Going the wrong way.

Well, it seems like my riding is going backwards, thus it fits the title of the blog. You don't want to copy my training regiment. First of all there is no real regiment. I just ride as much as I can. Productivity usually is positive though, if I ride more. During the season I usually plateau out and get to a point where I'm as fit as I think I can be. Strength and endurance is another story. If the race is longer than my training rides, then I typically suffer. If it's a short crit, then I'm hanging in there, and waiting for positioning.
This off season, which is definitely not an off season for others, I was trying to work on my base, however it seems like I don't have the available time to ride more than 25 miles. Weekends are always out, and weekdays it's just the noon ride if I'm lucky. So, I've now started hitting the gym to add weights to my workout. Well, every week I'm sore from the weight workout and it seems that I can't ride any harder. I've reduced the amount of weight now and have increased the reps. I'm hoping that helps out a bit till my legs get used to the additional workout.

Today, Bill, Paul, Randy, and Nick Bax showed up for what I thought would have been tempo ride. It started out that way, however after Seven Locks Road and Bradly Blvd, the pace picked up quickly by none else than Nick Bax. He showed up today because his exams were completed earlier today and he had the rest of the day off to ride. All was going well till we hit Oaklyn. Everyone took pulls on the front and the pace seemed not to slow even on the hills. I finally dropped on the second to last hill on Oaklyn and tried to hang off the back. Not a chance. The others continued to pound away. Even Randy, who turned 52 today (Hope you had a great day!), hammered along without any pain. I eventually dropped and tried to catch them hammer on Falls road. They started to fade away in the distance and I decided that I may be able to catch them down MacArthur. Not a chance. The wind was swirling and one gust almost took me down when I wasn't paying attention and holding on to the bars properly. Luckily I was still pedaling and inertia kept me up and moving straight ahead. By this time, I decided that it is probably beneficial to ride by myself and keep a good tempo up. I finally caught up at River and Goldsboro, after several stops I had to take because of traffic.
Today, it seemed that my legs just didn't have the stamina for the extra hard ride. A month or so ago, I was probably close to my peak as I could ride with anyone and keep up. Now I struggle to keep up even on days which it seems like everyone is taking it easy. I don't know whether it's the leg workouts or my positioning, or what. I just seem to be going backwards in my riding performance. This is when you need a coach to analyze you! However, I won't be getting one. I'll hopefully will have this figured out over the next few weeks. In the meantime, I may try to ride on my own a bit more and get some good base miles instead the group rides at noon.