Prep (?) for Superweek

Another race, another taper. Well, sort of.

Superweek starts (for me) on Monday. Last year I said this:
>> Next year, I drive back either late at night or early morning.

That was in reference to the insane Friday afternoon traffic from the Wisconsin border through Chicago and all the way to Gary, IN. So what do I do this year? Arrange to race Mon-Fri and leave for home Friday afternoon.

I also said I would get an EZ-Pass so I could just blow through the toll booths just like those other drivers I so envied last year. I waited too long to order a transponder. Damn.

I registered for the race just a few hours before the late-fee deadline. Made a hotel reservation just 4 days before leaving.

Now just I hope my fitness is a little more reliable than my planning. It’s tough to fit two peak fitness periods in a 3 week window (the last one was for nationals). After the inevitable let-down after the first peak, how do you make yourself sharp again for another big race a couple of weeks later?

I’m hoping our 3-day Tour of the Valley race will be enough to kick my fitness up to where I can get some decent results.

And maybe I’m secretly wishing — just a little — that the economy will keep some of those fast guys from California away this year. But then again, that is one of the things that makes the race worth going to.