Who blogs on fridays, anyway?

It takes me all week to get caught up enough on my life to reflect on it. So Friday it is, even though no one's left at their computers to read it before the weekend.

First, Chris Mayhew had a question about the actually CTL numbers from Molly's PMC in a previous post. I inadvertently cut the right hand values out of the screen shot. So here's the updated pic with the actual values:

If you don't know what those numbers mean, take my word for it that being over 100 TSS/day on CTL with one more month of base to go is a great place to be. I'm really excited about how things are going for Molly, and can't wait to see what she does with this form.

I started from a 0 value CTL with Molly because she had taken such a long break after the end of the last 'cross season, and I didn't feel confident with the smattering of files she had from late in the season. I knew we had a long build up to work with, so I opted for a clean slate.

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I haven't been able to blog about racing since the quick entry right after Boise. But generally, things are going really well. The USA Crit Series has always been a target for me, but I hadn't decided to full focus on it at the start of the season. I was only top 20 at Twilight, and expected to spend most of my energy helping the younger guys on the team. At Harlem for instance, sat up after leading out Barlevav because I was more interested in watching him win and putting my hands up with him than I was in holding on to one or two more places. In retrospect, those were valuable points I gave away in the excitement of a job well done in support of a teammate. I also missed the round in Tulsa, since the team was racing at CSC, and really missed some points there. Making a point of getting to both Vancouver and Boise in one trip was key to getting into the leader's jersey, and I'm just hoping to be able to defend it this Saturday in Charlotte.

I have to say again that Tom Soladay has been riding incredibly well over the past month, and just getting better all the time. His support in these USA Crit events has been invaluable. He's going to take a big race down in the next 4 weeks, mark my word.

After Boise, I flew back to Providence, and then drove straight up to Portland to spend a few days with Janice. From there it was Boston for a day, and then on to Altoona, PA, for the NRC crit that used to be the Tour de 'Toona. It was a little sad to see only 40 guys turn up for a $15,000 criterium, and even sadder to see 8 Colavita guys dominate so handily. I felt strong, but struggled trying to race solo against full Colavita and Ride-Aid squads. I had to cover what I could and hope I didn't miss out. In the end, getting second in the field sprint and ending up with 8th place was a pretty solid result.

From Altoona Jackie Simes and I drove 8 hours to Winston-Salem, and got set up here for the week. There were Crossroads Criterium Series races each night, and I opted to race again on Tuesday and Wednesday to try and keep my form rolling for the weekend. In retrospect, I should have taken a second recovery day after racing and traveling. On Tuesday night in Mocksville, I was strong enough to make the break of 9 that lapped the field, but I was absolutely suffering on the back of the break the entire time. Once we lapped, I had 7 teammates lined out in front of me for 30 laps, and it was all I could do to follow. I struggled to stay on Hamblen's wheel with one lap to go, and as soon as there was a small gap, Borrajo was underneath me and taking me to the fence around the 2nd corner. I was out of my pedal, leaned over, just trying to save it, and that was that. Hamblen had lapped as well, and I just hoped that in the confusion he had enough of a gap to take the sprint. Tom and Guttenplan lead out so hard that no one came around Tom in the end, which almost means it was TOO hard. You can't go so fast you blow up your sprinters, but on the other hand, I should have had the legs to at least follow his wheel. That's how good Tom is going right now.

I raced again Wednesday in Concord, NC, just to see what was really up with my form. Again, I felt strong, but not good. I could go with moves and move around at will in the pack, but I was not sharp. Stoop lapped the field early in a group of 6, but they made it around so soon it was impossible to really control things. I guided him around as best I could, and really put in a lot for him in the final 10 laps. With 3 to go I started to cramp, and did my best to drop him off on the back of the Colavita lead out for the final sprint. He was 4th, which was a good result in such a hard, technical race.

I've been resting the past two days, just trying to get some freshness and snap back for tomorrow night. It's been really hot down here, the course in Charlotte is very difficult, and I just hope I have enough form left to hang on for one more weekend. I have a big rest week planned next week, but I need the wheels to stay on for just two more days. Charlie Issendorf from Champion System sent me a sweet leader's jersey for USA Crits, and I just want to rise to the occasion and defend it with pride.