Road to Leadville Part Deux

Had a relaxing day in Park City yesterday.  Woke up feeling kind of hazy, it seemed as though life was happening all around me, but that somehow I was removed from the action.  A dream state that I attribute partly to nerves, partly to altitude and mostly to too much caffeine.  Happily I faded into reality after a good lunch of buffalo chili.

As it has been with all of my past challenges I’m feeling pre-event anxiety: a mix of “I’m glad it’s not tomorrow” blended with “let’s get this thing over with.”  I like this anxiety, I thrive on it.  It makes me feel alive.  I’m not simply sleepwalking through life.  It’s not “where did all the years go,” instead it’s “I’ve put those years to good use.”

I’m happy that I’m slowing working through problems.  I added Ergon grips to my bike before

New grips

leaving Seattle, I think these are going to go a long way towards avoiding numb hands, and the bar ends will give me some much needed variety with respect to hand position.  I pulled the 90mm stem off the other day and added a 110.  This should pull me a bit forward on the saddle, which, theoretically, should reduce the load on my sore butt cheeks.  Finally, before a short ride yesterday, I borrowed Sam’s new padded bike short liners.  They are a 26 inch waist but thanks to Spandex I was able to wiggle into them.  The double padding did wonders for my rear, so today I’ll have to head to the Pearl Izumi outlet store to get myself a pair for the race.  So in short my plan is to wear two pairs of bike shorts on Saturday.

On the eve of these big races it’s easy to start questioning yourself: I should have trained more, I should have ate better, I should have lost that last five pounds, I should have invested in that high altitude simulator, but honestly man I’m fit, I’m lightweight, I’m strong, I’m healthy, I have an exquisite ride, my support crew is top notch, my nutrition plan is dialed - in short I’m ready.  You could always do more, but in my case I’ve done more than enough training.  I’m looking forward to the drive to Leadville tomorrow.