It's all about choices

and my choices have been to stay away from the blog. I've been putting in big miles getting ready for the Firecracker 50, lots of work, some unexpected travel for work and home life.

I'm also trying to focus on resting as with all the miles I've been putting in rest is much needed. Winter Park last weekend went good, rode the climb twice (once to warm up/train and once to race). It felt good to get in some high end work. Single track was open for the way down (unusual for this early up at WP) and I was having a great time riding it until I crashed. Nothing bad but hitting the deck is never fun. Showing up at the base area as the only guy bleeding in a race that was essentially a road climb is tough to explain.

Good rest this week, long ride today. Chill on the couch the rest of the day.

Catch up

A week of rest. I’ve heard a lot of coaches and local racers say at this level (meaning a local amateur) it is impossible to be overtrained, just under rested. Well this week I’m working on getting rested. After a big block of training last week the body needs some R&R; Monday off but a massage, Tuesday easy with yoga, Wednesday easy and a NAP, Thursday seems like another good rest day and Friday we’ll see. Not riding hard is tough, spinning along at a slow pace, short rides and napping don't fit my normal schedule but I've been riding a lot more miles and time this year and can tell the body needs to recover, so I'll take it easy and wait until the body is ready to go hard again.

Saturday brings another race, but I’m riding it for training only, the Winter Park Hill Climb is 40ish minutes of climbing. I plan to get there early ride the climb once at a good tempo pace and then push it again in the race. The day should total 20 miles with about 5,000 feet of climbing and should make for good training.

I just picked up the mountain bike after getting it worked on, after some hard rides recently she needed a little TLC. I’ll ride her Friday to make sure everything is dialed for racing (nothing like waiting until the last minute) but hey that’s when I’ll have a chance.

Relaxing

After the road trip to Durango a little relaxation has been in order. Early morning rides, followed by work, home and early to bed. Vacation can be tough. This weekend I'm planning a 6 hour ride to keep the prep going for the Firecracker 50 and Laramie Enduro.

Sunday morning will start early with the goal to be home by noon...that means up by 4:30.

Durango

A weekend away from town was a great way to recharge. Time was spent doing things that would not occur on a normal weekend and I still managed to get in some sweet riding. We headed out on Thursday morning for a family vacation in Durango. The weekend offered some time to relax, though honestly not much as we were busy, time to enjoy family and the beauty of Colorado and the amazing trail of Horse Gulch just minutes from Durango let me ride.
Mesa Verde is a place I remember fondly from childhood and when my parents mentioned they were heading to Mesa Verde we decided to go too. Fate prevented us from going with my parents as Ade starts school and couldn’t go the week they booked, but we met up with Grandma L and a friend of hers and through a twist of fate Uncle Eric, Aunt Sue and Cousin Z wound up in Durango the same weekend. Mesa Verde was as incredible as I remembered and Seamus loved the place. Checking out the ruins, climbing ladders, meeting Rangers made for a great day. To be honest you could spend a lot more time there then we did, but it was well worth the trip just to see the ruins. Also, if you go take the time to talk to the Rangers, every one we talked with was excited to share their knowledge, nice and made the trip even better. I’m not sure if Rangers at all National Parks are like this, but damn they were good in Mesa Verde.
Saturday turned into a day for chilling in Durango and just relaxing. The town is full of cell phone hippies who clearly go to college, smoke weed, hula hoop and hang out. A great place to do it, but not exactly fun.
Sunday was supposed to be the thrill seeker day, a rafting trip. The trip was fun and though the river was flowing pretty slow there were still some big sections of rapids and for a bunch of beginners (Ade being the only one in our group to have gone before) it was a good first trip. Seamus spent every second in the rapids laughing and hoping people would get drenched (which we did). Not sure if he had more fun rafting or at Mesa Verde but both were highlights it seemed.
Now many of you may know Durango hosted the first Mountain Bike World Championships and the trails are still worthy. I got in rides on three days and had a blast. Getting on new trails forced me to try new things and not having the “mental block” of normal trails caused me to clear stuff I may never have tried on a trail I’d ridden many times. Uncle Eric and Aunt Sue showed why they use to be Pros, as even with full time work, new parenthood and little (if any) riding they were strong. For the first time ever I was able to climb with Eric, until we hit really technical sections, where his ability and skills more than made up for lack of fitness. On the downhill’s it is hard to keep up with a guy who has race the World Cup so I didn’t see much of him but still had fun.
Now it is time to get back to work.