Life & 2010 Goals

I've been doing a lot of thinking this past month (more than usual?) as my life is about to change in an awesome and amazing way with the birth of my son this month! I've been racing my bike since was 14, and really since I was 6 if you count on the way home from school!

When I first starting racing, my objective was to get to a Cat. 3 as soon as possible (at age 16) so that I could go to Nationals. Then I wanted to be on the Regional Team. Then it was the National Team (which didn't quite happen). However at Virginia Tech I went from a 3 to a 1 in 6 months and decided that the next step was going P.R.O. However during this time I lost my best friend, Chris Strader: http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1997-06-29/news/1997180072_1_bicycling-annapolis-racing-team

It was during the following year that I poured my heart and soul into riding, and I was winning races. The problem was, while I thought it would make me happy, it wasn't. I returned to school that Fall, hung my bike up and decided to have fun. I asked myself, "If I die tomorrow will I look back and think I really have no regrets?". I sold ALL my bikes the following year. I didn't ride that year and had a great time! It made me think about life and my priorities. I began riding again the following year, but didn't race again until 2007 - a 10 year hiatus. The impending expansion of my family as well as some other events (the recent diagnosis of my mom with cancer and a friend with DDD of two levels in his back: http://www.cannellchampiontraining.com/blogs/entry.php?id=127) have made me think even more about what is important.

Cycling is now a big part of my life, but while it once was the top priority in my life, it's now below my family and career. It's something that provides an outlet both physical and social as well as a hobby where I can enjoy the technical aspects. This year I'm excited to share some of this with my new son! I've been working with my coach, Andy Applegate of CTS Asheville, to tweak my goals for the season as the new baby, and a Europe trip will temper my objectives a bit, but I think it's still good to have goals for the year no matter how small or incremental they may seem. Andy laughed when I told him that I got up early Saturday to get my workout in so that I could put the nursery together! I sense that this is just the tip of the iceberg . . .

My goals this year include winning the NC State TT Championships, another cyclocross race, and completing the Shenandoah 100 MTB race. Of course woven throughout this will be raising my son, being a good husband, and continuing a successful career. I will keep getting up at 5, getting on the trainer and putting in some pain before the day starts. I'll spend time with my wife and son, and will sometimes give up a ride (or 2!) to do so. I'll have that beer, or cookie from time to time, and I'll probably try to take more naps (if what I hear about having a baby is true). I want to be able to look back and think, "I lived a great life". I hope that you can too.

Check out a great article on goal setting here: http://www.trainright.com/articles.asp?uid=4787

GTS #1 & #2: Donaldson Center & BMW

The season started last week as usual, in Greenville, SC with the first weekend of the Greenville Training Series at the Donaldson Center (long, boring laps) and then the BMW Test Track (short, windy laps).

Saturday's race was challenging due to the dearth of teams with multiple riders, like Team Type 1, Global Bike, Hincapie, United Healthcare (or whatever their name is this year), Metro, etc. It was just Chris Emory and I, with Eric in the Cat. 3s working on upgrade points. It was an 8 lap race, and after some early excitement, we settled into a nice pace with attacks coming through the hills on the back of the course. Nothing really stuck until after the move that I was in got brought back! Global Bike and TT1 had guys in the move and they drove it home as the other teams weren't able to do much. Once it was apparent that they weren't going to be brought back, I tried to be as active as possible and just get in a good workout while testing myself (this being a training race and all . . . ). Chris Emory was active as well, but the gap stuck at 2 minutes and the break and money was long gone. We rolled in with the field, and went to see how Eric did. The good news is that he CRUSHED the 3s field! After launching a counter move after 2 laps, he chased down the break and then proceeded to drive it to the finish after dropping all but 1 other rider. Congrats to Eric after his first official race on Team ACE, and first Cat. 3 win! Shouldn't be long before this 'developmental' rider moves up to a 2. Sweet!
Sunday greeted us with similar weather to Saturday: about 65*, light breeze, and some nice sun. This was a nice change over last year when there were 20-30mph winds that made the race at the BMW track brutal! Then again, I like those conditions and was able to lap the field, so my joy was a little short-lived! After Eric's herculean effort on Saturday, being away for about 3/4 of the race, he was suffering the effects of dehydration and decided to take the day off. This left only Chris and I again to battle against the other bigger teams. It was a similar result to Saturday with a break going from the gun with Hincapie & Globalbike (and Metro?), and staying away all day! Chris and I were active again, but no match for the teams with more matches to burn. That's OK, because when we bring our full team, we will be a force to be reckoned with! Field finishes for both Chris and I capped a mediocre, but enjoyable weekend of racing. The weather was good, the power and legs were good, and it was nice to be back in the thick of the action rubbing shoulders and getting tan lines once more! Oh, and we took away a win!

Thanks to all our 2010 sponsors: Highland Brewing, Trek & Bontrager, Liberty Bikes, Rudy Project, PML Pathology, Mosaic Realty, Honey Stinger, Swiftwick, Carmichael Training Systems, Dr. Steve Miller DDS, Crossfit Brevard, Joe Lilly Photography, and Affordable Home Inspections.

See us online at: www.ashevillecyclingelite.com

How to ride less and be able to ride more:

www.marksdailyapple.com/i-hate-running/#more-10668