ZEUS!

My new bike... I've been toying with a name for him for a few days. He arrived on St. Patrick's Day, so I was kind of thinking of an Irish theme. Finn MacCool was suggested. Cool name, kind of long. Then I found Niul, which is old Irish for "champion". Aidan was kind of cool, and I think it means "fire". But after riding this bike, damn. Zeus is totally appropriate. This bike is almost a God... I was told that with the white bar tape, I need to be winning some races. Sign me up!

Lots of things on my mind though. Still sad over the deaths of Matt and Kristy. Went by the site where they were killed yesterday, with two teammates. It was overwhelming. I've been off the bike all week, suffering from a bit of depression, horrible allergies, and lethargy. I've not had a training program since January. I've had a few workouts sprinkled in here and there, but I've basically been winging it. My coach has been "out of touch". I know he's busy, but I'm not getting what I need, and it shows in my racing and my riding. It's correctable, but it needs to be corrected sooner, rather than later.

I was so excited to ride Zeus yesterday, that I rode WAY too hard. When I went out to ride today, I was pretty sore. I then ran into three former teammates and rode too hard with them too. By the time the last two of us were headed back up Woodside Road, my legs had been twinging with cramps for about 20 minutes. Well, that was it. My right hamstring seized up, as did my right inner quad. Argh. Curses!!! They cleared pretty quickly (after drinking a ton), but dang. I know better. I rode hard yesterday and didn't hydrate enough. Then I rode hard AGAIN today and didn't hydrate enough. I should have expected as much.

At least I have a cool bike to ride... and I had a better day today shifting with the new SRAM Red stuff. Next time, I should be golden. And I had a really nice ride with Yvonne, Kim and Norma today. It was good to catch up with them. When I got back to the car, who was parked by me? Another former teammate who had moved to CO a few years ago! Another Kim! I was soooo glad to see her! And yesterday's ride with my current teammates, Erin and Angela was stellar. I learned a lot about Angela, and laughed so much that my sides hurt! What's Spanish for "Kitty Killer"? My spirits are improving, and I have my friends to thank!