The cat

I will always be nicer to the cat than I will be to you.  --Xiu Xiu

Cause vs. Effect

I often confuse what makes me stronger with what my body can tolerate when I am strong.

You never got me down, Ray.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wwItkoapuA

Legs

Tough to be objective when you are emotionally involved.

Last month was a dream month of training. 8% higher TSS than the month before. Solid, could-race-with-expectations-on-flat-courses-type raw wattages. Diet is spot on. Lowest body weight since high school. Best power-to-weight ever. More aero position on road bike.

Adding 8% in a month is a tad high, but some of that extra work was low intensity stuff, so I thought I could handle it. Unfortunately, I made up that entire extra load for the month in the final 10 days. In hindsight, that is obviously WAY too much, too fast. This month, the reaper came to deliver the message.

But I did not understand the message, so I continued to plug along and endure "just a bad day" after another "just a bad day". Finally, last night I poured over my training data and saw the problem.

This knucklehead move cost me the chance to show off my form at this weekend's GamJams TT Throwdown. It will leave me unprepared for Tym Tyler's early season series in OH. It could make me a no-show at the Dismal Dash TT next month that I always do and had so looked forward to this year. On the other hand, I still have time to be competitive in May at Wintergreen and in the local race series. And surely I learned a lesson, right?

Optimizing power-to-weight ratio

Power       Ride hard and ride a lot, but not too much     
-------  =  ----------------------------------------
Weight      Eat only good food, but not too much

I am going to copyright my magic optimizer.  It is foolproof.