’t feel bad.. just don’t feel super. I really shouldn’t yet anyway I guess. I remember feeling this way last september when I was sharpening for the TB race. Doubt, etc. I’m pretty confident it will come around by May 31st. I just want to recapture that invincible feeling I had at TB last year. It was like a drug, the best drug, and it’s what I’ve been working for since January. Just one hit. Like Tyrone Biggums.

It’s pretty cool having over a years worth of data in wko+ now cause I can look back at the very same workout on 9/21/2008 and see improvement which helps my motivation a lot when I feel unsure and uncertain.

Opened my knee up again in the exact same spot for the third time. That new skin is so thin it just tore right off. Big E’s only reaction was, “Crap, I just washed the sheets” and sarcastically “maybe YOU should get some knee pads”. I have made fun of knee pad folks in the past. Reminds me of the reactions I got from my mom when I was a kid, “mama I just crashed and I have this big gash in my leg and…”, mom says “oh yeah, looks like it hurts, don’t get any blood on the carpet”.

Looks like I’ll be racing the old Thunderbolt on Sunday. Looking forward to that. As I remember, it’s not a flowing singletrack type of course more of a rocky, technical and very hilly course. A hard man’s course full of suffering. It will be long too. 3 laps of 10 miles. Whew. Hope I don’t knock this scab off my knee.