I slept about 14 hours last night and I'm still feeling tired.
TISC Practice this evening really suprised me. I thought I was bringing an empty tank with me tonight, but I managed to dig deep and stick in there despite the fact that I felt completely wiped after each drill and wishing the world would stop spinning on me.
I didn't do any warming up before we jumped into the program, but Peter talked about his experiences at the Pan Ams and how it seemed they all handled the corners offensively (as it was described at indoor practices). The front guys would glide into the corner and power out of the corners. So we did a drill based around that concept. It reinforced my feelings that being at the back of the pack can be more tiring and less of an advantage once the front of the pack takes off. Jamming up around the corners was an issue. Jesse mentioned that he was going to address passing in those kind of conditions, which will be interesting to see how it works compared to indoors.
The next drill we had a mass start and broke into three groups. We were going to do a "points" race, which I have never really done before. The idea was that we would be doing 20 laps, and after every two laps, we would be racing to the line for points... the person who crossed first receiving two points and the second person would get three. Since we were doing a mass start, previously, I've found it a good advantage for my pack to latch onto the back of the pack ahead of us, and everyone in my group would get the benefit of the draft and I wouldn't get worn down from pulling or figuring out the best way to pass. I decided to tuck in behind Scott and try to hang on. Given the fact that Travis and Kevin were in my pack, I was astounded to find myself alone with the group consisting of Morgane, Sarah and Scott. I hung in with them for quite a few laps until Morgane told me I should go back and skate with my own group. Glancing back, I realized they were more than a lap behind us. So I stood up and waited for them to catch up. I'm not too sure if I was supposed to get points by hanging onto the faster group. When they did catch up, it was only Kevin so I hopped in behind him and again tried to hang on for dear life. I noticed the big difference between what Kevin was doing compared to the Sarah/Morgane/Scott group was the fact that he was still doing the previous drill! He was gliding the initial corners and powering out. I really suprised myself by staying with him until the end of the drill. My legs were screaming at me and I couldn't catch my breath and once again the world began to spin once we finished, but I stuck in there.
When we repeated that drill, I decided to find the position behind Kevin again. This time, my group started in front. I think following behind Kevin and trying to match his stride and technique helped me somewhat in conserving my energy and slowing down my crossovers. I tried my best to keep it low. What was most interesting about this round following Kevin was his decision to once again skate each corner offensively, and how we kept position with the Morgane/Sarah/Scott group. They were saving their sprint for the last two laps whereas Kevin kept a very consistent pace and we rested gliding into each of the corners. So they would pass us on their sprint to the line at the end of the second lap, stopping and gliding at the beginning of their first lap at which point Kevin and I would pass them again. I actually thought they had initially lapped us, but it turned out they had been staying on the same lap as us. I don't know if it was a good thing or bad thing that we were keeping pace with them in this manner. Again, I had to dig deep to stay in there with Kevin, finally getting dropped for the final couple of laps, at which point I drafted in behind Sarah and Morgane at which point I lost them in the final sprint. I know everyone was pretty tired today, but I was happy to have been able to stick with the group today.
Final drill was Five on, followed by Four on. Once again I caught my ride behind Kevin who was behind Scott, and hung on. I finally lost it in the final four lap excercise when I didn't draft in behind Kevin quick enough and at that point my legs were gone. I finished at least and went right into the low slow technique work for three laps as instructed by Peter, although my legs were so tired at that point I don't think I was keeping my technique intact very well at all.
For the most part, I was happy that I was able to stick with it today despite not feeling like I would be able to when I arrived at practice. I had a very tasty chocolate milk afterwards.
I am going to sleep very very well tonight.
WHAT I ATE TODAY
Gazpatcho Soup with hot sauce, pickles and olives. Yogurt. Banana. Apple. Pita. Mango/Pomegrante juice. Frozen fruit bar. Chocolate Milk. Tuna sandwich with Miracle Whip and olives. Pickles. Smoothie with frozen fruits and greens.
