Races, training, injuries... it is all part of it!

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Sunday, at The Fusion Criterium
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Early morning in the shower, getting ready to head out to watch Sandra's race and to catch up with some friends at Nundah, I still had this little voice in my head telling me I had time to change my mind, get dressed and sign up... I didn't!
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I got there and watched the women going around the circuit, had a couple of words with Sandra and went around to see if I could find some familiar faces. It was an Open event with huge prizes and attracted a lot of riders and a good size crowd. It was early and there were marquees, music, the coffee van (love coffee, hate vans), bikes everywhere... the place was buzzing already!
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After a few chats here and there, I had this conversation:
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Racer: Hi Alberto?
Me: How are you?
Racer: Good! Not racing again?
Me: No, shoulder is still an issue.
Racer: Yeah... We are sick of reading that... in your blog.
Me: ?!?
Racer: You should drink a cup of cement and harden up!!!
Me: Yeah... Have a good race!
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Nice. The voice said maybe I should.
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The truth is, I felt like going home but it was Sandra's day, I moved on. I am glad I did, apart from an enormous desire to be racing, I felt alright hanging around and chatting and watching the Women's race, then the B Grade race and then the A Grade race. It was a hot morning, people were racing really hard... What an atmosphere!!!!
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Sandra's race was really exciting... and fast! She looked calm at the start and got out there to race hard, not just to be dragged around. She raced well for the first few laps but looked like she was struggling to stay with them for the rest. I think she was just a little overwhelmed by the quality of the field and didn't get a better result because she spent a lot of time in the wind and/or at the back. A good experience for her and certainly good training for her main goal next month.
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Her report here.
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Sandra and Nick, concentrating at the start

Women's field, Sandra is the second from right

The B Grade was a huge event with 70 to 80 riders. Attacks from the start, small groups trying to stay away, fast sprints. With a bit more organisation it would have looked like a pro field. In one instance and a few metres from where I was sitting, a rider stopped because of a jammed chain, tried unsuccessfully to fix it, looked around and then launched his A$8,000 bike in the air. It landed on the grass. I didn't know what to think of it at first but then it came to my mind that some people have so much disposable income that they can put an act like that without thinking of the consequences... Just like a Pro... field.
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When the A Grade riders lined up, it was like always is with them... The teams got called to the front, some of the riders answered a couple of questions, then the rest of the riders, and they were off to a fast show of speed and team tactics. Perhaps the second being one of the biggest differences in between A and B grades. Those guys know how to protect a rider and launch team mates like bullets for a sprint to the line.
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Having said that, someone I've raced with a few times sneaked in for an amazing third place beating a lot of the local "pro" riders! Good on you Shaun!!!
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No time to watch the presentations, time to go home and get ready for work. On my way out, another quick chat:
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Me: Hey, buddy, fast race!
Rider: It was very fast! You are not racing yet...
Me: Perhaps in the road season.
Rider: We are looking forward to have you back in the field.
Me: Thanks, buddy. I am looking forward to race again.
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I raced home!
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Training goes on...
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First session this week, not a very hard one but enough to get me sweating and the heart pumping... I changed the resistance to 4/5, which dropped the cadence to 100-110 rpm. It made more sense as it is not as the High Cadence efforts when I spin at 130+ rpm. And yes, it hurt!
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- All out efforts (2'30"; 2'; 1'30";1' and 30") x 2

Time: 1h30m
Virtual dist: 35 km
AvHR: 115 bpm
MaxHR: 161 bpm
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Music is necessary for the sweat session

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View one

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View Two

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Detail on View Two makes me think about what I am doing

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The Injured Shoulder

I took another step towards finding out what is wrong with my shoulder. This time a MRI was done to see if they can find any damage to tendons, ligaments or anything else as there is still a sore spot in there and I can't lift much weight with my left arm. Sincerely, I don't know what I want the result to be. If they find something and I have an operation, the recovery is going to be long. If they don't find anything, it is going to be like my other shoulder (I had a similar injury on my R shoulder after crashing in MTB race) and will take a long, long time to heel...
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Now I must wait for the specialist to have a look at the "pictures"...
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