054: Free Milk Sundays 6-7

Somewhere this summer I read a quote, "you're either getting faster, or you're getting slower, there is no status quo with fitness..."

For whatever reason that has stuck with me. Coming into the season I knew I wasn't 100% for the opening weekend but planned to continue to get stronger as the season developed. I was getting stronger each week.

The plan was coming around pretty well with my best rides of the year at Granogue and Wiss. Heck, who am I kidding Granogue might have been the best cross I ever rode of my life.
Then I got sick. I got some nasty cold or something. Couldn't kick it. I wasn't the only one, a number of the C3/DCCofD/Granogue crowd got hit, lovingly we called it the Granogue Flu.

The last two weeks have been really bad. I wasn't racing well. I couldn't make the bike go, something was just wasn't right. After last week, I pretty much made my mind up that if I couldn't make the bike go, If I couldn't do better than the past few weeks efforts, it might be time to call it a season. Clearly, I was not getting faster...

We'll call that a crisis of confidence- fatmarc style.

Last week, working closely with my coach, I got back into my routine. I raced well this weekend, 22nd at Fairhill on Saturday, and 17th Sunday at Tachinno. Not the best results in the world, and I made some tactical errors both days, but at the end of the day, I was racing, I was battling my peers, and fighting for position to the line both days. There is still fire in the heart, and my best cross of 2009 is still in front of me. Perhaps most important there is a flow to the cross season, and today, I felt back in that rhythm. This weekend wasn't my best cross, but I know one thing, today I'm getting faster.
The house guests this weekend included Hardy, Zayne, and Zach. Great to have them around. Monkey and I have been lucky to have great folks around the past few weekends.

Sunday coming home from Tacchino there was a nasty crash on 95. It added an extra hour to our drive home. We did the ole dip, duck, dodge, dive, duck on some back roads. At one point we were siting in traffic, and there was a sick long line of folks going into High's Dairy. Jan and I were like "WTF". Totally deadpan, Monkey says, "Free Milk on Sundays from 6-7"
We answer, "oh..."

Shortly there after she starts laughing. Then we all burst out in laughter. I look at her and ask, "there's no fucking free milk is there..."

This has been a good cross season for me, I expected some ups and downs. But proudly today, I accomplished one of my 6 goals for 2009. I was a winner in the sausage preme. That's right here's Jim presenting me my award from the Suitcase of Sausage.
One down, 5 to go.

Thanks to all my teammates for there support this week, and their kind words of encouragement. Thanks to CZ too.
Bad Andy put to me just before the start of my race Saturday, "you're freakin' Fatmarc, you're a badass, start acting like it."

That might have been a little strong, but damn I got the message.

I love cross. BTW our "Halloween" kits might have been a week late, but damn they are bad ass.

respect
fatmarc