Before We Know It

It will be here...spring, then summer, then over too quickly once again.

March is coming quickly, and winter doesn't really want to let us go.  We've had a great winter for on the bike training here in the south, but over the past two weeks winter has decided to come for us.  Below freezing daytime temps and ice and snow have shut the south down.  It doesn't take much winter to shut us down because we are not equipped for it since it happens so rarely.  I'd rather the government pay someone to build bike trails that we can use 11 months out of the year than to pay someone for snow removal equipment that would get used 5 days out of the year.  Northerners may laugh at us, but I say, more bike trails > being able to get around 365 days / year.

With spring coming, I am making my best attempt to get training mode in full swing.  I joined a gym mid December and stuck to my weight training plan pretty well through January.  14 weeks of pushing my limits felt pretty good.  Granted, my fitness level was pretty sad at the start, so my limits are not that high...yet.  One of my biggest Achilles' heels last season was my fitness.  I think it stemmed from being sick a lot last winter and not being able to get my base fitness in and then not being motivated to do anything once the busy-ness of the season set in.  I suffered from quite a few pulled muscle injuries last season that I believe came from poor base fitness.  Not this season, not this girl.

I took a rest week the second week of February and got some riding in and planned to get back to the gym last week, but then winter came and I couldn't leave my driveway, so I got a nice week of laying around and really resting.  Back in the gym this week, yesterday being my first day back, and boy, did it feel good.  Starting a new workout phase and feeling new muscles working is always fun.  I have been using the workouts in "The New Rules of Lifting for Women" in case anyone is interested.  It is a great book for anyone, beginners and more advanced weight trainees looking for a routine.  I have started the workouts 3 times, but this is the first time I have made it through the first phase and moved on to phase two.  I am pretty excited to see where it takes my strength.

My second Achilles' Heel is my mental condition.  Not that I am crazy or anything, although I am sure there might be someone out there who would contest that.  I have never really done any mental training.  I wonder how many riders do?  How many of my readers have a mental training plan?  Goal setting?  Pre-race routine?  I have always heard about it, especially for downhill, which is a sport where poor mental preparation and condition can really inhibit even the most physically fit and skilled rider.  They say if you take 20 athletes with similar talent and physical training and give 10 of them mental training, those 10 will outperform the others every time. I had a few discussions with some pro ladies about mental preparation last season, but never really acted on it.  I intend to this season.  And goals?  They are going big, baby, you can count on that.

(Maybe mentally I have some repressed anger issues.)

So, my two Achilles' Heels:  fitness and mental preparation.  In reality, even though my results were good, last season I felt like I had both of my heels taken out.  I never felt in the game last season.  My confidence was a bit shaky after a few lingering muscle injuries and a tough race in the mud early in the season where I had my goals set on the wrong thing.  Having your goals set on the right thing is important, and if you want to win, that should not be your goal.

My goal right now:  go out and run in the snow.