The semester is over! Thank goodness!
And, my ankle is behaving itself... somewhat, for now!
I've been able to push a slightly more difficult gear effectively again, which means I've been able to start doing more intense training workouts and catch back up to where I would have been.
I will definately say that one of the places where I seriously feel the nutritional deficiencies from Crohn's disease and not having a large intestine is in recovery from racing and high intensity interval work. I notice that I have a seriously impaired recovery time compared to other racers and teammates. I need more cooldown time, more sleep (naps are great! naps in the parking lot or on the lawn at races are the best ever.), and more in the way of nutrients than other guys my age. This means that I bring my gummy vitamins with me to races, so I have no days of missed nutrients. And, I do allow mysellf to go find a quiet place and take a nap. Self care is sometimes hard to prioritize over cheering on teammates in following races, but I've learned what I cannot budge on. Luckily, I have a few teammates who know the issues and have been great allies. My coach is also very aware that I have specialized needs.
But anyway, yes, I've gotten a self care routine down (most of the time) and my ankle is now behaving (some of the time)!
And... on Tuesday I took 8th in a criterium race (short, very fast circuit race with sharp corners)! I'm back in the game! For a minute it looked like I was going to take 3rd, but I got beat out in the final sprint. That's ok though, I'm still not overdoing it with high torque gears. I'll take an 8th if it means preserving my ankle for the rest of the season. It's still a top ten place.
I'm looking forward to a full race weekend, tomorrow and Sunday. Sunday in particular should be exciting! It's the steel city showdown, and I'll be racing in it and trying for another top ten finish. Here's hoping for some sunshine this weekend!
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