The "Off Season" 2013

It's January...I'm not a big fan of January mostly because it consists of a lot of trainer time. This off season I'm feeling pretty good!! I started "riding" again after a 3 week break that followed the State CX race. I was a little worried about losing fitness, then realized it's freakin January and it's not a big deal!!!

Most years I manage to stay motivated through January with the hope of riding outside after work in February. Let's hope this February cooperates and I, I guess I should say we, can get outside, ride and slowly but surely tell the trainer to PISS OFF!!!

Here's to staying focused and getting it done in 2013!!!

E

2012...GOODBYE MUTHA F**KA!!!

2012...what can I say about it...In January I was almost certain that racing was not going to be included but with some stretching, foam rolling and a baseball to DESTROY knots, I finally got to ride pain free on a regular basis...in March...HOORAY!!!

At that point I wasn't sure how much racing I was gonna do, but decided to race and see how it went...it started okay, my fitness was pretty low from being off the bike, from mid November til late February, to heal my old ass body, so needless to say I suffered horribly!!!

In May I hired a coach to make the most of my new Powertap, Jeff at Fascat got me going and his regime for me was brutal to say the least...but as I look back on how I rode in 2012, it definitely worked!! Here's a link www.fascatcoaching.com/‎ His philosophy is, training should be harder than racing, and it was. The 2 crits I did in June and July were hard but I never really suffered horribly. I guess my results don't reflect that but being "race savvy" helps produce results and the best way to get that is race and crit racing wasn't a high priority for me in 2012 so I wasn't at my best in a tactical sort of way...

After that it was time to think about racing CX. At the end of 2011 I decided for 2012 I would need a CX bike, so it was time to get that in the works, which I did and you all know what I built so I'm not going to go on about that...

From July to September I was focused solely on CX, with a couple of races in July. One of which I trained for, the Tour of Lawrence crit, and an MTB race that I used for training which I finished on the podium in 3rd behind some REALLY FAST guys...I had a good ride that day but totally didn't think I would be on the podium.

I gotta say training like that and not racing was a huge challenge mentally!! I think I might have gone off the deep end had my first CX race at Manions come any later in the season...mostly because doing intervals at the downtown airport was going to make me go LOONEY!!!! I think about half, maybe more, of the 5000+ miles I rode last year were spent there doing intervals...I swear I think I could ride around that place with a blindfold on at speed...oh well, it's what I signed up for and all of this was preparation for being on form for the state CX race in December.

Finally, CX season rolled around, THANK THE GODS OF ALL THAT IS CYCLOCROSS!!!! I was pretty nervous when I finally toed the line at the first race, mostly because I have NEVER put in so much time and effort into a season of racing and had no idea of how I was gonna do...also I think a good bit of my nerves were from not being a seasoned CX racer and not knowing the fine points of this sport that FREAKIN RULES!!!

The results were slow to come, but they did. With each weekend of racing I moved one step closer to the podium and finally the top step!! I will say this, I think my CX machine surprised a lot of people, mainly because of the flat bar and I can't remember how many times I heard "when are you gonna build a CX bike??? You'll be faster"!! This made me laugh, after all, with the exception 3 or 4 races, I was top 5 or better...haters will hate!

I finally make into December and for the most part I'm ready to rumble at the state CX race. As I sit here and tap out this blog I've had plenty of time to reflect on that race. I had a good day, not a great day, on the bike and I was rewarded for that with a 3rd. I've tried for a long time to get a state jersey and this was the closest I've come to date. It was enough to make me give it a go again in 2013.

As of right now I'm a little apprehensive about that because in 2012 I didn't start riding until March and real training began in May, so being burned out was never an issue and as of right now I plan start training on January 1st...so I'm a little worried that when CX season rolls around my fitness will be good but my give-a-damn may be broken...I guess I'm gonna find out.

There you go, now you know, I think for me 2012 was a good year for me on the bike. What will 2013 bring??? I have no idea, but I do know that I will be riding and racing and as of now, possibly on a new team...they say change is good, I guess I will begin there and see what happens.

E