Stamullen weekend

The week after the des was a fairly quiet week, i put in some long hard spins and did some power work which i felt brought great benifit. Friday came and i travelled from the west for the evening race in stamullen.... all was going good until i could hear was the fast rythemic du du du du du du du du of the falt trye on the van and sure no better place than the side of the moter way and whats even better the van had no jack in it..... my dad always sed i lacked initiative but i soon proved that statement wrong by running 2 miles across the west meath fields to were i convinced an old farmer to lend a sweaty 22 year old with a peak cap who was spilling a totally crazy story of a puncture 2 miles across the fields on the moter way his jack, fair play to him he did and after changing the wheel 20mins later i arrived back with it. i had planned for the unexpected maybe nothing as bad as that but with my time schedule on track i made it to the race.... the friday race was short and fast, the power work from the week still fresh in my legs i just felt slow and sluggish, like i lacked the killer edge, i got no place.
That friday i stayed wit tim and both of us travelled to the saturday race together, tim was the defending chamion so he was obliged to put on a strong performance and so he did taking a great 2nd place behind team mate mark dowling and me taking third which wasnt to bad, i was happy to see that my legs were coming round.
Sunday was the big day, the day the top riders usually attend in a attempt to take the stamullen grand prix title, racing was hard and fast and with a tough climb each lap the field soon crumbled and broke under the pressure, 2 strong riders broke free to take first and 2nd but i battled hard and with 3km to go jumped clear of my bunch only to take 3rd by inches over a fast approaching peleton of riders.
It was good for my confidence to get the result of third in such a tough race, it was a good sign that my form was coming good, and just in time with the ras only a month away..

Just when the going got good!!

Its been a while since the ras mumhan disaster.... the fact that i had to pull out of one of the irish calanders biggest events really affected me. it has takin me ages to come right from what happened, but the following week i rode the Des Hanlon a Hard 1 day race here in ireland were i wasnt expecting much but to make it around with no calf problems. from word go i was in the mix of the attacks all very small stuff, i was foolish getting sucked into the immediate action i should have known well that the break would go on a climb, and that it did it was a hard drag with heavy cross winds, i was in the right place at the time to jump across but i could do nothing all i could do was sit there, my legs were max'd out they had nothing more than the strength to hold me were i was. sickened is the only word to explain how i felt as i watched the break blaze off down the road me lodged back in the bunch, but i had to except the fact that without the legs i cant go so i shudnt dwell. as the race went on and as the miles clocked up i felt the others around me slowing it was at this stage i took it on myself to drive the bunch to the line, i rode hard in the last 20km putting in massive turns eating time out of the break but it was to much to late in the end i rolled across the line to the bitter taste of defeat.... but what doesnt kill me makes me stronger.

Disaster!!

Went to ras mumhan this weekend, all i have to say is i am truely dissapointed. legs felt 100% in the days approaching the event, went down on the thursday night with spock had a good rest in cork and travalled to kilorglin that morning, spocks pancreas was already suffering with the stress as the minutes to kick off became smaller and smaller, tailgating, dodgy over takes it all made for an epic jouney to the beggining of irelands biggest stage race 2nd to the ras.
the first stage kicked off like usuall out the kilarney road, i found i was up the front immediatly mixing it up with the other strong riders, i saw my oppertunity and attempted to get to the break and it was there that it struck, my achilles came back to haunt me, leg throbbing, mind fried, morale zero and all i could do was sit there and watch the break steadily disapear into the distance. i finished out the stage and made my way back to the B&B, lying in bed i was absolutly devestated knowing the inevitable truth that i would have to pull out. i was so motivated towards the race and was really looking foward to the coming stages, but it would not be for me, i was on a bus from killarney to limerick were my mum collected me, i was to annoyed with the situation to wait in kerry all weekend, so travelling home seemed the only option.
A night on the rip with spider and i am once again back on track, the key is that i do not allow the injury to sideline me for too long a steady and controlled rehabilitation will hopefully have me back on track soon.

Ras lumni,

I raced ras lumni this weekend, went down on the sat night and raced sunday morning. If nothing else came of it the crack was had, stayed in the maldron in southhill, probably not the most pleasent spot in the world but with a twin room bigger than something off mtv cribs i wasnt complaining. it could have been paranoia but i just wasnt fully confident about the condition of my achilles, all i could do was stretch relax and focus on the race the following day.

Attack, Attack, Attack....... thats all i remember, i was as aggressive as a fox forced into a corner and a shotgun in his face. i followed every move that my legs woud possibly allow me to, in the end i missed the one move that stayed clear, but after a savage effort i managed to bridge the gap and make my way to the break.... problem being i arrived with 5km to go, in a bodybag, and cramping like a mad dog. sprinted my eyeballs out but in the end all i could muster was a 6th place. i wasnt particulary happy with the result but what can i do..... TRAIN HARDER... RACE SMARTER. ras mumhan this weekend and im expecting big things, that is if the pain in my achilles goes, it was on one of the small inclines in limerick that i may have done some damage, i tried accelerating after a wheel in a large gear and found my achilles paying the price.

The new bike seems to be meeting all the challenges it has faced so far, and the campy is a dream come true, so smooth, so easy, and never fails to meet my requirements when the pressure is on.

with the days till the ras getting lesser and lesser i find my self asking the question will i be ready in time, my injury has been a major set back, one of which i cant find words to express the situation, but all athletes suffer injuries, they are part and parcel of sport, what makes the difference is the ones that take some thing away from the scenario and apply it to prevent a reacurance.

may ras mumhan have mercy on my legs!!!

Nearly there...

My leg is now near fixed, well fingers crossed. went out for 3hrs today ith captain planet and our newly named Spock. leg stood up to the challenege of following the lads pace as they preformed there efforts, spocks idea of race preperation was short lived when we started out so we addopted teh simpler method of UP AND OVER PEOPLE, ended up in castlebar by the time we were finished.
BIG NEWS!!!!
i raced this weekend, attempted to lay the smack down but in the end had it layed on me. suffered like a dog for every second that i was in the saddle, my leg didnt feel 100% but i controlled my efforts and rode solidly in the bunch in sligo, i did a bit of riding at the front to make the most of the raceand ended up hopping across into the break. finished up pretty ok in the group so im happy with how the day went,
All i will say about Donegal is "DONEGAL IS ABSOLUTE HELL" bog, hills, cross winds, bad roads, and lactic acid in quantities that would kill majority of men.

Boredom...UGHHHHHH!!!!!!

When i was in school, college or sitting at the side of the pool in waterpoint, lying on my sofa watching sum random garbage seemed like a godsend. But the truth is so much different, since my injury all i have been doing is laying of the sofa watching Heros, and waiting for my next meal, it sounds depressing because that is what it probably is, ive been of the bike and away from quality training for quite sum time now, its been close to a month since ive strung together a solid week of training and in the run up to the season there cudnt be a bigger disaster.
Good new is that im of to the specialist tommorow to get my leg checked and if there is sign of improvement i might not be under lock and key for much longer. Keeping in shape when all you do is ride 5hrs in the saddle and eat plenty of food to power you on your way is preety easy, but when the tables turn and your burning about as much calories as a dead man in a grave eating plates of pasta and bowls of porridge can have preety adverse affects on the numbers you clock up on the scales, its been a killer the last while since my training dipped, before it all struck i was in good shape, body fat was low, i felt strong and looked lean but once injured i pilled on weight, it took a few days to get a level head back again and now that i have adapted my diet i am now on the up again and regaining my good physique.
like wat the hell does be on day time T.V like i have over 400 channels on the NTL but like not 1 programme that would interest me, actually i was graced with been able to watch ALBERTO CONTADOR smash the oppisition in paris nice and if that wasnt enough i was blessed with more action as tom boonen outclassed all the competition it tirrano - adriatico to take victory and seal victory.

Its been a while.....

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