This past week, Aaron had the pleasure of using up some good ol’ vaca time and spent the entire week logging hour after hour on his bike. It was his very own “Rosco Training Camp”. Every day looked like 70-90 miles and he’d come home, put his legs up on my lap and give me the puppy eyes. Fortunately we planned ahead and he was able to get a massage (relieving me from my soigner duties). Saturday, I took the day off of work at the shop and spent the entire day with Aaron, on two wheels. He had to do 5 1/2 hours and I took him up on the adventure. I had to do my power weights in the morning first, and then I met Kate, Luke, Torrance, and Aaron at the shop for our big adventure north. We took off and rode up to Concord and further west. Torrance had to leave early on but we kept trucking away. My awesome home-made energy bars got me through great distances (recipe below). Plus, Aaron pulled most of the way on the front as he had to ride a bit harder than the rest of us. We looped down and through Foxboro and back into Medfield/Dover area. Once we were almost back, I had to start my 15 second standing-start sprints. I was already a bit fatigued from the long ride, but as Aaron said,

“This will prepare you for the race – where it really counts.”

He was right. I left Aaron, Kate, and Luke and started my efforts. My legs screamed in pain with each effort. I could barely spin my pedals between each interval, but when the time came to ‘go’, I went with all my might and then some. I think they may have been the best sprints I’d done thus far…even with all the fatigue, but at the back of my mind was an image of all the races I want to win this year and that this moment was the moment that must count.

I finished at the top of the hill by our apartment and rolled home. We got some grub, even went to Trader Joes and slept like babies through the night.

Sunday was where my cockiness started. I’m not saying that I was cocky like I was really full of myself. It’s just that I felt really good and I was pretty blown away by the fact that my body didn’t feel destroyed. I woke up, made pancakes, and then Torrance met us at the apartment to ride into Brookline to meed at the Cafe Fixe. We discovered Cafe Fixe last weekend when we met up with some of the Met Life riders for a big ride. The experience of sipping the espresso down, made the ride into the city, worth every mile and bump in the road. It was as if I was being transported into Europe, sitting at a little cafe on a ride. The taste was like a bitter and frothy caramel. It was so good! And once that wonderful concentration of caffeine went into my system, it was as if I had been charged up by rocket fuel! My body started to shake a little, my excitement rose, and I was too excited to hop onto my bike. Torrance and Aaron had the same feeling too. We waited at the cafe for just a little while, but decided that we’d missed the other group of riders, so we took off on our own. The air was slightly humid but overall I felt excited and full of energy. Aaron led for much of the way (as usual, using his “Ross Bicycle Global Positioning System”) but soon we adventured to some little hills where my confidence started to take over. I’d accelerate and look over my shoulder to taunt Aaron, but all of a sudden, Torrance would come flying around the side and try to take on the KOM. Aaron would chase after him and I would hang back as my legs would suddenly remind me that all their juice was used up the previous day. This happened much of the ride and a few times, I thought I might actually take on the town line or KOM, but it just didn’t work out. I was very surprised how well I felt and still kept and eye on my food/water intake.

But almost immediately after Torrance left us at 3hrs 15min, Aaron and I started to ride up Pine Street in Medfield. If you’ve been on Pine Street, you understand that it’s a longer climb. Anyhow, I knew I needed more energy, so I took a Hammer Gel and continued to day dream as I rode Aaron’s wheel up the hill. It was as we peaked the Pine St. hill, that I suddenly came back to reality and realized that my legs really hurt and all of a sudden, it was like my body hit a wall. I lost all my energy! I was soo close too! We started to turn and I called after Aaron, “Aren’t we headed home?” He needed more time. I followed him, but soon he kept distancing himself. I was losing altitude. I felt light headed. I kept stuffing my face with food and drinking. I caught up to him as he had stopped to wait for me. “You can go Aaron. I’m holding you up. I need to go home.” He was concerned but let me head back. I started back home. As my blood sugar came up, my energy picked back up. Once I was home, I grabbed some food and crashed on the couch. Aaron came home soon and continued to make me lots of food, so by the end of the afternoon, my energy was much higher.

It was a great weekend. And yes, I did get a little to cocky but I’ll blame the espresso on that! To top it off, we were invited over to our friend’s the Kraus’ for a dinner of buffalo steaks! Now that’s what I call real recovery food!

Here’s my recipe for energy bars:

Best Energy Bars Ever

1c flour 2 1/2 c oats 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 c coconut 1 c chopped nuts 1/2 c dried fruit 1/2 c chocolate chips

Mix separately: 2/3 c all natural crunchy peanut butter 1/2 c milk 2 eggs 1/2 c honey 1/2 c brown sugar

Mix wet ingredients with dry. Line plastic wrap on 9×13 in baking pan. Spray with baking oil. Put mixture and spread evenly, cool in fridge for 30 minutes or so to let it stiffen. Take out of fridge and cut into desired sized bars. Place bars on cookie sheet (lined with foil and greased) with space in-between. Bake 300 degrees for 20-22 minutes. Cool and then wrap bars in foil/plastic, or put in mini snack size bags to carry on rides.