Dodging the Bullet

I am a lucky, lucky man. Sunday is my first "Priority Race" of the season, Xterra West Championships, and I dodged a few bullets this week that could've really sidtracked my plans for a great race there. Here's what's been going on:

Thursday I headed out to Vail Lake for a group ride with Luke and some peeople from STR. I put in some solid work on the SS, but crashed once, smacking my knee on my bars. No major swelling, but I hit my kneecap hard enough that it's a little sore for 15-20 minutes on every ride since. It's getting better, but it could have been worse.

Saturday: I headed back out to Vail Lake for a pre-ride on the race bike to see where my fitness is at without hammering things. I ran into Pro Lesley Patterson and another age grouper: Rick Lubeski. I showed Lesley and Rick around the courses from years past and we were having a great time until I broke my rear shifter. Crap! It's been "iffy" since it got a mud bath at Xterra REAL last month an I was hoping it would last until after Temecula; no such luck. Fortunately, I was able to order XO twist shifters from Pricepoint.com and they got here today so I have time to make the swap and stretch the cables before Sunday. Disaster #2 averted.

Went for a transition run Sat. after the ride with JW, Vance and a duathlete who's name I cannot recall (Keith?). Mental note: do not run with an Ironman Pro or the guy who has a shot at the Xterra World Amateur title: they're f'ing FAST!

Sunday: Long run around home that was supposed to be a negative split, didn't happen. My legs were so hammered, I took it semi easy and tried running steep hills the last half to simulate lap 2 of the Xterra Course. Bad idea. I finished the run and could tell I overworked something in my right pelvic girdle. Double crap! Went for a swim Monday and kicking was aggravating it so I swam with a pull-bouy instead. I've been hitting it with Ibuprofen, rest, a foam roller, stretching and jacuzzi time and it's better every day. I went for an easy ride today and I think it's going to be OK for race day. Disaster #3 averted.

As for my fitness, I'm firing on all cyclinders and absolutely chomping at the bit to get some redemption after last year's broken chain debacle. I'm in the best shape of my life and I can't wait to do something special this weekend.

Let's hope my luck holds!

E.