One kilowatt of pooooooweeeeeerrrr!!!!!

So, this summer has been a complete wash when it comes to racing. The last race I did was in early June. Somewhere in there, my life got derailed and it's taken me till just a couple of weeks ago to get back on track.

I had all the drama of getting back with my girlie, Suzanne and then my knee blew up (read bursitis) and then I got hit by a car.

Finally after 6-7 weeks of tedious recovery from my accident, I am finally back on track. Training is going well, and I am beginning to feel like a bike racer again.

Even though my coach will probably give me an earful for this, I did my first track race since June last Sunday. It was the second of a new winter series that Shaun Wallace is experimenting with. Just a low key winter monthly race series. It's run very much like a tuesday night.

I think I needed to get rid of some energy. This is the first time in like 15 years or so that I have taken this much time off of racing and I was getting pretty darn antsy.

So at the behest of some fellow trackies, I lugged my fat arse down to the track and gave it a go.

Clearly my base fitness is just not there. I can maintain 200-250 for extended periods (for the track) but much above that and I go completely anaerobic. I figured that my peak power would be gone too. I saw 800w in one race and figured that I was my peak (it used to be 1100-1200w).
But a funny thing happened in the second race (the Triple sprint), I made a move after the bell rang and got 4th in the sprint. Only one point, but that's better than I thought I could do.
The real shocker was my max power: 1092w! WOW! It's still there. How the heck did that happen?

Whatever it is, I'll take it. Of course I was pretty spent after that effort and it was a little painful getting back on the pack after that. But it felt better than I though it would.

I don't plan on doing any significant racing till the next racing season. It's somewhat counter productive in light of the training that my coach Vince has planned. I know that my body responds well to Vince's training plan. His coaching methods are based heavily on Arnie Baker's teachings. They focus on neuromuscular recruitment and on the bike strength training. In the past when I have stuck to the program, I develop HUGE power.

Now that my life has begun to stabilize, I can stick to the program and follow it through. I am pretty excited to see what I can get out of this. I still have the peak power, I know I have the tactical/strategic prowess and the bike handling skills are sharper than ever. The only thing I have been missing is the base fitness.

The weight has been a persistent and stubborn problem for me but the weird thing is that for track racing I have been able to turn this problem into an advantage. People underestimate me and assume I am slow (currently, that isn't inaccurate) and the also don't see me as being effective on the bike. The extra weight also means I have a lot more momentum when fighting for position. I have had people come up next to me and try and force me off a wheel only to find that very difficult. I have the fast guys at the track to thank for that. You can stick your helmet in my armpit and you are still not going to move me.

People are sometimes surprised to see how fast I can go when I am fit, even if I am fat. In some races, they completely discount me.

I can't wait till I get my fitness back online and can start banging bars again.