Pre-season Blah

Its been a long, cold, snowy winter in the Midwest. Ive done lots of trainer rides on the 'road to nowhere', lots of weight room sessions, and some long cold weekend rides. My training has been consistent though and Ive been dedicated. However, in the last month Ive been getting restless. I want to pursue other hobbies and Im feeling training burn out. Cycling is such a competitive sport, its all or nothing. I dont like sucking at something, so I have to be 'all in' if Im going to race. I think the burnout has a lot to do with a lack of races over the winter. They fuel my desire to go out day after day and train hard. I love the rush! Plus, it give me a gauge on my fitness level.

I read some blogs today of some racers I follow and also scanned some of my old blogs as well. I was trying to get pumped back up for training and my upcoming races. Im not sure how, but I forgot how well I did last season. Though I did not have a single big "W" (win), I did manage a large number of podium finishes. I really need to give myself more credit for that.

This will be an interesting year for sure. Im planning to remain a Cat 3 racer until after a big race series in Wisconsin in June where I'll race in the Pro/1/2/3 group. I want to see if I can "hang" at a large regional race like this before moving up to a Cat2. Assuming this goes well, then it will make sense to move up for sure. The 'readiness' to move up is so difficult to judge on a local level in smaller races. Fingers crossed that my fitness is good enough to hang w/ the 'big girls' and that I reach my goals this season!

Im suddenly starting to get excited about being in the race scene again. I love that I get to talk bikes bikes bikes with friends, race my bike, watch some races and recount the whole thing with said friends on the long drive home! :)