Feeling good

Monday was an off day, so I had some time to build up my Waterford cyclocross bike with some new SRAM Rival components. This is the first time I've built up a bike from near scratch, though I got some help with the bottom bracket since I don't have a compatible torque wrench and didn't want to over-tighten. The gruppo isn't quite the stunner that the Campy Chorus was, but it will be compatible with my PowerTap. Cantilevered brakes are a pain to work on, and I'll probably have to make some more adjustments to get them dialed in. Pictures coming soon.

My sore throat was nearly gone. I think the home-made dehumidifier I rigged up helped. I filled a large bowl with maybe 2 gallons of water and set it in front of a fan. Then I took a soaking wet towel and placed it over the front of the fan, with the bottom of the towel positioned in the water. I figured as the towel dried, it would draw water upward from the bowl, and air passing through the towel would take some water with it. In the morning, a large portion of the towel was dry and 1.5 gallons of water were missing from the bowl. Stacey is getting a real dehumidifier this week. She mentioned something about asthetics. Whatever, I said, form follows function.

Tuesday included an easy 1:15 treadmill run. The main set inclued 1 hour at 150 bpm, with the incline varying every five minutes (starting at 0% then up to 5% then back to 0%). Cake, I say. An easy 30 minute spin followed in the evening. I obeyed the 120 bpm HR cap.

Wednesday (today) included two workouts. I did them in reverse order, with the riding in the evening to keep the neighbors happy. The first workout was pretty easy. The ride was a moderately hard 1:15 with 5 x 10 minutes consisting of 6 minuntes at 60 rpm and 140 bpm in the aero position, 3 minutes at 60 rpm and 145 bpm standing, and 1 min 90-100 rpm seated. The 6 minute portion was the tough part. I pushed 53x13, then dropped to the 12 for the standing. Now, just to increase the rpm to 100 or so and hold it for a half hour, and I can start winning some ProTour time trials.

Also, I noticed my right shoulder was a little sore until Tuesday, but now it's fine. I will pay close attention to it during tomorrow's swim as a caution.

Summary: not sick, feeling good, ready for the tough weekend.