Spring Training

So some people do Spring training camps in warmer climes, my wife and I always do a February foray to Colorado for some snow sports. This week we are staying in Boulder with some friends, and I'll be taking advantage of the warm weather today with a 3 hour mountain bike ride before chilling for a couple of days and then getting in some snowboarding before heading back.

While we're out here, I was talking to my friend, Rob, who races mountain bikes (5th place at National MTB Marathon last year) about how our training plans differ. He does almost all his training outside, on the mtb. I do almost all of my training inside, on the trainer! One of the great things about Asheville is the abundance of variety - awesome roads, 500+ miles of trails (which I have yet to take advantage of!), the track, and lots of local racing.

The bottom line is when you're a Masters racer (30+), the hardest thing is balancing training, family, work, and actually having fun on the bike. Any racers need to take motivation into account when it comes to training and racing and its important to not only get in good training miles, but also maintain the mental focus and freshness to achieve your season's goals. As we get right around the corner from the racing season it's important to take stock of your mental focus and see what you can do to improve this area of your training.

Enjoy the great weather this weekend, and have fun!