The last five weeks of adventure

Indeed 100/TSS day is now finally within reach- the magical level where good things are more likely to happen on a bike. I expect to cool my jets this week and then ramp up again in time for a peak at Chris Thater. Your opinion counts, so if it looks to you like I am driving myself into the ground, please say something constructively critical.. that is if you think you know better. I guess results will speak for themselves? Fine and dandy.
With wife and child away for the past 20 days, I have been able to partake in the FnF lifestyle- that is, doing whatever the hell I want, whenever the hell I want.. which will explain the 45 hours of training and racing since they left on 7/15. I've lost about 10 pounds too.. which didnt hurt me on Sunday at Norwell Circuit Race. My result there does not reflect the amount of success I had being up front and in the action most of the time, or being part of a lead out train on the run-in to the final corner to help launch Matt K up the hill to the finish.. (he ended up 2nd in the field sprint, 5th overall.. and I basically shut it down after the corner.. but my participation in the Pro race three hours later was purely for the training.. so after getting spit out the back on lap four, I soldiered on to the finish at my limit, even after being lapped by field. That's 24 times all together I sprinted over that little climb, and I actually enjoyed going it alone all those laps- I put the Powertap wheel on for the Pro race knowing that a light wheel would not help me- and I wanted a solid hour of race data- and got it. Other than that, my day is pretty much split into 1/4ths:
-tending to personal, WeeBIKE and Hasyun e-tail transactions
-working on the new house and the other one we still own as a rental
-training and racing lots
-eating, cleaning up after myself, and personal hygiene (this is the part that I have trouble with)
My latest project at the new place is a rehab of our multi-level deck. I have deconstructed it to a point where all of the railings are being replaced, along with the floors boards, and the joists are being reinforced, re-hoisted/re-leveled, and supplemented in a few places. From the street, it's going to look brand spanking new- and no more horrible white painted lattice all over the place. Who paints their entire deck white? Man it looked like ass. I'll post pictures later on to show off my very-sharp carpentry skills, before and after.
Gran Prix of Beverly, Concord Crit, Witch's Cup, and Fall River Crit are all swirling in my mind.. There's even a crit in Pittsfield MA.. the last time I did a crit there it was 1990 and I remember getting my doors blown off in my first year out of the junior ranks. That's when I discovered that being a successful bike racer would require me to train 3x more than a junior ever trains..
Freedom Tour Crit update- the race where I was tangled up in the final corner- locked handlebars with an opponent and still stayed upright and fast enough for 15th- a consolation prize was discovered. According to USA Cycling, my mediocre 15th place resulted in one rank point! Oh joy yes indeed. Apparently the Freedom Tour is a "C" Level event, and so the top 15 get rank points. So I may have missed my goal (and the money) by finishing outside the top 10, but this race was ranked higher than your typical New England "D" race, and I feel better about my result than before. I know I was having a super day because I was feeling very comfortable in the Pro race, up until the crash anyway..
I hear that Beverly is one tough SOB of a course.. I am still on the fence about it, mostly because I don't want to use a lot of ammo this week.
Hat tip to Dave Kellogg for getting 5th in the 45s and 2nd in the 35s at Norwell on Sunday. Well done! Full results of 2010 Norwell Circuit Race HERE.
Thanks for reading.