Focus
It's easy to lose focus on the key goals when there's as many distractions out there. Even I get readily distracted by all the cool events available and the chances to explore. I wrote about the running vest Nick had gotten me for my birthday, setting off an entire new spiral of distractions - for things a year away! How would I balance the running and the riding to be able to compete well at all the events next year? What would be the best way to build up my running volume and intensity? I was completely distracted from the events coming up in just a few weeks.
And then we went back to Canyon Creek and I realized - yes, building up my running in order to race a 50 miles trail run the right way will take an entire year. But I can't lose focus on the most important things - the races next on the schedule. I still have some big days planned before the 24 Hours in the Sage and there's a lot of prep work to be done. I have to go into the workouts completely focused on the bike and the purpose of the intervals. And I need to start setting up the plan and getting the prep work finished so when we show up to Gunnison, there's nothing left to do but race. The pre-race preparation can make or break an event. And in the middle of a 24 hour race is not the time to be wondering about other things. So I need to get cracking and focused on what really matters right now - which is not the 50 mile race in a year!
Three weeks after Sage comes the next challenge. A return to the alpine night riding of the Vapor Trail 125. Last year I was a noobie with no ideas of what would really happen during the crisscrossing of the continental divide. I had a time goal, but really just wanted to finish with a smile. I didn't meet my time goal, but I did finish with a smile. This year, I'm not novice, but I'm not ready to call myself a veteran. I've hopefully learned from some of the issues I had last year and have made the needed changes in training to address them. I still have that time goal and have been working hard, both in the fitness and the technical aspects of riding. I've seen times on climbs and descents that a few years ago would have been unthinkable. I've riding longer, hitting bigger numbers. Will that all lead to the race I'm hoping for on September 12? We will find out in a few short weeks! And for that, I need to stay completely focused on the here and now - the current goals.
And then we went back to Canyon Creek and I realized - yes, building up my running in order to race a 50 miles trail run the right way will take an entire year. But I can't lose focus on the most important things - the races next on the schedule. I still have some big days planned before the 24 Hours in the Sage and there's a lot of prep work to be done. I have to go into the workouts completely focused on the bike and the purpose of the intervals. And I need to start setting up the plan and getting the prep work finished so when we show up to Gunnison, there's nothing left to do but race. The pre-race preparation can make or break an event. And in the middle of a 24 hour race is not the time to be wondering about other things. So I need to get cracking and focused on what really matters right now - which is not the 50 mile race in a year!
Three weeks after Sage comes the next challenge. A return to the alpine night riding of the Vapor Trail 125. Last year I was a noobie with no ideas of what would really happen during the crisscrossing of the continental divide. I had a time goal, but really just wanted to finish with a smile. I didn't meet my time goal, but I did finish with a smile. This year, I'm not novice, but I'm not ready to call myself a veteran. I've hopefully learned from some of the issues I had last year and have made the needed changes in training to address them. I still have that time goal and have been working hard, both in the fitness and the technical aspects of riding. I've seen times on climbs and descents that a few years ago would have been unthinkable. I've riding longer, hitting bigger numbers. Will that all lead to the race I'm hoping for on September 12? We will find out in a few short weeks! And for that, I need to stay completely focused on the here and now - the current goals.
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