I have really been enjoying the cyclocross season so far. Cross is just so intense. Unlike endurance or even cross country mountain bike races where you must hold back a little bit at all times in order to maximize your speed over the entire race (2.5hr - 10hr), in cross you are basically going nearly as hard as humanly possible the entire time. It is just SO INTENSE! It is the essence of racing. The only reason to hold back a little in cross is so that you have more control and you don't crash out. Many times I find that I need to slow down just a tiny bit so that I can go faster overall. However there are always sections of a cross course that are not technical and in those sections I find that I am going as hard as I possibly can.
Cross is about power, speed, and cross specific skills.
I have never been a strong of quick rider... my strengths are in my endurance and relatively lighter weight but those don't help me much in cross races. Therefore recently I have been working hard to get stronger and faster. I have been focusing my training on strength and speed specific exercises exclusively with no regard for endurance or being light. I am actually hoping to gain a few lbs of muscle in order to increase my strength (hopefully not any fat though!)
So far my season is going really well. I have been getting stronger and faster each week. If I can stave off 'over-training' and 'over-racing' myself by adding in the appropriate rest time I think I will continue to improve until the end of the season.
My #1 goal is to be a contender at the local races. So far MABRA has been dominated by the
SEAVS/Haymarket team. I just want to be able to keep up with those guys. Even if I can't beat them in the end.. I just want to be able to stay in their group for more than just the first 1-3 laps. I want to be able to make them work for their wins :) Hopefully I will get there this season, but if not, I will get there eventually!!
All my results so far can be found at
Crossresults.com
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