Thinking About A Thanksgiving Ride

It's funny, but in our recent Polar Vortex, I found myself thinking of a bike ride in mid-October. The early fall weather was outstanding and stretched our comfortable riding season out almost a month. I've always been impressed by those who ride all year in many parts of Canada, but I find myself moving indoors as summer changes to fall. As great as the weather was, that isn't what has triggered the memory. It was the realization that some of my race goals were a little too ambitious in my current form. In the late summer, I wrote done a framework for a race season that wrapped up the latter months of 2017 and continued into the fall of 2018. There were a number of races, both running and triathlon, that I believed would give me a lot of satisfaction while also acting as a showcase for my training methods.

On that ride, I had an honest discussion with myself. Sure I could complete everything I had planned, but would I be able to avoid injury? Would I feel successful at the end of the plan? Races are wonderful experiences, but when you race under trained or questioning your motivation, the enjoyment of the sport can disappear. Upon completion of that ride, I paired down my race plan, eliminated everything in the fall, and focused on building base for the 2018 season. Being honest with yourself is one of the most important aspects of training. I hope to keep this blog as a regular weekly update of my training, successes, failures and the continued pursuit of personal improvement.

Happy training