GVCC Spring Classic Prelude

Today's weather was awesome.. enough so that I took a 2-1/2 hour recovery ride in anticipation of tomorrow's death march of 66 miles in the 1-2-3 event. A good friend since 20 years ago, Todd Scheske, is the organiser (and president of the Genesee Valley Cycling Club). Today I rang his wireless kind of frantically to tell him I was on my way to Rochester, but that I couldn't find my license. No worries, he says. We made the trip in 6-1/2 hours, including one 1/2 hour pit stop. Upon arrival at my mom's, I suited up and hit the road with my younger brother Ali. He accompanied me for the first 90 minutes, then I continued on my own after that. The straight flat wide shouldered roads of northeast Monroe County are nice, especially when you want to take it easy. HR got up over 125 only once or twice, otherwise I was just doing 90-110 bpm, what a recovery ride should be.. So now I'm alone while wife, son, mother and brother are all out with friends. Sipping an Amstel Light, which I know I won't finish.. Legs freshly shorn.. I was like, wow, it's been a while hasn't it? Actually I'm on the once a week program.. Little secret: use good quality hair conditioner instead of shaving cream. So much better for the skin, no cuts or nicks, ever.. Anyways, I notice some veins have finally reached the surface! Some of the veins had veins of their own popping out.. Kidding. It's just encouraging to see that the layer of fat on my legs has gotten thinner, that's all. What will tomorrow bring? It's a rolling 11 mile loop with 1000 feet of climbing per lap, and we're doing it six times. I'm excited to be racing back in my home town.. together with some old friends here in Western NY. To be honest, a lot of the people I used to run with aren't in the sport anymore. Too bad... but many others still are.. My goal is to finish tomorrow without popping. Get to the end of the sixth lap without any stupid strength wasting maneuvers. I tend to get ahead of myself on the short climbs, pushing 100% to the top and then expecting to recover on the other side. I need to use my energy in carefully metered doses if I am to last 66 miles without cramping up. It will be a disappointment if I get shelled.. but let's not confuse humility with a lack of self-respect... I intend to have a great time and come away with a great day of training among friends, if nothing else.