Well it’s been quite awhile now since my last posting. Lots of things happened in various areas of life and my stress management skills have been tested to the max, both professionally and personally, over the last few months. Unfortunately it meant training taking a back seat for a bit. I needed to regroup and figure myself out for awhile. I started building a hot rod, hung Christmas lights on the house (fell off the ladder twice), now in the middle of a full scale kitchen remodel, among other personal and professional 'issues'. I wasn't sure how, when, or if I was gonna get back to this. Well, I can't hold back any longer and its time. I miss it. My coach,
TJ, spoke a lot about the different kinds of stresses involved in life over last season and the effects they have on...well, everything! I always have a sense of direction when I'm in a workout - making the daily and weekly goals that lead to the bigger picture of getting faster, and finishing toward the front! I need to get that back. I learned so much last year that I'm excited to put it to good use '09.
I need to get back in it. Weird...I miss the pain and suffering of the 5-6,000 feet of climbing out west and the rewards of the white knuckle descents weaving, jumping, and dodging trees and rocks...blasting through the streams of the Snowmass course that give the most refreshing feeling ever when the water splashes up all over you (and also gives some of the coolest photo opportunities). That 'tingling' feeling during the last lap after pushing as hard as I could for three hours in La Crosse, WI just gets me - love it! My first marathon event this past season, the strategy...when to push hard, when to take it easier and be smooth. Ultra-endurance in '09 maybe? 24hrs of ....?? hmmm... The MNSCS races...shorter faster paced, each event with its own flavor. Last year was my first time racing at Mankato and for some reason that course always sticks out in my mind as one I can't wait to get back to, and Duluth, and Afton, and Maplelag, ok well all of them I guess. I don’t know, glutton for punishment? …maybe, but the 40-50 mph speed crazed descents out west after the accomplishment of literally climbing that mountain just feel so awesome.
Five months until
Sea Otter in Monterrey, CA; six until
MNSCS; and nothing posted yet about the Mountain States Cup schedule out west or the WORS series. It’s still hard to tell which will be my first tests of the '09 season. Last year I didn't really get out much until April, and I'm hoping to get a head start this time around...like five or six months worth. However, initially my training will be in the form of a winter sport...I need to get some xc ski's yet.
My bike is more or less nonexistent. The Turner Nitrous frame is gone - loved the frame but the geometry just didn't fit and Turner has since axed production on the Nitrous. Gonna try a hardtail 'big wheel' bike I think...maybe...not sure which yet though. For now, I will be working on cleaning out some rust and heading to Colorado for Christmas and downhill skiing at Breckenridge, Arapahoe Basin, maybe Keystone. More updates wil be coming...
