Bobby Sweeting

As my coach has always told me, and as I have always told my clients, be patient when coming back from illness or injury.   That’s all well and good in theory, but it doesn’t make it any less frustrating.  My regular training resumed about a week ago, and when I wake up tomorrow I won’t have to take any more antibiotics!

I’m sure you all know what it’s like to return to training after a setback, feeling like you’ll never be as good as you once were, that everything you’ve ever trained for is gone.  Motivation is a serious factor during these times, so just remember to stay positive and to keep it all in perspective.

My first week back has been painful to say the least.  I got in very little speed work before our local practice crit on Wednesday night.  I was able to fake my way through it and take the win, but not without puking as I crossed the line.  It’s been a good long while since I’ve thrown up off the bike, and probably my first time doing so in a local world championships practice crit.  I thought today might be better, but 4 hours in the hills and I had barely enough left to crawl home.  Pretty amazing how far you can fall after just 3 weeks of easy riding, but at least every day is a step in the right direction (as opposed to a step into another doctor’s office).

I’m still debating whether or not to go to Univest in a week.  I’ve never had the chance to do it and it’s a great course for me, but the current situation obviously isn’t ideal.  I hate going to races under prepared, especially UCI races where “faking it” means going off the back in 20 minutes.  I would gladly go to help my teammates, but in this case I would be on a composite team where the domestique roll doesn’t really exist.  We’ll see how the week goes, ride hard and keep the rubber side down.