Race Season Ruminations

I have absolutely no pictures that pertain to this post so I will leave you with three of my recent favorites.

XOXO Jesus

Damn it! It happened again. Completely without intention I have gotten myself into another season of racing bicycles. I was rather adamant about not racing or competing this year after suffering mega burnout from chasing a decent road season and then somehow stumbling straight out of that season and into last year’s list of blunders. But… it is almost March 1st, my name is on three rather epic start lists and I plan on suffering through a six hour solo attempt at Chris Locke's Bonebender in two weeks.

Waller, kitchen tongs, bar...

While on my second lap on the river today I realized that there must be something hard-wired into my brain that makes me do this to myself every spring. Maybe it isn’t specific to bicycles but something in my head definitely starts screaming at me to get back in shape around the beginning of February every year, so inevitably I do.

Kels making an attempt to send "Corner to Corner"

On the downside:
- I am in the least of form to be a threat to any podium spots in an xc race. Since I have completely ditched road riding my top end and climbing form has essentially disappeared.
- I have absolutely no time to train this season. 18 hours of class and the job have left me pretty much m.i.a. between the hours of 7 and 7. Today was my first day on the bike in almost 2 weeks.

On the upside:
- I feel I am in the most well-rounded form of anything I can remember from years past.
- I am between 15 and 20 lbs up on my old race weight due to actually putting in some core work and spending 4 nights a week at the rock climbing gym (this is a good thing, 130lbs at 5’11” has to be unhealthy).
- My cardio feels immaculate due to the combination of flushing my body of all tobacco, beating the sun out of bed to get a run in before work on the weekdays, and quitting that awesome habit of drinking my dinner that I was so fond of.

As an aside, this will be my tenth year racing mountain bikes. So here’s to another year of sticking it in the big ring, climbing into the pain box and not coming out until cross nats are done and over.