You'd think the general reticent nature that winter brings would allow for plenty of bloggin' time. I only wish it was true or I was better at making time for it. But for those that come visit my musing once in a while I'm no Charlie Farrow, I can't fathom how he gets in so much biking and yet seemingly drops bombs on his blog no less than a couple times a week. I think those of us in the bike racing really appreciate how Charlie's diligence in telling us stories throughout winter. It definitely keeps us amped up..... or at least wondering about his mental state & condition. Thanks Charlie!
So, I thought I'd do alittle update & recap of what's been happening for me through that gap of time that occurs between the Iceman & the next WORS race or Cable Off Road Classic. First, I'm not going to make any promises that this upcoming season is going to be better than previous ones but winter training has been by far the best of any in my previous 8 seasons of racing. With the exception of the normal cold or flu that I've had the misfortune of contracting three times this winter.
I've been able to toss in several hours a week of weight lifting and core workouts and illness aside close to 10 hours a week of biking &/or skiing. My coach & I took a slightly different approach to winter training. Getting base work done in Dec & early Jan, and doing a good share of Tempo workouts (20-30min intervals at moderate intensity) during the rides since. In seemingly reverse order in March I'll have a bigger base week or two but then it's into the home stretch of higher intensity intervals in anticipation of an April race or at the latest the WORS opener May 6th in Iola.
I think one of the big keys for a good offseason is finding a system or program that fits your life and circumstances that are going on in it. Know what you are willing to do and not willing to do. For me, I've always enjoyed weight training and with a daily choice between going skiing or biking, I had enough variety and options no matter what the weather conditions were. Thanks to Paul Haltvik for the instrumental skate ski guidance. Now I can honestly say CC skate skiing doesn't feel like slogging through a vat of Jello and can be, dare I say, an enjoyable alternative to biking especially on the windy and colder days.
I took in a CC ski race for the first time in years with the Book Across the Bay in mid-Feb. While I have racing lungs for skiing, I can't exactly say I've got racing legs yet. Was 117th place if I remember correctly. First the balance & coordination for higher speed skate skiing is something I've not worked at, and add to the fact that race is essentially done in the dark. It was the best I could ask for. Funny side line story is one lesson about having race awareness. Each kilometer of the 10k race had some kind of station or marker indicating it's point, most of them seemed relatively benign. But towards the end of the race there's this big ole' marker with an overhead banner, etc, etc..... Let's just say one should not confuse the 8k mark with the finish and put in a finishers sprint to get to it. It makes the last two kilometers rather disheartening.
Not sure what makes the BATB such a popular event, having lived here most all of my life, skiing across Chequamegon Bay at night doesn't hold some magical allure. However, I'm glad it's a race event that I can get to in less than 10 minutes. The folks that put it on have really made it a great festival after this many years and for that reason alone it's a wonderful event to have so close by.
Coming up next.... new MTB bike on it's way.....
What I can tell you is it's very likely that no one else will probably have gone to the ends that I have to get this set up. Stay tuned.
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