Title 167

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="02c285a1erlcgo.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>REI Austin Cycling Team</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="REI Austin Cycling Team"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> back to  <A HREF="id164.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Race and Ride Reports"><U><B>Race and Ride Reports</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="02ad2c00dkelyh.gif"> <div> <A HREF="id164.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Race and Ride Reports"><U><IMG SRC="03b0e0e0.gif" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A>   <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="14">     <A HREF="id194.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Title 167"><U><IMG SRC="02f0e0e0.gif" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="previous" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A>  <A HREF="id192.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Title 167"><U><IMG SRC="0300e0e0.gif" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="next" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <div> <B>Superweek #5</B></div> <div> <B>... David James</B></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> Dear Friends,</div> <bR> <div> Today's race was tough -- the kind of race that would hurt even if you came</div> <div> into it fresh. The race today was 1 hour and 23 minutes long and we</div> <div> averaged 24.6 mph. My average heart rate was a few beats over my lactate</div> <div> threshold, and according to my heart rate monitor, I was anaerobic today for</div> <div> 62 minutes.</div> <bR> <div> But despite the suffering, today was a good day -- I cornered well and</div> <div> stayed upright. I even jumped in with a 7 person break today, with about 8</div> <div> laps to go. Unfortunately, the pack wasn't going to let us go anywhere.</div> <div> The break lasted for about half a lap. I could tell right then that I</div> <div> wasn't going to have much of a kick left for the finish. I sat up and tried</div> <div> to recover, but I had been anaerobic so long that I was pretty much shot.</div> <bR> <div> I finished with the pack, my strength and will sapped. In retrospect, I</div> <div> think that I could have pushed myself a little harder -- of course, that's</div> <div> always true. If you cross the finish line without blacking out, then you</div> <div> always could have gone harder.</div> <bR> <div> But here's my explanation (bear with me while I explain this): One of my</div> <div> favorite books to read in the bathroom is a collection of adventures by</div> <div> Richard Feynman. Feynman, if you didn't know, is probably the smartest</div> <div> physicist and best lecturer on the subject in the last 100 years. So,</div> <div> naturally, he's a skeptic and carries around more than a block of wood on</div> <div> his shoulders. One story is about Feynman getting hypnotized, and naturally</div> <div> at first he doesn't buy into magic and hypnotism. He doesn't think that</div> <div> being hypnotized "forces" anyone to behave in a certain way. However, after</div> <div> being hypnotized himself, Feynman has a revelation by the end of the</div> <div> chapter. He says that while he was hypnotized, he was always aware that he</div> <div> could decide whichever action he wanted. But he never "wanted" to take the</div> <div> action that was not suggested by the hypnotist. He said that he "could"</div> <div> disobey the hypnotist but he never "wanted" to. Therefore, is there any</div> <div> difference between "could" and "wanting"? Makes you wonder...</div> <bR> <div> Just in case you are concerned, I don't hypnotize myself before races. (At</div> <div> least not yet.) I'm only making the point that even after racing 83</div> <div> minutes, I felt that I "could" have gone harder at the end. But I didn't</div> <div> "want" to. I think it was my fatigued body playing tricks on my mind, in</div> <div> much the same way as a hypnotist.</div> <bR> <div> I *wish* tomorrow was a rest day. Hopefully the massage after the race</div> <div> today will help.</div> <bR> <div> Thanks for reading!</div> <div> David</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Race Summary:</div> <div> -------------</div> <div> Race: Heritage Square Classic Criterium</div> <div> Location: Sheboygan, WI</div> <div> Date: 7/25/2002</div> <div> Distance: 45 laps (approx 35 mi)</div> <div> Course: About 0.7 mi per lap. One short climb per lap. Four 90 degree</div> <div> corners and one rounded chicain (sp?).</div> <div> Weather: 75 F at the start. 82 F at the end.</div> <div> Duration: 83 minutes</div> <div> Riders starting: 70+</div> <div> Riders finishing: approx. 50?</div> <div> My placing: pack (30th?)</div> <div> Notes: Rode hard. Got in a break that didn't stick. Couldn't push hard in</div> <div> the last two laps.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>