time to see how how much discipline i have

Taking off from racing this weekend. Guess it's time for a break. Thanks to my wonderful wife, I've done 12 races over 9 straight weekends. Hoping to toe the line for 5 more. Was out of town for work a few days this past week, so haven't had much time on the bike. I'm writing this as the wind is absolutely howling outside, due to an approaching winter storm that is supposed to drop over a foot of snow here in Breck. And of course my wife is out in this weather now, she has a 5 HOUR training run on tap. And to think I am struggling with the idea of my 90min trainer workout later today...pathetic. She is truly an amazing person and quite often a large part of my motivation.

Last Saturday was my 9th straight weekend of cyclocross racing here in Colorado. After a really fun weekend-before-Halloween down in Boulder for the big CO Cross Classic and Boulder Cup, the Schoolyard Cross (Nov 5) was challenging from a motivation perspective. I had not raced before out at the Prairie Center in Brighton, just east of Denver off of I-76. It was a welcome change though from the constant commutes to Boulder, even if it was about the same distance (just under 2hrs). Compared to the big Boulder weekend of racing, it was difficult to find any beta about the Schoolyard Cross course and potential conditions during the week prior to the race. There was nary a tweet out there, and it was apparent that some of my competitors were taking off that weekend for their mid-season break.

Driving through Denver and hopping on 76, there was not much snow on the ground and I was hoping it would not be too muddy. Pulling in to the venue I realized it was going to be super muddy, combined with some hay. Not a great mixture. I rode one lap with my PDX clinchers, then decided it best to perform the rest of my warm-up on the roads and not to trash my bike yet. I actually had a pretty solid warm-up riding the roads around the big shopping mall out there. It kind of reminded me of my days as a hack cat 4/cat 3 roadie when I used to do office park crits. Our customary mid-morning start time rolled around, and we lined up in the start chute, listening to the heckles of the great Larry Grossman. This guy means a ton to local cyclocross, and I am always stoked to see him at our races. As I mentioned earlier, many big guns were absent...Robson (he was shooting photos, racing Open later that day), Faia, Keller, Overton, Ariel, Stefko, Phenicie, Farrell. So I thought this could be a great opportunity to hop on the podium. Steamboat resident, Moots employee, and all-around good guy Jon Cariveau was there, and I rightfully picked him to tear us all apart. Since I was currently 2nd overall in the CO Cross Cup points, and with Robson not racing, I was the first call-up. Enjoy that one now for sure! The whistle sounds and we're quickly off. Cariveau tears off the line quickly, and I find my pedal and slot in right behind him in 2nd place. Perfect. But after maybe 60 secs, I would not see him again til the end of the race, as he rode away from the entire field to win by well over 2 minutes. McFarling, Wardell, Glen Light all came by me on the first lap and those guys would duke it out for the remaining podium spots. My legs didn't show up and I was not feeling it, but settled for 5th place with a pretty hard workout. The course was nothing stellar, but there were several sections of thick soupy mud that tested my skills. The Cubus were hooking up well. A Frites En Mayo rider was dangling close behind me the whole race, which worked out well to constantly push me. Afterwards, I hung out for a bit to see some other races. Mike Hogan set off a bomb and blew apart the 45+ field. I watched the first half of the Open race, and it was great to see Krughoff and Summerhill duking it out off the front.

Now that winter looks to be arriving for good this time, I seem to have arrived at the crux of my training season. I say this because there will be few opportunities to get in solid, "comfortable" training rides outside. My weekly prep will primarily consist of 2-3 sessions a week on the trainer or rollers, 2 xc ski tours a week, and 1 race per weekend. I am hoping to do some short, ride-until-my-hands-and-feet-are-numb rides on snow-packed roads on the mtb. Will this set-up allow me to continue with some solid results? Time will tell. As I said earlier, my wife and her amazing dedication to her training will probably be some of my best motivation. I've raced 'cross now for several years, and most every year I race well the first half of the season. But the second half of the season has always been a big challenge when i can no longer ride easily outside. The beauty of cx is that, due to racing into shape on the mtb all summer, I can usually maintain decent fitness with just 5-6hrs of training a week. I would love to have a good (top 7?) result at states this year. We'll see.