Strange

So, today I decided to head up and do a couple laps on an XC trail that's not too far away. I've been a little bummed that it feels like my fitness has really dropped off since April or so. The combo of traveling, finishing school, being a generally lazy person, and being really tired has done a number on my training. So, anyway, I wasn't expecting much on my ride. I started my heart rate monitor, acting like I've been paying attention at all to the data it collects, and started my ride. Some guy was coming around for another loop right when I started, so I was on a mission to drop him fast on the downhill, should have picked a bigger challenge. Oh well. After a quick descent, I started climbing, and I couldn't remember which gear I usually do the climb in, so I just picked one that seemed a little challenging. To be honest, I felt like crap on most of the climb, even thought it's not very long. It seemed like I wasn't moving at all, and I remembered that I hadn't eaten much more than Edamame and some hummus since 7:30 this morning. I rolled back to the start of the loop and looked down at my watch and almost fell over: 19:00. That is 2.5 minutes faster than I have ever done that loop before. So, I pretty much decided that something must have been wrong with my watch because, clearly, I couldn't have ridden the loop that fast, especially with how crappy I felt and how out of shape I have been feeling. On to the second lap. I felt a bit better since I was warmed up. The downhill flowed nicely, and the uphill didn't seem quite as painful since I shifted down a gear or two. When I got done with the lap, I looked down expecting to see a lap time more similar to what I normally see, 21:30, but to my surprise, it was 19:11. Hmmmm, very strange, good, but strange. Hopefully it means that I'm not as out of shape as I thought I was!! Good thing, since the "pedaliest" course of the year is this weekend in Crested Butte!! I am leading the Pro Women's Gravity series right now, so I hope to get a good DH placing this weekend to make up for my sub par DH performance in Angel Fire!!