A "Val-idation" Forbidding Mourning

I put on a brave face for the photographer at Greenbush.  On Monday the smile was real.

I haven’t put Greenbush behind me just yet—that probably won’t happen until I enjoy myself in a mountain bike race, whether or not my result compares favorably with that of my opponents—but my performance in a time trial yesterday has restored some self-confidence.  I didn’t mention in this blog that I was going to do the TT because, honestly, I wasn’t sure until early yesterday morning.  I hadn’t ridden my road bike in a week, but I woke up feeling rested and strong and decided to give it a go.

This particular time trial is a recurring, unsanctioned race that’s not on any official calendar.  But it’s close to home and free of charge, two of my favorite things.  I was the third rider to start from a field of 14 and I quickly got into a good rhythm despite a bit of headwind for the first couple of miles.  As I neared the midway point of the course, I caught the rider who had started 1 minute ahead of me.  By the end of the 10.1-mile race I was just 32 seconds behind the rider who had started 2 minutes ahead of me.  I finished in 11th place, posting an average speed of 20.5 mph on the rolling course.

And that’s where I belonged: most of the field was younger and fitter, and a few of the guys were rockin’ TT/tri bikes with all of their aerodynamic benefits.  Giving a good account of myself in competition against riders of such quality was just what I needed to get my head back in the right place.  Reflecting, learning, correcting … those are OK, but doubts and regrets have no place in training.