Weekend Warrior vs Burning the candle

Let's play a little game called recommended vs not recommended!

Recommended: Racing your heart out on Friday Night with the cat 3 men and contesting sprints.

Not Recommended: Racing Friday Night Track before a three stage omnium with hills.

Recommended: Signing up in advance for a plush crit corner marshal 4 hour shift because it is your team race and bringing your favorite lawn chair, umbrella, compression socks and lunch.

Not Recommended: Buying a Safeway Club sammy and having a 1/4 cup of orange mayo layered on thick - yet eating it all because you're famished.

Recommended: Not wiping your mayo hands on your $100 compression socks.

Recommended: Getting your tubulars re-glued weeks in advance.

Not Recommended: Checking the stem length before having them glue it in a disc wheel. It makes it difficult to inflate your tires! And then breaking your bomb proof pump right before a TT.

Recommended: Always park next to the Boursaws. They'll bail you out of a pickle every time. ;)

Recommended: Going full out for a 10k TT and having someone in front of you to chase.

Not Recommended: Catching the person in front of you before the final corner, and coming in so hot while in your bars that you off road, almost crashing into the ditch with 200m to go. Then losing for the second stage race TT in a row by three seconds to Beth! It was that off road portion, I swear!

Recommended: Having a dry crit in Enumclaw.

Not Recommended: Being in the Cat 4 or 5 men's field and watching 5 crashes!

Recommended: Going full out for a crit - playing it smart with Liz and covering all attacks and counters.

Not Recommended: Going for a $20 prime, then having a gap and hearing the prime bell ring again for omnium points. Trying to hold off a charging field and getting swarmed with 2 corners to go. At least I tried, right?

Recommended: Taking which ever wheel you want in the crit - you open an inch, and I'm going to take that wheel from you! (Thank you track!)

Not Recommended: Taking the 4th wheel back, getting swarmed and then having to go the long way around with 2 corners left till the finish.

Recommended: Driving the follow car in any race. You get to know the ins and outs of racing - how the officials communicate, etc.

Not Recommended: Getting home at 10:30 pm, trying to fall asleep and then up at 6am to drive back down south. Ouch.

Recommended: Starting the hilly road race, listening to your body when the hammy starts to talk and calling it a day when you're too far off the back and it's cold out.

Recommended: Checking the results when they're posted - turns out they didn't score me as starting the RR so I didn't get omnium points. A quick fix in an excel spreadsheet and viola! 6th place in the GC! Even if I had finished the RR it wouldn't have changed my placement. Deal!

Highly Recommended: Scheduling a massage with the miracle worker Sarah Ellis to iron out all the kinks. Turns out my back was super duper tight - thus pulling the hammy. Wise choice!

Very highly recommended: Eating sushi after a long weekend of being a warrior and burning the candle at both ends.