getting ready to turn it up

I have had a nice relaxing week off looking at my new bike! Check out the pic.
it is sow nice. Its been a bit tempting to go out and hammer but I have been pretty tired after last weeks training. Really tired. We all know the importance of resting however some times you need to take it to the extreme. The road racing season is long, hard and unforgiving. A friend of mine told me awhile back that after a hard winter of training a long time off is really important,"yeah yeah" I said "I take some rest weeks." "No, he said total off the bike. Don't look at it until all you can think about is riding! It keeps you up at night, and your heart rate jumps up with the slightest thought of racing!"
I woke up last nite sweating. I had some dream can't remember any details really some one was yelling encouragement at me from a car and I was in full time trial mode. I had to go watch TV for 30 minutes and calm down at 2am. so... I think rest time is served!
We head out tomorrow for GA. I can't wait. 7 days of nothing but training, eating, and more training. Through in some good company, bad movies and a some hot tube time, that's my idea of time away from work!! I have been training well. nothing crazy but allways working on specific areas. Many of my weaknesses and keeping my strengths my strengths. just slowly improving and getting ready for this trainning camp so that i can come out of it strong and not begging for mercy. This trip will feature lots of climbing. And lots of miles. There are sure to be some days with 8000+ feet of vertical. I'll be posting everyday with pictures, well trying to, so check it out. Also I will have specific details of the rides and training in my "training log" in my links!

Things to come

No comments on the Tyler post, I though for sure I would get something. Well, moving on. Things are really coming along now. Job is good. Coaching is really coming along as well. In early March my cycling team is headed south for an intensive training camp in the mountains of an undisclosed location. I am not sure what internet access I will have but I will do my best to give you daily updates and pictures. It's sure to be a week oflong miles and lots of uphill suffering. Don't miss it!
Which reminds me. Awhile back someone wrote in saying that I should get a publicists. Well I don't. I need a spell checker! The team I ride for is not the team of the jacket in which I was given. The Louis Garneau team is now Kenda/ Raleigh racing. I was asked to be on the team in the early winter months and am very excited and honored. Especially after the season they had last yr!
The jacket is acutely pretty nice. I ware it on the coldest days. Tomorrow should be one of them. But if you were focused on the actual "jacket" then you missed the point. However, thanks for reading and sending your comments I love them all.

I am healing up well from my surgery and feeling strong again on the bike. (see my training log for details). The team is getting more organized and we are now planning on who will be peaking for what times of the summer. I get really pumped every time I start thinking about it. hammer up hills with thoughts of leading out our team leader for the day up the finaly climb of the day. I can't wait to race, I just can't wait!

Thanks for checking in.

Tyler

Many of you have probably heard the recent news about Tyler Hamilton and his appeal being over ruled again. He will be eligible to race after 9-22-06, if I understand correctly. I am deeply saddened by the news as I am sure that many of you are as well.
There has been so much said on this case, and the events leading up to this day. I feel that there is not much more to say and there for I offer no other opinion than I believe in Tyler and if he says I didn't do it then I believe him.
So... A message to Tyler, I guess I should write in his gust book as I am sure it gets more hits than this rant, but non the less.
Tyler, keep fighting. Race again please! I want to see you race and so do thousands of others. Ride and race again to show the CAS there wrong, show everyone especially the cheaters that riders can win clean, show the people that don't believe in cycling that it can be done and be done clean. You deserve more and while there is more to you coming back to the racing scene than I can even begin to fathom, please try.
Any one can be a good cyclist, anyone can be a great athlete. It takes a bit more to be humble and great. It takes even more to be humble, great and give back to the community and the world. And, it takes something that very few people in the world have, to be humble, be great, give back, and over come great adversity. If there is any one that is capable of doing this its you.

Set back or Opportunity

Every set back is an opportunity in disguise right? That’s what I always say, that’s what I preach to my clients, and that’s what I practice. Always. However sitting here the day after surgery on a hernia I am finding the “opportunity” is difficult to find. However I will find it and I will be sure to let you know. Lets back up. Yes I had a Hernia. Not a bad one. It didn’t really hurt. But I could tell what it was and that it wasn’t good. It got worse, slowly. But it was enough for me to make some quick doctor apt. to confirm my condition. I saw the surgeon, he answered my questions. Then asked me.” So, when would you like to do this?” “ I’m free right now.” I said. I wanted this over with. Its almost Feb. and I have no time to be laid up on pain killers. So 3 days later I was lying on a table in a very scary room with 3 doctors and 1 surgeon. “hey eric, what do you do for work? so have you done that caner fund raising ride in blah blah?” have you blah blah blah…” ”hey” I say with confusion, “ did you already put some medicine in my IV?” “yup I did Eric how are y&^%$*” the next thing I know I am sitting up right with my mother and the surgeon talking about something irrelevant, feeling like I just got kicked in the gut 100 times. I tock it upon my self to shave before surgery. Hope they liked that? They say a hernia operation is as minor and routine as you can get. Well I say putting drugs directly into your blood stream that one make you black out immediately, not feel needles of Novocain being pumped into your leg and abs and make you not remember anything, even when I was supposedly wide awake! Not minor. Not routine. Basically some woman who I don’t even know had my life literally at her finger tips. Forget to carry the 1 in her equation, done. Sweat dreams EK. Ok enough drama I’m soar, I passed out this morning walking around the house. I’ll live. The nurse asked me if I was nervous or scared. I paused long. Looked up and said “a friend of mine is beating breast cancer right now. She had months of chemo, 2 surgery’s and radiation. I have no right to be either!”
My training: I needed a rest anyway. Last week was solid. The weekend long and I felt strong. I figure I could use 4 days off or so to begin with. I am hoping I can starting riding, EASY, on the trainer after 7-9 days. After that I will have to be conservative and build into it. I am hoping to heal fast. I’m fit I’m young, I can do it. Stay posted. For now the training journal will be filled with stuff like 10’ walk! Gona try and knock one of those out now.
stay strong.
ek

VT

I love Vermont. Its a great place. Every time I have been there the weather has been perfect, good food and great people seem to follow me around. I love it there. This weekend was no different except in the case of the weather. A large group of us went up to the Warren, Waitsfield area, home of the great Green Mt. stage race, for some skiing. Both down hill and x-country, But I also brought running shoes and a Mt. bike. This way I covered all of the possible scenarios of weather conditions and would enable me to get in some kind of workout.
Well, with 50 degrees and rain on sat. followed by 5 degrees and snow on Sunday the training was not for the faint of heart. Friday started of with a strange sort of water polo for an hour or so which completely wore me out. after that I headed out on the bike and climbed app gap. (the prologue side) for those of you familiar with the race. It wasn't any easier with the Mt. bike gearing. After an hour or so I meet up with my friends at the local health club, which has an indoor rock wall. I soon discovered that most of my climbing skills were still there but that strange power and endurance that used to allow me to hang on my arms for an hour or more was gone. Completely. So after a few grunts yelling at each other, and some good laughs we called it quits for the day.
We did some more yelling at the TV as the Patriots decided not to show up for a playoff game. That sucked! but they had a rough season. Next year.
Sunday we awoke to temps in the negative, snow and winds around 30 MPH. Perfect! I thought. After discovering that all the x-country places were closed because there was more ice than snow I drank a few more cups of coffee and headed out on the Mt. bike again. Riding up app gap and Mt. Ellen was even harder than yesterday, but I plowed on. The cars were nice, always giving me enough room. I got a few thumbs up and looks from people that said "you crazy mother f*&%*!!!
It wasn't long before my feet were numb and my legs burned with fatigue from riding up hill in the snow on an old Mt. bike.
What a weekend! Not ideal, just trying to make the best of what I got. My arms still hurt.