SCOLETRAIN

The New Year

After a week of travel and family visits in Michigan it's time to start getting somewhat focused on training for 2010. January is the month where I try to keep myself off the couch, aerobically active and try to limit my late night snacking/grazing from the cupboard of leftover Christmas treats. My training regime is more like having a dinner buffet to choose from with options such as commuting, snowshoeing, xc skiing, riding the trainer/rollers, core/strength training along with some running to keep things fresh for the long upcoming season. I've learned over the my many years that if I'm really motivated in January and putting in lots of hours, it's usually a given that by August I'm burnt out and ready for the season to end with 3-4 months of training and racing left to go. At my age a bad attitude late in the season can lead to a lack of motivation at a time of the year when cycling should be fun from being smart early in the calendar year with my training. Throw my 6 year old daughter and my very busy 2 year old son into my daily schedule and my training time(my alone time) becomes a very valuable/limited time period that becomes very therapeutic for me. I'll admit that getting up before the sun starts shining gets old year after year, but the other option of not getting a ride or workout in for the day because of family obligations always seems to be enough to get me moving with a little help from a good cup of coffee before the pedals start turning. Remember to train smart, not harder in 2010. Pedal on...