Recap of Day 1

Alrighty then! First day done ... three more to go!

Yesterday an introductory day: we got to meet Richard Wooles (National Track Team coach) and we got to get a feel for the track. For a bunch of us, it had been the first time since Nationals in Burnaby last August. And for many, it was their first time on the London track - which is comparatively very small (138m) and very inclined (17-52 deg). So there was a huge difference in ability: local riders could just let 'er rip, but for the London newbies, even if they held national titles, they just couldn't hold the line.

The morning session was reserved for Juniors and New Riders - I jumped in there to get extra ride time. On the schedule was: warm-up, flying 200m-500m, standing 500m-3000m, and a paceline flying lap whistle drill. Well... with over 20 riders on the track, ranging in ability, it was just not going to happen. We did one or two individual flying 200m, and one flying 500m in teams so that Richard could watch our exchanges. Nothing standing - that would take too much time. The whistle drill was pretty intense: we were in a paceline, and when the whistle blows , the lead rider jumps down to the black and rips through the track to get back on the tail of the paceline. Sometimes, that whistle would go off every second! Richard wanted to see our reaction times - a skill to have to jump onto attacks and close gaps smoothly.

It was a great session, where we got to learn about Richard and his training style (as compared to Rob Good, Ontario Track Team coach), and get our legs moving. Overall, it was a not an exhausting workout - or at least, we all felt pretty good at the end. I guess that's a good thing because we still have 3 days to go!

I went to the evening session, with the elites. It was pretty much the same: impossible to keep to the schedule. The only difference is that we did a flying 1000m (instead of 500m) in teams. At the end of the whistle drill, I was feeling pretty tired mentally and physically, finding my mind drifting and my legs wanting to coast. I didn't want to cause any crashes, so I pulled myself off and rode the rollers. I was satisfied with putting in 4hrs of riding time.