Kissena is my home track, but I wandered a bit and went to T-Town on July 12th. I had been feeling good - upgraded about a month prior to Cat 4, had been racing very consistently and placing well sometimes, riding a lot - generally feeling strong and fast. I didn't have any pretensions of kicking ass - I figured I'd be filler in the cat 4s at T-Town, but I'd still get out there and have a fun time.

I wound up doing better than I had expected - placing well in a points race with a big late sprint put me in 5th for the omnium, which qualified me for the B feature race. I broke away early - it was a snowball - and took 3rd. Hearing my name over the loudspeaker - "..And there's _________, of The Bronx, New York, out in front, collecting more points in this snowball" was a highlight of the season. I felt good. I felt strong. I was even surprising myself.

The low point of the season was late July. After having a great time racing a crit with Gui, I got very sick, recovered, entered a high-stress period that also coincided with the need to mourne a very dear family member, and racing suffered. It has been a difficult summer.

I've been thinking a lot about training for next season; I have a lot of thinking and planning and, most importantly, learning to do. Training is complicated - when do I do what? What do I need to build? I'd like to get stronger, faster, more endurance-y, and sprintier. Like everybody else.

So I'm leafing through a copy of the Cyclist's Training Bible. I don't plan to use too much data about VO2max or power - just a speedometer and some sensible plans - build endurance, work on intervals, do some at-home leg strength work, work on max speeds, and make sure to rest.