Solvang Training Camp - Day 4

Oh my gosh...I was in such a hurry to end that last post, I forgot one of the most exciting parts of the trip!!!! So we were at dinner, everyone was eating, chatting amongst themselves. Without a word, Robbie Ventura walks in the conference room with....FLOYD LANDIS! The applause started and grew loud. It continued for about a minute, then people began to stand up and clap louder. Floyd was now standing in front of the room with his back up against the wall and he had this childish grin on his face, looking somewhat embarrassed. The applause lasted for at least 5 minutes. Then Robbie says, "OK, Floyd will have more to say later," and dinner continued. At the end of the dinner, there was a rather uncomfortable Q&A with the campers asking all kinds of questions on the status, if he's riding, etc. Can't believe I forgot to put that in the last post.

Now we're on Day 4. This was the Santa Rosa Road Pack Ride. Listed as a recovery ride, we were going to practice bridging efforts, single and double pacelining and racing tactics. Again, it was cool in the morning and I was layered up. This was getting to be a nice routine. The pace of this ride started out really slow and I didn't mind. We practiced a lot of the pacelining that has been talked about. Even though you hear what you're supposed to do/say when something is going on in a ride, it's a whole other story to actually do or say those things during the ride. I was chastized for giving a signal with the wrong hand. The more you ride with the same people, the more you're able to predict what they're going to do or how they react to a situation (like a pothole).

There was one squirrely rider I didn't particularly enjoy riding behind. He was a strong rider, but not very predictable. I also noticed that he didn't like riding in the group. Most often, he could be found riding 200+ yards ahead of the group. I guess he just liked it that way. I was able to catch a lot of scenery on this ride and really listen to what the coaches had to say in regards to pack riding and technique. I was fortunate to have one of the mechanics, who lives just outside of Solvang, on this ride. He taught me a LOT about descending...this info would have been helpful yesterday is what I was thinking! But it was great info and I was able to practice it a bit during this ride. Though this was a "recovery" ride, there were still some challenging hills scattered throughout the ride.

We were told there was a short race included in this ride. Somewhere during the ride, there was going to be a cone or marker...then it would be a 2K race. Winner accumulates points for their team. I had no idea what to expect. We're all riding along when someone notices a 2K mark on the road. The pack takes off and I pump hard to stay with. I find a very nice draft behind two of the men in the group and I'm quite comfortable. I think to myself, "this is easy, I can sit here and conserve and make a surge at the end!" And my plan would've been perfect had there not been a hill just around the corner! Within the blink of an eye, the road went on an incline and the pack dropped me like a hot potato. The race ended on an uphill, so I never was able to catch up. Guess we know what my weakness is! Though it was short and sweet and I didn't manage to score any points for my team, it was one of my favorite parts of camp. It gave me confidence that I could jump off the line with stronger cyclists and pointed out where my huge downfall is. It was exhilarating.

On the ride back, several of us pushed the pace a little. It was a bit tougher than the "2 of 10" effort level outlined in our plan, but I was having a good time and I was really working on staying with the group on all the uphills. This is difficult to do without getting out of the saddle, but I tried my best. I was also trying to work in the pointers on going downhill and they seemed to make me more relaxed and comfortable on the descents.

We were back at the hotel early today and I had about 15 minutes to change and get ready to go to the pool. Not as many people went for the swim today, but I still had 2 other people in my lane. We did an excellent set of descending 100s and I felt really strong. We were only able to get in about 2500 yards today and then we had to get back for a Functional Training session.

Functional Training, as defined on the Vision Quest website is: Functional training (FT) focuses on the development and maintenance of core body-strength, agility, and flexibility—areas often overlooked by endurance athletes. These workouts are designed to enhance cycling, swimming, and running performance by helping athletes develop the strength they need to maintain proper form and thus maximize efficiency. We had Gardie Jackson lead this session and it was TOUGH! We held the session outdoors in the parking lot and it was beautiful outside. However, within minutes, we were all sweating and struggling to perform the exercises correctly.

I had about 30 minutes before I had to pile in the van for my second and final massage. I would be sure NOT to go to the same lady I did the first day! This massage was great. He worked my hamstring quite a bit and I felt very comfortable when he was finished. Upon arriving back to the hotel, I was just in time for YOGA class. Now it was cool outside, so we held this class on the deck around the indoor pool. It was nice in there...a little humid, helping you to stretch your muscles just that little bit more. Gardie again led this session and the guy can turn himself into a pretzel!

Once again, the day went by with so much activity that there really was no "down" time. The camp is now more than half way over and I haven't even had time to check out any of the tiny downtown Solvang area. A few of us went to a wine bar for about 30 minutes before dinner, but even that felt rushed. We had dinner, an update on team point standings and told stories of the day. The next day was going to be a metric century!