Dragged Myself Today

Felts sluggish today. The hip was acting up this morning.

Did most of a Combat class at Manulife noon hour with Tanya. Took it easy, low impact options.

We were stuck in traffic for an hour trying to get out of the city, so we got to practice late tonight. Part of me was glad that we got a bit of a break since I was so wiped from yesterday, but another part of me really wanted to get the most out of the evening.

I feel like I've been holding back from the starts at indoor this season because I'm just so nervous about collisions going into the corner, but today I decided that the best way to avoid that would be to try to get ahead to the corner. The starts was one of the things that we had drilled quite a bit with Camilo and Leo in the summer, so it felt pretty comfortable.

CRASH TEST DUMMY! Had another good spill coming into the corner and accidentally took out poor Jacky who was coming in on the outside of me for some reason or other at the exchange area.

Something about the excitement of our simulated race conditions really push the "chasing" instincts in the heat of the moment rather than more strategic thinking and my focus on tecnique just goes out the window along the all the track pattern drills. Morgan kept reminding me to stay closer to the wall, which would have given me better passing opportunities and helped me to stay in control around those corners. I'm once again diving into the cones. Aaron reiterated that afterwards as well and illustrated with his fingers, which was a good way to help me "see" the track pattern in my head for future reference. It's all about using the "Everything Drill" and applying it to these conditions depending on where you are in the pack.

I came out of practice feeling like I had a pretty good relay today, despite the spill, but just thinking about it some more there isn't much to be proud of to be able to keep up with the rest of the group if I'm letting my technique fall to pieces. Keep Smooth. Square up everything. Get Low. Focus on the appropriate track pattern depending on if I'm ahead or looking to pass someone. Stronger lower strokes rather than more strokes.

I'm falling back into the habit from my rec marathon days of just muscling through rather than finessing.
Work Smarter, not Harder.


WHAT I ATE TODAY
Apple, Pad Thai, Spicy noodle, curry and lemongrass chicken, orange drink, Flax Bagel with light cream cheese, apple, 2 slices of peperroni pizza, strawberry drink.