Adrift

The summer drags on as it has always seemed to do.  The Kid went back to UF, leaving the house a little empty.  You'd think we'd be used to it by now.  Schools back in for the Lovely Wife which is always hard for us to adjust to.  Being an elementary school teacher would never be my pick of something to do.

A Plan

Or rather a lack of one.  It's too early to start training for GSC/SERC.  I am enjoying just riding the rides as they develop.  My riding associates can't believe when I shrug and say "no plans today".

I do have a couple of decisions to make.  First, should I train with nationals in mind?  Ignoring the GSC/SERC year end placing?  I am considering either riding 50+ base or 50+ sport.  Both would help me build fitness approaching nationals but would have less of a chance of success than defending my 60+ championships.  I struggled with this all season.  Let's see how I do in the FSC 60+ in the three races I plan on attending.

Second, I am thinking of hiring a coach.  CTS seems to have the most experience with gray headed athletes.  I have had great results with LW Coaching.  Not just placing but injury and general health.  But I really have the urge to try something more advanced.  

Which leads me back to my first decision.  It doesn't make sense to spend all that money and effort just to beat up on those same 60+ guys in GSC/SERC again.  First world problems huh?

Anyhoo, I miss riding with Jim, it looks like he'll never come back.  Dr. Sworks has been out for a while, he's been my steady Tuesday-Thursday training partner for the past 2 years.  We have had some good group rides but we seem to loose momentum pretty quick.  Maybe when the weather cools off?

Just a few more weeks till the Tallahassee race.  I am looking forward to participating.  See ya there!

Staying Calm

I put the last post on FB because a friend of mine doesn't know how to find this without FB.  He said he lives vicariously through my stories and was missing them.  I do have that going for me.

Speaking of FB, I understand all the mental crap that goes with "liking" and getting "likes" on posts.  It's weak to crave the attention of others, I get it.  Some (a very few) really care about the actual activity.  It's just that it's almost required to let your "friends" know how things went.  I like to look at race results and hear race stories, even if it's just in print.  Our sport (mountain biking) has such few participants that you can't talk about it around the water cooler at the office so I guess social media is the next best thing.

No Plan

So I'm off any kind of training plan for a few weeks.  It makes me nervous that I lack direction but it's good for me in the long run.  I have really enjoyed riding without any type of prescription.  I'll use this time in the gym to work on my weak leg and some other things I was afraid of doing for fear it would effect my races.

Learned

One of the things I am taking away from my Nats experience is that I can do more than I'm doing. That there is still some (quite a bit actually) room for improvement.  I may be limited on the mental side of the sport but I believe I can ramp up the physical side some more without getting hurt or worse, burned out.