Prologue

It's the night before Epic Weekend, and there has been a small glitch. I thought the Cast a Shadow Snow Shoe race consisted of 6 mile loops, it is 2 mile loops! Not a wrench, just a different plan. On snowshoes and in snow, a mile can run you 10+ minutes. So we will each be running a lap about once an hour. There are rumors of hellacious hills!

My new Computrainer arrived tonight, and I believe I have everything installed. Truthfully I have been using the Ergo mode lately and previous to that I rode a TACX basic. So there are no saved rides, no real comparisons, etc. This excites me because now I can use a new set of standards to train and race on the bike. Previously I have used time and heart rate and my trusty wattage set. I feel good about this new direction for my cycling. Real tests, real data.

For the first time since beginning my 2007 program I am sore. It's an interesting phenomenon with athletes. We feel proud when we feel exhausted and sore. In many cases it means the work is sinking in. The muscles have become a bit broken down. When rest is proper they rebuild into a stronger muscle. That's the fine line that we walk. The edge between breakdown and build up.

Positive soreness is soreness that changes. It improves, it alleviates with flexibility training. Negative soreness is acute pain, the pain I felt when ignoring my partially torn Achilles tendon a year ago. Since that experience I am hypersensitive to any soreness and distinguishing it between positive and negative. Nothing negative so far. :-)

But this evening I am sore, and that feels insanely great. Heading into Epic Weekend I am gathering warm clothes to wear, hydrating, trying to figure out nutrition, sleep, etc. I don't have many busy weekends any more thank goodness, so getting ready for this one has been fun. The weather will try to throw a wrench into plans, making it possibly impossible for me to travel to Buffalo on Saturday night. But we will handle that as we go along.

Here we go, let Epic weekend begin!

:-0 mary Eggers