Racing Season Is Here...Are You Ready?

Okay all you TS5VVer's, are you ready to race? Today is March 30th and the April Racing Season is upon us. We've got Frozen Flatlands this weekend and THE GRIZZLY TRIATHLON in TWO WEEKS! Not to mention the Roubaix and Ironman Arizona for out resident Pro. The races come on fast and furious, so hold on for the ride.

Time to start upping the intensity of your workouts and putting in those miles. Now is NOT the time to try and learn how to swim! Maybe that's the reason I'm not doing the Griz...

So does this mean that I'll have to start shaving my legs? Well I guess so. April 1st comes quickly and marks the beginning of racing, and therefore, shaving season. Contrary to popular belief, men despise shaving their legs EVEN MORE than women do. You women have it rough. All of this maintenance. But you have to admit that the sleek, fast look of shaved legs on men has to have some appeal, wouldn't you say?

So who is training for a half or full Ironman? I know that there are several of you who are training for the big distances, so today's workout would have been a good one for you.

Dean McGovern (host of the Sunday long run) and I did a double today, because it was truly an amazing day to get out. Today was one of those "spiritual" days as he said. The day began with Dean, Riki and I (plus doggies Chloe and Lewis) running Woods Gulch. We were the only ones up there. It was peaceful running through the trees and up into the fresh snow. We broke trail and even did a little postholing as we worked our way along the back side and back to Mount Jumbo saddle. It was an Epic Sunday run. It reminded me of the times that long-time Sunday runner, Joe Campana, would come with us. He'd be wearing his baggy, cotton shorts, sweatshirt and Wrestler's jacket. He'd sound like an ESPN announcer in his slightly East coast accent as he talked about the Buffalo Bill's or Sabers and he'd sweat off at least five (if not ten) pounds of water. But his smile and laughter would keep us all going. He was my marathon training partner for several years and we ran countless Sunday long runs together. I miss his presence and I hope Joe, his wife and daughter are enjoying their new life in India. Hopefully Susan and I can visit them some day...

So back to the run. It was cold, wet and tough on the IT Bands, but it was good strength training. All-in-all we ran about 10 miles in just under two hours.

After the run and a good meal, we met at Le Petit at noon for part two. The sun was beginning to warm us up and today's ride was 1000% better than yesterday's ride. And for all of those who bagged on riding 'cause of the cold, you missed out! We rode out to Miller Creek, up Trails End (but not down to the river), then to the end of the pavement and back. Two hills and 32 miles was plenty of spinning and climbing practise on our tired legs. We finished back at MBW in 1:45. For me, today was a perfect day, long and slow, and a good endurance booster.

The afternoon was spent lazing around in the back yard with my wife and three dogs and now writing this blog. It doesn't get much better than that.

Thanks to Dean and Amy for hosting the Sunday long run, to my wife for letting me ride and run for several hours and to the team, for being such a source of positive energy and a great network of talented and fun folk to hang out with. Cheers.